How would you describe the identity of this offense right now?
We haven't got anything going. Obviously disappointed today. So, we have a lot to get fixed.
How did you feel physically coming in today?
I felt good.
When we talk to you guys, you have good weeks in practice. And through four games, it hasn't necessarily translated to gameday. Can you, as the leader of this team, pinpoint where there may be a disconnect, if there is one?
Just got to keep stacking days. Like we said, we haven't put it together a game. But it's a long season. We are going to keep working every day. Keep getting better. That's all you can do.
* How frustrating was it after that first drive? Because it looked like you were in rhythm and you guys moved the ball downfield, to not be able to keep that going at all.*
Yeah, good first drive. We weren't able to punch it in the end zone. That's kind of the rest of the day went.
What changed after that first drive?
We weren't able to complete balls down the field. We weren't able to really do anything. So there's a lot to get fixed.
* Is there an attitude that needs to change inside the locker room that you sense?*
I wouldn't say an attitude needs to change. I would just say we need to execute better.
* Joe (Burrow), when you're down as big as you were in the fourth quarter and you're obviously not 100 percent, were you lobbying to stay in the game? What was the reward as opposed to the risk of you staying in there in the fourth quarter?*
I always feel like we're in it. It was a three-score game mid-way through the third. We were still in it a quarter of the way through the fourth quarter.
Even then, were there any discussions about you sitting out?
No.
In those situations, is there a point of pride to say, "I want to finish this game?"
I would say so.
* The ball where they ruled it a fumble first and turned it back to an incomplete, it looked like you got hit on your arm as you were throwing. Was there any discomfort in the elbow after that?*
No.
* Zach said nothing was good enough about today. Does it feel like the offense is close right now in any way, or do you feel like you're a long way from where you need to be?*
Depends on the day. Today we weren't close. We weren't close to winning the game. We have been in the past. Like I said, we've got a lot of work to do.
Through 4 games, does this feel like a playoff team at this point?
Not if we keep playing the way we are. We know we have the capability of being a playoff team, but that's so far in the future. We got to just worry about tomorrow and get better tomorrow at this point.
Is that frustrating given how successful you all have been over the last couple of years, for that (playoffs) to be a question at this point?
Whenever you are 1-3 it's frustrating.
Did you get the sense that they were just going to blitz no matter what? No matter the situation, they were blitzing everybody.
Depending on the down they blitzed here and there. I wouldn't say they blitzed every play.
* Have you been seeing more blitzes this year?*
It's tough to say that. I think teams are blitzing the same amount.
What were they doing to make it so hard, so challenging?
They're really good up front. They got good players. They had a good scheme and a good plan.
* Joe (Burrow) this group has been so reliable, this offense. You guys know each other so well. What is the most surprising to you about it? Just not working through four games this year?*
We just haven't scored any points.
* Do you feel like there's enough variety to your offense to help you in that you're not 100 percent right now? Like there's enough in the run game and schematically that you have enough to support what you're going through right now?*
We just haven't executed the plays that have been called. Whatever play is called, as long as you
execute it correctly, there's always a chance.
* Coming off the first drive, were you looking to hold on to the ball for a tick longer or try to be more aggressive down the field?*
Ipick my spots. Take my spots like I always do. There are points where I tried to, but like I said nothing was really clicking today.
How challenging is it to fight your instincts when you're back there? Your instinct would naturally be to take off and run or to spin out of something. Are you fighting that and is that a hard part of what you're going through right now?
It's hard to say. I'm playing the way I'm playing. Got to do better in practice. Got to continue to stack days. Get better every day.
* When you lose a guy like Tee Higgins and you are in a whole already, how much more challenging is that?*
When Tee's (Higgins) not out there we aren't as good of a football team. But like I said, whatever circumstance presents itself, you got to adapt to it and make it work.
This group together isn't used to results like this. How do you, as one of the leaders on this team, help manage the emotions that can come with a 1-3 start?
We've had rough stretches in the past. We know how to come out of them. Just got to keep chucking away.
Do you ever sense that this shouldn't be happening and are there guys inside that are angry about it?
I would say whenever you're 1-3, you're going to be frustrated. You're going to be angry. You're going to be wanting to win games. And we haven't been. We're not going to let anything like that come between us. That's how you end up having a bad season. We've had a bad start. We've had a bad first quarter, so we got three more quarters of the year to get through and go from there.
There have been instances in past well-documented instances where you go down by two touchdowns or more in a game, you get back up off the mat, flip it around, you go on to win the football game. What's the difference in a day like that versus a day like today when you weren't able to do that?
We just didn't make any plays really in all three phases. We didn't make plays that were necessary to win the game.
I know you said that your career is going to be your whole window, but there were very high
*expectations for this team because of who you returned and having all the coordinators. Is it puzzling to you that this start has happened? *
No, you watch the tape, and you see we didn't execute. I wouldn't say it's puzzling at all. We just haven't executed the way we needed to win these games. So as soon as we fix that, we're going to start winning games. Like I said, we just got to keep chucking away every day in practice and continue to get better. Come back next week.
The first series of the game, third down, time out, third down run. What happened on that stretch? It didn't look like it was the cleanest.
Yeah, we got something that I wasn't quite expecting. So, we called a timeout and then came back and had a wide box, so we ran. I thought we were going to be able to punch in.
