5-17-04, 12:10 p.m.
As he prepared for this week's first of three weekly on-field coaching sessions that lead up to the Bengals' mandatory June 11-13 minicamp, offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski ran through a two-minute drill with Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com and hit quickly on the topics of quarterback Carson Palmer, first-rounder Chris Perry, the wide receivers, and rookie tackle Stacy Andrews.
2:00: One of the things that came out of the rookie minicamp is that Perry looks like he'd be a perfect third down back right away while competing with Rudi Johnson for the No. 1 job.
BB: He probably is, but the true indication of that will be his ability to handle the blitzes, be a pass protector, understand our protections. You can tell he had a decent understanding of protections, but then we won't know about the actual pass pickups, being able to block the blitzing linebackers, until we get into games.
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1:47: I know he looked impressive physically, but what does he have to do to get those third-down abilities on the field?**
BB: We saw exactly what we thought. He's got quick feet and he's a good, hard worker. For the third down back in this offense, the No. 1 role is pass protection, as it is with most. When it's third down and six yards or more, you're really looking at throwing to your receivers. So a third down back has to be a protector first, then a safety valve or drop-off second, and you hope that guy can go get you yards necessary for the first down. He has the hands, he has the route-running ability. Now, can he learn the protections, and when he has to block someone is he going to able to do it?
He's shown he's willing to do it, but he's going against different cats now, some different athletes. We won't know anything about how he'll be able to block until the pads go on. The biggest thing in the coaching sessions is to learn who he has on each of the protections. In training camp and the pre-season games in pads, then hopefully he knows who he has, now can he go block them? **
1:32: What do you want to see out of Carson as he comes out of these sessions into training camp at the end of July?**
BB: We want to see an improvement from week to week. In the next four weeks, we want to give him a good blend of our offense based on situations so that we cover just about every situation that we need to in a game. We're looking for improvement on mechanics and recognizing defenses, basically just having a grasp on what we're doing.
1:17: What kind of situations? How will you break them up? By week? By day?
BB: Some two-minute drills. We'll work red-zone drills, we'll work blitz drills. Those are the main areas we feel we have to be solid and sound. Each week, one day there'll be an emphasis on the blitz, one day on red zone, one day on two-minute.
00:59: Carson took about 75 percent of the snaps in the one veterans' practice. Is that about what he'll get now?
BB: That's probably a little high. We certainly need to get the other guys some reps, but Carson will have the majority. **
00:47: The talk is of getting the ball down the field more than ever before. Is that taking advantage of the speed you have now?**
BB: We're faster with the addition of Patrick Johnson, with the improvement of Kelley Washington, with some of the young guys you talked about like (San Jose State free agent Jamall) Broussard. **
00:38: How has Washington improved?**
BB: The experience he gained last year gave him confidence. He has some technique things he has to work on. **
00:31: One of the criticisms is he rounded off his routes.**
BB: He wasn't real sharp on his break points. We have to get him sharper. He's working like he's moving in that direction. He's strong and he can run. The amount of time that he got playing last year was a big benefit to him and it will really help him going into his second year. **
00:17 Is he pushing Peter Warrick for a starting job?**
BB: He has an opportunity to. **
00:12: You drafted Mississippi tackle Stacy Andrews in the fourth round and lined him up at right tackle in the rookie minicamp. I know he's raw with just 77 college snaps, but is there a chance down the road that he could play guard?**
BB: You've got to keep him in one spot right now. With his lack of football background, we need to get him blocked into just one spot. Down the road, it will depend on his comfort level, but right now the best thing for him is to learn one spot. **
00:05 He's so impressive physically. It looked like the few times he lined up against somebody, it was no contest.**
BB: Extremely impressive size and athleticism wise. Where he'll get caught right now is with his techniques. A lesser athletic guy will beat him now because he doesn't use the proper footwork and techniques. There are a lot of pieces missing in his game because he has played such a limited number of snaps.
