Before his team takes on the San Francisco 49ers in Week 8, Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase hit the interview circuit and revealed something pretty interesting about the offense.
According to Chase, the big scheme change to the offense this summer was making all of the wideouts interchangeable at any spot. He explained why this causes so many problems for defenses.
“It makes the offense more useful. Everyone is in different spots now. Everyone has to know different spots. So they can’t just say, ‘He’s here, we know what the route is,”’ Chase said, according to Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com. “There’s more in the offense. It’s not as simple. It’s about positions and receivers and where we’re supposed to be.
Chase also explained why, for the first few weeks, it caused some problems, too: “We just weren’t dialed in on communicating yet. Missed assignments and stuff like that happens. It’s all about communicating. It’s not about there or not there. It’s how we handle it. It’s always adjustments you have to be ready for.”
Of course, outsiders are fair to presume that Joe Burrow’s injury slowed this down, too, and it might even partially explain Tee Higgins’ slow start before his rib injury.
Regardless, the revealing look at the Bengals offense would seem to hint that Chase and Co. expect things to get even better coming out of the bye — right as Burrow’s looking like he’s 100 percent.
