At this stage in the offseason, it would be great to only report positives about the Bengal’s progress in their minicamp over the weekend but the biggest story is the injury sustained to second year cornerback Jonathan Joseph. Joseph fractured his foot while covering receiver Chad Johnson on a comeback route after the Bengals moved from their grass practice fields to the turf in Paul Brown Stadium due to a thunder storm. The injury will require surgery but the damage is considered minor because Joseph and Head Coach Marvin Lewis plan on him returning in time for training camp in late July.
If the fracture is more severe than initially indicated and he misses some time in the regular season, do not worry about the state of the Bengal’s secondary. Joseph’s fellow starter at corner, Deltha O’Neal, is fully recovered from his injuries in 2006 and is determined to better his dismal performance last year in order to obtain a raise. Also, the two players behind Joseph and O’Neal, first round draft pick Leon Hall and veteran Keiwan Ratliff, aren’t slouches either. Hall is described by Bengals coaches as more polished in coverage than Joseph, and Ratliff is playing very hard now because he has recognized that there is an opportunity for him to show what he is made of due to Tory James leaving the lineup and Joseph’s recent injury. Secondary coach Kevin Coyle stated that, he is playing with “a little more burst” and he described his play as ferocious in practice while defending the run and pass.
If one thing has changed about the secondary corps this year it is their desire. Ratliff and O’Neal are fighting for something and Hall wants to show that he is worth the 18th overall selection in the draft. How does that covert to the field? I think that it means no more lapses in coverage leading to wide open receivers, no more missed tackles, and more interceptions. The entire defense will improve immensely even if only their tackling improves.
One reason to look forward to the coming season is the show that the offense will put on during games on Sunday now that quarterback Carson Palmer has had a year to recover from his knee injury. At this point last year, Palmer could not practice extensively with the team and it had an impact during the season. Even though he threw for a franchise record 4,035 passing yards in 2006, his performance left something to be desired last year. Now that he is taking snaps at minicamp, the timing routes with the wide receivers will be more in sync and since his knee doesn’t hurt anymore he won’t be relying on compensating for it by using the wrong throwing mechanics. He will plant with his left foot and drive through it confidently in the face of a pass rush without worrying about someone hitting it.
If Palmer can make it to the Pro Bowl in what was considered an off year, I imagine he will compete for the top stats in the league now that he is healthy along with the Colt’s Peyton Manning. If the defense can step up like the Colt’s defense did in the playoffs last year and Palmer’s laser rocket arm matches Manning’s, what going to stop the Bengal’s from following the same path the Colts took to the Super Bowl last year?
If the fracture is more severe than initially indicated and he misses some time in the regular season, do not worry about the state of the Bengal’s secondary. Joseph’s fellow starter at corner, Deltha O’Neal, is fully recovered from his injuries in 2006 and is determined to better his dismal performance last year in order to obtain a raise. Also, the two players behind Joseph and O’Neal, first round draft pick Leon Hall and veteran Keiwan Ratliff, aren’t slouches either. Hall is described by Bengals coaches as more polished in coverage than Joseph, and Ratliff is playing very hard now because he has recognized that there is an opportunity for him to show what he is made of due to Tory James leaving the lineup and Joseph’s recent injury. Secondary coach Kevin Coyle stated that, he is playing with “a little more burst” and he described his play as ferocious in practice while defending the run and pass.
If one thing has changed about the secondary corps this year it is their desire. Ratliff and O’Neal are fighting for something and Hall wants to show that he is worth the 18th overall selection in the draft. How does that covert to the field? I think that it means no more lapses in coverage leading to wide open receivers, no more missed tackles, and more interceptions. The entire defense will improve immensely even if only their tackling improves.
One reason to look forward to the coming season is the show that the offense will put on during games on Sunday now that quarterback Carson Palmer has had a year to recover from his knee injury. At this point last year, Palmer could not practice extensively with the team and it had an impact during the season. Even though he threw for a franchise record 4,035 passing yards in 2006, his performance left something to be desired last year. Now that he is taking snaps at minicamp, the timing routes with the wide receivers will be more in sync and since his knee doesn’t hurt anymore he won’t be relying on compensating for it by using the wrong throwing mechanics. He will plant with his left foot and drive through it confidently in the face of a pass rush without worrying about someone hitting it.
If Palmer can make it to the Pro Bowl in what was considered an off year, I imagine he will compete for the top stats in the league now that he is healthy along with the Colt’s Peyton Manning. If the defense can step up like the Colt’s defense did in the playoffs last year and Palmer’s laser rocket arm matches Manning’s, what going to stop the Bengal’s from following the same path the Colts took to the Super Bowl last year?
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