Joe Flacco on Bengals Offense Finding Rhythm, Joe Burrow Interactions, Keeping Momentum vs. Jets

Joe Flacco on Bengals Offense Finding Rhythm, Joe Burrow Interactions, Keeping Momentum vs. Jets

go to your initial thoughts and impressions of the Jets defense. Yeah. Well, listen, I’ I’ve been with a handful of these guys and you know, have a lot of respect uh for the way they play the game and um you know, I know it’s probably tough there right now, but um I know it’s a group that’ll come ready to play. So, finally feel like a normal week for you as opposed to playing catchup on the ground. Yeah, for sure. It was nice to have a little like to be able to breathe a little bit this weekend and you know it it feels like I was we were just out on the practice field and it feels like you know I’ve barely been there. It it it uh so yeah it’s good to kind of get back in a normal rhythm of a Monday, Tuesday and now actually going out there on the practice field on Wednesday feeling prepared for the normal week. Do you feel like you’re operating the way you want to? You know you’re not going to get a full training camp but how do you feel like you’re out there? Yes. I mean, so far, um, still learning and trying to pick up everything and, um, you know, just play as fast and as smooth as I can and, uh, using just just a I’m going to try to keep my process the same, you know, and use these walkthroughs and and the practices to get used to calling it and seeing it and um, you know, just try to keep keep it at a basic level and and and keep going from there. So much focus, Joe, on uh you getting accustomed to your weapons, running backs obviously the wide receivers. What about the offensive line? What’s that um you know getting used to them playing in front of them been like? Well, it’s been great. I mean, I think you can tell that those guys are a hard work hardworking group and I think the biggest thing is for those guys to get comfortable with each other and now, you know, the way you get good at playing with each other is just trust, you know, um trust between everybody. trust that they’re going to do their job. They have to trust that I’m going to do my job and get the ball out and and um you know, know, you know, maybe know when we’re getting the ball out in quick game, know when we’re maybe dropping a little bit deeper. I think as long as everybody can do that and trust each other to do their job and not try to get cute and make up for something here and make up for something there, uh you know, then then we’ll grow together and be happy with it. How do you guys avoid the obligatory let down game that comes after a mini buy facing a winless team? How do you guys keep the momentum going on offense from what you had in Pittsburgh and just go out and take every day by itself, prepare Wednesday like you always do, Thursday like you always do, Friday, and then ultimately win the football game. A lot of that stuff is just talk and you know, you don’t have to answer it unless you don’t go out there and you know, unless you don’t go you go out there and don’t play well. So, um it it it’s simple. Um you can’t worry about what the result is at any point, but definitely not on Wednesday. You just got to go out there and prepare. And then on Sunday, same thing. You got to go play each play and, you know, just keep getting up and doing the same thing over and over again and having the best play that you can possibly have in that moment. Um the results come when you when you’re able to be in the moment and focus on the task at hand. So, speaking of your offensive line, uh, have you had a chance to kind of regroup with Orlando and just kind of shake your heads and say, “Well, here we are again.” I don’t know if you’ve been able to have that moment yet or not. A little bit. Yeah, cuz he’s very willing to come up to me and and and talk about certain things like that and just kind of ask me how it’s been going in Cincinnati and um Yeah. So, like I think he’s probably driven that conversation, but we’ve been able to talk a little bit about it. You mentioned the running game has struggled for the most part this year before you got here. Suddenly it started to click a little bit. Do you think what you’ve done in the past game has opened up the run game or did the run game help open up some things for you Thursday night the pass game? It’s tough to say. Um it’s it’s one game. I I do think the run game early on in that like I think initially the run game did spark us that little that 30 yard run we had and that was our first scoring drive I believe and then the next one we came out and had another little chunk run. um anytime that you can, you know, get some of those gains in the running game, uh it’s going to help your offense out a lot. So, I think in in Sun, in Thursday’s case, the run game definitely helped us out. Um but we just got to, you know, like I said, we we got to just continue to work at it and um have faith that, you know, we’re getting better and, you know, one game doesn’t necessarily indicate what the next is going to be. And and just like I said before about, you know, the process of it all, I don’t think we can really worry about that. I think we just got to continue to work on getting better and and trust that we’re doing the right things and then on Sundays it’ll show up. What’s the biggest way a quarterback can help a run game? Might be counterintuitive to think of it that way, but are there ways beyond you obviously talking running again, but like you know, what