A lot has been made about how the connection between quarterback Joe Burrow and rookie wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase has looked early on in Cincinnati Bengals' training camp.
How has Burrow's deep ball looked? How many passes has Chase dropped? What about Burrow's knee? Has the defense and offensive line shown any improvement? What about special teams?
More:Inside the mind of Bengals rookie Ja'Marr Chase and his wizardry of breaking down film
The reality is none of these questions can truly be answered until Tuesday. That's when the Bengals will practice in full pads for the first time since reporting to camp July 27.
"Oh, yeah, first day, man," Cincinnati cornerback Mike Hilton said Monday. "It's definitely real football. These last couple of days have been feeling like OTAs (organized team activities), kind of a minicamp feel. But tomorrow is the beginning of real football. We're all excited."
Hilton, who joined the Bengals this offseason after spending the first four years of his career in Pittsburgh, wasn't shy about what he'll bring to his new team,
“Everybody knows I’m probably the best blitzing corner in the league,” he said.
The former undrafted free agent will have his first true opportunity to show that with his new squad on Tuesday. He, along with the rest of the Cincinnati defense, will finally be able to make some real contact with Chase, Tyler Boyd, Tee Higgins, Joe Mixon and the rest of the Bengals' offense (except no hands on Burrow) that garnered all of the early headlines and attention in camp.
"We can actually get our hands on them a little bit more and be a little bit more physical at the line and throw the timing off the routes," Hilton said.
Offensively, both the players and coaches have been dying to get after it. Offensive coordinator Brian Callahan wishes the players could put on full pads sooner.
"I would personally like that, but I understand why," he said. "I think it's smart to be able to keep guys fresher longer. It’s always a goal to be healthy at the end of the year as opposed to the beginning. As a coach, and an impatient one at that, I wish the pads were on the first day but we have to wait a little bit and that’s OK."
Special teams coach Darrin Simmons has a lot of questions to answer. Who will be this year's top returners? Who will be the top gunners on punt team? Who will be the punt protector? Will Kevin Huber still be the punter? Who will be the group on kickoff?
"The physical part is what really comes into play," Simmons said. "How do guys move? How do guys cover kickoffs when they have the pads on? Anybody can cover out here in shorts and skirts on. But it's a whole different deal when you put the pads on and now people are hitting them for real."
Tight end C.J. Uzomah caused an uproar Saturday in front of the crowd of fans at Paul Brown Stadium when he grabbed the mic and spoke about the team having the "best quarterback in the league," the "best receiving corps in the league," and the team getting a ring.
Uzomah, who suffered a season-ending torn Achilles in Week 2 of last season, doubled down on the ring talk Monday, saying "Pressure makes diamonds and diamonds are on rings, so we've gotta get a ring."
But even Uzomah knows none of those words mean anything until the pads come on.
"All of this talk is nice when it's just helmets."
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