Jungle Noise: Fourth Edition of Cincinnati Bengals News and Notes

Another Former Cowboy

James Williams, the agent for former Dallas Cowboy LB Greg Ellis, said that the Cincinnati Bengals are on his clients list, because of his relationship with Bengals Defensive Coordinator Mike Zimmer. Ellis played for Zimmer for seven years in Dallas; both know what they would be getting with each other.

Mike Zimmer would get a veteran in the locker room, and a field leader, and Ellis would be going back to a coach that he flourished under.

Ellis could be the missing piece to the Bengals roster, over the last two years he has racked up 20.5 sacks.

The 6”4 265 pound Ellis was a 3-4 backer in Dallas, in Cincinnati’s 4-3 he would project into a rush end.

This is where the problem comes in, the Bengals are stacked at that position which includes two of the Defensive Lines highest paid players in Antwan Odom and Robert Geathers, complicating it even further the Bengals drafted speed rusher Michael Johnson out of Georgia Tech in the third round.

Mike Zimmer is not worried about the number of D Lineman the more the merrier he says, one number that maybe Zimmer is concerned with is 34, the age that Ellis turns the day the Bengals open their preseason schedule.

Charges Reduced

Cornerback Leon Hall appeared in a Clermont County court room on Tuesday entering a guilty plea to a lesser charge. Leon Hall charged with DUI; plead guilty to a lesser charge of reckless operation of a motor vehicle.

Hall 24 years old, has had no prior alcohol charges, and no other convictions of any kind, was able to get the charge reduced and he received 64 hours of community service, a 250$ fine and had to donate 500$ to the USO.

Hall received a 30 day jail sentence, but Judge Shriver suspended 27 of the days, and Hall will serve a 3 day sentence at Camp Allen in Clermont County. At his 3 day stay Hall will attend alcohol related classes.

On a personal note Camp Allen is probably less than 2 minutes from my house and I know many people who have had to attend their 3 day class for DUI’s.  Clermont County is famous for the police in this area getting an extraordinary amount of DUI.

 

Caldwell’s Confident

Bengals second year receiver Andre Caldwell, the Bengals third round pick of the 2007 draft, has high hopes for the 2009 season, and he isn’t bashful about sharing them.

Caldwell says that TJ Houshmanzadeh taught him everything about being a pro; he says that he never really took care of his body like he does now until TJ ran him through his workouts.

Apparently Caldwell thinks that he has learned enough, because he is confident he can be the Bengals third down go to guy.

Caldwell is like TJ in more ways than his ability to play the slot; he also has an exuberant amount of confidence.

Caldwell says “I think I fit the TJ form, but I think I can do more things after I get the ball, I’m a little faster, a little shiftier guy. I think I possess both of those qualities. I can also go deep just like Chad.”

Palmer says that Caldwell has picked up right where he left off when he took TJ’s spot in the season finale, where he had 83 all purpose yards and helped propel the Bengals to a victory against the Chiefs in the ’08 finale.

It is odd that Caldwell chose to compare himself to TJ, Caldwell had his breakout game in the season finale of ’08, whereas TJ had his breakout game in the season finale against Pittsburgh seven years earlier in his rookie season.

In the game Dec 30 against Pittsburgh, a victory, quarterback Jon Kitna drove in the fourth quarter and his first six passes were intended for TJ Houshmanzadeh. Of the six passes, three were complete and one drew a pass interference flag.

Jungle Noise: A Third Edition of Bengals News

 

Much Ado About Nothing

A lot has been made of Bengals QB Carson Palmer’s comments on a radio interview with the Sirius NFL radio program “Movin’ The Chains” last week. Of teammate Chad Ochocinco and his absence, Palmer said, “Well, I really don’t know. I haven’t talked to him. I haven’t talked to anybody that has talked to him.

“He wasn’t here last year, so I’m expecting him not to be here at all this year. Last year I think he was here for the mandatory camp but didn’t participate in it.

“So I’m planning on him not being here just because he hasn’t been here yet.”

What those words say to me is that Palmer is focused on who is in camp and doesn’t want the distractions that come with talking about a player not present.

Palmer also understands that Chad does his own thing in the offseason: Ochocinco trains with Charles Collins, who runs the Phenom Factory in southern California.

