Bills QB Josh Allen changes throwing action to increase performance

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen is working to improve his throwing motion by tweaking it in an effort to “mechanically make (the throwing motion) as efficient as possible” as he starts his seventh season in the NFL.

Allen said Tuesday after the Bills’ first mandatory minicamp practice that focusing on improving his throwing motion is the part of his game he’s working on this offseason, but made it clear he’s not changing the way which he throws, he was just trying to do it. better.

“I wouldn’t call it a complete overhaul of my throwing motion, but definitely a few things to work on and clean up,” Allen said. “I lay with my arm and a little bit with my stride. So I’m just trying to clean that up. And whenever you go through something like that, sometimes it’s going to feel really good, sometimes it’s not really going to feel feel good. It’s just like changing your golf swing, as long as you trust it and keep working at it, the results will come every day.

As in previous years, Allen worked with Chris Hess, owner of the movement analysis company Biometrik. After OTAs last Tuesday, Allen and quarterback Mitch Trubisky threw a variety of passes to receiver Chase Claypool and other Bills personnel while cameras surrounded the quarterbacks, tracking their every move and digitally mapping throws.

The quarterback said mapping shows what they can improve on and once he understands it consistently, it gives him less to think about and allows him to think more about what the defense present.

Improving the throwing motion isn’t unique to Allen, and he said he thinks there are inefficiencies that every quarterback can find.

“Show me the perfect throw, I’ll probably tell you there’s something wrong,” Allen said. “So I just make sure I cross my T’s and dot my I’s.”

Last year, Allen, 28, injured his right shoulder in a Week 6 win over the New York Giants, but didn’t miss a game — and hasn’t missed one since his first year. At the end of the season, Allen said the injury had improved as the year went on, but it was only in recent weeks that it no longer bothered him at all. Allen said he still has to change the way he throws the ball. No off-season surgery was necessary.

Part of Allen’s job this offseason is to get back to the way he threw and not stick to the mechanics that were used to protect himself from injury. He noted that on tape he could see he was getting low and wide with the ball last year, with some of the work done now, including drills that serve as “subtle reminders of where to hold the ball, how to turn and where”. to free him”, and that he will continue to work on his mechanics during the free time before training camp.

“(Injuries change) the way you throw it just a little bit because your body protects itself from the pain,” Allen said. “So I make sure I get back to how I’m supposed to throw and what my body is capable of doing. And sometimes it takes a little longer, sometimes it doesn’t. Again, just trust .what the data is saying right now and I’m just trying to feel it above all else.”

His throwing form has changed so much over the years, Allen said when he sees videos of himself playing at Wyoming – describing his form as “night and day” in terms of changes – popping up on YouTube, “I say, ‘Who’s throwing the ball?’ And it’s me. It’s a little disgusting to watch that sometimes, but I don’t think it’s that disgusting anymore.”

In addition to his own personal play, the test for Allen this offseason will also come from adjusting the offense with coordinator Joe Brady to the new faces around him. The only wide receiver currently on the roster that Allen has targeted during his career is Khalil Shakir (63 targets or 2% of Allen’s career pass attempts). Although there were visible frustrations during Tuesday’s minicamp as the offense was slow to connect early in the day, the offense put together a solid run toward the end.

Allen stressed that there is still time to move forward on the bills.

“Making sure that we meet during the summer break that we have here and then at training camp, just making sure that we are talking and that we have an open line of communication with the routes and the concepts” , Allen said. “What I see, what they see, what they feel and I just try to listen and try to get better every day.”