Palmer on Gresham: " I don't see a weakness."

[Salt City Sooner]

While wide receiver Chad Ochocinco has been Dancing With The Stars, Bob Bratkowski has been grappling with the Xs and Os. And the reality is when the Bengals offensive coordinator has gone back to the blackboard, there has been some beautiful music.

After Bratkowski went into the cutting room to dissect his scheme last offseason, he emerged with an award-winning running game that helped cook up an AFC North title. He can only hope the final product from this offseason’s editing of the pass offense is just as compelling.

He finally gets all the pieces in place off the blackboard next week when The Ocho checks in for the first time and participates in the mandatory minicamp Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday that closes the Bengals until the opening of training camp in late July.

“He’ll be behind; he’ll pick some of the stuff up,” Bratkowski said of The Ocho, the Bengals’ all-time leading receiver. “Some of it is just named a little differently. Some of the formations are called a little differently. He’ll pick it up quick enough.”

The revamped running game went from No. 29 in 2008 to No. 9 in the NFL last season and if the Bengals can get a similar rise from last year’s seventh worst pass offense, quarterback Carson Palmer is going to be a happy man.

After Thursday’s last voluntary practice of the spring, Palmer said he’s still adjusting to the revised passing playbook. Although he called it the biggest offseason change to the passing game in his six seasons as the starter, Palmer said Bratkowski didn’t completely overhaul it. But because the running game is the smaller portion of the scheme, there has been more of a mental burden this offseason because the passing game is so extensive.

Palmer says The Ocho is going to be looking at a batch of new bits (“he’ll have a lot to learn”), but he also knows the opener in New England is 94 days away.

“We put in a number of new concepts, new terms. The playbook has changed quite a bit,” Palmer said. “I’m still learning, still progressing in it. We’ve got plenty of time to keep working on it and when he gets back in shape and gets back in the flow of things, we’ll still have enough time to be ready for the season opener.”

Palmer didn’t have The Ocho in last year’s camps, either, and while Ochocinco didn’t have his usual 1,400-yard season, the passing game also didn’t have the emphasis it had in years past or in this one, or T.J. Houshmandzadeh and the late Chris Henry, hurt for half the season. Ochocinco still had nine touchdowns and his seventh 1,000-yard season with 1,045 yards.

“It’s one thing to jog and run around. Until you run routes against a defense, it takes awhile,” Palmer said. “He’s a veteran guy. He’ll get the rust off and be ready to roll when he’s ready to roll."

Palmer admitted it would be nice for the new pass offense to have had Ochocinco here for the 12 OTAs simply because there is no clear-cut No. 1 without him here.

“Maybe they’re trying to find a new No. 1 receiver,” said Palmer of the workouts that don’t have The Ocho.

Free agent Antonio Bryant has been learning the offense as well as adjusting to playing different positions. Little-used third-year receiver Jerome Simpson has been playing The Ocho’s X spot on the weak side like Henry did last spring. Third-year man Andre Caldwell and rookie Jordan Shipley are getting a lot of snaps in the slot while working with Palmer.

“It’s hard to work your offense without (Ohcocinco),” Palmer said. “Antonio has been playing some spots. Shipley has been making some plays in some spots. It’s hard to say because we’re looking for our No. 2 and No. 3 receivers without our No. 1 receiver.”

But Palmer says the Bengals are in better shape passing than they were last year at this time when they went into the mandatory minicamp. He called ’09 “a mess” in a spring Houshmandzadeh was gone, the little-used Simpson and the free-agent Laveranues Coles struggled, and Henry worked at a spot he didn’t play during the season.

Palmer has been pleased with what he sees from the rookies Shipley and tight end Jermaine Gresham, two guys that will be as scrutinized as The Ocho next week. Also under the microscope is another free-agent receiver in Matt Jones, a guy that has impressed Palmer with his speed.

Palmer also continues to be high on Gresham.

"I don't know if there is anything that any tight end in this league does that he can't potentially do," Palmer said. "Not that he's mastered anything yet. Not that he's got everything down. But I don't see a weakness. If he had to play in Pittsburgh's offense and block a guy every single time and run little quick seam routes, out routes, he could do that. If he played in Denver's offense and got to run a lot of routes, he could do that.

