In what certainly seemed like the hottest day of this seven-day training camp, the Bengals fought through 84 degrees at the Kettering Health Practice Fields in a tussle the defense had its way in the climactic move-the-ball drill, where the offense didn't.

Veteran safety PJ Jules summed up what Bengals head coach Zac Taylor is seeking in live tackling. In team drills early in the workout, Jules shot down into the box and popped running back Tahj Brooks.

And that's all. Pop. Thud. But don't take anybody to the ground.

"It shows you how much I've improved," said Jules, in his third camp. "Pop. Let him go. In the past, I would have taken him down. Trying to keep everybody safe and everybody healthy for the season."

Slants and Screens

With Ja’Marr Chase (as well as tight end Erick All Jr. and nose tackle Dexter Lawrence II) sitting out what Taylor called, "maintenance," days, the offense got a lift from a 1,000-yard receiver with a ring.

Give up? Dohnte Meyers, who had 65 catches for 1,056 yards last season in helping the CFL's Roughriders win the Grey Cup, continued his strong camp Thursday with another series of catches and more steady work catching punts.

Offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher loves what Meyers is doing, but he also knows he has to do even more for special teams coordinator Darrin Simmons, for whom he has been fielding punts. Not only is Meyers at the back of a stacked receiver room, the incumbent punt return has an NFL punt return touchdown on his resume, not to mention two kick returns.

"Pleased with Dohnte. He's going to be one of those guys that is going to have to do whatever he possibly can to help the football team, not only for us but for Darrin," Pitcher said after practice. "But there's a lot to like there about Dohnte. He's diligent. He cares. He's got real juice. He can separate, and he catches the ball well. So he's just got to stack days, and then when he gets a chance, make the plays. And I think for the most part, he's done that."

The 5-11, 186-pound Meyers is used to overcoming odds after college stints at Presbyterian College and Delta State. You can tell the way he answered the question about any I'm-not-in-Canada-anymore moments this week.

"I switched my mindset once I signed." Meyers said. "Understanding the opportunity at hand and the mentality I needed to have.  Once I got in the building, I'm in the NFL. Be a pro and conduct myself as such."

Meyers, out of Atlanta, appreciated Pitcher's use of the word "juice." He would have said, "glitz."

"Being a smaller-famed guy, I just try to use it to my advantage," Meyers said. "For him to recognize that means everything." …

Up until Thursday, the operation on offense had run pretty smoothly. With the heat, the days piling up and the presence of NFL officials, there were some hiccups.

There was a hold. There was a delay of game penalty. Wide receiver Tee Higgins had some uncharacteristic drops. On the last play of the day, wide receiver Andrei Iosivas had a chance to move the ball, but dropped a first-down catch over the middle.

"I think overall today we just we didn't make enough plays. We had a chance to make way more plays than we did today," Pitcher said. "But you learn from it and you move on … I think, by and large, we've had a very good camp operationally.

"We're through eight installs now, so it's a lot of volume that the guys are responsible for. We understand that. That's by design. We want to see how they perform in stressful situations, and so every day is a new day. Learn from today, get better tomorrow." …

Defensive coordinator Al Golden said Tuesday he was going to get rookie cornerback Tacario Davis in there against the ones, and it happened in the next practice …

Higgins beat Davis off the line with a great release, but the 6-4 Davis' catch-up speed came into play. Higgins still should have easily hauled in QB Joe Burrow’s beautiful go ball, but with Davis hanging behind him, Higgins didn't pull it in before hitting the ground …

Because starting cornerback Dax Hill exited early with an unknown ailment (it doesn't seem catastrophic), Golden had to mix and match DJ Turner II with the backups. DJ Ivey took Hill's spot on the outside,  Ja’Sir Taylor was in the slot and Josh Newton got in there in the slot in the dime package. They did a good job keeping the top down …

How many NFL offensive coordinators can toss around the word "ideological?" Pitcher can and did Thursday when he made the point the offense isn't going to be locked into labels, such as under-center and shotgun. He says the Bengals need to be able to beat teams with both, and he likes how they're running when Burrow goes under center Ted Karras.

"I've been really pleased with some of the stuff we've been able to do in the run game." Pitcher said. "We've had several explosive runs, and we've been able to create some space that I'm really happy with. I think we've got to continue to work through what we're going to look like as a first- and second-down passing offense, and that will include some under center, some gun. I can't tell you how much each, but we have to be complementary. " …