BUFFALO http://www.panthersauthorizedshops.com/authentic-christian-miller-jersey , N.Y. (AP) — Josh Allen wasn’t sure what to make of someone referring to him as being a happy-go-lucky person because the Buffalo Bills quarterback wondered if it implied he doesn’t take his job seriously.At the same time, Allen was taken aback Wednesday in deflecting the suggestion he still has plenty to prove entering his second NFL season.“OK? Yeah, absolutely, the team does,” he said, following the second of Buffalo’s three mandatory minicamp practices.Allen wouldn’t budge when pressed further if that included him, by saying: “All right, like I said, we move as a team, and we’re going to try to have to have that same mindset.”This is the same person who a few weeks ago said, “I just want to play football and win football games,” when asked how much pressure he bore to fill what’s been an unsettled position in Buffalo since Hall of Famer Jim Kelly retired 22 years ago.Don’t let Allen’s aw-shucks, who-me, off-field approach fool you.The just-turned 23-year-old who proudly chugged a can of beer at teammate Micah Hyde’s recent charity softball tournament, is no different from the player who paused to trash-talk Jaguars cornerback Jalen Ramsey on the way to celebrating a touchdown during a 24-21 win last season.What matters to Allen is he doesn’t want anyone to see him sweat.“Time will come where frustrations happen. That’s the game of football,” he told The Associated Press.“When adversity hits, you’ve got to persevere and overcome. A big saying in my family household growing up was ‘APO’. Adjust, persevere, overcome,” Allen added. “That was from my high school coach. My dad loved it and he says it every day.”Allen has persevered through plenty following a college career in which he was initially overlooked by FBS schools and made the jump from California’s Reedley junior college to Wyoming before being selected by Buffalo with the seventh pick in the draft last year.Having assumed the No. 1 job much earlier than expected following Nathan Peterman’s meltdown in Buffalo’s opener, Allen is tasked with having to build off an inconsistent season.Allen finished with a 5-6 record Jordan Scarlett Jersey , in which he went 3-3 down the stretch after missing four games with a sprained right throwing elbow. He showed off his athletic ability by hurdling Minnesota linebacker Anthony Barr in a 27-6 win in Week 3, and followed that with a two-interception outing and a 36.3 quarterback rating in a 22-0 loss at Green Bay.In going 169 of 320 passes for 2,074 yards with 10 TDs and 12 interceptions in 12 games, Allen ranked 32nd in completion percentage, yards passing, touchdowns and touchdowns versus interceptions ratio.Not all the inconsistencies were on Allen, who oversaw an offense featuring a patchwork line and no-name receivers led by Zay Jones and undrafted rookie Robert Foster.He won’t have the same issues this year after the Bills overhauled their offense in free agency by adding receivers Cole Beasley and John Brown, and retooled their line with seven newcomers, led by center Mitch Morse.Another advantage is having an entire offseason to prepare after Allen spent most of last spring and summer working as a third-stringer behind Peterman and AJ McCarron. And he is expected to have a better grasp of the playbook and offensive coordinator Brian Daboll’s philosophies.“He’s grown mentally and physically off the field and on the field as a leader,” said Daboll, noting he’s had Allen call his own plays this spring. “We’re doing a lot of different things right now just to throw on his plate and see what we need to keep getting better and, and see what he’s got a firm grasp of.”Coach Sean McDermott is encouraged by what he’s seen.“Josh is a young man that is driven and very in-tune and very self-aware to his development as a young man and as a football player and how important that is to our organization,” McDermott said. “I’ve seen that through the habits that he’s undertaken since he left here in January, and then when we got him back, and what he’s done since that time.”In March, Allen invited Bills receivers to work out with him in California. Allen also made a point to greet each of Buffalo’s free-agent additions .That doesn’t mean Allen is anywhere close to being a finished product.A practice highlight Wednesday, featured Allen avoiding the pass rush by rolling to his left and, with a flick of his wrist, lofting a pass to Andre Roberts, who made a leaping catch in double coverage for what would’ve been a 30-yard touchdown. The lowlight followed a few plays later, when Allen rolled to his left and telegraphed a pass easily intercepted by Jordan Poyer.Allen focused on the positive David Montgomery Jersey , saying he always looks for the bright side.“I can always find something to be happy about, something to look at and try to improve instead of pouting about it and putting my head down,” he said.“I had a bad throw today and I slapped myself on the helmet and after a brief second, I was, ‘OK, people are looking at me, I’ve got to get back on track,'” Allen added. “I’ve got to have positive body language, positive talk, and that’s how I keep going.”That doesn’t make him any less driven.“If you want to say happy-go-lucky, that’s OK with me,” Allen said. “But it’s just a positive outlook on life. It’s a positive outlook on our season. I’m really looking forward to what we can do this year.” Justin Verlander’s worst start with the Houston Astros might have been OK if not for Wilson Ramos.
