Palmer Intrigued By Simpson's Progress

[Esiason#7]

I just saw this on Bengals.com. Not much, but it could be a good start for Simpson. I for one don't classify him as a bust, especially since he has barely played. He'll be solid for us. I'm not saying he is going to be elite, but I think he can be solid for us the same way Darnay Scott used to be.

Notes: Palmer tunes; NFLPA moves

By GEOFF HOBSON

March 17, 2009

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Posted: 11:45 p.m.

Carson Palmer's elbow continued to tune up for the offseason workouts Tuesday when he zipped through about 60 passes at a workout near his southern California home with three of his Bengals receivers.

Antonio Chatman, Andre Caldwell and Jerome Simpson were part of the cast at Charles Collins' receiver camp in the Los Angeles area.

"He looked good. He wanted to keep going, but I told him to save some," said Collins, who also expects Palmer to throw Thursday.

Collins said Palmer was encouraged with how his receivers looked and was particularly intrigued with the progress of Simpson.

[gregstephens]

I just saw this on Bengals.com. Not much, but it could be a good start for Simpson. I for one don't classify him as a bust, especially since he has barely played. He'll be solid for us. I'm not saying he is going to be elite, but I think he can be solid for us the same way Darnay Scott used to be.

Notes: Palmer tunes; NFLPA moves

By GEOFF HOBSON

March 17, 2009

ShareThis

Posted: 11:45 p.m.

Carson Palmer's elbow continued to tune up for the offseason workouts Tuesday when he zipped through about 60 passes at a workout near his southern California home with three of his Bengals receivers.

Antonio Chatman, Andre Caldwell and Jerome Simpson were part of the cast at Charles Collins' receiver camp in the Los Angeles area.

"He looked good. He wanted to keep going, but I told him to save some," said Collins, who also expects Palmer to throw Thursday.

Collins said Palmer was encouraged with how his receivers looked and was particularly intrigued with the progress of Simpson.

Yeah, I don't classify him as a bust. Be interesting how the 'new and improved' playbook incorporates Simpson so we can see if he's boom or bust.

[Bearcat1975]

Posted: 11:45 p.m.

Carson Palmer's elbow continued to tune up for the offseason workouts Tuesday when he zipped through about 60 passes at a workout near his southern California home with three of his Bengals receivers.

This part was my favorite. This franchise is Carson or Bust and I think we all know it. Very very good to see he is recovering.

Looking forward to Simpson and Caldwell too.

Is it preseason yet?

[Esiason#7]

Not yet, we got a loooong way to go until August.......

[Whur CHad At?]

Simpson looking to improve on his impressive 1 catch for 1 yard

[Passepartout]

Simpson will have to go a long way, for that.

[Kazkal]

Simpson looking to improve on his impressive 1 catch for 1 yard

How many plays was he on the field for? but hey let's draft Crabtree because it's not like we didn't draft three last year or 2 proven vets and Carson Palmers TD machine.....

[Whur CHad At?]

I'd rather have Crabtree than Jerome Simpson. ANd plus one of those three cant even make the team--Mario Urrita.

[Kazkal]

Practice Squad still counts as part of the team: P,Urrutia seemed like he was taken to be Henrys replacement .....

Okay so Simpson is currently 5th WR on the team....you wanna use the 6th overall selection on someone who is 5th on the depth chart?

[BengalPimp]

Simpson looking to improve on his impressive 1 catch for 1 yard

It was 1 catch for 2 yards......and he should at least Double that this season.

[Clackwoods]

Practice Squad still counts as part of the team: P,Urrutia seemed like he was taken to be Henrys replacement .....

Okay so Simpson is currently 5th WR on the team....you wanna use the 6th overall selection on someone who is 5th on the depth chart?

I know your not trying to say that Michael Crabtree would be the fifth player on our depth chart.....

