CINCINNATI — Zac Taylor brought a rare element to his first offseason as Bengals head coach — a scoreboard.
Borrowing from and expanding on the program run by Los Angeles Rams assistant offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch, Taylor created a point system to spark a more competitive feel in practices. It, like so many other things Taylor brought to the organization, was something the players responded to positively.
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“When it’s scripted, the guys are out there and, yeah, they’re giving their all, but it’s a little bit different when there’s something on the line and it’s competitive and there’s a scoring system in place,” Taylor said. “So we just want to provide as much competition as possible.”
Not every practice period was scored, but when they were, the energy level was noticeably different, particularly with the defensive players exuberantly celebrating every interception or deflected pass — and there were many, especially during the three minicamp practices this week.
And it was all the way down the line, with the starters especially eager to celebrate every play the second- and third-team guys made.
“I don’t care if it’s checkers or whatever the situation is, guys want to compete and they want to win,” defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo said. “That’s what we’re doing right now. It’s the NFL. If you don’t want to compete, you can’t work here. That has to be a given.”
Another element Taylor brought was one of surprise, going unscripted from time to time. It was something that benefited the players as well as Taylor and Anarumo, both of whom will be calling plays this fall for the first time in their NFL careers.
The unscripted sessions – including the entire practice Thursday when most of the starters and key backups got the day off – gave Taylor and Anarumo an opportunity to adjust on the fly and pick up on the rhythm of play-calling.
“Our mission was to improve with every single practice and not waste any opportunities,” Taylor said. “I feel we did that. It was a positive spring for us. We came out relatively healthy.
“I’m excited about the work we got done, and now we’ll take a little bit of a break and get focused.”
With players off until they report for training camp July 26, here is a look at some of the ups and downs from organized team activities and the two minicamps the Bengals held this spring:
Up
It seemed like every time something good happened in the passing game this spring, Boyd was involved. It was hardly a surprise coming on the heels of his breakout season in 2018, but it’s notable nonetheless — not just because of what it signals for the offense but also what it means for Boyd’s bank account.
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Boyd has made it clear he would like to sign an extension and stay in Cincinnati rather than test free agency, and he essentially was betting on himself — and against misfortune — with a “full speed ahead” attitude this offseason rather than dialing back what he was willing to do.
“I’m just trying to do what’s right,” Boyd told our Paul Dehner Jr. last month. “I’m going to be a team player and go out there and work my tail off. I’m not going to try to skip out on reps or miss a day.”
A.J. Green did not participate in any team drills and John Ross sat out a good portion of them, so Boyd was the primary focus of the defense on most plays. On most occasions, he worked himself open and secured anything thrown his way.
Hubbard, after a rookie season of grooming, looks more than ready to step into the starting role as the edge rusher opposite Carlos Dunlap, the franchise’s active sack leader.
Hubbard played right and left end and repeatedly made things difficult for tackles Bobby Hart and Jonah Williams, the team’s rookie first-round pick. Hubbard was a regular presence in the backfield in addition to getting his hands on several passes.
Hubbard was third on the team last year with six sacks, and those came while he played just 45 percent of the snaps. He isn’t going to see his playing percentage double (it will likely be in the 70 percent range), but based on what he’s shown in the offseason, his sack total has a chance for that kind of spike.
The DBs
No group was more vocal about or more successful with Taylor’s practice scoring system than the defensive backs, and their performance continued to improve as the spring progressed — and, not surprisingly, as they got more comfortable with Anarumo’s defense.
“It’s guys knowing their jobs and now focusing their attention more on what the offense can do to them,” Anarumo said. “Because if you’re focused on what your job is and you’re not sure, you can’t anticipate what the offense is going to do to you. Once you know your job cold and it’s not that complicated, now you can focus on ‘hey, I might get this route’ and anticipate things, and now you start making plays.”
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Taylor singled out free-agent signee B.W. Webb, a cornerback, as a player who had been impressive in OTAs, and if we were to rank the performances by position groups as whole, the secondary would be the clear-cut winner.
The group especially played well during minicamp with multiple interceptions Tuesday and Wednesday.
“We chart it, and they’ve really spiked up the last two weeks,” Anarumo said. “That’s what we want. We want to create turnovers. Everybody in this league knows if you create turnovers, you’re going to win games. We keep getting our hands on footballs.”
It’s hard to judge the effectiveness of running backs when everyone is in shorts and no one is tackling, but the rookie sixth-round pick was a big winner among the group in terms of performance and circumstance this spring.
