Joe Burrow has been through tough times in his four seasons in the NFL. The Cincinnati Bengals franchise quarterback has already suffered devasting injuries twice in his young career. In 2020, there was a multi-ligament tear in his left knee and last year he tore a ligament in his throwing wrist. Burrow returned from the knee injury even stronger and led the Bengals to Super Bowl LVI the next year. Cincinnati’s front office and coaching staff hopes lighting strikes twice when he’s fully cleared from his wrist injury with the road ending in familiar territory in New Orleans for Super Bowl LIX. Let’s look at how Burrow’s addiction to perfecting and getting better every day resembles one of the best quarterbacks of all time.
Joe Burrow’s Addiction Mirrors This Hall of Fame QB
Peyton Manning Mode
Peyton Manning was a known perfectionist and loved the process that playing the quarterback position provided. He was meticulous in his preparation and often had the opposing defense figured out before the game started. Manning also had an unrelenting work ethic and these traits mirror what we’ve seen and heard about Burrow. They both are good athletes who don’t possess the biggest arms. Rather, they often win with their minds and exceptional ball placement. Their most important quality though is excelling at being leaders of men.
Burrow seems to have taken being locked in, to new levels since his first appearance of the Phase Two offseason program in Cincinnati.
Joe Burrow taking charge Tuesday, here instructing new TE Mike Gesicki pic.twitter.com/IHiXlJWc0Y
— Mike Petraglia (@Trags) May 7, 2024
Upping the ante of accountability more vocally is the next evolution of Burrow and it’s a welcome sight to already see in May.
Lesson Learned
The best ability is availability and even though Burrow’s injuries haven’t been his fault, it doesn’t mean he shouldn’t reconsider being more open and transparent with the coaching and training staff on how he’s feeling when the season starts. He recently stated “I’m growing and learning how to handle my body. I think that’s a continued process of learning. When to push through something that you think maybe might be there and another day, you might not be feeling great and this muscle’s a little tight and like, ‘Hey, we’ve got to take it easy today.’ So that’s something that I’m continuing to learn. I think that’s part of growing as a player and as a pro and it’s a continued process day-in and day-out.”
Building Blocks
Whatever training regimen Burrow is on seemed to work in early reports this week. The velocity and zip seem to be there and he was also noted to have taken some deep shots of 50 air yards or more. Multiple wide receivers have alluded to the fact that it seems like the same old Joe upon catching passes.
As the Bengals are rebuilding their roster again with a whopping 10 draft picks, all eyes will be on Burrow and his wrist this summer and early in the season. If he can weather the initial storm unscathed, Cincinnati might be looking at shades of 2021 again, much to the delight of all of Bengaldom.
Main Photo: Cara Owsley-USA TODAY NETWORK
