Locked On Bengals - Daily Podcast On The Cincinnati Bengals - Bengals MYTHBUSTING: Joe Burrow's Protection Ain't the PROBLEM It Used To Be

Starting point is 00:00:00 Joe Burrow asked for attention on the Cincinnati Bengals, and they're getting it, but some of the narratives are frankly things that we need to myth bust. And we're going to start with the idea that the Bengals pass protection is going to be an issue in 2026. You are Locked on Bengals, your daily Cincinnati Bengals podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. What up Bengals fans and welcome to another episode of the Locked On Bengals podcast. He's Joe Goodberry. I'm Jake.

Starting point is 00:00:34 let's go. We've been covering the Cincinnati Bengals between the two of us for decades now. We've been doing locked on Bengals together again for almost a month. And well, we've been running this podcast between the two of us for a long time too. So we're a great one-stop shop for all things Bengals. And today we're going to dive into the idea that the Bengals need to protect Joe Burrow. They haven't done enough to invest in the offensive line. They had to draft an offensive lineman early. they made a mistake by not doing it.

Starting point is 00:01:05 These are all things that I've heard from various levels of informed media sources over the last few months mock drafts going into this year's draft. Joe, people were talking about the Bengals had to take an offensive lineman. So we're going to spend an episode in a week talking about Bengals' myths here as we're getting into the off season. The Bengals are off and there are still people talking about them because Joe Burroughs said, hey, talk about us. That doesn't always bring good attention.

Starting point is 00:01:31 Today's episode brought to you by Fandall, the biggest stage in world soccer is here, and let there be goals, is here on Fandall. Visit fandle.com to get started now. And Joe, let's dive into the idea that the Bengals haven't done enough to protect Joe Burrow. That offensive line is going to hold them back in 2026 because the people that are saying that really weren't paying attention to this team last year. Yeah, I think that's a big part of it, right? And you're right.

Starting point is 00:01:57 I like the way you opened this because I wasn't sure where you were going to go, Jake, with your opening statement. I sometimes just watch you work and amazement. But Burrow did ask for this attention. And it's funny because as we're going to get the prep for the 2026 season, if you're a fan like me, you're going to watch this. You're going to watch what people say about your team. You know, I feel good about it.

Starting point is 00:02:16 But does everybody else on a national level, am I going crazy? Am I hyping them up too much in my mind and in my heart? And then you see what they say. And if they say the O line is not good enough, I take that as, number one, well, maybe they don't know what they're talking about. They didn't, haven't watched them. Did you watch the O'Line last year? Did you see what, you know, it's looked like when Burrow was healthy last year?

Starting point is 00:02:36 Did you see what Joe Flacco looked like? We're going to bring up some numbers on both those guys. But the other part is if that's the worst, biggest worry on the offense and because we think the old line is decent and the protection isn't as big of an issue as it was, well, that's a good thing. And they're in a really good position heading into 2026. So you can look at it two ways when you see these and let it fire you up. Or you can just take it as, yeah, this.

Starting point is 00:03:00 This offense is pretty well loaded. I think the big thing is the improvement that we saw over the course of the season. And it wasn't just in the passing game either. That's part of what makes it more encouraging. We're going to spend a lot of time today focused on the past protection aspect of offensive line play. We're going to talk about Joe Burroughs sack avoidance as well. But it wasn't just the past protection that improved as the season went along. And we're still hearing like, yeah, man, the Bengals need to go draft an offensive lineman.

Starting point is 00:03:27 and they traded away their first round pick for Dexter Lawrence. They could have drafted an offensive line with that pick. Not very many people said that, but some people said that. You turn on draft shows and you'd hear people talking about, yeah, the Bengals got to do a little bit more to protect Joe Burrow. And those ideas, I think, really ignore the development that we saw under Scott Peters. And it wasn't just, you know, a PFF number. It was visible to the eye test.

