By Mark Curnutte
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Defensive tackles were a hot topic of Marvin Lewis' news conference Sunday to wrap up the team's mandatory minicamp.

The Bengals' second-year coach was asked if he were happy with the tackles he already had if free agent Daryl Gardener didn't sign.

"We're very happy with the guys we have here," Lewis said. "We never said a certain defensive tackle was arriving. You wrote that. Not us. Not one person ever said - that's why we go about our business the way we do.

"There's no decision to be made. We're fine."

Gardener, 31, has agreed on a four-year contract worth $9.3 million with the Bengals, but the condition of his back might make one or both parties balk at the deal.

The possible signing of Gardener - who had the best season of his career playing for defensive coordinator Lewis in Washington in 2002 - did frustrate Bengals starting right tackle Tony Williams, who talked openly about it last week.

Williams, who has started 45 games in three seasons for the Bengals, is headed into the final year of his contract.

"I don't think Tony Williams said anything," Lewis said in reference to a story in the Enquirer on Thursday. "An editor put a headline on something more than anything that made it worse. Tony has a lot of confidence in himself. He has expressed himself that he would like to finish his career here in Cincinnati. And I appreciate that.

"Unfortunately, we can't give every player a new contract when he feels like he's ready for it. That's kind of the way it goes. I anticipate Tony having an outstanding year. He's a guy who plays very, very hard."

Williams - who had a Sunday afternoon scuffle during practice with offensive lineman Scott Kooistra - is slated to start at right tackle alongside left tackle John Thornton. Langston Moore and rookie Matthias Askew are the third and fourth tackles.

GOOD STUFF: With players wearing shorts and no pads, the minicamp emphasis is on the passing game and passing defense. And Lewis liked what he saw this weekend.

"Ability on both sides of the football to make plays ... and the ability of the defense to make plays on the football and take the ball away," he said.

The defense had a particularly good run in 11-on-11 at the end of the morning practice. A shotgun snap went over quarterback Carson Palmer's head; another pass fell incomplete in the end zone, and cornerback Tory James picked off a pass intended for Kelley Washington.

OUT: Tailback Rudi Johnson sat out the afternoon practice because he was dehydrated.

REMODELING: The stadium hallway running past the weight room to the locker room will be painted orange and black. A Bengals mural incorporating photographs and quotations is now affixed to a hallway wall leading to the gymnasium/cafeteria.

Lewis is having a running clock installed in the locker room that will count down the days, hours, minutes and seconds until the season opener Sept. 12 at the New York Jets.

ROOKIE PROGRESS: While heaping praise on almost all of the team's 11 rookie draft picks, Lewis singled out wide receiver Maurice Mann for an extra dose.

"He's playing with great speed," Lewis said of Mann, the fifth-round pick from Nevada.

NEXT: The Bengals will conduct their final four on-field coaching sessions Tuesday through Friday. The 14-week offseason program will end the following week with conditioning and weightlifting.

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E-mail mcurnutte@enquirer.com

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