Call it a man crush, but I like this Shipley kid as the Bengals's slot receiver
The Bengals training camp hasn’t even started and the season opener is still weeks away. But with not so much as a first-hand glimpse of the 2010 Bengals, I have a new favorite player. He’s an unsigned rookie, but that’s OK. I’ve got a good feeling about this kid.
It’s Jordan Shipley, the wide receiver the Bengals drafted in the 3rd round from Texas. If things go as planned, he should be battling Andre Caldwell for the No. 3 receiver spot, behind Antonio Bryant and Chad Stupid Is As Stupid Does.
When you look at Shipley, his 5’11″ 190-pound frame does anything but intimidate. Yet with that same frame he set numerous career high school receiving records in the State of Texas, where they’re fanatical about their football. He then set receiving records at the University of Texas, where they’re fanatical about their football.
Shipley’s draft report card credits his fly-paper hands, says he runs perfect routes and is not afraid to go over the middle. Even though he had some injury issues early on at Texas, he’s also considered a legitimate candidate as the Bengals’ kick/punt returner. His only possible negative being, he could maybe have a higher motor – with it, he’d be the perfect receiver.
OK, so he did well in high school and in college – big deal, right? It’s more about what he can do that’s making him my new favorite Bengal.
So before accusing me of having a man-crush, here’s what makes Shipley so likeable: He’s got heart, confidence and simply loves playing football. Better yet, he likes winning over most anything else, including personal stats. (I challenge you to name a favorite athlete who doesn’t feel that way about their sport.)
But what really puts him at the top of my list is the effect he could have on the Bengals MIPSULY (Most Important Player who Seriously Underachived Last Year).
Yup, that would be Carson Palmer.
Palmer was barely an average QB last season on a team that won the division. And in his second NFL postseason game, he was seriously outplayed by Jets rookie QB (and Maybelline spokeswoman) Mark Sanchez. For the Bengals to make the playoffs again this season, Carson needs to leap-frop average and approach elite status, reminding Bengals fans why he was the No. 1 pick in the 2003 Draft.
IF Shipley fills the role of an athletic yet disciplined No. 3 receiver, and IF Chad Ocho Numbnuts can fake out maturity for 60 minutes each Sunday, and IF Antonio Bryant can spread the field and catch the ball downfield a couple times a game, Carson can lead the Bengals deep into the postseason. Honest!
Carson displays the exact number of new elbows he'll need to guarantee a successful '10 season.
BUT… that’s assuming Carson’s elbow is really 100 percent.
Some skeptics claim Palmer has never been the same after in ’08 partially tearing an elbow tendon. The QB made appointments with dozens of specialists, surgeons and witch doctors.
After hearing recommendations of surgery by most, he finally found the diagnosis he so desperately wanted: Rest, rehab and NO SURGERY required (I believe it was an unscheduled visit with Dr. Bombay, who reluctantly took leave of his formal dinner with Joan of Arc to consult with Carson.)
"Apparently your precious elbow can't wait until morning, Mr. Palmer?" said an indignant Dr. Bombay in '08.
Even today, those same skeptics think that Palmer’s elbow is not and will never again be the same. And if those skeptics are right, then Carson “The Amazing Technicolor Hand-off Machine” will lead the Bengals to no better than a .500 record.
But skeptics be damned!
I want to believe that he’s ready to sling it 60+ yards. I want to believe with his new and improved WRs (Bryant, Shipley and TE Jermaine Gresham should be a huge upgrade), Carson will be looking downfield more than stuffing the ball in Ced’s navel.
As we like to say at Oddbounces, it’s really this simple: THIS SEASON. LESS RUNNING. AND MORE BALLS IN THE AIR.
Nuff said.
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Personally, I didn’t see evidence of an injured elbow last year. Palmer seemed to make all the throws, and had a lot zip on the ball. He also seemed to launch it deep okay … prob was, no one ever caught it. If he is hurt, he hid it really well. So, I don’t think it was his elbow … it was losing Henry, his only real deep threat last season (no, Ocho Stupid Name can’t get deep anymore). It’s pretty clear, Palmer’s stats went south after Henry was gone.
I’m giving Carson an excuse for some of the uncharacteristically poor throws he made late in the season last year, hoping it was because of something physical. If his elbow is sound, then I’m even MORE concerned about some of the stupid decisions Carson made against the Jets. Seriously how can a seasoned vet like him who automatically made the right decision routinely, suddenly throw the ball into double coverage with his lame receivers last year? (Dear God, I hope that Chad Stupid Name’s decisions off the field are not rubbing off on Carson’s game.)
I sure hope he wasn’t hurt last year, cuz that means he could still be hurt this year. Compared to what was once a fine-tuned machine worthy of a James Bond movie, the Bengals passing game last season was a crappy ol’ rattle trap. I’m sure some of those bad throws were Palmer’s fault … but many others were a result of wrong routes, or at least bad route running by a pathetic group of WRs. If a D knows for a fact you can’t/won’t throw deep, they can force any NFL QB into looking bad … which he did at times last year.
I am actually most intrigued by Carson’s dealings with Dr.
Bombay, and the fact that I saw that picture and said, “Oh my god, is that Dr. Bombay”. Imagine my glee when my intuition turned out to be correct. Did they summon him by yelling, “Calling Dr. Bombay. Calling Dr. Bombay. Emergency. Come right away?” Or did they send a very dapper Jim Lippincott to knock on his door before the sun came up with plane tickets in his hand? Did you know that if you go to the Sea Witch Manor Inn and Spa in Delaware, you can stay in the Dr. Bombay suite? Sorry, I got a bit off track there. Warlock spells or not, we’re looking forward to another season of Bengals football here in America’s heartland.
Jack, the one thing the Bengals organization has learned from “Hard Knocks” last season: Do NOT send Jim Lippincott anywhere if he’s wearing those shorts! This was all Carson’s deal, as he summoned Dr. Bombay on his own. And being a private man (unlike some of his ego-crazy WR’s) , Carson did it away from the media. (Gotta run– I’m off to the Sea Witch Manor in Delaware.)