8/6/25: The Afternoon Bengals Training Camp Report

What can we learn about the Bengals secondary in the preseason opener? 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
One of the major areas of concern or focus for
a lot of folks this year is going to be
the secondary because Al Golden has to remake the defense
with a whole lot of dudes who were here last year,
including pretty much everybody in the secondary. Now, obviously there's
going to be a lot of guys in that unit
who don't play tomorrow Camp Taylor, britt Dax Hill, et cetera.

(00:21):
What though, can we learn about the secondary in preseason
game number one?

Speaker 2 (00:26):
Well, you know, such a major component that was missing
last year in lou Ana Rumas defense was communication. They
just seemed at times to not communicate where they need
to be. They also at times were out of position,
and they just played hesitant. Ginostone didn't really play like
himself till the end of the year. They have a
lot of youth back there in the secondary. Everything we've

(00:48):
heart up to this point has been about simplifying clear communication,
playing fast, and being aggressive. And we've seen that throughout
training camp. We've seen and I think you hit it
with Junior yesterday. The level of plays not the same,
but you and I watched Kobe Bryant and Soft Gardner
and Brian Cook play at the University of Cincinnati, and

(01:09):
they carried themselves with a confidence that exuded when you
watch them and listened to them on a practice field
or on a game field. It's a little bit like
we've heard from the secondary here, But to me, it's
about lining up. It's about making sure you're playing your responsibility.
It's not having blown coverages, and when you have an

(01:30):
opportunity to make a play, go make a play on
the ball.

Speaker 1 (01:32):
No question about that. I'm also he's not in the secondary, obviously,
but you know, it felt like one Shamar Stewart showed
up for training camp, we started talking a lot about him,
and for good reason, it kind of shoved Demetrius Knight
a little bit to the background, which was also kind
of a theme of mini camp and OTAs because of
all the time focused on Schamar. Yet Demetrius Night, by
all accounts, has been terrific and I can't wait to

(01:55):
see what that looks like tomorrow night in Philadelphia.

Speaker 2 (01:59):
I'm most excited because you heard Zach Taylor talk about
Demetrius Knight in a way where he almost goes overboard
at practice, sometimes meaning playing after the whistle, playing borderline
of hitting or tackling when you're not supposed to be.
And Zach Taylor even said, I will take a guy
that airs on or that has a problem on that side,

(02:19):
then someone who's too timid or stops before the whistle.
So they've essentially had to pull the reins back on
Demetrius Knight. Tomorrow night, you get to take that off.
You get to go play at full speed, You get
to go hit somebody, and with that, you get an
opportunity to maybe make some plays in space, because up
to this point, if you are a running back or
in the flats and you run by him and just

(02:41):
kind of tag off, then that's assuming you're making a tackle. Well,
now you have to actually bring that player to the ground.
And by all accounts, he's playing fast, he's physical, he
pushes the issue. I'd like to see him do that
against the Eagles tomorrow night as well.

Speaker 1 (02:54):
You know, and we talk so much about, well, you know,
Al Golden's defense emphasize his linebacker and it puts a
huge onus on Logan Wilson and Demetrius Knight, and all
of that is true, right, but they also have other linebackers.
Aaron Burks is going to be on the field tomorrow
night against his former team. And it's not like they

(03:14):
drafted just one linebacker either. They've got a kid from
Clemson who it feels like, all right, you know, he
is basically going to be a special teams contributor. But
you're always looking for depth. I'm interested in Barret Carter
as well.

Speaker 2 (03:27):
Yeah, Barrett Carter has been one of those guys. We
haven't talked a bunch about who is going to get
opportunities tomorrow night, So see how he plays when the
lights are on. It's odd. The only time we talked
about Aaron BURKSMO was the day when Logan Wilson got
a VET day and I thought Aaron Burks was all
over the field. I thought he performed really well that
day in coverage, in team drills. It was a day
we thought the defense had beat the offense and we

(03:49):
made a big point because they did it without Logan Wilson.
So look, when he got the opportunity with the Eagles
last year in the playoffs, he was fantastic. He's going
to get an opportunity tomorrow night with the Bangal. Maybe
he can carve himself out an even bigger role for
the Bengals by performing at a high level against the
Eagles tomorrow night.

Speaker 1 (04:07):
Looking forward to finding out Tony.

Speaker 2 (04:08):
Thanks so much, Hi Mo.