The Cincinnati Bengals have gone from Zac Taylor saying they won't do a joint practice to scheduling a pretty important one for Thursday with the Chicago Bears.
A live practice against another team, after all, is a good time to let loose with the starters in a way they might not during a preseason game.
Hence, Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com noted that Bengals starters are expected to play about 40 snaps during Thursday practice, but are unlikely to suit up for Saturday's game.
Fair balance, really. Both head coaches can keep a tight leash on what happens during the practice session featuring starters. They can then test the depth of the roster and evaluate the final 53 as backups get live reps in game action.
Overall, it's an uptick in action for Bengals starters before they might see some work in the third and final preseason game, too. It's all, at least partially, in the name of reducing the chances of yet another slow start for the offense.

#bengals

From the sounds of things at training camp, a very popular Cincinnati Bengals rookie could be headed for an interesting role next year if he makes the team.
Landon Robinson is certainly on his way.
The super-popular seventh-round pick by the Bengals, in addition to his defensive duties, has already been getting a look or two at fullback on offense.
Robinson is just happy to help coming out of a successful preseason debut, of course.
"It was cool being able to get my feet under me. Get that confidence in an NFL game," Robinson said, according to Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com. "I think it was a pretty solid performance, but there's always room for improvement."

#robinson #landon #hobson

The Cincinnati Bengals really appear to have a big hit on their hands with rookie wideout Colbie Young.
Young, the fourth-round wideout who keeps making big plays in training camp…just keeps right on doing it.
One of the latest examples comes from over the weekend, where Young soared up to grab a contested catch from Joe Burrow. Dan ***** d provided the footage, plus a quote from Bengals wideouts coach Troy Walters:
Young himself talked about his growing connection with the star quarterback.
"As soon as I get out of my break, the ball is there. Like I've said, you can't guard a perfect ball," Young said, according to Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com. "Just me and Joe trusting each other on that timing route. He makes it easy. All that pressure in his face, he has to read all the checks, and he still threw a perfect ball out there."

#colbie

The Cincinnati Bengals have some really solid early contributions from the rookie class this year.
Cashius Howell, their first draft pick, is clearly a capable pass-rusher. Third-rounder Tacario Davis looks like he'll play a key role at boundary corner. Fourth-round wideout Colbie Young will be key depth and seventh-rounder Landon Robinson is making some final-roster noise.
While a little boring, sixth-round offensive lineman Brian Parker quietly just looks like a pro's pro, too.
Parker popped on the live broadcast and eventually on film review too for his steady play. The number eventually backed it up too. Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com pointed out that Parker played 57 snaps, more than any other player on the team, getting looks at guard and center.
Over the course of that versatile work, Parker only let up two hurries on 34 pass-blocking attempts.

#pass #round #eventually

The positive news for Cincinnati Bengals rookies coming out of training camp is better than usual.
Colbie Young keeps making big plays at wideout. The team's first pick this year, Cashius Howell, continues to look like he'll be a pass-rushing contributor. Connor Lew is healthy on the offensive line and seventh-rounder Landon Robinson looks like he could be making a push for the final roster.
And then there's third–round pick Tacario Davis.
A huge 6'4" cornerback with upside, Davis has seen some starting reps with the ones lately due to rest days for other players and looked good.
Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com explained: "Higgins beat Davis off the line with a great release, but the 6-4 Davis' catch-up speed came into play. Higgins still should have easily hauled in QB Joe Burrow's beautiful go ball, but with Davis hanging behind him, Higgins didn't pull it in before hitting the ground …"

#like

The Cincinnati Bengals get plenty of press surrounding their wide receiver room. With a bona fide superstar in Ja'Marr Chase and a WR1 talent like Tee Higgins playing opposite Chase, the Bengals boast a duo most teams in the league almost certainly envy.
For years, Tyler Boyd was the third receiver in the rotation during the beginning of the Joe Burrow era. Since he's moved on, Andrei Iosivas has been given the bulk of the opportunity to hold down the role of third wide receiver. After being a track star at Princeton, he has seen his fair share of snaps in the Bengals' offense.
While he hasn't reached the level that Boyd was, reports from early on in training camp say that Iosivas looks even faster as he heads into a contract year.
"He's playing with confidence, and he's playing fast. He looks really fast," offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher told Bengals.com's Geoff Hobson. "He's been fast, but he's playing really fast. Taking advantage of the opportunities that come his way. Even on plays he hasn't been targeted, he's had some really good releases where he separated from ***** p man."
For all the attention Higgins and Chase command, a breakout season from Iosivas, paired with a healthy Mike Gesicki, could make this potent offense even more dangerous.

#bengals #iosivas #even #really

For the first week or so of Cincinnati Bengals training camp, it seemed like there wasn't as much of a competition at slot cornerback as outsiders might have expected.
Jalen Davis, it seemed, had an inside edge on a name like free-agent arrival Ja'Sir Taylor, Josh Newton and others.
But there's still time for heat in August.
According to Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com, Taylor took some of the reps in the first-team defense from Davis. That would seem to mean the coaching staff will keep things interesting at the spot.
It was Davis, though, who picked off Joe Burrow during the session, leading to nothing but praise from Taylor.

#seemed #like

When it comes to starting jobs, the Cincinnati Bengals don't have many major roster battles of note to start training camp.
That's the byproduct of a strong roster that received some major additions at the problem areas like defensive tackle, removing any doubt about who starts where.
Except for one spot on the roster, apparently.
Let special teams coordinator Darrin Simmons tell it, there's a starting-job battle between kick returners Charlie Jones and Ke'Shawn Williams.
"I think Ke'Shawn did a good job in the limited opportunities he had last year," Simmons said, according to Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com. "Obviously, it's no big secret that Charlie has been productive when he's been on the field. We just need him to stay on the field longer. I think Ke'Shawn has earned every opportunity to put himself right in the thick of the competition."

#roster #simmons #starting #think

The Cincinnati Bengals hit the offseason with a rather quiet need at wideout.
Sounds weird to outsiders, given the presence of Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins on the depth chart, no doubt.
But third wideout was an issue. The team confirmed as much by using a draft pick on Colbie Young, who can double as a Higgins-like boundary player and perhaps more.
But based on Joe Burrow’s recent comments, it might be best not to count out Andrei Iosivas just yet.
"Andrei looks great this year. Andrei looks unbelievable. He looks big, strong, fast," Burrow said, according to Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com. "He made a couple of really nice contested catches in the spring this year in our limited reps. That's a big area of emphasis for him. That was exciting to see. He's going to continue to improve there, but he looks just like he's playing with so much confidence, confidence in his role, confidence in the offense, and his ability."

Saracens wing Tobias Elliott is among the prospects called up for a small-scale, England training camp, with Northampton, Bath, Exeter and Leicester players absent as they prepare for this weekend's Prem semi-finals.
After an injury-affected start to the season, Elliott, who scored seven tries in 16 league games last term, impressed during Saracens' late surge into play-off contention.
With loosehead prop Ellis Genge working to recover from a calf complaint, Harlequins' 23-year-old Will Hobson, who was part of the England A squad this year, is involved in the senior set-up for the first time.
Nathan Jibulu covers for injured Sale team-mate Luke Cowan-Dickie at hooker.
Gloucester flier Ben Redshaw, who co-captained England Under-20s at their age-grade world championship last summer, is also among the 26 players called up.