CINCINNATI (WKRC) - Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow held a press conference on Wednesday to preview Sunday's game at the Las Vegas Raiders (4:05 p.m. and Local 12 will televise), discuss what he did during the bye week and more:
How was your bye weekend?
"It was great. It was good to get away. Everyone needs to take their mind off of football for a little bit so you can come back, ready to go for this last half of the season that we’re ready to push for."
Do anything noteworthy?
"No, just relaxed; didn’t do too much."
Watch anything?
"I watched this “Catching Killers” deal on Netflix. That was pretty good. Billy Milligan. That one on Netflix is pretty good. That’s really all I got into."
Watch any football?
"Of course I watched football, c’mon. That’s all I do."
You watch New England-Cleveland?
"I did, yeah. That was impressive."
A lot of handoffs...
"Yeah. It sure was."
You sit there the whole day and watch?
"I watched football all day. It was fun. It’s always good to step back and see how teams win, mistakes other people make. You can learn a lot from days like Sunday where you can just sit back and watch all the games."
Anything kind of resonate with you?
"All the games come down to one or two plays at the end, minimizing mistakes."
Six of the last eight games are against teams with winning records. Does that amp you up a little bit?
"Honestly, I don’t really think about the records of anybody. Every team, I’m at the point in my career where every single team is capable of beating anybody. If we don’t play well, we’re going to lose. That’s how it is every single week, no matter the record of the opposing team."
What did you learned about the offense when you did self-scouting?
"We took a step back and talked about things we did well, things we haven’t done well and implemented some new things. We are gonna do things that we’ve been good at. That’s going to continue."
Lots of feedback as well?
"Yeah, for sure."
How much do you think back on first encounter with Gus Bradley (last year’s opener against the Chargers?
"We’ve played this style of defense a bunch over the last two years. So we kind of know what to expect. He’s a great defensive coordinator that’s really been successful everywhere he’s gone. And it does it by really being simple on defense and people understanding their assignments."
More of an emphasis on the run game as the weather gets worse. Do you feel like you can perform in any kind of weather or is there any validity to that?
"I think we’re going to do what we do. We’re going to continue to run the ball the way we have. We’re going to continue to throw the ball the way we have. Depending game to game, obviously, each game is a different situation. So if we come out and it’s obviously we’re playing indoors this week, but if we come out and it’s really rainy and windy, we’re going to have to run the ball more. If we come out and it’s good weather, we’re going to throw the ball more. It just depends on the game."
Do you like to play in bad weather and the cold?
"Yeah, it’s football weather. It’s my kind of weather. I like it."
Is this game a tone-setter for the team?
"I don’t know if I would say that. It’s a very important game for us, just like every game is. We want to come out and win to set the tone. But it’s just as important as any other game."
How do you feel about in-season adjustments?
"Whenever you come into the season, you have an idea of what you expect to be as an offensive and then you tweak things throughout the entire year that you start to realize, ‘Hey, you’re good at this,’ or we’re going to add on to this package here or there. You have to be really good at adapting game to game, week to week, of what you do. As a quarterback, that’s really what quarterbacking is — adapting your game to each game to give you the best chance to win. Some games, defenses are going to be playing really well. You just gotta protect the ball, live to see another down. You’re going to win the game. Some games, you’re going to have to go out there and throw it 50, 60 times and try to win the game. As a quarterback, you have to be good at adapting to put yourself in the best position to win.
Are defenses adapting to your offense?
“Every team has a wrinkle or two every single game. I wouldn’t say anybody’s throwing anything at us that we haven’t expected or adjusted to on the fly pretty well, but it is what it is.”
Is there a player on this roster that impressed you the most?
“I think all of our guys have played really well in spots that they’ve been given opportunities. Excited about some young players that we expect to get some more chances this next half of the year going into next year, but I think overall we’ve executed well and just gotta keep it going.”
What do you see from the Raiders defense?
“They really limit the big plays. They’re good at that. They understand the scheme that they’re playing in and you can tell because they keep it so simple that they really don’t have a lot to think about and they can just focus on playing fast, playing with speed and a physicality. We’re gonna have to take what they give us and take the big opportunities when they’re there.”
One thing you need to improve on in second half?
“Just gotta protect the ball better, that’s the main thing. If we start protecting the ball better, myself included, then we’re gonna win more games down the stretch.”
What did you do during bye?
“I really just got away from football a little bit. I watched the film on Monday, practiced Tuesday and still maintained my body throughout the week so still got the workouts in, but other than that stepped away from football, kinda refreshed my brain.”
Netflix?
“Little bit of Netflix.”
What did you watch?
“I watched Billy Milligan, the Netflix series, was pretty good. It was interesting because I didn’t realize he lived in Athens for a little bit. It was interesting, yeah.”
How much of a gap is there in how you plan to target WRs vs how many targets they get?
“I really don’t go into any game thinking that way. I throw it to where the defense tells me to throw it. Some games Tee’s gonna have 15-16 targets like he’s had. Some games TB’s gonna have 20 targets like he did against Jacksonville and some games Ja’Marr’s gonna have 10-15 targets. That’s just the way it works. Teams come in expecting to take one guy away and we got other guys that can make it happen so I just throw it to where the defense tells me to.”
Best defensive ends you’ve faced this season?
“The defensive ends? I don’t know if they’re We’ve played a lot of really, really good defensive ends. They’re up there. They really have high motors and you can’t take any plays off because they’re gonna make you pay. They’re good on the back end and so they line up the big plays and they get their opportunities when the quarterbacks holding the ball, they’re gonna get home so you just gotta be aware of that.”
Does their safety tandem impress you?
“Really the whole defense has impressed me. Like I said they do a good job with their defense, understanding their jobs and playing fast.”
Relish playing against Gus Bradley?
“Excited to see him. He’s been a family friend for a long time so it’s always good to talk to him.”