A Cincy hat tip to Bengals rookie center Matt Lee after he played every snap and allowed no pressure last Saturday in Chicago.
Ted Karras, the center and author of the Cincy Hat Project, noticed this.
“He’s a guy who has done everything right to play his way onto an NFL roster,” Karras said after practice Monday. “That’s important for this program and this organization. As a 31-year-old center with two years left on his contract, it’s a relief for the upper ranks to have a guy like that in the pipeline. As a Bengals fan, I’d be thrilled to have a guy like that in the pipeline. Our two rookie offensive linemen are going to be around for a long time.”
Right tackle Amarius Mims, the first-round pick, is still out with a strained shoulder. Lee, the seventh-round pick, will not be filling in for Karras tomorrow. But he will be back in the thick of things, fighting for his place on the roster when the team plays the Colts at Paycor Stadium on Thursday in the final preseason game (8 p.m. – Amazon Prime).
And with the confidence he gained from Saturday, he is taking advantage of the momentum.
“It was pretty cool to go up against another team’s ones. That doesn’t happen all the time in training camp, so it was a good feeling to be able to go up against another team’s ones for two or three drives,” said Lee, who believes he can play up here. “From a physical opponent standpoint, I think I can.”
Lee will continue to do what he has always done and impress the veterans with his strength. On Saturday, former Bengals defensive tackle Andrew Billings, a 300-pound player who now plays for the Bears’ Ones, got a taste of the 6-foot-4, 290-pound Lee.
“For a center his size, his anchor is impressive,” Karras said. “He has a power that I don’t think people initially attribute to him. I think he’s a freshman who’s willing to learn and asks everyone questions, but not in a cheesy way, and he uses that information to win blocks.”
Lee will continue as before.
“There’s a lot of good stuff and a lot of stuff that needs to be improved, especially little things in the running game,” Lee said. Little technique things. Things that you have to keep hammering in. Hammering in practice. Really being conscious of that. No matter what we’re doing. Whether it’s an (individual drill), a drill against the defense in a team phase, whatever it is, just hammer the same things over and over and over again.”
This is a camp where Karras is feeling his football mortality. As a new father, he has often mentioned his role as the oldest player on the team, a month older than fellow former Patriot Trent Brown. It makes him think of the days when he broke into the league in Foxboro, learning to play center as a sixth-round pick.
“I think it’s the responsibility of the older players to help the younger players,” Karras said. “I was blown away by the help I got from guys like Bryan Stork and David Andrews. Dave in particular taught me how to play the position.”
On Monday, Karras was back to teach him about the wide zone, a play Lee occasionally used at the University of Miami but is a regular occurrence here. Perhaps not yet finished, but in the works.
“As a rookie, he can’t do a full Teddy K,” Karras said with a laugh. “But he’s having a great training camp.”
PLAYER OF THE DAY: Defense, led by DT BJ Hill
The Bengals scaled back practice on Monday to prepare for Tuesday’s joint practice with the Colts, and the defense ran a mini-drill on moving the ball. Normally, the offense or defense wins when they reach 18 points in head coach Zac Taylor’s scoring system, but on Monday he managed 11 and the defense outscored him.
“We started a little slow at practice in Chicago,” Hill said of Thursday’s work against the Bears. “We did better toward the end of practice. Our main goal now is to start fast and finish even better. We did that today and finished very well. I feel like sometimes we get into a slump. It’s like a boxing match. We want to get hit and then react. But now we want to hit first and keep going.”
Hill’s emergence as a more active leader in his fourth season with the Bengals matches his seniority on offense. When he joined via transfer late in 2021 training camp, nose tackle DJ Reader and Larry Ogunjobi were the anchors. But Hill is the only one yet to sign a contract extension, and when Reader signed with the Lions in March, he texted Hill.
“He told me it was my turn to take over the D-line,” Hill said. “I’ve learned a lot from him over the last few years… I’ve always talked to the guys, but I’m more intentional with them and making sure they’re actually doing the work that needs to be done,” Hill said. “Especially the young guys, they’ve got to make sure they stay on track, focus and concentrated. Because they’re just as important as we are. They’re going to help us win games.”
Winning games is his thing.
“I want to win a lot of games. I want to win the division. I want to win the Super Bowl,” Hill said. “If we play good football up front, we’ll have no problems. I firmly believe that if we play at a high level every week, nothing will be out of our control.”
PLAYER OF THE DAY: CB Dax Hill
It’s a good time for Hill, as he and DJ Turner continue to battle for the starting spot opposite No. 1 cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt. Both will play a lot.
“However it plays out, there are roles for guys, and obviously you’d rather have a guy that’s a starter,” Taylor said. “That doesn’t mean it has to be that way. But there are opportunities for roles beyond that whether a guy is a starter or not.”
Hill says he just wants to contribute as a safety. He certainly did that on Monday. He’s a big reason the defense won. When quarterback Joe Burrow bounced off his back foot on fourth-and-1, he didn’t lead wide receiver Charlie Jones down the field, and Hill was able to defend him in man coverage.
Earlier in the day, on third down, Hill had tight coverage of wide receiver Trenton Irwin along the right sideline and Irwin was unable to reach Burrow’s throw.
After completing his usual post-workout routine of catching balls from the machine, Hill said he was becoming more comfortable in the corner.
“I feel like I bring a lot of positives in terms of production. Flying around out there. That’s something I’m good at,” Hill said. “Slowing down my mind. I feel like there was a time where mentally everything slowed down. My technique slowed down. I can play faster and really know what I’m going to accomplish offensively.”
C Ted Karras on helping newcomer Matt Lee:
“I have never been a fan of bullying or bitterness and hostility towards younger men.”
SLOPES AND SCREENS: Ryan Rehkow, the de facto punter on Opening Day as Brad Robbins struggles with a hip flexor, is adapting to the Bengals’ holding style. He used two fingers during his career at BYU, but here kicker Evan McPherson prefers just one point of contact.
“It’s a very small adjustment and it makes things easier,” said Rehkow….
Safety Tycen Anderson said he was able to give it his all Saturday in his first game in nearly a year after recovering from a torn ACL. He played 15 snaps and said, “I have confidence in the rehab, so I haven’t thought about it.” …
In addition to Mims, third-round defensive tackle Mckinnley Jackson is also still out … Defensive end Sam Hubbard (knee) took part in individual exercises again on Monday … Wide receiver Kendric Pryor (finger) is out this week …
