Bengals Bytes (5/25): What happens in Buffalo

Adam Jones on Cincinnati Bengals' playoff pursuit: We need a bye!
The Bengals have been to the playoffs five straight seasons and lost all five of their wild-card games. Since head coach Marvin Lewis was hired in 2003, the Bengals are 0-8 in the postseason. The franchise itself hasn't won a playoff game in more than 25 years. Adam Jones made it very clear what he thinks the Bengals need to get the sour postseason taste out of the team's mouth.

Dalton sharp as Bengals open up organized team activities
Andy Dalton took the snap during an 11-on-11 drill, looked deep and let it fly. A.J. Green had barely a step on cornerback Adam Pacman Jones, leaving a small space to fit one in.It was right there.Dalton completed his long throw to Green.

Quick hits: Report: Eifert out 3 months; Adam looking for bye, praises rookie WRs
The Cincinnati Enquirer’s report that Pro Bowl tight end Tyler Eifert going to miss three months with "minimal surgery," appears to put his availability for the Sept. 11 opener against the Jets in doubt.

Ex-Super Bowl champ Ben Utecht says NFL needs this government intervention
Congress is the group that called out the NFL for interfering with a government concussion study it was supposed to have funded. Former tight end Ben Utecht thinks Congress could also be what finally fixes the problem the NFL created.

Tyler Eifert of Cincinnati Bengals to have ankle surgery
Bengals tight end Tyler Eifert could miss the season opener at the New York Jets on Sept. 11 because of a pending ankle surgery, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter on Tuesday.

5 observations from first day of Bengals OTA session
Here are five observations from Tuesday's Bengals Organized Team Activity offseason workout session (the first of 10 such sessions), which was held on the team's practice field adjacent to Paul Brown Stadium

AJ McCarron announces arrival of baby boy
Bengals backup quarterback AJ McCarron announced via Twitter that he and his wife, Katherine Webb-McCarron, have welcomed a baby boy named Tripp.

A.J. looks to mentor Dalton's green receivers
You know the professional hitter who can roll out of a snowbank in January and hit .300 with five dingers in spring training? Well, meet the NFL equivalent in perennial Pro Bowl wide receiver A.J. Green and Andy Dalton, his AFC passing champion quarterback. During the first practice of the year Tuesday at Paul Brown Stadium , the Bengals cornerstone tandem stepped out of a May lilacs field with all the timing of a two-minute December drive.

Doc: About that playoff game... 'What game?'
You might remember The Game the rest of your life. They won’t. You might think about It the way you think about taxes, gout and writing tuition checks. They won’t.

Cincinnati Bengals QB Andy Dalton, thumb sharp in first OTA
It didn’t take long for Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Adam Jones to confirm the broken thumb quarterback Andy Dalton suffered in Week 14 last year is fully healed. Wide receiver A.J. Green got past Jones on a deep route early in the first voluntary OTA practice Tuesday afternoon at Paul Brown Stadium, and Dalton dropped the ball perfectly into Green’s waiting arms.

Bengals notes: CBs make plays; Winston talks concussions
First day of Bengals OTAs feature a bevy of plays by cornerbacks, plus, NFLPA President Eric Winston discusses his view on the league concussion study controversy.

Le'Veon Bell: Bengals did 'dirty stuff,' tried to hurt him
Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell, who suffered a season-ending injury when the Bengals' Vontaze Burfict tackled him during Cincinnati's 16-10 win in Pittsburgh on Nov. 1 last season, reportedly told triblive.com's Chris Adamski that the Bengals - as a team - were trying to twist his ankles and do "little dirty stuff" during the game.

Random Bytes

What happens at practice stays at practice for Buffalo Bills
If the Buffalo Bills held an organized team activity on Tuesday and nobody could report on it, did it actually happen? The Bills released a stringent media policy Tuesday for OTAs, which basically prohibits reporters from, well, reporting on just about anything.

Former scout reveals Patriots head coach Bill Belichick's 7 most important skills for a cornerback
The Patriots head coach has not changed his outlook on cornerbacks since he got the job back in 2000. "If you ask people around the NFL," Jeremiah said, "Or even in college football, they would say kind of the two names of people that understand defensive back play as well as anybody in football, period, big surprise: Belichick and [Alabama head coach Nick Saban], they were together for a long time."

Co-chairman of NFL committee on brain injuries denies trying to influence CTE study
Dr. Richard Ellenbogen, co-chairman of an NFL committee on brain injuries, rebutted allegations that he was among at least a half-dozen top NFL health officials who waged an improper, behind-the-scenes campaign last year to influence a major U.S. government research study on football and brain disease.

John Harbaugh roasts Mike Tomlin by using Jacoby Jones sideline incident
The rivalry between the Baltimore Ravens and the Pittsburgh Steelers is one of the most intense in all of sports. It does, however, have a lighter side. At a charity event in Baltimore involving both head coaches, John Harbaugh took a good-natured jab at Mike Tomlin by bringing up his interference with Jacoby Jones' kickoff return three years ago.

Buffalo Bills GM Doug Whaley calls football 'a violent game that I personally don't think humans are supposed to play'
Buffalo Bills general manager Doug Whaley might be in charge of a roster of 90 men who play football, but he doesn't feel the game is something his players' bodies are designed to play.