Training Camp

[CrashDavisSports]

Well, here we are a couple weeks into training camp and no one is talking about the season. I guess all of us are pretty down in t he dumps and don't care about the season too much. We have a good group of folks around here, and no one has been talking.

Some insight from Hobson, for what it is worth.

1st, it sounds like Hobson is saying that the defense has been playing with a chip on its shoulder. Very upbeat, aggressive. Coach having to tell Vonn Bell to lay off hitting Gio so hard. If you want to hit someone, hit your secondary coach, he can coach from the sidelines on a stretcher. Thought that was funny. Don't like losing guys for the season already, especially new guys we just made multi-millionaires in free agency like Waynes.

2nd, sounds like the offense is doing really well and especially Burrow. Burrow did struggle in his first day with pads yesterday and it was raining like hell on red zone drills where the speed of the game increases. Defense won the day, which is a good thing. Seeing how they are keeping guys out of the end zone. But that is with Green sitting out and several more WR's.

3rd, Burrow and Boyd are really hitting things off. They are becoming second nature together already as Burrow has learned his body language to know when he is going to break, how he likes the ball thrown, and building confidence in each other. I have a feeling AJ Green may be the gone next year if Burrow continues to build this kind of chemistry with Boyd and Tee Higgins, possibly Auden Tate. May have to go WR, #1 next year if we lose both Green and Ross.

Overall, disappointed in no preseason games, as one would have been on this week sometime, but it is what it is. Anyone else been reading up on training camp news and have thoughts or insight?

 

[Cincyfan78]

Big blows to the defense in a week span - down a starting CB and now looking like down a starting Safety - not ideal. Though, I am high on Phillips, who simply makes plays.

I think if the DL can improve the pass-rush, and the LB can actually simply not be a negative, that is going to go a long way to helping the DB's be that much better.

Bengals also need Jackson to simply step up and be the player he has flashed at times, but now they need him to hit on consistency.

Burrow is going to be a stud. Going to have bumps, but he's looking smooth already. Lots of weapons at WR, need TE to help that middle of the field.

The big key will be the OL. I think you see the LT at the end of last year flip to RT and will end up being the starter. You can't run Hart back out there again. You just can't.

 

[cincygrad]

The defense really cleaned house this offseason. I think if the coaching is good, this is where you should see some significant improvement early in the season. They acquired some real pros.... And cut some fat from the roster. Who knows if they'll get better at linebacker - Always seems to be a problem, but they have a good shot to have a good D-Line and some valuable assets at key positions. All in all, this unit has come a far way from what Marvin had in his final, disastrous year.

Offense.... I keep looking at the talent and thinking they should be okay. I'm also hoping the late season line improvement carries over...... It seems like a lot of their success is predicated on health (Is AJ healthy; Is Jonah Williams healthy and ready) and also on whether Burrow and Williams are ready to be big-time players. I would suspect that a lack of preseason is going to be really hard on Burrow. I bet he's most turnover prone in the first quarter of the season. We'll see.

 

[DanBengalfan]

if the soccer teams can play, so can the 'merican' footballers.

 

[futballiscool]

Joe Burrow shines in Bengals scrimmage - ProFootballTalk

 

[Cincyfan78]

Joe Burrow shines in Bengals scrimmage - ProFootballTalk

I was kind of following along on Twitter - seemed to be good stuff from Burrow. I think his penchant for getting the ball to the high point of a WR can be a huge asset for Tate, who excels in getting to that high point and making those catches. This could turn out to be a massive match between the two, IMO.

 

[cincygrad]

It's pretty great that he is doing this without AJ, Ross, or Higgins..... Two of them might not stay healthy and the third is a rookie. Developing chemistry with Tate and Boyd is awesome - Those guys will be his go-to receivers should the others struggle to stay on the field. But eventually they're going to need some speed to take the top off.

How good was that Auden Tate pick? He really impressed me last year and it sounds like he is picking right back up where he left off.

 

[CrashDavisSports]

It's pretty great that he is doing this without AJ, Ross, or Higgins..... Two of them might not stay healthy and the third is a rookie. Developing chemistry with Tate and Boyd is awesome - Those guys will be his go-to receivers should the others struggle to stay on the field. But eventually they're going to need some speed to take the top off.

How good was that Auden Tate pick? He really impressed me last year and it sounds like he is picking right back up where he left off.

Yeah, I was impressed with Tate from the very first preseason. I am like holy crap he can be our next TJ taken in the seventh round. I have been a Tate believer since the first preseason, still am.

Glad he is getting more press now, he deserves it.

The fact Burrow has been doing what he has done so far with no preseason, an oline that still is inconsistent, a first string defense coming at him, and 3 of his 4 top WR's down give me hope this may not be that bad of a season. Probably not playoff bound, but you never know.

 

[Cincyfan78]

Yeah, I was impressed with Tate from the very first preseason. I am like holy crap he can be our next TJ taken in the seventh round. I have been a Tate believer since the first preseason, still am.

Glad he is getting more press now, he deserves it.

The fact Burrow has been doing what he has done so far with no preseason, an oline that still is inconsistent, a first string defense coming at him, and 3 of his 4 top WR's down give me hope this may not be that bad of a season. Probably not playoff bound, but you never know.

Williams, Jordan, and Hopkins getting some nice pub over the training camp as well. Williams is showing (per reports) exactly why he was the best OL in last years' draft - and Jordan has had (again, by reports) a very solid Camp - including a completely dominating pancake of Atkins in drills. Hopkins has also had some really solid play, holding his own against Atkins/Reader in drills.

Now, if the right side can solidify - the OL should be good enough. It doesn't need to be top 8 good, but in that 12-15 range will be good enough (about where they were last year in the 2nd half).

