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Intense position battles taking shape among Bengals

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By Carlos “Big C” Holmes, Staff Writer Updated 12:49 PM Monday, June 22, 2009

CINCINNATI -- The Cincinnati Bengals wrapped up their three-day minicamp over the weekend and the team showed a lot of promise. Every indication suggests that next month's training camp could be one for the ages with some intense battles for a position.

Here are some camp observations:

• Anyone who would suggest that Jordan Palmer is on the roster simply because he is the younger brother of Carson Palmer would be making an asinine remark. Young Palmer is definitely earning his keep and showing some real signs of improvement.

In fact, Jordan Palmer looked better than free agent acquisition J.T. O'Sullivan at times. He has all the physical tools and incredible arm strength to make all the throws. Palmer demonstrated his arm strength, hooking up with receivers repeatedly for long touchdowns.

The edge that O'Sullivan has over Palmer is game experience, but Palmer is expected to push hard for the backup quarterback position in training camp

Win some, lose some

• 2008 third-round pick Andre Caldwell appears ready to assume the role of slot receiver once held by departed T.J. Houshmandzadeh. Caldwell saw a lot of time with the first unit in the slot and looked very good as a receiver and was explosive returning kicks.

Caldwell was exceptional running after the catch and displayed the speed to get deep. He also displayed good route-running ability, sure hands and blocked well. The learning curve from his rookie year to second year seems to be minimal.

• Meanwhile, Jerome Simpson, who was the team's second-round pick in '08, has left much to be desired in his development as a wide receiver. It's hit or miss when it comes to drafting players but with Simpson it has been a swing and a whiff thus far.

I'm not sure if Simpson will ever live up to his second-round selection. The defensive backs had absolutely no problem keeping him under wraps. With a deep receiving corps, Simpson is likely to be buried on the depth chart.

Safety dance

The Bengals have some depth in the secondary, especially at safety. The two guys that stood out were veteran safeties Roy Williams and Chinedum Ndukwe.

• Williams is a welcome addition in so many ways. He attacked runners with a reckless abandon and did a fine job in pass coverage.

• Ndukwe, on the other hand, is listed as the backup free safety behind Chris Crocker, but it may be hard to keep Brady Quinn's best friend off the field due to his playmaking ability. Ndukwe accounted for six interceptions during team drills. If Ndukwe can stay healthy this season the sky is the limit.

Filling the gaps

Defensive end Jonathan Fanene filled in admirably with the first team in place of Robert Geathers, who was sidelined. Fanene showed off his brute strength by bull rushing his opponent to get pressure on the quarterback. With solid play from Fanene, rookie third-round pick Michael Johnson and others, things aren't looking too good for defensive end Frostee Rucker.

Change-up

The Bengals went into this year's draft in search of a change-of-pace back to offset the bruising running style of starter Cedric Benson. To the surprise of most, the team drafted a little-known running back with a checkered past in Bernard Scott from Abilene Christian.

Apparently, the team did its homework because Scott was impressive in minicamp. He was quick, fast, elusive and possesses the ability to take it the distance. Scott made a number of nice cutback runs for big gains and was exciting to watch. He received a lot of reps, which means the team could have high expectations for the rookie.

Carlos "Big C" Holmes covers the NFL for the Dayton Daily News.

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