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Rod Hood is visiting


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And should he have to start due to injuries, you're at least getting a guy who is capable and has meaningful experience... unlike anything else on the roster.

This.

It all comes down to whether he's willing to come here as a nickle corner - but if he does, there is no question he's an immediate upgrade over Jones. There's no need for a competition. Pencil him in today.

True, but I understand why they like Jones. He's got all of the tools and he is getting better. Slowly. But it's just like I said in regards to Marvin White, if you expect to win soon you can't wait on projects any longer. At the very least you have to give a player like Jones competition for the 3rd CB role AND you need more experience if a starter falls.

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I was reading earlier that they called him "No Good, Rod Hood" in Philly.

If he's signed, I'm hoping he's no Rod Jones, (for the slightly-old timers).

I'm pretty interested in seeing how much David Jones has improved in his 3rd season. I've heard it said that NFL players make the biggest jump between their 2nd and 3rd years in the league. He looked pretty solid down the stretch, and who's the alternate FA signing if we don't get Hood? Chris McAllister or Dre Bly?

All that said, we need more depth and I'd be alright with Rood, but only if's relatively inexpensive.

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Letting them compete is all well and good, but are you guys suggesting the Bengals offer Hood a starters contract today? Because if you aren't then I'm thinking we're still talking about the best player available whose willing to accept nickleback coin for a year. Two at the most. Throw in a healthy package of incentives and you might get the job done, but again....Hood has started all but two games over the last two seasons. He'll have other options.

Bump?

If I'm Rod Hood I think I drag my feet for awhile...refusing to settle for a nickleback's contract....at least until practices start and people start breaking.

This one may be over aleady or it may be just another example of a slow and patient Roy Williams kind of courtship. I'm hoping for the latter.

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You make a good point HOF. I said to bring in Hood and let him compete for Joseph/Hall's starting position.. Starters pay didn't even cross my mind for some reason. But to answer your question, NO, do not give him a starters contract. He can find that with another team who needs a starter. We need compitition. Offer him a GOOD contract. He will have the oppurtunity here to win a starting position and then we'll go from there...

And YES pong, Joseph is suspect. Let's face the truth, he has had numerous injuries. That makes him suspectable, something that you must keep in mind. CB is probably the HARDEST position to play in the NFL. Joseph does a good job and I have faith in him as a starter but damn near every coner in the NFL is suspect. That's why compition is so good for any organization... When have the Bengals had this much compitition in-house? Add a guy like Hood, Bly, or McAlister and it will make Joseph, Hall, Jones BETTER!

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You make a good point HOF. I said to bring in Hood and let him compete for Joseph/Hall's starting position.. Starters pay didn't even cross my mind for some reason. But to answer your question, NO, do not give him a starters contract. He can find that with another team who needs a starter. We need compitition. Offer him a GOOD contract. He will have the oppurtunity here to win a starting position and then we'll go from there...

And YES pong, Joseph is suspect. Let's face the truth, he has had numerous injuries. That makes him suspectable, something that you must keep in mind. CB is probably the HARDEST position to play in the NFL. Joseph does a good job and I have faith in him as a starter but damn near every coner in the NFL is suspect. That's why compition is so good for any organization... When have the Bengals had this much compitition in-house? Add a guy like Hood, Bly, or McAlister and it will make Joseph, Hall, Jones BETTER!

Joseph is good when healthy, however it's not often you can say he's healthy. I do think the Jones has gotten a lot better since 07, and I feel fairly comfortable with him starting if needed. Behind him however, we have no depth. That's alarming.

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  • 3 months later...

So... anyone think the Bengals go into week 1 without signing a CB?

How about a TE?

They got a good deal on Andre. It's time to fork over some cash for these incredibly thin depth charts.

They'll probably pick a TE, but probably one we've never heard of. I doubt they sign another corner, though they need to.

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We need to look at anyone who gets cut seriously. Maybe they aren't even backup material but even a CB who would be considered 3rd on most depth charts would improve our depth - it would an improvement to the current backups we have.

I like JJ but considering the lat couple of yrs, he will go down at some point. When that happens, the schlep who takes his place will be ridden like a pony up and down the field. Mediocre corners are doable with a good pass rush. God help us.

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Bratkowski adjusts

GEOFF HOBSON

Posted 18 minutes ago

aaFor the second straight year, injuries at tight end have destroyed an offseason of planning for Bengals offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski.

"We have to make some adjustments. We've got to do things that are more suited to the guys we have," Bratkowski said after Monday's practice.

