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SNS sports mobileBengals rookie Simpson eager for first NFL reception
Thursday, September 18, 2008
CINCINNATI — Bengals rookie wide receiver Jerome Simpson keeps waiting and waiting, and waiting some more.
Two games into the season, he's still looking for his first NFL reception.
"I have two great veterans in front of me (Chad Ocho Cinco and T. J. Houshmandzadeh), and they're helping me," Simpson said. "I feel more comfortable every day, so I'm making improvements. I'm trying to be more precise on my routes. I'm just waiting for my number to get called."
That could take awhile.
"Until he proves he can go out and be perfect with assignments, blocking, lining up in the right spot and always running the right route ... once he gets all that together, he can be a very effective player for us," quarterback Carson Palmer said. "But it's still going to be a slow process."
Running better
Tailback Chris Perry has shaken off the rust after not playing since November 2006 because of a fractured right ankle.
His numbers aren't pretty — 40 carries, 106 yards (2.7 average) and one touchdown — but Perry is showing signs of improvement. He's doing a better job of staying patient, finding holes and making cuts.
"He has been getting better," Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis said. "He's going to need time to get things back to normal. He has to let (blocks) happen in front of him, and he did that a lot (Sunday). He has to let the thing read out and go. That's what backs do. The more he plays the better he'll get."
Helping hand
Can cornerback Geoffrey Pope — who played two postseason games for the Super Bowl champion New York Giants last season — help Cincinnati as much as Bengal-turned-Raven Willie Anderson helped Baltimore in the opener?
"Yeah, I think a guy that's been with a team for a while has the ability to explain some things," Lewis said. "But I don't think Pope has the time on task that Willie had, being a starting player, so if that Ouija board is there ... "
Quick hitters
• When the Bengals selected cornerback Johnathan Joseph No. 24 overall in the 2006 draft, they passed on Giants right defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka (No. 32 overall).
Kiwanuka ranks fourth on the team with 10 tackles, including one for loss and two quarterback hurries. He's still looking for his first sack of 2008.
• Quarterback Anthony Wright (back) and center Digger Bujnoch (knee) are on the Giants' injured reserve list.
Wright spent 2006 with the Bengals. Bujnoch, a rookie free agent from the University of Cincinnati, is the son of former Bengals guard Glenn Bujnoch (1976-82).
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2253 or cludwig@DaytonDailyNews.com.
Next game
Who: Bengals (0-2) at Giants (2-0)
When: 1 p.m. Sunday
TV: CBS
Radio: WTUE-FM (104.7); WCKY-AM (1530); WEBN-FM (102.7)
