Cincinnati Bengals offensive lineman Orlando Brown Jr. made the media rounds recently and talked about plenty of interesting things.
Chief (get it?) among those was Brown’s commentary on the difference between blocking for Patrick Mahomes and Joe Burrow.
One of those comments, as captured by Arrowhead Report’s Jordan Foote:
“Now, as opposed to having to play in a lot more space with guys on my edge, guys have got to rush through me because Joe isn’t necessarily at 12-1/2 or 13 yards on certain drops. He’s going to be at 7-1/2 getting the ball out.”
This is straight-up schematic talk from Brown — but it made fans, and especially Chiefs fans, pretty angry.
On paper, Brown is 100 percent correct, too. Burrow and the Bengals offense calls for fewer steps on a drop back for a few reasons, so Brown will see more power moves instead of speed moves trying to get around him. That’s actually something we brought up as a positive when the Bengals signed him, as it better fits his body and skillset and will give Burrow more predictable and manageable pressure off the edge compared to when Jonah Williams was at left tackle.
This isn’t a knock on Mahomes’ game, but a mere observation. The reaction and debate, as seen below, is why pro athletes tend to give vanilla, boring answers about pretty much everything.
The main takeaway I had from the Orlando Brown depth of the pocket quote was less about Mahomes vs Burrow and more about what he's asked to do. Bengals run more quick game and 3 step drops from the gun while Chiefs will take 5+ step drops out of the gun for more shot plays.
— mike (@bengals_sans) June 27, 2023
Orlando Brown Jr. pointing out differences in Joe Burrow and Patrick Mahomes’ playing styles is pissing people off.
That is peak June NFL Twitter.
— Drew Garrison (@DrewGarrison) June 27, 2023
Orlando Brown Jr. implying Burrow will be easier to block for than Mahomes is utter nonsense. Burrow’s 2022 pressure to sack rate was 22.9%, over 2x higher than Mahomes’s (10.1%).
Pat will continue to be a wizard and Orlando will continue to have cinder block feet.
— Adam Best (@Arrowhead_Adam) June 28, 2023
Orlando Brown Jr simply stating the truth about what makes Pat Mahomes & Burrow different in their games: pic.twitter.com/B4GnJsA1ck
— EA (@KOLD740) June 27, 2023
True but he also won’t get bailed out as much because of mahomes amazing awareness and outside pocket movement
— Isaiah (@IsaiahWzz) June 26, 2023
People getting upset about this but it is a scheme comment not a shot at the quarterback
— Matt (@CoachMinich) June 27, 2023
He also won't get bailed out quite as much when his QB spins around the guy he just whiffed on and changes the play from missed block to successful out-of-pocket TD.
— GrantMarch (@grantmarch88) June 27, 2023
He’s full of answers during the off-season, I fell for it twice but he is who is and scheming and qb can help mask his play at times but he is who he is. A good tackle with some weaknesses
— George Dirtè (@GeoRam17) June 27, 2023
It sounds to me like he thinks he’d be better suited to play guard.
— Scott Loring (@ChiefsChannel) June 26, 2023
I do think Pat's deep drops can sometimes put his OTs at a disadvantage. I… don't have a problem with this comment.
— Lee C Eldridge (@LeeCEldridge) June 26, 2023
Orlando’s love and knowledge of the game is elite. If you’ve watched/listened to how obsessed bro is with the game of football you get goosebumps. That’s the one thing we don’t get credit for, we only bring in guys who love the game, not what the game gives them. https://t.co/6c5ixvHakc
— Ace Boogie (@NewStripeCity) June 27, 2023
He's not wrong. Last year, Mahomes was partially responsible for 21.2% of the total pressures he dealt with. That's the 7th highest percentage of all QBs.
Joe Burrow was partially responsible for 6% of the total pressures he faced. That was the 3rd lowest percentage.
(Via PFF) https://t.co/ELQ61g7vNa
— Goodberry (@JoeGoodberry) June 27, 2023
Fair. Brett Kollman made a video about Pats dropback depth in 2021 and how it was really bad in that SB
Mahomes tended to dropback very deep, very quick, which causes unfortunate angles for his Tackles. I think he got better at that last season tho https://t.co/3kLq8kolmg— Der German Tiger🐅🇩🇪 (@DerGermanTiger) June 27, 2023
While true, Mahomes is also more adept at making rushers miss and extending plays. Also, McKinnon will no longer be there to help. https://t.co/uRMGd1CUke
— Sterling Holmes (@HomestretchKC) June 26, 2023
These comments are fairly innocuous. They're not a slight one way or the other. It's just a lineman discussing the differences between blocking for two quarterbacks. Benefits and negatives to both styles. https://t.co/iEaBZZUBjw
— Brent Sobleski (@brentsobleski) June 27, 2023
