Forecasting 2020

[*SHRacerX*]

(05-05-2020, 09:27 PM)Bengalitis Wrote: I read somewhere that Burrow had one of the longest time to throw with LSU in his last season. I hope they prepare him to get rid of the ball twice as fast as he did in college. The NFL's pace is way faster than college. Hope he and the coaches are prepared and he can deliver quicker should our O-line turn out to be inferior again.

Burrow if you're reading this, please demand the coaches to give you plays to get rid of the ball quickly.

There is more to it than that:  Last year, Burrow would usually operate out of an empty backfield.  When the opponent didn't blitz, he could see the four rushers and any that might be a threat and he would use his pocket awareness to navigate the traffic while keeping his eyes downfield.  That amounted to a longer time to throw.  

When the opponent WOULD blitz, he was even more deadly.  He could find the open man quicker, and hold on to the ball just long enough for him to make his last break and deliver a strike down the field.

The Bengals don't need to speed up Burrow's clock, they need to adapt to the scheme that best fits his skill set and I have every confidence they will.  

As excited as I am to see Burrow air it out to Green, Ross, or Higgins deep...the thing I am actually most excited to see is the simple pass to the RB out of the backfield.  When there are three WRs stretching the field, a simple checkdown to one of the RBs (not being wasted in blitz pickup) can yield a low-risk, high return completion.  I hope our RBs get a lot of passes out of the backfield and force LBs and Safeties to try and tackle them in space.