12-09-2020, 12:03 PM
(12-09-2020, 11:22 AM)THE PISTONS Wrote: So I see debates on if he'll be back to start the year or not. To me that is irrelevant. I mean, I'd love for him to start the year, but there is a bigger consideration. Generally injuries like he has either heal at a normal pace or slower. (Sorry there are no superhuman healers to knee surgery.) With the rehab experts he is surrounded by, I'd guess he'll heal at the normal pace which would be the lower end of the 9-12 month mark.
So Burrow was great on intermediate throws and shorter. But, he was pretty bad on deep throws. Now we can blame receivers, etc. but some of it is on him. Maybe timing was off because of covid offseason.
I have no doubt that he would have worked on arm strength and mechanics over the offseason and came back much better. (A lot of QB's have a jump in performance between years 1 and 2.) But, due to this injury, he won't have that chance to work with throwing specialists and work with his receivers to develop timing as much as he would if he were healthy.
Because of this injury, Burrow will likely come back hopefully at the same level he ended this year on and not get that jump.
IF this is the only injury like this of his career, maybe not a big deal. But, look at guys injured a lot like Wentz who regress.
I'm not extremely concerned about 1 injury, but this is the 1st step to ruining a QB. It will take A LOT more to ruin him though. Burrow just has a ton of talent and with the right coaching staff, he could be really special.
It's not like he won't be able to walk or move until September. He'll be up and able to throw right around the time guys typically are doing so.
Injuries can take their toll on guys over the span of a career. Some guys have many. Some guys have only one. We can point to Carson Wentz, or we can point to Carson Palmer who, the season directly following his January knee reconstruction, threw for over 4,000 yards (a big deal in the NFL 15 years ago) and was named the MVP of the Pro Bowl.
It really just depends on the individual AND the team that gets put around him. The Bengals have tried rebuilding the O line. They have TRIED. They just failed miserably at it. The Bengals have had excellent O lines before. They need to get back to that place with immediacy for Joe Burrow to come back without missing a beat.
Lastly, Joe Burrow was already looking like a bad ass WITH this horrific line in front of him. A strong O line and a better HC/OC and we can make an excellent case for the Bengals being 6-2 before he was injured. That's the reality of it.
Joe Burrow will be a breakout WINNER over the next 2 seasons if... IF the Bengals get that line fixed. I think Jonah Williams is better suited to move to RG or RT (with some added weight). he was doing outstanding against tough teams and getting better and better each week. All behind the worst offensive line the Bengals have ever fielded.
My 2020 (realistic) dream line looks like this: Sewell Thuney Hopkins Su'afilo/Adeniji Williams
