With season-ending injuries during the first week of training camp to Reggie Kelly and Ben Utecht, Daniel Coats has been thrust into the role of starting tight end.After seeing most of his time at fullback last year, Coats has moved to the first string back at his natural position. Before Utecht was injured, the plan was to rotate both players, but Utecht’s concussion and the youth of the backups gave Coats the inside track.Utecht’s fate for this season was sealed Monday when he was placed on injured reserve. He suffered his fifth concussion on Aug. 5 during a line blocking drill.“They’ve all been learning games even though I’m going into my third season. I’m still getting a feel of getting out there and getting back into the groove of things,” Coats said. “I’m definitely glad to be back at tight end. Playing fullback helped out a lot in how to attack people and read defenders.”Coats also has not been immune to injuries during the preseason. He is still nursing an ankle injury he suffered during the first week of camp and doesn’t feel quite at 100 percent yet.The reason why Coats is the starter is because of his strength as a blocker, which improved with his time at fullback. Add in the injuries to Kelly and Utecht along with the continuing development of third-round pick Chase Coffman, it left the Bengals with no other viable option.Besides his blocking, Coats has four catches for 50 yards. He had a 27-yard reception in the second preseason game at New England, but fumbled it.“He played both spots last year and they’re almost interchangeable in some of the things that we do,” coach Marvin Lewis said of Coats. “I think there’s an experience factor and there’s obviously a thing with pass protection, some of those things that he had to continue to work hard at. His versatility has been a good thing.”While there is a relative lack of experience among the current group, the Bengals have not been shy about using two tight end sets during the preseason. Coffman, who has been featured on “Hard Knocks” and mostly for the wrong reasons, has received plenty of reps and continues to progress.After playing wide receiver in high school and tight end in a spread offense at Missouri, this is the first time Coffman is playing as a conventional tight end, where he’s playing with his hand down most of the time.Said Lewis of Coffman: “I think Chase has grown a lot. He still has some ways to go, and I think he’ll continue doing that as we keep seeing. He keeps getting back and being able to practice once a day and being comfortable. A little more comfortable is a good thing, having been a little banged up like he was in camp early on.”Coats has also been receiving plenty of help from Kelly, who is rehabbing from a torn Achilles suffered Aug. 3, while also trying to help out the tight ends. Besides Coats and Coffman, J.P. Foschi, Kolomona Kapanui and Darius Hill are on the roster. The Bengals traditionally keep three on the roster.“Reggie is always trying to keep us positive. He says you’re doing better than you think and am doing some good things,” Coats said. “The other guys are learning more than I am at the moment because it’s a young room. Everyone’s showing the attacking style and going after guys. It’s the things you develop over the years like the great technique that Reggie had or just knowing how defensive players move, what the schemes are that we’re not picking up yet, but it’s coming.”Even though the Bengals are missing their top two projected tight ends, it might not change the overall things they want to do with the position. “We’ll see that as the season unfolds. They’ll define those things for us. I’m not going to put any limitation on what those guys can do,” Lewis said of Coats and Coffman.As to what he’s looking for against the Colts, Coats is hoping to have everything cleaned up by the time Denver comes to town on Sept. 13.“I need to get my technique down a little more, understand defenses more and make sure everything is cleaned up when Denver shows up,” Coats said.Besides Utecht, Matt Sherry was released under the “waived/injured” category. If the second-year tight end clears waivers, he will revert on to the Bengals injured reserved list. If Sherry goes onto IR, he would be the fourth Bengal to do so during the preseason. Last year they had 23 on IR.With the two roster moves, the roster officially stands at 75, which it must be at by 4 p.m. today. The Bengals actually have 76, but first-round pick Andre Smith, who signed on Sunday, is on a two-week roster exemption.
He may get hurt, he may not. Just because he had one injury doesn't mean he is now "injury-prone." Get a grip.
