LAKE FOREST, Ill. — In the driving rain Thursday, Cam Taylor-Britt feels like he learned something about the Bengals defense against the top overall pick in the draft.
Facing Caleb Williams, the Bengals were tested often down field and on intermediate routes over the middle. While there were several passes completed, Taylor-Britt believes he can sense the secondary is well ahead of where it was last season at this time. And that starts with growth in his own game.
“Yeah, very different man,” Taylor-Britt told me. “Just seeing things a lot easier now. Being able to slow down in my game. Once I see the formation, it just helps to knock things off the map so I don’t have to worry about this, this and this. Just slow things down.”
As for the group itself?
“Yeah, most definitely. It’s night and day like just just saying I with the two safeties that we got back,” Taylor-Britt said of Vonn Bell and Geno Stone. “It’s very different having Vonn back, that voice that we need and Geno, just fell right into place basically with the backend and we’ve all kind of came in together and helped each other out in every way.
“You know this person (next to you) is going to do his job. Honestly, and you don’t have to worry about no getting over here into this area because you know, he’s going to be right there. It’s about trusting your teammates and I feel like we got that trust.”
And it wasn’t just the secondary last year that had issues. The linebackers were often out of alignment because they didn’t always trust what was going on behind them. This year, the hope is that they’ll generate more plays like they had on the first throw of the day by Williams in 7-on-7s.
Germaine Pratt stepped in front of a pass over the middle and intercepted.
“Very first play, man. Set the tone for the day,” Taylor-Britt said. “And I believe that kind of just carried on throughout the different team events in everything.”
Late in practice, it was Taylor-Britt making the play. He trailed Nsimba Webster down the sideline and high-pointed a ball and knocked it down incomplete.
JUICEEEEE 🧃 pic.twitter.com/yFdgQzz1oh
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) August 15, 2024
“I think that was one of our problems last year,” Taylor-Britt said. “Like I preached before, the explosives, the deep balls. I think we kind of shut that down with them wanting to take shots.”
In between, the Bears had their share of plays, including a Keenan Allen high corner fade over Taylor-Britt in the back of the end zone and an in-cut by DJ Moore that beat Dax Hill for six in red zone.
“I think we held up,” Taylor-Britt said. “We did our job and we went out there and competed all day. I didn’t see too many explosives. We played top down through there, especially on the back end. Communication was great very noisy on the field. I believe they had more trouble than us.”
Taylor-Britt believes it’s a very positive sign that defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo will be able to call upon more bodies this year in different roles, whether it’s Dax Hill, DJ Turner or Josh Newton, to go out and make plays on the back end.
“Yeah, you could say that,” Taylor-Britt said. “I just want to be out there man, and I know those guys, you know are competing every day man and try to get those reps but when the ball is thrown, I want it thrown to my side.
“We have a lot of guys in the room that can do a lot and can play different positions. So, you know the different groups that we have, (Lou) can put everybody in there and expecting everybody to succeed and play their leverage and know we can all play different spots.”
As for Williams, Taylor-Britt was impressed by his athleticism and believes he could be following in the steps of another athletic passer who can extend plays.
“He’s a good passer. He extends plays. You have to stay plastered. The play is never really over with the ball in his hands,” Taylor-Britt said. “You can compare him to Pat (Mahomes) in a way just because of how elusive he gets after their regular play. It’s like a second one.”
Cam Taylor-Britt talks about his pass break up late in practice and playing in the rain. CTB says Germaine Pratt’s interception of Caleb Williams early and practice set a tone. pic.twitter.com/J16cvtzVs0
— Mike Petraglia (@Trags) August 15, 2024
Charlie Jones grew up in Deerfield, Ill., just 10 minutes from where he made his return Thursday to the practice field, one week after a big scare on the Paycor Stadium turf. He banged knees with a defensive back and fell to the turf. His work was limited to returning punts and catching passes on air but he passed both with flying colors.
No wonder he was in a good mood after practice.
“I’m home, bro,” he shouted to his teammates before addressing reporters. Another reason for his good mood was the fact that he knows he’ll be ready once the season starts.
“Yeah, for sure, for sure,” he said. “I mean that’s most important being ready for the season. And I think (Thursday) was a good step in the right direction and just trying to build on, really.”
For Jones, he’s been battling hard in a competitive receivers room to win a spot on the roster. The right knee bruise made him appreciate what it is to be on the field.
“Yeah, I mean a lot, you know any time that happens and you know, it’s kind of kind of a little bit scary,” Jones told me. “But like I said, it’s the best possible outcome for me. I’m blessed to be you know, it’s been a week. I’m feeling good and so in the moment was a little bit scary, but it’s great now.”
His return was limited to individual drills and special teams, but as Charlie Jones told his teammates after practice, “I’m home, bro.” pic.twitter.com/aDB5GpEnoh
— Mike Petraglia (@Trags) August 15, 2024
And he wasn’t about to miss a chance to be on the fields just outside his home.
“I was looking forward to right when it came out. You know my family’s coming out. They were going to come to practice (but) unfortunately, they couldn’t but all my friends and my whole family’s coming to the game. I trained with a lot of the guys, you know on this team when I’m back home in the winter. So no awesome be home. You know, we’re staying in Chicago. They’ve got a lot of good restaurants to go to so now it was really cool to be here.”
Camp Observations Days 15 (Joint with Bears):
