Kyle Dugger has been flying under the radar since he signed back in April and now in August he's flying around the field with all the knowledge of a former Patriot captain who has been at the center of defenses for Bill Belichick and Mike Tomlin.
At age 30 with 90 games under his belt, as well as three pick-sixes and 27 tackles for loss, Dugger heads into his seventh NFL season well known to the Bengals coaches. They will remind you that at one point early in his career in New England he was considered one of the top safeties in the NFL and that when he signed a few weeks after Bryan Cook, they felt two of the game's most physical safeties and surest tacklers had transformed them.
With Cook nursing an injury, Dugger moved next to safety Jordan Battle with the ones late last week, and on the first play of the preseason Thursday night against the Lions, he did what he does at the line of scrimmage on a swing pass and swallowed up the tight end for no gain.
He kept going in Saturday's practice, knocking the ball out of the hands of running back Chase Brown at the end of a run in team, had a pass breakup in 7-on-7, and back in team knifed through an alley to blow up a jet sweep.
"He's been in the game for a while," Battle said after practice Saturday. "Obviously, he makes a lot of plays on the ball as y'all see a couple few days now. He just plays fast. He plays like how many years he's been in the league. It's fun to see."
When Cook is back healthy and the season gets going, don't be surprised to see defensive coordinator Al Golden get Cook, Battle, and Dugger on the field together in specialty situations. If you're looking for a vet linebacker, this might be the guy in certain packages. The offense coaches will also tell you he was a pain in the neck in the run game when the Patriots beat the Bengals in the 2024 opener at Paycor.
"I'm just looking to get better," Dugger said. "The scheme is great. I just have to continue to tighten up the details so I can play fast and definitely being in the right place for my teammates. That's really what it's all about. You know the general idea, but the small detail is what's going to make it really go."
Playing fast. That's what Dugger was doing on the jet sweep.
"I'm kind of a fit on the ball carrier," Dugger said. "I know there's a lead block out there, and he has to make a decision between me or one of the backers. So the best thing I can do is play it fast to help everybody else kind of know where to go."
Dugger hasn't really been right physically for two seasons. He injured his ankle while blocking a field goal early in 2024. After missing the next three games, Dugger played hurt the rest of the way and didn't realize until the end of the year that he needed extensive "tight rope surgery."
That pretty much limited him until the 2025 training camp. When he signed, he said he had been 100% during the offseason, and it's showing.
"You can see his knowledge for the game right away. It's been fun to see the past few days," Battle said. "Reading his keys, seeing the motion, and just reacting fast and blowing up things.
"He's a physical guy. We expect that from him. We know he has that in him, that's why he's out there."
Player of the Day
QB Joe Flacco.
Flacco can rest easy now. He has secured the coveted Bengals.com Player of the Day to go with his Super Bowl MVP trophy. And since there is nothing but a handshake, he doesn't have to worry about garaging it.
"I can hang it up now," Flacco said with a smile.
It's been tough sledding for the offense much of camp, but they racked up three touchdowns in the red-zone lock-out period head coach Zac Taylor loves because he keeps score and the competitive juices flow.
Which is why Flacco, 41, still loves it in his 19th season. "A cool little period. It's just fun to go out there and actually compete a little bit and put points on the board."
Flacco stroked two third-down touchdowns in the drill, and, more importantly, continued his mentorship of first-year wide receivers Colbie Young and Dohnte Meyers. He hit Young running to the front left pylon on third-and-goal from the 7 as the 6-4 Young got a step on 6-4 cornerback Tacario Davis in a battle of their rookie twin towers.
"He had to be fast," said Flacco of the all-out zero blitz. "He just made a quick decision on how to beat him to the corner of the end zone. Great, great catch."
Young said great throw, looking at a wall in the locker room.
"Basically in a square, that two-by-two square back there," Young said. "I broke the leverage and just saw the ball in the air. So he put it right by the DB's helmet, right there … You can't guard a perfect ball."
That's the kind of play that offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher says must be won at the top of the route because the cornerback knows there's not much real estate and can use the sideline and endline against the receiver. Throw in the all-out blitz and the decision and the move both have to be double time.
"It had to be (a zero blitz) because the safety was on me," Young said. "We've got to be fast. If not, it's a sack. I was expecting that ball to be up, (but) he dropped it right in the bucket."
