Iosivas said he was surprised by the interception in Tuesday’s indoor practice, but Burrow is still working through some kinks, just like everyone else this preseason. Jordan Battle jumped in front of tight end Mitch Tinsley to pick off a pass around the defense’s 15-yard line late in practice and returned it for a touchdown.
Burrow will have even better opportunities to test himself in another game situation Monday in the second preseason game at Washington, when the starters are expected to play even longer than they did in the opener.
“Definitely a surprise, but he’s practicing too,” Iosivas said. “We have good players on our defense, too. Battle made a good play, and Joe probably wants that one back, but it’s good to get them out now.”
Battle believes he still would have turned that play into a pick-6 if it had developed the same way in a regular-season game, pointing out he had three of those in college at Alabama. He’s looking for a big year in his first opportunity to be the Week 1 starter at strong safety after taking over the job late in the season each of his first two years.
“The ball was there, gotta capitalize and make a play,” Battle said. “Tight end did an over-route, but it was short enough to where I don’t have to take it, and I can just play ball and play off the quarterback. That’s what I did, play off the quarterback and obviously the ball took me to the pick.”
It’s no surprise Burrow quickly shook off his first mistake in an 11-on-11 this camp. The touchdown to Iosivas came on a go-ball with 21 seconds left in the two-minute drill, on a fourth-and-long with the offense trailing by four in Cincinnati’s training camp scoring system.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Iosivas was happy to get the opportunity to make a play, noting when it comes time to game-planning, he doesn’t get as many of those deep bombs that typically go to Ja’Marr Chase.
“I love when I get to run under it, especially when I get a clean release and I can just open up,” Iosivas said. “I mean, nobody can keep up with me. I was going to say DJ Turner, but I don’t think he would either, to be honest.”
Turner wasn’t participating in team drills Tuesday, but was dressed for practice and standing on the sideline without a helmet in hand.
Iosivas beat Josh Newton on that particular play, with DJ Ivey also trailing as the slot corner. The team’s No. 3 receiver didn’t even have to look up to know the ball was coming to him.
“There’s different types of go’s,” Iosivas said. “There’s a go, where you get it down the field, and then there’s some routes that convert, that turn into a go, but they’re still a 10-yard go. That one was just a deep, downfield one, so I just put my head down to 10-15 yards, and I know Joe sees the leverage, so I knew he was going to throw it.
“When you play a lot of ball and understand the concepts well enough, you know which side of the concepts are going to get the ball and which coverage dictates which receiver is going to get the ball,” he added. “A lot of the times, I’m like, ‘It’s just a love of the game’ route, but that was not, and I knew it. Once you understand the game more, you know when you are most likely to get the ball at least.”
That timing and chemistry with Burrow is something Iosivas has developed over his first two seasons in the NFL, but most of his opportunities have been in low redzone situations. He wants to do more between the 20s this year and is doing what he can to show he can make an impact in different situations on the field.
Iosivas said he felt like he started off strong in camp, but now as more balls are going to Chase and Tee Higgins, he just has to make the most of whatever opportunities he gets.
“As we begin to gameplan, I don’t really get the ball as much, but I still work my craft,” Iosivas said. “I’m winning most of my one-on-ones. I’m still trying to learn those underneath routes, trying to catch in traffic and not be too overzealous with the YAC because I’m like, ‘I need to go, I need to go.’ But sometimes it’s better to secure it than just to run with it, but once I get a feel for that, my game is just growing more and more every day.”
NEXT GAME
Who: Cincinnati at Washington
When: 8 p.m., Monday, Aug. 18
TV: ESPN
Radio: 104.7-FM
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