By Mark Curnutte
The Cincinnati Enquirer

GEORGETOWN, Ky. - The Bengals will hold their annual training camp intrasquad scrimmage tonight as part of an expanded weekend of live competition.

It will begin at 6:30 p.m.

The scrimmage will feature 65-80 snaps, coach Marvin Lewis said. There will be tackling, but score will not be kept. The offense will play the defense.

"The scrimmage is a chance for guys like (fullback) Chris Edmonds, and others, to play some live football," Lewis said. "We will get a good evaluation of them."

Lewis will then hold a mock game Saturday, splitting his team into two squads.

Unlike the past several years, running back Corey Dillon will see some action.

"They'll see him a little bit," Lewis said. "Corey's had all the contact that all the other players have had up to this point.

"I want to be smart with Corey Dillon. He doesn't have to prove anything to me. He does want to be part of it for his teammates."

STRIPES: Referee Bernie Kukar led a group of NFL officials who were at practice Thursday afternoon. They will be on hand for this morning's practice, tonight's scrimmage and Saturday's mock game.

MISSING: Kelley Washington's holdout reached four days Thursday. The rookie wide receiver is the only unsigned Bengals player.

Glenn Rosenberg, Washington's agent, did not return a phone message Thursday.

TWO-MINUTE DRILL: Thursday's afternoon practice featured three time-pressured drives.

Starting quarterback Jon Kitna's offense was given the ball on its own 38-yard line with two timeouts, 1:38 remaining and in need of a touchdown. That drive stalled on downs, ending with an incomplete heave into the end zone on which wide receiver Chad Johnson was called for offensive interference.

Rookie Carson Palmer led the next drive and was 3-for-5 passing, throwing a 15-yard touchdown pass to Danny Farmer.

Shane Matthews ran the third drive, which also ended on downs.

NICKEL PACKAGE: The first-team nickel package against the defense consisted Thursday afternoon of cornerbacks Tory James, Jeff Burris and Artrell Hawkins, and safeties Mark Roman and Kevin Kaesviharn.

RIGHT TO THE JAW: Right guard Matt O'Dwyer and defensive end Justin Smith got into the fight of the day. Smith and O'Dwyer each threw punches into the other's face mask.

Johnson jumped into the middle of the tussle, grabbed one of the combatants and said, "I got 'em, coach. I got 'em."

BEARCAT: Former UC running back Ray Jackson has picked up where he left off from spring workouts.

Jackson, a free agent fighting for a roster spot, has looked fast on kickoff returns and in limited carries in the backfield.

"He's been able to cut and run with the ball without being tackled," Lewis said of Jackson. "Now, when it's time to get tackled, can we do the same thing?

"He has the ability to uplift us on special teams. He has a legitimate chance to make the team."

KICKOFF RETURN: Jackson ran second to Brandon Bennett on the kickoff return team Thursday. Rudi Johnson was third.

Lewis continues to invest large segments of practice time to special teams, which has been the weakest part of recent Bengals squads.

E-mail mcurnutte@enquirer.com