Sean McDermott has surely spent most of his waking hours over the last few days trying to learn what he can about the 2019 New England Patriots, so that he can beat Bill Belichick and company on Sunday. But McDermott has also been learning from Belichick, indirectly, for months.
McDermott’s offensive coordinator Brian Daboll was the Patriots’ former tight end coach before spending a year at Alabama and landing with the Bills in 2018 in his current role.
“I was able to learn under (Chiefs coach) Andy Reid, who I think was one of the best in the game. Brian learned a lot from coach Belichick, who is maybe one of the best, if not the best,” McDermott said on a conference call Wednesday. “To be able to mix stories and experience and habits of what those two men have been able to accomplish in this profession, I’ve been able to learn a lot from Brian, as it relates to some of the things he’s learned from Bill Belichick.”
Daboll has shined in 2019 after a brutal 2018 season, when the Bills were 30th in the NFL in scoring and offensive yardage. In 2019, the Bills are eighth in offensive yardage and 17th in points. The turnaround has been significant. While it’s easy to say this is Daboll’s breakout season, that’s not really true. After all, he helped Nick Saban win a national championship at Alabama in 2017. Belichick said “he brought a lot to the staff” in New England, too.
“Brian’s a good coach. He’s been a good coach for a long time. I don’t think anything happened in the last week or two,” Belichick said during a press conference at Gillette Stadium Wednesday. “He’s got 10 new starters on offense from the start of the last year, so he’s done pretty well.”
One of those new starters is second-year quarterback Josh Allen, who has taken a major leap forward in his development as a passer. His rookie season was largely about his running abilities, in part because the offense didn’t support Allen whatsoever. He was often running for first downs — and for his life — because he had no other option. In 2019, Allen has completed 64% of his passes for 750 yards, three touchdowns and three interceptions.
The offense seems to have more balance with a revamped offensive line along with the addition of running backs Frank Gore and Devin Singletary, receivers John Brown and Cole Beasley and tight end Dawson Knox. Those skill players have helped Allen and Daboll shine at another level.
