DREW ALLAR - SOMEBODY BUY THE KID AN ICE PACK
Allar's second NFL preseason appearance wasn't quarterback development so much as occupational hazard.
He finished 11 of 22 for 110 yards. He was sacked three times. The Steelers' protection routinely collapsed around him, and there were snaps when evaluating the quarterback required first determining whether he had been given enough time to actually play quarterback.
Yet something interesting happened inside the mess.
Allar kept looking downfield.
That matters.
Young quarterbacks under pressure often develop an understandable survival mechanism: eyes drop, feet accelerate, play over.
Allar repeatedly resisted it.
He moved within and outside the pocket while continuing to survey the field, looking for somewhere to put the football rather than simply somewhere to hide himself.
Then he gave Pittsburgh the throw of the night.
Allar stood in, waited and delivered a 38-yard strike to Lake McRee.
Not a frantic heave. Not backyard football.
A quarterback throw.
Ryan McCollum and Jack Driscoll greeted him afterward with high-fives, and it was easy to understand why. For one snap, amid a second half spent dodging bodies, Pittsburgh got a clean glimpse of why McCarthy invested a third-round pick in him.
Allar wasn't particularly interested in accepting the protection as an excuse afterward.
“Obviously not good enough,” he said. “For me, I think it kind of started early. I just need to do a better job, especially early in drives, taking what’s given.”
That's quarterback-school language.
Allar talked about passing up underneath opportunities that could have prevented Pittsburgh from getting behind the sticks.
Catch-and-tackle isn't sexy. Second-and-6 beats second-and-13.
That recognition may be more valuable in August than another 38-yard completion.
McCarthy's quarterback education isn't built exclusively around throws, either. He talked afterward about listening to Howard and Allar communicate with quarterbacks coach Tom Arth between possessions.
“We go through every picture,” McCarthy said. “Everything is discussed. I can hear the conversations on the headsets. That’s what I’m listening to while the defense is out there.”
That's the classroom.
Friday night was the lab.
McCarthy also acknowledged that additional work might have benefited Allar, mentioning healthier run-game circumstances and more first and second-down snaps against man coverage. Instead, Allar got a different lesson: compromised pockets, long-yardage situations and a night where very little came easily.
He still flashed.
His five-completion run late in the game showed what happened once he finally found some rhythm. There was velocity. There was confidence. There was also a dangerous throw mixed into the sequence, another reminder that development isn't supposed to arrive polished.
Allar himself found positives.
“I felt really comfortable back there, especially on the move,” he said.
That showed.
Drew Allar Preseason Totals
- Passing Attempts: 20
- Passing Completions: 28
- Passing Yards: 263
- Touchdowns: 2
- Interceptions: 0
- Passer Rating: 108.35
