Bengals’ Ja’Marr Chase: NFL ball harder to catch because it’s bigger



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Cincinnati Bengals rookie Ja’Marr Chase will be called upon to make an immediate impact when he takes the field this season as a rookie.

The Bengals won Chase in the first round of the 2021 draft after missing the LSU season in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. He was the No.5 pick after recording 84 catches, 1,780 receiving yards and 20 touchdowns in 2019 when he helped the Tigers and Joe Burrow win the national championship.

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He should fit in perfectly with the Bengals offense as he reunites with Burrow as Bengals teammates. But his pre-season struggles were noted and on Wednesday he addressed those issues and highlighted the main difference between professional and college play for him.

“The ball is different because it’s bigger,” Chase said, via the team’s website. “There are no white stripes on the side, so you can’t see the ball coming from the point of the spike, so you have to look for the strings on the ball at the top, which is hard to see because the whole ball is brown and you have all six strings that are white. But for the most part, you just have to get used to it and find out what I’m comfortable catching with. “

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May 14, 2021;  Cincinnati, Ohio, United States;  Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase (1) catches a pass during the NFL minicamp.

May 14, 2021; Cincinnati, Ohio, United States; Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase (1) catches a pass during the NFL minicamp.
(Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports)

“I don’t want to blame myself for sitting on my butt all year round, but that probably has something to do with it, of course. There is a bigger ball fit so I don’t want to. excuse but I ‘I just have to be a pro and get the catch. “

Chase said some of the drops came from him “not looking at the ball.”

“Looking at the ball I’m talking about pointing it up and looking at it and as soon as it hit you looking away. Me running before caught it. Me doing stuff like that and letting it fall. . I have done this several times, “he said.

Chase’s first preseason games in August were his first live football competitions since winning the national title with Burrow since Jan. 13, 2020. There is bound to be some rust coming back onto the pitch, c that’s why preseason is a good time to shake some of that off.

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The Bengals hope to get back on track with a Week 1 win. The team will face the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday. For Burrow and Chase, it will be a match against another former LSU star – Justin Jefferson.

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