JPW Posted August 12, 2004 Report Share Posted August 12, 2004 JOHN THORNTON "The hardest part of training camp is over. Our bodies are adjusted to the constant pounding and running that occurs during camp. There has been good competition at all positions and some players have been pleasant surprises. Now comes the preseason games. As professionals, we want to win every game we play. But teams don't to win at all costs. That means if the score is tied with :50 seconds left, we won't put in Carson Palmer to throw the game winning pass. The goal is to play well, execute our assignments, and stay healthy. Who is going to care about the preseason the night before the season opener against the New York Jets? So that's the plan. Here is a few observations from camp so far...... OFFENSE Carson Palmer has made a smooth transition as the leader of the offense. After a slow start, he has put together some great practices. The running game has been a point of emphasis during the first week. The offensive line looks to be working very well together. Bobby Williams and Willie Anderson are going to be devastating combo. That's about 700 pounds of double team. Since I play on their side, I can tell everyone that the running game on that side is set. Levi Jones and Eric Steinbach have been out, but they will be ready soon. Levi actually practiced early this week. The passing game is working pretty well also. Carson is stretching the field with his deep passes. If everyone stays healthy, this should be a top 10 unit. Most Outstanding Rookie: Stacey Andrews has won this award. For a guy who hasn't played a lot of football, he sure looks good to me. He is a dominating run blocker and he is learning how to be a good pass blocker from Big Willie. He was a steal in the forth round. Keep an eye on him in the preseason games. Watch Out: Kenny Watson has looked good all off-season. He is quick and he hits the hole hard. Kenny is not going to give up that back-up role easily. Chris Perry is going to have to earn his keep in the backfield. DEFENSE I'm sure you all have heard about our lousy defense and us not being able to stop the run. Well, some of it is true and some of it is false. The 1st defense gave up a 49 yard run in our first scrimmage. On that play, we had Rudi Johnson stopped at the line of scrimmage and he broke out of a tackle and raced down the field and was caught at the 1 yard line. That was really the only bad play that the defense gave up. Sure there were a few passes caught here and there, but for the most part, we did OK. Do we need to do better? YES. We need to tackle better and focus on our assignments better. That's why we have training camp. You want to improve every week so that you are ready for the opening game. What hasn't been reported by Cincinnati's fine and astute media members, is that our 1st defense stopped our offense on two of the first three series in that same scrimmage. The headlines were, "Offense outscores defense 70-18." I'll tell you this, unless we intercepted passes and returned them for touchdowns, we couldn't outscore them. That's enough about that. One of the bright spots about camp has been our third down defense. We have been red hot in getting off the field with our third down packages. Now our challenge is to play better defense on first down and stop the run early. The media did get that right. There is a first time for everything. Just kidding. Most Outstanding Rookie: Madieu Williams. He can play corner and safety. At times he looks like the best player on the field. But I wouldn't tell him that because...........he is a rookie. Looking Good: Carl Powell. Carl has lost about 20 pounds and he is in great shape. He will also play more DT this year." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BengalszoneBilly Posted August 12, 2004 Report Share Posted August 12, 2004 Wow. That was a very sobering post! I hope it calms down alot of folks around here! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevnz Posted August 12, 2004 Report Share Posted August 12, 2004 Well what I don't understand people freaking out about the offense running around on our D...Our Offense should be able to run on any defense.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jditty47 Posted August 12, 2004 Report Share Posted August 12, 2004 man its awesome to read whats going on from a actual player. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPW Posted August 12, 2004 Author Report Share Posted August 12, 2004 man its awesome to read whats going on from a actual player.Yea that's what I am talking about jditty....With so much Bull s**t floating around, it is great that a Player will take the time to give his prospective from the inside. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wookie Posted August 12, 2004 Report Share Posted August 12, 2004 I thought that was outstanding, and yes our offense should be able to score at will, on any D...even our own. But, it sounds like both units are coming together nicely, and I loved the comment about Madieu Williams...that was priceless!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhoDeyNow Posted August 12, 2004 Report Share Posted August 12, 2004 I'm really looking forward to watching Madieu Williams this year. I really think he could be this season's version of Ken Hamlin. I think we found ourselves a good safety for the next decade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wisk Posted August 12, 2004 Report Share Posted August 12, 2004 WOW! Inspiring post by MR! Thornton. Extremely enjoyable read! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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