If we drafted him number 6 here is what would happen:

Chad Johnson traded

Coles becomes the number one receiver

Crabtree becomes the number 2 receiver

Caldwell stays at number 3

Chris Henry is going to finish his contract and be let go or kept if Simpson doesn't develop

At the end of Coles contract or in year three he will be let go and Simpson will take the starting role

In year three of the Crabtree project he becomes the starter and a 34 year old Coles slides back to number two.

[Whur CHad At?]

Simpson looking to improve on his impressive 1 catch for 1 yard

It was 1 catch for 2 yards......and he should at least Double that this season.

2 catches for 4 yards! Hell Yeah!

[HAPPYJAQ]

Practice Squad still counts as part of the team: P,Urrutia seemed like he was taken to be Henrys replacement .....

Okay so Simpson is currently 5th WR on the team....you wanna use the 6th overall selection on someone who is 5th on the depth chart?

I know your not trying to say that Michael Crabtree would be the fifth player on our depth chart.....

If we drafted him number 6 here is what would happen:

Chad Johnson traded

Coles becomes the number one receiver

Crabtree becomes the number 2 receiver

Caldwell stays at number 3

Chris Henry is going to finish his contract and be let go or kept if Simpson doesn't develop

At the end of Coles contract or in year three he will be let go and Simpson will take the starting role

In year three of the Crabtree project he becomes the starter and a 34 year old Coles slides back to number two.

Really examing the WR position with the Cincinnati Bengals, there is NO WAY the Bengals draft a receiver #6 overall.

The reasons:

1. Chad, Coles, Henry, Simpson, Caldwell, Chatman, Urrutia and Purify are all under contract next season.

2. Cutting or trading Chad would make in neccessary to release a 2nd or maybe even 3rd player, in consideration to

where we are in available cap room. If nothing else, it would impact the Bengals ability to sign a veteran OL/FB, in

which we desperately need

3. The Henry re-signing would appear to be a total waste and Mike wouldn't stand for that without seeing Henry for a full

season after his signing, at the minimum, given it was his decision on Henry returning in the first place.

4. The teams is high on both Simpson and Caldwell and Marvin has openly expressed a desire to see Simpson on the

field more next season. The Bengals have been tradtionally high on waiting for high draft picks to develop (see

Henry, Perry, Ratliff, Landon Johnson, Caleb Miller, etc.) before cutting the line on them.

5. Even assuming Chad is traded and Henry remains, drafting Crabtree would make Caldwell and Simpson drop even

further on the depth chart, which means that you get very little production from 2 of your 4 highlest drafted players in

from the '08 draft

6. The only situation in where a Crabtree pick works involves trading Chad, which further complicates matters in that

your presumed #1 (Coles) and #2 (Crabtree) receivers are both learning a new offense and since Crabtree doesn't

return kicks, who do you dress on gameday between Crab and Simpson?. Without considering injuries, the

Bengals have never dressed 2 WR's that weren't starters and didn't play on teams.

7. If you start Coles and Crabtree, who is the deep threat? Coles is not the deep threat he once was and his longest

reception after Week 6 last season was 27 yards. Keep in mind that Marvin said he wants to change the offense

dynamically and be a more run-oriented team with Cedric back, so we'll likely see more two TE sets and less 3 WR

sets.

8. Trading/cutting Chad would make Henry the most versed WR on the roster in the Bengals offense, assuming he stays

and is the 3rd or 4th receiver, after drafting Crabtree.

9. For the theory that says that Simpson will take over for Coles in year 3, they are slated for 2 different positions in the

offense, (Coles is a Y receiver while Simpson plays the X slot behind Chad, right now). This would not only require a

much more accelerated learning curve for Simpson to happen, but Simpson would be in his last year as a Bengal

before UFA, by that time. The Bengals want to have a solid evaluation on Simpson, as they do on all players, before

his 3rd season.

It seems like we're in store for a major reach at the 6th spotm unless one of the linemen slip or Orakpo/Raji are there.

[cincyhokie]

It seems that as we as fans become more immersed in the media, message boards, and the general need for more information now and as fast as possible...we have to see results from teams and players as fast as possible.

I think there should be a good amount of acceptance for Simpson to be given a chance with this team.

