Updated: 8:10 p.m.
GEORGETOWN, Ky. - Some of the players who sat out Thursday afternoon's practice - and it was the longest list of the week - still might play in Friday night's 6:30 p.m. intrasquad scrimmage. Head coach Marvin Lewis allowed, "We'll see."
Several look to be already scratched. Cornerback David Jones underwent surgery to place a screw to aid the stress fracture of his foot and he'll be out four to six weeks while tight end Ben Utecht (concussion) left the hospital and is undergoing tests in Cincinnati.
Indications were that center-guard Dan Santucci (foot) wasn't going to make the field. Wide receiver Laveranues Coles (rest), wide receiver Antonio Chatman (illness) and defensive tackle Pernell Phillips (illness) may be able to go. Then there are guys with sore muscle issues: Linebackers Keith Rivers and Rey Maualuga, safety Corey Lynch, and defensive end Frostee Rucker (hip). Guard Evan Mathis left practice with ice on tight leg muscles.
THE FIRST BRUCE:Bruce Coslet told Bengals president Mike Brown on Thursday that he was not here for the tight end tryouts. One day after he turned 63, the former Bengals head coach (who began his Bengals career as a tight end from 1969-1976) just stopped by for a visit.
Coslet reported all is well in retirement in Naples, Fla., with three grandchildren, enough golf to have a 4 handicap, and dabbling in some business ventures.
"Well, sure the handicap goes down when you play a lot and I'm playing four to five times a week," he said.
In his last year as an NFL coach in 2002, Coslet was the Cowboys offensive coordinator during their first appearance on Hard Knocks. He had a bout of laryngitis and was immersed in the offense, so he doesn't rememer being on the air much. But if he was a head coach, he'd be all for it.
"Let's keep it fan friendly. It's a serious business but it's also entertainment," he said. "They were not obtrusive. They didn't get in our way. If they were bordering on that, we just mentioned it and they were fine. You know NFL Films and their crews, they do a good job. They've done a good job to help market this league for 50 years. As much exposure as you can give to the fans, who are the most important of the whole formula, the better off you are."
Coslet, one of the men who gave you Boomer Esiason's offensive juggernaut in the '80s, is an unabashed Carson Palmer fan.
"Carson is the real deal. He's a fantastic player," Coslet said. "Size, arm strength, smart. He's got it and all they're very fortunate to have him. They have the playmakers. Chad is still a tremendous receiver. They've got a good stable of running backs. I was in Dallas when Roy Williams was a rookie. He can thump you. Keith Rivers was coached by my good friend Pete Carroll at USC (Coslet's defensive mind with the Jets) and with Rey Maualuga they are what I call werewolves. They'll destroy anything in front of them and you need guys like that. I see an upswing, I really do."
But then the old coach and tight end sounds like everyone in Bengaldom with this final read: "Again, it hinges on protecting Carson, maybe simplifying things a little bit and letting the playmakers make plays."
QUOTE OF THE DAY: Quarterback Carson Palmer on running back Bernard Scott: "I like him a lot. I think he's going to be really good. I think he's a really good change of pace for us, especially with a big bruiser like Cedric who stays in between the tackles. But Bernard's got a lot of speed. I don't know if he's as fast as Cedric, but he's explosive and quick. I'd say he's been the star so far of all the rookies. He's made the most plays. He's dropped the most jaws."
Scott did get his shoulder banged up after the pads came off, but kept working.
BIG BUCKS:Eli Manning may be a Super Bowl MVP, but he's still not the highest paid quarterback in the NFL per year. That honor still belongs to Palmer even though his contract is nearly four years old, according to Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com.
Palmer signed it after just leading the Bengals to the 2005 AFC North title. PFT says Palmer's average is $16,166,667 through 2014. Manning's average in his new deal announced earlier this week based on his seven-year, $106.9 million total is $15.2 million. The six-year, $97.5 million extension has an average value of $16,166,667, but Florio says the six years of new money is added to the remaining season of $9.4 million in base salary in calculating the total average.
PRACTICE PEEKS
» After starting in shoulder pads and shorts to go a little no-huddle, Lewis ordered his team off about halfway through for special-teams work and some red-zone stuff.
» Before the pads came off, defensive tackle Pat Sims threw down rookie center Jonathan Luigs twice in a double-team drill.
» Wide receiver Chad Ochocinco looked active in the no-huddle, drawing a "Whew" from the crowd when he caught a vertical slant inside cornerback Leon Hall and jetted away from him. A few plays later he caught a ball in front of Hall even though the NFL officials working the practice threw a flag at Hall for pushing The Ocho.
» Defensive end Jonathan Fanene showed good quicks when he was all over backup quarterback J.T. O'Sullivan on a play-fake and then rollout.
