The Bengals are getting closer to their second preseason matchup, and had another couple of training camp sessions as they prepare for this week. On Tuesday, with the team in the indoor facility, BJ Hill was back at it, after missing some time with a foot issue. However, Geno Stone, Mike Gesicki, Jermaine Burton, Cam Sample, and Devin Cochran were all out, while Trey Hendrickson’s hold-in continued. With Stone out, Tycen Anderson was getting the reps with the first team, while Ossai’s limitations saw Stewart work more with the first team.
Tuesday’s outing was a good one for the offence. Early on, Joe Burrow was able to find Ja’Marr Chase for a TD. According to reporter Jeremy Rauch, Cam Taylor-Britt wanted a call on the play, but was rebuffed by the ref.
We also continue to see new addition Noah Fant get involved more. He made a nice catch over the middle from Burrow for a big gain. His ability to separate stood out on this play, and it is evident that he brings a different element to the offence.
The offence then found the end zone again. Burrow scanned the field and was able to hit Samaje Perine out of the backfield, who walked in for the score. According to Mike Petraglia, Perine made a good handful of catches out of the backfield during this session. Dan Hoard also took note of his involvement.
A couple of 4th down conversions seemed to highlight the day for the team’s offence. Interestingly, Mitchell Tinsley was in with the ones on this play, and caught the pass from Joe Burrow. On another occasion, facing 4th & long, Burrow found Andrei Iosivas deep down the sideline, who had gotten by Josh Newton. This play went for a TD. It was a perfectly thrown ball from Burrow, who dropped it in the bucket.
One of the standout plays on the defensive side came via Jordan Battle. The safety was able to read Burrow’s eyes and snag an interception, with the offence driving closer to the end zone. Battle has consistently been on the positive side of some big plays, as he looks to have a breakout season.
Looking at a couple of other observations from the defensive side, Myles Murphy ended up limping after one play, according to Laurel Pfahler. Luckily, he returned a little later. Another interesting one was Howard Cross III getting some work with the first team. Zac Taylor had some praise for his demeanour.
On the offensive side, Seth McLaughlin got some reps with the second team at C. There is optimism that he will play on Monday, as he looks to make up some ground in his roster battle.
On Wednesday, the Bengals were back on the outdoor practice fields. Mike Gesicki, Jermaine Burton, Cam Sample, and Devin Cochran were all on the rehab field. Orlando Brown, meanwhile, was out, which saw Cody Ford fill in at LT. Additionally, Myles Murphy was out, which allowed Shemar Stewart to see more reps with the ones.
On the opening drive of 11 on 11’s, Joe Burrow led a TD drive, as they looked to pick up where they left off on Tuesday. It was capped off by a TD strike to Tee Higgins over the middle. However, after the first drive, success was hard to come by for the offence. Even on the TD play, TJ Slaton beat Lucas Patrick for what almost ended up being a sack. This was the start of a session that saw the defence win consistently in the trenches.
The secondary was pretty aggressive in this one. Higgins took a bit of a shot as he went up to try to make a catch. He was a bit slow to get up, but was fine. As well, Marco Wilson, who got some first team work, made a nice pass breakup on a pass for Ja’Marr Chase. Cam Taylor-Britt also had a great day in coverage, including a pass breakup on Chase. Wilson then had some tight coverage on Higgins, where Burrow’s pass ended up sailing long. The tough day for Higgins continued further, as Daijahn Anthony broke up a pass at the last second, knocking it out of his hands.
The defensive line dominated the offensive line throughout Wednesday’s practice. On one play, Shemar Stewart’s pressure forced Burrow to overthrow Samaje Perine. On another, Stewart beat Lucas Patrick on a stunt, but stumbled into Burrow at the end of the play. This caused a scrum, where Patrick and Ted Karras made sure to let Stewart know that he can’t touch the QB. The offensive lineman also acknowledged, later in during the media session, that they shouldn’t be giving up pressure like that in the first place.
In the final 11 on 11 period, the defence did not allow a single 1st down. Penalties were also an issue for the offence.
Looking at a couple of other interesting tidbits, this session saw Desmond Ridder work with the second team, after Jake Browning’s horrible performance in the preseason opener. We’ll see if this builds into an actual competition. Another interesting one is that Cordell Volson got some reps as the second team C.
