Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow's passing ability is what got him to the NFL, but he's not afraid to tuck it and run when the opportunity presents itself.
In the AFC title game against the Chiefs, Burrow extended drives with at least two scrambles on third and long, plus a quarterback sneak -- this just a little more than a year after his rookie season was cut short by a serious knee injury.
Burrow's dad, Jimmy, is a football man himself, having played professionally in the NFL and CFL before embarking on a long career as a coach, primarily on the defensive side of the ball. So, the elder Burrow knows all too well just how deflating those third-down scrambles can be for a defense.
Appearing this week on WWL's "Sports Talk" with hosts Bobby Hebert and Kristian Garic, Jimmy was asked about his son's ball-carrying skills and how to stop mobile quarterbacks -- and it prompted an interesting story from his days in college football's MAC conference, where he was the longtime defensive coordinator for the Ohio Bobcats.
Jimmy didn't know it at the time, but in the MAC he encountered a star quarterback who would later go on to be one of the NFL's most unlikely success stories in recent memory.
"It's deflating," Jimmy said about his defenses surrendering first downs on QB scrambles.
"I remember Julian Edelman played quarterback for Kent State back in the day, and I remember yelling at our defensive line coach, to 'get him contained.'"
Edelman, who retired following the 2020 season after 12 years with the Patriots, was a seventh-round pick in 2009, after three years under center for the Golden Flashes. His transition from QB to one of Tom Brady's most trusted -- and elusive -- targets out of the slot is one of the more remarkable success stories of the Belichick-Brady Patriots.
Burrow seemed to have that very realization after seeing what Edelman could do in the professional ranks, a run which included a Super Bowl MVP.
"Then I watched him in the NFL, and I apologized to our D-Line coach, and I said, 'Really, no one can tackle that dude in the NFL.'"
Edelman called it a carer 620 catches, 6,822 receiving yards and and 36 touchdown receptions. He also racked up 413 rushing yards on 58 attempts (7.1 yards per carry), and, of course, the old signal-caller even went 6-for-6 for 128 yards and a touchdown in his passing attempts on a handful of gadget plays.
Kordell Stewart was aptly dubbed "Slash," and Deebo Samuel seems to have created a position all his own, but Edelman was quite the versatile weapon in his own right.
And the father of one of the NFL's best young quarterbacks can attest to it.
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