The Josh Allen and Keon Coleman connection has yet to really take off for Buffalo.
Their success as a quarterback and receiver duo has mostly been more situational in Coleman’s first two NFL seasons, though those situational moments do show his talent and abilities.
This was on display late in their soggy loss to Miami on Sunday.
Coleman accounted for 86 total air yards among receivers on his targets, good for 71.3% total air yards in the game among his position group. He only converted on 37 of those air yards (19.9%). While he’s struggled at times with routes and getting open, Allen also missed him and several other open targets downfield during the game.
After the game, Allen was asked if Coleman is doing enough with the chances he’s given, and after an extended pause, he responded, “He got one today, so yeah”.
While it would be easy to interpret the pause for contemplation as either a positive or negative, or to insert a narrative one way or the other, it’s worth considering that Allen was deshoveled from the loss and generally frustrated with the offensive outcome as a whole. He had a strong game statistically, but his surrounding cast on offense, particularly in the playcalling and passing game, did not and did not adjust to how Miami was defending them quickly enough.
Coleman’s numbers don’t necessarily matter as much as efficiency between Allen and him does in OC Joe Brady’s offense. Still, it doesn’t help that on the same day the Bills floundered against the Dolphins, several contending teams with No. 1 receivers put up 40+ point wins against opponents, or that former Bills receivers like Diggs and Mack Hollins are making plays and winning games with the division-leading New England Patriots.
The young receiver was asked after the loss about where improvements needed to start.
“Us as a team just have to be better,” Coleman said to the press in the locker room postgame. “Everyone, I say start with me in the receiving room. A lot going to be put on our shoulders and make plays. So, we got to go out there and make them, and then from there, everybody else follow suit.”
He also realizes he does not have the definitive answer on the Bills’ passing woes.
“I mean, if I knew the answer to that, we wouldn’t be talking about it right now. So, I mean, we just go back to the drawing board.”
Coleman is young and a developing player, and GM Brandon Beane reportedly made competitive offers at the trade deadline for top receivers, including the Dolphins’ Jaylen Waddle, but teams would not deal their top pass-catchers.
Buffalo has weapons on offense, but they may need to make adjustments from OC Joe Brady’s group-project pass distribution approach. A more intentional effort to get the ball out quickly and into the hands of their playmakers, and getting some of their more talented receiving targets in check-down and mismatch situations, while attacking weaknesses in opposing defenses, may be in order.
The coaching and coordination of the passing game must also be evaluated. With Super Bowl-winning offensive coaches of repute like Doug Pederson and Mike McCarthy available, and former Bills OC and Giants HC Brian Daboll is now available for a reunion that would make too much sense for both sides not to explore. It would objectively help to consider bringing in some help in senior assistant capacities to help with the Bills’ passing woes. Steve Smith seems to have some ideas for Coleman; Perhaps another visit to practice with a new receiving corps is in order.
The team has an elite talent in James Cook, and backups Ray Davis and Ty Johnson, who are speedy and can catch passes, as well as Coleman and their tight ends. Most of their receivers beyond Khalil Shakir and Coleman would be backups on other teams, so getting the ball to their most talented targets could help unlock the offense until they can add some more top-line receiving talent in the offseason.
This article originally appeared on Bills Wire: Bills’ Josh Allen backs Keon Coleman after loss to Dolphins
Reporting by David Benjamin De Cristofaro, Bills Wire / Bills Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
