Joe Burrow 'very comfortable' with Bengals' offense, confident he will be ready for Week 1

Joe Burrow is comfortable, believes he will be ready to hit the ground running in Week 1

CINCINNATI — Joe Burrow met with the media on Tuesday afternoon after the Bengals first padded practice. The 23-year-old fumbled a snap in the rain, had plenty of incompletions and didn't look as crisp as he did the day prior. 

The defense won the day in their first matchup with the offense in the red zone. 

“It was OK. It wasn’t what you’d like to see on a red zone day, but it was the first one," Burrow said. "That was my first taste of NFL red zone. I’m gonna hopefully play better the next time we do red zone. I played really well the last two days [Sunday and Monday], so I’m gonna really focus on the red zone.”

Burrow completed 6-of-12 attempts during a 7-on-7 red zone period. He threw multiple touchdown passes Tyler Boyd and even found Mike Thomas in the end zone. 

He also threw an interception on a pass that was batted in the air and eventually picked off by Carlos Dunlap. 

He had his issues, as did the rest of the offense, but Burrow doesn't think it will take long to fix Tuesday's mistakes. 

"I wasn’t really sure what to expect out of the first red zone day," he said. "I’m excited to see how the defense kinda changed up certain coverages they played, where I could’ve gone with the ball, where I couldn’t have gone with the ball. It’s all about understanding what you’re trying to do on every single play.”

That's the thing about the 2019 Heisman Trophy winner. His confidence doesn't ebb and flow based on what happens day-to-day. He knows there are things he's going to have to learn on the fly this season. 

"He’s been through this before," head coach Zac Taylor said. "He’s transferred in the summer months and had to quickly get ready to compete in one of the premier conferences in college football against some great competition. He has had to do this quick-study stuff before where you really have a summer to prep with no physical reps before you show up for training camp. It doesn’t surprise you because you know his history. And again, he’s done the things that we pictured him doing when we took him."

Burrow, as of now, is the only rookie quarterback that's expected to start Week 1. The Bengals host the Chargers on Sept. 13 at Paul Brown Stadium. That means he has 26 days to get ready for one one of the better pass rushes in the NFL. 

He doesn't seem worried or nervous. In fact, it was the opposite. 

“Very confident," Burrow said when asked if he would be ready for Week 1. "I feel very comfortable with the offense right now. I feel comfortable with my guys. I think we’re gonna be pretty good on offense. I’m excited more so than nervous."

That may be surprising to some, given how important he is to a billion dollar corporation. Nerves get the best of a lot of people in everyday life, but not Burrow.

“Absolutely not. You ever heard anything else about me about being nervous?”

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