Bengals News (8/13): Bold predictions for Cincinnati’s season

Camp Report: O-Line Shuffle Defines Gritty Day (Here Comes Mr. Jordan, Part II)
This is the kind of gritty, chippy day it was at Bengals training camp Monday. Guard Alex Redmond returned to practice after being shelved with a shoulder injury and came back ready. During a bag drill he left assistant offensive line coach Ben Martin with a cut on his lip.

Training Camp 2019 Photo Gallery Fueled By Gatorade: Day 11
Check out some of the best images from training camp on Aug. 12, fueled by Gatorade.

Eifert Will Like This Headline
Bengals tight end Tyler Eifert has been around long enough that he probably doesn’t need to play in the preseason. But he’s also been around long enough to know that he can’t say much about it.

Game Preview Presented By Papa John's: Bengals at Redskins
Dalton and Green, now nine-year veterans, are considered key components to the Bengals’ transition to a new head coach this season. Saturday’s debut of Bengals first-year head coach Zac Taylor resulted in a 38-17 loss at Kansas City, however most observers came away encouraged after the first-team offense, led by Dalton, scored on a 14-play, 75-yard drive in its only action.

Bengals Booth Podcast: We’ve Only Just Begun
In the latest Bengals Booth Podcast, Bengals broadcasters Dan Hoard and Dave Lapham recap the team's first preseason game at Kansas City with analysis, interviews and highlights. In this week's fun facts, Hoard interviews cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick on a wide variety of topics ranging from growing up as a preacher's kid in Alabama to an interesting fact about his former college football coach Nick Saban.

Zac Taylor's plan for Bengals: Keep things fun and players fresh
In the middle of Cincinnati’s locker room, they tossed small bags at a three-tier bucket pyramid, a crossover of beer pong and corn hole. They stood next to a net on the floor for a game called spikeball (a hybrid of foursquare and volleyball). The pingpong table, which is usually commanded by the linebackers during lunch, was a few feet away.

Five bold Bengals predictions for 2019 NFL season: Andy Dalton goes off in year with surprising finish in AFC North
Although the division is expected to be up for grabs in 2019, most people are counting the Bengals out of the race before the season even starts, and to be fair, it's easy to see why that's happening: The Bengals have a new coach (Zac Taylor), their star wide receiver is already injured and they had the worst defense in the NFL last year.

Bengals roster bubble watch: Analyzing offense after first game
The Cincinnati Bengals started training camp on July 27th, and we’ve seen a few back of the roster guys open some eyes during the practices since. The Bengals front office and coaching staff will have some difficult decisions when it comes time to cut the roster down to 53 men. Let’s take a closer look at some of the players that will make those decisions so difficult.

Bengals New Scheme Already Making Offensive Line Look Better
The Bengals chose to rest many of their best players while the Chiefs took a different tactic and put their starters on the field for the first series. This is important to note because it means that during the opening drive, the offensive line held up well against true NFL starting pass rushers. This makes the tweet below by Locked On Bengals host Joe Goodberry significant.

Around the league

Dak Prescott seeking extension worth $40M/year
The Dallas Cowboys quarterback, who is entering the final year of his contract and has been negotiating an extension with the club, has turned down a deal worth $30 million per year and is instead seeking a contract worth $40 million per year, NFL Network's Jane Slater reported Monday, per a source informed of the talks.

Colts' Andrew Luck throwing 'heck out of the ball'
The injury hasn't kept the Indianapolis Colts quarterback from throwing, however. While he sits out of practices, Luck has been working with throwing mechanics guru Tom House, and those sessions sound like they're going swell.

Carroll: DK Metcalf 'a hair from spectacular' in debut
Though his "two" catches came on short routes, Metcalf's debut was characterized by two near misses on Geno Smith deep balls. Both passes slipped just past his fingertips with a defensive back on his hip, one to the right and one to the left. If Smith and Metcalf had connected, the receiver's showing would have been celebrated. Alas, the passes fell incomplete, and the world turned on.

Witten embracing Cowboys' new offense under Moore
Witten, 37, retired from football in 2017 after 15 years with the Cowboys. He's the best tight end in the franchise's illustrious history, standing as its all-time leader in receptions (1,152) and receiving yards (12,448).