I think that the media, especially ESPN and NFL Network, were trying to make a story were there wasn’t one. Does Palmer want Chad in OTAs? I would say after the abysmal season they had last year, of course he does.

But he understands that these are voluntary workouts and that the real work begins in Georgetown.

 

A Knock ‘Em Out Receiver

Chad Ochocinco had not been heard from since the Super Bowl interview he gave with the NFL Network. But now, the same guys have tracked him down for another interview; this time, he was found at Freddie Roache’s Wildcard Gym in Hollywood, CA.

The segment containing the interview showed Chad lifting, running, and of all things, boxing. Chad is up to 200 pounds and looks as fast as ever; he was doing agility drills in the boxing ring. Asked if he was not in Cincinnati as a statement that he doesn’t want to be there, Chad said that 2008 was an embarassment and he felt like he had to rededicate himself to being in rare form before he ever hit the field.

He went on to say that he will be at minicamp when it opens, and he will repair the bridges between Marvin, Carson, and himself when he shows up in Cincinnati.

 

Competition for Third RB Off and…Running

Bernard Scott isn’t going to make it easy for the coaches to cut him. All reports out of camp are that he is shining. The coaches love the fact that he will serve as a change of pace back to Cedric Benson.

The Bengals just released the failed experiment that was change-of-pace back Chris Perry, an oft-injured former Wolverine.

Bernard had over 1,000 yards receiving last year, and the Bengals are hoping to get the most out of his speed this year. They’ll try him out at running back, punt returner, and kickoff returner. 

Cincinnati Bengals’ Training Camp Postion Battles for 2009

Tight Ends: Veteran Reggie Kelly is a trusted piece of Marvin Lewis’s offense, more of a blocking tight end , but he fits well in the Bengals power run formations. Veteran Ben Utech was signed last year in free agency from the Colts, he didn’t produce very well last year and was injured for most of the season.

Reggie Kelly is entering the final year of his contract and Ben Utech hasn’t proven he is durable enough yet, that could be why the Bengals opted to draft a TE in the 3rd in the form of Rookie Chase Coffman. If Chase shines this year it is likely that Reggie Kelly would be expendable and not brought back for the 2010 season.

Coffman is known more for his circus fingertip catches, and sure hand more than his pass blocking ability, if he wants to see playing time immediately then he better get used to blocking in the AFC North.

15 Questions From Training Camp For Carson Palmer

If I were given the opportunity to interview any Cincinnati Bengal, it would have to be the leader of the team.

People in Cincinnati call him many things, Golden Boy, Franchise—I call him Carson.

 

Training Camp Questions for Carson Palmer

1. How do you feel after your first week of OTA’S?

2. With the departure of TJ, and Chad’s absence, has it been tough getting used to the new look of your wide receivers, Coles, Caldwell and Simpson?

3. Do you think you made the right decision in not having surgery to repair your elbow?

4. Did the knee injury at the end of the ’05 season help you prepare for the rehab you would have to be doing for your shoulder injury?

5. How do you think the pitch count you are on will effect when it comes time for two a days?

6. Do you think this team is more mature and ready to handle the national exposure of Hard Knocks?

7. Do you feel the attitude in the locker room has changed?

8. I hear that there have been plays added just for Chase Coffman, are you excited to finally have a dangerous TE like Coffman?

9. Were you surprised at how aggressive the Bengals were in free agency?

10. Are you 100 percent, and if so is the pitch count just a precaution?

11. How do you think you line will gel in minicamp?

12. Do you think having a rookie right tackle, and a center with no NFL experience will be able to protect you?

13. You have said that you think the Bengals can go to the playoffs and Super bowl. In your opinion, what is the biggest key to being able to make that happen?

14. How happy were you with the Bengals action in FA and all the big time players acquired through the draft?

15. I saved this one for last because I know you don’t like talking about Chad, but do you think he will be a distraction through training camp, or do you think he will come in ready to work?

 

 

Born Into Bengals Nation

My name is Tom Mirick and I have been a fan of the Bengals every since I can remember. My family is all huge Bengals fans so it really wasn’t an option, I was born into Bengals Nation, and I have no regrets.

