Early Guesses at Bengals Depth Chart
by Jason Garrison on Jul 6, 2010 6:19 PM EDT
25 comments
It's July! That means boating, barbeques, bikinis (not for me), baseball and braining bamp..... I mean training camp... sorry, the alliteration was getting to me. Training camp is a mere 27 days away. I'll be making my yearly trip down to Georgetown College to sit in the heat and watch the Bengals practice and maybe get a few autographs. It's a good time.
Since it's July, it's also time for us to start thinking about the Bengals depth chart. I have my guesses as I'm sure you do too. Joe Reedy made his estimation today about who would be starting at what position. Here's what he had to say.
OFFENSE
- QB: Carson Palmer, J.T. O’Sullivan, Jordan Palmer
- RB: Cedric Benson, Bernard Scott, Brian Leonard, Cedric Peerman, Cordera Eason
- FB: Fui Vakapuna, Joe Tronzo
- WR: Chad Ochocinco, Jerome Simpson, Dezmon Briscoe, Freddie Brown
- WR: Antonio Bryant, Andre Caldwell/Jordan Shipley, Quan Cosby, Matt Jones, Maurice Purify
- C: Kyle Cook, Jonathan Luigs, Dan Santucci/Reggie Stephens
- LT: Andrew Whitworth, Anthony Collins
- RT: Dennis Roland, Andre Smith
- LG: Nate Livings, Evan Mathis
- RG: Bobbie Williams, Otis Hudson
- Lineman also in mix: Gabriel Manns (OT), Andrew Mitchell (OT), Isaac Sowells (G/OT); Reserved/injured list or PUP list: Jason Shirley (G)
- TE: Jermaine Gresham, Reggie Kelly, Chase Coffman, Daniel Coats/Darius Hill
The backslash between names signifies a position battle. So, according to Reedy, Caldwell and Shipley are going to battle for a position, probably the slot receiver. What's interesting is that he has Andre Smith listed as a back up right tackle to Dennis Roland which isn't necessarily surprising but it is very disappointing. Hopefully Smith gets on the ball (and on the field) and earns that paycheck. On to the defense.
DEFENSE
- LE: Robert Geathers, Frostee Rucker/Carlos Dunlap
- RE: Antwan Odom, Jonathan Fanene
- LDT: Tank Johnson, Pat Sims
- RDT: Domata Peko, Orien Harris/Geno Atkins
- Other lineman in mix: Clinton McDonald (DT), Rahim Alem (DE)
- SLB: Rey Maualuga, Michael Johnson, Rashad Jeanty/Dan Skuta
- MLB: Dhani Jones, Abdul Hodge, Roddrick Muckelroy
- WLB: Keith Rivers, Brandon Johnson, Vincent Rey
- RCB: Leon Hall, Morgan Trent/Adam Jones,
- LCB: Johnathan Joseph, David Jones, Brandon Ghee
- SS: Roy Williams, Chinedum Ndukwe, Kyries Hebert
- FS: Chris Crocker, Gibril Wilson, Tom Nelson, Rico Murray
- Others in secondary in the mix: Johnny Sears (CB), Jeromy Miles (S)
No big surprise. It's basically the same depth chart of last years defense when it was healthy. The only proposed position battles are between back-up defensive backs Trent and Jones and back up strong side linebackers Jeanty and Skuta. What is really interesting to me is where Michael Johnson is going to play. According to Reedy, Johnson will be backing up Maualuga at outside linebacker. It will be cool to see what Johnsons speed can bring to the pass rush from the linebacker position. Finally, we have the special teams guys.
SPECIALISTS
- P: Kevin Huber
- PK: Mike Nugent/Dave Rayner
- KR: Bernard Scott, Andre Caldwell/Adam Jones
- PR: Quan Cosby/Jordan Shipley/Adam Jones/Tom Nelson
- LS: Clark Harris, Mike Windt
Position battles everywhere. We all know that Nugent and Rayner are duking it out (or kicking it out) to get the starting kicker job. Bernard Scott sealed his fate as a starting kick returner last year but Jones and Caldwell are going to fight for the other kick returner and there is a big battle between Cosby, Shipley, Jones and Nelson to be the punt returner.
