Spaghetti…

For a run-first team, the Bengals have invested a significant portion of their 2010 draft in potential targets for Carson Palmer. Is this a surprise? Not really if you have been a follower of the Bengals and their drafting philosophy. It’s like the old cliché, they throw spaghetti against the wall and hope that some sticks. This is why they have 11 wide receivers on their current roster if you include their 3^rd round pick from Texas, Jordan Shipley and their 6^th round pick from Kansas, Dez (not Bryant) Briscoe.

In the Bengals defense, the selection of tight end Jermaine Gresham with their first round pick is something that can hardly be criticized. They had a gaping hole at the position and he was far and away the best tight end in the draft. You can argue that this gaping hole was only created due to their inability to draft a TE that could block last year, but that’s another column for another day. Now it’s up to Bob Bratkowski to find the long lost TE portion of the playbook so that they can avoid turning a talented TE into a bust because they couldn’t use him properly.

To refresh those unfamiliar…the Bengals draft philosophy consists of 3 major tenets:

• Draft a player from USC, Georgia, and/or Michigan. There must be some solid relationships or leverage with these 3 schools as you have to go back to 2002 (before Carson Palmer) to find a draft without a pick from at least 1 of these schools.
• Draft a player from a non-Division 1 school. Abeliene Christian, Appalachian State, Eastern Illinois, Villanova, Mars Hill Academy…
• Draw a circle with a 4 hour driving radius around Paul Brown Stadium and select from players within that circle and/or pull from a conference that one of your radio announcers and former players covers on a weekly basis.

When you have the smallest scouting department in the NFL, this is the philosophy that you use. Amazingly, this has only failed about 50% of the time, more than most NFL teams but far less than it may be expected to when you are shopping at the dollar store while the rest of the league shops on Rodeo Drive.

Going back to the mess the Bengals have at the wide receiver position; a position that they used in about 40% of their plays last season, the Bengals will have to narrow their current 11 down to six. Likely this will mean disposing of several recent draft picks, but this is nothing new for the Bengals as they have whiffed at the wide receiver more than any other position. Want proof? Since the home run draft of 2001 where the Bengals drafted Chad Ochocinco and T.J. Houshmanzadeh the Bengals have drafted 12 wide receivers. They can be categorized as such:

2010 draft choices (2): Shipley, Briscoe

On the roster and productive (1): Andre Caldwell

On the roster (2): Freddie Brown, Jerome Simpson

Traded (2): Tab Perry, Kelley Washington

Released due to injury, performance or irresponsibility (4): Mario Urrutia, Reggie McNeal, Bennie Brazell, Maurice Mann

Deceased (1): Chris Henry

Judge this list as you see fit. I judge it as a lot of spaghetti falling off the wall.

So to summarize where the Bengals are now and where they will be when they walk into Gillette Stadium to kick off the season against the Patriots, here are the strands that will have to be sifted through in some particular order:

1. Chad Ochocinco – Literally the entire passing offense. Any outside observer can see that the passing plays that are handed to Carson have two options: 1) throw to Chad, 2) Improvise.
2. Andre Caldwell – Despite being the fastest WR on the team according to sources, somehow he doesn’t have the tools to be a #2 wide out so the Bengals are relegating him to a 3^rd, possession-type receiver. Something that he has taken to quite well.
3. Jordan Shipley – Put up terrific numbers at one of the best college football programs in the country (Texas), decent speed, great hands and also adds versatility as a kick off returner.
4. Quan Cosby – See Jordan Shipley, verbatim.
5. Dezmon Briscoe – A step down from the former Texas receivers commensurate with his draft position, also he left Kansas after his junior year so while he has the skills, he is younger albeit slightly bigger than his Longhorn counterparts.
6. Matt Jones – Assuming his drug arrest days are behind him, a formidable goal line weapon at 6’ 6” along with Gresham. If he’s in shape and cleaned up, he should be on the roster.
7. Antonio Bryant – Can you say Laveraneus Coles Part II? Same bad contract, same declining skills, worse attitude. Three teams have parted ways with him for various attitude reasons, plus sources say he’s carrying a few more lbs. than what he’s used to having. So am I, but I’m not getting $7 million a year to catch 2 or 3 passes a game.
8. Jerome Simpson – What can you say? Grading him is impossible since he can’t seem to get on the field for whatever reason the coaching staff comes up with at the time. The Bengals are doing a great job proving that they over-reached for him two years ago in the draft. Zero NFL games.
9. Freddie Brown – Last year’s late round pick from Utah. Zero NFL games.
10. Maurice Purify – Back and forth, on and off the practice squad. Must have the skills to stick around but no other team seems to see them. Played in 5 games last year and contributed on special teams in his first year as a pro. Zero NFL catches.
11. Chris Davis – Picked up from the Tennessee Titans after being released with an injury settlement after the 2008 season. Not on an NFL roster in 2009. Seven NFL catches in 2 seasons.

A lot of spaghetti will be falling off the wall this year as the Bengals will possibly part ways with a 2008 (Simpson), 2009 (Brown), and maybe even a 2010 (Briscoe) draft pick when they cut the roster down to 53 players. Although my particular order is very unlikely to reflect the final six WR on the squad, the other five spots besides Chad’s are irrelevant if the creativity of the offense is unchanged.

One last thought, given this utter lack of progress from any draft pick made at the wide receiver position in the last five years isn’t it time to take a closer look in how this position is being developed and coached within? Mike Sheppard is listed as the Bengals wide receiver coach…I had to look that up because I’ve never heard that name. With six picks made in the last 3 drafts at wide receiver, maybe it’s time to learn it given the investment that the Bengals have made in the position.