Bengals tidbits

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Cincy

5/15/05

QB Meyer makes his pitch

Bengals rookie minicamp gives former baseball star a chance

BY MARK CURNUTTE | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

<!--ARTICLE BODY TEXT-->With the shortage of pitching in baseball these days and the watered-down talent pool because of expansion, Erik Meyer - at age 23 - could be in the Major Leagues by now.
Drafted by the Reds out of La Marida High School near Los Angeles, Meyer chose instead to attend Eastern Washington and play quarterback.
This weekend, while the Reds finished a three-game series with Philadelphia just down the riverfront from Paul Brown Stadium, Meyer was the only quarterback throwing the football at the Bengals' rookie minicamp.
He is buried in the fifth spot of five quarterbacks on the depth chart - behind Carson Palmer, Anthony Wright, Doug Johnson and Craig Krenzel.
But Meyer wouldn't trade places and be pitching right now, even with the Reds, Giants or Cubs - all teams that either drafted him or offered him a contract.
"Football is love. Coming out of high school, I thought I could live without playing baseball. But I couldn't see myself not playing football," said Meyer, who received a $5,000 signing bonus to sign a rookie free-agent contract April 30 with the Bengals.
"Football is just a passion of mine. I can't ever see it not being a part of my life."
He considered the Reds' offer, although he was a 37th-round draft pick in 2001.
As a high school junior and senior, Meyer went 17-3 as a right-handed pitcher with a fastball clocked in the low-90s. But the dream of playing college football and taking a shot at the NFL was too much to pass up for the quarterback who idolized Brett Favre. No Division I college recruited Meyer.
"I considered it," Meyer said of the Reds' deal. "Coming out of high school, you have a scholarship then you have money. There's something about football that's part of my life I can't give up."
As a high school senior, Meyer led his team to a 12-1 regular-season record and accounted for 46 touchdowns (38 passing, eight rushing). La Mirada won its first two playoff games, scoring 93 points in the process, before losing in a semifinal.
Fast forward to February 2006: Following a final season at Eastern Washington, where he threw for 4,003 yards and 30 touchdowns and completed 65.6 percent of his passes, Meyer won the Walter Payton Award as the top player in Division I-AA football. Then he was invited to the annual scouting combine, where of the 20 quarterbacks to run, he was the only one to place in the top seven of each mobility and speed category.
He was not drafted, though.
"Going into the draft, I told myself not to expect anything," Meyer said. "My goal was to get into a camp. Crazy things can happen. Not getting drafted wasn't even a disappointment for me."
He's thrilled to be at Bengals rookie minicamp and hopes to impress coaches and team executives enough to stick around for a while.
"The quarterback did a good job for us," Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said after the first two minicamp practices.
Baseball remains an option, though the window might be closing. The Cubs wanted to draft him in the seventh round out of high school. The Giants selected Meyer in each of the previous two drafts following a workout for their scouts. He threw 95 mph.
"It crosses my mind every now and then," Meyer said of the baseball career he passed up. "I'm a big Angels fan, and seeing them in the World Series and seeing Francisco Rodriquez pitch at 20, 21, yeah, it crossed my mind.
"But I love what I do. I love playing football and (it) will be a part of my life until the day I die."
E-mail mcurnutte@enquirer.com

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

5/16/06

Bengals send Krenzel, Hamby packing

Tuesday, May 16, 2006

Bill Rabinowitz
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

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Ryan Hamby was leaving Paul Brown Stadium yesterday as former Ohio State teammate Craig Krenzel was pulling into the parking lot.

Hamby didn’t pause to chat because he was on the phone with his agent, discussing his next move after the Cincinnati Bengals released him at the end of the team’s rookie minicamp.

Hamby was surprised to have been cut, but the tight end was even more stunned when Krenzel called him a half-hour later to say he’d been released as well.

Krenzel declined to comment about his release, but an NFL source said it was related to a recently sustained arm injury.

