MINNEAPOLIS -- A large part of the reason the Minnesota Vikings are heading to Cincinnati for two days of joint practices, facing another team for the first time in this decade, is because coach Mike Zimmer and Marvin Lewis know each other well enough to be reasonably confident that their teams will get through two days without the kinds of shenanigans that often accompany these get-togethers.

Zimmer was Lewis' defensive coordinator for seven years in Cincinnati before he became the Vikings' head coach. He counts Lewis as a friend and mentor. When Zimmer launched his charitable foundation this spring, he credited Lewis for inspiring its framework. And Zimmer still knows enough of the Bengals' defenders that he likely won't be shy about getting in their faces should things get out of hand.

The Vikings and Bengals will kick off their time together with a padded practice on Wednesday afternoon outside Paul Brown Stadium. Had the Vikings been opening their preseason against another team, Zimmer said he likely wouldn't have considered joint practices before the game. He'd talked to Lewis earlier this week, and he doesn't expect the practice to devolve into fighting.

"We have a great relationship and have had one for a long, long time, even before I started working for him," Zimmer said. "I respect the things that he does and I know that his team will represent them and our team will represent us in the correct way."

That means the practices will likely be a little more civil, if not quite as exciting, as some of the Vikings' old battles with Kansas City when the Chiefs were still training in River Falls, Wisconsin. Former Vikings receiver Nate Burleson recalled earlier this summer the 2004 scrimmage, in which WWE and UFC star Brock Lesnar performed a suplex takedown on a Chiefs player. And while Vikings special-teams coordinator Mike Priefer was in one of his first two years with the Chiefs, he remembered several players using a fight to ensure an earlier end to practice.

"We came to Mankato for one scrimmage one day; it was a really good day," Priefer said. "The next day, we went back to River Falls, where we used to have camp, and about halfway through camp, I think the guys like Jared Allen and some of the veterans on both teams said, ‘You know what, let’s start a fight here so we can stop practice.’ We practiced against each other far too long. I don’t think we’ll have anything like that in Cincinnati, and I know Coach Zimmer and Coach Lewis get along really well, and we’re going to have a great day and a half there."

Priefer also recalled the time when former New York Giants tight end Jeremy Shockey got into a fight with six Jets defensive backs. The Vikings ended their final practice at Minnesota State on Tuesday with a scrum, but they don't expect things to get out of hand with the Bengals.

"We’re not trying to get anybody hurt; we don’t want any fights," Priefer said. "To me, fighting on the football field doesn’t prove you’re a tough guy. I think to prove you’re a tough guy is doing the techniques and fundamentals correctly, playing strong and playing fast and doing your job at a high level. To me, that’s being a tough guy."