By Mark Curnutte
The Cincinnati Enquirer

GEORGETOWN, Ky. - A 30-second conversation illustrates how important the wellness of Bengals players has become.

After Friday morning's practice, Carson Palmer walked out of the locker room and past strength and conditioning coach Chip Morton.

"Egg whites and bananas?" asked Palmer, looking to confirm what he had been told.

"Right," said Morton, who earlier had discussed Palmer's training table breakfast choices at the rookie quarterback's request.

"We just talked about having a lean protein, egg whites in this case, having a good quality carbohydrate, which is oatmeal, and stressing the fruit with that as a way to keep his weight down," Morton said.

Once among the most poorly conditioned teams in the NFL - the 2002 opening loss to San Diego leaps to mind - the Bengals are catching up with the rest of the league. Previous Bengals teams came to training camp to get in shape.

The leaner 2003 squad arrived in shape and Saturday wrapped up a productive first week of practices with a mock game.

Even as recently as last year, more than a few Bengals players needed the first week to drop weight.

Poor conditioning has contributed to the 9-36 Bengals record in games played before Oct. 1 since 1991.

This year, almost every player reported at or below his designated weight. The couple of players who did not were just a few pounds off.

And the team that once could not get 10 players involved in its offseason strength and conditioning program is now discussing egg whites and oatmeal as a way to improve on-field performance.

Coach Marvin Lewis set the tone, Morton said, and the organization and its players have realized the benefit of top-flight conditioning.

"If your body is prepared, if it's stronger, if your endurance is better, you can deal with the heat better, you can sustain a greater workload, work at a higher tempo, and - if you do get hurt - hopefully heal faster," Morton said.

In the first week of camp, Bengals players have avoided injuries that suggest a lack of conditioning - ankle sprains and groin pulls. Of the players who are hurt, some are dealing with old ailments, such as tight end Matt Schobel's hamstring problem that dates to college.

As a result of his players coming to camp in shape, Lewis has run more demanding and physical practices than previous Bengals coaches. The team had live tackling on the second day and hit in another practice even before reaching Friday night's scrimmage.

Gone is the hour-long morning walk-through of previous administrations. In its place is a two-hour, 15-minute practice that speeds from drill to drill. That's followed by an equally fast-paced 90-minute afternoon practice.

"We worked hard in the offseason, and it shows out there on the field," center Mike Goff said. "For the past five years, it's been the skills walkthrough in the morning and the hard (two-hour) practice in the afternoon.

"This is where we really gain ground."

Goff is among the offensive and defensive linemen who reported to camp lighter - he has lost almost 10 pounds and is playing right above 300. Tight end Sean Brewer, hampered by leg injuries his first two seasons, said he is 30 pounds lighter with a 10-percent body fat reduction. He has overhauled his diet. He has not missed a practice yet and starred in the scrimmage with four pass receptions.

Even the little guys are lighter. Wide receiver Peter Warrick is at 192, down from almost 200 pounds. He and the team's other receivers and defensive backs were pushed hard during Saturday's mock game - although it was designed as an exercise in communications logistics - which employed the 40-second play clock and rapid-fire snap pace.

"We only had six receivers, three on each team; those guys were in every play," Lewis said. "And that was what I talked to Chad (Johnson) and Peter about: If they expect to get to push the ball down the field, they're going to have to jog back to the huddle and raise their level."

Morton oversees the program. Head strength coach last season in Washington, where Lewis was defensive coordinator, Morton was assistant strength coach with the Baltimore Ravens from 1999-2001.

"Whenever you're in two-a-day practices, and the volume of the work is so great, if you keep your guys healthy, they can be out on the field," Morton said. "That's where you make them better football players."

E-mail mcurnutte@enquirer.com