I lost the voice somewhere in the fourth quarter Sunday and never got it back. So John Harris took the chair on Monday, and I got to be an ordinary listener for once. Here's what I took from it.
### Andre Ware Watched the Quarterback Closely
Dre doesn't deal in vague praise, and he came with detail. "I thought he ran a smooth operation," he said of C.J. Stroud. "You look at how he orchestrated the offense, getting them in the right protections, protecting himself." Then the thing I hadn't heard anybody else say: "I was watching him in warmups and he just looks sharper to me. It's not a big looping arm stroke. He's kind of shortened his stroke in the offseason. His spirals tightened itself up." His verdict was simple. "I think he has full control of what they're doing offensively."
### The Line in Front of Him Was the Story
This is the one I've been waiting on since camp. "I was thoroughly impressed with how they played," Dre said. "You take that kind of play every single week for 17 weeks if you can get it." He singled out Keylan Rutledge, Evan Brown and Ed Ingram, and then made the larger point: "What an upgrade, I think, up front." On the backs, he had a line I'll be stealing all season — "there are guys around this league that won't sign up to tackle Woody Marks."
### The General Sees a Defense That Answers
John McClain didn't soften it. On Stroud, though, he led with the positive: "anybody who was holding their breath about his performance in the playoffs had to be very, very impressed." On David Montgomery: "he's a touchdown machine." And on the corner everybody wanted to talk about, McClain was firm — "Kamari Lassiter is one of the best corners in the NFL. That should be the worst game he ever plays." His one-sentence summary of the entire weekend around the league: "Do you guys realize every team that won, won the turnover battle?"
### Stroud Said the Right Things
At the podium, C.J. went straight at the second-half problem. "We got to be able to either flip the field or go get some points." Asked about the defense, he wouldn't take the bait. "I have the utmost respect for our defense. I play against them every day. I think they're amazing."
Cincinnati on Sunday. I intend to have my voice back.
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