Bengals' June practice suddenly features a sense of urgency again
Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt recently highlighted a chippier-than-expected practice by picking off Joe Burrow.
That was one of many highlights streaming in from the early June practice that looked more like a late-summer training camp battle with roster spots and futures on the line.
Advertisement
As it turns out, as pointed out by The Athletic's Paul Dehner Jr., there's a new sense of urgency stemming from these practices in Cincinnati right now:
"There hasn't been a philosophy shift in the offseason program, necessarily. That will be coming when training camp rolls around. Yet, the urgency and competitive levels of the last two weeks featured a notable uptick from the light work of previous seasons."
RELATED: Bengals UDFA is already turning heads at OTAs
While Bengals head coach Zac Taylor has said much about changing the offseason approach in order to avoid slow starts, the formula hasn't seemed to change all that much so far.
Advertisement
This sense of urgency is, by and large, apparently coming from the players as they get to battling before a brief break ahead of training camp. If nothing else, it's nice to see, especially from a defensive side of the ball that was the major weak point last year and resulted in plenty of jobs changing hands.
RELATED: Cincinnati Bengals players missing OTAs list ahead of training camp
This article originally appeared on Bengals Wire: Bengals' June practice suddenly features a sense of urgency again
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fox News
18 minutes ago
- Fox News
With World Cup exactly 1 year out, USMNT legends say pressure is turned up a notch
The United States Men's National Soccer Team will be the home squad in next year's World Cup, and they could make a big splash. Eleven of the 16 host stadiums in next year's tournament, which begins exactly one year from Wednesday, are in the United States, with New Jersey's MetLife Stadium hosting the final. After 1994, Major League Soccer was born, and it goes without saying that the immediate rise of soccer's popularity in the country was exponential. But it's seemingly hit a wall in recent years as the USMNT hasn't exactly given Americans a chance to grasp on. The squad got into the Round of 16 in 2010 and 2014 but failed to even qualify for the tournament in 2018. The USMNT returned to the Round of 16 three years ago but couldn't get out of the Copa América group stage on their own home soil last year. Team USA legend Landon Donovan, though, feels that soccer is "secure" in the country, even if Team USA disappoints, and its popularity can only go up from here. "There's going to be a lot of pressure, for sure, on this team. You play a World Cup in front of your home crowd, there's certainly going to be pressure. Is the state of soccer in trouble if they don't do well? No," Donovan said in a conference call with reporters this week. "There is a massive, massive opportunity [for this team]. In my experiences from the '02 World Cup, when we did really well, my life changed, and the trajectory of USA Soccer changed a little bit." But then again, Donovan scored one of the most famous goals in United States soccer history: his goal in stoppage time against Algeria put the U.S. through the group stage for the first time since 2002. "In 2010, it was that on steroids when we had an iconic moment. So if this team can do one of two things, either go far and/or have an iconic moment or two, it will catapult soccer through the roof in this country." Alex Lasry, the CEO of the NYNJ Host Committee, offered similar sentiments, saying the global stars coming to the United States will be enough to grow the sport itself. "If it ends up being not what we're hoping, I don't think that's going to dampen what the World Cup means to the United States," Lasry told Fox News Digital at Jersey City's Liberty State Park, which is the home of the official 2026 World Cup fan festival and hosted a one-year countdown launch party on Wednesday. "I don't think it's going to dampen how that 6-, 7-, 8-year-old looks at it. Having [Lionel] Messi, [Kylian] Mbappe, [Cristiano] Ronaldo, [Christian] Pulisic, the stars of the sport here, is what's going to lead to that next generation of athletes saying, 'I want to be a part of that.'" Fellow USMNT alum Alexi Lalas took the other side of the coin. While agreeing with Donovan in that all it takes is one special moment to get the country latched on, he said he isn't letting this squad "off the hook." "This is a generation that, over the last 30-plus years, everybody has worked to make sure that they have everything they possibly need in terms of the opportunities and the resources they have; and with that comes higher expectations and fair expectations," Lalas said. "Whoever is