On a day the Bengals unveiled their playbook iPads to the media, by the time the video of Thursday's practice had been loaded most of the players had already vacated the Paul Brown Stadium premises for summer vacation.
The practice ended the three-day mandatory minicamp and was the 12th and final practice of the spring before the team reports back July 26 for the 3 p.m. practice the next day that kicks off the season and training camp at PBS.
The Bengals are one of about 12 teams with the system that uses audio, animation and video to boil down what used to consist of hundreds of pages in loose-leaf notebooks. The team founded by Paul Brown is helping bring another one of his inovations—the playbook—into the 21st century.
The Bengals figure they've invested "hundreds of thousands of dollars" in a project that has called in local organizations such as Pomeroy and Northern Kentucky University.
"The big thing is how quickly they can get the video to you," said Dalton, headed back to his Dallas home. "I'll be able to look at this practice in about an hour."
SLANTS AND SCREENS
» Dalton won't like some of the things he'll see, particularly in the hurry-up offense. His ball intended for tight end Jermaine Gresham over the middle got picked off by safety Robert Sands and moments later Gresham dropped a wide open pass when he got behind the pair of fifth-rounders, cornerback Shaun Prater and safety George Iloka.
"I thought I could fit it in there," Dalton said of the pick.
» Secondary coach Mark Carrier says Sands, Taylor Mays and Jeromy Miles are all in the hunt to start opposite Reggie Nelson. No one, he says, has the edge.
» Cornerback Adam Jones (hamstring) didn't work Thursday after he reaggravated his hamstring pull Tuesday. Urged to do only individual drills Tuesday, Jones felt so good that he just kept playing in team drills and was so wrapped up in it he didn't realize he had overdone it. He'll be fine for camp.
» Rookie outside linebacker Emmanuel Lamur came up with a goal-line interception on Bruce Gradkowski's throw over the middle on a ball rookie cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick also converged in coverage of rookie tight end Orson Charles.
» Left end Carlos Dunlap had an active day. He had a sack of Gradkowski in the hurry-up and pressured Dalton a few times in the red zone.
» Marvin Lewis, heading into his 10th season as Bengals head coach and last year of his current deal, had no news on a contract extension.
"I don't know the answer to that," Lewis said about a contract update.
When asked if he and Bengals president Mike Brown had talked about it, he said, "Not in a while."
» Per the new collective bargaining agreement the veterans aren't back until training camp starts July 27. The rookies are in town for another week and then head to the NFL's June 25-28 rookie symposim in Canton, Ohio, before returning for camp.
