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By Chick Ludwig, Staff Writer Updated 1:02 AM Saturday, June 20, 2009

Bengals rookie tight end Chase Coffman finally gets to chase his dream.

His injured left foot has healed sufficiently enough to allow his participation in minicamp this weekend.

“My foot’s still not 100 percent, but it’s more than great to get back out here and start doing stuff again,” Coffman said. “These are my first couple of practices. There’s still a lot of stuff I need to crispen up and just make smoother. But for the most part, I’m getting the offense down and I’m excited to keep learning.”

The son of former Green Bay Packers tight end Paul Coffman earned the 2008 Mackey Award as the nation’s top tight end after 90 receptions for 987 yards and 10 TDs for the Missouri Tigers.

But he fractured the fifth metatarsal in his left foot on Missouri’s final offensive play in the Alamo Bowl. Nevertheless, the Bengals grabbed him in the third round (No. 98 overall).

Rock steady

Safety Chinedum Ndukwe likes what he sees from the defense.

“We’ve got some solid guys from the top down — corners, safeties, linebackers, everybody,” he said. “We’ve done a pretty good job this offseason just trying to get right.”

Tattoo parlor

Second-year wide receiver Jerome Simpson added tattoos to both arms this offseason.

“Reidsville, N.C.” — his hometown — is etched on his left arm. On the inside of his right biceps is this inscription: “Keep The Faith.”

“Just little things to remind me, when I feel down, to keep working,” Simpson said. “Like my grandma always tells me, ‘Keep the faith.’ ”

Steely smile

Right guard Bobbie Williams finally decided to get braces — at age 32.

“My children say I look like a teenager,” he said. “So I feel young.”

Quote machine

“He’s a lot better in coverage than (draft experts) said he was. This guy can play three downs. Plus, he can blitz. There’s been nothing that I’ve seen out of him that we didn’t expect.” — Mike Zimmer, defensive coordinator, on rookie linebacker Rey Maualuga.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2253 or cludwig@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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Simpson has been such a disappointment since the Bengals wasted their pick on him. It’s the Bengals fault for drafting him. He needs to focus more on making the team rather than getting stupid tattoos. He sucks…

a22matic
3:11 PM, 6/21/2009

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