Reggie Kelly went down...

[Kazkal]

Reggie Kelly-TE-Bengals Aug. 3 - 2:29 pm et

The Bengals fear that TE Reggie Kelly has suffered a season-ending Achilles injury.

The extent of the injury isn't exactly known yet, but the team is talking like he tore his Achilles. Kelly is the Bengals' best blocking tight end and losing him would be a big blow to Carson Palmer's pass protection. Ben Utecht and rookie Chase Coffman will have a chance to step up.

Source: Bengals.com

[ShulaSteakhouse]

Neither Utecht or Coffman are good blockers.

Coates?

Season-ending injury to a Bengals' starter in the 1st 3 days of camp seems to happen every year.

The only thing less surprising is that Beanie Wells is already out of practice with a sprained ankle.

[Ickey44]

Season-ending injury to a Bengals' starter in the 1st 3 days of camp seems to happen every year.

It happens to a lot of teams every year, not just the Bengals.

[Kazkal]

Well season like this too atleast isn't linked to training staff,Just bad luck what has driven me crazy over past couple year is how many preventable injury's we've had like groins that seem be career ending >_<

[Clackwoods]

First off, I like Reggie Kelly. With that said, I am pretty happy that he won't be in our lineup this season.

1.

It gives Ben Utech the keys to the "Bus" so to speak and allows him "IF HEALTHY" to fulfill his potential here

2.

It speeds up Chase Coffmans development as a player because he is now the number 2 TE on the team behind Utech. If Utech goes down again he is all of the sudden a starter and he can show some of the skill that made him such a receiver threat in college.

3.

It gives us more flexibility having Dan Coats on the roster instead of getting cut because he can play FB

The negatives that I see are obvious:

1.

Kelly is an amazing blocker and the offense will have to be adjusted to cover for the "Inability" of our other TE's to block if they struggle

2.

This one could be a positive and a negative- They must remake their offense around a pass catching TE as opposed to a run blocking TE which I think will make our passing game even more efficient

The positives in my opinion far out weigh the negatives because it allows us to progress towards the future. Kelly is older and he didn't have many years left in the tank anyways.

Hopefully Reggie can still have a positive veteran influence on the team from the sidelines

[Kazkal]

3.

It gives us more flexibility having Dan Coats on the roster instead of getting cut because he can play FB

Ogod..no more him playing Fullback :| I'd almost rather keep 2 Tightends then look in to either 5 backs or 5 defensive Ends....

who knows could be 7 wr's

[Clackwoods]

3.

It gives us more flexibility having Dan Coats on the roster instead of getting cut because he can play FB

Ogod..no more him playing Fullback :| I'd almost rather keep 2 Tightends then look in to either 5 backs or 5 defensive Ends....

who knows could be 7 wr's

Not saying that he should play FB, but we would have him in a pinch in the event that our FBs go down so we wouldn't have to cut someone to clear a spot for a new signing!

[Kazkal]

3.

It gives us more flexibility having Dan Coats on the roster instead of getting cut because he can play FB

Ogod..no more him playing Fullback :| I'd almost rather keep 2 Tightends then look in to either 5 backs or 5 defensive Ends....

who knows could be 7 wr's

Not saying that he should play FB, but we would have him in a pinch in the event that our FBs go down so we wouldn't have to cut someone to clear a spot for a new signing!

Or just keep 2 fullbacks instead and they can always lineup in TE theyd be as much of a receiving threat as kelly...

[ShulaSteakhouse]

Season-ending injury to a Bengals' starter in the 1st 3 days of camp seems to happen every year.

It happens to a lot of teams every year, not just the Bengals.

Not disagreeing...but do not follow other teams closely enough to keep tabs on it. Of course every team loses a "name player" in the preseason, or two, every year - not a dig on the Bengals.

[Clackwoods]

Season-ending injury to a Bengals' starter in the 1st 3 days of camp seems to happen every year.

It happens to a lot of teams every year, not just the Bengals.

Not disagreeing...but do not follow other teams closely enough to keep tabs on it. Of course every team loses a "name player" in the preseason, or two, every year - not a dig on the Bengals.

I want to see Chase Coffman get out their and become a serious threat for us in the passing game!

[ShulaSteakhouse]

Season-ending injury to a Bengals' starter in the 1st 3 days of camp seems to happen every year.

