Brian Callahan says blaming Joe Burrow injury for struggles is ‘cop out’
While the surface-level stats seem to point to Joe Burrow being one of the main culprits behind the brutally slow offensive start for the Cincinnati Bengals, those who have seen every snap of the team’s three games so far know it goes much deeper than that.
Those, such as offensive coordinator Brian Callahan.
Callahan was blunt on this topic Wednesday, saying that many other folks hold the blame for the offensive woes and it is far from just Burrow.
“Our expectation is to be a really good offense,” Callahan said, according to Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic. “To put a blame on Joe not being fully healthy is a cop out.”
Onlookers saw this all too well on Monday night during the win over the Rams. Tee Higgins dropped multiple passes he usually inhales. And there were at least three drive-crippling third-down penalties before the ball was snapped — uncharacteristic gaffes from the likes of veterans such as Tyler Boyd and Joe Mixon.
Add in head coach Zac Taylor saying the slow start on Monday was his fault and it’s pretty clear the issues run deeper than Burrow and the hurt calf. Bengals coaches had admitted the offense was dialed back over the first two weeks to protect the quarterback, with things clearly getting more innovative and open against the Rams — yet drops and penalties ruined multiple drives.
As the quarterback, Burrow will take the bulk of the heat, which is only fair — when these issues around him get cleaned up, he’ll get the praise for the inevitable-feeling offensive outbursts too.
