I know this isn't an epic Hobspin Mailbag. But when Hob is forced to spin a Keiwan Ratliff signing into another sound Bengals maneuver, I'll be there.
Keiwan Ratliff has seen the Cardiac Cats up close.
Keiwan Ratliff: Amateur Zoologist.
Two years to the day the Bengals cut him, he was in the Steelers secondary back on Sept. 27 at Paul Brown Stadium for the first of Carson Comeback’s winning last-minute drives in the Bengals’ 23-20 win secured on 71 yards, the last four coming on wide receiver
Umm, what? Maybe Hobson's brain isn't bound by the same constraints as the rest of ours. Because if that sentence sounds right to him he obviously is working on a whole different plane of reality. Hobson's writing is like Quantam Physics. His style doesn't exist until you are looking directly at it. The rest of the time when you aren't paying attenting it resides in an alternate universe as a group of atoms.
“I was out there the whole drive. It’s never a surprise when you’ve got a guy like Carson. I went against it every day in practice,” Ratliff said Monday night from his Cincinnati hotel room, back on the Bengals just in time for the playoffs. “It was a little different because of all the fourth downs he made. He didn’t have any first or second downs.”
I'm glad the Bengals could snag a guy that Carson used as kindling earlier this year (And a whole lot of other QB's used while he was a Bengal). I wonder if there is any correlation between Ratliff being on the field and the opposing team accomplishing a game winning drive?
This is why football is a funny game. Ratliff was on the archrival Steelers sideline only a few weeks ago when the Bengals won what basically turned out to be the AFC North title game in Pittsburgh, 18-12. He was inactive and cut the next week, but now he’s back for the biggest game in four years to provide depth for a decimated safety corps.
In all honesty, whatever ensures that Tom "He Fast" Nelson doesn't see time at DB is fine with me.
After meeting with secondary coach Kevin Coyle on Monday, Ratliff knows the Bengals are looking at him as a safety first but they also know he’s smart enough to play anywhere quickly. Ratliff worked out for the Bengals on Monday and when they saw he still had a pulse, they knew they also had a smart guy that could adjust.
Seriously Hob? "He still had a pulse." That's our criteria for signing players? I'm pretty sure David Fulcher is still alive. Why don't the Bengals get him in for a physical tomorrow?
“That’s where they have the most injuries, so safety is what they’ve got me looking at right now,” Ratliff said. “But they know I can play all the spots.”
But he’ll have to learn it in this defense. The Bengals drafted Ratliff as a cornerback in the second round in 2004 with Leslie Frazier as the defensive coordinator and he had three interceptions for Chuck Bresnahan’s 2005 defense. Now he’s getting a crash course in Mike Zimmer’s scheme and he said, “There’s not much that is the same, that’s for sure.”
The only redeeming thing about that paragraph is the reminder that the Bengals have Mike Zimmer at D Coordinator and not Chuck Bresnahan.
But he’s a well-traveled veteran used to cramming. Once Ratliff showed up in Indianapolis on a Friday night and was playing Sunday. Suddenly, with starting safety
He’s one of eight Bengals here for the Wild Card game in 2005, and he appeared in the 2007 postseason with the Colts.
“The locker room is totally different. There aren’t a lot of guys who were here when I was here,” he said. “It’s different, but it’s got the same feel. It’s good to be back.”
This signing is another reminder that Mike Brown has no scouting reports or a clue about anyone that hasn't played for the Bengals before. They resigned Shaun Smith for the same reason. Now, to be honest I don't know a better free agent DB off the top of my head, but I'm also not collecting a couple million dollars as the GM of the Bengals every year.
Another reminder:
(a) Mike Brown sucks. As you said, the guy doesn't have anyone scouting anyone else... so they have to pick up ex-Bengals.
(b) Considering how much Mike Brown sucks, who'd like to bet on a playoff spot next year? Not me, that's for sure!
Posted by: FeedMikeBrownToAquaBengal | January 05, 2010 at 08:10 PM
schedule for next year is silly. lets do it this year
Posted by: artist formerly known as Section 101 | January 05, 2010 at 08:43 PM
Yesssss! Keiwan (Fair Catch) Ratliff is back! My Man!
There went the return game.
Posted by: Whodeyni | January 05, 2010 at 10:02 PM