Starting point is 00:03:52 You could see the way they were changing schematically. You could see the way that they were playing more cohesively. we saw the effect that the consistent play of Dalton Reisner, aside on Marius Mims, had on Amarius Mims, and those guys' ability to communicate and play consistently next to each other in the chemistry that they developed over time. And you could say that to some degree on the other side, but Dylan Fairchild, who really emerged in the second half of the season as he got his NFL feet under him, it was at the point where in the last half of the season, Orlando Brown, probably their worst pass protector

Starting point is 00:04:22 on the offensive line, statistically, still average. still okay out there. Like he got got a couple of games, but for the most part, you can live with Orlando Brown gives you a left tackle. And I think that's a big part of this conversation that after he got the extension, especially, that's a big part of the past protection picture for the Bengals in 2026. Another big part of it is how healthy can they be? Because they were remarkably healthy in 2025.

Starting point is 00:04:48 And that will be crucial, especially at tackle, for their past protection prospects this year. Yeah. And I think if you just wanted a blanket number to look at how often Joe Burrow was pressured last year, PFF has them as the third least pressured quarterback in the league on a rate basis. So if you may say only played nine games or whatever it was, yeah, we're not doing that. We're doing rate, you know, for sacks and for pressures. Next-Gen stats has its 14th lowest pressured quarterback last year on a rate.

Starting point is 00:05:19 And there's a little bit of a gap between those two. But at the same time, we said for years, give me just a decent O line. And both of those numbers would suggest, at least in pass protection, they're on the upper half. And when I look at it and look at the, from an evaluation perspective, there was a point, I think it was Game the Three Vikings game last year, where I was like this line, I don't know if Scott Peters is the right guy. Everybody looks discombobulated and a little out of sorts.

Starting point is 00:05:48 Burrow was down. So maybe I was just in the dark cloud anyway, because this is right after, you know, it's the first old Jake Browning game, I believe it was. was in Minnesota. And towards the end of the year, right before Burrow came back, I'm like, this line is performing at a, if they have this during the 2021 season, they win the Super Bowl. That's the type of offensive line it looked like, like such a big difference. And I've got numbers on that, you know, to compare what the, what Burrow had throughout his career. So we'll get to that at some point. But when I still hear national analysts or even fans and comments,

Starting point is 00:06:23 I get a lot of comments, especially on Twitter. And you see people like, it's still an issue or they throw it too much or Burroughs fragile. I mean, these are all different conversations. And some of those are true and some of those aren't. But they all stem from the idea that the Bengals can't protect Burrow if they have to. And I don't think that's true anymore based on what we saw on tape and games, the progression they made, the progression of individual players, namely Amarius Mims, Dylan Fairchild. I thought both took leaps last year.

Starting point is 00:06:54 We knew Dylan Fairchild. I'm sorry, we knew Dalton Reisner was always a very good pass protector and should be a good fit. We talked about his success in the run game. It doesn't really apply here. But if the Bengals get a little bit more than what they got last year, this is potentially not just a good enough O line to protect Borough, but a top 10 potential offensive line. And that's including, if you think of the run game and how well they did last year at it.

Starting point is 00:07:21 But just in pass protection. If those guys take steps and there's no reason to believe that MIMS won't take another one and Fairchild won't take one in year two, I think this is a line that you don't want to talk about in a negative way going into 2026. And we'll talk about where there are potentially questions here, but the questions also include how much better do Amarius Mims and Dylan Fairchild get this year? For sure. Right?

Starting point is 00:07:45 It's not just negative questions. Like Orlando Brown is a question mark on the offensive line. He is. And I think that he's still, for the most part, fine, and he sometimes has disaster plays. And that's true for many offensive linemen around the NFL, also true for him. But Amarius Mims, as Nate Tice said recently when he was talking to Meena Kimes, is starting to scratch that all-pro potential in a pretty big way.

Starting point is 00:08:10 And is taking those steps that you would hope to see Amarius Mims take. And for all of the flack we give them about like the Miles Murphy pick, or that Shamar Stewart got in his rookie year, and we'll see what happens with Shamar over the course of his career, where it's like, yeah, you're drafting these toolsy guys, but you're not developing them. Amari Spims is developing. And this is what you want it to look like.