What the Bengals knew when they saw Ben Utecht lifted into an ambulance with his fifth concussion a month ago became official Monday. They won't have their top two tight ends with Daniel Coats and rookie Chase Coffman replacing Reggie Kelly and Utecht. That means there are now 15 NFL games at the position as opposed to 203.

Bratkowski has wanted to expand the role of the tight end and use more double tight-end sets since Utecht signed as a free agent before the 2008 season. But his injuries have forced him to just try and hold the point at the position's main role in the offense of blocking and now he has to do it with a guy that has done it for one year in Coats and a guy that has never done it in Coffman.

The first impact of the injuries is most likely going to be on the roster, where the Bengals are expected to keep two fullbacks instead of their customary one.

"The one good thing there is that we think we've got three guys that can play," Bratkowski said of Jeremi Johnson, Fui Vakapuna, and Chris Pressley. "They won't be able to put their hand on the ground, but they'll be able to help in some formations."

Another impact is what happens to Coffman. The most prolific pass catching tight end in NCAA history was supposed to learn the trade behind Kelly and Utecht. And he needed the time because he was not only coming off a broken foot that took him out of most of the spring workouts, he was learning a new position.

His brand of tight end didn't involve getting into a stance and blocking on the line. So he's not only had to fight through the mental strain of the Xs and Os, but the physical punishment and it's been a slow go. They're trying not to wear him down, but he is.

"He's still developing," Bratkowski said. "He's got a long way to go and not a lot of time to get there."

Coffman had a wry smile over the weekend. A welcome respite with two straight off days on Friday and Saturday. He thought back to that stretch in training camp with Kelly and Utecht down where he and free agent rookie Darius Hill were getting all the snaps. And when they did bring in help in Matt Sherry, he was hurt within two days.

"It's a different game playing on the line of scrimmage," Coffman said. "The biggest difference is getting the technique down and doing it every single time. I've been staying in the tub, stretching, eating right, just trying to take care of my body."

Head coach Marvin Lewis thinks he's getting adjusted.

"He keeps getting back and being able to practice once a day and being comfortable," Lewis said. "A little more comfortable is a good thing, having been a little banged up like he was in camp early on.”

Coffman said his receiving skills haven't been affected by the switch and he's been staying after practices to catch balls. But he admits his foot still isn't quite 100 percent.

"I'm just making sure I'm doing the (blocking) technique right every time," he said, recalling tight end coach Jon Hayes' incessant instructions. "Foot placement. Hand placement. Head up. Stay low."

Kelly was such a huge figure in pass protecting for Carson Palmer and while they think Coats is big enough and tough enough to give them some of that, he just doesn't have the experience. But he did get exposed to blocking from another perspective last year at fullback.

“He played both spots last year and they’re almost interchangeable in some of the things that we do," Lewis said. "I think there’s an experience factor there’s obviously a thing with pass protection, some of those things that he had to continue to work hard at. His versatility has been a good thing.”

The lack of experience in pass pro at tight end may have had a hand in some of the 11sacks the Bengals have allowed in preseason, but Bratkowski said they haven't been a major reason.

"It's always a combination," he said. "There were one or two that fell on the tight end, but they just didn't make an adjustment when need be."

More fallout from the injuries: They are faced with a big decision when it comes to the roster. Do they go get another big blocking tight end at the Cutdown and invest teaching him the offense? Or do they stick with just two tight ends and go heavy in, say, the secondary?

They've already got a big guy with some experience in J.P. Foschi who has already been in the offense for two weeks. But maybe they keep only two because they simply can't use the number of two tight end sets they had hoped to when they scripted out the season in the spring.

"We still have to do some," Bratkowski said of double tights. "Fortunately we have some depth at the fullback position."

Well they may not even pick up another TE. It seems that they might just carry a second FB instead of third TE.

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Bears to sign Rod Hood

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal on August 31, 2009 10:53 PM ET

Former Browns cornerback Rod Hood was a free agent for less than 12 hours.

As predicted right here about two hours ago, Hood found a willing suitor in the Chicago Bears.

The Chicago Tribune reports that he'll officially sign with the team as early as Tuesday. Hood visited the Bears earlier in the offseason.

Hood will have to impress the team quickly with big roster cuts coming by Saturday, but the team is in desperate need of some veteran experience in their secondary.

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More predictability from Brat. His Blocking TE goes down and his backup Blocking TE goes down. He is left with an average blocker and a rookie recieving TE. So he is going to try and force them to become just blockers, instead of playing to thier strong suit.

Hammer that round peg into the square hole Brat, it will fit sooner or later.

Why not open up the passing game by actually running some TE routes with the recieving TE?

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