He says he's ahead of schedule. He's running and lifting. Throwing from a drop and from play action. He is not rolling out yet. He says he will be ready for practice. And the draft is up to the coach's and powers that be


https://open.spotify.com/episode/42jhWcL29gTtVoG7jSMdHV?si=9xbh-qTuTQq87YyA1wVONA&context=spotify%3Ashow%3A2hLJsP2sW8bLEka2tULsuD&nd=1

If you don't want to listen..here's Hobson's synopsis

Cris Collinsworth, one of the greatest receivers in Bengals history, made a modern-day connection Tuesday night when he went long with quarterback Joe Burrow in a 30-minute Pro Football Focus podcast.

Burrow told Collinsworth he's been throwing for more than a week from a drop as well as flinging play-action passes to a hearty band of stationary equipment managers. Even though he notes he's just half-way through a nine-month rehab with his Dec. 2 reconstructive knee surgery and setbacks could still loom, he's confident he'll play Opening Day.

"I'm very optimistic about where I'm at and also where the team is at," Burrow told Collinsworth. "Rehab is going very, very well and lifting is going very, very well. I'm in great shape. Legs feel good, knee feels good. There's still a long way to go, but I'm expecting to be there on the first snap of 2021.

"I'm expecting to play game one. I expect to take part in practice. I'm feeling really good. I'm ahead of schedule."

In his first interview in three months, Burrow revealed he's running and lifting normally.

"I can't roll out and throw yet," Burrow said, but "it's feeling good right now."

Collinsworth, NBC-TV's Emmy Award-winning analyst and the man behind the Cincinnati-based PFF, hit a variety of topics:

_Burrow didn't weigh in on the draft debate even though former LSU teammate Ja'Marr Chase is rated the top wide receiver on the board.

"I trust the organization to do what they do and do their jobs and pick the best player," Burrow said. "I think we're in a good spot to take just the best available. Especially after the free agency we had. We got a lot of really good players that are going to be a lot of help on defense and Riley Reiff at tackle is going to help us a lot."

_Before tearing his ACL in the Nov. 22 road game against Washington in his 10th NFL start, Burrow said he felt the Bengals offense coming together as he grew more used to calling checks at an NFL line of scrimmage.

"In the NFL you see some crazy defenses you've never seen before, defenses teams shouldn't be able to play but they play them," Burrow said. "I was getting comfortable with my checks in those situations. Numbers advantage. Rotation. Checking back-side routes. Checking three-man concepts to the field. We were starting to roll. I got hurt in the Washington game and we were playing the No. 1 pass defense in the league and we had 200 yards at halftime throwing (actually 195 yards)."

_Burrow calls his relationship with Bengals head coach Zac Taylor "special," and says he feels at home in his second season working with Taylor, offensive coordinator Brian Callahan and quarterbacks coach Dan Pitcher.

"A lot of coaches have big egos. There's none of that," Burrow said. "A lot of guys are, 'This is my system. Don't make any checks. This is the way we're going to run it.' It's really a collaboration between me, Zac, our offensive coordinator Brian and Pitch, our quarterbacks coach. A true collaboration. No ego in the entire building."

Despite the rehab update, the most compelling element of the Collinsworth interview is Burrow's take on the Bengals draft. Collinsworth observed that when Burrow hooked up with Chase in LSU's 2019 national championship season, their PFF numbers on passes longer than 20 yards "were off the charts," as Chase proved proficient at snaring jump balls even though he's just 6-0.

Although Chase opted out of last season, Collinsworth said when he saw the LSU pro day Chase looked bigger faster and stronger than the season before and his 4.38-second 40-yard dash surprised him.

Burrow acknowledged the deep ball is about the only area where the Bengals' passing game struggled in his rookie year.

"I didn't watch the pro day. I know what Ja'Marr can do. I didn't have to watch the pro day," Burrow said on "He's a lot like me. He was in there every Saturday with me throwing, getting up early. He's that kind of guy. He's a great person, great dude, great player. He and I got along very (well).

"Certain receivers just have a way of getting separation at the top of the route. Whether they're accelerating past them or they get a little push, whatever it is, he's got that receiver ability to just run past people. He ran a 4.38 I think it was, but I didn't expect it. Nobody is catching him, though. He just has a great way of getting open. He has a great feel for zone, great feel for man. He's a complete player."

But when it comes to Chase or any of the other top prospects, Burrow told Collinsworth he's good anyway the Bengals go.

"I'm not watching film on any of these guys. I've just seen highlights," Burrow said. "The organization knows more than I do and will make the best pick."

This is like word alcohol.

"I trust the organization to do what they do and do their jobs and pick the best player," Burrow said. "I think we're in a good spot to take just the best available. Especially after the free agency we had. We got a lot of really good players that are going to be a lot of help on defense and Riley Reiff at tackle is going to help us a lot."

Let the reading between the lines commence...lol

With all the drama going on in Texas and Seattle and other places at QB this offseason, it's nice to have a guy who says, 'Sure, there's things I like, but I'm trusting my team.'

There's no beating around the bush with Burrow's comments about Chase. What I heard him say was this and tell me if you agree,
"With Chase, he's another me at the WR position". We've been talking all year long, are really good friends. We'd come in and study film together, have early throwing sessions, workout together all the time, and the deep ball completion % will do a complete 360 with him b/c he just has that it factor that you can't explain. You can't cover him downfield basically especially after he ran his blazing 4.38 which I wasn't even expecting.
We'll pretty much be unstoppable if management takes Chase.............BuuuuuuuT, I trust in management doing the right thing and picking the best player whoever that is at #5." LMFAO!
C'mon folks, it's over! The pick will be Chase!

