Evening practice report

[IckeyShuffle]

Ok, just got back from my annual trek to Georgetown from the Nati to check out the boyz before we see them in the flesh here on friday night as they punk the defending super bowl champions again. The following are my observations:

1) The coaching staff is "oh God" so much better than what we used to have. They were professional, very confident and raising the bar on every play. Year's past I would go down and it sounded like a high school practice. In particular is the new defensive co-ordinator, he had the ears of the whole defense.

2) Stacie Andrews is a monster, literally an eclipse. I watched him on most plays and he was completely overwhelming his defensive counterparts. His feetwork was flawless and once he got his hands on defenders, they were play toys. He looks dominant and a great insurance policy right now on Willie and Levi.

3) Kelly Washington looked real sharp and I am not a big fan of him but he is easily in the top 4 receivers on this team. Very quick, big and caught everything that came his way. He had explosion that I didn't see in others. Seems very focused.

4) Chris Henry looks legit, but a rookie. Has all the tools but seemed a bit lost. Krenzel overthrew him on a deep jump ball, a Moss-like route for him. Bramlett found him in the back of the endzone and he went up and made a great snag for a TD. He may develop into something huge.

5) LB's of Simmons, Thurman and LJ are wicked fast. they flew to the ball, sideline to sideline. I can't ever remember a Bengal defense with this kind of speed. the entire defense looked quick as hell.

6) Kitna looked horrible. I love his leadership and attitude but he is limited in physical tools. He threw 3 interceptions tonight, all throwing the ball in ill-advised places with no zip on it. All 3 were easily picked and could have went the other way for 6. If Palmer goes down, Kitna is serviceable but not enough to get us to the playoffs. I would love to be wrong about this one.

7) Justin Smith did not practice, not sure if he is hurt. Carl Powell played in his DE spot.

** 8) My pleasant suprise of the night was Chris Perry. Holy Crap did he look explosive!! He was exploding through holes and cutting outside before the defense could react. They were using him in a lot of ways, running inside, running off tackle and lining up wide as a receiver. He has a very quick 1st step that shocked me. I was salivating watching him. He may be a huge X-factor for us this year. I became a Perry fan tonight.

Thats all for now, I will be at friday night's pre-season game as well and will bring a report post-game.

Who Dey.

[IckeyShuffle]

let me add a couple more things:

- Chad was back and suited up, showing no effects of a twisted ankle from this morning. He looked way quick, although did drop atleast 2 balls trying to run before he caught them.

-Peter Warrick was nowhere to be seen, regardless of what coaches said of his return on Monday.

[turnip]

A lot of times veterans underachieve in these things, especially someone like Kitna with absolutely nothing to lose. He's the best backup in the league.

That said, thanks for the observations!

[walshfan]

I too have heard that Perry has a very quick first step.. glad he's making progress

Kitna is Kitna... we know what he brings to the table regardless of how he may look in practice... he's a dependable backup at this point in his career..

Im hoping to hear more about KDub.. sounds like he has his act together.. he may just be the X factor this season!!!

[HoosierCat]

Thanks, Ickey, great report! Keep 'em coming, all you camp attendees!

[BlainThePain]

I have some questions for people observing camp. How does Jeremi Johnson look? Has he become a lot quicker since he slimmed down? How has Bryan Robinson looked at the point of attack? Does Steinbach look like a probowler now that he is completely healthy? How has Landon looked on the strong side? Has he held up well against the bigger run blockers? Does Geathers look like he could put up 10 sacks this season? Has anyone seen Tab Perry run a reverse yet? If so, how did he look? I think Tab Perry on a reverse could break some big runs for us.

[membengal]

I have some questions for people observing camp. How does Jeremi Johnson look? Has he become a lot quicker since he slimmed down? How has Bryan Robinson looked at the point of attack? Does Steinbach look like a probowler now that he is completely healthy? How has Landon looked on the strong side? Has he held up well against the bigger run blockers? Does Geathers look like he could put up 10 sacks this season? Has anyone seen Tab Perry run a reverse yet? If so, how did he look? I think Tab Perry on a reverse could break some big runs for us.

From over the weekend, there was so little running that Jeremi Johnson just wasn't on the field that much.

Bryan Robinson stood out over the weekend, and got into the backfield on several occasions, which was nice to see. They ran one reverse/handoff to a WR that I saw and it was to TJ who promptly got dropped for a five yard loss. That remains my least favorite play in Brat's playbook.

Perry looked OK over the weekend. Dropped one or two but also made himself a nice target.

Steinbach looked fine, hard to tell more than that, but I was watching Andrews more and didn't focus on him much.

[Bobcat Bengal]

Kitna is Kitna... we know what he brings to the table regardless of how he may look in practice... he's a dependable backup at this point in his career..

Dependable to blow a chance to win a game.

