Dalton Risner makes his first Bengals' start and 82nd of his NFL career in Sunday's home start (1 p.m.-Cincinnati's Local 12) against the Jaguars, but the rave reviews of his Bengals debut last week haven't stopped.
Mike McCarthy, the Bengals assistant offensive line coach charged with schooling new players in the playbook, couldn't wait to get back upstairs and give him more as he shook his head after a recent walkthrough this week.
Sifting through tape of last Sunday's win in Cleveland in which Risner had to be yanked off the bench despite signing just ten days before, McCarthy and offensive line coach Scott Peters were gratified to see their handiwork so early.
"The beauty of it, and the credit to him, he's using our technique on film, so we're really excited about that," McCarthy said. "To see our techniques being utilized in a game on such a short week. That tells you something about the player and, obviously, Dalton."
What it also says is that in his seventh season, Risner is looking to broaden his game and believes he has found the coaches and the technique to do it. He appears to have quickly adapted to Peters' unique "Strike System," that is centered on hand usage.
"I'm a guy, at this point in my career, buying into what the coaching staff is doing," Risner said. "It's super important to me. I want to be a Bengal. Whatever I can to show these guys I'm serious about it, I'll do it."
That was evident from the moment he signed, about an hour before the last practice of the week leading into the three-day Labor Day break. McCarthy spent his weekend getting up at the crack of dawn and spending a few hours each day preparing to meet with Risner on Monday and the start of the Bengals' preparation for the Browns in six brief days.
After Risner was in the media glow for taking the last 36 snaps in place of the injured Lucas Patrick, he regretted he didn't say McCarthy's name on camera.
No problem.
"He doesn't have to do that," said McCarthy as he walked through last week, which is pretty much the same as this week with the extra work.
"We started from the ground up. On a short week, it's get him ready to play the game you're going to play. It was mainly the install. The goal is to get him caught up on the stuff after that. This week, it's a similar deal. Just get him ready to play the game. So he can go out and operate and feel confident. Obviously, he's been in a lot of systems. You want to build confidence in the player. That's our goal here."
So "the stuff after that," is Peters' technique, which he's embraced.
"Very different. Numbers. The Strike System and the areas to strike with different (combinations)," Risner said. "I think I'll grow as a player."
He has certainly risen in the estimation of linemates such as center Ted Karras after Risner came out of the gate poised against Browns ballyhooed rookie defensive tackle Mason Graham.
"On his first five passes, he's one-on-one against a top five pick," Karras said. "Impressive."