The official depth chart comes out on August 2 which is only six days before the Bengals play against the Cowboys in the Hall of Fame Game. I can't wait to find out what happens between now and then.
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Can we just leave
Dan “shat on the” Coats off of the depth chart altogether, please? I hate that freaking dope. Same for David Jones. His dad must’ve been old Bengals CB, Rod “Toast” Jones. Seeing those guys on the roster makes me want to punch a baby.
Also, two other things: I REALLY hope that they still find a way to put MJ at DE. He had 3 sacks and a lot of pass breakups from that position in rotational duty, AND, I really want Quan to make the team and still return punts.
I was under the impression that MJ was going to primarily be playing DE with some LB duties is spot situations. Am I wrong on that?
This is our year!
I thought so too
But I keep hearing more and more LB talk with MJ. It might be a way to ease Rey in his natural position of MLB and simply finding a way to get your most athletic players on the field at the same time. I don’t really know, I guess we’ll see.
by BengalAnthony13 on Jul 6, 2010 9:41 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Andre Smith needs to get his isht together...
I’m still not sure our WR Corps is top tier.. A.Bryant has a lot to prove to me..
Maybe not top tier
But damn deep. I agree with you about Andre, but how does that correlate with the WRs?
by BengalAnthony13 on Jul 6, 2010 9:37 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
If Carson doesn't have 4 or 5 seconds each passing down...
It will likely be because of Moobs Smith. Ol’ Manwich. Tater Tots. Little Debbie’s Majority Stockholder. Puddintits. whatever you want to call him from the safety of your keyboard.
2010 - The Year of the Tiger.
My Brain will explode
if moobs isn’t starting and playing better than average.
Atkins/Dunlap
I know that this is probably just the preseason hype talking, but damn I’m excited to see Atkins get on the field. At the very least, he’s got to be better than Harris. And another guy who hasn’t gotten much attention thus far is Dunlap. He was another possible first rounder who fell to us (ala Rey Maualuga), but everybody seems to be focused on Shipley/Gresham instead. The additions of Atkins and Dunlap are equally kicka$$ in my humble, but homerish opinion.
This is our year!
watch out!
I think there should be a slash after Geathers’ he may be battling a young guy for his roster spot. He has to live up to big bucks.
by quickslant on Jul 6, 2010 9:19 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Not this year
I’ve said before that i think that its basically a lock for Odom and Geathers to keep their starting spots. They would both have to get hurt or play very poorly to lose their jobs. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Dunlap roll in on 3rd downs and chase the QB however. Same with Atkins replacing Tank/Sims on 3rd down (or other passing situations)
I just can't see keeping Rucker over Geathers
Geathers has been underwhelming for the money, but Rucker was underwhelming over all last year. I know the Bengals are reputed to be cheap, but that has always been in regards to outside Free Agents and lowballing our own free agents. I thkn Geathers lasts one more year. The Dunlop draft pick was for next year and to allow MJ to get more time at SLB in my opinion.
I have just a few comments
Most of the post I have seen from the national media seem to be ignoring the impact of both Carlos Dunlap and Jordan Shipley. I think Shipley makes and immediate impact, especially in four WR sets and it would not surprise me if Shipley is the starter by the 2nd half. Dunlap is one hell of an athlete, less impact this year, major impact next year.
Many are also overlooking Tom Nelson. He was a rookie last year in one of the more difficult positions to learn. The guy can flat out run he has football talent,
Bryant’s knee worries me a bit. He is the key to our downfield passing game. He needs to be a big enough threat to draw coverage. Healthy, I love the guy but I can only hope he will be 100% when the season starts.
I have heard mixed opinions about Benson’s possible suspension. This is a problem we don’t need. We need to make hay in the first half. We need to be 6-2 going into the 2nd half and hope we can go 4-4 to have a playoff chance unless we can sweep Baltimore again.(Frankly I think we can sweep the division again as we match up well against them.)
I hope Chris Johnson returns to the Titans. Without him Pitt should win.
