Joe Burrow is ahead of schedule conquering a recurring problem thanks to Dexter Lawrence
Dexter Lawrence was brought to Cincinnati for making things easier for Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals’ offense to win games. He’s also making Burrow better in a timely manner.
You don’t have to be the quarterback of the Cincinnati Bengals to know Dexter Lawrence stands out. Joe Burrow‘s initial description of his new practice adversary matches what anyone would say when looking upon the 6-5, 350-pound defensive tackle.
“He’s built differently than a lot of humans, obviously,” Burrow told Kay Adams Tuesday after Cincinnati’s final practice leading up to the preseason.
Lawrence has more than lived up to the Bengals’ expectations after two weeks of training camp. He’s been the best player on a field that has Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, and Tee Higgins. He’ll lead Cincinnati’s revamped defensive line and make life challenging for any opposing offense on the schedule.
His first impact, however, was making life harder for Burrow so it won’t be so difficult when the games begin.
Joe Burrow credits Dexter Lawrence for creating realistic pockets
There is no safe way for QBs to get exposed to real pressure from defensive lines without the risk of injury. Everyone is going to get sacked when the games happen for real. Contact is inevitable. The way Burrow plays makes him especially vulnerable.
As dominant as Lawrence has been in camp, even he’s not going 100% after he breaks through the interior offensive line. His ability to win quickly and get in Burrow’s face is still a fresh sighting the Bengals’ signal-caller isn’t used to in August.
He’s grateful for what it means in the long run.
“During training camp, it’s typically hard to to get the feel of a game-like pocket,” Burrow explained. “Just because, you know, guys are rushing, but then they’re pulling up, and usually not they’re not going full speed, so there [are] not lanes to escape.
“But when Dex is in there, he’s pushing that pocket, so it’s giving me really a game feel.”
Why Burrow getting pressured now bodes well for the Bengals
Cincinnati is not always accustomed to getting the best version of Burrow right out the gate. His adjusted EPA per play from Week 1-6 over the last four seasons is 0.105, and his success rate is 48.1%. Those are middling marks. From Week 7-18 over the last four years, his adjusted EPA per play is 0.225, and his success rate is 53%. He ranks in the top three for both categories among 40 qualifying QBs.
Burrow transforms into the elite version of himself after he gets accustomed to the pressure, and he starts figuring out how to maneuver around it. There is more that goes into that than simply facing ferocious defensive lines, but we really don’t see the version of Burrow who manages pressure and escapes the pocket to create place down the field, until after the first part of the season.
That Burrow is experiencing “game-like” pockets in training camp indicates he’s already going through the usual motions of his early season process of feeling out how to speed up his clock, and mitigate the chaos around him.
The result could be a better version of Burrow in September than Bengals fans are used to.
Lawrence was brought to Cincinnati for making things easier for Burrow in the offense to win games. If he succeeds in getting Burrow ahead of schedule to play at an elite level right out the gate, then the Bengal will recognize even more more value out of their trade for the three-time Pro Bowler.