“The sky's the limit for him. God has given him the natural physical tools and ability to do anything in this league. He's given a lot of guys that. The next step is those guys maximize their physical potential and that's all in the heard and in the heart. And if he's got that, which I think he does, then the sky's the limit."

But Palmer was also very quick to underscore just how hard it is to evaluate anyone while not wearing pads. And just how far away this season truly is.

“There are no pads yet; he hasn’t played in a game yet,” he said of Gresham. “A lot of guys look great. I think he’ll be a great player. He’s got all the potential in the world. (But) we’ve got a long way to go before our minds are made up on anybody. We’ve got the preseason, minicamp and training camp.”

http://www.bengals.com/news/article-1/Bengals-hope-pass-catches-run/1e5ba56b-960f-46ba-aeb9-2e7734175db0

[Sooner Among The Pack]

Glad to see Jermaine is on the track to fulfilling his potential. He was one of my favorite players throughout the entire Stoops era.

[goingoneight]

I still can't believe people around these parts thought his hands were a weakness. The guy is only the best receiving TE we've had since KJ, and statistically better (for obvious reasons, wishbone versus pro-style offense). He's the reason OUr average WRs in 2008 put up monster stats as they we're playing single-coverage damn near every down all year long.

[icmwhOU72]

I think of all the plays that gresham made the one i will remeber most was his freshman year in the big 12 title game against neb and it was third and 10 from our own three and we were in a jumbo set and ran play action pass to him and he caught it and made like 20 yards and that drive lead to a huge TD.

[Sooner Among The Pack]

I still can't believe people around these parts thought his hands were a weakness. The guy is only the best receiving TE we've had since KJ, and statistically better (for obvious reasons, wishbone versus pro-style offense). He's the reason OUr average WRs in 2008 put up monster stats as they we're playing single-coverage damn near every down all year long.

His hands are great now, but I remember at the start of his sophomore campaign, he had a very light case of the dropsies. I remember him juggling a ball specifically against Miami in 2007 and somehow coming up with it.

[cheezyq]

I still can't believe people around these parts thought his hands were a weakness. The guy is only the best receiving TE we've had since KJ, and statistically better (for obvious reasons, wishbone versus pro-style offense). He's the reason OUr average WRs in 2008 put up monster stats as they we're playing single-coverage damn near every down all year long.

Film. There are times where he fumbles/fights the ball when it should be a simple catch, and times where he lets the ball get into his body. Those can become problems in the NFL where they aren't so much in college.

Ideally, you always catch the ball with your hands and it looks easy. While Gresham has had issues with that, he also does a great job of using his hands sometimes. Given that, I think he'll overcome the other issues and be a fine TE. But it will take some time, because he's fighting a tendency.

[Mad Dog Madsen]

I always thought he had great hands. I don't remember him dropping many passes and he always made the big catch when we needed him too.

[cheezyq]

I always thought he had great hands. I don't remember him dropping many passes and he always made the big catch when we needed him too.

That's kind of the "Catch 22" about film study. He catches most of his passes, but a lot of the NFL scouts focus more on HOW he catches the passes. They anticipate the way he catches the football could be an issue in the NFL where things happen faster.

[rawlingsHOH]

I still can't believe people around these parts thought his hands were a weakness. The guy is only the best receiving TE we've had since KJ, and statistically better (for obvious reasons, wishbone versus pro-style offense). He's the reason OUr average WRs in 2008 put up monster stats as they we're playing single-coverage damn near every down all year long.


I always thought he had great hands. I don't remember him dropping many passes and he always made the big catch when we needed him too.

lots of easy drops his soph year, 07

much better in 08, but still had the most on team, i believe. just cuz eldridge had so few thrown his way!

[Salt City Sooner]

I was watching the '08 Tech game the other day, & he dropped a sure TD in that one. Fortunately it didn't cost the guys anything as the next play was when Iggy caught that little slant & faked half of the Tech D out of their collective jocks on his way to the end zone.

