Thursday, July 25: Pep rally inside PBS

Thursday, July 25

1. A mostly mundane opening practice turned in a hurry when A.J. Green feel awkwardly and immediately clutched his left knee. He left practice early with the medical staff to get checked out, but he walked off under his own power and head coach Marvin Lewis didn’t seem concerned.

2. Dre Kirkpatrick, the team’s first-round draft choice in 2012 who missed most of his rookie season, looked good in individual drills and 11-on-11s, where he made a solid play against A.J. Green on a deep ball.

3. Andre Smith reported just seven pounds over his listed playing weight of 335. Smith said he was committed to working out in the offseason even though he missed voluntary OTAs and the mandatory minicamp, and he said he hopes to be ready to practice Sunday.

Friday, July 26

Friday, July 26

1. With no tickets required and no turnstiles in place, Bengals officials offered a rough estimate of 1,300 for the first practice open to the public. Only the rookies were required to stay after practice to sign autographs for the fans, but at least a dozen veterans also made their way over to the sea of Sharpies.

2. The crew from Hard Knocks made its presence felt Friday as rookie running back Rex Burkhead collided with the camera crew on the sidelines following a screen pass.

3. Fans got a glimpse of a rare sight Friday -- a BenJarvus Green-Ellis fumble. It happened on handoff exchange from Andy Dalton.

Saturday, July 27

Saturday, July 27

1. The closest thing to a scrum we've seen at Bengals training camp took place Saturday, a day before full contact begins, when rookie running back Giovani Bernard took a shot from George Iloka and quickly bounced up and said something. That caused linebacker Vontaze Burfict, who had put Bernard on the ground earlier, to jump into the fray. Bernard was surrounded by linemen and ushered away.

2. While the Bengals have mostly adjusted to having the Hard Knocks cameras around, they are still a little leery of one thing, getting caught saying something their moms wouldn't approve of. Said cornerback Terence Newman: "Everybody's like: You miked up? Every day They go up to guys and touch them, they touch right here (shoulder pad area) because that's where they put the mike."

Sunday, July 28

Sunday, July 28

1. Sunday’s nice weather and staging of the popular Oklahoma drill attracted a capacity crowd of more than 2,000, the largest attendance for a practice-field session since the Bengals moved camp to Cincinnati last year.

2. Wide receiver A.J. Green was moving around much better in the locker room, bending his left knee while he walked without a limp.

3. Offensive tackle Andrew Whitworth and guard Clint Boling, who both had offseason knee surgery, got the day off Sunday. Free agent signee Mike Pollak filled in for Boling, while Dennis Roland took the snaps for Whitworth. Wide receiver Marvin Jones was shaken up and left practice early but appeared to be fine afterward.

Monday, July 29

Monday, July 29

1. Monday was like Veteran’s Day at Bengals camp with OLs Andrew Whitworth and Clint Boling and CBs Terence Newman and Leon Hall sitting out practice ahead of Tuesday’s off day. A.J. Green missed his fourth straight practice after his knee injury in the first practice. Defensive end Carlos Dunlap left practice 10 minutes early with trainer Paul Sparling, but the injury didn’t appear to be serious.

2. There were two plays of the day, and both involved safety Shawn Williams. And as is often the case with rookies, one was good, one bad. Williams got beat by a leaping Tyler Eifert for a TD pass from Andy Dalton in a red zone drill, but the University of Georgia product came back with an interception of a John Skelton pass when he jumped the route on a pass intended for Brandon Tate.

Tuesday, July 30

No fan activities

Tuesday, July 30

No camp activities today.

Wednesday, July 31

Wednesday, July 31

1. The Bengals suffered their first serious injury of camp when undrafted rookie free agent defensive tackle Larry Black suffered a season-ending dislocated ankle. Players switched to another field, and center Kyle Cook stayed behind and gave Black, a Cincinnati native from Wyoming High School, some words of encouragement.

2. Second-year CB Shaun Prater heard some corrective words from defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer after getting into skirmishes with receivers Roy Roundtree and Andrew Hawkins on back-to-back plays. Roundtree took exception by ripping off Prater’s helmet.

3. A crew of NFL officials is in town to deliver a presentation on new rules and points of emphasis Thursday afternoon before working some live practice.