fredtoast Posted December 12, 2017 Report Share Posted December 12, 2017 http://www.espn.com/blog/cincinnati-bengals/post/_/id/29296/bengals-first-round-pick-john-ross-was-considered-at-cb-due-to-injuries Katherine Terrellcomment CINCINNATI -- Cincinnati Bengals coach Marvin Lewis sounded like he was joking last Wednesday when he said No. 9 overall pick John Ross’ shot to get some playing time might be at cornerback instead of wide receiver. But he actually wasn't joking at all. “I think he’ll have an opportunity. It might be at cornerback," Lewis said. "He’s done it, he’s played it (laughs). That was the first video I ever saw of John Ross, was him playing cornerback. But yes, this is a good opportunity for John to possibly be suited up this week." Ross was one of a few options the Bengals considered to play cornerback due to a severely depleted secondary. On the day Lewis made his statement, three cornerbacks -- Dre Kirkpatrick, Adam Jones and Darqueze Dennard -- didn't practice with injuries. Safeties Shawn Williams and Brandon Wilson were also held out of practice. The Bengals were also waiting on a decision about George Iloka's pending suspension. If all of those players had ended up unavailable, the Bengals would likely had to move cornerback Josh Shaw to safety. That would have left only William Jackson III and the little-used KeiVarae Russell at cornerback. Ross landed on injured reserve that very day due to a lingering shoulder problem, so the idea never even came to light. Jones ended up on injured reserve and Dennard was able to play. Kirkpatrick and Williams sat out, while Tony McRae was promoted from the practice squad. But defensive coordinator Paul Guenther had considered the possibility. Ross was one of several candidates to line up at emergency cornerback if needed. McRae, who only took five snaps on defense, likely played the role that Ross would have played. "At the beginning of the week we only had a certain amount of DBs we were going to have available so we tried to scour the roster and see if guys may have played DB in college," Guenther said. "John was one of them. We had a couple other guys we talked about taking reps at safety just in case of in an emergency situation. You have to have your bases covered." Although the idea of a player drafted in the top 10 as a receiver playing cornerback might seem odd, Ross actually has experience at the position. He started four games at cornerback as a college sophomore in 2014, playing both nickel and outside corner, and even had an interception. "I had a nice corner blitz up for him," Guenther joked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hooky Posted December 12, 2017 Report Share Posted December 12, 2017 They should work on getting him on the fucking field, period, first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
omgdrdoom Posted December 12, 2017 Report Share Posted December 12, 2017 I mean, he's IR'd now, so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fluhartz Posted December 12, 2017 Report Share Posted December 12, 2017 put a fucking tent over this team... I can't wait until this season is over... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBeaverHunter Posted December 12, 2017 Report Share Posted December 12, 2017 Bengals just Bengaling along....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fredtoast Posted December 12, 2017 Author Report Share Posted December 12, 2017 8 hours ago, fredtoast said: Although the idea of a player drafted in the top 10 as a receiver playing cornerback might seem odd, Ross actually has experience at the position. He started four games at cornerback as a college sophomore in 2014, playing both nickel and outside corner, and even had an interception. Just a couple of little random Bengal history facts. -Keiwan Ratliff played WR at Florida. I remember that he had a long td reception against Michigan in a bowl game. -Due to injuries Carl Pickens was moved to Safety with just a few games left in his sophomore season at Tennessee. He ended up leading the team in interceptions (4) and returned one for a TD. That year the Vols finished #5 in the country and Pickens was the DEFENSIVE MVP in their Cotton Bowl victory over Arkansas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fredtoast Posted December 12, 2017 Author Report Share Posted December 12, 2017 1 hour ago, omgdrdoom said: I mean, he's IR'd now, so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ That means he has all off season to work on his CB skills. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|schotzee| Posted December 12, 2017 Report Share Posted December 12, 2017 9 minutes ago, fredtoast said: That means he has all off season to work on his CB skills. Lol. If he can be a great corner, that's fine by me. He wouldn't be a waste then in any event. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turningpoint Posted December 12, 2017 Report Share Posted December 12, 2017 LOL, so we drafted a wr to cb at #9, over Marshawn lattimore and marlon humphery? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|High School Harry| Posted December 12, 2017 Report Share Posted December 12, 2017 Glad he can play cornerback. He can't beat out Josh Malone and Cody Core at wide receiver. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|SF2| Posted December 12, 2017 Report Share Posted December 12, 2017 Well, he certainly is fast enough to play it. Its far less cerebral since you are basically reacting to a player's movement. Dude might actually be damn good at corner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turningpoint Posted December 13, 2017 Report Share Posted December 13, 2017 So Marvin Leiws is just setting him up to be the teams special teams gunner like Dre was for the 1st 4 years he was here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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