Any quarterback can throw hot vs. the blitz. The best ones try to set their protection at the line in a way that neutralizes the most likely blitz threat, allowing them to stick with the original route concept and attack downfield when the defense has fewer men in coverage.
Joe Burrow is among the best in the game at doing just that, as you’ll see on the example below.
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In the Bengals’ Week 13 win over the Ravens last season, they faced a 3rd-and-9 from Baltimore’s 29-yard line in the 3rd quarter.
Cincinnati initially came out in a 2x2 formation with running back Samaje Perine on the perimeter and tight end Drew Sample next to Burrow in the backfield:
But Burrow saw the Ravens showing a pressure look with 7 defenders hovering near the line of scrimmage and an 8th potential rusher in the slot to his right:
Given the situation and defensive look, a blitz was likely. But it could be coming from either direction.
So Burrow brought Perine back in from the perimeter and moved Sample up just behind the center to account for it. He was keeping 7 in to protect:
The route concept the Bengals had called here was “Dagger” with just 3 receivers running routes:
Since the route concept was to the offense’s right, that meant Burrow’s eyes needed to go right at the snap as well.
In an ideal world, a quarterback does not want to have to peak in one direction and then get his eyes back to the other side in order to decipher the coverage and work through his reads. That adds time and can be hard to do.
So Burrow put Sample in the A-gap to the left and set the protection so that he was completely secure to his back side and wouldn’t have to peak in that direction:
But after Burrow set the protection, you can see the Ravens communicating and adjusting their blitz. The slot cornerback to the right, Marlon Humphrey, crept inside ready to rush:
That wasn’t a problem for Burrow.