Look no further than to Chad Johnson and TJ as they were BOTH drafted in 2001 and neither were key elements of the offense until 2003. TJ was hurt for much of his first 2 seasons and CJ went under the radar. Being patient with the development of both players paid off.

[Esiason#7]

It seems that as we as fans become more immersed in the media, message boards, and the general need for more information now and as fast as possible...we have to see results from teams and players as fast as possible.

I think there should be a good amount of acceptance for Simpson to be given a chance with this team.

Look no further than to Chad Johnson and TJ as they were BOTH drafted in 2001 and neither were key elements of the offense until 2003. TJ was hurt for much of his first 2 seasons and CJ went under the radar. Being patient with the development of both players paid off.

Very good points. Chad actually went on to have over 1,000 yards in his second season in 2002, but TJ didn't actually get into the starting lineup until his fourth season in 2004 (I think he missed most/all of 2003 with injury). If you want to use a slightly older example, you could even look at Carl Pickens. His rookie year he only had around 300 yards, built up to about 500 yards his second season. He was having a terrible third season in 1994 until Jeff Blake came in about mid season and as John Madden would say BOOM! He was a pro-bowl 1,000 reciever who went on to hold a lot Bengal receiving records until Chad Johnson came along. The point I'm trying to make is we need to give Simpson a chance. If Carson says he is intrigued by his progress, then thats enough for me. He would know better than us.

[cincyhokie]

It seems that as we as fans become more immersed in the media, message boards, and the general need for more information now and as fast as possible...we have to see results from teams and players as fast as possible.

I think there should be a good amount of acceptance for Simpson to be given a chance with this team.

Look no further than to Chad Johnson and TJ as they were BOTH drafted in 2001 and neither were key elements of the offense until 2003. TJ was hurt for much of his first 2 seasons and CJ went under the radar. Being patient with the development of both players paid off.

Very good points. Chad actually went on to have over 1,000 yards in his second season in 2002, but TJ didn't actually get into the starting lineup until his fourth season in 2004 (I think he missed most/all of 2003 with injury). If you want to use a slightly older example, you could even look at Carl Pickens. His rookie year he only had around 300 yards, built up to about 500 yards his second season. He was having a terrible third season in 1994 until Jeff Blake came in about mid season and as John Madden would say BOOM! He was a pro-bowl 1,000 reciever who went on to hold a lot Bengal receiving records until Chad Johnson came along. The point I'm trying to make is we need to give Simpson a chance. If Carson says he is intrigued by his progress, then thats enough for me. He would know better than us.

Likewise, good points. I think the important thing to keep in mind is that with WRs there needs to be a cushion of time given to produce at a high level. Few WRs come in and produce right away but it's those that do such as an Eddie Royal or a DeShaun Jackson that raises the expectation level of fans. It also doesn't help if the rookie WRs are being thrown to by a 2nd string QB.

[derekshank]

Simpson's style of play is like Henry's. He's a downfield threat with incredible jumping ability and good hands. Fitzpatrick being the starter killed his what would have been his most natural possibility of contributing as a rookie. Caldwell was much more capable of playing in that situation right away.

We also saw comments similar to Palmer's from John Thornton referring to Simpson's performance in practice. I have very little doubt that Simpson will have the ability to contribute with Palmer playing. The only question I have is if he can get the chance? With Coles, Chad, and Henry being very similar threats with more veteran experience, I have my doubts.

[Whur CHad At?]

Simpson's style of play is like Henry's. He's a downfield threat with incredible jumping ability and good hands. Fitzpatrick being the starter killed his what would have been his most natural possibility of contributing as a rookie. Caldwell was much more capable of playing in that situation right away.

We also saw comments similar to Palmer's from John Thornton referring to Simpson's performance in practice. I have very little doubt that Simpson will have the ability to contribute with Palmer playing. The only question I have is if he can get the chance? With Coles, Chad, and Henry being very similar threats with more veteran experience, I have my doubts.

No Simpson just sucks. He is dumb. He cant run routes. He makes stupid choices(see Green Bay preseason game). He was drafted just because his huge leap in a college game.

