Palmer returns, R. Kelly hurt, Defensive End Preview

Carson Palmer returned from his hiatus today, something he blamed on bronchitis. However, R. Kelly’s injury (Reggie of course, not the one made famous by a Space Jam soundtrack and other pre-teen films) is a major concern. Some fear that Kelly may have ruptured his Achilles tendon, which would end his season. He is a great blocker at the tight end position and has been called a third tackle by teammates. Neither Ben Utecht or rookie Chase Coffman possesses the same blocking skills so flip-flopping fullback-tight end Daniel Coats would appear to be the replacement. If Kelly is indeed hurt significantly, I say forget the old offense and go with a run-and-shoot, modern no-huddle version of Sam Wyche and Boomer Esiason’s offense. Arizona killed Pittsburgh with it in the second half of the Super Bowl. And the Bengals have the personnel to do it. Plus, Cincinnati isn’t likely to be better than the Steelers or Ravens in a physical sense, so let’s open up the passing game and use that to set up the running game. But I’m getting ahead of myself. As of this posting, Bengals.com had no update on the severity of Kelly’s injury.

Now a quick look at the defensive ends…Rookie Michael Johnson is getting great reviews early on in training camp and should push for immediate playing time. I know the Bengals have Robert Geathers and Antwan Odom on the edge, but Johnson absolutely needs to be on the field in passing situations. His size (6-7) and speed create serious matchup problems for opposing offensive tackles. I say move Geathers to tackle on passing downs and slide Johnson in at end (hey it worked for the Giants). Odom needs to play better for the Bengals to improve this season, but I’m giving him a pass for last season’s lackluster performance because of his training camp injury. Geathers also needs to reward the Bengals for their investment in him with better play. The Bengals pass rush has been atrocious for years and bottomed out last year, finishing second to last in sacks. Hopefully, a resurgent offense will help the defense a bit. Frostee Rucker and Jonathan Fanene give the Bengals some good depth at defensive end. Both seem to be pretty solid on running downs and Rucker has a penchant for making plays. Rookie Clinton McDonald and second-year man Chris Harrington will also get some snaps at defensive end during training camp. Both will probably have an uphill battle to make the team. Overall, I’m optimistic about Johnson’s chances to contribute this season (am I crazy to believe he could get eight sacks?), but cautious about the other guys. The Bengals’ pass rush needs to drastically improve for this team to get better. I think defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer knows this. I just hope his players can deliver.