Did Ja’Marr Chase Guarantee a Bengals Victory?
K. Joudry
|
No one can deny that Ja’Marr Chase had a remarkable college career. It remains to be seen whether he’ll have a remarkable NFL career.
The only thing we can say with certainty is that he had a preseason to forget. A recent PFF piece points out that he struggled to catch the ball: “Drops aren’t the most stable statistic, but four drops on five preseason targets are enough to raise some red flags.” Catching the ball, I’m told, is the first and most basic part of being an effective receiver. Chase knows this: “Just catch the ball. That’s my job. My only job. Catch the ball.”
Humble beginnings have done little to diminish Chase’s confidence. A couple days ago, Chase tweeted what appears to be a game prediction:
Kris Boyd took notice:
In the Bible, there is a really fascinating verse about bold predictions: “And the king of Israel answered, ‘Tell him, ‘Let not him who straps on his armor boast himself as he who takes it off'” (1 Kings 20:11). The basic idea is this: a soldier who is putting on his armor is preparing for battle. He shouldn’t talk like a soldier who is taking off his armor (i.e. someone who has successfully emerged from the battle with his life). If a soldier wins the battle and can take his armor off, then he can boast about what he accomplished.
Right now, Chase is still putting on his armor. Like the rest of us, he has no idea whether the Bengals will emerge victorious in their Sunday game against our Vikings. The odds are stacked against them, leading most to believe the Vikings will win.
Justin Jefferson – Chase’s teammate at LSU – was sensational as a rookie. There’s a case to be made for him having the best ever season for a rookie WR. I’d have much less issue with Jefferson making guarantees. I wouldn’t like it, but at least he has proven he can be productive in the NFL.
At this stage, Chase hasn’t even taken an NFL snap. If it was me, I’d be cautious about making bold predictions while I’ve yet to put on my armor.
[brid autoplay=”true” video=”858013″ player=”26281″ title=”Top%2010%20Highestpaid%20NFL%20Players” duration=”113″ description=”Here’s a look at the list of top 10 highest-paid NFL players from Forbes‘ list, including how their on- and off-field earnings compare:” uploaddate=”2021-09-06″ thumbnailurl=”https://cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/17660/snapshot/857994.png” contentUrl=”https://cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/17660/streaming/857994/857994.m3u8″]