Curious who is getting run at the RT spot with the 1's. I know there was a lot of talk about flipping Johnson from LT to RT now that Williams is back. Johnson had a very nice stretch at the end of last season at LT and would look to be the logical fit at RT because the next option is Hart - and....well....yah.

 

[Cincyfan78]

Another day, another beautiful throw from Burrow to Tate for an exceptional catch. These two are going are building one hell of a rapport.

Burrow took the team from the 20 to the endzone in a 2-minute drill against the #1 defense while going 5-6 or 6-6...All the players in camp are raving about his ability.

 

[cincygrad]

Williams, Jordan, and Hopkins getting some nice pub over the training camp as well. Williams is showing (per reports) exactly why he was the best OL in last years' draft - and Jordan has had (again, by reports) a very solid Camp - including a completely dominating pancake of Atkins in drills. Hopkins has also had some really solid play, holding his own against Atkins/Reader in drills.

Now, if the right side can solidify - the OL should be good enough. It doesn't need to be top 8 good, but in that 12-15 range will be good enough (about where they were last year in the 2nd half).

Curious who is getting run at the RT spot with the 1's. I know there was a lot of talk about flipping Johnson from LT to RT now that Williams is back. Johnson had a very nice stretch at the end of last season at LT and would look to be the logical fit at RT because the next option is Hart - and....well....yah.

If Jordan plays well, the interior of that line should do a great job. Hopkins has really done a nice job at center and I've read good things about Xavier Su-a-Filo and the experience he brings.... And yes, it sounds like Williams is the guy he was advertised to be.

Where does this leave Billy Price? It's disappointing that he hasn't been more competitive for a position on this team. The guy was a four year starter at OSU.

 

[CrashDavisSports]

Fred Johnson is doing well too I guess, but I am honestly confused, because they praise him for being super talented, but yet he is not good enough to unseat Hart. Either Hart has really improved, or they are blowing Johnson up too much talent wise.

FLOPPING FRED: Yes, backup right tackle Fred Johnson is having a good camp. So good that offensive line coach Jim Turner gave him some snaps at starting right guard Monday in a kind of a rotation with starter Xavier Su'a-Filo. Johnson played some guard in college at Florida and took a couple of snaps there in practice with the Bengals last year. But he had no sniff he was going in there Monday and he looked good enough that Turner says not to count out the fiery 6-8, 325-pound Johnson in any kind of Opening Day competition.

In his handful of snaps there were no missed assignments and he made his presence felt in a suddenly gargantuan middle with the 320-pound Michel Jordan at left guard.

"Fred has got some serious talent, he's enormous, he's very smart, he can pick it up," Turner said. "Is he our best right tackle? No. But he's getting experience playing a lot against the 1s. He's improving."

The starting tackles, Jonah Williams at left and Bobby Hart at right, are their best tackles, Turner says, but he also says Johnson is pushing them both as the swing tackle.

 

[cincygrad]

Fred Johnson is doing well too I guess, but I am honestly confused, because they praise him for being super talented, but yet he is not good enough to unseat Hart. Either Hart has really improved, or they are blowing Johnson up too much talent wise.

FLOPPING FRED: Yes, backup right tackle Fred Johnson is having a good camp. So good that offensive line coach Jim Turner gave him some snaps at starting right guard Monday in a kind of a rotation with starter Xavier Su'a-Filo. Johnson played some guard in college at Florida and took a couple of snaps there in practice with the Bengals last year. But he had no sniff he was going in there Monday and he looked good enough that Turner says not to count out the fiery 6-8, 325-pound Johnson in any kind of Opening Day competition.

In his handful of snaps there were no missed assignments and he made his presence felt in a suddenly gargantuan middle with the 320-pound Michel Jordan at left guard.

"Fred has got some serious talent, he's enormous, he's very smart, he can pick it up," Turner said. "Is he our best right tackle? No. But he's getting experience playing a lot against the 1s. He's improving."

The starting tackles, Jonah Williams at left and Bobby Hart at right, are their best tackles, Turner says, but he also says Johnson is pushing them both as the swing tackle.

Well, its camp.... So, I'm not inclined to believe much of what they say regarding key position battles. That said, I've read multiple times that coaches really like Hart's professionalism. To me this doesn't do much for us as he is clearly limited as a player. But, I suppose it's good to put a 'coaches favorite' in the starting lineup to make the guys behind him work harder. Hopefully someone will unseat him soon.

 

[Cincyfan78]

Well, its camp.... So, I'm inclined to believe much of what they say regarding key position battles. That said, I've read multiple times that coaches really like Hart's professionalism. To me this doesn't do much for us as he is clearly limited as a player. But, I suppose it's good to put a 'coaches favorite' in the starting lineup to make the guys behind him work harder. Hopefully someone will unseat him soon.

The only thing I can really think of is that Johnson came off the Steeler's PS and was thrown into the fire those last few games. He played well, but there's probably some finer points that he can still stand to learn. Hart isn't bad in those terms of teaching - he just can't apply it physically to block anyone...LOL

 

[DanBengalfan]

During the games, we will all gather outside a Cincinnati church to pray that Burrow does not get injured.

 

[cincygrad]

During the games, we will all gather outside a Cincinnati church to pray that Burrow does not get injured.

"Not if that fucking mask-wearing DeWine cancels church again. Stupid RINO....." --Rednecks in Cincinnati.

 

[DanBengalfan]

Covid numbers are far higher than they were during the entire 'shutdown'

I think the one thing that the shutdown accomplished is that we don't want another shutdown, the economic impact is still sending shockwaves as people are slow to find jobs on the assumption that their kids won't be going to school for very long, and stuff like that.