Joe Brady said the first thing Joe Burrow said to him at the gala following the Heisman ceremony was, “They’ve [Oklahoma] had a week longer to study film than we have. Let’s get out of here and back to work.” Brady agreed and said he was already checking flight schedules. The only reason imo Joe would skip a prestigious award ceremony is it would interfere with preparing for Pro Day. Being the best player he can be is more important to him than all the hoopla surrounding an award. While some are understandably ticked off, I understand his decision and would probably do the same if I were in his shoes. I think he is a thoughtful young man—the director of a high school football invitational said he typically never heard from players who didn’t accept the invitation but that Joe called and explained he had a basketball commitment that weekend and was unable to attend. At that time basketball was his main focus. The director was very impressed with Joe for taking the time to call and thank him. Joe is not about awards but about winning games. He said if they didn’t win the championship, “throw them [the trophies] all away.” His Dad said Joe was more nervous about his teammates winning awards than he was for himself.

Joe Burrow is the man - talented, smart, humble. Thanks for the article. Btw anyone catch Marcus Allen saying Burrow reminds him so much of Joe Montana, particularly the way he treats every player on the team with respect, that he’s “just one of the guys?”

Good points. Also, Joe can see the most important people in his life more often if he plays for the Bengals. Joe’s girlfriend since his Ohio State days, Olivia Holzmacher, lives in Mason, Ohio, just 22 miles from downtown Cincinnati. His parents Robin and Jimmy Burrow live only a couple of hours away and have said they could attend every home game. Why do sportswriters overlook such an obvious appeal of playing in Cincinnati?

Disappointed in writer Adam Spencer for trying to twist Joe Burrow’s words to fit his own narrative, one Burrow’s entire family has repeatedly debunked. “In an interview over the weekend, Burrow didn’t exactly quell concerns that he could refuse to play for the Bengals. “Look, this is a long process, right?” Burrow said. “They have their process that they have to go through, so I’m just blessed to be in the position that I’m in. If they select me, they select me. I’m going to do everything in my power to be the best football player that I can be.” Not exactly a glowing endorsement of the Bengals.” Dude, it’s not his place to endorse any particular team. A lot of horse-trading goes on behind the scenes all the time. He has already said he’ll play for anyone who wants to pay him to play the game of football. You left out that he said, “It’d be a lot of fun [to play in Cincinnati], it would.” Please stop with the annoying hand-wringing.

That’s not what Burrow meant when he said he has leverage. He was referring to the fact he doesn’t need to knock himself out in the Combine, anyone can look at his film. He is concentrating on preparing for his rookie season. Where he ends up is “out of my hands,” He said, “I will play for anybody who wants to pay me to play the game of football, doesn’t matter to me.” Asked about Cincinnati, he said a lot of friends back home hopes he plays close to home. “It’d be interesting...it would be a lot of fun, it would.” He’s not going to pull an Eli Manning in any event. His family made that clear months ago. He will do the best he can for any team that drafts him.

Remember Emery screwed up a play early in the 2nd quarter of the Florida game and Burrow angrily sent him off the field? Joe salvaged the play and ran for a gain which the announcers mistakenly called a QB option, but the tape clearly shows how pissed Burrow was at Emery. If anyone here reads lips, I’d love to know what Burrow was saying in the closeup. Emery didn’t see action again for weeks after that.

No he doesn’t. His parents said the entire family is upset by the rumor. His Dad said he’s just happy to be in the conversation, and Joe repeatedly said his friends back home want him to go to Cincy and that “It’d be a lot of fun.” “I’ll play for whoever wants to pay me to play the game of football, doesn’t matter to me.” Can’t get any more clear than that.

Didn’t Joe Brady call 3rd and 4th downs? Trying to recall the source who said that,

Thanks to your mentioning it, I just read it. JJets is one of my favorites and I thought he shouldn’t have been overlooked in the awards and honors. Enjoyed the article and look forward to following his career. Wish JJets and Burrow could end up on the same team, but if not, I hope the Saints draft him.