[SoonerJack]

I liked the '08 Tech game. A lot.

Sigh.

[Sooner Among The Pack]

I liked the '08 Tech game. A lot.

Sigh.

Seconded. I especially liked the 2nd quarter...what a night.

[Mad Dog Madsen]

^^^I was there! One of the loudest games I've been to.

[Collier11]

Ochocinco just tweeted that Gresham looks "F'n awesome" :D

[sooner59]

Nice!

[CobraKai]

I think of all the plays that gresham made the one i will remeber most was his freshman year in the big 12 title game against neb and it was third and 10 from our own three and we were in a jumbo set and ran play action pass to him and he caught it and made like 20 yards and that drive lead to a huge TD.

Great play. My other favorite was his "tipped ball touchdown" against OSU.

[Salt City Sooner]

Another great read:


Young man hurried

By GEOFF HOBSON


Jermaine Gresham is the classic young man in a hurry. He has spent the last six weeks listening to elders like Carson Palmer, Reggie Kelly and Jon Hayes counseling him to let the big plays come to him because it is the only way with a playbook bigger than you've ever seen.

There is no question everyone down at Paul Brown Stadium feels Gresham is a tremendous talent who is going to help. In their 22 workouts since the draft, Gresham and wide receiver Jordan Shipley are the two most important guys that have flashed the things the Bengals thought they had. But when they do it for real is everyone's guess, too.

Palmer, the two-time Pro Bowl quarterback, says to Gresham, "Young buck, just slow down. It will come eventually."

Kelly, the 12th-year tight end battling with the kid for the starting job, tells him, "You know what, young buck? Rome wasn't built in a day. You don't go to the Super Bowl in a day. We'll get better every day. You'll get better every day. You just have to make sure you understand what we're doing."

Hayes, the Bengals tight ends coach who played the position in 184 NFL games in a dozen seasons, pulls Gresham aside and barks, "We're not going to burn the boats. Don't panic. We're doing this for a reason. We want you to understand it."

But Gresham is just 22 years old and conscientious. So you know how that goes. It is almost like he has gone in motion flush into the Bengals fan base and knows the last time a Cincinnati tight end went to the Pro Bowl was, well, 20 years ago.

"I haven't made enough plays to help the team out," Gresham said after Thursday's last practice of the spring. "The big problem for me is I want it to come so fast I want to make the big play right now."

So do Bengals fans. Palmer has never had a tight end catch more than 31 balls in a season (Kelly in 2008). Or 254 yards in a season (J.P. Foschi in 2009). Or average more than 12.1 yards per catch in a season (Kelly in 2006). Or catch more than four touchdowns in a season (Matt Schobel in 2004).

The consensus is that because of his talent and the way offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski is going to use him, the 6-5, 261-pound Gresham is going to shatter those numbers. The question is "When?" with the subplot of Gresham's ability to grasp a position that save for Palmer himself has the most responsibilities and assignments on offense. Hayes, like everyone else around here, has a pretty good idea the Bengals have a fine player on the move but he's not doling out timelines.

"We're in a good situation now because when you give him as much as we've given him, you reach a saturation point and we're about there," said Hayes, who has Gresham one more week before he goes on summer vacation. "Now is a good time for him to go back and look through his notebook when he goes back home. And I told him, 'You have to take it upon yourself. You have to quiz yourself. When you're running a route, you have to say, What is going on with this play?' "

The nice thing is that Gresham will do all that because he cares. There are three things that have stood about Gresham: His size. His hands. His earnestness.

You've got to like his honesty, too. When asked if he'll hold out, he makes no billboard "Absolutely Not" pronouncements. He says, quite rationally and maturely, that he wants to be on the field but that is up to his agent "and the people upstairs."

"I just care about football," he said. "Everybody needs to know I'm getting ready to play football.

"I can tell right now it's not the same as college. You can't just use the brute strength. You have to be smart about the game technique-wise. You've got to be sharp on those things."

Gresham says the playbook is completely different than what he had at Oklahoma. He says he never shifted or moved like this before the snap, not even half the time like this in college. In fact, he says, everything is twice as much up here.

