BENGALS 2007 2ND ROUND PICK KENNY IRONS

[The Scales]

Lot of Highly devolped psychics on this board, i guess it's time to sterilize the wound and torch my Chris Perry Rookie Card.

Don't try and stop me.

[Jungle1]

Why take another RB with durability issues?

[Guest ONYX]

[color="#FF0000"][b]Guys, I'm calling this out now, by midseason, all those who are hating this pick now, will change their tune.[/b][/color]

[Jungle1]

Marvin just said on ESPN Chris Perry is a question mark with his injury.

Said they want to continue adding D, but the run on D players made Irons BPA

[The Scales]

I like the part about "ability to cutback," although i'm merly taking someones word, who i don't know by the way, i like that little bit. Seen a bit too much of the ol "golly i'll just run into the back of levi, close my eyes and hope all goes well"

[Guest oldschooler]

Video of Irons . . .

[url="http://video.yahoo.com/video/play?vid=1113558892&fr=b1ie7"]http://video.yahoo.com/video/play?vid=1113...92&fr=b1ie7[/url]

[EnglishBengal]

I don't blame the Bengals for doing the unexpected with Durant, Weddle, and Miller off the board. They were caught between a rock and a hard place. THE BENGALS ALWAYS TAKE THE BPA AVAILABLE ON THEIR BOARD - PEOPLE ON THIS BOARD FORGET THAT.

I would rather have had Piscitelli, and Irons has had injuries. Perry was supposed to be durable coming out of college and looked what happened. I just hope this guy stays on the field long enough to show up and help us.

[Guest Bengals1181]

There wasn't an abundance of defense options at this pick.


This may have been a good spot to trade down and get a 3rd.


Or someone like Sabby Pescatelli or Quinn Pitcock

[Guest oldschooler]

He even wears Chris Perry`s number . . .

[spicoli22]

[quote name='EnglishBengal' post='478250' date='Apr 28 2007, 07:30 PM']I would rather have had Piscitelli, and Irons has had injuries. Perry was supposed to be durable coming out of college and looked what happened. I just hope this guy stays on the field long enough to show up and help us.[/quote]

The guy had a few nicks and bruises that he tried to play thru during his senior year. No big deal. He still managed to rush for over 1200 yards. He was injury free every year prior...

[Guest ONYX]

[quote name='oldschooler' post='478256' date='Apr 28 2007, 08:35 PM']He even wears Chris Perry`s number . . .[/quote]

[color="#FF0000"][b]That #23 will be his soon, because Perry will either be cut, traded or in the hospital before the season is over.[/b][/color]

[The Scales]

I'd hope the Bengal think tank tries to find a happy place between Best Available and need.

[Rumble In the Jungle]

[quote name='sneaky' post='478239' date='Apr 28 2007, 08:23 PM'][color="#FF0000"][b]Guys, I'm calling this out now, by midseason, all those who are hating this pick now, will change their tune.[/b][/color][/quote]

[b]im not, i like it. i wanted a RB, not sure him but i wanted a RB. we'll see how he does, but that says a lot about how they feel about chris perry. i wonder how he feels about it right about now [/b]

[Guest ONYX]

[quote name='Rumble in the Jungle' post='478263' date='Apr 28 2007, 08:39 PM'][b]im not, i like it. i wanted a RB, not sure him but i wanted a RB. we'll see how he does, but that says a lot about how they feel about chris perry. i wonder how he feels about it right about now [/b][/quote]

[color="#FF0000"][b]I'm sure Perry, sprained his labia after hearing the news.[/b][/color]

[WildKat]

hes got a cool name too.

[Guest oldschooler]

[quote][size=5][b]Hall in with RB Irons at No. 2 [/b][/size]
By GEOFF HOBSON
April 28, 2007


Updated: 7:15 p.m.


After a season where nothing seemed to break right for the Bengals (injuries, Tampa Bay, a 39-yard field goal whiff), the first round of the NFL Draft may have turned things for 2007 when it appears they got handed at least their Opening Day nickel cornerback.

Then after they took Michigan's Leon Hall, the Bengals pulled a surprise by going offense with Auburn running back Kenny Irons, indicating the club's concern with injured Chris Perry.

Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis indicated part of the reason for drafting Irons was the questionable status of Perry since he's not expected to be ready for training camp.

"He gives us firepower, he makes people miss. This is the best talent that was there," Lewis said.

Running backs coach Jim Anderson says Irons is cleary a different runner than bell cow Rudi Johnson, a fellow Auburn alum The 5-10, 200-pound Irons, who Anderson compares to another Auburn Bengal back in James Brooks, brings some home-run potential.

"He's a quicker guy, He has the ability to make people miss," Anderson said. "He gives us more of a down-field threat.

"He's a mature guy. This is important to see him."

Never in their wildest dreams when they woke Saturday morning did the Bengals ever think one of the two best cornerbacks on the board would fall to them at No. 18. But by dinner Saturday the team that had gone 38 drafts without ever drafting a corner in the first round had now done it two straight years when they savored the selection of Michigan’s Leon Hall, called "a bright light" by Lewis.

Especially after the Jets unloaded virtually half their draft to get up to No. 14 to take pissburgh cornerback Darrelle Revis.

“That was the point where you knew something else could occur. You could’ve been sitting there looking at a different position,” Lewis sighed. “We’ve sat there and watched it go the other way a couple of times in the later rounds , so this might be our weekend (where everything will) fall into place.”

And don’t go away at No. 49 in the second round because the Bengals still figure to stay with defense (and maybe even another cornerback) to bolster a unit that finished 30th.

A consensus All-American, Hall led the Wolverines with 18 pass deflections, intercepted three, and recovered a fumble. In 50 college games, Hall had 12 picks, deflected 43 passes and recovered five fumbles, including one for a touchdown. He’s not viewed as a punt returner, although he did have a touchdown out of 15 returns.

If Hall arrives at Paul Brown Stadium like he did in Ann Arbor five years ago, the Bengals will already have a guy to team with starting cornerbacks Johnathan Joseph and Deltha O’Neal in passing situations. Defensive coordinator Chuck Bresnahan and secondary coach Kevin Coyle rave about his big-time experience that began as a nickel his freshman season.

“I think he’s the best tackling cornerback in the draft. I think he is the best technician of any of the players we have looked at in the last number of years,” Coyle said. “He prides himself in those things. As Chuck and Marvin have said, once you meet this young man, you will fall in love with him. He is a strong character, serious player who wants to be great. We feel terrific about having him.”

It was love at first sight for Coyle and assistant secondary coach Louie Cioffi at February’s NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis. Already impressed by all the corner positions he played at Michigan, (nickel, dime, boundary, field), Cioffi got an eyeful as he helped run the drills in the RCA Dome.

“He’s just an unbelievable technician,” Cioiffi said. “Very smooth, very polished. He went through the drills beautifully. He’s such an intelligent player. The one mark on him was he couldn’t run fast. Then he went out and ran a 4.3 40, so I don’t know what more you would need to see.”

It took Joseph, the 24th pick last year who played basically just one year of Division I ball at South Carolina, 10 games to secure a regular starting spot. O’Neal, a 2005 Pro Bowler coming off a miserable season helped along by injury, may not be ready to give up his spot so quickly. But at the very least Hall is a good bet to start the season in nickel.

"We'll be able to get quicker to point B with (Hall) than we did with Johnathan," Bresnahan said.

As for Hall, he said, “Obviously, I want to go in there and have an impact early. I want to go to camp and play well. I want to be put into position where the coaches put me in at nickel or wherever. I just want to go out and perform and play well.”

The draft analyst for ESPN.com, Scouts Inc., indicates Hall is ready to be a big time player.

“Despite his excellent 40-time, Hall lacks ideal turn-and-run skills, which was exposed in his 2006 matchup versus Ohio State WR Ted Ginn Jr. However, Hall is a physical cover corner with a very good combination of size, athleticism, instincts and ball skills,” is how Scouts rates him. “Hall is big and strong enough to handle bigger NFL receivers one-on-one and he also does a fine job supporting the run.”