Flacco: "I saw that he was pressed pre-snap and kind of going back and forth whether you want to just take the first down with somebody else or give him a chance. He made a made a really good play on the ball … They're getting better. You can tell they're getting more comfortable. (Young) has been doing a good job all throughout the camp, but you can tell he's starting to settle in a little bit."
Flacco is also having fun with fourth-year wide receiver Charlie Jones, and on third-and-six he got another touchdown on Jones' back shoulder working against cornerback Jalen Kimber.
"It's good to have Chuck out there because he knows what he's doing," Flacco said. "He has speed, and he can put pressure on vertically, and that's kind of what he did there."
Play of the Day
TE Tanner Hudson
The Young play doesn't happen unless Flacco and Hudson hooked up on a remarkable third-and-10 a few plays before. Hudson got 15 despite being blanketed by safety Daijahn Anthony in the middle of the field on a seam route. Somehow, Flacco put it in the only place Hudson had a shot, and even then he had to pull it away from Anthony as they were falling to the grass in a maze of arms.
"I think that's one of those where Flack and I have got some reps together now, so I like to think he kind of can feel where I'm going to be," Hudson said.
"I mean, he put it where I could catch it and get it in without Daijahn able to get his hands on it."
More Flacco: (Hudson) did a really good job just letting me know what he was going to do with his body language, and then he made a really good catch on him. You could tell by the way he kind of ran up on him that he was going to give me a good little body shot to throw in front of him."
For some reason, these two just figure it out. It will be recalled that Flacco's first Bengals touchdown pass went to Hudson on a two-yarder in Green Bay, which amounted to their first rep together because they missed each other in the pregame warmup line during Flacco's fifth day with the team.
"He's been doing it a while," Hudson said Saturday. "I'm not allowed to bend it as much as I would want to right there. So it's more pretty much get into his body and then just put it in a spot where I could really only catch it. We made it work."
Quote of the Day
"Imagine I'm a freshman, eighth grade. He's in fourth, fifth grade. You want to punch him sometimes. I probably did. He punched me more than I punched him because he was mad about something. Maybe after the game. Depending how it goes. Me and Ben get into it, he's got to pick sides."
Bengals head coach Zac Taylor on facing brother Press, offensive coordinator for Bears head coach Ben Johnson, in Thursday's joint practice and Saturday's game.
Zac's not sure this one is going to count in the Taylor Family Bro Bowl because it's the first time they've faced each other in the preseason. Which is a big relief for everybody.
"It's a great opportunity for my family," Taylor said before practice Saturday. "It'll be great for my parents, my siblings. All of them are going to come. All the cousins get to see each other. That's rare for a decompressed environment like this to enjoy the whole family. We always seem to play in December when the whole world is on the line."
Slants and Screens
At some point in the next two preseason games, Taylor is going to have Pitcher call plays for a half or a game.
"It helps him supplement me during the season of being in my shoes calling plays and the decisions you have to make," Taylor said. "And it's good for me, too, to be in a support role …
Captain and defensive tackle B.J. Hill (foot) was out there in individuals with his teammates for the first time since offseason surgery and said he felt fine. In one of the more unselfish moves you'll see, he opted to play rather than have the surgery during the season.
"I probably would have been back sooner if I had done it," Hill said. "But me as a man, I like being there for my guys. If I can go, I want to be there for my guys. Not even a question that came into my head in the middle of the season."
Hill has done some work on the side, but Saturday was the first time he was back with those guys, and there are a lot of new faces.
"I'm excited," Hill said. "We've got a good group." …
That group put on another show Saturday with tackle Dexter Lawrence gumming up some runs and rookie edge Cashius Howell chasing quarterback Joe Burrow off the spot once to force a field goal in the red-zone lockout …
Burrow had that other touchdown in the red-zone lockout, a two-yard slant to wide receiver Tee Higgins. The same play converted a third-and-seven moments earlier …
Higgins and cornerback D.J. Ivey are staging daily heavyweight bouts with Ivey breaking up a couple before Higgins got inside him on the scoring slant …
On the play before the Higgins touchdown, Burrow threw high to Ja'Marr Chase in the end zone and Chase wanted a flag on cornerback DJ Turner II. But that's been the story of this camp. Turner usually comes out on top no matter who he is covering …
Wide receiver Dohnte Meyers kept doing it Saturday. He caught a long touchdown from bootlegging Josh Johnson and later drew a holding call on Tacario Davis when Meyers ran by him …
So did Evan McPherson, blasting a 57-yard field goal into a wind off the river in the lockout drill …
Edge Myles Murphy left late in practice with cramps …