Starting point is 00:08:32 When you draft one of these toolsy players, it has productivity questions in college, and you need them to put it together in the NFL, Amarie Smims seems like there's a significant lightball moment that has occurred for him. And when you take that in conjunction, like you brought up, like I brought up, with the way we saw that running game improved, you can have a lot of confidence in the offensive lines direction in general,

Starting point is 00:08:55 and the pass protection numbers for Burrow bear that out to the point where he is, according to PFF, like you said, a bottom pressured quarterback in the NFL. And then, you know, we have to talk about Burroughs Sack avoidance, because why is Burrow taking so many more sacks than Joe Flacco in the same offense when Flacco is actually being pressured a little bit more? And that's a question that we have to discuss as well. But I want to dig into those questions a little bit more and we have plenty more to talk about

Starting point is 00:09:21 as far as the overall scheme of how that impacts past protection for the Bengals and Burroughs role in this as well. We'll continue that conversation, Joe, coming up next. Today's episode of Lockdown Bengals is sponsored by Fandau. The biggest stage in world soccer is here in every match feels like it has the potential for a memorable moment where one goal can change the energy of a game, shift momentum,

Starting point is 00:09:46 and alter the outcome. an instant. That's what makes tournament soccer so exciting from the opening whistle to the final kick. And Vandals giving you another reason to stay locked into every match with every goal pays. Bet on a match and get bonus bets for every goal scored in the match. More goals mean more bonus bets and all you have to do is turn on your token. The U.S. has had a great start in this World Cup and they will be exciting to watch as they continue their run. Maybe we'll get that Independence Day matchup with England for all. all the history there, that could be a lot of fun too.

Starting point is 00:10:21 And it can be even more fun with Fandall from the opening whistle to the final kick. Let there be goals on Fandul. Visit fandle.com to get started. Jake, we've touched on the reasons why we believe the offensive line itself will be better. But it's not just the offensive line, right? And a lot of it, I think, centers around Joe Burrow. Some of the more keen analysts know that Burrow. I guess it goes two ways. Number one, very good in the pocket. There are people that are evaluators to say, like, Burroughs, one of the best in the pocket. He's a magician in the pocket. And I see that as well. We saw that at LSU. When we were doing lockdown Bengals in 2019, we were talking about Burroughs pocket management, right, and how good it was as a prospect. You don't see it at that level coming out of the college level. But also at the same time, he has a penchant to hold onto the ball a little bit too long. make sacks that maybe are unnecessary or I think it's a risk reward in his mind on a uncertain

Starting point is 00:11:27 plays, like which plays can I take a sack here versus, you know, I can't. If it's third down, I can't get this ball off anyway, I'm going to fight for everything I can to maybe make a play happen. And he's made a ton of plays. I don't want to take that from him. But protecting himself, I think the old idea, though, for the people that are aware of how often he takes a sack that are probably his fault, you look at the first two years of his career and his pressure to sack rate or even his sack rate in general per, you know,

Starting point is 00:11:54 past attempts were much higher than what they've been over the last three years. And I'd like to throw 20, 23 out because he had the calf injury. The offense was really weird. Like a lot of numbers don't align with what we saw in the natural progression of Burroughs career. And if you look at the last two years, and especially last year, a 6.16% sack rate. That's really good. Top half of the league. Like, we will take that every single year. But if you look at the last four, years now, it's been that in the sixes. It's not the seven and the eights that it was the previous two years, first two years in the league. And also we have seen that pressure to sac rate, stabilize, and drop to an acceptable level. But these are things that I think that sometimes

Starting point is 00:12:33 the narrative is taking too long to adjust and correct to what's happening recently. I think you see that pretty consistently with the Bengals, right? Like the narratives around certain financial habits that we keep hammering them on certain financial habits, but in other ways they have caught up and have modernized in some ways. And so we give them credit for those ways and we hammer them for the ways that they haven't. And the idea that you need to protect Joe Burrow better is just another one of these ideas that it's just a little bit behind the times. People aren't keeping up. They're just saying the things that have been said for five to 10 to 20 years,

Starting point is 00:13:08 depending on what the narrative is and they're running with it because that's what people say on national TV and that's what gets the views. And the trends with Burrow in terms of of pressure to sack, for example, which is something that we can dig into a little bit more, has been that he's always trended toward improving that over the course of a season. He's always trended toward,

Starting point is 00:13:29 I now understand better how quickly I need to get rid of the ball. I now understand better where the pressure will come from, what the patterns of pressure will be in terms of the defenders, strengths and weaknesses and where my weak links are on the offensive line. When it's a Cordell-Vulsin versus a Dylan Fairchild, how are those guys going to get beat? versus Michael Jordan in his rookie season, right? And like how are the different offensive lines going to have weaknesses

Starting point is 00:13:56 that present in different ways? When I have Cody Ford at right tackle versus Amarius wins at right tackle, how do I need to adjust the way that I'm playing football and how quickly I get rid of the ball? Jonah Williams versus Orlando Brown Jr., right? Different styles. Or even Jonah into Amarius the next year after Trent Brown was hurt early that year. Burrow has learned over time.