Hall not only got strafed by Ginn late in the year, but USC receiver Dwayne Jarrett sped past him in the Rose Bowl. Those two plays may have conspired to drop Hall out of the top 10, but they didn’t unnerve him or the Bengals.

“In those games, there were a couple plays where I put myself in bad positions,” Hall said. “It was just one of those things where I made a mistake. When you’re playing against that kind of competition, you can’t put yourself in a bad position or you will get beat.”

Coyle chalked it up to mental mistakes rather than a lack of speed.

“In the Ohio State game, he waited too long to turn and run,” Coyle said. “If you wait too long on Ted Ginn and he’s running down the sideline, I don’t care if you’re Champ Bailey or anyone else in this league, Ted Ginn will run by you. That was more of decision rather than technique.

“People ask if he’s fast enough. He blew people away at the combine with a 4.3 time in the 40. He was impressive going through the drills. We’ve had him work out on campus, and we’ve had him down here. The more you are around this player, the more you’ll understand this is a rock solid candidate for us.”


Coyle
Coyle kept saying it all day with a faraway smile on his face.

Rock solid.

“This guy is a real smart kid. When he’s done playing, he wants to be a sports broadcaster,” Coyle said. “He will. He’s got the same look that those guys have on there now.”

But first he has to pick up his shoes from another guy that is going to try and run by him, Bengals wide receiver Chad Johnson. When Hall made his pre-draft visit to Paul Brown Stadium earlier this month, Johnson said a pair of cleats would be waiting for him when he arrived via the draft.

“That’s what I’m expecting,” Hall said.

On a team searching for character, Hall looks to be a shoe-in. Raised by an older sister and then his uncle after his mother died when he was 12, Hall is six credits shy of a Michigan communications degree and has a July 14 wedding planned with Michigan grad Jessica Cobb.

"I’m also a good character guy,” said Hall, listing his strengths. “I am careful with the people I put myself around, and I stay out of trouble.”

“Without (my family), I wouldn’t be here.”

On Saturday he spoke amid 35 family and friends at a suburban San Diego hotel near his hometown of Vista, Calif., and made it clear he had no problem going later than most of the draftnicks thought.

"I'm not disappointed at all. My thing has always been to play in the NFL," Hall said. "I'm definitely excited about going to Cincinnati, and to play over there. I wanted to go as early as possible and that's where I'm going.

"I'm good. I'm relieved. And I'm happy."

His next item on the agenda is a cross country trip Saturday night with Cobb for Sunday’s introductory news conference and tour of the city and stadium.

“This is an impressive young man. You asked about how much time you spend with him and asked the guys who coached him, nothing is said on a negative about him,” Bresnahan said. “Everyone wrote positive things about this young man. To have him at the 18th pick we feel is an absolute blessing. This is a high character young man and you won’t be disappointed.”

A very relieved Lewis certainly isn’t.

“He understands the intricacies of playing in the secondary. He had a different defensive coordinator last season, so he has had an opportunity to evolve and really grow as a player,” Lewis said. “He can sit there and talk about how they were coaching him to play this or play that, and the difference between this year and last year. That’s what you want coming from that position — a bright light out there.”

How did the Bengals, desperate for defense, get one of the men they coveted the most?

It started when the Dolphins stunned the world by taking, of all people, Ginn at No. 9, and then Buffalo offered a mini surprise when the Bills selected Cal running back Marshawn Lynch at No. 12 when many expected them to go corner. That left the two top-rated cornerbacks on the board in Hall and Revis.

Everyone knew the Bengals came into this weekend’s looking for defense. The problem is that except for a couple of teams early in the draft so was everyone else as evidenced by the slippage of Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn.

What they needed before they picked at No. 18 was an offensive player or two sneak into the top 17 and drive some of those defenders toward them. The Jets traded with the Panthers at No. 14 to start the defensive back run in selecting Revis.

The stealers guaranteed the Bengals would get one of the top defensive backs when they took Florida State linebacker Lawrence Timmons at No. 15. Then Green Bay left it to Hall or Florida safety Reggie Nelson when they shocked everyone by taking Tennessee tackle Justin Harrell at No. 16 even though he had been projected for late in the first round.