It happens to a lot of teams every year, not just the Bengals.

Not disagreeing...but do not follow other teams closely enough to keep tabs on it. Of course every team loses a "name player" in the preseason, or two, every year - not a dig on the Bengals.

I want to see Chase Coffman get out their and become a serious threat for us in the passing game!

The problem is blocking just took a significant hit, on an 0-line that can't afford to lose anymore. It is what it is...still need a complete TE.

[ArmyBengal]

Honestly, I'm not horribly concerned. I feel bad for Reggie and hope he gets better soon, but as for the team itself, I like the fact Utecht and Coffman are now going to see more than their share of the snaps and will speed up the learning curve for them. We know that neither of them are as good of blockers, but they will learn.

Honestly, I look at this like all the injuries last season in that while you may not want it to happen initially, they will have no choice to figure out what they do or don't have. Here's to hoping they will be pleasantly suprised with what they get. I think they will.

Good luck Reggie...

[derekshank]

Honestly, I'm not horribly concerned. I feel bad for Reggie and hope he gets better soon, but as for the team itself, I like the fact Utecht and Coffman are now going to see more than their share of the snaps and will speed up the learning curve for them. We know that neither of them are as good of blockers, but they will learn.

Honestly, I look at this like all the injuries last season in that while you may not want it to happen initially, they will have no choice to figure out what they do or don't have. Here's to hoping they will be pleasantly suprised with what they get. I think they will.

Good luck Reggie...

Honestly, even Kelly didn't look all that great last year. He was a better blocker than an injured Utecht... but that ain't saying much. Kelly was not nearly as good a blocker in '08 as he was in years past. This injury only makes it so that he leaves while the fans still appreciate his skill. I had a feeling that by the end of '09 a lot of fans would have soured on him and wanted him gone.

Players get old fast in the NFL, and at the pace he appeared to be declining - I'm thinking Utecht or Coffman would have been starters by the end of the season anyway.

[Bearcat1975]

I agree with the general sentiment here. I don't think losing Kelly will hurt them that much, if at all. Kelly is a great pass blocker, an average run blocker, and has two big fat rubber mallets for hands. But because he can run block, he always had a spot in the lineup, despite his weakening of the rest of the offense.

Now, Utecht will hopefully stay healthy and either Chase or an improved Coates will be the #2. My thought here is, having a TE who can pass block won't help much, since the rest of the line will suck ass at pass blocking anyway.

If the Bengals are going to have a prayer on offense, Palmer will need to get rid of the ball quickly. Utecht without a doubt is the superior pass catcher, so he is most suited to the role Palmer will need him to fill, if he can stay healthy.

One thing about the Bengals is, their talent evaluation is so questionable that sometimes an injury actually makes the starting lineup stronger, assuming the new starter can stay healthy. I believe this is one of those times.

It sounds crazy to say but I think the Bengals offense just got a little better, assuming Palmer and Brat learn early to stay away from 5 step drops and draw plays. 3 step drops might even be a bit long to hang on to the ball. Its going to be that bad folks, especially at first. Mid-90's-Rod Jones-Jeff-Blake-gets-sacked-before-he-even-gets-the-football kind of bad. But Palmer is better than Blake. It is just a matter of limiting the number of shots he takes.

[Kazkal]

Get Andre in camp and suddenly the Tight End blocker is upgraded with Collins...

[Ickey44]

It sounds crazy to say but I think the Bengals offense just got a little better, assuming Palmer and Brat learn early to stay away from 5 step drops and draw plays. 3 step drops might even be a bit long to hang on to the ball. Its going to be that bad folks, especially at first. Mid-90's-Rod Jones-Jeff-Blake-gets-sacked-before-he-even-gets-the-football kind of bad. But Palmer is better than Blake. It is just a matter of limiting the number of shots he takes.

Why don't we wait for the first preseason game before you continue to criticize a line you've yet to see play? You have no idea how they're going to play any more than I do. While I choose to be a little optimistic about them, I definitely don't think they're going to suck balls like you do.

[Bearcat1975]

Why don't we wait for the first preseason game before you continue to criticize a line you've yet to see play?

We better hope the line is exposed early in the preseason. That way they will have time to adjust, and Palmer won't have to take a full game's worth of beatings during the "reality check-adjustment" phase.

