The Bengals beat the heat with their training camp schedule

The city of Cincinnati had an excessive heat warning issued all afternoon on Wednesday. For an hour, the Cincinnati Bengals were on the practice field in 94-degree heat and ran a series of long drives down the field.

These are the types of practices in the dog days of training camp where players can get hurt or leave practice due to dehydration. But the Bengals ran one of their cleanest and smoothest training camp practices of the year on Wednesday.

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“It’s time to get guys’ football conditioning as ready as possible,” Bengals cornerback Mike Hilton said. “The coaches know that, but they’ve also been taking good care of us. We’re taking these padded practices seriously. We know what it takes to get to the big game, and it starts right now. We’re still finding ways to be as fresh as possible for when the time comes. The coaches know what they’re doing.”

Bengals head coach Zac Taylor has always run an offseason schedule that’s less physically intense than other teams around the NFL. They had the shortest offseason program in the NFL during April, May and June. The Bengals have had one live tackling period all summer, and they only had one day of joint practices this year. The Bengals have a set schedule with two days of practice followed by a day off, and they didn’t have any three-day blocks of consecutive practices following the first week of camp.

But relative to what the Bengals have done in years past, Bengals’ training camp in 2023 has been more physically demanding. A few players mentioned a longer stretch of padded practices and more longer drives. Taylor called deep routes on the first day of camp, which he hadn’t in years past. The defensive starters played in the second preseason game.

Center Ted Karras said that the Bengals have become a great team at maximizing the full-speed reps they have heading into Week 1.

“Zac is one of the best schedulers in the NFL,” Karras said. “We get a lot of work in, and he also takes care of us. And I always give a lot of credit to the ownership team and the front office. They bring in really quality guys who know how to practice and are open to learning how to practice like we do.”

Last year, the Bengals’ season opener went well until the last second of overtime on a sunny and humid day. The Bengals lost that game to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

“You learn from past years,” Bengals captain Mike Thomas said. “No one liked how we started last year. You might attribute it to that. Everyone who was here last year remembers what Week 1 was like. We want to be prepared. We want to come out swinging. Everyone here is ready to go and ready to work. Our approach has proven to be great. We haven’t had many injuries in camp. Guys are all bought into it.”

The Bengals took a lot of snaps in practice on Wednesday, but multiple players noted how much Taylor was protecting them with the way they structured practice. Position drills took place in the indoor bubble. Defensive linemen and cornerbacks rotated in and out during a few series. Defensive tackle B.J. Hill has been held out of practice this week with lower body soreness.

“We have full trust in the coaches, knowing they’re not trying to run us into the ground,” Thomas said. “If we’re doing a 12-play drive, it’s for a reason. If it’s three plays, it’s for a reason. Guys are bought in.  It’s an environment where everyone is trying to get better. You even see the scouting staff out there. We’re all in a working environment. When you trust your staff, you’ll go out there and go hard because you know it’s for a reason.”

Thomas said that one of the first things that new Bengals mention during training camp is how professional it feels. Coaches don’t aggressively yell at players, and Thomas praised their ability to teach in a way that’s “not at all demeaning.” Players don’t run sprints or do push-ups for no reason. The protocol is for players to rotate out of practice when they’re not at their physical best.

The Bengals are confident that they have developed a successful approach to structuring practice.

“We have great teachers here,” Karras said. “It’s a combination of our coaching staff, the guys we bring in and the way that we’re taught.”

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: The Bengals beat the heat with their training camp schedule