05-16-2018, 01:22 PM
In this recent recent article at Bengals.com, John Ross talks about Green's advice, changing his mental approach and working with TJ:
The way Ross tells it, Green, the seven-time Pro Bowler, has pulled him to the side and told him, “You have to slow down. Get under yourself. Calm down. Just stop thinking. I’m watching you think about it. Just stop thinking.”
And while Ross may have heard that stuff last year as the ninth player taken in the draft, this sophomore is listening to it.
“Then I won’t think about it,” Ross says, “and I’ll run a good route.”
“Pressure is still the same. Even more so,” Ross says. “‘Is he going to perform? How well is he going to perform?’ I kind of had to stop thinking about it.
“That’s one of my biggest things. I’m thinking about everything I’m doing and it’s taking away from how talented I actually am. They’re in my ear a lot saying, ‘Just relax. Be yourself. We can tell when you’re yourself. You perform better. You just have to stop thinking so much.”
“I couldn’t ask to feel any better than I do now,” Ross says. “It’s the best I’ve felt since I went into my last year of college.”
“Last year I let everything get to me.” Ross says. “I let my injury get to me. I was trying to do more than I could. I was out of shape. I’m not trying to make excuses, but its real life things. You can’t just come in the NFL and be that guy. You have to come in and prepare. I’ve learned that. It’s growth and progression from here on.”
“T.J. is the most confident guy I’ve ever met in my life. I can say that with a straight face,” Ross says. “That first day we met I felt like I knew him my whole life. He doesn’t think he could still be a third receiver in the NFL. He believes it.”
Houshmandzadeh has told him if anybody thinks Ross got drafted purely for his 40 time, they are full of it.
“He said, ‘You got drafted ninth because you’re talented and you work hard,’” is how Ross recounts the conversation. “ ‘Just continue to do so. You’ll get better.’”
The way Ross tells it, Green, the seven-time Pro Bowler, has pulled him to the side and told him, “You have to slow down. Get under yourself. Calm down. Just stop thinking. I’m watching you think about it. Just stop thinking.”
And while Ross may have heard that stuff last year as the ninth player taken in the draft, this sophomore is listening to it.
“Then I won’t think about it,” Ross says, “and I’ll run a good route.”
“Pressure is still the same. Even more so,” Ross says. “‘Is he going to perform? How well is he going to perform?’ I kind of had to stop thinking about it.
“That’s one of my biggest things. I’m thinking about everything I’m doing and it’s taking away from how talented I actually am. They’re in my ear a lot saying, ‘Just relax. Be yourself. We can tell when you’re yourself. You perform better. You just have to stop thinking so much.”
“I couldn’t ask to feel any better than I do now,” Ross says. “It’s the best I’ve felt since I went into my last year of college.”
“Last year I let everything get to me.” Ross says. “I let my injury get to me. I was trying to do more than I could. I was out of shape. I’m not trying to make excuses, but its real life things. You can’t just come in the NFL and be that guy. You have to come in and prepare. I’ve learned that. It’s growth and progression from here on.”
“T.J. is the most confident guy I’ve ever met in my life. I can say that with a straight face,” Ross says. “That first day we met I felt like I knew him my whole life. He doesn’t think he could still be a third receiver in the NFL. He believes it.”
Houshmandzadeh has told him if anybody thinks Ross got drafted purely for his 40 time, they are full of it.
“He said, ‘You got drafted ninth because you’re talented and you work hard,’” is how Ross recounts the conversation. “ ‘Just continue to do so. You’ll get better.’”
