Williams: How Cincinnati Reds manager handles higher expectations entering Opening Day

Bengals notes: Young special teams; safeties mend

Looking at the youth movement on special teams, safeties Williams and Iloka recover, three player moves, number changes and kicker fallout.

Paul Dehner Jr. Jim Owczarski
Cincinnati Enquirer

The question couldn’t even finish. Upon asking special teams coordinator Darrin Simmons about the massive crop of players he’ll trot out in their first NFL regular season game Sunday against Baltimore, he cut it off after “how do you …”

“I don’t know,” Simmons said.

The eventual question asked how he can feel comfortable, but the answer was the same. There’s no predicting what will occur with this group now without former special teams stalwarts Cedric Peerman, Rex Burkhead, James Wright, Marquis Flowers and potentially trimmed contributions from linebacker Vinny Rey and Clayton Fejedelem, who will be filling larger roles on defense.

Cincinnati Bengals special teams coordinator Darrin Simmons before the Week 3 NFL preseason game between the Cincinnati Bengals and Washington, Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017, at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland.

“I don’t know that you feel comfortable until they get their feet wet,” Simmons said. “You just try to get them to prepare and prepare them as best we can knowing there are going to be things that come up we haven’t gone through, we haven’t got covered completely. We are going to try to get them all covered, but for most guys until they experience those situations it’s something different. It’s something new.”

MORE: Bengals Xtra: Can 'old coach' grow young roster?

MORE: Who got cut? Bengals trim roster to 53

Rookies like sixth-round pick LB Jordan Evans, LB Carl Lawson and undrafted rookie Cethan Carter will be significant parts of the equation, among others.

For Simmons there’s the obvious upside.

‘So we are going to be young, but we are going to be faster, we are going to be athletic,” Simmons said. “We have to get them molded quick, in a hurry.”

Simmons will rely heavily on those still remaining on special teams. Defensive back Josh Shaw, H-back Ryan Hewitt, safety Derron Smith and, of course, returner Alex Erickson will be part of the contingent of predictable pieces. But, specifically on special teams, you are only as strong as the weakest link. One missed assignment can create a disaster.

That’s part of the process this time of year, but even more obvious with this young group.

“There will be new guys in there, but like I told them in the meeting the other day, Ced Peerman was that guy at one time too – a young guy,” Simmons said. “Vinny was a young guy, too. We had a lot of them that way. With youth comes opportunity. It’s an opportunity for those guys to establish themselves and be counted on that way.”

Cincinnati Bengals outside linebacker Vincent Rey (57) waves to fans after the Week 17 NFL game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Baltimore Ravens, Sunday, Jan. 1, 2017, at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati.

SAFETIES ON THE MEND

George Iloka wouldn’t say if he’s playing in Sunday’s home opener against Baltimore, but the Bengals’ starting safety has been practicing for the last few weeks after injuring his right knee in late July.

“Mentally I feel good, physically I feel good given the conditions ...,” Iloka said. “If this was my first or second year maybe I’d be a little more worried, but it’s an opponent we’ve faced before. I understand what I can do in terms of to get myself ready for the game. I’ll let everything else fall where it lies.”

It is likely Iloka will be paired with some combination of Derron Smith and Clayton Fejedelem at the outset, as fellow starter Shawn Williams continues to recover from a dislocated elbow suffered in the Bengals’ second preseason game against Kansas City on Aug. 19.

Cincinnati Bengals safety Shawn Williams (36) is examined by the medical staff before leaving the game in the second quarter of the NFL Preseason Week 2 game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Kansas City Chiefs at Paul Brown Stadium in downtown Cincinnati on Saturday, Aug. 19, 2017. At halftime the Bengals trailed 16-9.

“It felt terrible,” Williams said. “It looked bad and it felt bad. I’m just thankful it’s not as bad as it could have been. Just thankful for that.”

The worst case scenario was Williams would have been done for the season, but now he hopes to be back as soon as the end of the month, or perhaps early October.

“Just check week to week and see how it does and pain, strength and getting range of motion – so if all that’s good, whenever that is, we’re ready,” he said.

KICKER FALLOUT

Rookie Jake Elliott lost the kicking competition to Randy Bullock, but remains in the building as a member of the practice squad.

This way the Bengals keep an eye on the development of their fifth-round pick. What Simmons wanted to specifically address was Elliott’s presence does not mean Bullock should be looking over his shoulder.  

MORE: Why Bengals had to choose Bullock

The competition is over.

“It's Randy's job,” Simmons said. “Randy won the job. So there's none of that. I haven't lost confidence in Jake. Sometimes you go through stretches like that. He didn't finish the preseason like he needed to to win the job, so that's why we went with Randy. And Randy earned that spot.” 

JERSEY NUMBERS

With the roster reformation, a few players changed jersey numbers. Defensive tackle Andrew Billings and defensive end Jordan Willis exchanged. Billings will now wear 99 with Willis at 75, his college number.

Also, defensive tackle Ryan Glasgow ditched 67 for 98, previously held by Brandon Thompson.

PRACTICE REPORT

All 52 Bengals were accounted for during Monday’s practice. Tight end Tyler Eifert (knee) returned after not playing in the last two preseason games.

Safety Williams (elbow), receiver John Ross (knee) and tight end C.J. Uzomah (knee) all didn’t participate in the portion open to reporters. 

Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Jeff Driskel (6) talks with quarterback Andy Dalton (14) on the sideline after leaving the game with an injury in the third quarter of the NFL Preseason Week 4 game between the Indianapolis Colts and the Cincinnati Bengals at Lucas Oil Stadium on Aug. 31.

PLAYER MOVES

The Bengals made the expected move of placing third quarterback Jeff Driskel (broken fingers) on the injured reserve list. He could potentially return later in the season since the team kept him through the cutdown to 53.

Any player placed on IR from this point forward can return in at least eight weeks, with a minimum of two per team.

Cincinnati is likely to go through the week with only 52 players, one shy of the max. Adam Jones will come off suspension for Week 2 and should fill the 53rd spot.

The club also rounded out its 10-man practice squad with CB Sojourn Shelton and G Cole Toner, who were waived by the Arizona Cardinals on final cuts on Saturday.

Shelton (5-9, 168), a rookie out of the University of Wisconsin, signed with the Cardinals as a college free agent on May 12. He played in three preseason games for Arizona, recording five tackles on defense.

Toner (6-7,300), a second-year player out of Harvard, was the second of two Cardinals fifth-round draft choices in the 2016 NFL Draft. He played in two games as a rookie last season, and he played in all four of the Cardinals’ preseason games this year, with one start.