Burrow's Practice Return Fuels Bengals' Optimism

Burrow's Practice Return Fuels Bengals' Optimism

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Okay, let's unpack this, let's do We are diving into
what has been a really, you know, a frustrating season
for the Cincinnati Bengals, a franchise that went from well,
super Bowl expectations to a disappointing three to six.

Speaker 2 (00:14):
Record seemingly overnight.

Speaker 1 (00:16):
Right. But the good news, that frustration, it's finally starting
to drop. And the reason is sitting right here in
our source material.

Speaker 2 (00:24):
Oh it's a huge reason, and it's probably the highest
stakes moment they've faced since, I mean since they drafted
Joe Burrow. You've got this massive spark of optimism colliding
head on with some pretty critical physical risks.

Speaker 1 (00:37):
Exactly.

Speaker 2 (00:38):
So our mission today is really to analyze the status
of two absolutely critical players. We're talking quarterback Joe Burrow
and the defensive anchored Trey Hendrickson. We understand how there,
let's call it desperate return impacts the team's chances down
the stretch.

Speaker 1 (00:52):
That's the core tension, isn't it. The Bengals have struggled,
the defense hasn't been consistent, key players have been out,
but the fate of the whole franchise really rests on
the health and frankly, the aggressive mindset of their star QB.

Speaker 2 (01:05):
And that's what's so fascinating. What is the player's motivation
that it seems to be outpacing the organization's natural caution, right,
and this dynamic, you know, the player pushing the envelope
versus the team trying to manage a billion dollar asset.
It's a perfect little example of risk management across the
whole NFL.

Speaker 1 (01:24):
So if you're a Bengals fan, or even if you
just find the psychology of this stuff fascinating, you really
need to understand the details of what Burrow is about
to attempt. Definitely, Okay, so let's start right there. The
big news that broke this week Joe Burrow. His twenty
one day practice window is open, yep. And that alone,
I mean, it's sent this jolt of energy through the

(01:44):
whole organization, a huge buzz among the players. A lot
of them didn't expect him back this quick.

Speaker 2 (01:50):
Well, rehab usually happens away from the team, you know,
so seeing him out there is a huge morale boost.
But it's the speed we need to focus on. Okay.
The organization is now eyeing too major target dates for
his activation. The first one, the more aggressive one, is
that Thanksgiving night game against a division rival, the Baltimore Ravens.
That's coming up fast, really fast. The more conservative and

(02:13):
maybe more likely return date is December seventh against the
Buffalo Bills.

Speaker 1 (02:17):
So coach Zach Taylor was asked about his performance, you know,
right out of the gate, and he gave this like
ultimate backhanded compliment.

Speaker 2 (02:24):
What did he say?

Speaker 1 (02:25):
He said, Burrow was really sharp, But then he added,
I'm not gonna say I'm impressed, because that's how it
always looks.

Speaker 2 (02:32):
That says everything, doesn't it. Yeah, that's pure confidence in
the player's talent, which you know is deserved for sure.
But and this is a big butt. Performance in seven
on seven drills is not the same as performance in
a collapsing pocket when a premier edge rusher is coming.

Speaker 1 (02:48):
For you, a very different kind of pressure totally.

Speaker 2 (02:51):
So right now he's taking those past skeleton reps some
seven on sevens, but he is not cleared for full practice.
His return depends entirely on that final medical clearance.

Speaker 1 (03:02):
Okay, Now this is where the source material gets really
really interesting and honestly a little bit concerning for the
long term view. Based on people who know him well,
Burrow plans to come back no matter what the team's
record is. It could be three six, three ten, whatever.
He is demanding to play, even if the season looks
totally lost.

Speaker 2 (03:22):
That is the ultimate competitor's mindset.

Speaker 1 (03:24):
But it causes problems, right.

Speaker 2 (03:25):
Massive complications. The organization is facing a real dilemma here.
I mean, Burrow wants to play, but the team could
step in, They could hold him out if they keep
losing and say, look, the season's aw wash, We're not
risking our franchise cornerstone.

Speaker 1 (03:41):
But how do you do that? How do you tell
a healthy star who wants to compete that he has
to sit. That's a tough sell in that locker room.

