The meteoric rise of young quarterback Joe Burrow

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From our correspondent in Los Angeles,

Two years ago, the Bengals were the worst team in the NFL, with a sad record: two wins for 14 losses. Sunday, however, Cincinnati will challenge the LA Rams, and try to win the first Super Bowl in its history. An improbable turnaround that owes a lot to his young quarterback Joe Burrow. Unlike many college stars, “Joey Franchise,” who just turned 25, adapted to the NFL at lightning speed. And after the retirement of Tom Brady, he could well take up the torch.

Joe Burrow – 1.93 m for 100 kg – has the typical profile of the modern quarterback. Son of a coach, he comes from a dynasty that produces athletes in series, but never at his level. A dominator in high school, he joined Ohio State’s prestigious college program. As is often the case, he waxed the bench his entire first season.

“You throw like a girl”

According to legend told by The Athletic, his coach Urban Meyer, not really renowned for his finesse, does not spare him. The criticisms are recurrent: “Your arm is weak. You throw the ball like a girl. You’re a Division 3 quarterback.” Burrow then traveled to California to guru Tom House, a former pitch baseball converted into a biomechanical expert, with whom Tom Brady and Drew Brees went. He starts from scratch, with a lot of work on the speed of sound footwork (footwork) to better transfer energy to his arm.

Blocked in Ohio, where he played only ten games in three years, Burrow then made the decision that would change everything: he left for the dampness of Louisiana, at LSU University. His first season is solid (ten wins, three losses, sixteen touchdowns and five interceptions). But it was during his last year, as a senior, that the metamorphosis occurred. LSU had the perfect season and finished undefeated. Burrow sickens Georgia (37-10) and Oklahoma (63-28). In the final, Clemson and his Golgoth Trevor Laurence are powerless (42-25). Joe Burrow broke the (at the time) college record with 60 touchdowns in a season for just six interceptions. A perfect year which owes a lot to the explosion of wide-receiver Ja’marr Chase, who alone receives a third of the TDs thrown by Burrow (20).

Logical winner of the Heisman Trophy (player of the year), Burrow thanks each member of his offensive line. “I come from South East Ohio, where the poverty rate is almost double the national average. I’m here for all the kids in Athens who are hungry after training,” he said. A good guy, therefore, who cries hot tears when he dedicates his victory to his coach, Ed Orgeron, for whom he has always been ready “to run into a wall”.

Surgical precision

For a quarterback, the transition to the pros remains a lottery. Johnny Manziel and Tim Tebow can attest to that. The NFL’s synthetic turfs are littered with talent ground down by defensive tackles of 130 kg who run the 40 yards dash (36.5 m) in 4.5 seconds. But if Burrow is nicknamed “Joe Cool” by some, it’s not for his ’90s high school haircut. He never seems to lose his temper, even under pressure.

Former quarterback Kurt Warner recently felt that “Burrow’s greatest strength is his ability to analyze the situation and make split-second decisions.” One soccer iq which he compares to that of a Tom Brady, combined with a surgical precision of pass. After Burrow’s promising first season was cut short after ten games by a ruptured cruciate ligament, Cincinnati scored a big blow by drafting Ja’marr Chase to recreate LSU’s ruthless duo. Conclusion: this year, Joe Burrow has the highest conversion percentage in the regular season (70%) and yards per attempt (average distance per pass attempt). And even if his stats fell slightly during the playoffs, he was able to show himself “clutch” to sound the charge and go up an 11-point deficit on the lawn of Kansas City in the AFC final.

Despite his talent, the Bengals arrive at the Super Bowl as outsiders, facing the Rams who will play at home in Los Angeles. On paper, Joe Burrow and Ja’marr Chase come close to rivaling LA’s magical Matthew Stafford-Cooper Kupp connection. But Cincinnati has a big weak point: a cardboard offensive line, which leaves its quarterback to be shaken like a pinatawith 51 bags incurred during the regular season. Sunday, he will have on his way Aaron “Terminator” Donald, three-time Defensive Player of the Year. If he takes the 130 kg of defensive tackle launched at full speed, Joe will face his greatest challenge: getting up.

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