CINCINNATI -- AJ McCarron has a one-word message for all the reporters and fans who watched a training-camp performance from him Sunday that even he would classify as inconsistent.
Relax.
"It's the third day," the backup quarterback said. "It's going to come. We just need time with it."
Although it still is early in the Cincinnati Bengals' preseason, McCarron wasn't as sharp as he was the previous two days. A series of highlights and lowlights defined the workout. At times, he overthrew receivers. At others, he put the ball exactly where it needed to be.
Most of his struggles came early in the practice when he had a series of passes he threw well out of range of receivers during comeback and out routes in a drill that only featured quarterbacks and pass-catchers. With NFL Network broadcasting the practice live, those who were watching got a heavy dose of the inaccurate throws.
McCarron was significantly better later in the day, connecting with receivers on deep passes in 11-on-11 drills.
Some of his inconsistency was the product of playing with shoulder pads for the first time this year. Like the rest of the team, quarterbacks and receivers were in them for the first time since the end of last season. McCarron just started breaking in a new pair of pads and still is adjusting to their feel. His inconsistency also stemmed from passing to receivers whose speed and idiosyncrasies he's still figuring out. At this stage of training camp, rhythm can be slow to develop.
"The timing's going to be off and everything a little bit," McCarron said, "but we've just got to keep working through it. We're fine. The second group, we just have one good play and then one not-so-good play."
Offensive coordinator Hue Jackson isn't panicking, either.
"I'm not at that point. It's Day 3," Jackson said to reporters. "At the end, he'll be fine. I respect what you guys see and how you go about it, but I might see something different when I go back and look at the tape."
Here are a few other observations from the practice:
Aside from Michael Johnson's injury bullet the Bengals believe they dodged, they also had a couple others miss some time Sunday. Running back Cedric Peerman wasn't in uniform at all, but was in attendance. He also didn't spend any time on the rehab field with injured players. Perhaps we'll know more about him Monday. Defensive end Wallace Gilberry also missed a portion of the practice with what appeared to be a leg injury.
The corners and receivers had several good battles in their first day in pads. The ones that drew the most attention came during one-on-one drills about halfway through practice. Moments before Johnson went down on another part of the field, receivers were testing out their moves. A.J. Green started it off by spinning off Adam Jones at the line of scrimmage and creating several yards of separation on a deep pass into the middle of the field. Minutes later, Green broke left on an out route against Jones that ended with a well-placed pass that forced Green to toe-tap as he dove for the ball and the sideline. It was the clear play of the day.
Undrafted rookie receiver Jake Kumerow continues to impress, too. In that same drill, he caught a one-handed pass on a Go route in which fellow rookie Josh Shaw was matched against him.