Speaker 2 (03:48):
It's an almost impossible situation for the coach and the
front office. And then you add in the physical limitations
and the risks goes up exponentially.

Speaker 1 (03:56):
Let's talk about that, because when he comes back, the
sources are into kating, he'll likely play with a metal
plate in a shoe, a metal play and without his
usual full mobility.

Speaker 2 (04:04):
Okay, let's unpack the mechanics of that, because this is
where the deep dives really matters. Yeah, when a quarterback
plants his back foot to throw right. He relies so
heavily on the flexion the push off from that foot
to chancefer power up through his hips and into his arm.

Speaker 1 (04:20):
Right, The whole chain, the whole kinetic chain.

Speaker 2 (04:22):
And a metal plate which is usually there to protect
a healing bone or restrict movement, is going to severely
limit that natural foot and ankle flexion.

Speaker 1 (04:31):
So if he can't flex that foot, what does that
actually mean for the playbook? What can they even run?

Speaker 2 (04:36):
It means Zach Taylor has to run a fundamentally different offense,
even if Burrow's arm strength is fine. It changes everything
Like what well, complex bootlegs, deep play action rollouts where
he has to change direction outside the pocket, those are
probably off the table, or at least they're highly restricted.

Speaker 1 (04:53):
So he becomes more of a statue back.

Speaker 2 (04:55):
There, a much more static, tight pocket quarterback. Yeah, he'll
have to rely completely on quick releases and perfect timing,
and it forces the entire offensive line to adjust because
they know he can't escape laterally as easily.

Speaker 1 (05:09):
That is a massive operational change for a team that
really relies on his ability to extend place.

Speaker 2 (05:14):
It's huge. They are basically trading his mobility for his accuracy.
And his brain. Is there any good news in all this, Well,
there is one small silver lining in the backup situation.
The veteran Joe Flacco who just started against the Steelers.
He was also improving from an injury of his own.

Speaker 1 (05:34):
What did he have?

Speaker 2 (05:35):
A right shoulder ac joints brain. It's essentially a minor
separation of the shoulder at the collarbone. And because Flacco
wasn't taking a full set of reps while he managed that,
it actually opened up more practice time for Burrow this week.

Speaker 1 (05:49):
Ah so it might have actually sped up his transition back.

Speaker 2 (05:53):
It's possible.

Speaker 1 (05:54):
Yeah, Okay, that helped the offense a little. But let's
pivot to the defensive side because all this optimism around Burrow,
it's kind of balanced by a huge risk with their
star defensive end, Trey Hendrickson.

Speaker 2 (06:04):
He's the other side of this injury coin.

Speaker 1 (06:06):
For sure, and his challenge is a little different.

Speaker 2 (06:08):
Yeah, this isn't about reduced mobility, it's about core strength,
about explosion. Hendrickson, who's a veteran leader on that D line,
is going to miss this Sunday's game. That'll be his
third miss.

Speaker 1 (06:17):
Game this season, and the official listing is a hip injury,
but the sources are saying it's more specific.

Speaker 2 (06:22):
Than that, much more specific. He's dealing with a severe
core muscle injury. That's the modern term for what we
all used to call a sports hernia.

Speaker 1 (06:30):
And for a defensive end that's I mean, that's not
just painful, that's debilitating. It affects everything they do precisely.

Speaker 2 (06:36):
A core muscle injury is about tears or strains and
the soft tissue muscles, tendons in the lower abdomen around
the pelvis. Right. A pass rusher like Hendrickson, he relies
completely on explosive rotational core strength to get leverage and
turn that corner. Every single rip move, every sudden change
of direction, it all originates in his core.

Speaker 1 (06:58):
So when that's compromise, his.

Speaker 2 (07:00):
Entire game just drops to zero. He can't be effective.

Speaker 1 (07:02):
And we see that same risk reward dilemma again, don't
we Is there any chance his own aggressive mindset made
this worse.

Speaker 2 (07:10):
The sources are suggesting that's a real possibility. There's a
strong belief that when Hendrickson battled to play against the
Jets back in October, he might have extended.

Speaker 1 (07:18):
The injury turned a minor thing into a chronic problem exactly.

Speaker 2 (07:22):
Just like Burrow, Hendrickson is known for always trying to
play if he is physically able.

