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Zoom calls, isolated meetings, no preseason

CINCINNATI – Even with the door closed and his voice muffled, it was clear what Joe Burrow was doing in the basement of his family home.

The words were indistinguishable, but the sound was unmistakable. The Cincinnati Bengals rookie quarterback was watching a screen, listening to his coaches on a video conference, and barking loud enough that his father, Jimmy, could hear him upstairs.

It could have been audible. It could have been a protective call to his offensive linemen at the virtual line of scrimmage. Whatever Burrow says, it was one of the most important parts of preparing the 23-year-old for the task of his life.

Even though Burrow begins his NFL career under unprecedented circumstances due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the task at hand remains the same for the first draft pick. No matter the location – the basement of his family home, alone in a room at Paul Brown Stadium or on the training grounds off the banks of the Ohio River – Burrow has spent the last few months preparing to be the next starting quarterback for the Bengals. of the franchise.

And his work is starting to bear fruit.

“His preparation habits are at such a high level that he knows everything when he needs to know it,” Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan told ESPN. “Everything comes to him quickly, mainly because he’s working really hard to figure it all out. For a kid who hasn’t played NFL football, he has a good feel for the game.”

Burrow hasn’t let the unusual offseason keep him from preparing for the Bengals’ season opener on September 13, when he will likely make his NFL debut against the Los Angeles Chargers. Although he wasn’t officially named a starter, Burrow took all of the first-team reps into training camp quarterback.

To add another degree of difficulty, Burrow’s first NFL snap will come in this Week 1 game. With no preseason games this year, Burrow’s training regimen in August ahead of the game. opening against the Chargers consists only of drills against his teammates. The Bengals have spaced their scrums to try to reproduce the exhibition games as well as possible.

The lack of pre-season preparation hasn’t stopped Bengals coach Zac Taylor from having high expectations for his rookie quarterback.

“Everything I have seen of him that I know of him, he has high expectations for himself,” Taylor said. “He’s going to do whatever he can to put himself in a position to be successful. I trust that.”

Burrow spent hours in the basement of The Plains, Ohio, where he grew up getting to know his teammates in virtual meetings. And he’s worked with the coaching staff on simple things like relaying Taylor’s calls to the rest of his teammates.

Every once in a while Jimmy would go downstairs to read plays to Burrow, who would then attempt to recite them. After not being stuck in his final year at LSU, Burrow wanted to make sure he had the conviction in his voice needed to convey confidence to his teammates.

Football wasn’t the only sport Burrow worked on this offseason. He bought himself a set of golf clubs and also bought one for his father for Father’s Day. It was the first time he had played a lot of golf since his father was an assistant football coach in North Dakota state 15 years ago.

In May, Burrow spoke at length with former Colts and Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning, himself a former No.1 pick. For about an hour, the two quarterbacks talked about different aspects of running the pressure that comes with being a cornerstone of the franchise.

“I felt like we were in very similar situations when we came in and he felt the same,” Burrow said in July. “He just gave me a lot of different advice on marketing, how to manage the clique, how to manage the coaches, how to be sure of yourself in your freshman year and how you build on that.”

Burrow moved from Southeast Ohio to Cincinnati as the start of the camp approached. Days before the rookies report, he helped organize an unofficial squad training session at a nearby high school, according to rookie wide receiver Scotty Washington. For about an hour, 10 to 12 players worked together, including sophomore quarterback Ryan Finley, who led the pitching sessions a day earlier.

Burrow and Washington had a few pre-draft training sessions together in Southern California. Washington recalled that even before the Bengals chose Burrow, who signed a four-year contract worth $ 36 million and a signing bonus of $ 23.9 million, the quarterback was focused when he was in the field.

“He’s always been the first there,” Washington said. “He just wanted to come in, do his job and go about his business.”

This level of preparation has been consistent throughout training camp for the Bengals, although the setup is a bit unusual. Burrow and each of the other three quarters are holding virtual meetings in separate rooms to limit the possibility of contracting COVID-19.

It sounds unorthodox, but as the franchise quarterback prepares for the opening, all the necessary precautions are essential.

And due to the time the team uses Zoom to run their meetings, the transition to having them at Paul Brown Stadium rather than at home has been pretty seamless, according to Callahan. Although everyone misses him physically in the same room, they have learned to replicate this camaraderie within the group.

“As everyone in the world has understood, it’s not too hard to convey and tell stories, have a good time and laugh at Zoom just like you’re in a room,” said Callahan.

Whether on the pitch or in front of the camera, the coaching staff took note of Burrow’s work habits. Taylor said on Tuesday that Burrow has shown a sense of urgency since writing. But Taylor was quick to point out that he was a rookie who was still learning on the job.

“He’s done a lot of awesome things, but it’s important to realize that he hasn’t happened yet,” Taylor said. There’s still a lot of work to be done and a lot of things he hasn’t seen yet that will be thrown at him later in training camp or at the start of games. But he has the right attitude, and he knows it. “

One of Burrow’s rookie mistakes is a prime example. During a practice, linebacker Josh Bynes intercepted Burrow. After the practice was over, Burrow approached Bynes to talk about the play. With his helmet hidden under his left arm, Burrow and Bynes walked over to the edge of the training ground and he gestured with his free arm as he spoke to the 10-year veteran.

Bynes later told reporters that he could not recall any rookie doing this at any point in his career. For him, it was a sign that Burrow was eager to learn and improve.

“I think everyone knows that, especially on offense,” Bynes said. “They revolve around him because right now he has to lead the way for this attack and we can’t wait to do that.

Whether in a basement, a secluded room, or around his teammates, Burrow took advantage of the unorthodox offseason. And it was not lost on his teammates.

“He’s the head of this locker room,” security Jessie Bates said. “He will be the face of this franchise for many years to come.”

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