The Texans should give Baltimore all they want as they play in Texas. I think we can beat the Chargers here. That evens out the schedule a bit between Baltimore and us. We,IMO, actually have an easier schedule regarding the home/away factor. We have no west coast games and no long trips at all. The games where we will really need some good fortune to win are @Colts, @ Jets, @Baltimore and @NE (But NE isn’t what they once were, They are beatable).
The division could very well come down to the last game of the season in Baltimore. It could be the season in one game.
I believe Andre will be ready and be as advertised. If so I don’t see any real areas where we are weaker but several where we should be stronger.
"If we always agree, one of us is not necessary"
I'm hoping that Bryant's role as #2 means he won't be heavily relied upon
and that you are right about Shipley coming in and contributing right off the bat. You might even see Bryant’s knee being used as a smokescreen in some key games. Leak it out that he’s limping when he’s not. Start him but don’t use him much when he actually is. I do hope that he’s very healthy and plays a big role for us, but we at least don’t have to completely rely on him as our #1.
2010 - The Year of the Tiger.
Wow. Good post.
I agree with some and disagree with others.
Agree: with your take on Andre Smith and Benson. Andre will be fine—give him time and get him in shape and he’ll perform, just like Jeremi Johnson did. As for Benson, the first two games of the season are ENORMOUS for the rest of the year and to not have arguable your best player would hurt. However, it seems as if the Ravens in week 2 could be missing Ed Reed and Ladarius Webb, themselves.
Disagree: about the concerns for Bryant and Tom Nelson. His knee is overblow right now. He needs to rest it for the month he’s had between OTAs and Training Camp and he should be fine. There’s no reason to believe that he isn’t an upgrade over Coles last year. See what happens to him in camp before everyone piles on him. As for Nelson, dude looked lost last year. I know he’s been hurt, but when Crocker went down, Nelson was a liability. I like him as a player, because he’s scrappy, fast and plays hard, but I think they’re better off with a good player like Wilson as a backup. I would like them to keep Nelson as a special teamer if they can though.
Good points, though.
by BengalAnthony13 on Jul 7, 2010 1:57 PM EDT up reply actions
Oh also...
Regarding the WRs: I am of the opinion that Shipley and Briscoe are the future starting WRs on this team after Ocho and Bryant are done. I think Chad and Bryant are both here for two more years and that’s it. From there, Shipley and Briscoe will be the starters with Caldwell (who’s a career #3/#4 WR) in the slot. I hope that they continue to keep and use Quan Cosby. I love that kid.
by BengalAnthony13 on Jul 7, 2010 2:00 PM EDT up reply actions
Thanks for the props anthony
A lot of very good safetys looked lost when they were rookies. Nelson has the skills tha cannot be coached and he lacks in areas that can be coached. You cannot teach speed and desire. He also seems to be a good and smart kid. I would like to see him step up big in TC. OK, I just like the guy’s attitude and if he can step up with his technique he could really be an asset IMO.
I am not sure people realize just how good our draft could turn out to be. I see five potential starter from this draft within two years. Better than last years IMO.
"If we always agree, one of us is not necessary"
Dude, I know
The 2009 and 2010 drafts have been ridiculous. I don’t think I’ve ever seen them get the talent they’ve gotten the last two years. Though some were misfits (Rey, Briscoe, Andre), they stole these guys later than they should have gone. I’m actually really excited about Gresham. Even though he’s talked about somewhat frequently, he seems to get lost in the shuffle with the talk of Shipley, etc. They’ve NEVER had a guy like this since Holman, and Gresham is actually more athletically gifted. Along with that, they basically get Coffman as an extra draft pick this year. Inside the 10-yard line (where the Bengals Offense struggled mightily in 2009), do a goalline formation with Coffman and Gresham and it should be a TD pass for Carson every time.
On a related note, If Dan Coats is anywhere near the final roster I’m going to kick my dog.
by BengalAnthony13 on Jul 7, 2010 2:57 PM EDT up reply actions
With the return of Kelly...
they should have dropped Coats like a bad habit.
by Oregonbengalsfan on Jul 7, 2010 3:53 PM EDT up reply actions
I kind of like going into camp with limited contraversy
I am a bear of very little brains and big words bother me.
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