Quotes from:

Zac Taylor

Head coach

Initial comments ...

What were your biggest takeaways in the evaluations from today?

"I thought there were some good things early on, aside from they got the interception for the touchdown. I thought our defense after that first drive started out well — got those two stops, missing some key guys. That was good to see. But didn't love how we finished the half, obviously, and didn't love how in the second half the game got away from us. That's not what we want to see."

Any update to injuries to Daijahn Anthony and Jermaine Burton?

"Daijahn, looks like a hamstring — don't know the timeline on that. Burton, looks like a knee — don't know the timeline on that."

Is that a reaggregation of something?

"It's possible."

Is that something that could affect the roster?

"Don't know at this point."

What does it say about Mitchell Tinsley that he didn't play today. Did you not need to see him?

"No, I didn't need to see him today. I think he's had a great training camp. I'm not going to claim anything on Saturday. We've got a couple days to make decisions, but I thought he's had a great training camp. There's nothing else I needed to see."

How would you evaluate Desmond Ridder over training camp and his play today?

"I was pleased how he came in. He came in the day before training camp, picked up the offense, did a great job trying to affect his teammates and fitting into the quarterback room. I appreciate all that about him. I know today he probably needed to be cleaner in some areas, but I appreciate his work ethic, I appreciate his attitude, and I appreciate how he fit in as a Cincinnati Bengal. Again, we'll continue to move on with him and everybody else."

What were you looking for in Jalen Rivers?

"I'll assess the tape on that, but we just thought he needed a little more playing time as a rookie. We got him in there at right guard and let him play. I think it was 23 plays before we got him out. We'll assess what it looked like."

It looked like Evan McPherson wanted to have a go as the first half was winding down. Was that a good spot around mid-field?

"I think that's probably 67 (yards) — I think we were on the 48. He wanted to take a shot at it."

Do you feel you got everything you wanted done with preseason now over?

"I thought we got all the work done that we needed to do. I really feel good. I like where we are from a health standpoint. I like where we are from an install standpoint. Our key guys understand what we're trying to get and what our intent is. So, I feel really good as a football team where we are right now. We'll get a chance next week with the bonus week to get a head start on Cleveland."

What were your thoughts on Matt Lee?

"It will be good to watch the tape from today. He just hasn't had a lot of opportunity this training camp coming off of injury. We'll evaluate the tape."

How much of today goes into consideration for the practice squad?

"We'll assess the tape and have final conversations on Monday on where we want to go. There have probably been a lot of moments in my career where a guy has made a solidifying impression in the final preseason game, where maybe your decision was going the other way. We'll just watch it all and evaluate it."

Do you have an update on Demetrius Knight?

"We just held him out Thursday. He would have been able to play in a game this weekend. There's some guys that missed practice on Thursday and we held them out of pregame warmups and stuff like that."

Are you pleased where the team is mentally in terms of understanding the new scheme?

"I thought Thursday was a great day of work for our one-on-ones. I feel really good about where we're at. We'll assess this tape and put it behind us, and move forward as to who makes the roster."

DESMOND RIDDER

Quarterback

What are your thoughts on how you played today?

"Obviously, I thought I could have done better. The first drive, we just kept shooting ourselves in the foot. We were moving the ball, but like I said, when you just keep taking those negative plays, it's hard to get down there and score. (We) followed it up with the second drive, I come off a (quarterback) keeper, trip a little bit, make a dumb decision when I pull up — you'd like to have that one back. I've just gotta hit some guys on other throws."

How much did being the third-string quarterback and not getting as many reps in practice affect your play today?

"You can't blame anything on reps like that. In this game, in this profession, you've got to be ready to go no matter when your name is called on. So, it doesn't matter if you're not getting any reps or 100 reps during the week. You've got to be ready to go."

What are the next three days like for you with not knowing what the future holds?

"Going into year four, I'm just taking these next couple days as I would normally. I'm still coming in, watching the film, coming into practice Monday and whatever happens, happens."

What have you gotten the most out of being in the Bengals' organization, getting the reps in camp and being around Joe Burrow and Jake Browning?