Krenzel spent the 2005 season with the Bengals, who claimed him off waivers from the Chicago Bears last June. After winning a competition with Casey Bramlet in the preseason, Krenzel served as Cincinnati’s third-string quarterback behind Carson Palmer and Jon Kitna. He did not see any game action.

This year, Krenzel would have faced more competition for a roster spot.

With Palmer rehabbing from a serious knee injury, the Bengals signed veterans Anthony Wright and Doug Johnson. In addition, Cincinnati signed rookie free-agent Erik Meyer, a record-setting Division I-AA quarterback from Eastern Washington.

Krenzel, who helped lead Ohio State to the 2002 national championship, was a fifth-round pick by the Bears in 2004. Injuries thrust him into the lineup. Despite mediocre statistics, Krenzel won his first three starts for Chicago. An ankle injury ended his season, and the Bears cut Krenzel after drafting Kyle Orton last year.

Hamby, a Cincinnati native, said he had no inkling he would be cut. He was signed as a free agent hours after the NFL draft.

"The NFL is a cutthroat business," Hamby said. "To me, it’s frustrating to cut me without even getting to put on the pads.

"I had a good rookie minicamp. I didn’t drop a ball and blocked OK. I do think I should be in a camp and do think I should be playing in the NFL, especially after this weekend, getting a feel for what it’s like."

Tight end Darnell Sanders is the only former Ohio State player remaining on the Bengals’ roster. Cincinnati begins the first of its voluntary on-field workouts today.

brabinowitz@dispatch.com

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Cincy

5/17/06

New QBs get feel for things

Wright, Johnson learning team's offense as Palmer continues rehab

BY KEVIN KELLY | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

<!--ARTICLE BODY TEXT-->Carson Palmer wore tennis shoes, gray sweat pants and a layered T-shirt look to the Paul Brown Stadium practice field Tuesday.

The Bengals held the first of 12 voluntary full-squad workouts leading to next month's minicamp, and the team's injured starting quarterback ran wind sprints or jogged around the field during much of the on-field session.

Palmer did manage to ease in alongside new backups Anthony Wright and Doug Johnson, who will guide the offense until Palmer can return from reconstructive surgery on his left knee, for a few throws during warm-ups.

"He's doing fine," Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis said. "Everything has been progressing just as we expected."

While the two-hour workout provided a glimpse into Palmer's ongoing recovery from the January surgery, it also served as the first chance Wright and Johnson have had since signing this offseason to test-drive the Bengals' high-octane offense.

They alternated snaps.

"Having the kind of talent they have, it kind of reminds me of the early (1990s) when the Cowboys were doing what they were doing," said Wright, who started 14 games and played in 16 overall with the Ravens over the past four seasons. "It's going to be exciting to see. I had a chance to watch it on film and watched on the field last year. To be able to be here and be a part of it is going to be exciting."

The Bengals signed both players to one-year contracts - Johnson in February and Wright last month - and probably will take four quarterbacks to training camp in July.

Free-agent rookie Erik Meyer did not attend Tuesday's workout as he returned to Eastern Washington University to honor school commitments.

"You look around the league and there are usually three or four (quarterbacks) in camp," Johnson said. "We're real happy with the number of reps we're getting.

"I think it's actually a real smart thing for two new guys coming in."

Johnson spent the first two games of the 2005 season with the Browns before being released.

The 28-year-old has made 11 career starts, all with the Falcons, and in 25 career games has completed 56.8 percent of his passes for 2,600 yards with 13 touchdown passes and 18 interceptions.

"I'm just a piece of the puzzle trying to be the best player I can be so if my number is called I can go out there, plug in and there won't be a letdown," Johnson said. "When Carson is ready, he'll be back in there. We're going to try and hold the fort down until that day comes."

Wright played in nine games, starting seven, last season with the Ravens and posted career highs in passing yards (1,582), attempts (266), completions (164) and completion percentage (61.7).

Because he signed in late April, Wright has had to learn the Bengals' playbook in a hurry.

"Today was a little easier than I anticipated because of the fact (quarterbacks coach Ken) Zampese has been drilling me for the last three weeks," he said. "He's pretty much brought me up to speed with the offense. That made it a lot easier to be able to go in and perform today, and play like I kind of knew what I was doing even though I'm still learning."