Starting point is 00:14:16 He's a player that has shown us consistently throughout his career, Joe, that he's an experiential learner. And that's both in terms of how he navigates the pocket and how he figures out how defenses are playing him. His efficiency, and this is true of all Zach Taylor teams, improves over the course of the season. And we've seen them finish stronger than they've started. And it's at the point where one of the narratives that we're going to be talking about,

Starting point is 00:14:37 I heard NFL live, I think, talking about this. And Lawrence Guy was on that show, which is funny to me because I think he was on one of the Bengals teams that was having a slow start. They were talking about slow starts this week. and so that's still out there too. But part of that, I think, is to the point that Burrow does learn from on-field experience in terms of how defenses are playing him, how his offensive line is going to protect, where he can go to safely avoid pressure, where he can throw to safely avoid pressure.

Starting point is 00:15:05 But what's interesting to me about it is like teams or not teams. People say, yeah, he holds on to the ball too long. Sometimes, yes. Sometimes you can look at an individual play and see that he's trying to extend it. He's not throwing the ball away. he's looking for a play and he ends up taking a hit. I always think back to, you know, Philly early in his career.

Starting point is 00:15:24 He just gets laid out on the sideline, just trying to extend the play. I think he's back at college, right? And there are a number of instances like that throughout his career. At the same time, you go back to last year, 2024, I guess two years ago now, fourth fastest time to throw in the NFL. And he generally does get rid of the ball quickly.

Starting point is 00:15:42 He's a very fast processor who gets the ball where it's supposed to go in a timely fashion. So this idea that he holds onto the ball even is selective, right? And sometimes he does it, but it's not like he's out there like who are the guys that hold on to the ball forever. Jalen Hertz, Lamar Jackson, these guys with almost a full second longer average time to throw. He's not in that category either. So it is interesting when you bring that up too because for the most part, Burroughs getting the ball out quick. And he's still taking hits, which is more indicative of previous issues with the offensive line.

Starting point is 00:16:17 And last year you saw offensive line comes together. Burrow playing on time comes together. He's comfortable in the pocket. And we saw what that can produce for Joe Burrow, where the turnover worthy play rate is way down, the sack rate, way down when those things come together. And those things should carry over into this year because it's all the same. It's all the same.

Starting point is 00:16:38 Maybe we have two things that allow narratives to last too long, compounding each other here. Number one, early in his career, right? pressure to sack rate, taking sacks. The offensive line was no good at that point. So you have that. Then you have within each individual season, many of that can be the same.

Starting point is 00:16:57 Like last year, the offensive line was good. Was not good the first three games, though. It got good. You could say that about Burrow. And it wasn't good for a lot of the times of Jalen Rivers was out there. And it really was the last 11, from week 11, week 12,

Starting point is 00:17:10 until the end of the seasons, when it really came together. That's right. For what we liked out of Jalen Rivers, you know, depth player last year, he was getting baptized for much of that rookie experience. He was the weak link. But yes, but even if you go say, okay, so the old line, you got something in the beginning

Starting point is 00:17:25 of the season, got something in the beginning of Burrough's career that pretty much make harden that narrative, even though we're trying to dispel it a little bit here. The same thing works for Burrow. Beginning of the year, his pocket presence isn't the best, his timing isn't the best. What he ends up being, and this has been true since LSU, because he ended up, you know, I mean, he was good, but we weren't sure about like number one overall pick. And then you look at November and then December, January, the little bit he did play in December,

Starting point is 00:17:53 Scalach's football goes. But the way he ended that, amazing. He has done that pretty much every year in his career in the NFL as well, where he gets to the point where you get to November, you get to December, get to January, you can look at the records like Zach Taylor's record,

Starting point is 00:18:08 Joe Burroughs record in those games. You can look at the pressure of sack rate in those games. He gets to a level that is, And there's been years where he's only behind Pat Mahomes, who's a magician completely at avoiding, you know, taking a sack and avoiding pressure. He ends up just behind him or a few points below him. And it's like, yeah, we look at this now. The old narrative, whatever you thought in September, throw it out of the window. This team is hot and the quarterback is hot right now.

