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Bengals Training Camp Thread Non-Covid-19


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Holy hell, apparently Burrow had a day today. Hobs and Morrison both gushing in their respective camp wraps...here is Morrison's in The Athletic:

 

https://theathletic.com/2020552/2020/08/24/morrison-the-burrow-throw-and-decision-that-tops-all-and-has-teammate-in-awe/

 

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CINCINNATI – It was technically just another practice in the ramp-up to the regular season, but don’t tell Bengals tight end C.J. Uzomah there was nothing on the line Monday when the final period of 11s was a two-minute drill in which the simulation called for the offense needing a touchdown to win.

 

“We don’t want to hear the defense talking crap the rest of the day, because it’s the last period,” Uzomah said. “We know the defense is going to jaw the entire rest of the day. We have tomorrow off, and I don’t want to hear their voices, so we treated that like, ‘let’s go win this.’”

 

On a day devoted to a lot of no-huddle work with both Joe Burrow and Ryan Finley making many checks and changing plays at the line of scrimmage, Burrow upped his adjustment game in the huddle before the two-minute drive started.

 

He didn’t just tell his offensive teammates what they were going to do, he predicted what the defense was going to do and let everyone know ahead of time the checks he was going to make.

 

“He said, ‘we’re going to do this real quick and see what happens, and then I will check us in and out of this play if we need to,'” Uzomah said. “I think we executed pretty flawlessly going down the stretch and knowing we needed a touchdown.” They needed a touchdown to avoid hearing about it from the defense for 36 hours.

 

They didn’t need a touchdown on fourth and six from the defense’s 27-yard line. There were still 28 seconds on the clock and two timeouts in their pocket. But that didn’t stop Burrow from going for it all on the do-or-die play.

 

Despite decent coverage from cornerback Darius Phillips and safety Jessie Bates closing from the center of the field, Burrow dropped a pass far enough beyond Phillips that only wide receiver Auden Tate could get with some extension.

 

Tate made the catch at the pylon between Phillips and Bates, and Burrow checked another box and cashed another check, winning the game and the further approval of his teammates.

 

“He’s a beast,” Uzomah said of Burrow. “He’s an absolute beast. He’s an animal out there. You see college. You see what’s going on, you watch him beat your alma mater (Auburn), and do so in convincing fashion and you’re like, ‘Dang, this sucks.’ But he’s that guy.

 

“He’s making all the right reads,” Uzomah continued. “He’s getting us in and out of all the right protections and making all the right checks. And certain checks, I didn’t even know we were allowed to check into. He’s like, ‘Why not? Go out there and do this. Come in here and do this.’ It’s been a lot of fun, honestly. It’s been a lot of fun to build a relationship with him, to build that chemistry with him and see how he operates and how he wants certain routes on certain coverages. He’s the real deal, I will say that.”

 

The fourth-and-six play specifically and the whole two-minute drive, on which Burrow was 5 of 6 for 81 yards, were the lasting impressions. But they were just a small portion of what the rookie quarterback did on a day where the coaches handed him the keys to the playbook and tested his mental ability as much as his physical skills.

Uzomah just shakes his head when he thinks about how far along Burrow is reading defenses and changing play calls after just a couple of weeks of on-field practices.

 

“I’ll be honest, I wasn’t expecting it, at least to the extent of what is going on,” he said. “I think just the normal check in and out of it – it’s an under front or an over front, two high, single high, their blitz – those are different than the checks that he’s making. I’m like, ‘Dang, he can see that right now?’ That is very impressive. I’m very impressed with the strides and the progress he’s made in such a short amount of time.”

 

 

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https://bengalswire.usatoday.com/2020/08/25/bengals-announce-roster-moves-damion-willis-khalil-mckenzie/

 

The team announced it waived wide receiver Damion Willis and guard Clay Cordasco. Taking those spots are new signees Frederick Mauigoa and Kahlil McKenzie.

McKenzie, a guard and Mauigoa, a center, were two of the four names Cincinnati worked out on a tryout basis over the weekend.

Cordasco, an undrafted free agent, had suffered a head injury and the team needed to use his roster spot. Willis was a fun story last season as Zac Taylor named him a Day 1 starter in A.J. Green’s spot, but he fell out of favor and has now lost out to the numbers game at what is likely the team’s strongest position.

The Bengals resume practice Wednesday and have another scrimmage over the weekend.

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The Cincinnati Bengals have to cut the roster down to 53 players before this weekend’s deadline now that training camp is technically over and the regular season starts soon.

Cincinnati got an early jump on these moves before another scrimmage Thursday, announcing the release of three players:

  • OT O’Shea Dugas
  • LB Brady Sheldon
  • DE Bryce Sterk

None of the moves are too surprising, with Dugas registering as the most notable given how highly coaches had talked of him. Sheldon was making something of a conversion to edge rusher/defensive end.

All three are still candidates to make the practice squad at a later date. But the timing of the moves suggests the team wanted to get a closer look at other guys during the upcoming mock game.

The Bengals will make the rest of the cuts in the coming hours and days.

 

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