The Bengals are heading into a different kind of test this week, and Zac Taylor is lining up camp accordingly.
With training camp past the halfway mark in Cincinnati, the head coach said the team will build toward Thursday’s joint practice against the Chicago Bears with a schedule that gives the players a lighter day right before the session. The first joint practice for the Bengals in a couple of years is set up to feel as close to game day as camp can get.
“So we'll just do a walkthrough here on Wednesday to give them that day back. But we're going to go pretty hard at it on Tuesday," Taylor noted.
"We're going to get good work in the next two days here: Saturday, Sunday, Monday will be a day off. Tuesday is going to be a physically long practice.
Wednesday will be walkthrough only, and then Thursday we'll essentially play a game."
Taylor said the team will attack the Bears session with the same mindset it brings to an actual game. For him, that means energy, tempo and a full menu of situations the coaches want to evaluate.
"I think for our guys, when they are in the locker room, we go to the practice field. It feels like a game to them," Taylor stated.
"It's another opponent that we haven't seen in practice for the last three weeks, and so they'll be excited to go do this. There's a lot of that energy and tempo that's going to come with that, and we'll get a chance to check the box on about every different situation that comes up in practice: normal downs, third down, red zone, end of game, two-minute, four-minute.
"So I know our guys will be excited for it and we'll treat it like we would a game. It's just a more controlled environment.
You get a chance to make sure you're hitting certain situations and getting guys certain reps for certain looks. So it's good.
It's a good change of pace for camp. I think for our guys, something to look forward to, something to do here at our home field, and it'll be good practice for us."
That means this week carries extra weight for a roster trying to sort through roles and reps, with the opener on Sept. 13 still ahead. Taylor’s plan gives the Bengals a chance to sharpen up in a setting that should look and feel different from the usual camp routine, and Thursday will be the big marker.
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