Gary Sheffield, Jr
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The Cincinnati Bengals were demolished by Lamar Jackson and the Ravens 27-3, but what’s more important now is how they lost. Joe Burrow is spending far too much time on the ground. He is currently on pace to be sacked 70.4 times. If the Bengals want Burrow to have any chance, they’ll need to figure out how to keep him upright.
At least Burrow is saying all the right things:
After taking seven sacks, Joe Burrow vows to get the ball out faster https://t.co/Zv3aiK9Rbo
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) October 12, 2020
He’s not the reason for the sack total, but taking some responsibility is a good look. A young quarterback should never make his teammates feel like they aren’t doing enough to help. Andrew Luck was in a similar situation before the Colts drafted Quenton Nelson in 2018. Cincinnati has no choice but to provide reinforcements next year, or they risk ruining Joe Burrow’s development.
Lack of trust in an offensive line is how a first-round talent like Sam Darnold or Joe Burrow becomes a Jay Cutler. No set of intangibles can fix a sped up clock in a young QB’s head, so the Bengals need to act fast.
It’s unreasonable to expect any team with the number 1 overall pick to have its offensive line in order, but the 2021 Draft will have massive implications on the Bengals’ future. The Colts stayed disciplined, giving Andrew Luck what he needed. The Bengals should be able to do the same.
The @Ravens are the first team to ever have FIVE defensive backs register a sack, according to @pfref’s database.
— Sarah Ellison (@sgellison) October 12, 2020
All 5 starting DBs got to Joe Burrow Sunday …
• Jimmy Smith
• DeShon Elliott
• Marcus Peters
• Chuck Clark
• Marlon Humphrey pic.twitter.com/n0JcpXHrjL
Momentum
Rookie quarterbacks usually start using the phrase “We need to be better” a lot when they want to shift blame. Burrow, instead, spends his time harping on what he needs to do better. Still, his linemen ought to interpret “I need to get the ball out faster” as a sophisticated way of calling them out for poor blocking.
He’s smart for making these factual and introspective statements. It’s true that everyone can improve, including Burrow. It also lights a fire under the butt of Cincinnati’s front office.
General management will dictate the future success and health of Joe Burrow. Time will tell if they listen to their young star.
I’m a Bengals fan, which is not an easy proposition, as you can probably imagine. The fact is, the Bengals could have used the first pick of the second round to snag an offensive lineman, but they chose to pad the deepest position on the team by adding a wide receiver. Granted, they got a great player in Tee Higgins, but they had the worst offensive line in the league last year, so it seemed pretty obvious where they needed to go with that selection. However, the Bengals are Bengal, so they gave their franchise QB a handy wide receiver, but left him wide-open to all manner of violence and mayhem.
At this point, the Bengal’s best option is probably to trade an unhappy AJ Green for a solid right tackle or guard. If they don’t get Burrow help soon, he’ll be leaving the field in a meat wagon.