When the Jaguars traded down with Denver for another low first-round projection in Florida defensive end Jarvis Moss, Hall was a done deal.[/quote]






[url="http://www.bengals.com/news/news.asp?story_id=6013"]http://www.bengals.com/news/news.asp?story_id=6013[/url]

[VonBlade]

Ok. Accentuate the positives :

1) It gets rid of Chris Glass-Ass Perry. That's a good thing.
2) The major question marks on him are his durability as an every down back, and that he's not too hot on blocking the blitz.

Well, he's not gonna be an every-down back but a change of pace. So durability ceases to be an issue. Blocking the blitz, well that's what JJ is for and we tend to run screens and swing passes rather than complex crossing routes on third down, so he'll be out there as our safety dump-off. But an explosive dump-off, which is exactly what we need.

And finally, an actual proper change-of-pace back that can lighten the load on Rudi, on helps keep Rudi fit and healthy and pounding it down their throats.

It's everything the Perry pick should have been, without the whole "made of glass Wolverine" problems Perry came with.
VB

[texbengal]

I agree that some of the better defenders (like Weddle, Branch, Harris, and Durant), as well as the TE Miller were gone, and while I think Kalil would have been a nice choice, he's not necessarily a need. Given Perry's status and bad luck, I wasn't crazy about having Watson and Wilson as my backups. None of those guys scare anyone, including Rudi. No speed.

This kid is a home run hitter. He's really shifty, is great in the open field, and is fun to watch. He can block, and I saw him on one of those pre-draft skills competition catching passes. And he can catch, though I'm sure he'll need reps because he didn't get a lot of passes at Auburn. I think he's gonna be good, and I'm excited that he'll have a great RB coach in Jim Anderson who has proven, time and again, that he knows talent and can develop RBs.

So, sometimes the draft doesn't go as planned. It helped them in round 1 to get Hall, and I suspect it didn't in round 2. So Irons was there and they took him.

I don't think Piscatelli is good enough to be a top 50 pick. He looked stiff, movement-wise, to me, even though he had a great Combine. McBride would have been a guy I'd have taken a long look at, but time and again, Marvin and crew have shown me that they know talent.

[Guest Bengals1181]

some more videos on Kenny Irons:

[url="http://youtube.com/results?search_query=Kenny+irons"]http://youtube.com/results?search_query=Kenny+irons[/url]

[Guest oldschooler]

Sure Perry`s status is questionable, but wasn`t that why we re-signed Kenny Watson ?

[The_Joker]

[quote name='sneaky' post='478239' date='Apr 28 2007, 08:23 PM'][color="#FF0000"][b]Guys, I'm calling this out now, by midseason, all those who are hating this pick now, will change their tune.[/b][/color][/quote]
I agree with sneaky on this one...although we reallly need to address the D maybe something else is in the works as far as LB's go. The only question I had was "What is wrong with Kenny Watson?" I thought he would be good enough for now. But I guess not.

[Guest ONYX]

[b][color="#FF0000"]Alright, there we go !!!!

Lets think positive about this pick !!!! [/color]
[/b]

[Guest Bengals1181]

[quote name='oldschooler' post='478281' date='Apr 28 2007, 08:51 PM']Sure Perry`s status is questionable, but wasn`t that why we re-signed Kenny Watson ?[/quote]


only to a 1yr deal I think. Maybe the contract talks with Watson went so bad that they know they won't be able to sign him to a longeterm deal.

[Guest ONYX]

[quote name='oldschooler' post='478281' date='Apr 28 2007, 08:51 PM']Sure Perry`s status is questionable, but wasn`t that why we re-signed Kenny Watson ?[/quote]

[color="#FF0000"][b]If Rudi gets hurt who would have been the primary back up?

Irons > Watson

Irons > Perry

And one day maybe in 2008 or 2009......

Irons > Rudi[/b][/color]

[Soundwave]

[quote name='oldschooler' post='478281' date='Apr 28 2007, 08:51 PM']Sure Perry`s status is questionable, but wasn`t that why we re-signed Kenny Watson ?[/quote]
I didn't think that was why we signed him. I was pretty sure going into the draft we would take another RB, even though I was thinking Booker or Wynn.