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Home > Blogs > Big C's NFL Blitz > Archives > 2011 > May > 10 > Entry
Bengals making the grade in round 7
The Cincinnati Bengals made the grade in round seven, but not without questions. This is the round where teams hope to find hidden gems and I’m not certain the Bengals helped themselves here. I wouldn’t necessarily say the team whiffed, but will call it a foul tip.
Round seven: The Bengals shopped for a nickel and dime cornerback with the first of its two seventh round picks. The team decided on Korey Lindsey from Southern Illinois. Not to knock Lindsey, but the pick was merely adequate considering there were better prospects available.
Florida International cornerback Anthony Gaitor is a much better player and fit for the Bengals defense. Gaitor carried a higher grade but was selected 15 picks later by Tampa Bay. The player slipped in the draft mainly due to size.
The 5-foot-10, 180-pound Gaitor is a little stick of dynamite playing with fire and attitude. He’s scrappy, tough, and aggressive in coverage as well as against the run. He plays a lot bigger than his size would indicate. Gaitor held Pittsburgh wide receiver Jonathan Baldwin (6-4, 225) to four catches and 14 yards receiving with no touchdowns during their matchup. Baldwin was selected with the 26th overall pick in this year’s draft by the Kansas City Chiefs.
Jerrel Jernigan from Troy is another receiver who didn’t have his best game against Gaitor. He had 10 catches for 32 yards. The speedy receiver was selected in the third-round pick, No. 83 overall, by the New York Giants.
Prior to being hired as defensive coordinator of the Oakland Raiders, Chuck Bresnahan worked with Gaitor in Florida while training with Clif Marshall, Performance Director of Ignition Athletic Performance Group. Bresnahan liked what he saw and compared him to former NFL cornerback Ray Buchanan.
The Bengals final draft pick was Baylor running back Jay Finley. I have reservations about this choice as well. In my book, Tennessee State running back Phillip Tanner brings more to the table than Finley, in every aspect of the game.
The 5-foot-10, 210-pound Tanner is a compact power back who finishes off runs with authority. He has breakaway speed and plays faster than the time clock (4.5/40) would indicate. He’s a one-cut runner who can make tacklers miss for big gains. He shows good peripheral vision, runs through arm tackles, moves the pile in short yardage situations and is tough to bring down. He’s an aggressive blocker picking up the blitz, rarely fumbles and respectable return man in the kicking game.
If you tell me Finley was running backs coach Jim Anderson’s pick I can’t argue with that. Anderson can spot talent at the grocery store and coach them up. Since I am not privy to this information, the team receives its lowest grade.
Grade: C-
Overall Grade: B-
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Comments
By Give 'em a D-
May 10, 2011 11:31 AM | Link to this
Bengals are a nickel & dime team.
By Al Busse Jr.
May 13, 2011 11:18 PM | Link to this
This Reds win tonight May 13, 2011 on a hit by NL MVP is for the Favorite son of Hamilton, Ohio. The old lefthander who was the greatest pitcher ever in Reds history. He helped Edgar foul off all those pitches from heaven. If u did not like Mr. Nuxall then u r not an American. I can hear him tonight.Coco nailed it down baby.