(04-21-2021, 12:37 AM)JerseyDD09 Wrote: There's no beating around the bush with Burrow's comments about Chase. What I heard him say was this and tell me if you agree,
"With Chase, he's another me at the WR position". We've been talking all year long, are really good friends. We'd come in and study film together, have early throwing sessions, workout together all the time,  and the deep ball completion % will do a complete 360 with him b/c he just has that it factor that you can't explain. You can't cover him downfield basically especially after he ran his blazing 4.38 which I wasn't even expecting.
We'll pretty much be unstoppable if management takes Chase.............BuuuuuuuT, I trust in management doing the right thing and picking the best player whoever that is at #5."  LMFAO!
C'mon folks, it's over! The pick will be Chase!

 Yes, that's exactly what I heard him say, too. 


I think I also heard him say that Riley Rieff is 10x better than that fat loser Bobby Hart. 

His quote on the draft is exactly what I'd expect him to feel. He doesn't feel he's earned the right to influence; but he knows he can/will get there.

I said the same in the "Joe's pushing for Chase" thread. That was just a talking head speculating and many here ran with it.

(04-21-2021, 12:37 AM)JerseyDD09 Wrote: There's no beating around the bush with Burrow's comments about Chase. What I heard him say was this and tell me if you agree,
"With Chase, he's another me at the WR position". We've been talking all year long, are really good friends. We'd come in and study film together, have early throwing sessions, workout together all the time, and the deep ball completion % will do a complete 360 with him b/c he just has that it factor that you can't explain. You can't cover him downfield basically especially after he ran his blazing 4.38 which I wasn't even expecting.
We'll pretty much be unstoppable if management takes Chase.............BuuuuuuuT, I trust in management doing the right thing and picking the best player whoever that is at #5." LMFAO!
C'mon folks, it's over! The pick will be Chase!

Pretty much. But wouldn’t it be a 180?

Thanks for posting. There's no doubt anymore. It's a fait accompli. Unless Atlanta takes him at 4, it'll be Chase. What we're watching now is a coordinated campaign to justify it. At least Joe is on board, though. It's his body at the end of the day. Just gotta hope for the best. Cheers.

"I trust the organization to do what they do and do their jobs and pick the best player," Burrow said. "I think we're in a good spot to take just the best available. Especially after the free agency we had. We got a lot of really good players that are going to be a lot of help on defense and Riley Reiff at tackle is going to help us a lot."

"I didn't watch the pro day. I know what Ja'Marr can do. I didn't have to watch the pro day," Burrow said on "He's a lot like me. He was in there every Saturday with me throwing, getting up early. He's that kind of guy. He's a great person, great dude, great player. He and I got along very (well)."

Yeah, Chase is the pick.

Its amazing to me how "all in" Burrow is on Zac Taylor. He talks him up pretty highly.

Collinsworth brought up Chase a hell of a lot more than Joe did. Joe was just answering his questions. What did folks expect him to say when constantly asked about his former WR and current friend?

I'm sure just like Munoz, Anderson, and Lapham like the olineman; CC thinks WRs are important.

We are so lucky to have this kid. Thank God Huber shanked that punt and we list to Miami.

(04-21-2021, 11:12 AM)WeezyBengal Wrote: Its amazing to me how "all in" Burrow is on Zac Taylor. He talks him up pretty highly.

When we start rattling off wins, it will be amazing how many people on this board will be all in on Taylor too.....

(04-21-2021, 12:57 PM)Sled21 Wrote: When we start rattling off wins, it will be amazing how many people on this board will be all in on Taylor too.....

You've been on these forums as long as I have and you know this just isn't true for many.

The dedicated haters may go silent (or not) during success (Hi AD hating crowd), but they rarely change their tunes.

(04-21-2021, 01:09 PM)Stewy Wrote: You've been on these forums as long as I have and you know this just isn't true for many.

The dedicated haters may go silent (or not) during success (Hi AD hating crowd), but they rarely change their tunes.

Yeah, I didn't say all.... but a lot will.

(04-21-2021, 12:57 PM)Sled21 Wrote: When we start rattling off wins, it will be amazing how many people on this board will be all in on Taylor too.....

(04-21-2021, 01:09 PM)Stewy Wrote: You've been on these forums as long as I have and you know this just isn't true for many.

The dedicated haters may go silent (or not) during success (Hi AD hating crowd), but they rarely change their tunes.

Yeah, when a head coach finally proves he is capable of winning games after having 6 total wins in his first 2 seasons, people tend to start being more supportive of that coach. Sort of a natural progression, don't you think? Prove you can win games = fans start believing you can win games.

I like how salty he got when CC asked him about OSU's decision to go with Haskins over him. You could tell he wanted to say "They f-d up"

(04-20-2021, 10:47 PM)Big Boss Wrote: This is like word alcohol.

I had to log in just to give you rep. This is so true what a great way to put it. Props!

(04-21-2021, 03:03 PM)Bengalholic Wrote: Yeah, when a head coach finally proves he is capable of winning games after having 6 total wins in his first 2 seasons, people tend to start being more supportive of that coach. Sort of a natural progression, don't you think? Prove you can win games = fans start believing you can win games.

I'll be the first to support Zac and the coaching staff if they turn it around and win 10+ games this year. 

The chances of that happening IMO are slim to none but if they do happen i'll be the first to eat crow. 

With the talent he's had the first 2 years and done nothing with it, prove to me you can win.

Part of me wonders if Burrow supports Taylor so much because Zac played football at Nebraska so I'm sure the families know one another.  

So he isnt going to call out a family friend for being a loser.