New England Patriots - NESN.com
The Cincinnati Bengals have yet to reveal whether Joe Flacco or Joe Burrow will start Sunday’s game against the New England Patriots.
Burrow has practiced all week, but the Bengals listed the star quarterback as questionable for the Week 12 clash. He hasn’t played since suffering a toe injury in the season’s second game.
The Bengals could be concealing their hand to force the Patriots to prepare for both signal-callers. Veteran cornerback Carlton Davis III discussed the differences between Flacco and Burrow on Friday.
“I would just say, one holds the ball longer than the other,” Davis told reporters. “Joe Flacco’s trying to get the ball out quick. He’s an old quarterback that doesn’t want to get hit. I feel like Joe Burrow tends to hold the ball a little bit longer, just so he can go through his progression and make the right play.”
Burrow wouldn’t return to his star wide receiver, as Ja’Marr Chase received a one-game suspension for spitting on Pittsburgh Steelers defensive back Jalen Ramsey last Sunday. Davis doesn’t expect Bengals offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher to significantly alter his approach without the All-Pro, regardless of who starts under center.
“They don’t have Chase, so it’s a different ballgame from that standpoint,” Davis said. “But they still have the same scheme, still the same coordinator and they’re still gonna play us the way they would have played us if they had either quarterback.”
Davis also responded to the realization that his head coach, Mike Vrabel, played against Flacco as a Patriots linebacker.
“There’s a lot of crazy stuff going on … Anything can happen in this league.”
Vrabel offered a similar assessment to Davis when breaking down Cincinnati’s two quarterbacks on Friday, per the team transcript.
“The stuff that they’ve always done and will do is going to remain the same,” Vrabel said. “Joe’s [Burrow] probably, or is, more mobile than what Joe [Flacco] is. Both are going to run the same concepts and the same plays and look to try to get the ball in the same places. I would imagine that Joe [Burrow] being a little younger, he’s going to be a little bit more mobile, but we’ll have to be ready for whatever happens Sunday.”
