Scout team.
It's that time of year. This week the Bengals have been prepping for the Buccaneers for an opener that is now 11 days away at Paycor Stadium (1 p.m.-Cincinnati's FOX 19), and there is His Dexterness walking off the field Wednesday with backup center Connor Lew after the rookie's third legal practice.
"We were talking about one of his reps from today. What he saw, what he feels," says Lew, the fourth-round pick who celebrated his 21st birthday Sunday. "Hand-to-hand combat, a lot of people, especially coming from college, you get your initial strike, and the rep ends there. The difference in pass pro here in the NFL, it's your first strike, but that's just the start of the rep because you have guys like Dex who are elite with all their counters."
Lew and the scout O-line are watching what Tampa Bay's centers do so they can give Lawrence an extra good look. Lew knows it's the least he can do,
"I'm already going against the best nose tackle in the league. You can't get any harder than that," Lew said. "He's elite. There's no question about that. I've been talking to the other scout teams guys about that. And when we look back two weeks from now, I know that's a small amount of time in football, but you look at that, and I think we'll make a big jump and grow going against those guys."
Lawrence and Lew talked Tuesday, too, about how to help the look and those first strikes. Then on Wednesday, here is Lawrence beating him with this monster move. Lew got a hit on his chest, and he's thinking, hey, I'm OK.
"And, just like that, he's flipping his hips, and he's got his hands on my hands for the whole rep," Lew says. "He felt my soft edge, and he got my arm up."
Imagine, 21 years old and Lew is talking technique with the best possible man he could find across from, him. Starting center Ted Karras, at 33 the team's oldest non-quarterback, swears going against Lawrence these past five weeks has made him better, if not a bit mad. Now Lew, the youngest Bengal, is going to get the same treatment for the next four months.
"It says a lot about his character," Lew said. "We're on the same team now. We go against each other in camp and we're battling each other now, but it's all about helping each other and trying to give as good as look as possible."
Mutual Admiration In TE Room
We seem to be watching the evolution of the Bengals offense as a multi-dimensional force that can kill you softly with the daggers of Joe Burrow and also tear you up with detonations from the best NFL offensive line Burrow has ever had.
Now take a look at a tight end room that has become a microcosm of that flexibility. It became even more versatile this summer with the return of Erick All Jr., and the drafting of Jack Endries.
All Jr.'s ferocious mindset has been a star of the preseason, ever since he revealed he got hit by a vehicle in Rome on vacation and he took it as a sign not to go to the hospital, but that his 20-month ACL rehab was complete.
Endries, the seventh-round pass catcher from Texas via Cal who made the club with his willingness to block, has noticed.
Asked for a quick word on All, Endries said, "He's one of the most aggressive players I've ever seen in my life. His willingness to go hit and run into somebody with his body on the line … He's a beast. I'm trying to get there. In a quick word, also a great guy.
"He's got the technique down. He's been here three years, and I know he's been hurt, but it looks like that never left him."
As for All on Endries: "He's really good. I feel like he's still got a lot to show these guys. He's going to be a dog. He made a nice little play (Wednesday) when he went over a guy to make a catch on the sideline.
"He throws his stuff in there. He's young, but he's real mature, real smart. He's got the playbook down pretty easily. He's one of these guys he'll do whatever the coaches ask."
If All and Endries are throwbacks, they both know they're playing for one in tight ends coach James Casey, the seven-year NFL tight end and a guy Endries researched before he got here.
"James Casey might be the hardest hitter of them all. An all-around tight end. A pretty good football player," Endries said. "I know the records at Rice. How many different positions he played. Quarterback. I watched some of his tape on YouTube, but even though it wasn't that long ago, I wish the quality was better."
Casey, it seems, is chairing a mutual admiration society.
"As a tight end, it's good to have that old school in you where you don't care too much about a lot of things, but you're willing to put whatever on the line to win that play," All said. "That's Jack, for sure."
Injury Update
_Defensive end Shemar Stewart (knee) hit the field Wednesday for the first time in pads since he hyperextended his knee on his second snap of camp five weeks ago. There's no timeline, but the fact he started the season not on injured reserve is a sign if he's not ready for the opener, he's close.
After missing time with injuries and contract issues as a rookie last year, Stewart is convinced he's ahead of the game with new vets like Lawrence, Boye Mafe, and Jonathan Allen up front. He also feels emboldened by his second year in the defense.
"These guys are full of knowledge," Stewart said. "They know what they're talking about. They know how to set people up, they know how to track people. Even though I haven't been around playing football, I feel more situationally aware just hearing them talk in the meetings."
_Starting cornerback Dax Hill, who went down the second week of camp, is back doing individuals and taking some team reps in walk-throughs. He says he's been on a conditioning regimen with the trainers outside practice and has caught himself up on defensive coordinator Al Golden's wrinkles from last year.
Hill has piled up quality snaps on the corner, and head coach Zac Taylor doesn't seem ready to put him in a rotation with emerging rookie Tacario Davis.
"We'll see where he's at. I'm not there yet with that. I'm excited to get him back in the fold this week," Taylor said Tuesday. "He's got a lot of experience playing. It's not like it is a guy that hasn't played much and what are we going to get out of him. I've got a lot of confidence in what we are going to see out of Dax. I won't go that far yet."
