Article on SI Training camp

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http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/writ...gals/index.html

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Postcards From Camp

Cincinnati Bengals

Georgetown, Kentucky| July 29

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The Bengals are looking for a breakthrough after going 16-16 in Marvin Lewis' first two seasons as head coach.

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Deep in horse country, where the Bengals train at Georgetown College in Georgetown, Ky. Just down the road is Lexington, where the equine set positively rules, and there's more beautiful, rolling green pasture than the eye can really take in at one time. Just as soon as I make my first $10 million, I'm going to buy me one of those picturesque horse farms with all that white rail fencing. Might even live there.

Banks Shots

1. This Carson Palmer guy, he's going to be a good one. On the first snap of the first 7-on-7 team drills on the first day of Bengals camp, Cincy's third-year quarterback dropped back and hit receiver Chad Johnson perfectly in stride on a fade pattern for about 25 yards down the left sideline. Then, a moment later, he floated one into the hands of rookie receiver Chris Henry on a similar pattern down the right sideline. The Bengals seem to think Palmer is headed for his breakthrough year, and I do believe I concur.

2. If you're worried that rookie David Pollack's camp holdout is going to stunt his progress in making the transition from collegiate defensive end to NFL linebacker, don't be, Bengals' coach Marvin Lewis said Friday. Lewis said his first-round pick from the University of Georgia is further along in his linebacking instincts than the likes of Chad Brown, Levon Kirkland and Jason Gildon when he coached them in Pittsburgh. Lewis is confident that Pollack's holdout will not be a lengthy one, or costly to his development.

3. Granted it's a bit gimmicky, but it certainly can't hurt that Lewis on reporting day handed out shirts to his players with the slogan "Do your job'' emblazoned on them. "It's plain and simple,'' Lewis said. "There's no gray in it.''

The mantra is meant to reinforce the idea that the Bengals are talented enough now to win -- and win big -- if everyone just stays on task and takes care of business. Sounds good to me, but I'm not sure a T-shirt slogan ever made the first down on fourth-and-1 at the 3.

4. With the notable exception of T.J. Houshmandzadeh (I still can't spell that puppy without checking every time), the Bengals have the biggest collection of middle-America names I've ever seen on one roster. To wit:

There are five Johnsons (Belton, Chad, Jeremi, Landon and Rudi), three Williams (Bobby, Brandon and Madieu), two Andersons (Lyonel and Willie), two Jones (Herana-Daze and Levi), two Moores (Langtson and Larry), two Smiths (Justin and Shaun), a Miller (Caleb), a Mitchell (Anthony), a Roberts (Terrell), a Robinson (Bryan), a Simmons (Brian), a Thomas (Jeremy), a Washington (Kelley), and a Wilson (Quincy). Oh, and as I recall, a guy named Mike Brown owns the team.

5. Okay, what-I-had-for-lunch-at-training-camp is Peter "Big Dog'' King's shtick and we all know it. But the next time I make it to Cincinnati's training camp without hitting the local Skyline Chili for my mid-day gorging will be the first time.

Three Coney dogs, extra cheese, and hold the onions tends to give my Nexium prescription a run for its money in a gastronomical sense, but it's always worth it. I was still 10 minutes or so from wrapping up my one-on-one with Lewis on Friday when my mind began to wander Skyline's way.

Factoid

When the Bengals last qualified for the playoffs following the 1990 regular season, this year's first-round pick, Pollack, was all of 8. Linebacker Odell Thurman and Henry -- the team's second and third-round selections in 2005 -- were both 7. In other words, it's been a while since Cincy's striped kitties had a meaningful January. But I'm not breaking that story, am I?

Fantasy Geek Note

You know about Palmer, and Houshmandzadeh, and the brothers Johnson (Rudi and Chad), but the Bengals believe they have yet another offensive weapon in second-year running back Chris Perry, last season's No. 1 pick out of Michigan. Perry had an injury-ruined rookie season, getting just five touches in 2004, but he's healthy and is expected to have a significant role this year.

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Cincinnati's Famous Skyline Chili

Think Cincinnati - think chili. Cincy's favorite chili by far, for 55 years. Combine...

www.cincinnati-to-you.com

Skyline Chili: In-depth Company Info

Go to Hoover's Online for in-depth, first-hand, company coverage provided by business...

www.hoovers.com

Perry was drafted to be the team's change-of-pace third-down back, and that will be his primary assignment. But he'll catch the ball out of the backfield on other downs as well, and Cincinnati envisions him spelling Rudi Johnson for the occasional series.

Camp Confidential

Start fast. Those are the bywords words of Bengals camp. In Lewis's first two seasons in Cincinnati, his club has stumbled to 1-4 starts, and then rallied to seven wins in its final 11 games. The resulting 8-8 finishes have left the Bengals tantalized by the thought of what might have been had they managed even so-so getaways.

Thus, in an effort to see that his guys hit the ground running in September, Lewis is shortening training camp by a week (the Bengals will break just before their second preseason game), substituting some night practices for those scorching afternoon workouts, and in general is trying to make sure there's some gas left in everybody's tank when the regular-season bell rings.

It's not exactly a new idea, of course, but it's worth a try. It has the feeling of an over-the-hump year in the third season of the Lewis era, and Cincy's fans and media are clamoring for the cessation of the franchise's 14-year playoff drought.

"Oh, we're going to end that this year,'' Rudi Johnson said confidently after Friday morning's initial practice. "We're going to start fast. The past two years we kind of dug ourselves in a hole, so we want to make sure we don't do that again. Coach Lewis's message was that the time for 8-8 is over for us. We've got to put our sights on bigger and better things.''