Speaker 1 (07:28):
So what's the plan now If it's basically a sports
hernia that usually means surgery, are they putting him on
injured reserve?

Speaker 2 (07:35):
Well, they definitely considered it. Putting him on IR would
mean he's out for a minimum of four games, which
could basically end his regular season, but for now they're
trying to avoid that. The hope from both the team
and the player is to rehabit aggressively and get him
back as soon as it's safely possible, So.

Speaker 1 (07:53):
They're treating it like an in season injury they can
just manage with pain tolerance.

Speaker 2 (07:57):
Instead of a season ending structural failure. Yeah, that's the
high stakes gamble. The long term outlook is pretty clear.
Surgery is highly likely after the season to fully fix it.

Speaker 1 (08:07):
But he's putting it off.

Speaker 2 (08:09):
He's putting that major procedure off because he desperately wants
to play. Now. The hope is they get both Burrow
and Hendrickson back on the field around the same time.
They're betting that boost in talent, even if it's compromised
talent is enough for an unlikely playoff push.

Speaker 1 (08:22):
So the entire narrative of the Bengals right now is
just defined by these two huge gambles.

Speaker 2 (08:28):
It really is.

Speaker 1 (08:29):
But this kind of maneuvering in Cincinnati, it's not happening
in a vacuum. It actually reflects some major strategic decisions
happening all over the league right now.

Speaker 2 (08:38):
Yeah, if we connect this to the bigger picture, you
can draw some really direct comparisons. Let's look at how
other teams are managing their assets. That's exactly what the
Bengals are doing by rushing Burrow back right.

Speaker 1 (08:51):
They're trying to maximize their investment in the here and
now exactly.

Speaker 2 (08:54):
And on a flip side of that, you see other
teams focused on maximizing their future investment. Take the Dallas
Cowboys for instance. Okay, while the Bengals are all in
on this season, the Cowboys are already planning for the future.
They want to keep their young receiver George Pickens beyond
twenty twenty five, and they're already discussing using the franchise

(09:15):
tag to do it.

Speaker 1 (09:16):
That shows you how teams are getting ahead of things
trying to manage that coming cap explosion. It's organizational control
over a player's earning potential for sure.

Speaker 2 (09:25):
And we also saw the Jets making decisions that are
completely about the future, kind of what the Bengals could
have done if they decided to just shut Burrow down for.

Speaker 1 (09:33):
The year, right, they went the other way.

Speaker 2 (09:34):
The New York Jets were huge sellers at the trade deadline,
which signals they've totally pivoted to a rebuild. They're going
to use all their new draft picks to build the
long term vision of their GM Darren Moogie and coach Aaron.

Speaker 1 (09:46):
Glenn, so they trained away any immediate relevance for future potential,
the exact opposite of what Cincinnati is doing.

Speaker 2 (09:53):
And maybe the most dramatic example of this kind of
asset uncertainty is what's happening with the Cardinals quarterback tyler Y. Yeah,
that looming question over his future is huge. The sources
say that conversations about whether or not to move on
are literally scheduled to happen right after the twenty twenty
five season ends. Wow, the Bengals are completely dedicated to Burrow,

(10:15):
but the Cardinals show you just how quickly a franchise
can start to question a massive QB investment. If performance
or injury concerns Linger, it's a multimillion dollar debate that
will define their whole franchise.

Speaker 1 (10:28):
So we have these big organizational choices. But let's shift
to coaching and development for a second. The source material
also gave us some insight into how teams prepare guys
for these high pressure moments.

Speaker 2 (10:40):
Right, which is exactly what the Bengals are doing with
Burrough's specialized return.

Speaker 1 (10:43):
And the Cleveland Browns give us a really fascinating example
of that. They use this unique training period they called
the Hungry Dogs Period.

Speaker 2 (10:51):
Yes, specifically to get QB SHEHDD Sanders ready for his
first career start in week twelve.

Speaker 1 (10:56):
What exactly is a Hungry Dogs Period? What does that even?

Speaker 2 (11:00):
It's basically a custom training block. It's designed to simulate
game level intensity and pressure for one specific player. You
got a mental reps, the physical fatigue, but without the
full risk of a live scrimmage.

