9 takeaways from Bengals’ productive team scrimmage

The Bengals have a unique dilemma on their hands.

They have a rookie quarterback, but no preseason games on the schedule. This means that they have to try to simulate game action, since Joe Burrow’s first NFL snaps will be in a game that counts.

The Bengals played their first scrimmage of training camp on Friday morning. Though the media was not allowed to film any of the scrimmage, they were able to attend and report on what they saw.

Here are nine takeaways from the Bengals’ scrimmage on Friday.

Injuries

A.J. Green, Shawn Williams, and others were sidelined from today’s scrimmage. Williams and Tee Higgins worked out on the rehab field. Green has been working through a hamstring injury, but he was scheduled to have the day off regardless. John Ross also remained out as he’s expected to rejoin the team this weekend after tending to his family.

Hopefully, most of these guys are able to go when the team’s next scrimmage is. But if nothing else, they’re all expected to be ready for Week 1.

Joe Burrow played as advertised

Burrow had a hot start to the day. He started off his first drive completing all six of his passing attempts. He completed eight in a row before finally throwing an incompletion. He was nine for ten after the first two drives with two touchdowns.

He ended the day going 13 for 19 with three touchdown passes. Overall, a good day for the rookie.

Given the receivers Burrow was without today, it’s great to see he still was able to thrive with the weapons he did have. These scrimmages are as close to preseason games as Burrow will get, so it’s good to see his first one was a success.

Auden Tate had two receiving touchdowns

With Green, Ross and Higgins out, Auden Tate was the star of the day at receiver. Tate caught Burrow’s first two touchdown passes and also made some highlight-reel grabs, one of which came on a 3rd-and-14 conversion.

With Green and Ross set to become free agents next year, Tate has a chance to establish himself as a focal point in this offseason, and he’s already starting to do so following a successful first scrimmage.

Jacques Patrick made an impression

Another former Florida State Seminole, Jacques Patrick, turned head during the scrimmage.

Patrick was undrafted by the NFL 2019, but entered the XFL draft and played for the Tampa Bay Vipers.

With Rodney Anderson’s failed physical, the Bengals are looking to fill the third running back spot. It looks like it will come down to Patrick and Samaje Perine, who also rushed for a touchdown in the scrimmage.

Patrick was never the lead back at Florida State as he was in a committee approach, and he wasn’t with an NFL team before Cincinnati, so he’s still a relative unknown at this point. The 6-3, 236-pound bruiser could be a nice change-of-pace back compared to the other backs on the roster.

If nothing else, Patrick appears to be making a good case for a spot on the practice squad.

Ryan Finley has shown improvement from last season

Ryan Finley’s rookie year did not go well. He completed 47.1 percent of his passes for a 62.1 passer rating in three starts, all of which the Bengals lost.

He seemed to be better during the scrimmage, albeit against the second string defense.

Finley is competing with Brandon Allen for the right to be Burrow’s backup. So far, it looks like Finley has a slight lead following a productive scrimmage. It certainly helps he already has a full year in Zac Taylor’s system.

Alex Erickson is stating his case

The Bengals’ receiver room is crowded this year, and Alex Erickson is in danger of losing his spot. Normally, his special teams abilities give him an advantage, but with Brandon Wilson and Darius Phillips, that may not be enough.

Erickson helped his case with a solid outing on Friday, receiving passes from both Burrow and Finely.

Erickson is facing some tough competition from Damion Willis, Stanley Morgan Jr. and Mike Thomas for one of the final receiver spots, so it’s good to see the veteran responded with a solid outing today.

Burrow and red-zone offense struggled

Burrow’s first practices in the red zone have been disappointing. That trend seemed to continue during the scrimmage.

On drives that started on the opposing 30-yard line, the offense had to settle for field goals.

Interestingly, Finley did not struggle the same way Burrow did, but the former does already have a full year in this system. Let’s see how Burrow looks in the next scrimmage before worrying about this issue.

And it will certainly help with this issue when Green, Higgins and Ross are all in the lineup.

Sam Hubbard had a day

Sam Hubbard was a handful for the first offense, whether he was in coverage or rushing the passer.

In his first two seasons with the Bengals, Hubbard has shown flashes of becoming a major impact player in this defense, and that was on display today. If he steps up his game in Year 3 with Geno Atkins, Carlos Dunlap, D.J. Reader and Carl Lawson doing what they do, this already-imposing defensive line becomes flat-out terrifying to opposing offenses.

False starts plagued the offensive line

One problem that could dampen Burrow’s rookie campaign are pre-snap penalties. The first team had four false starts on the first two drives, which is simply unacceptable, but also to be expected for a rookie in his first NFL scrimmage.

Zac Taylor said false starts are typical for a teams’ first preseason game. That makes sense, since the offensive line configuration is new and they are playing with a quarterback they have never played with before.

These have been issues in recent years though, so it is a tad concerning to see them rear their ugly head again.

Hopefully, with more practice snaps the line will get used to their new quarterback’s cadence and rhythm and the penalties won’t be an issue.