"I had problems with it early," Gresham said. "But now I think the repetition and Coach Hayes and Coach Brat showing me a lot of different things and Carson talking to me all the time, I think it's going real well."

He says Palmer has been constantly in his ear about formations and routes and with pass protection such a key part of the tight end's job, Gresham has been all ears.

"Great quarterback; one of the best," Gresham said. "Hasn't disappointed me. He has a real strong arm. I didn't know it was that strong."

Palmer may be Gresham's biggest fan but Kelly is his biggest mentor. And more than just football. Kelly married his high school sweetheart right out of Mississippi State, has two kids, and thinks a big night out is getting a babysitter. Gresham thinks they're similar.

"He tells me don't live that fast life," Gresham says with a smile. "It comes and it goes. Just focus on football. We're country. He's Mississippi. I'm Oklahoma. Back woods."

Hayes smiles, too.

"Yes and no," he said when asked if they're similar guys. "(Gresham) has a little bit of fox in him ... but he's a great kid. The one thing about this kid: He loves football. He loves to be on the field."

By all accounts the 33-year-old Kelly has come back from his ruptured Achilles in fine form. It looks like the one year off has done him wonders and he's been telling Gresham how to take care of his body.

"I'm surprised not how much he tells me, but how much he knows," Gresham said. "You ask him about anything and he's got an answer for you. He tells me, 'Young buck, get in the cold tub. Take care of your body. It's a long season. See a massage person. See a chiropractor.'

"Reggie tells me what to do in this formation. What to do on this play. How to block this level right here. He tells me things you wouldn't expect to know as a rookie, but he's already done it."

What the Bengals want Gresham to do is continually win the mismatches that their last Pro Bowl tight end did when Rodney Holman roamed the middle. And how Gresham wreaked havoc at Oklahoma. What they like is his confidence in those matchups.

"They put me on a backer down the field or out on a safety with a wiggle move or someting like that," he said. "Football is football. It's mano on mano, so I feel good about it."

In six weeks Hayes has seen enough to think Gresham is going to be OK, but there is always the qualifier: "You never know until we get out of pajamas and get into pads," Hayes said.

But, he also says, "He's a stout blocker and one thing about this guy is that he's a physical player."

And the young buck appears to be figuring it out.

"If I just learn the offense," Gresham said, "the rest will eventually come."
http://www.bengals.com/assets/clubimages/articles/2010/gresham_minicamp100616_440.jpg




http://www.bengals.com/news/article-1/Young-man-hurried/3bd1a990-1c1b-419a-9701-cdf5d962f910

[Mad Dog Madsen]

^^^Great read!

[KantoSooner]

When I think of what last year could have been, it makes me want to throw up. Good Lord, Bradford to Gresham! We didn't know what we had until it was gone!

[NormanPride]

Oh, we knew. That combo was what made the '08 offense so amazing. You think it was Manny and Iggy? They were stellar, but Gresham was what killed teams.

[swardboy]

Sounds like he's getting great support up there. I'm glad he's with an established QB, but Cleveland....blech. Maybe he'll overshadow LeBron eventually!

[stoopified]

lots of easy drops his soph year, 07

much better in 08, but still had the most on team, i believe. just cuz eldridge had so few thrown his way!Bingo.JG used to let a lot of passes bounce off his pads.He has improved and I wish him the best.

[stoopified]

BTW Trent Smith is the best patch catching TE since KJ,NOT Gresham.

[diegosooner]

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=Antv5xzfADWyZ1NjXpiRg.hDubYF?slug=ys-undersurveillancebengals061910

[Salt City Sooner]

Sounds like he's getting great support up there. I'm glad he's with an established QB, but Cleveland....blech. Maybe he'll overshadow LeBron eventually!
The Cleveland Bengals? Dang, I gotta start keepin' up.

[stonecoldsoonerfan]

The Cleveland Bengals? Dang, I gotta start keepin' up.

in more ways than one....;)

[swardboy]

Ok, Cincy....blech....

and neg spekkers have little wee wees.