If you’re a fan of the Steelers or Patriots get out of my tragedy, I sat through the 90’s and early 2000’s watching every game and having my yearly mantra of  “wait to next year were going to be good” destroyed. I hear a lot of sports pundits talk of all the great fans and rarely does anyone mention Cincinnati, which is a shame, because Cincinnati has some of the best fans of any team in any sport.

There are few teams that have had the futility of the Cincinnati Bengals. There are no fans of the Cincinnati Bengals that would fall under the category of bandwagon; if you’re a Bengals fan you earned the right to wear your stripes, through years of futility and mismanagement by the Bengals organization.

My mom and Dad divorced when I was about three years old, and like a lot of kids with divorced parent’s trips to Dad’s house every other weekend and a couple weeks of the summer became ritual.

It was Christmas time and I was about seven years old, my Dad called me into the living room where the tree was set up, and told me he had one more present for me, he handed me a envelope and inside it was my seat confirmation for the 84-85 Bengals season. Up until this point we had parties at the house with friends and family and watched the Bengals game, always’ a festive event with food and drink.

 Since I can remember my dad took me to Wilmington OH, to watch the Bengals at training camp, I used this time to fill my autograph books and get pictures of my favorite players. At my first game my dad gave me a new Chris Collinsworth jersey, a Bengals hat, and he painted our faces with Bengals stripes. In the colder months I was armed with my orange and black Bengals tiger gloves.

The people who had seats around us became like family more than our friends, seeing the same people for six months for six years has that effect. The ladies in the stands always brought me some kind of sweets and a jug of hot chocolate, and every Christmas they brought me Bengals related Christmas gifts.

I have great sports memories in the old Bengals home, Riverfront Stadium, even though there were rough times as a Bengals fan. I have alot of great childhood memories such as getting up early on Sunday so that my Dad, Uncle, and I could tailgate, eating burgers and metts tossing the pigskin as well as rooting for the Bengals.

Could there be anything more fun on a cold Sunday afternoon?

I have early memories of us having season tickets that are foggier than others, like when the Bengals hosted the Chargers and the Bengals were in the lead and San Diego drove and scored with just over a minute left. I remember how disheartened I felt. The Bengals took over at the twenty as fans started to exit the aisles. They needed a touchdown to win, and had 80 yards to go, the first play was of no big significance, however the next play made the jungle erupt, James Brooks took a handoff and took it to the house; touchdown Bengals win.

Other memories are as clear as if it were just yesterday, like January 8 1989, the first time the Bengals made it to the playoffs when we had season tickets.

Cincinnati was at a fever pitch and the Ickey shuffle was running rampant. Enter the Buffalo Bills led by HOF QB Jim Kelly and RB Thurman Thomas in their first AFC Championship game; however the Bengals defense proved to be too much. They hassled the Bills QB all day long right from the first series.

The Bills got the ball first and Jim Kelly threw an interception to Bengals CB Eric Thomas. The Bengals drove down inside the three and everyone in Cincinnati knew what was coming next, handoff Icky Woods, touchdown Bengals.  

The whole city of Cincinnati celebrated doing their own versions of the Ickey shuffle. The Bengals took a 14-10 halftime lead which proved to be enough. The Bengals came out on defense playing like the Kings of their Jungle, allowing Buffalo only two first downs in the second half. The Bengals had one more scoring drive which ended the same way as the game began, handoff Ickey Woods’s, touchdown.

I can still remember watching Ickey Woods do his shuffle and trying my best to imitate no matter how goofy I looked. Like I said I was born into the Bengals Nation I didn’t have a choice, but I would have it no other way.

5 Questions for the Bengals in 2009

Can Carson Palmer return to probowl form? in 2004-2005 Palmer proved himself to be an elite NFL QB, after two season ending injuries can Carson Palmer rebound to his 2005 11-5 Probowl Season. He says that he is fully healthy and raring to go in 2009. Palmer says that he has been 100% since March of this year, and worked with Henry Caldwell and Simpson at the Phenom Factory in Southern California with Charles Collins. Even though he says that he is 100% the Bengals still have him on a pitchcount of 150 to 180 passes a day. This will not effect him until they go to two a day pratices in July. The Bengals can only go as far as Palmer’s arm can take them.

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