Former LSU Quarterback Joe Burrow “As Advertised” in Early Months With Cincinnati Bengals
Joe Burrow's ability to win over the LSU locker room early in his tenure with the program was one of the main reasons he was able to win the job in 2018. Coach Ed Orgeron has spoken repeatedly about how when players started coming in for conditioning tests that summer, Burrow won every single sprint.
He stepped up in team meetings, he asked questions and most importantly, he got to know his teammates, on and off the field, in rapid fashion.
Now it looks as though Burrow is continuing that trend as the early signs from the Cincinnati Bengals locker room point to him winning the locker room over quickly. In an interview with Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer, Bengals coach Zac Taylor talked about what the last few months have been like getting Burrow up to speed with the offense.
"He’s been great. As advertised is the best way to put it," Taylor said. "You can tell he spends a lot of time on his own being prepared with questions and he’s doing a great job taking ownership, which is important for a quarterback to do, and he’s doing everything he can to own this offense. Been really impressed with him, but not surprised.”
Burrow, who has spent the last few months learning a complicated NFL offensive system from his parent's basement in Athens, Ohio, has not only impressed the coaching staff but his new teammates as well. Pro bowl wide receiver AJ Green said back in May the two have communicated back and forth and that he already sees Burrow as a leader of the team.
"He’s going to be the leader of our team. I just want to put that in him already to where he feels comfortable leading," Green told Bengals.com. "With his attitude toward the game, the adversity he went through to get to where he is, you’ve got to appreciate that from a guy who’s been an underdog to being a No. 1 draft pick and Heisman Trophy winner. You have to respect his grind and his process the way he goes about his business each day.”
As part of Breer's Monday Morning Quarterback column, Taylor mentioned that Burrow and the offense have been getting on zoom calls to practice the cadence of the offense. Taylor will call out a play and situation and Burrow will call the certain protections that go with the corresponding play.
“For the guys, our center had never heard Joe Burrow call a cadence before. He needed to hear his voice, and I needed to hear it, so you could make the corrections that he can work on all summer," Taylor said. "We were able to get a lot accomplished that way. I feel really good coming out of it that we used every second they allotted us and got a lot of work done.”
As for how Burrow's handling life back in his Athens home, Jimmy Burrow caught up with ESPN college football reporter Laura Rutledge to talk about what life has been like in the Burrow household in recent weeks.
"We’ve just been hanging out in the house the whole time, and we’re gonna continue to do that," Burrow said. "I did get a set of golf clubs from Joe for my Father’s Day present, and I don’t think that’s gonna help my game a whole lot, but it certainly beats the clubs that I’ve used for the last 20 years or so. So excited about that, and just having Joe home with us is pretty special.”
