Film room: Analyzing the game QB Brandon Allen caught Broncos' attention

The Denver Broncos brought in a new quarterback to be their backup, and many don’t know what Brandon Allen brings to the table. This film piece will be breaking down three plays from when the Broncos played the L.A. Rams in preseason Game 4.

I'll reveal just what he brings to the table. Before we get into that, first a look at the basics of Allen.

Allen is a soon-to-be 27-year-old quarterback in his fourth year in the NFL. He was drafted in the sixth round by the Jacksonville Jaguars, where he spent his rookie year as the third-string QB. Before the 2017 season, the Jaguars waived him and he landed with the Rams, where he spent the last two years.

Allen entered the 2016 NFL Draft after being a three-year starter at Arkansas. In those three seasons, he had a TD-to-INT ratio of 63-to-23 and passed for nearly 7,200 yards. Early on, there were concerns over accuracy, but he saw major improvements as each year went on. Now in the NFL, Allen has continued to grow and played well in the preseason each year.

His overall stats from those preseason games are not the best, especially the six touchdowns to 11 interceptions. That is far from ideal, but when going over those interceptions, a good number of them were off the receiver's hands, or saw the receiver give up on the play. It isn’t ideal, but it does add some context to the base stats.

The simple fact is, Allen looked good vs. the Broncos defense which had good depth. He made smart reads and some good plays.

Here are three plays that really stood out with his performance against Denver and played a part in the Broncos bringing him in.

Play 1

The first throw was an explosive, smart play by Allen to take advantage of the mistake in coverage by Su’a Cravens. With keeping seven players in to block, the Rams were wanting to take a quick shot on second down. L.A. runs a play-action, with the two receivers running deeper routes and the running back being the check down.

This should have benefitted the Broncos with having the numbers advantage in coverage, but a mistake leads to a receiver having enough separation for Allen to drop it in the bucket. There is a lot to like with this play from Allen.

He feels the pressure coming from the right side and climbs the pocket, sees the separation quickly and makes the throw. There was little room for error on the throw because De'Vante Bausby had solid coverage on the receiver, just no Cravens over the top.

Allen made a perfect throw right into the receiver's bread basket. This is a smart, heads up, big boy play by the backup quarterback and he did it under pressure.

Play 2

Another big boy play, this time backed up on the Rams' own 5-yard line. The Rams have to play it safe, but also need to play smart and get them some more rook to work. In 21 personnel, the Rams look like they are going to run it to give them some breathing room and that is what the Broncos would probably do. That is also what an old school offensive coordinator would do, which means the Rams won’t, and they didn’t.

L.A. has one receiver running an in-route, the other running a comeback and both the fullback and running back running outs as the check-down options. Denver ends up rushing four, with Justin Hollins dropping into coverage when he sees it is a play-action. With only four coming, they still put the pressure on Allen, and if he goes down it is a safety and two points for the Broncos.

With little room to maneuver in the pocket, Allen does what he can to buy himself some extra time. He sees the receiver on the comeback with separation and gets the ball to him for a good play to give the Rams plenty of room.

The throw was a solid one, but it could have been better. However, with throwing under pressure and being unable to fully reset his feet, it was a good throw. A smart play, and good pocket awareness while keeping his eyes reading the defense.

Play 3

This is the final play to look at from his performance against the Broncos, and though it may not look like it, it may be his best play of the three. Allen is in shotgun with the Rams in 11 personnel. It is third down and the Rams have been putting together a solid drive, but they need six yards to keep the drive going.

It is a very simple play, but it highlights Allen’s mechanics and fundamentals. He takes his short drop, plants his foot, drives forward and hits his receiver for the first down. As he is dropping back, he is scanning the field, quickly, and sees his receiver with the separation needed to get the ball there. When he drives forward, he resets his body, and points his front foot to where he is throwing.

Very simple, but executed with pretty much perfect mechanics. Pointing that foot is an issue that the Broncos' former QBs really had in the preseason, and why they struggled to throw accurately at times. Seeing such clean mechanics, footwork and fundamentals is nice to see, but he needs to do it consistently. From his time in Arkansas, Allen has made tremendous progress in these fields.

But that is not all that stands out with this play. It is another play to highlight the smarts of Allen. This wasn’t a play to wait and go for the big play. This was a simple play that involved getting the first down with whatever the defense gave you.

That doesn’t mean you always play it safe, but knowing the down, field position, and situation helps make decisions easier. If it was first down, or second, you'd probably have seen Allen hold onto the ball a little longer, if pressure doesn’t come, and go for a bigger play.

Alas for Denver, it was third down and he made the play to move the chains and keep the drive going. Simple yet great.

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