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Joe Burrow: The NFL’s Next Big Thing?

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In a season full of possible fairytale endings, Joe Burrow is close to stealing the show. After lurking in the league’s basement, Burrow has led the Cincinnati Bengals to Super Bowl 56 against the odds. Before the game, most online sportsbooks had the Bengals as +800 underdogs to beat the Chiefs in the AFC Championship game. 

The star quarterback was, as he has been throughout the last six months, unfazed by the oddsmakers’ predictions. His effectiveness lies in his ability to produce, no matter the conditions. Despite frequent poor play-calls, a lack of protection, and a defense that dedicates most of its resources to receiver Ja’Marr Chase, Burrow keeps it moving.  

Time and again, the 25-year-old has avoided pressure and extended plays and drives to gift his team point-scoring chances. Although he’s not a supreme athlete, his clever movement has been the key to the Bengals’ resurrection in the last six months.

As news circulated that Tom Brady was thinking of retiring (with NFL sportsbooks even offering odds on it), Burrow stepped up to the plate against Kansas City to herald in the changing of the guard. Brady is seen by many as the heir to his hero Joe Montana. Now it seems the NFL has found an heir to ‘Tom Terrific’. Burrow has shown that he can raise his game in the biggest moments and keep a cool head under pressure to transform the Cincinnati Bengals franchise. Sound familiar? 

Also, as only two quarterbacks have won the FBS National Championship and a Super Bowl title – Montana and Joe Namath – Burrow even has a chance to do something Brady couldn’t on February 14.

Another Underdog Win for The Bengals

Most Cincinnati fans will remember last Sunday’s AFC Championship game for Burrow’s incredible performance. Kansas City fans, however, will see it as a missed opportunity. Throughout the first half, the Chiefs looked unstoppable. Mahomes was living up to the hype, the run-game was in full flow, and their defense contained Burrow, Chase, and Joe Mixon by cutting the supply line from the quarterback to receiver with bodies at the line of scrimmage.

Yet, the game turned on its head. A poor fourth-down call from the Chiefs’ coaching staff made them go for a touchdown instead of a field goal that would have increased their half-time lead from 11 to 14 points. 

Like in their Week 17 win against the Chiefs, the Bengals adjusted their defense in the second half to lure the Chiefs into running the ball. Once again, Patrick Mahomes opted to pass short, which slowed down proceedings. Cincinnati then eased off the pressure to make Mahomes hold onto the ball. Consequently, the Chiefs’ offense deteriorated into a freelancing mess – Mahomes completed just nine of 19 passes for 55 yards and failed to throw even one touchdown in the second half. 

This spell zapped the Kansas City quarterback’s confidence. He became tentative in the pocket, slow in making decisions, and wandered into pressure. Before this matchup, he had only tossed one interception in a playoff game. In this game, he threw two: one to set up Burrow and the Cincy offense in scoring range to change the tide of the game; one in overtime to gift Cincinnatti a shot to walk off. Mahomes’ sloppy display let Burrow use his great movement to extend plays. The QB got four first downs on four rushing attempts to help the Bengals to a 27-24 victory over the pregame Super Bowl favorites.  

Legendary Status 

It’s only taken 21 months for the Ohioan native to win the hearts of Bengals fans. His performances on the field have impressed the older fan base, and his flashy pre-game outfits have wooed younger fans hungry for a player with personality.

Before the win on Sunday, Burrow built upon his growing legend status when speaking to the media: “I’m tired of the underdog narrative. We’ve got good players, good coaches.” 

Since joining, the NFL’s new ‘Mr. Cool’ has worked his magic to take what was recently the worst team in the league to the biggest game in football. All that stands in the way of a fairytale ending for Cincinatti is Matthew Stafford’s LA Rams – who’ll be playing at home. Easy, it won’t be. But with Burrow in the team, some Bengals fans will already be making plans for the victory boat parade. 

From television to the internet platform, Jonathan switched his journey in digital media with Bigtime Daily. He served as a journalist for popular news channels and currently contributes his experience for Bigtime Daily by writing about the tech domain.

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Why Todd Graves Is Driven To Innovate Golfing Techniques and Inspire Future Athletes

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When you look up the history of sports and how it changed over the years, you will find several influential public figures and athletes’ names at the top of unique inventions. After all, those who play the sport, also know what could improve and popularize it. Todd Graves is one of those individuals with a passion for golf and sports innovation.

He is an innovative thought leader and business expert with nearly 50 years of experience in the golf community. He practiced golf under the training and guidance of Murray “Moe” Norman, the world-renowned PGA golfer of the 20th Century. Norman was one of the most influential figures in the golf community with his unique techniques and innovative methods to approach the game.

His contributions and golf skills earned him the nickname of “Pipeline Moe”, mainly for his unmatched ability to hit one straight shot after another with the slightest deviation in the ball’s trajectory. As his protégé, Todd Graves vowed to be among the leading sports personalities and innovators in the golf space. He worked on the single-plane swing technique modeled by his mentor, Moe Norman over his professional career.

It is a technique that helps a golfer reduce strain on the lower back while increasing the consistency and frequency of making a solid impact with the ball. Before, it was limited in practice to highly experienced golfers with immense knowledge of kinetic movements and swinging techniques. Today, Todd Graves’ contributions have enabled the wide use and adoption of the single-plane swing method in the global golf community.

The pro golfer believes that innovation is a key component of progress and without progress, humanity could come to a standstill. Whether it is progress in the personal, professional, or sports world, every great athlete should strive for it and reach their maximum potential, according to Todd Graves. To bring new knowledge to a wider audience around the world, he recently partnered with Barry Morrow, who is a famous American screenwriter and film producer credited with co-writing the screenplay for the movie Rain Main (1988).

Graves partnered with Oscar-winning Barry Morrow to create a documentary on the life and achievements of the great pro golfer, Moe Norman. Through the documentary, Todd wishes to inspire athletes and motivate golfers to bring innovation to their gameplay. Todd Graves shares his drive for bringing innovation and catalyzing change in the sports world with aspiring athletes, pro golfers, and students.

Graves’s inspiration comes from his dedication to the advancement of sports science. He spent a better part of his career with kinesiology experts and sports scientists to discover intricate details involved in various physical activities, also including golf. He identified potential risk injuries, analyzed their occurrences, and gathered factual data with the help of scientists.

He aims to portray actual findings in his upcoming documentary and inspire young athletes to be more than participants in national and international competitions. Todd Graves stands as one of the most influential and inspirational figures in the golf community and has earned association with several famous personalities including Ben Hago, and Tiger Woods, among others.

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