New York Giants head coach Pat Shurmur thought he was praising Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen earlier this week when he said that while scouting Allen as a draft prospect last year, he thought he had a strong arm and had the potential to be a starter in the NFL.
But apparently, the Bills took it as an insult:
The Bills have this tweet displayed on TVs around the building. Sean McDermott seems pissed off that we saw those TVs. Said, “I’m not going to get into that,” when asked if it was bulletin board material. Said what goes on those TVs is “internal messaging.” https://t.co/wmthZNUj1Q
— Matthew Fairburn (@MatthewFairburn) September 12, 2019
“We thought he was a big, strong thrower,” Shurmur originally said, per Dan Benton of Giants Wire. “A guy that had a chance to be a starter in the NFL, and he has been for them. I think he’s made steady improvements. He’s a very strong-armed guy. He’s helped them win some big games already. Just like any young player, you see where he’ll make mistakes and then correct them.”
As you might imagine, Shurmur was confused that Buffalo took offense to his assessment.
“I said he is a big, strong-armed guy who we felt had a chance to be a starter, one of 32 in the world, which I consider high praise,” said Shurmur, according to Michael Eisen of the Giants' official team website. “I also mentioned that he has already helped his team win some big games, so he’s a winner. He is an outstanding young player with a bright future.”
While Allen wasn't bothered by Shurmur's evaluation, it seems like the Bills are using Shurmur's largely innocuous comments as bulletin board material for their matchup against the Giants this weekend, so we'll see how everything plays out on Sunday.
New York is looking for its first win while Buffalo is aiming to get off to a 2-0 start.
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