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The headlines coming out of Cincinnati Bengals training camp focus on the offensive struggles and defensive dominance, as they should.
But all involved, including the players, seem to know it’s just a matter of time before Joe Burrow kicks it into gear and the pendulum swings back in the other direction.
Just ask defensive back Ricardo Allen, a quiet free-agent addition this offseason who is turning some heads of his own in camp thanks to his versatility and play on the ball.
Allen has come away impressed with his first brush-up against Burrow despite the struggles and even noted something he does that compares well to a future Hall of Famer, per Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com:
“When I’m watching his confidence when he has a lot of moving pieces going on. Because they do a lot of motioning and shifting like that and it seems like he’s able to get them in a good play in the best situation. You can tell sometimes he has a big tool box of plays to go where he notices a coverage early, he can check the play and get them into favorable matchups. He does that really well.
“The balls he throws sometimes to the middle of the field, he’s got a good rope on it. There aren’t too many quarterbacks that can lift the ball up and make it drop. Some of them just keep it on the same trajectory. He actually knows how to switch it up. The small things. Put it over the linebacker, make sure you get it down before the safety gets a hit on his players. Matt is really good at it. You’ll see (Tom) Brady do it, too.”
That tracks with what most have said from camp so far — it’s just a matter of time with Burrow and his struggles are nothing to worry about yet.
Burrow’s still doing the little things mentally and physically that a good chunk of the league’s passers can’t do on a regular basis. Keep in mind he’s way ahead of schedule in his rehab and still getting comfortable on his knee and logically it will all click before long.
Teammates of Burrow’s from last year have made it clear they aren’t worried at all about the offensive struggles too. With new arrivals like Allen dropping notes like this, it should give Bengals fans plenty of confidence, too.
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