ultimately on that field next summer, I hope they recognize the opportunity and responsibility to further the game. What [does that look] like? It can come in a lot of different forms. But when that final whistle blows for the U.S. team, you want to leave thinking, 'That was something I'm going to remember. That made me proud to not just be a soccer fan in the United States, but to be an American.'" "You've got to be ready for that and embrace that opportunity with both hands and make the most of it," he said. "I don't want to let them off the hook, because I think they can do things we haven't seen before. They need the soccer gods to smile, but every team in the World Cup needs a little bit of luck going forward. And over the next year, they're going to have to work at what's going on, and I think the attitude off the field, to make sure they maximize next summer." The 2026 FIFA World Cup takes place in North America next year and will be featured on FOX Sports. Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
CBS News
19 minutes ago
- CBS News
Oakmont's "magnificent" and "relentless" traits define why it's meant to host the U.S. Open
Collin Morikawa says he has the "game to win" the U.S. Open Collin Morikawa says he has the "game to win" the U.S. Open Collin Morikawa says he has the "game to win" the U.S. Open As the best golfers in the world are set to tee off for the 125th playing of the U.S. Open, Oakmont Country Club is being heralded for its "magnificent" and "relentless" traits that make it meant to host America's national championship. Oakmont is hosting the U.S. Open for a record 10th time this week and will certainly prove a difficult test for a field of players packed with talent. Giants in the game of golf have won the U.S. Open at Oakmont. Names like Nicklaus, Hogan, Els, Cabrera, and Johnson. "It's important where players win their U.S. Open, men or women, and the ghosts of the past matter," said USGA Chief Championships Officer John Bodenhamer. Bodenhamer said that Oakmont is one of the great places in the game of golf and its relentless setup makes the club a great host for the U.S. Open. Shane Lowry hits a wedge shot out of thick rough while playing the 17th hole at Oakmont Country Club on June 10th, 2025 during a practice round ahead of the 125th playing of the U.S. Open Championship. Mike Darnay / KDKA "There's no letup," Bodenhamer said. "It's a grind. There are limited opportunities to catch up once you get behind." Bodenhamer spoke at length Wednesday about the number of reasons Oakmont is so special, focusing heavily on the toughness and culture of the course and the club. "It's not just the toughness of the golf course," Bodenhamer said. "It's the culture of this club. They want it to be tough." And tough it's going to be this week. Firm and fast fairways and greens, deep bunkers, and thick rough will all contribute to a test of physical and mental toughness for those looking to add their name to golf's history books. If the fairways, greens, bunkers, and rough don't make things difficult enough, then there's the ditches. Oh yeah, the ditches. The 10th hole at Oakmont Country Club presents a number of challenges including a fairway that slopes downhill, a tilting and sloping green, and a ditch that cuts across the middle of the fairway. Mike Darnay / KDKA "Where have you gone where you've seen a U.S. Open, let alone a major championship, where they have ditches, strategic ditches?" Bodenhamer said. "I never have been to one, but Oakmont has them, and it's magnificent. Bodenhamer said Oakmont is the kind of place where you can stand on the first tee box and just feel like you're in a place where the U.S. Open is meant to be played. "It's just a magnificent place, and we're honored to be here at the 125th U.S. Open," Bodenhamer said. COMPLETE U.S. OPEN COVERAGE:
NBC Sports
19 minutes ago
- NBC Sports
Christian McCaffrey: "I feel great" after injury-riddled 2024 season
After struggling through multiple injuries in 2024, running back Christian McCaffrey is healthy as the 49ers complete their offseason program this week. A day after head coach Kyle Shanahan called him 'a psycho in a good way,' McCaffrey told reporters that he's feeling great entering the summer break. 'I think this offseason I spent a lot of time kind of building back a base starting from scratch, so a lot of it was rehab,' McCaffrey said, via Nick Wagoner of ESPN, 'and [I] wanted to put myself in a position where I didn't miss a day of OTAs and I could practice and play football again, be healthy and not miss a day, and I did that.' In just four games last season, McCaffrey rushed for 202 yards and caught 15 passes for 146 yards. When he won AP offensive player of the year in 2023, McCaffrey led the league with 1,459 yards rushing, 339 touches, 2,023 yards from scrimmage, and 23 total touchdowns.
