Why the Return of Reggie Kelly is a Good Thing.

For all you advocates for a new tight end, this is for you. You know who you are. You are more interested in watching the combine for Greg Olsen than Leon Hall. You were heart broken when Leonard Pope, Marcedes Lewis, and Dominique Byrd slipped through the Bengal's grasp in last spring's draft. You were hoping and praying that the Bengals would finally find a pass catching tight end that would stretch the field and create mis-matches on linebackers.

I'm sure a lot of you that play EA Sport's Madden Football series draft or trade for a tight end when you play as the Bengals in franchise mode. So do I. It helps in the video game. However, when the Bengals suit up to play on sundays, they are not powering up the XBOX 360s, they line up for real. Therefore they have to use an offense that takes advantages of the weapons they already have. It is very unique because it features three ultra talented wide recievers. No other team in the NFL has the reciever corps. that Cincinnati does. None. Why not feature them most of the time in three reciever sets? Offensive Coordinator Bob Bratkowski does just that. He understand that any tight end is going to be the fourth progression for quarterback Carson Palmer. First is Chad Johnson of course, then follows T.j. Houshmandzadeh, then comes Chris Henry.

Why does Chris Henry come before a tight end? Chris Henry is 6' 4", fast, can jump over any corner in the league, and he scores a touchdown every third time he touches the ball. He functions as a vertical weapon that can be lined up in the slot or outside and do the same thing as a pass catching tight end would do. This means that since you have a deep threat in Chad, a chain moving T.j., and a vertical target in Chris Henry, you don't need a tight end for anything except to block. Which is why I'm glad that Daniel Graham, Jerramy Stevens, and Eric Johnson did not come to Cincinnati. Reggie Kelly is a great blocker and his prowess is key to the success of Cincinnati's offense. He serves as a 6th offensive lineman on running and passing downs, creating holes for Rudi Johnson and extra time for Carson to drop back and throw.

Re-signing Reggie Kelly not only means the character left in the locker room is staying, but it means that the high powered Bengals offense also stays. No pass catching tight end will ever be able to create the miss matches like Chris Henry can. That is why you will never see a Antonio Gates or Ben Watson in Cincinnati. Cincy's tight ends block. Let the arguments cease.