[derekshank]

Simpson's style of play is like Henry's. He's a downfield threat with incredible jumping ability and good hands. Fitzpatrick being the starter killed his what would have been his most natural possibility of contributing as a rookie. Caldwell was much more capable of playing in that situation right away.

We also saw comments similar to Palmer's from John Thornton referring to Simpson's performance in practice. I have very little doubt that Simpson will have the ability to contribute with Palmer playing. The only question I have is if he can get the chance? With Coles, Chad, and Henry being very similar threats with more veteran experience, I have my doubts.

No Simpson just sucks. He is dumb. He cant run routes. He makes stupid choices(see Green Bay preseason game). He was drafted just because his huge leap in a college game.

Yeah... you're right. He was a 2nd round draft pick based solely on one particular play. When I was in 6th grade I had a pretty awesome diving catch. If only I had the video, I could be playing for the Bengals right now.

[Whur CHad At?]

Simpson's style of play is like Henry's. He's a downfield threat with incredible jumping ability and good hands. Fitzpatrick being the starter killed his what would have been his most natural possibility of contributing as a rookie. Caldwell was much more capable of playing in that situation right away.

We also saw comments similar to Palmer's from John Thornton referring to Simpson's performance in practice. I have very little doubt that Simpson will have the ability to contribute with Palmer playing. The only question I have is if he can get the chance? With Coles, Chad, and Henry being very similar threats with more veteran experience, I have my doubts.

No Simpson just sucks. He is dumb. He cant run routes. He makes stupid choices(see Green Bay preseason game). He was drafted just because his huge leap in a college game.

Yeah... you're right. He was a 2nd round draft pick based solely on one particular play. When I was in 6th grade I had a pretty awesome diving catch. If only I had the video, I could be playing for the Bengals right now.

Yeah you probably could.

[derekshank]

Simpson's style of play is like Henry's. He's a downfield threat with incredible jumping ability and good hands. Fitzpatrick being the starter killed his what would have been his most natural possibility of contributing as a rookie. Caldwell was much more capable of playing in that situation right away.

We also saw comments similar to Palmer's from John Thornton referring to Simpson's performance in practice. I have very little doubt that Simpson will have the ability to contribute with Palmer playing. The only question I have is if he can get the chance? With Coles, Chad, and Henry being very similar threats with more veteran experience, I have my doubts.

No Simpson just sucks. He is dumb. He cant run routes. He makes stupid choices(see Green Bay preseason game). He was drafted just because his huge leap in a college game.

Yeah... you're right. He was a 2nd round draft pick based solely on one particular play. When I was in 6th grade I had a pretty awesome diving catch. If only I had the video, I could be playing for the Bengals right now.

Yeah you probably could.

Well, you've sold me. Your opinion on a player you've clearly only witnessed one play from totally trumps everything that insiders who have seen him practice have to say.

He's a bust. I guess we'll have to move on. Whur has spoken.

[Esiason#7]

He also had five catches for 114 yards the preseason game against Detroit. I know people are going to say he was playing against the Lions fourth stringers, but keep in mind he was playing with the Bengals fourth stringers as well, so it evens out. I'm not saying he will be great or a pro bowler, I'm just saying once he starts playing he will be a solid contributer.

[HAPPYJAQ]

It's WAAAY to early to pass out a judgement on a rookie WR who is a developmental project. While it's a legitimate argument as to if it was early to pick a player so raw, it's very common for WR's to struggle early in their careers. Last year was basically his redshirt year, as he's making a major jump from Coastal Carolina.

I totally expect Simpson to be a good player for us. Bengals fans just need to be patient and see what type of player he'll be in 2010.

[Pidge]

Most WRs taken in the 2nd last yr stank the joint up in terms of games and/or stats to be fair to him. I'll cut the coaches some slack with the pick. It certainly isn't his fault that I hadn't heard of him before and was, and still am to some extent, majorly pist off with the pick last yr.

[Whur CHad At?]

Eddie Royal, I dont think he stunk