Starting point is 00:18:34 And the weaknesses you thought you saw in September again every single year are no longer weaknesses of him. And it's now a strength to the point where he's a much different player at that point. This is the team that under Zach Taylor has consistently improved. Joe Burrow definitely a part of that. And we're seeing the continuity at this point that should hopefully lead to a faster start. They haven't had this degree of continuity on offense. And so that is what is exciting about 2026 for this offense. But we have a lot of data that we want to share.

Starting point is 00:19:06 We want to talk about some of the kernels of truth here as well that do inevitably lie in the narratives that we've been hearing. and that we're spending a lot of time here calling a myth and myth busting. So we'll finish the show with some of that data and some of the bits of truth that are in the myth coming up next. This episode of Locktime Bengals is sponsored by Indeed because Indeed knows workplace chaos can show up fast. And that's where Indeed sponsor jobs is ready to help. Indeed, sponsor jobs helps you reach the candidates who actually fit what you're looking for for that open role based on skills, experience and location. They know that finding the right person can make all the difference, whether it's building a business, or building a winning team.

Starting point is 00:19:49 For example, the Cincinnati Bengals go out there and they add Brian Cook, who is poised to be a vocal leader in that locker room. Maybe you need to add some leadership in your workplace as well. They can have a great ripple effect on everyone around them. When you find someone who brings the right skills, attitude, and experience, it makes the entire group better. And that's why finding those qualified candidates matters so much and my tools like Indeed, sponsor jobs can make that process easier.

Starting point is 00:20:14 Listeners of Lockdown Bengals will get a $75 sponsored job credit right now to get your job the premium status it deserves an Indeed.com slash podcast. So less stress, less time, more results. You need the right person, cut through the chaos with Indeedsponsored jobs. Again, that's Indeed.com slash podcast.

Starting point is 00:20:35 Support lockdown Bengals by letting them know you heard about them on this podcast. Indeed.com slash podcast. Terms and conditions apply. If you need to hire, this is a job. job for indeed sponsored jobs. Joe, we've been talking about how the pressure to sack rate has improved over the course of his career, how the Bengals improved in past protection metrics.

Starting point is 00:20:59 And people should believe us because we're not here to lie to you. We're telling you about things that are backed up by not only our own film observation and our own eye tests and our own opinions based on evaluation, but also the statistical work that several other outlets do. And we'll start with the pressure to sacrate because a lot of people point to this and say, why are quarterback sacks, not a quarterback stat for Joe Burrow? You brought this up earlier, Joe. And this is also, I think, a kernel of truth. The pressure to sack rate is still a little bit higher than the elite guys. And Burroughs got elite pocket presence, but not elite. I'd say he

Starting point is 00:21:34 has good sack avoidance and maybe even just above average sack avoidance for his career. But it gets better. And sometimes it is elite sack avoidance. Think of running away from Chris Jones against the Kansas City Chiefs in the playoffs and a massive spot. But for his career, his pressure to sack rate just shy of 22%, a 21.8% according to pro football focus over the last three years. That number is closer to 19%, 19.5, 19.4, and 19.8%. Looking just at the games when we believed in this offensive line last year, when Joe Burrow returned, Joe Burroughs' pressure to sack rate was just 18.2%.

Starting point is 00:22:15 which over the course of an entire season would be by more than a percentage point, a career best for him. But when you compare that with Joe Flacco, who is largely playing behind Jalen Rivers as well, so a different caliber of offensive line, he was pressured a little bit more than Burrow. Flacco's pressure to sack rate was just 11.5%. So there are differences in playing style there that we alluded to earlier,

Starting point is 00:22:39 those plays where Burrow does try to extend and try to be a playmaker, where he is going to take more sacks than a guy. the plays with Joe Flacco's quarterback style. And that part can't be forgotten, right? The playmaking aspect, the positive to outweigh the negative, I think is worthy. You ready for some stats for that real quick? You have that? Yeah.

