Before Wednesday's first practice of training camp, Joe Burrow not only pronounced himself 100 percent, but he looked like he spent his offseason in the weight room.
"Lost a bunch of fat, gained a bunch of muscle," said the 220-pound Burrow. "Still about the same weight but got a lot leaner. I'm feeling really good. Knee feels great. Body feels great. Throwing it really well. I'm excited about where we're going … . I don't really eat dairy anymore. I guess that's the biggest one for me. Just kind of eat what makes me feel good and don't eat what doesn't make me feel good."
Burrow is ready to go, but there are things to keep in mind about his surgically repaired left knee.
"There's still a lot of things that I have to continue to do because it's truly a 9-month recovery process minimum," Burrow said. "We're about seven and a half right now. So there's a lot of maintenance I still need to do. But I'll compound that on practice, find places I can get the rehab in. It won't be an issue for me."
SLANTS AND SCREENS: Head coach Zac Taylor said center Trey Hopkins (ACL) won't work in team Wednesday and Thursday, but he certainly looks like he's headed to an Opening Day start. Hopkins has been a big believer in new offensive line coach Frank Pollack and here's why:
"I just think the O-Line that has been here and has been through the ringer and just got wrecked the past couple of years in combination with Coach Pollack, who is a no-nonsense, we're going to get this thing right, and I like I said, I just a, just a tenacious coach himself, I think that combination is what's going to push us to the next level this year." …
Taylor said new starting defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi, placed on the physically unable to perform list when he pulled a hamstring in Tuesday's conditioning test, is day-to-day and he didn't think it was a long-term issue.