Ramos drove in four runs in the first two innings against Verlander and the Tampa Bay Rays went on to a 5-2 win over the Astros on Saturday.
”I wasn’t sharp, but also I didn’t have luck on my side,” Verlander said. ”I made an adjustment during the third inning that I thought was good, but it was too little too late.”
Verlander (9-4) gave up the most runs (5) and hits (9) of any of his 23 starts since his trade to Houston late last summer. He struck out eight in a season-low five innings after coming in with a major league-leading 1.82 ERA – though it was 4.34 in six June starts. The Astros have lost his last three starts.
Matt Duffy finished with three hits, including two in the first two innings, to help the Rays win for the seventh time in eight tames to move to .500 (41-41) for the first time since June 1.
”I gave up three hard-hit balls, all to the same guy. The rest of `em, nobody hit the ball hard,” Verlander said.
Ramos got the Rays on the scoreboard with a two-run double in the first, and made it 5-0 with a two-run single in the second. Those two at bats summarized Verlander’s day.
”The first at bat http://www.bearsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-riley-ridley-jersey , I put him in a 3-1 situation where, bases loaded, he knows a heater’s coming, and he hit it off the wall. So that’s my fault,” Verlander said. ”His next bat I got a ground ball up the middle on a slider, which is kind of what you’re looking for. But it found a hole.”
Tampa Bay has held opponents to two runs or fewer in five straight games for only the second time in franchise history.
”The way these guys are throwing right now, we’re tough to beat,” said Kevin Kiermaier, who scored in each of the first two innings.
Alex Bregman got the Astros on the board with a two-run homer in the sixth off Vidal Nuno. It was Bregman’s 16th home run and his fifth in six games.
”They’ve been throwing the ball well over there, and we haven’t really been able to put anything together,” Bregman said. ”Verlander was a little unfortunate today with some of the weak contact that went for hits, but we’ve got to do a better job of putting up runs for him.
Nuno (2-0) got the win after pitching 4 2/3 innings of relief, giving up two runs and four hits while striking out four. Sergio Romo pitched ninth for his seventh save in 11 opportunities.
Ryne Stanek pitched the first inning for Tampa Bay, giving up a single to Jose Altuve, Houston’s only hit in the first four innings.
RARE ERROR
Adeiny Hechavarria made a fielding error on George Springer’s grounder in the top of the sixth just before Bregman’s homer. It ended a streak of 94 games and 319 chances in which the Rays’ shortstop had not committed a miscue. It was the longest errorless streak in franchise history for a shortstop. Hechavarria’s last error had come on July 30, 2017 at Yankee Stadium.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Astros: RHP Joe Smith (sore right elbow) will make what the Astros expect to be a final rehab appearance at Double-A Corpus Christi before being activated. … 1B Yuli Gurriel (paternity leave) is expected to be back in the lineup Sunday.
Rays: RHP Wilmer Font was placed on the 10-day disabled and RHP Hunter Wood was recalled from Triple-A Durham. Manager Kevin Cash said an optimistic timeframe has Font missing eight weeks. … Cash didn’t completely rule out RHP Chris Archer (left abdominal strain) from returning after his first rehab start Tuesday night锟?for Class A Charlotte.
UP NEXT
The series finale will be a matchup of two of baseball’s hottest pitchers. Houston RHP Charlie Morton (10-1, 2.54) has won three straight starts and has not given up an earned run in his last two. LHP Blake Snell (10-4, 2.31) did not give up a hit until the seventh inning of the Rays’ 11-0 win against Washington on Monday night.
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