Bengals Training Camp Recap 8/18

Today marked the final Training Camp practice at Georgetown College.  Perhaps the most notable thing at practice today was a former coach who watched practice from the sidelines. Stripe Hype investigative reporters spotted former Ohio State coach Jim Tressel roaming the sidelines with Bengals owner Mike Brown. He spent the whole practice talking to Brown while watching the Bengals practice. The only Bengal player to acknowledge Tressel’s presence was former Buckeye kicker Mike Nugent, as he went to greet Tressel in the middle of practice. What exactly was the former OSU coach doing at Bengals training camp, after being spotted at Brown’s training camp just this week? After a thorough investigation, Stripe Hype Investigators were able to come up with 3 possible scenarios:

• Jim Tressel is marketing his former QB Terrell Pryor, who was ruled eligible for Monday’s Supplemental Draft. Both Cleveland and Cincinnati are rumored to be looking at Pryor, though it is unclear if they will play him at QB, or move him to another position.

• Jim Tressel is marketing himself to NFL teams. His list of NCAA violations is long, and he may not be able to get another college coaching job for awhile. He may be ready to try his hand at the NFL. Perhaps he could be the next Bengals LB coach, after current LB coach Jeff Fitzgerald was rumored to be on the way out this off-season, and Tressel has coached several current NFL linebackers.

• Jim Tressel is a spy. As noted above, he’s been spotted in Cleveland and now Cincinnati, which are division rivals. Perhaps he is selling his services as a spy…Hey New England did it. Maybe Mike Brown is finally doing it the Patriot way. Super Bowls!

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• Now on to actual practice:

  • The Bengals practiced in shoulder pads and shorts, though it was a very spirited final practice before the team plays the New York Jets Sunday night.

  • The players were focused and made few mental mistakes. There weren’t any false starts I saw, and no one had to run laps for making mental mistakes, which Marvin Lewis has been stressing harder than ever to cut down on.

  • Receivers were laying out for passes and making one-handed catches. AJ Green and Jerome Simpson made several highlight reel catches in the red zone. Make no mistake about it; the combination of Green, Simpson, and TE Jermaine Gresham will be one of the top red zone receiving corps in the league.

  • It’s up to rookie QB Andy Dalton to get them the ball, which he did well today. I continue to see no real challenge from Bruce Gradkowski to be the opening day starter against Cleveland…Hey there’s that other Ohio team again…

  • Parking attendance recorded 1,330 cars parked at Georgetown College during Training Camp practices this year. The previous low was 2,874 in 2001. Last year’s attendance was 7,362 vehicles. Because admission is free, this is the method in which attendance is kept for Bengals Training Camp.

  • Who Dey!!!

By Jason Marcum
ProFootball-fans.com Cincinnati Bengals Correspondent