Bengals loving their new indoor facility

The Cincinnati Bengals made pretty big news this offseason when they announced their intention to have an indoor practice facility ready for the 2022 season. It was one of the loudest criticisms launched at the franchise to try and prove the cheap narrative that has lingered with the front office.

The Bengals had their first practice in the bubble Friday to prepare for the New Orleans Saints dome this Sunday, and the reviews were very good.

Taylor’s review pretty much sums things up. It was fair to say that the reception would be positive from the get go as it makes practices much easier in these conditions. Especially when this team will be playing in a dome on Sunday anyway.

Cincinnati was forced to travel to the University of Cincinnati to use their bubble when preparing for the Super Bowl last season. It wasn’t the best look to have as an NFL team preparing for one of the biggest games in franchise history.

It is also safe to say the players were excited for that new bubble smell.

One of the main reasons the Bengals never had an indoor facility was because of not only logistics with zoning and property lines. It was basically summed up as “we play outside, so we should practice outside.”

That just simply doesn’t hold true in today’s NFL anymore. Seven NFL stadiums are domes, and it isn’t uncommon for the Super Bowl to be in a dome (the next three will be indoors). Not to mention there will be times that the teams will be playing in a much more forgiving climate that Ohio’s come winter time.

We will see how much of a difference it makes on Sunday against the Saints.