8/21 Training Camp Update

Player of the Day – Joe Burrow. 

I want to highlight Joe Burrow today, who looked every bit of a #1 overall pick. The Bengals held their first scrimmage today and Burrow, without AJ Green and John Ross, dominated. He went 6/6 for 69 yards and a touchdown on his first drive. His touchdown pass was a perfect goal-to-go fade to Auden Tate. Then on his second drive, Burrow went 3/4 for 32 yards and another touchdown pass to Tate. You couldn’t ask for much more. With an improved offensive line, the Bengals offense could be fun to watch this year.

Meanwhile in Miami, the Dolphins also held their first scrimmage. Ryan Fitzpatrick is attending to a personal matter so Josh Rosen and Tua Tagovailoa got their opportunity to narrow the gap. Spoiler alert: no gap was narrowed. As good as Burrow looked, the Dolphins duo looked equally as bad. Rosen went 6/14 for 104 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception, and was sacked 3 times. Tagovailoa went 6/15 for 99 yards, no touchdowns, 2 interceptions, and 1 sack. It’s not time to sound any alarms, of course, but you’d like to see a better performance from Tua. The silver lining is that you could reportedly tell he has the talent. It just didn’t come together on Friday.

Other news and notes from the day:

• Mo Alie-Cox was removed off the Colts PUP list and returned to practice. He’s a sneaky end of the roster stash.
• Patriots WR Gunner Olszewski continues to draw praise. Belichick said he has “improved tremendously” and that “he’s much, much, much further ahead of where he was last year.” The WR depth chart for the Pats is exactly murderer’s row, so Olszewski might have a chance to play meaningful snaps.
• Just a minor hamstring strain for Tyreek Hill. He’s considered day-to-day. Sammy Watkins was back to practice on a limited basis.
• Scotty Miller, everyone. Just continues to stand out. He had more impressive catches today.
• Mitch Trubisky has been better than Nick Foles so far in camp.
• Tight end sleeper alert – Dan Arnold. NFL Network’s Peter Schrager thinks Arnold will have a “prominent role” in the Cardinals’ offense.
• Jarrett Stidham is dealing with some leg discomfort that might have him limited for a while, leaving the door wide open for Cam Newton to lock down the starting job, as expected.
• Bill O’Brien on Kahale Warring: “Last year, he didn’t play. This is a year when he really needs to take a step. He had a good day yesterday.”
• Collin Johnson has been flashing for the last 2 days in Jaguars camp.
• Bruce Arians says Mike Evans is a long strider who does his most damage down the field, so they probably won’t use him too much on the screen.
• Ceedee Lamb showed out once again in practice today. The Cowboys ended today’s practice on a Dak Prescott TD pass to Lamb in the back corner of the end zone in team drills. It was a smooth-looking leaping grab by the rookie WR.
• From Niners Nation: “Judging by today, Raheem Mostert is “the guy,” and that’s refreshing. Mostert caught a touchdown near the goal line. He looks more comfortable catching the ball than a year ago…It’s evident he’s the best runner on the team, which isn’t news.”
• JJAW had a nice day working with the ones as Jalen Reagor sat out.
• Julian Edelman looked healthier today, took a lot of reps compared to earlier this week.
• Melvin Gordon (ribs) didn’t practice.
• Jeff Thomas landed funny after making a nice catch. Looked like he tweaked something. He had a trainer looking at him afterward.
• Duke Williams makes a ridiculous catch everyday at Bills’ practice.
• “Hayden Hurst will be an every down TE for Falcons.  He’ll be more of a factor in the run game than Hooper was because of his size & strength & experience w/ blocking in the run game in BAL. He’s very athletic and has great hands, made a nice TD catch from Ryan the other day in traffic.”
• Phillip Rivers was sharp today. Trey Burton also had a nice day, caught a bunch of passes.
• Kirk Cousins said that Bisi Johnson has had one of the best camps out of anyone on the team.
• Today wasn’t Lamar Jackson’s most accurate day, but it was still Hollywood Brown’s most impressive. Early in practice, he caught a 62-yard bomb for a score off play-action. Later, he turned a short catch over the middle into a 73-yard TD. Marcus Peters was in coverage both times.
• Myles Gaskin is quietly having a great camp for the Dolphins.
• Albert O with another beauty of a catch today. He’s stacking some good days for the Broncos. Vic Fangio on Albert O: “Overall, we’ve been pleased with his play this far. Obviously, he’s a big target”
• Anthony Lynn reiterated “we need to get more speed on the field” when talking about the No. 3 WR competition. Jalen Guyton has been getting many reps with first team. He has speed.
• Diontae Johnson didn’t practice today for the Steelers. He had a wrap on his lower leg. Looks like a calf issue.
• Daniel Jones started slow today, but finished strong. He went 15/25 with 2 touchdowns (Kaden Smith and David Sills) and 1 interception.
• Kalif Raymond has been great for the Titans this week. He’s shown he’s more than just fast.