are the biggest ways quarterbacks can help keep a running game efficient? Well, complete passes when you get the opportunity to do it, you know, stay ahead of the stakes, you know, of the sticks. you know, uh, first first and second down, especially first down. When you have easy completions and and you and you can keep your self ahead of the sticks, then it it gives you the chance to be multiple and and and not, you know, be kind of forced into being onedimensional because you weren’t able to do what you were supposed to do on early downs. I think that’s probably the biggest thing. Other than that, maybe I would say just the um just the operation of it all, getting to the line of scrimmage, snapping the ball, um, having good rhythm with that. What do you remember about your growth when you were talking about the chemistry of yourself at the offensive line? Is there also a thought that it’s looked so good the last six quarters in the passing game, you and your chemistry with the receivers? Is there a thought that it could be even better in November, even better in December? Can that growth continue with your weapons and yourself and your chemistry? I think you’re always as a team I think you’re always hoping that you’re growing as the season goes goes on and um I think that shows up in different ways. It doesn’t mean you’re going to go out there and you know throw for 350 yards and and and do all that every week but I think as the year goes on um good teams find a way to get better and better um even though they’re you know doing some things well at the moment. So I would hope that you know we continue to we can continue to make some strides in all areas. What do you remember back in your stance with the Jets over the years? Um, you know, relationships with players kind of like you always do. You you remember back, you know, being on the field in the huddle with certain guys and being in the locker room with certain guys and um, you know, there there was, you know, you remember some the good and the bad. I remember driving home on the turnpike and after losing a game and shaking my head and talking to my family like, you know, what the hell am I doing? Um, this is not fun. Uh, but man, I I think most of the time when I look back at those times, it’s, you know, being in the locker room with the Williams brothers and, you know, and a and and and everybody else that I kind of got to play with uh in that organization. Uh, I don’t know if um I necessarily enjoyed um how everything went on the field there, but I’m super grateful for my time there. And it’s just one of those um times in my career that you know you had to fight through some things and kind of get to the next step. Um but a lot of a lot of great guys on that team and a lot of great memories with them. You and Trod have both kind of transitioned to like a different stage of your career from being, you know, long-term starters. What’s kind of the toughest part about making that transition and kind of being a guy that teams really want to call on when they need a quarterback? Oh, when you’re out there and and you’re playing while the bullets are flying, um you get used to it and and and and you don’t want it any other way. Um so when you’re in a position where that’s not necessarily the case every week, uh it can be hard. I think the hardest part of it is just finding your routine to keep your to keep yourself in the right state of mind because it can, you know, I I know the grind of being a starter and I don’t want to downplay that, but when you’re when but when you want to be the guy and you’re not the guy and uh you know, you you can you can lose confidence and a lot of bad things can happen in your mind and it’s and it’s finding it’s trying to find ways to not allow that to happen. And it’s not very easy when you’re not playing. when you started what stood out about Sauce? I mean, I know you weren’t there every his rookie year, but what did you get to know about Sauce and what stands out about him? Yeah, I we were just talking on the way in. Like, first of all, I I thought he was a great kid and I think when you’re I think when you draft guys that have good character and they’re good football players, then you got a good chance. Um, but he’s big, uh, he can run, uh, he can use his length, um, he’s confident. So, I don’t know if you realized when you were dropped into this situation just kind of how much the team needed something, needed a jolt to get the season going again now that you’ve had some success. Can you kind of feel a different energy about the group? Can you kind of feel that you’re part of what’s making this difference? It’s tough because I’ve only been here for a couple weeks and I feel like there has been some energy. Um, and it was it’s only been 2 weeks, you know, so like I I think anytime you’re on a team, you look for that positive energy and and and you like to feel it. Um, but I don’t want to get ahead of ahead of ourselves. I just want to, you know, kind of refocus and take it day by day and, you know, yeah, hopefully that builds and builds and builds. But um just want to kind of focus on doing our job and and taking it day at a time. Before you were Bengal, you know, you obviously knew Jamar and T, but kind of looking at the rest of it, is there a guy or system or the coaches or things that have really just caught your eye that maybe you just weren’t as aware of before you were in the building here? I think anytime you get to see behind the scenes a little bit, it’s