\n PLAY OF THE DAY<\/p>\n
An upbeat hum has vibrated through the Bengals’ early portion of training camp.<\/p>\n
Super Bowl winner Ted Karras<\/a> observed a few days ago, “We’re a good team. We’re going back and forth out there.” One club insider offered it’s the best Bengals’ team he’s seen in the decade since they became the first AFC North team ever to start 8-0 in 2015. Newton, who has lined up in more spots this camp than Bengals president Mike Brown’s golf cart, threw up again before he logged Joe Burrow\u2019s<\/a> first interception of camp as this secondary literally plays its guts out.<\/p>\n And after Wednesday’s practice, Burrow added the cherry on top when he said it’s the best he’s spun the ball in years while emboldened by his deepest wide receiver room in his six NFL seasons, a defense that has brought a challenge he hasn’t felt in some time and a locker room where he loves the morale.<\/p>\n “You can feel an energy in here that I’m not sure we’ve felt in a while,” Burrow said.<\/p>\n It could be, he says, a special year.<\/p>\n He started with, literally, the biggest add of the offseason in massive Green Bay nose tackle T.J. Slaton.<\/a><\/p>\n “T.J. Slaton is going to be a great player for us. Energy. He brings the physicality, and I’m really excited to watch that on Sunday,” Burrow said. “And then the games, the stunts, the things that they’re doing on the defensive side of the ball to create pressure is something that I’ve gone against for the last several years, and I know how hard that is to deal with from a quarterbacking perspective, and they’re doing it at a high level. That’s exciting to see, too. So then when we roll 91 back out there, I think it’s got a chance to be a special year.”<\/p>\n No. 91, of course, is Trey Hendrickson<\/a>, the defending NFL sack champion. While he has yet to roll out to practice as he continues to look for a contract extension, his presence in meetings and on the field added to the optimistic swirl when he showed up for camp for the first time Wednesday.<\/p>\n “Whenever you can have a guy like that in the building, even if he’s not going, to see his face. Good to have his presence,” Burrow said. “He’s going to play a big, big part of this team this year. And so just to have him around makes a big difference in energy around here.<\/p>\n “He brings an intensity that is very unique, and so I think that’s good for us. This is the guy that has the most sacks over the last two years. Production has value in this league. You can think you’re such a good player, but not have any production, it doesn’t really matter.”<\/p>\n Burrow sees value in Newton’s secondary. A second-year player, Newton is shining both in the slot and at outside cornerback for a unit that hasn’t stopped chirping at the NFL’s best band of wide receivers. And covering them.<\/p>\n “The young DBS are really stepping up and making things tough,” Burrow said. “Their energy, physicality, knowledge of their coverages, I think, has been top level. We need that energy from them. That’s our defense building off of that energy. Great defense isn’t necessarily always played with the mind. A lot of times it’s energy, emotion, physicality.<\/p>\n “They seem very confident in what they’re doing. They’re not having a ton of mental errors, either, on that side of the ball. And, with a new defense, a complicated defense, the DBs are understanding the nuances of the coverage really well, understanding where their help is, where their help isn’t playing. Their leverage is really sound.”<\/p>\n Cornerbacks coach Charles Burks<\/a> and defensive coordinator Al Goden<\/a> are rolling the cornerbacks through all kinds of combos, and nobody is getting complacent. The first team drill on Wednesday started with Newton on the outside, Dax Hill<\/a> in the slot and DJ Ivey<\/a> on the other side. They also rolled through with the ones Cam Taylor-Britt<\/a>, protecting his soreness, and DJ Turner II.<\/a><\/p>\n But the constant seems to be Newton, inside or out.<\/p>\n “Having a phenomenal camp,” said Burks, who also thought Hill and Taylor-Britt had outstanding moments on Wednesday.<\/p>\n Newton got Burrow in 7-on-7, a drill where on Wednesday Burrow revealed he doesn’t worry about interceptions, unless he has a bad read or a bad throw.<\/p>\n “This year, I’m treating (team periods) like a game,” Burrow said. “Finding check downs, getting it out quick, trying to get game speed ready.”<\/p>\n Not so 7-on-7. That’s tinkering and education. Burrow had a tough throw in the red zone with the defense in a zone with matching principles. Newton noticed how well rookie linebacker Barrett Carter<\/a> (vet Logan Wilson<\/a> appeared to get a rest day as he comes off offseason knee surgery) played it and stayed to the inside.<\/p>\n “(Carter) was in the low zone and he’s been impressive to me. Whoever taught him at Clemson was good,” Newton said. “He’s confident in his calls. He’s loud. That gives me trust in him.”<\/p>\n