Asked #Steelers CB Joey Porter Jr. about Ja’Marr Chase’s “raw dog” comment: “Yeah, that was crazy. I mean, he’s not wrong in a sense, I guess. That was a crazy comment. I mean we ain’t trying to play games with them, we’re trying to win the football game. So, yeah, he’s right.”

“We know the Steelers are going to come in and try to raw-dog us and kill us. But we will be ready for that challenge and waiting for it.” Ja’Marr Chase knows what’s at stake Thursday night at Paycor against the Steelers with the division standings being what they are.

Ja’Marr Chase explains changing a Zac Taylor call, Burrow vs. Flacco

Cincinnati Bengals Ja’Marr Chase is encouraged by what he sees from new quarterback Joe Flacco, just like most of the fanbase.

He’s also not shying away from changing a Zac Taylor play call from time to time. 

Flacco threw two touchdowns against Green Bay on the road just days after joining the team via trade. One of those happened on a play where Chase changed the call. 

"We were calling another play, but I was telling him to change it because they were jumping a lot of routes," Chase told Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com. "He threw the pass to me so I get a flag on it or I make a catch,"

Chase added he changes the play calls “here and there.”

Since Chase battled an illness this week, he didn’t get many live reps with Flacco. Much of Sunday was improvisation, including the changed calls.

That would’ve worked just fine with Joe Burrow. With Flacco…not bad, either.

"Joe Burrow and Joe Flacco are different," Chase said, according to Hobson. "I've been playing with Joe for years. I've been playing with Joe Flacco for a week. Those reps I had with him were good enough, but we can definitely get better … A lot of room for improvement and we had a lot of improvement."

Ideally, a fully healthy Chase gets more work with an increasingly comfortable Flacco on a short week before they play the Steelers on Thursday night. That would mesh nicely with the Triple Crown winner calling an audible here and there and a veteran quarterback more than happy to throw the ball where he wants it. 

Broderick Jones Demands More From Himself Than Fans Expect

When the Pittsburgh Steelers played the Cleveland Browns in Week 6, there were concerns about Myles Garrett wrecking the game. He’s one of the best pass rushers in the league, and he’s given the Steelers fits in the past. However, Garrett didn’t 

have much of an impact at all. The Steelers contained him and the rest of the Browns’ pass rush. Broderick Jones drew the Garrett assignment, and while he wasn’t always on an island in that matchup, it’s a credit to him that Aaron Rodgers was kept upright. However, Jones was less satisfied with his performance.

“It was solid,” Jones said Monday via the team’s YouTube channel. “It was enough to get us out of the stadium. There’s always trials and tribulations you’ve gotta come through. I feel like I could’ve played a little bit better… Just me trying to uphold the standard for myself. I feel like I’ve gotta play at a better, more consistent level.”

Was Jones perfect against the Browns? No. He had some ugly reps where he got beaten, and those didn’t always come against Garrett. As a former first-round pick, Jones is still trying to live up to his draft pedigree.

Also, the Steelers didn’t force Jones to block Garrett one-on-one very often. They gave him help, chipping or double-teaming Garrett. The Steelers’ offensive game plan did a lot to limit him, too. They utilized a lot of quick passes and moved the pocket away from Garrett.

However, none of that means Jones is a bad player. Few offensive tackles in the league could hope to block Garrett one-on-one for an entire game. The Steelers were right to devote a lot of attention to him and give Jones help.

Despite that, Jones still might not be giving himself enough credit. Rodgers didn’t get sacked once against the Browns. Considering the level of player that Garrett is, that should earn Jones some praise. He held his own, only allowing one pressure in 31 pass blocking snaps.

Compare that to the first game of this season, where Jones got dominated. He gave up multiple sacks, often looking overwhelmed. He’s shown vast improvement since then. While he’s still rough around the edges, Jones is showing signs of growth. He’s correct that he needs to be more consistent, but Jones had a fine day in Week 6 overall. Not many offensive linemen can say that after facing Garrett.

 

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