CINCINNATI — When Geno Stone went down just three plays into Thursday’s game against Philadelphia, the Bengals were presented an opportunity.
They are about to find out the quality of depth behind their high safety in their secondary. Stone is the projected starter at the position but the Bengals have three players who figure to get more playing time as Stone sits out with what has been termed a “week to week” hamstring strain, week to week since it’s training camp and there’s no reason to push Stone through it and take the chance of injuring it further.
Daijahn Anthony, Tycen Anderson, PJ Jules, Jaylen Key and college undrafted free agent Shaquan Loyal will all get turns on first and second teams to show their skills.
“You can’t say the physicality portion of thing because they don’t get that opportunity all the time in practice. We don’t tackle. I think the next two games are really good to see those guys continue to play,” Zac Taylor said when asked specifically about Anderson but referring to the group as a whole. “Overall, the back end, you’re always on the communication, you’re always on the run fits, you’re always on the coverage responsibilities. Those are things we continue to see improvement from with those guys.”
Quality depth is what the Bengals need from this group. Taylor and Director of Player Personnel Duke Tobin seem pretty convinced that the answers in terms of depth lie on the current roster, for now.
“I think that’s a group that we’re looking to make sure we’re deep enough there. So they’re gonna continue to get a lot of opportunities, certainly with Geno being out,” Taylor said. “So I think it’s a good chance to really see where they’re at in their development. They’ve got to contribute on special teams. They’ve got to prove that they can walk in there and help us on defense as well. Those are guys that these next six practices will be really good for.”
PJ Jules, with five tackles against the Eagles on Thursday, has stood out to Dax Hill since making an impression in spring OTAs. Hill said Jules was someone that has been working hard in his playbook, earning a spot on the practice squad last year as an undrafted free agent.
Jordan Battle, with two tackles Thursday, has the other safety spot locked down. He has looked faster in camp this year. He’ll likely get one more chance to reaffirm the coaches’ belief in him on Aug. 18 in Washington, as the defensive starters get one more chance to make an impression on defensive coordinator Al Golden.
What adjustments does Taylor need to see from the secondary after their performance against the Eagles?
We were just in a lot of one on one positions where we were fingertip away a lot of times, and so continue to be competitive, continue to be detailed up on scrimmage. But I think overall, operationally, there were some things on offense, defense and special teams that we’ve we’ve got to be better at. That had nothing to do with Philly, and that’s, that’s one of our primary focuses right now as a team, not having a joint practice this week.
What exactly does Taylor mean by operationally?
“That’s aligning with the correct number of people online scrimmage that’s getting set before a motion sets for the legal motion,” Taylor said. “There’s a lot of things that fit those categories that we have to be significant better at lining up on side on a field goal block, not hitting the center on a field goal block. You know, all these things have nothing to do with our opponent, but the points led to putting us in tough situations that I expect us to be much better at going forward.”
Joe Giles-Harris, the free agent signed away from Jacksonville, had an interception and was all over the field Thursday night.
“He’s a smart player,” Taylor said. “He can play multiple spots. He’s a veteran player. So he knows what it takes. He’s played with good physicality. He’s helped us with special teams. There’s really good competition in that linebacker room. I’m really pleased with the direction all those guys are headed. You mentioned Joe. I’ve been pleased with what Joes’ done for us in camp.”
Other notes:
Taylor is grateful that the team is not going through joint practices this week.
“I’m thankful this year we’re not doing that, because we’re going to get really good work in for six practices. We got some scrimmage situations. Today is a good, ultimately, be a red zone day for us, the way it’ll shake out at the end, in a competitive fashion. So I think it’s really good for us to continue to put some install stuff in, tweak some stuff, as opposed to locking in on X opponent. You know that we’re gonna spend three days preparing for and practicing for and reviewing. We just get spend that on ourselves. And I think that’s really needed right now for this group. And so I think that the way that this camp hit us this year with no practices against anybody else, just focusing on ourselves. I’m excited about it.
Bengals Camp Day 11:
* Hot day of padded practice Saturday, lasted just under 90 minutes, including walkthrough.
* Geno Stone deal minor hamstring tightness that he doesn’t believe is serious.
* BJ Hill sat out practice
* Cody Ford spent time as second team right tackle, Jalen Rivers moved inside to right guard with second team offense
* Joe Burrow had a nice touchdown pass to Noah Fant after a rush pickup
* Safety PJ Jules with some time as high safety on second unit D picks off Jake Browning on pass for Mitchell Tinsley
* Joe Burrow finishes final drive by converting a 4th-and-12 for Tee Higgins. Two plays later, finds Ja’Marr Chase for a TD, outracing D to the front pylon.
* Defensively, Shemar Stewart saw more reps with first team D on edge. Cam Taylor-Britt, Dax Hill and Marco Wilson returned and practiced. Anthony and Battle as safeties. TJ Slaton had a nice bat down of a Burrow pass over the middle in early 11s. DJ Ivey on second unit.
* Joseph Ossai was dressed but came out early, limping to the sideline after taking a snap with starters in 11s. He remained on the sideline the rest of practice and the issue was not considered serious.
* Zac Taylor said a few players were dealing with soft tissue issues, playing it safe.
* Bengals return to normal morning schedule Sunday, practice 10-noon.
