Bengals’ star receiver is letting his play do the talking
Will the real Ja’Marr Chase please stand up.
In the few short years, the Cincinnati Bengals wideout has been a member of the NFL elite, he has become known for his trash talk.
But no more.
This year, thanks in large part to head coach Zac Taylor, we are seeing a kinder, gentler version of one of the best receivers in the league.
“Zac told me twice that you don’t have to say so much. That’s what he told me,” Chase said during his weekly press conference. “You don’t have to say so much. Just keep the words at a minimum and let my play do the talking. And you know that’s respectful. I can understand that.”
And he has taken the advice to heart. Chase currently ranks second in the NFL so far with 565 receiving yards, a mere two yards behind Nico Collins of the Houston Texans. Sunday’s matchup against the Cleveland Browns, who are currently ranked just outside the top 10 in passing defense, should prove to be his stiffest challenge yet.
Chase won’t be adding any fuel to the fire. Last year, Chase stoked the fires when he said that he did not understand the “hooping and hollering” and barely paid attention to it because “Cleveland is Cleveland.” And his “I was about to call them the elves” comment didn’t help.
“When I did the elves thing last year, I think Cleveland did like a paper, and they put a paper in the locker room, something like that,” Chase recalled.
This time around, Chase had nothing but praise to offer for the team up north.
“I’d say the most challenging thing is they probably have the best secondary we’ve faced besides Baltimore,” Chase said. “Their whole secondary is skill-based, fast. They’re all good, and they’ve got a very good d-line. That’s another thing that makes them very great on the defensive side of the ball.”
Actually, the Browns have a much better passing defense than the Ravens, who are currently ranked at No. 31 in the league.
It helps that the Bengals have a few more weapons this time around. Rookie tight end Erick All and free agent pickup Mike Gesicki give Cincinnati an extra threat the Bengals have not seen since the days of C.J. Uzomah.
All, who has caught 16 of the 17 passes thrown to him by quarterback Joe Burrow for 102 yards, has combined with Gesicki for 33 receptions and 280 yards, the best production from the room since Taylor came to town.
The Bengals will probably need all that and more Sunday if they hope to reverse a trend that has seen them lose six of the last eight and nine of the last 12 Battles of Ohio.
