Thoughts on Joe Burrow

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Great PFF Article on Joe Burrow, Joe Brady, and the LSU offense.

https://www.pff.com/news/college-football-how-joe-burrow-and-the-lsu-offense-went-from-unknown-to-unstoppable

Here is an excerpt about Burrow.

Quote:Burrow is PFF’s highest-graded quarterback this season, with a 94.3 overall grade. He's produced the most big-time throws (32) while limiting mistakes with just nine turnover-worthy plays. So, what changed for Burrow besides the scheme he’s playing in?

The most significant improvement of Burrow’s lies within his decision-making and patience in the pocket. Last year, Burrow performed below expectations when throwing to his first read. On those passes, he ranked 42nd among qualifying FBS quarterbacks in PFF passing grade, and he had the sixth-most turnover-worthy plays, with 19. There were several instances of him staring down his receiver right after the snap and trying to force a throw that wasn’t there.

But in 2019, it took a turn for the better. So far, he's earned a 93.2 passing grade throwing to his first read— he ranks second in the nation behind Fields at 93.3—and he has limited the mistakes to just six turnover-worthy plays.

Burrow has been patient with the play in 2019 — he knows when to abandon his first read when it’s not there. When throwing to his next read, Burrow is PFF’s highest-graded quarterback; he owns the highest passer rating (142.5), averages the most yards per attempt (11.0) and has an accurate-pass rate that’s 14% higher than the next closest quarterback.

Along with that, you can see Burrow’s poise on long-developing plays in his time-to-throw splits. When his average time to throw eclipses 3.1 seconds, Burrow is far and away the highest-graded quarterback (93.8), and that’d be the second-highest in the PFF College era behind only Baker Mayfield in 2016. Along with his near-record-breaking grade, his 14.2 yards per attempt on those plays is a yard more than any other quarterback in 2019.

Right now, one of the more sought-after traits for a quarterback is the ability to create outside of the structure. Burrow is one of few collegiate quarterbacks to pass that with flying colors. When Burrow has been forced outside of the pocket (non-designed rollouts and scrambles), he is, once again, the nation's highest-graded quarterback and has an accurate-pass rate 13% higher than second place.

If all that advanced data (that is found nowhere else in the world) didn’t convince you that Burrow is the best college quarterback in 2019 then maybe this will put it into perspective: Not only is he the highest-graded quarterback under pressure, but his grade under pressure is better than the clean-pocket grade of 84 FBS quarterbacks. Calling it insane is an understatement. He has thrown just one interception under pressure while throwing 15 touchdowns. Whether he is in a clean pocket or under duress, Burrow can quite literally do it all.

And to say he is getting bailed out by open receivers is just flat out incorrect, as well. His supporting cast and system have been great—there’s no argument there—but his numbers when throwing to a tight window only validates his stunning play this season, as Burrow is PFF’s highest-graded quarterback on those throws. He has 20 touchdowns (seven more than anyone else) and a passer rating of 116.1 (second is at 95.9). His adjusted completion percentage leads the country and his accurate-pass rate is 8% higher than second place.