Bengals QB Joe Burrow is working on exactly what he needs to improve
The evolution of Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow has been fascinating to watch. The glimpses of greatness he provided as a rookie turned into stable success during the team's 2021 revival and 2022 return trip to the AFC Championship game. He's not the same player he was when he left LSU following a historic 2019 […]
The evolution of Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow has been fascinating to watch. The glimpses of greatness he provided as a rookie turned into stable success during the team's 2021 revival and 2022 return trip to the AFC Championship game.
He's not the same player he was when he left LSU following a historic 2019 campaign. Even following a run to the Super Bowl, Burrow has changed his process for the better as teams began keying in on what he does best.
Burrow still has areas to enhance in his game entering his fourth year in the league, including one that's a rare strength at his position.
The Pro Bowl quarterback revealed this week that he's been working more frequently on throwing with different arm angles, citing how it's the time of year to try out different things in his game.
"I think that would be a fair statement," Burrow answered during his minicamp presser. "You always try to find things to work on and things that you can improve on. … You're always tweaking and you're always getting better at different things. I know that I can take a three-step drop and take a hitch and throw it on time where I want to, but I think this is the time of year where you can kind of experiment a little bit and find out what you can get away with and what you can't and what you can do and what you can't. And so that's kind of what I'm doing right now."
Mechanically speaking, Burrow's throwing motion is one of the best around. His release is quick and mostly compact, with his body in-sync from his feet to his hips. It's an area that's improved dramatically since his rookie season.
The addition of sidearm throws and alternative throwing angles in his repertoire would be very useful without sacrificing those mechanics. As to what it could accomplish, Burrow's playing the wait and see game.
"That's tough to say," Burrow said. "I think some more off schedule plays, getting getting the ball and guy's hands maybe a little faster than then, than years past. We'll see."
The usefulness of different throwing angles can be linked to avoiding batted passes, which was a problem for Burrow last year; No one had more than Burrow's 20.
The Bengals' quick-hitting offense is partially to blame for this, but Burrow being able to deliver quick passes around defensive linemen waiting to time the throw would add a needed level of unpredictability.
Burrow incorporating this into his game would help the Bengals' offense tremendously, and showcase how even one of the best quarterbacks in the game can always improve.
Featured image via © Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK
