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Dax Hill got a big smile on his face when asked how the Cincinnati Bengals defensive backs are impacted by a consistent pass rush showing up early in training camp.
The Bengals defense had another good day Monday, Aug. 3 as the pads came on for the first time, and the defensive line’s pressure on the quarterbacks especially stood out.
That allowed the secondary more opportunities for pass breakups.
Hill had a punch-out in coverage on tight end Mike Gesicki at the end of practice, DJ Turner almost picked off Joe Burrow in another 11-on-11 series, Jordan Battle was making plays in coverage and against the run, including one pass breakup on Ja’Marr Chase, and those were just a few highlights.
Defensive end Boye Mafe especially was in Burrow’s face quite a bit; Myles Murphy had multiple pressures and rookie Cashius Howell had a “sack.”
“We love that,” Hill said. “Yeah, we definitely love that. If you have that, I mean, it makes it a lot easier for us. And then, the quarterback only has a certain amount of time to get the ball out. So I mean, I feel like they've been doing a great job so far, applying pressure and making it easier for us.”
Burrow completed just 8 of 17 passes in 11-on-11s.
Mafe acknowledged he was winning a lot of individual matchups; however, he cautioned against getting too excited about a good day for the defense.
“I feel like it's a learning process,” Mafe said. “One thing about me is you cannot mistake activity as achievement, and I'll never do that. And for me, this is just the start of learning how to be in this defense, which you guys may see as good plays and all these things. There is still more to go. As many good plays there are, there are plays that I can always get better on. So, obviously starting out in this manner, there's more. But got to keep climbing.”
The first day in pads featured a lot of new wrinkles on offense with a variety of formations and play designs. The Bengals used a lot of motions and continued experimenting with the quarterback going under center.
Some plays were more successful than others, but the defense had its part in that.
“I feel like we've been very consistent,” Hill said. “The last couple days, I feel like the offense, they've been giving us great looks, and so I feel like, yeah, from you know, from top down, I feel like we've been on one accord and playing fast and doing what the coaches expect of us.”
Hill likes seeing different things from the offense, though, because it’s a good test in reading plays, reacting and making adjustments.
Mafe said the defensive line is still learning how to work together to bring different looks to their pass rush. If he sees Murphy going high, he’ll try to go underneath, for example, but that comes with time playing together and understanding one another.
Putting the pads on just increases the intensity.
“It felt good,” Mafe said. “It's the next step of the progression. We start with an acclimation period, so now we're getting a little bit of clicking and banging. So, I feel like we're just starting that process of getting to the game day, to getting to the season, to getting into things flowing.”
Hill said he had butterflies waiting for a chance to make his first hit on an opposing player.
“Whenever you have passes, you just want to get that first thud and then after that, just like all right, we're just playing football again,” Hill said.
Continue reading...
The Bengals defense had another good day Monday, Aug. 3 as the pads came on for the first time, and the defensive line’s pressure on the quarterbacks especially stood out.
That allowed the secondary more opportunities for pass breakups.
Hill had a punch-out in coverage on tight end Mike Gesicki at the end of practice, DJ Turner almost picked off Joe Burrow in another 11-on-11 series, Jordan Battle was making plays in coverage and against the run, including one pass breakup on Ja’Marr Chase, and those were just a few highlights.
Defensive end Boye Mafe especially was in Burrow’s face quite a bit; Myles Murphy had multiple pressures and rookie Cashius Howell had a “sack.”
“We love that,” Hill said. “Yeah, we definitely love that. If you have that, I mean, it makes it a lot easier for us. And then, the quarterback only has a certain amount of time to get the ball out. So I mean, I feel like they've been doing a great job so far, applying pressure and making it easier for us.”
Burrow completed just 8 of 17 passes in 11-on-11s.
Mafe acknowledged he was winning a lot of individual matchups; however, he cautioned against getting too excited about a good day for the defense.
“I feel like it's a learning process,” Mafe said. “One thing about me is you cannot mistake activity as achievement, and I'll never do that. And for me, this is just the start of learning how to be in this defense, which you guys may see as good plays and all these things. There is still more to go. As many good plays there are, there are plays that I can always get better on. So, obviously starting out in this manner, there's more. But got to keep climbing.”
The first day in pads featured a lot of new wrinkles on offense with a variety of formations and play designs. The Bengals used a lot of motions and continued experimenting with the quarterback going under center.
Some plays were more successful than others, but the defense had its part in that.
“I feel like we've been very consistent,” Hill said. “The last couple days, I feel like the offense, they've been giving us great looks, and so I feel like, yeah, from you know, from top down, I feel like we've been on one accord and playing fast and doing what the coaches expect of us.”
Hill likes seeing different things from the offense, though, because it’s a good test in reading plays, reacting and making adjustments.
Mafe said the defensive line is still learning how to work together to bring different looks to their pass rush. If he sees Murphy going high, he’ll try to go underneath, for example, but that comes with time playing together and understanding one another.
Putting the pads on just increases the intensity.
“It felt good,” Mafe said. “It's the next step of the progression. We start with an acclimation period, so now we're getting a little bit of clicking and banging. So, I feel like we're just starting that process of getting to the game day, to getting to the season, to getting into things flowing.”
Hill said he had butterflies waiting for a chance to make his first hit on an opposing player.
“Whenever you have passes, you just want to get that first thud and then after that, just like all right, we're just playing football again,” Hill said.
Continue reading...
