Draft Jermaine Gresham. Check. Sign Reggie Kelly back. Check. Release the recently signed Daniel Coats. Unchecked. That leaves Chase Coffman -- the guy that presents a dilemma. The guy can catch a football, but can't block. He's a big wide receiver, but not the prototypical tight end that would fit with this offense. Though he wasn't expected to do much his rookie year, the time from when he went on Injured Reserve in 2009 until the team's training camp will be monumental. Gresham is likely the leading candidate to be the team's starting Tight End. If he can't go, then it's Kelly.
You have to wonder something else. Is Chase improved enough to push Coats out the door? Logic and sanity would say, "oh dear god, yes." Practically speaking, that's a question that would be answered in September when the 53-man roster is set. Chase knows. He needs to do it now.
“The tight end position is up in the air right now,” Coffman said in a phone interview. “I’m trying to go out there and win a starting job. Hopefully, I can. I want to be able to help our team win some games.”
The 6-foot-6, 257-pound Coffman had surgery toward the end of last season to remove bone spurs and scar tissue from his left ankle. He remained in Cincinnati to rehab and work out with Bengals strength and conditioning coach Chip Morton.
According to Coffman, the ankle is near full strength, leaving him optimistic about bouncing back from a disappointing rookie season.
“I definitely have something to prove this year,” he said. “The team trusts me and that’s why they drafted me in the third round. I don’t want to let them down. That’s my reason for working so hard.”
I would like to see Chase come around. You know he or Gresham will be lined up with a linebacker, creating serious match-up problems in double tight end formations.
+ Reggie Kelly has been working on a book called "Prepared" for several years now.
+ Former Bengals running back Corey Dillon will not be prosecuted on spousal abuse charges.
+ Just for fun that has absolutely no meaning, comparing JaMarcus Russell's career to that of Akili Smith.
| Games | Rating | Comp % | Yards | TDs | INT | Sack | |
| Akili Smith | 22 | 52.8 | 46.6% | 2,212 | 5 | 13 | 59 |
| JaMarcus Russell | 31 | 65.2 | 52.1% | 4,083 | 18 | 23 | 70 |
+ The Cincinnati Reds have won five straight, seven of their past ten and are only a game and a half behind the St. Louis Cardinals. Just so you know, this weekend's series against the Cardinals could end with the Reds in first place after the weekend.
+ ABC cancelled FlashForward yesterday, meaning the show will only have one season. While the premise of the show was neat -- everyone passes out and sees their future six months from now -- it just never took off and became your typical action/drama.
+ The first part of two-part season finale kicked off last night on Fringe. It was an appetizer episode to set up a crazy conclusion next Thursday, in which the Fringe team -- minus Peter -- traveled to the parallel universe where Martin Luther King Jr's face is on the $20 bill, Texas is divided into two states, half of California doesn't exist, the Statue of Liberty is gold plated and house to the Secretary of Defense (Walternate) and the Twin Towers still stand. I can't wait to see how the season concludes.