a it’s probably different than you thought from afar. I mean, even with the even with those two guys, I think sometimes you could probably get tricked into thinking like they’re just catching go balls and, you know, um throwing it up and doing random stuff. But, um, they do a lot and I think that our coaching staff does find creative ways. I mean, I just the couple weeks that I’ve been here, I’ve seen some new routes and stuff that I really I don’t know if I’ve ever done before. Um, and it maybe it’s not like earthshattering, but it is kind of unique and interesting way to get some guys the football. So, what’s impressed you the most about Jamar on off the field? I the first thing that jumped out at me about both of them honestly was just their hands. I know it sounds simple, but uh the way they catch the ball, the way they attack the ball when it’s in the air like and then catch the ball with their hands, it’s um very very impressive. Uh when you put the ball out there, you have confidence that that they’re going to go get it and and beat whoever’s around them to it. You obviously play with other great players and I’m not asking you to rank them, but who else stands out like that hands- wise that you’ve played with? Anquin Balden. like hands- wise, like you know, when when he had people on him and you could throw the ball around him and knew that he was going to go fight for the football and and and be able to catch it with his hands. You mentioned Orlando being one of the guys that that have come up to you, like are there other guys had more conversations with and others around the locker room? Well, I think you’re in the room with the quarterbacks all the time and um you know, I’ve played with Dalton before, so I’ve had conversations with him. Ted’s very willing to have conversations. So, uh, you know, Ted, Ted, Ted’s been great. I think, honestly, in my experience, it’s great to have guys like that that are, you know, not shy at all about coming up to you and introducing you to the team and kind of taking you under their wing a little bit because it does kind of help you make relationships with everybody else. They say, “Hey, come sit with us. Here’s where the O line sits. Hey, come let’s go do this. This is what we do during this time.” And, um, I know I’ve been around a lot, but that those kind of things always help. I think Zach said like you had had five live reps with Jam or something like that. You guys run I guess the one route the speed the speed out. I mean it looks like you’ve been thrown for 18 years. I mean what how does that look as natural as it does when you guys have barely literally know each other? I’ve thrown lots of outs and he’s run caught lots of them and but not together. the f like like I said I think one of the first things I said when you guys kind of asked me about that was uh listen they’re the two he’s he and T are two of the best at what they do. If you can’t find a way to put the ball somewhere around them then uh and complete it then then we’re in trouble. So I I’ll keep it there. It it’s the truth. I mean you know when you get guys that are good it’s easy to read their body language so you know when they’re coming out of their breaks. Um, so you can really trust your footwork and and know that it’s going to time up with his and you know that that’s what it is. You talk about them and their skill set and how different they are. Was there a moment for you where you had a realization like who these guys are? Yeah, I mean I I feel like I’ve said it a million times the the Green Bay game just the way they used their hands on some of those out routes. Like I think one a couple times I threw Jamar an out route and he it just you know stuck to his hands. I mean, even this game, they they said he bobbled the one. He was just switching it from like hand to hand. Like he didn’t he caught that ball and then decided, you know, decided to put it in his other hand almost. Um uh and then the next thing I would say is like TE took that slant this past week and then went untouched. I mean, that was but he also like just caught it with his hands and ran right through. It wasn’t even an afterthought. It was just seamless. And I think, you know, that that’s an underrated thing. What have your conversations been like with Joe Burrow? Yeah. Well, Joe’s been around like mostly either like he’s sat in a couple little meetings or it’s been right in our little locker room area kind of hanging out. And um so there’s been times where it’s been like, hey, just so you know, like here’s how maybe I would have said, here’s how maybe I would do that just in case you’re in that situation. like these guys are familiar with like this type of communication and then other than that it’s just been kind of shooting the you know shooting the breeze and just kind of catching up a little bit and getting to know each other a little bit because you’re both named Joe like with Joe like has that ever been a thing? No, I’m actually used to being around like a lot of Joe’s uh in my family and just growing up. So for I think I have a knack for just understanding when I’m the one that they’re that that that somebody’s talking to and when I’m not. So how nice has it been to have him around as a sounding board as you try to learn? Yeah, great. No, great. I think it’s just great to have him in the building and you know have his presence and um and yeah, for sure. you know, I I I also think like, you know, to add Jake to that, like those guys are comfortable together. So, like