PLAY OF THE DAY

S Geno Stone

For the Bengals' new-look defense envisioned by new coordinator Al Golden, Wednesday morning was not the first practice of training camp. Even though it was, as a robust crowd could attest at the Kettering Health Practice Fields in a pleasant 82ish degrees.

"We wanted to treat it like it was day 20 because we had 19 in the spring," said linebacker Logan Wilson after whatever it was ended "Pick up right where we left off. The team can build off it, and I feel like we did that."

Wilson, an early frontrunner to be a defensive captain in his sixth season, agreed that you could feel his defense is different this season as Golden inherits a unit coming off a 25^th NFL ranking while losing four games their offense scored at least 33 points during a season they missed the playoffs by a game.

"I felt it all day. From the first period to the last period," said safety Jordan Battle. "The energy was up. Guys were moving around. Guys were talking a lot more. It was a good day."

Pro Bowl quarterback Joe Burrow confirmed it, saying the secondary won the day, and that included Stone's expertly disguised blitz that became emblematic of the defense's dominance on the first day of what they hope is their revival.

Or Day 20.

As Golden called in the play on the sideline, he told players and onlookers that the key was Stone having poise and not tipping the offense too early. As Stone lingered in his normal spot 10-12 yards off the line of scrimmage, running back Samaje Perine went in motion, and that was Stone's key. He bolted to the line and Burrow basically had to check it into the ground.

"Freakin' perfect, Geno. Freakin' perfect," said Golden as he jogged on to the field while Stone closed in on Burrow. Walking off the field after practice, Golden observed, "He has poise. It's really important to play with poise. He's getting a different cadence up there. He's looking either at the clock or a trigger. And he did a great job being where he needed to be on the snap."

Battle led a screaming defense back to the sideline.

"This year there's a big emphasis on holding disguises as long as possible," Battle said. "There's a big emphasis on signals. Communicate across the field. Get it to the corners. Talk to the linebackers. Make sure everybody is talking. Even the twos and threes are talking."

Yes, Stone thought. A sack in a real game. Crazy, he said. He's been in 68 NFL games for the Ravens and Bengals with no sacks. But that would have been it.

"A weak-side blitz. I've been telling them all year I'm waiting for that blitz because every time they call it, it's always on Jordan's side," Stone said. "I'm happy they'll let me blitz this year a little more. I feel like this defense allows everybody to do lot. So everybody is tied into it. I feel like at any moment you can blitz from any position."

If it looks like the defense was in Burrow's head, they were. Golden said his best day of the spring was when Burrow came in to talk with the defensive staff for a couple of hours.

"It was cutups. I'm not sure how many plays, maybe 50 to 70, or something like that," Burrow said. "I was just talking through what I'm seeing, who I'm looking at, who I'm keying in, certain coverages, certain teams, who's giving it away, all that good stuff."

Both sides of the ball seem to think Golden has brought some of that good stuff to the defense.

"I thought they were really sharp today. I thought their energy was great," Burrow said.

Last season at Notre Dame, Golden molded a pressure defense. When Stone led the AFC with seven interceptions for Baltimore in 2023, the Ravens led the league in sacks. Stone said all spring what Golden does reminds him of the steady pressure Seattle head coach Mike Macdonald supplied as the Baltimore DC.

"I love his attitude. I love what he brought here. It's the kind of a defense I've been in my whole career," Stone said. "I think I'm a perfect fit in it. I think a lot of guys are adjusting to it and we're having a lot of fun with it."

PLAYER OF THE DAY

CB Cam Taylor-Britt

The defense is always supposed to be ahead of the offense. But Burrow wasn't happy about it. "Poorly," he said of how it went. But that meant the defense looked good. Particularly the secondary. Especially cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt. Burrow didn't appear to complete anything longer than ten yards in 11-on-11 with Taylor-Britt draped on wide receiver Tee Higgins.

"I think the defensive backs were playing really well, playing their leverages sticky and covered, so they won the day," Burrow said.