Speaker 1 (11:13):
So it's a targeted ramp up.

Speaker 2 (11:14):
Precisely, it's similar in concept to how the Bengals are
easing burrowback, but it's tailored for a rookies first start.
All about decision making under stress.

Speaker 1 (11:23):
And then you have the Jacksonville Jaguars who seem to
be just defying specialization altogether. With Travis Hunter, that.

Speaker 2 (11:28):
Might be the most unique personnel story in the entire league.

Speaker 1 (11:32):
Really.

Speaker 2 (11:33):
After Hunter's knee surgery, the Jags planned to keep using
him as a true two way player. He's going to
be their top wide receiver and a matchup cornerback in
twenty twenty six.

Speaker 1 (11:43):
That's unheard of in the modern NFL.

Speaker 2 (11:45):
It's a massive organizational commitment to managing one player's workload
and health so he can excel at two very different,
very demanding positions. It just shows you that sometimes pure
talent can override standard football doctrine.

Speaker 1 (12:00):
So bringing this all back to Cincinnati, they're taking a
huge risk on two key guys. But what does the
movement of other veterans around the league tell us about
short term value?

Speaker 2 (12:11):
We guess have great little tidbits from the trade deadline
that show just how hard it is to pry valuable
veterans away from teams. Dolphins running back Devon a Chain
His name was discussed in trade talks, but ultimately he
wasn't moved. Miami valued his explosive ability too much. Even
if other assets were on the table.

Speaker 1 (12:27):
And we also know that Titans receiver Calvin Ridley was available,
So that shows while some teams hold on tight, others
are willing to offload expensive veterans for future picks.

Speaker 2 (12:35):
But the ultimate veteran movement story, it's got to be
Brandon Cooks with the Saints still still his name keeps
coming up and he could be traded for a record
fifth time in his career. Think about what that means.
It shows incredible durability and consistent value, but it also
shows that team after team decides he's more valuable as
a trade ship than as a long term piece of

(12:58):
their culture.

Speaker 1 (12:59):
That pattern really speaks volumes about how modern teams view
these high performance non QB assets their commodities.

Speaker 2 (13:06):
They absolutely are. And just to round out the veteran news,
we had that compelling story about Pro Bowl defensive end
Brandon Graham. Oh right, he's been openly talking about coming
out of retirement to rejoin the Eagles. That lure that
pull to get back in the fight. It's so strong.
It just proves that veteran players who feel they can
still go, they struggle to stay away.

Speaker 1 (13:26):
It speaks to that same relentless competitive spirit we're seeing
in Burrow and Hendrickson. Okay, so when we put this
all together, when we synthesize it, what does this aggressive
approach in Cincinnati really mean? At the end of the day,
we have a clear snapshot of a franchise facing this
incredibly delicate balance.

Speaker 2 (13:45):
That's the perfect way to put it. On one side,
you've got the aggressive desire of a star quarterback, Burrow
wanting to return early, pushing past maybe what the medical
team would.

Speaker 1 (13:55):
Prefer, and playing with a major physical limitation.

Speaker 2 (13:57):
A fundamental limitation, yeah, that metal plate. They are banking
entirely on his accuracy and his brain overcoming his lack
of mobility.

Speaker 1 (14:06):
And then on the other side of the ball, you
have Hendrickson, a defensive cornerstone who is managing a severe
core injury, and the whole strategy is to just delay
an almost inevitable.

Speaker 2 (14:15):
Surgery, all for a short term impact the team's immediate
playoff hopes. They rest completely on the success of these
two calculated, really high stakes medical and competitive risks.

Speaker 1 (14:24):
They are actively choosing short term relevance over long term
optimal recovery.

Speaker 2 (14:28):
And it's all being driven by the will of their
star players to compete right now. It's a rare moment
where you see player motivation dictating the entire organization's tolerance
for risk.

Speaker 1 (14:40):
So this allry is a really important question for you
to think about. When an organization is facing a disappointing record,
say three to six, and the cost of rushing a
star QB like burrow Back is so high, I mean,
you have to change your playbook. You have to accept
he's not going to be physically the same. How should
that team weigh the immediate value against the long term
risk to their nine figure investment. At what point does
a player's own motivation actually become a detriment to the

(15:03):
organization's future health.