By Mark Curnutte
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Bengals fans are having a difficult time containing their enthusiasm for Marvin Lewis' changes.

Question, from Donald in the U.S. Air Force: I won't be able to make it to camp this year. In the past few seasons I have been struck by the absence of hitting and overall aggressiveness required of the Bengals at training camp.

Can you see a difference this year?

Answer: The Bengals have had full contact and tackling twice in the first four days of camp, and then there was live hitting during the Friday night scrimmage.

"It's just a philosophy of what I know," Lewis said of tackling in practice. Even the non-tackling practices have been more physical.

Q, from Jim in Orlando, Fla.: I fail to understand starting (cornerback) Jeff Burris after his horrible play last season.

A: Lewis and defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier obviously see something in Burris that they like.

Burris did not have a good first year with the Bengals, but he wasn't alone in his struggles. The team had no pass rush and put little pressure on quarterbacks, who had a lot of time to pick apart the secondary.

Maybe Burris will perform better in a new defense that is pressure-oriented. Lewis took offense to the criticism Burris took last season.

"Jeff Burris didn't become a bad player when he came to the Bengals," Lewis said. "It has to be a mix of two things. First, uneducated people making comments. Secondly, he needs to play better, and the guys up front need to get things done."

Lewis then compared cornerbacks to quarterbacks.

"When something goes wrong, the blame has to go somewhere, and often uneducated people will put blame on that guy."

Burris is entering his 10th season and has 17 career interceptions.

E-mail mcurnutte@enquirer.com