About an hour after having had what was arguably his worst fall among a growing list, Ja’Marr Chase, a rookie receiver from Bengals, took the podium to try to answer exactly what’s going on with his hands.
Chase knows as well as anyone that drops have been the dominant topic in the first chapter of his NFL career, which is why he didn’t ask any of the questions or offer rude or defensive answers. Instead, he showed a level of balance and confidence that is uncommon for a novice and rarer for a young boy who has difficulty with the most basic element of his job description.
Asked why he thinks he has struggled with drops, a topic that is completely absent from his resume, Chase was quick and direct with his response:
“Lack of focus,” he said. “I have to look at the ball inside. Lack of concentration. Just seeing the ball in my hands, I was missing it, and it was shown.”
That Chase has pointed out the cause is encouraging.
It is worrying that he was shown again during the first session of Monday of the week of games for the opening of the season on Sunday against the Vikings, given the circumstances surrounding him.
It wasn’t an 11-on-11 drill in which Chase was caught looking at a safety with the intent of laying wood, as was the case with one of his three drops in the preseason game in Washington. In fact, there was no coverage. It was a simple mid-speed drill. Joe Burrow threw a smooth, high 25-foot arch pass that Chase trotted under.