Recently, Joe Burrow was asked how he felt about the other teams in his division and the top three teams in the league making moves during the trading deadline, and the Bengals doing nothing. His response: “THAT ISN’T MY JOB.” Now, he is being skewered on social media for not saying what he really felt. I saw the interview, and the look on Joe’s face pretty much said it all. He knows what is wrong but did not want to throw anybody, or any one group, under the bus. Honorable, for sure, but did he do the right thing?
Joe was asked a “gotcha” question. The reporter was hoping for a juicy tidbit to write about the dissent in the Bengals locker room. No matter what he said, he would have caused a ruckus. Joe Burrow does not seem to me to be an attention seeker, nor a know-it-all, he just seems to be a small town guy who plays great football and leads and NFL team. However, attention has found him, and he must learn how to deal with it better.
I know he was trying not to cause controversy, but his facial expression said it all. You know he wanted to say something, maybe something like, “Well, we need a little help on defense, and we need to get healthy and better on offense, but we’ll keep working with what we have and we will be ok!” Something as simple as that would have caused a storm, but at least he may have shown some better leadership.
Joe couldn’t win, but he could have let the team and fans know how he felt. I am sure he will or has talked to the ownership (Good luck with that!), and maybe something is in the works. I don’t know, but I do know that the Bengals need something, they are nowhere near the team they used to be.
They look…….well…..confused, like “what is happening here?” I think their free-agent losses have hurt them badly. D.J. Reader should have never been let go, nor Jonah Williams or Chidobe Awuzie. The defense has been awful this year; just go look up their stats……it ain’t good! The offense has suffered some injuries, but they really miss Joe Mixon, who is killing it with the Texans. Chase Brown is good, no problem there, but he just doesn’t…..well, he…..he isn’t Joe Mixon…Yet!
The injury to Tee Higgins has hurt more than anyone knew. The offense needs to stay on the field longer. These problems can and should be fixed, but is it too late?
Before anyone thinks that Joe Burrow has been paid too much money and that is why the Bengals can’t get in free agency, think again. The Bengals have one of the highest payrolls in the NFL, and are still $26.581million UNDER the cap! Money is not the problem. So what is it?
All that is left is the coaching or the ownership. Coaching hasn’t changed at the top, Zac Taylor is still there, as is Lou Anarumo, the defensive co-ordinator. Neither of them bumped their heads or had a stroke over the offseason. They are still the same. The Ownership is still mainly the Brown family. I don’t know how much influence Mike has on the team anymore, but IF he has any, that is the problem, though I really don’t think, and hope, he does. I think his daughter Katie does, and she is more like her grandfather Paul Brown, and he was pretty sharp!
Whatever has changed internally, nobody really knows. There are a lot of possible answers: injury, lack of focus, internal strife, coaching, ownership interference, who knows. I do know things are different, and the Bengals need to snap out of it quickly. The look on Joe Burrows face in that interview said it all…..he knows, but he is too nice to say it. Maybe he will in private…..that would show the leadership the Bengals need! That’s the way I see it…..from the sidelines.
