The Bengals are looking for ways to get off to a fast start, which has been an issue in Taylor’s first six years, and they’ve determined more game reps in preseason will have players better prepared going into Week 1. In the past, starters played no more than a series and sometimes not at all.
“I’m excited for the chance to get better,” Burrow said. “You know, those are valuable reps that we haven’t had in the past for good reason, but I think we’re making the right decision this year, and I think that’s gonna benefit us in the long run.”
Last year coming back from November 2023 wrist surgery, Burrow had extra days off from throwing, and he played just one drive in the preseason opener, successfully executing a 12-play series that was capped by a touchdown to Tee Higgins.
Taylor confirmed Burrow won’t need those restrictions after getting through last season healthy.
Asked how much he would like to play in preseason, Burrow said that’s not up to him but he plans to take advantage of whatever snaps he does get.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
“For me, you can practice full speed against the defense all you want, but you’re not getting hit,” Burrow said. “You’re not quite feeling that. And the D-line is stopping. Free runners are stopping a couple of yards before they get to you, number one. And then you can work on scrambling a little bit. You can get that timing of how quickly you actually have to get the ball out of your hand in those preseason games, whereas in training camp, you try to simulate that as best as you can, but it’s not quite the same.”
Taylor said Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins will be monitored a little differently.
Last year after Higgins suffered a hamstring injury that sidelined him the first two games, the Bengals managed his workload in practices. He ended up having lighter days early in the week before going full-go on the more important practice days in a game week. That will likely continue in his sixth season, and Chase could see some extra days off as well.
“I thought we had a good plan as the season progressed last year toward the end of the season,” Taylor said. “There will be elements of that this training camp. Last training camp he was coming off an injury, so we managed it that way. Ja’Marr the same thing. We want to make sure Ja’Marr is fresh at the appropriate times and so we’ll manage him when we need to.”
Burrow also expects the team to benefit from the switch to morning practices during training camp. Players still arrive at the facility at the same time as they did in years past, but after an 8:45 a.m. meeting, they go right into practice instead of lifting and walkthroughs prior to a mid-afternoon practice.
Taylor said initially the idea was to just shake things up a bit, but the coaches also believe they will get more out of the players in better weather conditions than maybe they did in the hottest parts of the day in the past.
For Burrow, it’s less about the temperature than it is the routine.
“Just nutrition timing, you know, it’s gonna be better in the weight room (with) practice in the morning,” Burrow said. “Now we can go in and get a lift and work hard in there too. When you know, if we were lifting before practice, you don’t want to go in there and burn yourself out before you go out and work on your craft. So, I think the timing of it is just going to be better overall.”
Burrow wasn’t happy with how his first day of training camp went Wednesday, calling it “poor.” He missed his targets a few times and didn’t look as sharp as he could have, even while most of the passes were short yardage attempts.
The defense, even while missing Trey Hendrickson and rookie Shemar Stewart, “won the day,” Burrow said. It often takes some time for the offense to get back into a rhythm after everyone worked on their own during the break after Organized Team Activities, but that doesn’t change Burrow’s expectations.
“He expects us to be great, especially since a lot of us are coming back,” wide receiver Andrei Iosivas said of Burrow’s leadership. “He expects us to know what we’re doing, to be in the right spot, to know the checks. We all expect that from each other, so it’s kind of a team effort to know we need to be on point.”
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Burrow is adamant he still has plenty of things to improve in his game, despite leading the league in almost every major passing category last year.
Elite quarterbacks set themselves apart with consistency, he said, but there’s always another level to reach.
“There’s never an area that I’m satisfied in where I’m at,” Burrow said. “The second that happens is the second you start getting complacent and the second that everybody starts to pass you up. No matter how good you are in one area of the game, there’s always room to improve.”
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