breaking news; Ted Karras placed 3 years penalty for heaps praise on rookie 7th-round pick Matt Lee….

Bengals center Ted Karras didn’t take on the entire state of Tennessee like he did a couple of years ago, but Wednesday provided a good window into the state of mind of the Bengals after 11 practices.

In what was the chippiest training camp practice so far Wednesday, Karras mixed it up with the defense and then saluted the crowd with a bellowing, “Yes,” after a particularly busy post-play activity. Practice finally looked as intense and hot as camp has felt.

“Let me make this clear,” Karras said after practice. “Fights don’t give a training camp an edge.”

While that may be true, they do show the passion and the calendar.

“I think this one of the most intense camps,” said tone-setting linebacker Germaine Pratt, now in his sixth August. “Everyone is talking. Guys on offense have been in the system a long time. Guys on defense have been in the system a long time. We’re ready to hit somebody else.”