[Kirkendall]

Kitna is Kitna... we know what he brings to the table regardless of how he may look in practice... he's a dependable backup at this point in his career..

Dependable to blow a chance to win a game.

Oh, that's original. Wasn't Kitna 2-1 when starting last season?

[mtmeece]

6) Kitna looked horrible. I love his leadership and attitude but he is limited in physical tools. He threw 3 interceptions tonight, all throwing the ball in ill-advised places with no zip on it. All 3 were easily picked and could have went the other way for 6. If Palmer goes down, Kitna is serviceable but not enough to get us to the playoffs. I would love to be wrong about this one.

Thanks for the camp update. I went to Saturdays game and Kitna looked good so maybe he was a little off last night or maybe the defense is improving. I personally think that he has the skills and be a very good backup to Palmer. The knee brace that palmer is set to use this year seem's to have been dismissed as no big deal by many, I am a little concerned that so early in his pro career he has to wear it. We are probably going to need a ready backup for him.

[Bobcat Bengal]

Kitna is Kitna... we know what he brings to the table regardless of how he may look in practice... he's a dependable backup at this point in his career..

Dependable to blow a chance to win a game.

Oh, that's original. Wasn't Kitna 2-1 when starting last season?

Sure, I guess....

The point is, when it mattered, it didn't get done.

Who cares about the Philly and NY games honestly?

We weren't going to the playoffs, so maybe the pressure was off.

[Kirkendall]

OK, fine. But Kitna didn't blow games.

However, two games come to mind immediately, against Pittsburgh (game 1) and NY Jets that Carson threw a game ending interception -- when the season mattered.

[The_Next_Big_Thing]

Kitna is Kitna... we know what he brings to the table regardless of how he may look in practice... he's a dependable backup at this point in his career..

Dependable to blow a chance to win a game.

Oh, that's original. Wasn't Kitna 2-1 when starting last season?

Sure, I guess....

The point is, when it mattered, it didn't get done.

Who cares about the Philly and NY games honestly?

We weren't going to the playoffs, so maybe the pressure was off.

Get a grip. When it mattered, he DID get it done. He nearly took us to the playoffs two years ago, and he won 2/3rds of the games he started last year regardless of whether they mattered or not. Palmer didn't win 2/3rds of his game, but we are all behind him, right?

[mtmeece]

Which QB had the longest pass in 2003 & 2004, I think it was the one that reportedly has no arm strength and small fingers.

[Kirkendall]

Hey, plus he's the Comeback Player of the year for 2003, and AFC Offensive Player of the Month in November.

[Kirkendall]

Which QB had the longest pass in 2003 & 2004, I think it was the one that reportedly has no arm strength and small fingers.

Akili had a strong arm.

[The_Next_Big_Thing]

Which QB had the longest pass in 2003 & 2004, I think it was the one that reportedly has no arm strength and small fingers.  

Akili had a strong arm.

Yes, but Akilli Myth had no brains. The cerebral portion of the game is Kitna's speciality.

[mtmeece]

Which QB had the longest pass in 2003 & 2004, I think it was the one that reportedly has no arm strength and small fingers.  

Akili had a strong arm.

True and I thought early on he was really gonna be good

[Kirkendall]

You did?

[mtmeece]

You did?

Yeah I did. I always want things to work out and try to believe even when it's against all odds

[Bobcat Bengal]

Which QB had the longest pass in 2003 & 2004, I think it was the one that reportedly has no arm strength and small fingers.  

Akili had a strong arm.

Yes, but Akilli Myth had no brains. The cerebral portion of the game is Kitna's speciality.

So are chucking football's sidearmed and up for grabs so you can avoid a sack.

[markymark69]

I attended camp last Wednesday and was also impressed with the workouts. Chris Perry was very good that night and I liked what I saw from Quincy Wilson.

All four quarterbacks looked good. Carson was the only one that was a little off target. Chad had two outstanding catches, including grabbing one between his legs after a DB tried to pry it loose. You could also see the quickness of the LB's and three other WR's that stood out to me were Freddie Milons, Cliff Russell and Tab Perry.

The darkhorse of the DB field is Patrick Body, a rookie free agent signee from Toledo (I believe). Showed solid cover skills and was aggressive.

[Irish Bengal]

Geathers looked very good at camp. He looks quicker than last year. I think he is in his more natural position. 10 sacks maybe.

[Ickey44]

Which QB had the longest pass in 2003 & 2004, I think it was the one that reportedly has no arm strength and small fingers.  

Akili had a strong arm.

Yes, but Akilli Myth had no brains. The cerebral portion of the game is Kitna's speciality.

So are chucking football's sidearmed and up for grabs so you can avoid a sack.

Hey, Tom Brady did that last year against the Dolphins, does that make him a bad QB?

[WhoDey]

How has Kevin Walter looked in camp?