The NFL Draft '04

[JPW]

In case anybody missed this over at the Bengals site.

Defense feels a draft

11/7/2004 - 10:35 p.m.

BY GEOFF HOBSON

Madieu Williams had a big day with 10 tackles and a pick.

Madieu Williams, who was in junior high when Keyshawn Johnson wrote his book, heard it plenty Sunday from one of the more seasoned mouths in the NFL.

“Man, Rook,” Williams would hear Johnson say above the din of sold-out Paul Brown Stadium. “What are you doing, Rook?”

What these Rooks were doing, these six rookies playing on defense and special teams for the Bengals during their assertive 26-3 muffling of Keyshawn’s Cowboys, was begin to form the formula that Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis had in his head the past couple of drafts.

Speed squared (plus) speed=turnovers=wins.

Rooks like Madieu Williams, a second-round pick with his second interception in as many weeks on a fourth-quarter dagger.

Rooks like defensive end Robert Geathers, a fourth-round pick who came off the edge to log the 63rd sack for the Geathers family and first since 1996.

Rooks like cornerback Keiwan Ratliff, another second-round pick learning a new position coming up with three tackles as a safety.

Growing up

When the dust cleared, the Bengals had forced five turnovers for the first time in 16 games.

“I’m so proud of our rookies," said defensive end Duane Clemons after the Cowboys got into the red zone exactly once. “I know a lot of guys were probably down on them at the beginning. But now these guys, give then the time and the room to grow a little bit, they’ve embraced it.”

Lewis couldn’t say enough about the class of ’04. He sounded like a man relieved the draft board turned out not to be a chalk board. But there it was. The athleticism and quickness he thinks can carry an NFL defense.

“A lot of young guys got us to 3-5,” Lewis said.

“We have (young) guys fitting into their roles. We have to pump them with oxygen, Gatorade, Gatorlytes, and food to get us through. But like the young guys from last year, Jeremi (Johnson), Carson (Palmer), (Scott) Kooistra. We’ve got a lot of young guys playing a lot of football. Let’s keep pushing, pushing, pushing. Let’s let our good players lead the way.”

Geathers comes up big

Geathers, who didn’t turn 21 until August, looked positively sage-like in coming up with his first NFL sack, a forced fumble, and a tipped pass near the goal line, and those weren’t even his biggest plays in a game he consistently played a nickel pass-rushing end for the first time in his career.

He saved that for the Cowboys’ first series of the second half. With Dallas looking to finally get in the end zone and take a 10-9 lead after quarterback Vinny Testaverde’s 33-yard pass to tight end Jason Witten, Dallas had a third-and-eight from the Bengals 28. At the very least, they were well within the range for kicker Billy Cundiff.

But Geathers not only beat right tackle Torrin Tucker in forcing Testaverde to throw a hurried incompletion, Testaverde was called for intentional grounding, and the field goal was dead.

Less than a minute later, the Bengals were up 16-3, on 76-yard lightning from Palmer to tight end Matt Schobel.

Ballgame.

That quick, first step that raised eyebrows at training camp had made its mark.

The season-ending injury to Tony Williams two weeks ago took away one of Cincinnati's inside pass rushers, so Clemons has moved inside on passing downs to make room for Geathers.

Sometimes he worked on the right side, but mostly it was the left end.

“They got me in there a little bit last week, and I was out there on all the third downs this week, so I was getting more comfortable,” Geathers said. “It was just pretty much the first step, and go. They were getting a little edgy on their heels. Flozell (Adams) jumped a little bit.”

Adams, the Cowboys left tackle, false started early in the fourth quarter, but it was Tucker that Geathers kept making the big plays on. Geathers made the first big play of the day when he stepped around Tucker, came back to sack Testaverde by the ankle, and punched the ball out at the Dallas 36 as the quarterback went down.

“They’re always telling us to go for the ball,” Geathers said. “It was kind of instinctive.

Family matters

Geathers, who came out of Georgia a year early, literally grew up on the first step. His father, Robert Sr., played in the NFL, but it was his uncle, James Allen Geathers, who taught him the intricacies of NFL pass rushing.

From 1984-96, “Jumpy” Geathers racked up 62 sacks for four teams, and he often had his nephew out in the backyard showing him how to do it.

“The last time we were out there he popped his Achilles,” Robert Jr., said. “He was done playing when he did that, but that’s the last time we’ve gone out and done it. Now we just talk about it.

“He showed me a lot of things. What to look for,” Robert said. “Look at the (linemen’s hands), know the down-and-distance, know where you are on the field. His thing was if you got that first step, you’re halfway home.”

Geathers knew where he was late in the first half and prevented the Bengals from giving up another late first-half touchdown like they did in the losses in Cleveland and Tennessee.

On a third-and-four from the Bengals 6 with 26 seconds left, Geathers knocked down Testaverde’s pass at the line to force a field goal.

“It was a stunt with me and (tackle John Thornton) and there were about three guys there. I couldn’t get there,” Geathers said. “I just timed up it and got a piece of it.”

