Ohio’s Cincinnati Bengalsand Joe Burrow has made it clear that the preseason this year is more important to them than it has been in the past. Burrow has gotten a lot more reps this preseason than any other in his career because of how slowly they started under Zac Taylor.
He played three drives and 24 total reps in Monday’s Bengals’ 31–17 victory over Washington.
But we witnessed the dangers of such preseason workouts.
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Dorance Armstrong and Jacob Martin gave Burrow several hard hits, including a sack for a 17-yard loss. Burrow turned his back to the line of scrimmage and attempted to scuttle away before being sacked. Later in the game, Deatrick Wise Jr. gave him a horsecollar tackle that resulted in a penalty.
Bengals supporters were understandably concerned about whether Burrow should have been substituted out of the game to protect himself after those strikes.
Jason Kelce of ESPN was adamant that Taylor ought to have released Burrow sooner.
In the regular season, he shouldn’t even be acting in that manner. What are you doing running around in circles like this, for example? During the ESPN halftime show, Kelce stated. He is pressing because he is aware of the urgency of the situation.
After the first one, I would have dragged him along. You have to save someone from themselves sometimes.
Marcus Spears, Kelce’s coworker on set, concurred with his opinion that the Bengals ought not to have retained Burrow for such a long time.
I understand. the season’s beginning. With all that stupidity, miss me. Regarding the first sack, Spears stated, “Joe has to be smarter than this.” That is the top priority. At that point, Zac Taylor was able to defend him.
However, he enters and is struck once more. This is your pseudo’s worst-case scenario. I’m making an effort not to start slowly this season. What no one says doesn’t matter to me. Given his current situation, Joe Burrow might throw for 500 yards in the opening game. But I’ve never felt that this scenario was right. It has never been appropriate. And it was really insulting of him to me to do it out there.
Burrow continued to play after those hits, capping the third drive with a touchdown pass to Charlie Jones to cap off the evening. And for Cincinnati, that could have been the right decision.
The statement “not living in our fears” has been a common one used by Steelers coach Mike Tomlin.
They would have likely been caving in to those concerns if they had pulled Burrow too soon considering the reasons he was playing more preseason repetitions.
The Bengals are 1-11 in Weeks 1 and 2 under Taylor, and they start the season in Cleveland. That’s the truth for Cincinnati. It’s still a division game, and Burrow has only won once in Cleveland in his four attempts, even though the Browns are going through a QB transition season.
Last season, the Bengals started 0-3, including a shocking Week 1 home loss to the Patriots, and missed the playoffs by one game.
Thus, as Kelce stated, Cincinnati’s actions are obviously urgent. Indeed, as we seen on Monday night, there are dangers associated with exposing Burrow to heavy impacts.
However, Taylor shown on Monday that he is prepared to take those chances in order to keep Burrow in after the two heavy knocks.
Despite teams’ best efforts to shield them, quarterbacks will be hit innumerable times during the regular season. Teams are limited in what they can accomplish.
Quarterbacks must, in a sense, adjust to taking such hits.
If I didn’t understand the apprehension, though, I would be lying.
Burrow, who meant as much to the Bengals as any quarterback in the NFL, sustained a season-ending ruptured ACL and MCL against Washington in November 2020. Additionally, he is the only quarterback still playing who has kept the Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes from winning a Super Bowl.
Monday demonstrated how difficult it is to walk a tightrope.
But after those hits, the Bengals were right to keep Burrow in the game. Ryan Clark, who was with Kelce and Spears on the ESPN set, recognized the reasons behind the Bengals’ preseason gamble.
I completely understand what they’re attempting to do. They’re attempting to convey that we’re going to take a new approach, and I believe that Joe Burrow, as the team’s leader, is expressing this, Clark stated on ESPN. He missed some camps because of his injuries. People were waiting on contracts to be completed, so there have been slow starts.
According to Joe Burrow, as the team’s leader, I’m going to take the initiative and be the one to demonstrate that practice and the preseason are important. However, notwithstanding what Marcus says, he must be astute in his approach.