The worst thing that could happen is, the Bengals oline looks adequate during preseason because all they see are vanilla defenses. Then the regular season gets here, with real stunts and blitzes, and the line gets Palmer killed.

You have no idea how they're going to play any more than I do.

I have a pretty good idea.

While I choose to be a little optimistic about them, I definitely don't think they're going to suck balls like you do.

Here's to hoping you are right.

[Bearcat1975]

Another reason why Kelly getting injured will make the Bengals offense better, if Utecht and Coffman can stay healthy:

Before Utecht got hurt last year, Brat had this annoying tendency to put Utecht in on pass plays and Kelly in on run plays. Pretty transparent. Now, this forces the Bengals to basically play the same guys on run and pass plays. Thus, not tipping the defense before the ball is even snapped.

[Ickey44]

I have a pretty good idea.

And just who graced you with this omniscience? Elaborate. What makes you think that they'll suck balls? Give me something other than cause I said so.

[Clackwoods]

I agree with the general sentiment here. I don't think losing Kelly will hurt them that much, if at all. Kelly is a great pass blocker, an average run blocker, and has two big fat rubber mallets for hands. But because he can run block, he always had a spot in the lineup, despite his weakening of the rest of the offense.

Now, Utecht will hopefully stay healthy and either Chase or an improved Coates will be the #2. My thought here is, having a TE who can pass block won't help much, since the rest of the line will suck ass at pass blocking anyway.

If the Bengals are going to have a prayer on offense, Palmer will need to get rid of the ball quickly. Utecht without a doubt is the superior pass catcher, so he is most suited to the role Palmer will need him to fill, if he can stay healthy.

One thing about the Bengals is, their talent evaluation is so questionable that sometimes an injury actually makes the starting lineup stronger, assuming the new starter can stay healthy. I believe this is one of those times.

It sounds crazy to say but I think the Bengals offense just got a little better, assuming Palmer and Brat learn early to stay away from 5 step drops and draw plays. 3 step drops might even be a bit long to hang on to the ball. Its going to be that bad folks, especially at first. Mid-90's-Rod Jones-Jeff-Blake-gets-sacked-before-he-even-gets-the-football kind of bad. But Palmer is better than Blake. It is just a matter of limiting the number of shots he takes.

That is a pretty negative view of our line and I don't think that is right. Their is no damn way our center can be any worse than it was last year. We have a Franchise tackle in Smith and Whit is solid at LT. We will have a solid line, it may not be the best in the league, but it won't be as bad as your making it out to be!

[Kazkal]

All the stuff I have been reading about cook do have say I'm getting hyped up about the guy \shrug

[Orange and black fanatic]

As much as I did not want to see Kelly in the starting line up, even on the roster, I never wanted him to get injured. By all accounts he is a tremendous person and I too wish him well.

That being said, like army, I think this forces the issue with Utecht and Coffman stepping up their blocking. If the Bengals insist on plugging Coats into Kelly's place and not a combination of Utecht and Coffman I will be disappointed, since making Utecht and Coffman improve to passable blocker status would help avoid the predictability of the past.

[HoTbOy]

I don't know if this would work or not and maybe it's a dumb move, but why not put JJohnson in as TE on some plays he can block and he definitely can catch the ball, It would certainly be a new wrinkle for teams to deal with...While I liked what RKelly brought to the team with his blocking, pass catching was another story...1 of our weaknesses on D was/is a TE who can catch downfield, I would be more than happy to see if BUtecht/CCoffman can be that threat for us...

[Walrus]

All this talk about Kelly's role on the team got me thinking -- other teams use their TEs heavily on Special Teams. Can anyone enlighten me as to whether the Bengals use their TEs on special teams? I don't recall Kelly, Utecht or even Coates being in there -- and doubt we'll see Coffman now. Am I mistaken on this? Could losing Kelly open the door to a more versatile player who would contribute on STs?

[redsbengalsbucks]

All this talk about Kelly's role on the team got me thinking -- other teams use their TEs heavily on Special Teams. Can anyone enlighten me as to whether the Bengals use their TEs on special teams? I don't recall Kelly, Utecht or even Coates being in there -- and doubt we'll see Coffman now. Am I mistaken on this? Could losing Kelly open the door to a more versatile player who would contribute on STs?

I think Coates plays ST, but I'm not 100%.