The Bengals unveiled a new training camp schedule Wednesday featuring just one of head coach Zac Taylor’s bevy of offseason changes designed to mix it up and get his team rolling into the regular season at optimum speed.

When camp opens July 23, nine of the first 11 practices run from 10 a.m. to noon rather than his schedule of mid-afternoon workouts that usually went from 2-4.

"I think it will be good just to change it up. A lot of guys have been through this routine before," Taylor says. "As we get close to the season, we'll get more to the afternoon because that's where we'll play our games. At 1 o'clock in the heat.

"There's an element of that we want to prepare for as well. But I think it will be good to hit the grass early in the morning and get some good work done and then do all the above-the-neck stuff in the afternoon."

From tweaking the run game to calling daily team meetings during the voluntary workouts to shifting the camp schedule, Taylor certainly didn't stand still during his seventh offseason as he seeks more than a fifth straight winning year that would tie Marvin Lewis' longest run in franchise annals from 2011-15.

The changes began with the major moves of hiring new defensive coordinator Al Golden and offensive line coach Scott Peters right after the season and have continued with some subtle edits in his own offensive playbook.

The revamping also included some team-bonding methods that run right to Thursday's end of the spring sessions in the third and last practice of mandatory minicamp.

During many of his OTA days that run from late April to early June, Taylor has often met with the team just once a week and then only briefly. But this year, he did it every day with a focus on the players directing things.

He has put one player at the front of the room to either present a game situation that a coach would usually handle, or tell their own stories about how they got to the league.

"I want this team to be connected going into training camp and understand the person sitting next to them and who they are and who they represent," Taylor says. "We've done more team meetings than in the past, and more players getting in front of the room and talking, understanding everybody's journey."

Those moments have made an impact on rookies and Pro Bowlers alike. Rookie linebacker Barrett Carter did something similar at Clemson in what head coach Dabo Swinney called "The Safe Seat," where players would sit and simply tell their stories. He hadn't been called on here yet, but he's definitely taking notes.

"I love it. I think what Coach is trying to do is get to know our teammates on a different level," Carter says. "Especially me being a rookie coming in, it's good to get a glimpse into their lives for what they've been through and what their journey is like getting there."

Carter took the story of new right guard Lucas Patrick to heart. Patrick, the veteran free-agent pickup, rose from a minicamp tryout with the Packers through practice squad stints to 64 starts and 107 NFL games.

"He's a more seasoned veteran who's been in the league awhile. Been on different rosters," Carter says. "How he really had to scratch and claw just to get to where he is today. Everybody has an interesting story in their own way. Lucas Patrick's story really stood out to me."

Which is exactly what Taylor is trying to do. Carter and Patrick are at opposite poles of the pro football globe.

Carter, 22, grew up in Georgia before going to the Clemson national powerhouse, and plays defense. Patrick turns 32 on July 30 in one of those early camp practices. He plays offense, hails from Tennessee, and went to the upstart football program at Duke.

But, as always in NFL locker rooms, the differences that seem so vast aren't as many as the similarities. It turns out both Carter and Patrick are ACC academic standouts.

"Very much so. I think that's what makes our locker room so special," says four-time Pro Bowl left tackle Orlando Brown Jr., a returning captain. "They've all been really special (stories), which is what our building is made of. Guys with chips on their shoulders. Haven't had it easy. Had to prove it no matter what round you were drafted, how much free agency money you got. That's what being a Bengal is all about."

Brown, who has yet to tell his own riveting story this year, may have had a dad who is a revered NFL player, but he had to deal with Orlando Brown Sr.'s death when he was just 15. He became a Pro Bowler and Super Bowl champ, but he also had to prove to the world he was a left tackle and deserved the long-term money of the position.

"What you learn to appreciate is that everybody's got something," says Taylor, the Wake Forest bench warmer who became Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year at Nebraska. "Everybody has been through some sort of obstacle in their life that they had to fight through and overcome to get in this auditorium where they're standing up and presenting. I just think the more guys that can share their story, the better for this team."

Brown is heading into his eighth season, and what hasn't he seen? He approves as he watches the mix of players take the floor.

"Guys who have been here. New faces. Rookies. It's important to know the people, know their reason," Brown says. "Why they are who they are. What motivates them. What has brought them to that point. He wants everyone to kind of tell their story, and it's pretty much been that simple and it's been awesome."

Taylor indicates that before he made the camp schedule switch, he spoke with some of his players, and you can bet that locker-room trustees like Brown and quarterback Joe Burrow were in on it.

Like Burrow said on Tuesday, there have been changes to try and get the season off to a better start than the last three Septembers, but it's ultimately on the players.

Taylor is trying to help, knowing he can have them on campus for not more than 11 hours during camp. He also took the temperature of his own coaches and spoke with some of his head coaching peers before Doug Rosfeld, chief of the coaching staff, sent the sked on its way.

It basically flip-flops the day, which used to start with a walk-through and now ends with a walk-through until the regular season looms.

"Guys need to prehab and eat lunch, eat dinner," Taylor says. "Start the day with a quick meeting and practice. Then end the afternoon with a heavy install with corrections, and then walk-through to finish off the night.

"It breaks up the monotony of what the routine has been," he says. "I'm trying to make sure I create the right plan for us. It's got purpose behind it so we'll get off right for this first game."

And, for the first time in a few years, there won't be a joint practice leading up to a preseason game.

"We're just going to focus on ourselves getting right for the first Cleveland game," Taylor says of the Sept. 7 road opener at 1 p.m.

Which comes back to the men in front of the room.

"I'm not going to say it now. I want the team to hear it first before anyone else," Carter says. "I haven't really thought about it. Whenever that time comes, I know I'll be ready to tell the team my story."

He has yet to speak to Patrick after his talk. But as the Bengals make plans for a quick start, Carter plans to hunt him down.

"I definitely have to talk to him and pick his brain," Carter says. "I want to pick all the veterans' brains to see their perspective."