By Mark Curnutte
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Marvin Lewis will begin his first preseason camp as Bengals coach Sunday. On Wednesday, he and team president Mike Brown (left) attended a media luncheon. (Gary Landers photo) | ZOOM |

The most obvious difference in Bengals training camp will come on the first weekend.

Coach Marvin Lewis will change the format of the intrasquad scrimmage, eliminating scoring and moving the event to Friday night, Aug. 1. He has added a mock game on the afternoon of Aug. 2, similar to what one of his previous employers, the Baltimore Ravens, have done.

Lewis on Wednesday also unveiled other alterations for his first NFL training camp as a head coach.

The Bengals will participate in practice sessions of live tackling, wear pads more frequently and endure their hardest practice early in the morning.

"We'll have a mix of it," Lewis said at the team's annual precamp luncheon when asked if his players would hit in practice. "We'll take people to the ground at some periods. It's important."

Players report Sunday, and the first practice will be Monday morning. Tuesday morning, the players will be wearing pads.

"Refining our blocking and tackling," is Lewis' first goal for camp. He also said he wants players to build camaraderie.

"It's very important to get that foxhole mentality," Lewis said. "We'll come out very well prepared. We have to come out fighting and sweating together. We need some adversity. Everything's been great (since his Jan. 14 hiring)."

The Bengals open Sept. 7 at home against Denver.

"We have to give ourselves a chance early in the season, so we can play for something in the middle and at the end of the year," Lewis said.

One of the reasons no Bengals team has made the playoffs for 12 years is a tradition of slow starts. The Bengals are 9-36 in games played before Oct. 1 since the start of the 1991 season.

Asked why fans should have reason for optimism this season when previous coaches also have spoken optimistically at the luncheon, Lewis said, "They're going to have to come see. They're standing here (31) other places elsewhere in the NFL (with optimism). We have to go play football. We can't talk about it. We can't will it. We can't dream it.

"We have to go play. Our guys understand it."

What the Bengals' camp won't have for the first time since 2000 is a quarterback competition. Jon Kitna is the starter, and, Lewis said, "Jon will get the majority of work in practice."

Ten-year veteran Shane Matthews and rookie Carson Palmer, this year's No. 1 overall draft pick, are the top two other quarterbacks in camp.

"We'll give Carson as much work as possible," Lewis said.

Matthews also will get work, but Lewis said one of Matthews' strengths is his ability to learn quickly.

Palmer is the only one of the Bengals' top five draft picks to be signed. But second-round pick Eric Steinbach already is on the Bengals' depth chart as the starter at left guard.

"We'll have Eric Steinbach soon," Lewis said.

Lewis said he and his staff will coach whatever players are there and that it is their responsibility to have the team ready.

"Every NFL team has a disbursement of players - good, bad and indifferent," he said. "How we coach them will determine how our season works out."

E-mail mcurnutte@enquirer.com