No, I’m not convinced the team won’t skip a beat, as Myles put it. It might take more than a few games and a lot of hard work to gel as a team. Not saying they won’t but that’s a tall order To further dispute that Joe Brady was the big reason for the team’s success, this quote from Damien Lewis underscores what Joe Burrow said about the transformation beginning before Joe Brady entered the picture: The Spun:: When did you realize your team had something special brewing? Damien Lewis: It really started in the offseason. Back in 2019 during the Fiesta Bowl against UCF – the game when Joe (Burrow) took the big hit and got right back up and showed everybody that he’s really tough – guys started to believe and said our quarterback gave his all for the team. People just wanted to be a part of this. Everybody started to trust each other and believe that we could achieve more, so in the offseason we started pouring our blood, sweat and tears at practice. The Spun: You mentioned how tough Joe Burrow has been. What makes him such a special quarterback in your opinion?   DL: You know, it’s really a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play with somebody like that. I was fortunate that I played with Joe for the last two seasons. Knowing him and what he means to the team, he’s someone you want to build your team around. He’s a real leader, captain of the team and someone who is really accountable. He’s also a team player and brings excitement with him. Most people love being around players like that.

Responding to RollTide_N_Colorado “Night and day once Beady arrived. Completely different burrow, offense, and persona.” Joe Burrow said they started clicking the last 3 games of 2018 - including the Fiesta Bowl, of which he was MVP. He also said - and I’ll have to look up his exact quote - but he said or implied the improvement would have come regardless. Don’t forget: 1) Burrow arrived at LSU after spring practice so he didn’t have a full off-season to work with the receivers; 2) He had just moved to Louisiana and was still adjusting to a new culture, new faces, new living arrangements; 3) The receivers were young and relatively inexperienced in 2018–check the dropped passes; 4) Burrow had never worked that type of offense before—his entire experience from youth on was with a spread offense, and he had to unlearn some things and learn a new scheme for LSU’s 2018 team; 5) He noted sitting on the bench for 3 years made him rusty; 6) He said having a full off-season to work with his receivers enabled them to develop trust—and they threw 10,000 balls on their own time. Talk about a work ethic. 7) Burrow said Coach Ensminger—he called him Coach E—was not getting the attention or praise he deserved but was a big part of their success. By May 2019, Burrow was predicting they would score “40, 50, 60 points” a game, and credited all the work they had put in 7 days a week. NCAA limits coaching time; these players were practicing on their own time. Burrow also had them practicing Saturday mornings—game day. Whenever he was asked how he could be so confident of the team’s ongoing success, his answer was always, “I know the work we put in.” Coach O described some visiting recruits asking if they could watch practice. “There isn’t any practice today,” Orgeron told them. “Oh yes there is’” someone pointed out. “They’re practicing.” Coach O said Burrow was also serving as a coach for the team. Coach O also said the team didn’t have the same chemistry with Myles. “This is Joe’s team” and it’s not the same team without him. Joe said he gave his input every Monday after watching film, and the offensive coaches drew up plays for his approval, and cut the ones he didn’t like. It makes sense to the same with Myles Brennan—maximize players’ strengths. I like Joe Brady and what he brought to LSU, but Drew Brees was not wrong to imply Brady wasn’t the biggest factor in LSU’s success. By his own admission, Joe Brady was “assistant to an assistant.” Brady wasn’t the one Burrow invited to accompany him to New York for the Heisman ceremony, but rather Jorge Munoz, if I recall correctly. Too bad Baylor hired Munoz away, and the Panthers nabbed Joe Brady, but there is still plenty of talent on the LSU football staff and the player roster. Joe Burrow said Myles is an excellent quarterback and knows the offense. Ja’Marr and Terrell and Derek are returning standouts, so I’m looking for a solid season.

Ross Dellenger of Sports Illustrated reported back on August 27, 2018, ,that QB grades were delivered to them face-to-face. Burrow edged Brennan in experience and decision-making. Some outside of LSU have said Brennan needs to learn throw a more catchable ball, not always a bullet. Joe Burrow has praised Myles, saying he’s an excellent quarterback, is very accurate, and knows the offense. I believe Myles will make LSU proud.

Coach Orgeron often says competition makes us all better, and 247Sports quoted him a day or two ago, “We feel that Max [Johnson] is going to be an excellent quarterback. We feel that we got great quarterbacks. We’re going to see what they do, we’re going to give them a chance to compete and see what they got.”

Not exactly. Coach O credited Bill Busch, LSU’s Safeties coach, who had been on the OSU football staff Joe’s first year there, “Coach, if we get Joe Burrow, we’re going to the college football playoffs.” “Then let’s go get him,” Coach O said he replied. He related that in his press conference following the Heisman ceremony.