Joe Burrow Press Conference - October 11

[0:11] Maybe. It was certainly hot out there. [0:14] But once we got into the flow, you don't really think about it too much. [0:19] You know, warm-ups, a little huffing and puffing, but after that we were all good. [0:27] Yeah, we ran it efficiently. [0:31] You know, but I think just not good enough all around, you know, team-wide. [0:34] I think, you know, if we want to be the team that we think we're going to be, [0:37] we've got to be better than that. [0:38] What's it feel like that after? What's that like? [0:46] How you won, you know, as you kind of processed, you know, [0:48] as opposed to winning three in three? [0:50] Certainly better than after a loss. [0:51] You guys head into the bye, three and two. [0:54] Do you feel like you know who you are as an offense? [0:58] Yeah, I think we do. I think we do. [1:02] You know, today was, you know, we did some good things. [1:07] We did some good things. [1:12] How did you like to play? [1:13] I think I played well. I think I played well. [1:15] It looked like it was a third down, right zone. [1:18] You were effective. Why was that? [1:19] You know, our receivers did a good job of finding space. [1:24] We didn't get a ton of man coverage, but when we did, you know, we made them pay. [1:28] They made a good play there on the last third down. [1:30] You know, we had good field position most of the day. [1:34] And, you know, I think for the most part we took advantage of it. [1:36] But, you know, we had some dumb mistakes, and, you know, we got to get those fixed if we want to be a great team. [1:43] It seems like the guys who you did the damage with on third down, Najee, Tanner, Gusecki, I mean, these are not, everybody's worried about Jermaine. [1:51] It seemed like you're, you know, the complimentary guys. [1:53] Yeah, Tanner made an unbelievable play on third down. [1:56] He made a great play in the red zone. [1:59] You know, Dante won against man coverage on third down. [2:02] You know, Mike's going to be Mike, obviously. [2:05] I don't know how many touchdowns he has, but it feels like he catches, every time he catches it, it's a touchdown. [2:11] And, you know, Samajian made a big-time play down there as well. [2:15] So, you know, a lot to get better at, but a lot of good as well. [2:23] Yeah, that's a protection I really like. [2:26] You know, it buys me time and space to push the ball down the field. [2:29] And when you can push the ball down the field with the guys that we have and we can buy that kind of time, [2:36] you see what number one can do whenever the ball's in the air. [2:41] Obviously, unbelievable play. [2:43] But we don't want to take it for granted, but we're used to it at this point, you know. [2:47] What about tomorrow? [2:48] Yeah, that's football, man. [2:53] That's football. [2:54] When you have great players that want to be great and want to be there for the team, that's what it's all about. [3:13] Yeah, I feel great. [3:14] I feel great this football. [3:19] I'm all good. [3:25] Yeah, I mean, he's just Mr. Reliable, and he has been my entire time here since he's been on our team. [3:33] You can count on him to fall forward and give us an extra two. [3:37] You can count on him to win against the linebacker in coverage. [3:43] You know, he's such a valuable piece for us and, you know, certainly doesn't get enough credit for it. [3:48] Why is he such a good protection? [3:51] Why is he such a good protection? [3:53] Yeah, downhill, downhill, and, you know, we count on him a lot in protection, too, on third down to go not just block linebackers, sometimes defensive linemen as well. [4:05] And, you know, I feel really confident that if I get it to him in space on third down, he's going to go make it happen for us. [4:12] He's just such a valuable piece for us. [4:14] How do you feel about this team? [4:18] You've got to be better. [4:19] You've got to be better. [4:20] In what ways? [4:21] Every way. [4:28] You know, obviously, you'd like to score a touchdown there when you get it at the 10-yard line to close it out. [4:34] You know, we let him back in it and, you know, made it a – really came down to an onside kick. [4:41] You don't want to be in that spot. [4:42] That's not a spot that, you know, you should give one up, but you never know what happens in that spot, you know? [4:51] Yeah, we'll be better. [4:59] We'll be better. [5:00] You've got their balance on Wednesday. [5:02] I know it was a 50-50 today, but was this pretty close to an ideal balance? [5:06] Yeah, I haven't seen, you know, the stats or the play breakdowns, but it certainly felt like, you know, [5:13] when we ran it, we were getting four, five, six yards and putting us in third and manageable [5:17] and, you know, a lot of times converting on that second down. [5:21] So, on first glance, I think so. [5:25] What would it take to kind of some of the other work you want us to look like? [5:32] Yeah, we've got to be smarter. [5:33] We've got to be smarter. [5:34] You know, two fumbles in the red zone, a couple personal fouls that, you know, hurt us – [5:41] hurt our field position, gave them points on the board. [5:44] Yeah, we've got to be smarter. [5:46] The third down touchdown passes in seconds, and it seemed like you'd like the coverage match up there. [5:52] Yeah, that's – you know, the first play was a great – the first touchdown was a great call. [5:58] You know, Riscotti works really hard on those red zone plans, [6:01] and that was one drawn up for that coverage, so that was a great beater. [6:05] And, yeah, the second one, Somazi, you know, just went in one on a choice route. [6:11] And the way that they were playing, that was really the look that we wanted. [6:15] How hot was it? [6:18] I don't know. [6:18] I'm sure you can check the weather report, man. [6:21] Is that as hot as you can? [6:23] Yeah, I mean, it was hot out there, but once – you know, you're in the helmet, [6:27] so it doesn't – when your helmet's on, it's not too bad. [6:31] And, you know, we have the shaders and the misters and everything, so, you know, [6:35] they take care of us out there. [6:39] Yeah, we'll see. [6:39] I don't know. [6:40] I don't know. [6:41] It's so early, you know, I want to maintain my conditioning, my strength in conditioning, [6:45] and, you know, certainly want to keep throwing, so I'm going to try to find a plan. [6:49] This is uncharted territory for me, having a buy this early, so we'll see. [6:54] Thanks, guys. [6:55] Thank you.