Zampese has spent as many as six hours a day reviewing the offense with Wright. There are tests and a checkerboard Zampese uses to display formations.

"Just drilling the offense into my head," Wright said, "so I can get some of the old stuff that I had in Baltimore out of my head and put this in."
The workouts, which are part of organized team activity days, also allow the offensive line time to familiarize itself with the new quarterbacks.

Right tackle Willie Anderson said the offensive linemen met with Wright and Johnson before Tuesday's workout to talk about cadence. It also was an opportunity to make both quarterbacks feel comfortable around them.

"I think the more you talk to these guys, the more you have conversations with these guys, the better they'll feel," Anderson said. "We talked about the cadence today, didn't go into anything in-depth about that. That's just something subtle we do."

E-mail kkelly@enquirer.com

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[studepaber]

*shudders* I'm optimistically thinking (and hoping) Palmer will be ready by the opening game. He's not much of a runner or scrambler anyway, but when he does play I'll be a nervous wreck when I see him take his first big hit. I pray to all that is holy in Bengaldom that Wright or Johnson don't have to start, but if that's the case maybe they'll give Rudi 50 + carries per game

[GoBucks89]

Originally Posted by studepaber

*shudders* I'm optimistically thinking (and hoping) Palmer will be ready by the opening game. He's not much of a runner or scrambler anyway, but when he does play I'll be a nervous wreck when I see him take his first big hit. I pray to all that is holy in Bengaldom that Wright or Johnson don't have to start, but if that's the case maybe they'll give Rudi 50 + carries per game

This situtation reminds me of OSU's 1984 season, when Mike Tomczak was trying to come back from a broken leg. They had Karsatos in there for the first three games but Tomczak took over from there and never showed any after-effects of the injury.

I have confidence in Anthony Wright if Palmer can't make it opening day. He did pretty well with the Ravens. They were foolish to let him go.

[LoKyBuckeye]

LINK

Former NFL, Northeastern tight end Ross dead at 49

Associated Press

HAVERHILL, Mass. (AP) - Dan Ross, who set the record for most Super Bowl receptions with the Bengals in 1982, has died. He was 49.

The former tight end collapsed at his home in Atkinson, N.H., shortly after returning from a jog Tuesday evening, Northeastern's sports information department said. He was taken to Merrimack Valley Hospital in Haverhill, where he died.
Ross, who starred for the Huskies and was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2004, was drafted 30th overall by Cincinnati in 1979 and spent parts of six seasons with the Bengals. His best season came in 1981, when he set career highs with 71 catches for 910 yards and five touchdowns while helping the Bengals to their first AFC championship.

Ross made a Super Bowl-record 11 catches for 104 yards and two touchdowns in the Bengals' 26-21 loss to the San Francisco 49ers in 1982. Jerry Rice and Deion Branch have since tied the mark.

Ross had a total of 263 receptions for 3,204 yards and 16 TDs with the Bengals. He also played for the Seattle Seahawks and finished his career in 1986 with the Green Bay Packers. Ross played in the USFL for the New Orleans/Portland Breakers from 1984-85.

He still holds the Northeastern record for receptions in a season with 68 and is second on the all-time list in career receptions and yards receiving.

"His specialty was attracting crowds and still hanging onto the football," the university said in a statement. "His tremendous power, concentration, hands, blocking ability and open field running added up to one of the most exciting athletes to ever take the gridiron in New England."

Ross is survived by his wife, Joan, and two children Dan Jr., 22, and Jillian, 23.

[studepaber]

Originally Posted by GoBucks89

He did pretty well with the Ravens.

I guess, but he was BACKUP to Kyle Boller, you can't get much lower than that. Maybe a different play scheme will suit Wright better in Cincy, he already said he favors Cincy's strategy/playbook over Baltimore's (what a surprise). If Palmer were unable to start though, I'd take Wright over Johnson anyday. Besides do we really need another Johnson on the field?