"Just learning how Joe works, learning how he operates, seeing how a top-tier quarterback operates, seeing how a program is supposed to be ran — it's just been great."

Do you believe you can still be a starting quarterback in the NFL?

"Yeah, 100 percent. Like I said, I've got to clean some things up, but at the end of the day, I know what my capabilities are. At the end of the day, you've just got to go out there and execute."

Do you hope to be on the Bengals' roster after the final cuts are announced Tuesday?

"Yeah, of course I hope I'm here after Tuesday. That means I've got a job. That means we're working toward being better. But at the end of the day, that's not my decision. I did what I did and put what I put on film, so they've got to go evaluate that and make a decision."

EVAN MCPHERSON

Kicker

You had a perfect preseason in terms of your kicks. How have these last few games felt to you?

"It felt really good. I feel like the operations this preseason were really smooth and I got a lot of improvements out myself. Out of the whole operation, I felt like it was a lot smoother, a lot cleaner and everyone's got a lot of confidence in each other rolling into the regular season. I'm really excited with how I performed. There's a few things on maybe a couple field goals that I didn't hit well but still went in, so I'll just continue to focus on ball contact and making sure everything's clean and ready to go for Cleveland."

After the injury last season, how did it feel to be able to get back out here and have the mechanics be back?

"It was funny, I was talking to the ref in Philadelphia at the opening kickoff and it was the first time I hadn't played since Week 11 or 12 of the previous year. It had been however many months it was since I played in an actual football game. I didn't realize it until then, but it's been a lot of fun. I think being injured and held out, what it really teaches you is the appreciation of what you have and not taking anything for granted right now because you're not going to get any of these times back. I'm just really fortunate to be back out there and I'm not going to take this year for granted, give it everything I've got and if it works out, great and if not, we'll figure it out."

From a mental standpoint, how important was it to just see the ball go through the uprights?

"I think it's always important. I feel like it's like a golfer with the yips in putting. Two-foot putts can look like 10-foot putts, and extra points can look like 60-yard field goals mentally. That's what I've been working on recently, just the mental side of kicking and being able to not go out there and overthink and focus on one thing, go out there free-minded and know when I step on the field, the ball is going to go through the uprights. That's kind of what I'm feeling."

We haven't heard much about the long-snapper position battle in camp. What has it been like working with two different guys?

"Yeah, it's been really good and I tell them all the time, I can't feel a difference whenever each of them are in. Both have done a spectacular job and obviously, Cal (Adomitis) has been here for a few years and then Will (Wagner) coming in, with protection and everything on punting, he's done really good on that and coverage has been really good — both of them have. I think they both had two-and-a-half tackles today, maybe two tackles, but field goals operations — they've been super clean. Like I said, everything is in a really good spot right now."

JALEN RIVERS

Offensive Tackle

Overall, how do you feel about your camp?

"I feel great. It's not something to just hang your head about, but I feel like I had a solid camp."

How much are you looking toward improvement and securing your spot possibly in a starting role?

"It's great to have that chance. (I have to) just keep coming in each day and taking advantage of my opportunities. It's a blessing to keep learning from these guys and the coaches and taking it day by day."

MAEMA NJONGMETA

Linebacker

There was a stretch where they had a 13-play drive and the Bengals fumbled the interception return, then there was another long drive by them. Was that really taxing?

"That's just the game. You just take in the reps ... It was a lot of time out there, but a lot of fun especially as it gives me an opportunity to play."

The linebacker crew is really deep and each guy seemed to have a big moment this preseason ...

"I'm just honored to be here. Especially to be here with guys like Logan (Wilson), OB (Oren Burks), and Joe Giles-Harris to fight for a spot and to set a standard. Credit to the rookies. Credit to coach (Mike) Hodges. Credit to Shaka Heyward who showed up and keeps improving. It was a really fun camp for me. I felt like I grew as a person and as a player."

You had a really great preseason last year and this year. How stressful will these next couple of days be for you?

"At this point, it's already been written. I've done all I can control for myself at camp every day. I'm grateful for this opportunity, but we'll see what happens after that. Not much stress, but just a lot of gratitude to be here and to get this opportunity."