Tayor-Britt looked like he did during the Bengals' five-game winning streak that ended the season and not like he did when he got benched twice. When Burrow and Higgins tried to run an out on the sideline, Taylor-Britt went textbook and kept fighting through the ball and hands to knock it out.

"Pretty solid. Eyes right in the right place, technique was smooth. Wasn't tired as hell," Taylor-Britt said.

Taylor-Britt is a big fan of the simplicity Golden brings. Yes, CTB says, communication is great. But what makes it great is when there's not a lot to communicate.

"We're playing fast. We're not thinking so much," Taylor-Britt said. "We're just lining up, getting the call, making our check and playing ball. We don't do all that talking. One check. Two checks. Maybe. You don't have to do all that. All those different words, you don't have to have that. The ball is snapped."

QUOTE OF THE DAY

LB Logan Wilson on the new mindset of the defense:

"The whole aura. Everybody is hungry. Pissed off. We want to be better and when you have that drive to be better, usually as a unit it turns out well for you."

SLANTS AND SCREENS

Head coach Zac Taylor said it again, this time before he stepped on the field Wednesday morning. Burrow and the starters are going to play more than they ever have in preseason games, and Burrow is all in.

Of course, he always has been, which is why the coaches didn't have to really check with him to see if he wanted to play. Even though he's played just 16 snaps in a total of five preseasons, he's always wanted to play more.

It sounds like he'll play at least those 16 snaps in that Aug. 7 preseason opener in Philadelphia and maybe just as many or more the next week in Washington. Burrow says merely getting into play mode on a road game is a plus.

"That'll feel more like a game week for me. Obviously, you're still doing training camp practices and trying to get the most out of those, but mindset-wise, when you're traveling to these preseason games, it's going to be a little different mindset, a little different feeling," Burrow said. "I think that would be positive.

"For me, you can practice full speed against the defense all you want. But you're not getting hit. You're not quite feeling that. And the D-line is stopping. Free runners are stopping a couple of yards before they get to you, number one. And then you can work on scrambling a little bit. You can get that timing of how quickly you actually have to get the ball out of your hand in those preseason games. Whereas in training camp, you try to simulate that as best as you can. But it's not quite the same." …

NFL sack leader Trey Hendrickson and first-round pick Shemar Stewart weren't here Wednesday, officially making them holdouts. Burrow says he and Hendrickson are "in constant contact."

"It's obviously disappointing. You'd like to have all your guys out there day one to try to build that cohesion that I was talking about," Burrow said. "But that's not how it usually works out. It's a business, and that is how it's gone … It can be frustrating. But that's the business of the NFL, that's how things go." …

Cody Ford worked at right guard with the first offensive line, Lucas Patrick with the second …

Joseph Ossai and Myles Murphy were your No. 1 edgers, like the spring …

Defensive tackle/edge Cam Sample, out all last year with a torn Achilles, bounced around on a few snaps ….

Cornerback Dax Hill, coming off an ACL injury, went through individuals and is soon to be worked in seven-on-seven and team …

The long snapper battle has commenced. Incumbent Cal Adomitis and undrafted rookie free agent William Wagner each had three snaps as Evan McPherson was a perfect six-for-six on field goals ranging from 30 yards to 45 …

Camp may not be as charming now as it was back in the day when the Bengals camped out at Wilmington College and Georgetown College. But Zac Taylor hit it right on the head when he talked about the old-school benefits of fans at practice.

"It's an excellent reminder of all the things you're really doing this for. You're doing it for our community, you're doing this for our fan base. You're doing it for an organization that we believe in," Taylor said. "The impact it has on the daily lives of everyone in this community. When the Bengals win or lose. We understand that. We believe in it and we are right there side by side with them.

"You feel the energy from the fan base. Because once the season goes, we isolate ourselves pretty well. You feel it on game day, but during the week we're in the building at practice or by ourselves. So training camp is a good time to really get face-to-face with the fans and feel their energy."