Bengals Banter: Reggie Kelly Begins Mentorship of Jermaine Gresham; Adam Jones Impressing Everyone With Humbleness

You know I'm in the middle of a growth spurt when I decide not to rip into the Dayton Daily News within a soapbox post. Maybe it's because their latest embarrassment highlighted a positive outlook on the Bengals, citing other teams as "worse with NFL arrests". Alright, it's only positive comparatively speaking of course. While the piece shows that other teams in the NFL have "problems" with "off-the-field" conduct from its players, the point is that the Dayton Daily News can't get past this. They're infatuated with it. Whether it's criticizing the team for signing Adam Jones, or Matt Jones, or drafting guys like Carlos Dunlap (character related to work ethic), they're stuck in the mud on anything that the Bengals do off the field. Honestly. I think they thrive on it.

It concludes:

The fact is, every team has its share of problems, and players are getting arrested at an alarming rate.

This is an NFL problem and not just a Bengals problem.

Right. So why the hell are we bringing this up now?

+ One of the more encouraging notes during this week in OTAs is how quickly Reggie Kelly is taking Jermaine Gresham under his wing. It's not that we didn't expect it; it's why Kelly returned. But knowing, seeing and hearing about that camaraderie between mentor and apprentice is awesome. And Kelly likes what he sees in the rookie Tight End.

“Looking at his body type and how physical he is, he’s going to be an every down tight end. I have to make sure I nurture him and bring him up the right way. We’ve been working. After practice yesterday make sure to work with him on a couple passes. I just made sure to tell him that he doesn’t have to be like every tight end in the league. He doesn’t have to be one-dimensional. He has the opportunity to be able to both catch and block. When you have those capabilities maximize them and be the best you can be and that can set you apart.”

+ On Tuesday, Jermaine Gresham went to the weight room on the fist day of OTAs, sought Reggie Kelly and introduced himself.

“That’s a sign of a guy who’s humble. That’s the sign of a guy who wants to learn,” Kelly said after Wednesday’s practice. “I’m going to do what it takes to help him along.”

+ Carson Palmer relates the Kelly mentorship of Gresham to when he came into the league and Jon Kitna took him under his wing.

“(Kitna) taught me how to study, how to prepare and how to take care of my body besides how to play football,” Palmer said. “Reggie will rub off on all those things. He’s played more years than anyone would expect him to play. It’s not all athletic ability and God-given talent. It’s the things he does away from the game and how he prepares himself. The respect he shows to coaches, teammates and opponents too. Those are all little things Jermaine will pick up on. He’s a sponge and wants to learn. Combining him and Reggie it’s going to be great.

+ Joe Reedy listed Chase Coffman as having one of the more impressive catches during Wednesday's OTA.

+ Bengals rookie defensive lineman Carlos Dunlap "could have had three straight sacks on contact" during Wednesday's OTA.

+ Adam Jones sat with the media, saying all of the right things, hoping to write a future that's very different than his past. Even Chick Ludwig was impressed by Jones, writing "I must admit I was impressed with how he handled himself. He was humble, polite and confident — not cocky."

+ Pat Kirwin thinks that people are underestimating the Bengals again, writing that last "year they built a solid running game and they added some real talent in the pass attack this offseason."

+ Baltimore Ravens Pro Bowl Fullback Le'Ron McClain remains unsigned as a restricted free agent -- and he wants a long term deal.

+ Cleveland rookie safeties T.J. Ward and Larry Asante were getting beat over the middle, according to Dawgs by Nature. However, newest quarterback Jake Delhomme was reportedly accurate during 7-on-7 drills.