Thornton: “They’re a big line, but (Geathers) had a good matchup with No. 77 (Tucker). “He had the sprained ankle (that took him out of the last preseason games and the early regular-season games), but once he’s been getting more and more snaps, he’s coming on.”

Linebacker Brian Simmons has been watching those practices.

“He’s good. He’s going to be good once he gets other things down like technique and he continues to learn,” Simmons said. “But he’s strong, he’s quick, and powerful. He’s going to be an asset for us.”

All of which galls Lewis, who knows how inconsistent rookies can be.

"He made a lot of errors out there," Lewis said. "Don't put him in the Hall of Fame yet."

If Geathers had his coming out Sunday, Williams has been in the spotlight since he first stepped on the practice field.

Drafted as a safety, he became an Opening Day cornerback because of Deltha O’Neal’s injury.

Then injuries to Kim Herring and Rogers Beckett put him back at safety.

With Herring and Kevin Kaesviharn nicked again Sunday, he was back at safety, but remained the nickel cornerback and that’s where he outdueled Johnson for the killing interception at the Dallas 47 with 10:39 left and the Bengals leading, 19-3.

“He got me on an out cut earlier and he had caught a skinny post on me and Kase, and Deltha had intercepted (an out route). So I was looking for the in-cut,” said Williams of the tip from secondary coach Kevin Coyle. “Coach Coyle said I wouldn’t know when it was coming, but to look for it because it was coming.”

And that’s what Williams got from Testaverde and Johnson the week after he returned a 51-yarder for a touchdown.

“When you watch veterans like Kevin Hardy and Tory James and Brian Simmons prepare, it’s a big help,” Williams said. “All those guys are encouraging. I think we feed off that. Today we had a lot of fire. Last week (the 27-20 loss in Tennessee), we kind of let it get away from us defensively. We didn’t play to our level of expectations.”

If he sounds mature, he is.

He went step for step in a lot of one-on-one coverage in the slot with Keyshawn and helped silence him on four catches for 58 yards a week after Johnson torched the Lions on touchdown catches of 26 and 36 yards.

Kids have their day

Besides Ratliff changing positions, third-rounder Landon Johnson went the whole way at middle linebacker when the Bengals appeared to rest the gimpy ankle of the other third-rounder, Caleb Miller.

Landon Johnson, whose future is outside and not in the middle, had three tackles.

Another fourth-rounder, Matthias Askew, spelled a first year guy in Langston Moore at tackle.

Larry Stevens, a rookie free agent out of Michigan promoted to the roster Friday off the practice squad, contributed two assisted tackles on special teams.

If you were a rookie on defense, you did something Sunday.

“They’ve learned a lot from our coaches,” Clemons said. “They’re putting them in a good position to take advantage of what the veterans are showing them what they need to do to win their individual battles. I think it’s a good draft.”

Williams said Johnson talked to him all day long.

“You know, just like Chad does in practice,” Williams said. “Except Chad is funnier".

Keyshawn tries to intimidate you. But he’s a great receiver. He patted me on the back (after the interception) and we shook hands after the game and he told me good luck the rest of the way. It was great competition.”

Geathers would be doing his talking after the game. His father was at the stadium, but he figured Jumpy had watched on TV and would be calling some time Sunday night.

He laughed when asked if this is one sack down and 61 more to go to catch Jumpy.

“I’d be blessed to play that long,” said the nephew on a day kids ruled.

[skyline]

Yeah, I think Lewis' picks are starting to make more sense. Give it a few years, and I don't think anyone will be questioning this group of kids...

[The_Next_Big_Thing]

All I know is he better get it figured out next draft so that we have a COMPLETE team...

[LABengalsFan09]

Defensive tackle anyone?

True Middle LB????

[HoosierCat]

Yeah, I think Lewis' picks are starting to make more sense. Give it a few years, and I don't think anyone will be questioning this group of kids...

Well, it certainly turned out to be a good year to draft for depth at LB and DB...

However, Perry's inability to get his can out onto the field is still casting a long shadow over the '04 draft.

[skyline]

Yeah, I think Lewis' picks are starting to make more sense.  Give it a few years, and I don't think anyone will be questioning this group of kids...

Well, it certainly turned out to be a good year to draft for depth at LB and DB...

However, Perry's inability to get his can out onto the field is still casting a long shadow over the '04 draft.

Yeah, definitely. We'll see how the next few years unfold...if he comes out next year and leads the league in rushing, then all will be forgotten

In case you haven't noticed...I'm somewhat optimistic

[Bobcat Bengal]

However, Perry's inability to get his can out onto the field is still casting a long shadow over the '04 draft.

[BengalNation1281]

Madieu is the man. That's all there is to that.

Robert Geathers looks like he might be the guy to line up across from Justin for the next few years. I was glad to see him do so well...his uncle is a Hall Of Famer at Wichita State University and was the last WSU player in the NFL, so I would like him no matter what. It just so happens that he happens to be pretty damn good.

I am a Keiwan Ratliff homer, and I think that he will be a force to be reckoned with in the years to come. I plan on getting a #25 jersey sometime in the near future.

I couldn't be happier with our rookies.

BN1281