Running back already was the thinnest position group on the team, and with starter Joe Mixon sitting out most of OTAs because of an undisclosed injury and rookie sixth-rounder Rodney Anderson sidelined for the entire spring, Williams got a lot of reps. He capped his solid offseason with a juggling catch for a touchdown in Thursday’s final practice.
Damion Willis
The Bengals didn’t draft a wide receiver for the first time in 10 years, which means the handful of college free agents they signed at the position will go into training camp with a legitimate chance to unseat some of the underperformers on the roster, guys such as Cody Core and Josh Malone.
Stanley Morgan Jr. came into OTAs with the most hype as the all-time leading receiver at Nebraska, but Troy’s Willis was quietly the most impressive among the group of UFA receivers. There weren’t any ridiculous catches or other “wow” moments, but he consistently made plays despite limited reps.
Down
Ryan Finley
The rookie quarterback struggled from his first practice until Thursday’s last, throwing balls that wobbled, were off target or were intercepted — and sometimes all of the above.
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Finley had his moments, making a couple of really nice throws on the run during one of the OTA practices that were open to the media, but overall it was a suspect start for the fourth-round pick from North Carolina State.
Making Finley’s performance all the more glaring was the fact that undrafted quarterback Jake Dolegala, who had no reps in 11-on-11 work in any OTA practices open to the media, looked great in Thursday’s finale, when most of the starters and key backups had the day off.
Dolegala completed 67 percent of his passes and threw three touchdowns, including one to Malone on the final play of the day – one that had Mixon and the many others rushing to the end zone to celebrate as though it were a game-winner in October.
“That’s why we brought him in,” Taylor said of Dolegala. “He’s stayed focused. It’s not easy when you don’t get any reps and you have to come out and compete with the guys. I thought Jake did a great job. That’s why he’s here. It’s always good to see those guys who don’t get a ton reps get out there and show why they’re in the NFL. It was a good day for Jake.”
Jonah Williams
While the extent of Williams’ “ding” remain unclear, it’s never a good thing when your first-round pick has to sit out minicamp. Fortunately for Williams, the issue arose late enough in camp that he got more reps than he missed, but his absence was a two-pronged issue as the Bengals had to move Cordy Glenn back to tackle, slowing his transition to guard.
Taylor never elaborated on Williams’ injury after the initial announcement, but Williams didn’t exactly maintain a poker face when talking to reporters Wednesday. He didn’t address the injury specifically, but his disappointment was evident in the soft-spoken, short answers to other questions, which was a far cry from the effusive, expansive Williams we saw when he first arrived.
Alex Redmond
The incumbent starter at right guard didn’t participate in anything but rehab work all spring and got dinged with a four-game suspension for violating the league’s policy on performance-enhancing substances.
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But other than that …
The rookie fourth-round pick said he never expected to have a flawless offseason. His focus was on not making the same mistake twice.
“The biggest thing I want to show the coaches,” Jordan said before the first practice of minicamp, “is that I’m coachable and I can fix the mistakes I made from Day 1 until now.”
But the Ohio State product had a number of pre-snap issues throughout the spring, including one this week when he rose from his stance and began to pull before the snap, nearly running over Finley. Pulled out of the drill after the mistake, Jordan walked about 10 yards behind the line of scrimmage and dropped to do 10 pushups.
Germaine Pratt, unsigned
The fact that the rookie third-round linebacker still doesn’t have a contract as the players head into their six-week summer break is baffling. Rookie contracts have been formalities with salary numbers slotted ever since the new CBA ended the lockout in 2011.
This is the first time since 2013 the Bengals haven’t had all of their draft picks signed before the end of minicamp (first-round pick Tyler Eifert didn’t sign until the second week of July that year).
Pratt has still been practicing, though, even after missing a few days because of a hamstring issue.
After a disappointing rookie season in which he couldn’t get on the field, the 2018 third-round pick is hoping to shed the “bust” label. But even with Pratt missing some time and the linebacker position being one of the thinnest on the team, Jefferson has been running mostly with the third string this spring.
A slow start — attributable to an ongoing recovery from the toe injury that ended his rookie season in December — could be part of the reason, but it’s still a little surprising he hasn’t worked his way into more reps.
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John Ross
Ross had an up-and-down spring, so it wasn’t his performance as a whole that has him listed here. But he did miss several practices, which has been a trend since he arrived.
Whether it was a chance for him to make up for lost reps or a message sent from the coaching staff, Ross was one of the few regulars who worked during Thursday’s minicamp finale.
(Top photo of Tyler Boyd: John Minchillo / AP)