GEORGETOWN, Ky. — In 43 NFL seasons, Bengals coach Dick LeBeau had never experienced a preseason bye weekend. But with the Bengals idle this week and having three days off, LeBeau has tried to make the most of the unusual situation.

        Thursday was the fifth consecutive day of practice without pads, which gave a number of injured players the chance to heal. The Bengals also worked on technique, especially pass protection. They also prepared for their first regular-season opponent, New England.

        “We could get into more of a minicamp atmosphere,” LeBeau said, “where there was no opponent sitting right around the corner for us. You can work on the general, which is basically technique-oriented.”

        After giving up seven sacks in the preseason victory last week at Detroit, the Bengals worked each day on pass protection.

        “We took them as if we were installing them again for the first time,” offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski said. “It's been really good, because we featured a protection every day and all the little things that have to happen for us to protect properly.”

        Bratkowski also put in some new pass plays.

        The timing was good for the bye week. On Tuesday, Scott Mitchell was the only quarterback able to throw. Jon Kitna had back spasms. Akili Smith has a sore shoulder. Scott Covington had an ailing right side.

        Quarterbacks coach Ken Anderson and wide receiver Chad Plummer, a college quarterback, had to take turns throwing passes.

        “We would have been in a world of hurt if we'd had a game,” trainer Paul Sparling said.

        Kitna and Mitchell split practice snaps Thursday, and each quarterback ran a two-minute drill.

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