Starting point is 00:23:00 Just comparing Burrow to Flacco, the big time throw rate under pressure for Burrow and Flacco, 10.2% versus 6.5%. So significantly more big plays. A turnover worthy play rate. One turnover worthy play for Joe Burrow under pressure last year, 1.4%. compared to seven for Flacco, 5.7%. So you're getting significantly better production from Joe Burrow, and that's the upside, four touchdowns to one touchdown,

Starting point is 00:23:26 two picks to five picks, considerable upside that comes with that playmaking mentality. Yeah, Burrow, if you take PFF numbers, Burroughs been one of the best quarterbacks while under pressure in the league. A lot of guys crumble, and Burrow has been above average in terms of compared him to non-pressured stats, right? You want to be okay when you're pressured. You still want your non-pressure to be the bulk of everything you're doing because those numbers are astronomical for every quarterback.

Starting point is 00:23:52 But you separate the good quarterbacks from the bad ones by how they deal with pressure. And Burrough has been great at that. Yeah. That's where he's getting the juice worth the squeeze when under pressure. And there are a number of winning plays like that consistently for Burrow that come to the forefront. The other part of this is that the, the offensive line did improve last year significantly.

Starting point is 00:24:17 And I got some numbers free there. Visible. Yeah, visible when you watched the way they played down the stretch with Burrow and the kind of protection he had and why we're so bullish going into this season. Yeah, so we got pass block efficiency numbers, which basically takes all your chances in pass protection. And PFF uses pressures and sacks and hits to knock it off. Right.

Starting point is 00:24:39 So if you have three pressures on 100, pass block opportunities, you're at 97%, right? That makes sense, just on a basic level of understanding. In 2020, Burroughs rookie year, the Bengals as a team were at 84.3% efficiency. That's about average around the league, if not just a little bit below average. 2021, Super Bowl year, there are 83% efficiency as a pass blocking team. That's pretty bad. You're getting down to the red area at that point, and so amazing they got as far as they did.

Starting point is 00:25:08 In 2022, this is, you know, they go out and they get free agents, to get L. Collins, Alex Kappa, Ted Karras. Collins didn't make it. Kappa didn't make it all the way through. Even Jonah Williams didn't make it through the playoffs. But they were 84.8%. That's an above average. It's a pretty solid clip of efficiency.

Starting point is 00:25:26 And they almost made it back with that. 2023, you know, Burrow gets hurt this year. A lot of things happen. 83.6%. Not great. Again, below average. 2024. This is Burroughs MVP-level season. We're talking about him playing on hard mode.

Starting point is 00:25:39 This is when they get rid of Frank Powell. like 82.7% efficiency. That is bad, bad, bad. The worst in the league last year was 79.8%. So if you're even getting close to 80, you are in the bottom of the league. And then we get to 2025 and why we're so bullish on why this team took a huge step forward under Scott Peters and the additions they've made 85.5% past block efficiency. Like we said, they're in the top half of the league at that point. BFF had them really high.

Starting point is 00:26:06 You go individually like Orlando Brown's at 96%. Dylan Fairchild, 97.2. Ted Carris, 98.6, has been a very good pass protector throughout his career at center. Dalton, rising in her last year was 98%. Marius Mims, 97%. And then if you want to compare some guy because I have him here, Jalen Rivers, when we say he struggled, he was the lowest at 95.3. So we can keep the starters healthy and not get to the backups too often. That's a big chunk of your efficiency.