they’re able to open up a little bit more when they’re together and and around me, you know, as opposed to being maybe one-on-one. I think it helps to have, you know, that that third guy in there to to, you know, to to help everybody be a little bit more comfortable. This is obviously a very unique situation where you have to leave your your home and come here the way you did. How are you navigating being a dad? Well, this is happening. Well, the good thing, I guess, I guess you could say is that I was in Cleveland by myself. You know, my family was in New Jersey. We decided to to do that this year because last year we decided to do it the other way. And this year we just said, “Hey, let’s keep the kids in their routine and um you know, see how that goes.” And there’s been challenges with that. uh you know, I love being there and around them and and doing all those things. Uh but at the same time, like they get in their routine and and they’re having a lot of fun back at home. Um and early on in the season, they came out to Cleveland and they’re going to come out to this week’s game and uh I I think there’s always a challenge of sitting in a room by yourself and and being lonely. So, for me, it’s trying to find ways to maybe stay over here a little bit longer and then, you know, just kind of take myself out of that mindset, call home, uh, go sit at a restaurant by myself and realize that, man, that’s pretty enjoyable to do. Um, is, you know, after there’s not too many situations. I tell you, I I tell people all the time, I mean, I used to see guys sitting at a bar by themselves or, you know, just sitting by themselves eating and grabbing a little meal and I’m like, man, I feel so bad for that guy. Like, you almost want to go join him. And now I realize like that dude was in heaven. Um, and and and not to say that that’s that’s obviously not what I want. I’d rather I’d rather be at home sitting at the dinner table with my kids and hearing what the hell they were talking about all day. Uh, but there are but but if you but if you have to do it then you might as well take advantage of it. So, you know, just little things like that. Are Cincinnatians starting to see you at restaurants and take pictures and say hello? Um, I guess so. Maybe a little bit. I I try to get there early. You know, I’ll go eat the 4:30 dinner and and and and beat and and beat everybody beat everybody out of out of work and out of the house. So, is there anything about Burl that kind of surprised you? He’s kind of wider than my figure, I guess. And then and then you get to see him every day. Is there anything that maybe struck you about him that he I don’t know. I don’t think I look at it that way. You know, I I you know, you always look at him as a fellow competitor and now you look at look at him as a teammate and I it’s not like I know him well enough or been around them long enough to notice anything like that. Um just still trying to get to know each other. You mentioned you’re still trying to learn the offense. What’s the difference between trying to learn it in season versus training camp? [Music] There’s probably positives and negatives to both. I mean, I think the one thing about trying to learn things in season is you can wrap you can wrap your head around a game plan. If if if they were to try to feed me the whole entire offense right now um and learn it all at once, like throw everything at me, I think I’d be overwhelmed. So to so you’re always learning it in pieces like install one, install two, install three, but when you don’t get a chance to do it like that incrementally. If they were just to throw everything at once, I’ like I said, I’d probably probably be overwhelmed. So now it’s almost like each week is a new install and and and eventually you kind of get little pieces eventually because you have the basics down then you can kind of get the little pieces, you know, as a little bit easier. And I think that’s kind of where I’m starting to get is getting, you know, pretty locked in on some of the basics. They’re starting to become kind of like feel natural. So now it’s now it’s the little things like getting to the ball and running to play quick. And how do you how do you call that? and and reme and and I’m actually to the point now where I can probably remember like how to do those things as opposed to, you know, when I first got here, if you were to give me some on the ball play and you were just giving me a number or whatever we were going to or or a single name, I probably would have struggled to remember exactly what that was or recall it quick enough to do it. So, I think the advantage to this is learn a game plan, forget about the rest. The advantage of being able to go in training camp is you get to take it way more incrementally and learn the whole thing. And now you can kind of just install things on the fly and I would know what you’re talking about and it wouldn’t need that much kind of meeting time or anything like that.

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Flacco is preparing to face his former team, the New York Jets, in Week 8. Flacco discusses how he’s building chemistry with his new teammates, including Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and the offensive line. He also shares his thoughts on the improved run game vs. the Steelers in Week 7.

Plus, Flacco shares his thoughts on conversations with Joe Burrow and the importance of his leadership presence.

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