Loss of Reggie Kelly Is Not so Bad

Well. Well. Well. The sky is falling in Bengaldom because Reggie Kelly has been lost for the year.

While other blogs and respectable media outlets are panicking over the loss of Reggie Kelly, I am remaining calm and optimistic about our tight end situation.

Yes, Kelly was an irreplaceable leader in the huddle and a safety blanket for our offensive line's shortcomings. Yes, Carson Palmer delivers flowers via the media to Kelly by talking about how awesome a teammate he is. Yes, Bob Bratkowski lost a big piece to the whip cream—err—protection pie.

But all it really amounts to is the loss of a 32-year-old blocking tight end that can barely run and has hands made of granite. A player from a different era. Great at what they ask him to do, but about as one-dimensional as a tackle-eligible.

Other teams around the league have been developing younger, more versatile tight ends (Pittsburgh Steelers—Heath Miller, Houston Texans—Owen Daniels, Seattle Seahawks—John Carlson, Minnesota Vikings—Visanthe Shiancoe, Philadelphia Eagles—Brent Celek. and Chicago Bears—Greg Olson), while the Cincinnati Bengals sat complacent with Kelly for five seasons. Hence my elation after the Coffman steal.

The Bengals should have invested in a tight end to grow with Palmer or signed a veteran receiving tight end in Palmer's first season as a starter. As the saying goes, "A tight end is a young quarterback's best friend." Alas, they settled on Matt Schobel and Reggie Kelly for a while and let Schobel move on to Phillie to showcase his mediocrity.

Now Kelly's career is arguably over and it's up to the likes of Ben Utecht, Daniel "Don't call me Ben" Coats, and Chase Coffman. Forget Darius Hill. He's in camp to fill the water bottles.

Call me crazy, but I am ready to trade the leadership and protection guaranteed by Kelly, with the pass-receiving skills of the best statistical college tight end ever. Here's Chase Coffman's chance to develop into the next Jason Witten or Frank Wycheck (is that too much to ask?). Maybe he won't be able to block very well for a few seasons, but that's why a guy who would have been cut this training camp is suddenly very valuable...Daniel Coats.

The guy was a nice pick up as a college free agent from BYU and he already had a reputation as a blocker coming out of school. In his first season, he had time to develop more as a blocker, while in his second season, he had an opportunity to develop his versatility playing fullback.

Toss a healthy Ben Utecht into the tight end mix and while not proven, this group is capable of doing all the things Kelly could do and many things he couldn't. All Brat has to do is be creative in the way he gets these guys on the field.

The long and short of it is this, while I respect everything Kelly has done for the Bengals as a leader, role model, and tenacious blocker, his presence atop the depth chart has stymied the Bengals' efforts to find a formidable threat at tight end.

Now Chase Coffman has more of a chance to see the field and prove this offense needed a tight end who could run and catch (Utecht has yet to combine the two, but he can sing). I think the rookie is going to sneak up on teams this season.

Is it possible Reggie Kelly's Achille's tendon might have done this offense a favor? Oops, looks like someone just leveled the playing field.

P.S. Ever notice how much players and coaches use much of the same lingo and praise for players when they go down with an injury as when a player tragically passes? I know it's a morbid comparison, but the Reggie Kelly situation is a good example of this. All these guys are talking about Kelly like they are never going to see him ever again.

The man is 32. He might recover, he might not. But when you're as involved in the community as Kelly is, you aren't going to disappear after an injury like a wounded dog. In fact, I'd expect Kelly to continue to be a team and community leader even if he's doing it on crutches from the sideline or with Doug Pelfrey in Fort Thomas.