Joe Burrow has been getting hyped, living and getting paid handsomely off two things:

1.) Quarterbacking an avengers level stacked LSU team that featured potential hall of famers Justin Jefferson and Ja'Marr Chase (arguably the two best wide receivers in the NFL currently.. think about that).

2.) Being the beneficiary of a rare Chiefs second half collapse in the 2022 AFCCG with an all-star triumvirate of Chase, Higgins and Boyd with Joe Mixon in the backfield and Hayden Hurst at TE rounding it out. They carried that unit along with a well coached defense inflating Burrow's reputation and perhaps actual abilities and raw talent as a Pro QB.

All-Time Quarterbacks vs. Wide Receiver Merchants

The NFL has seen many Quarterback weapons/wide-receiver merchants. Quarterbacks whose body of work becomes tremendously inflated given the level of talent everywhere on the offensive side of the ball. This is also the biggest knock on Tua and Brock Purdy but to be fair no one (no one sane... or telling the truth aka Tyreek) has hyped them up to this level nor compared them to Mahomes. The all-time great quarterbacks have a tendency to uplift average to even below average receivers and even half-backs (in passing) and make them look better than what they are. There's a world of difference between Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers and let's say... Troy Aikman or for contemporary purposes... Matt Ryan. Both Tom and ARod have carried average to mediocre receiving corps units far past where they should have gone (none more so than Mahomes last season). Troy Aikman for instance, was absolutely carried by a legendary group of receivers, Emmitt Smith and perhaps the greatest offensive line ever but definitely for that era, Troy never had to carry his team nor was he capable on an individual talent basis. Joe Burrow in my opinion is much much closer Aikman or Matt Ryan, a moderate to average armed (at best) QB that's limited to the pocket with the inability to either outscheme defenses cerebrally to get average guys open (Brady and Mahomes) nor possesses the arm talent in terms of off platform throws whilst scrambling to buy time for his receivers (Mahomes, Rodgers and to a lesser extent Allen).

Was it Ja'Marr Chase and Justin Jefferson at LSU/Chase, Higgins, Boyd and Mixon in Cinci or Actually Joe Burrow?

Joe has made his billing since LSU... based on all-world receivers such as Chase and Justin Jefferson beating outmatched corners and has simply been a glorified "throw up to Randy Moss chucker." In fact Matt Ryan won the 2016 MVP throwing to prime Julio Jones with Mohammed Sanu as a great No.2 option and Devonta Freeman as an all-purpose back all wile being coached by Shanahan Jr (best offensive mind this side of Andy Reid). Up until that point in his career, Matt Ryan looked rather average. Burrow has had two No.1 options in Chase and Higgins with Boyd as an above average slot receiver. Most of Burrow's passes given you can't double team both the Z and X receiver or put your best cover guys on Boyd in the slot, were passes to receivers who were completely uncovered (given the talent everywhere) or jump balls to two superior No.1 options.I mean throwing jump balls to 6,4 Higgins with 5,10 corners single manning him as his second option when Chase was double teamed isn't exactly threading the needle against elite coverages and superior defenses to Julian Edelman, Danny Amendola or Skyy Moore and Justin Watson. Since the media and that city want to prematurely put him in the tier of Mahomes... let us finally see if you can do it with just Chase and a bunch of guys against Spag's defense. We had a very small sample size of Burrow without Chase for his rookie season but was cut short, due to his injury and I won't hold that against him.

Last week, I saw what appeared to be the makings of a potential fraud. Honestly people can blame whatever or whomever they want for the Bengals loss to a very very underwhelming and under-talented post-Belichick/Brady longterm rebuild Patriots team, whether Zac was dialing up short passes to hide Burrow's wrist injury or perhaps Burrow looking absolutely shellshocked when he didn't have Tee Higgins and Boyd or even Joe Mixon as a tertiary options to bail him out of a Chase double man cover. So ok fine... , I'll buy their bullshit and the media's bullshit, I'll wait till this Sunday and I'll buy all the excuses, that the Bengals have slow starts or play down to opponents in the early season blah blah blah etc etc. However, in this era, these QB contracts eventually demand top QBs to carry mid rosters for a great portion of their careers and that is actually where we see a QB's true talent as a single caller and passer. Brady won with Gronk and a bunch of glorified slot receivers during the second part of his Super Bowl runs (the non-game manager SBs lol), Mahomes for the last two Super Bowls had Kelce and a bunch of cast-offs in MVS, Juju and a bunch of average to below average guys in Justin Watson, Skyy Moore and Kadarius Toney and we saw ARod win a bunch of MVPs and make a few NFCCGs appearances throwing to just guys with the exception of oft years with a Davante Adams as a No.1. So.... this is Burrow's chance to show us what he actually is.

Hype Train: Answered? Derailed? Or Postponed with Excuses?

So for the Burrow hype train, with their greatest moment being a bad half from us and losing the Super Bowl in 2021/2022... we will finally get to see Joe Burrow with just Ja'Marr Chase and a group of guys ... we will see if he plays up to his opponent and they just came out flat against a bad team and he can actually carry a roster like Mahomes or we will see an absolute fraud wide-receiver merchant, who's been carried his whole career whether Ja'Marr Chase, Justin Jefferson and an NFL Draft ready college offensive line at LSU or Chase (again), Higgins and Boyd along with Joe Mixon in the NFL. So ok, sure..... they sleptwalked through the Patriots and underestimated them... we'll see Sunday if Joe Burrow post-QB contract, cheap owner, injured Tee Higgins and without an arsenal of elite weapons, is everything the media and his fans say he is. However, it looks like Joe may have prepared in advance with all the exaggerated wrist movements. Either he's hurt (and I don't wish that on any player and if so get better Joe) or he's queueing the wrist excuses to mask being exposed, so I'm prepared either way. But this game will show who he actually is. Can't wait.