Cincinnati Bengals: All eyes are on offense in 2nd padded practice
The Cincinnati Bengals‘ offense hasn’t looked good throughout training camp to this point and that came to a head after the first day of padded practice. Joe Burrow looked bad, the offensive line looked bad, the wide receivers looked bad. Basically, outside of the defense, the team looked bad.
Sure, we’re only one week into training camp and there are still several weeks to go before the regular season gets underway but the offense has looked so bad that’s it’s definitely been a cause for concern, no matter what Zac Taylor says.
As a result, everyone had their eyes glued to the offense during the second day of padded practice. They showed improvement for sure even with Joe Burrow having the day off and backup Brandon Allen getting the reps with the starters.
Jeremy Rauch tweeted that the offense was showing good signs and gave a few examples. One was Allen throwing the ball deep on two occasions and connecting with Tee Higgins and rookie Ja’Marr Chase. He mentioned that Chase “went up and got the ball”.
Offense showing good signs.
— Jeremy Rauch (@FOX19Jeremy) August 4, 2021
Brandon Allen has connected on two deep balls with Tee and Ja’Marr.
Another heavily contested catch for Ja’Marr. Went up and got the ball. #Bengals
Cincinnati Bengals offense is under the microscope
All of the major takeaways from Wednesday’s practice revolved around the offense.
Chase had that amazing grab and this training camp has been a rollercoaster for him, to say the least. He’s struggled with drops and Keenan Singleton summed it up well with Chase throughout camp to this point.
Kinda boom or bust thus far in camp for Ja’Marr Chase. Just went up top and high pointed a duck from Brandon Allen and came down with a contested grab. Mix in with some drops and separation issues and he looks like someone who missed a season of action.
— Keenan Singleton (@KJMSingleton) August 4, 2021
Chase really has looked like a guy who missed a season of football and that’s fitting considering he opted out of the 2020 season. He hasn’t played in a real football game since LSU won the National Championship in early 2020 (you know… before the world ended).
The offensive line has been a major talking point during camp as well but one guy who has impressed is left tackle, Jonah Williams. The Bengals spent a first-round pick on Williams two years ago and he’s struggled to stay healthy. He’s impressing during camp and while his play has never been the concern with Williams, it’s definitely worth pointing out and discussing.
Having a solid left tackle on this line might not solve all of the issues but compared to where this team was at a year ago in regards to Williams, this feels like a huge victory.
Next. 5 Bengals Who Stood Out After Padded Practice. dark
The Bengals won’t practice on Thursday so the offense going out on a better note was a good way to head into the brief break.