Starting point is 00:26:33 And that group there, the five starters, is more than good enough now. all those numbers ticked up a little bit in the second half of the season as well yeah just a little bit most of them are pretty in line but it's very visible from from watching them play too so when you hear people say that the bengals need to improve their protection you got a bunch of numbers that you can point to you got a bunch of film you can talk about the other thing that always gets me is when i watch a lot of the sacks that joe burrow takes from a film evaluation perspective like what could he have done here? Where were his reads taking him? What's the play design? Could the ball have been out? Sometimes yes. Inevitably. No one is perfect in the NFL. There are games where Joe Burrow has

Starting point is 00:27:18 perfect plays. I think about that Denver game last year. He took seven sacks in that game. I thought he was incredible in the pocket in that game. The timing, the wherewithal to get rid of the ball right before a number of other could have been sacks. He was pressured 17 times seven sacks. That's a really bad pressure to sacrate. But all pressures aren't created equally is the other thing here. Like, it's not like, there's some plays where you don't have a chance. Yeah. You get a free runner in the A gap. There's no way to get around that sometimes. You get Miles Garrett, uh, Miles, Miles step in your center. Good luck. Or even when he broke the record. Burrough saw it. It's inevitable. He went down. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:28:01 There are times that you can't get rid of the ball. They, they have too many. of those times, bad beats, you know, and historically they've had those, but I think we're seeing that go in the right direction. We'll see if the pressure to sack numbers continue to reflect that. We saw that slight improvement over the course of his return games last year, and that's with him playing with that very stiff-platin issue coming off a turf toe. Part of it is him being healthy, part of it is the offensive line being healthy, the continuity, like I said, the understanding of where the pressure is coming from, how teams are trying to attack them. And if those things do come together, for the entire course of the season,

Starting point is 00:28:40 we could see this go to another level still in 2026. Last data point then, 2021, 2022. I did a comparison of how much Burrow better has got, how much better Burrow has gotten in so many points. And it's really everything, except for being able to throw the ball further downfield because defense has put a lid on that thing after the 2021 year where he led to league and yards per attempt.

Starting point is 00:29:01 Everything is improved. And I look at sack percentage as well. And it went from, he's getting sacked on 7.6. of his attempts in those two years. And they made the Super Bowl in the ASC championship. And now it's down to 6.7%. They've knocked pretty much a 1% off of that. And if we use last year of a 6.16, it could trend into the five range. If everyone takes a small improvement, you get to the five range. You're in good shape. You're a top six or so team based on last year's numbers. If I just said you right now, so these national analysts, I have these issues with the Bengals-O line or maybe they're uninformed.

Starting point is 00:29:37 If I said they were at a top six, pressure to sack rate or sack rate per attempt, what would that look like for this offense? And what would the numbers look like for Joe Burrow? How efficient would they potentially be? I bet they'd all say yes. If you had that, if you could guarantee me that, the Bengals are probably going deep into the playoffs. If you look at 2024, just to put those numbers into context,

Starting point is 00:30:00 if it's a 7% sack rate based on the number of dropbacks Joe Burrow had that year, you're talking about 50 sacks. You get it down to six. you're talking about 43 sacks. You get it down to five. You're talking about 36 sacks. Huge. And that's on 725 dropbacks.

Starting point is 00:30:13 So those numbers are going to be big. If you're only dropping back 600 times like some of these teams do, those numbers are going to be smaller at 5%. So some guys will be sacked less. But talking about 14 less negative plays, 14 less hits on your quarterback. One per game? That can certainly add up to some pretty significant results in the win loss column as well.

Starting point is 00:30:35 So that's one minute. There are some kernels of truth. Joe Burrow does extend plays in times he maybe invites pressure that he doesn't need to, but typically those results are better than they are if he were to play, like say, Joe Flacco. And so you do have that significant upside there. You're seeing improvements in pass protection. You're seeing improvements in Burroughs' sack avoidance as well.

Starting point is 00:31:01 And we've talked about all those reasons in this episode. So we'll have more myths to discuss. Nick Wright talking about Joe Burrow. I don't know if there's necessarily a myth there, but it's a weird take. There's some weird takes. So maybe it's also weird takes that we're going to be talking about here as well as we're in the offseason. And if you're an everydayer be looking for three episodes per week right now as we settle into an offseason rhythm as we approach training camper. We'll ramp things back up later in July.

Starting point is 00:31:31 But that's going to do it for this episode of the Lockdown Bengals podcast. Until next time, thanks for listening. Who did? And have a good one.

Locked On Bengals - Daily Podcast On The Cincinnati Bengals - Bengals MYTHBUSTING: Joe Burrow's Protection Ain't the PROBLEM It Used To Be

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.