Antonio Chatman back at practice

[CaliforniaCheez]

From The Cincinnati Post

Bengals receiver Antonio Chatman practiced on Monday for the first time since the first weekend of training camp. Chatman, signed as a free agent from Green Bay, had been sidelined with pelvic strain.

"He seems to be smart mentally and stays abreast of what we're doing," said Lewis. "We want to make sure he's healthy. His injury is one of those things where if you don't let it heal it can be a nagging thing that can last a lot longer and it would limit his effectiveness for what he's doing."

http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060822/SPT03/608220322/1022

He has missed practice since the first weekend of camp??

[woodbuck27]

Do we have anybody better than Antonioooo in TC to return punt? That little "Big Man" certainly had good hands and tried his heart out.

I thought for what he brought to the table, his bonus for signing with ....
"the Bengals" (about 250 K ) was decent.

He put some points on the board, and in my eyes, improved while in Green Bay, even if most of you will say he had nomore upside.

[PaCkFan_n_MD]

Do we have anybody better than Antonioooo in TC to return punt? That little "Big Man" certainly had good hands and tried his heart out.

I thought for what he brought to the table, his bonus for signing with ....
"the Bengals" (about 250 K ) was decent.

He put some points on the board, and in my eyes, improved while in Green Bay, even if most of you will say he had nomore upside.

Yep, he has some of best hands in the league. If we still had him on our team he would of bet out evreryone for the punt return job. To bad though, I really liked him.

[red]

i liked him a lot too. he was super speedy with pretty good hands. and he was halfway dependable

if only they made lifts for cleats

[the_idle_threat]

Re: Antonio Chatman back at practice

Chatman, signed as a free agent from Green Bay, had been sidelined with pelvic strain.

With all the jailbirds on that team, I'm not surprised the little guy ended up with a "pelvic strain."

[pbmax]

I like to think the moment Antonio stepped back into practice, a shudder went up Cliff Christls spine. Other then Hawthorne, Chatman was Christl's favorite whipping boy for the lost season.

[bigcoz75]

The little man helped me win some FF games late last year when he was getting time as receiver. So I can't say a bad word about him.

[retailguy]

I really hope this guy succeeds. I liked him. Waiving him and signing Boerighter sure didn't work out so well, did it? Maybe we just need the "right" short guys?

If we could have transplanted Chatman's work ethic into Boerighters body, we'd have had something there...

[HarveyWallbangers]

Chatman was below average. Somebody had to catch some balls, but if he's getting a lot of time at receiver, your team is in trouble.

[retailguy]

Chatman was below average.

There was a time when Donald Driver was considered "below average". The fact that Chatman made it to the NFL after his upbringing was a major miracle.

again, my point was, I admire his work ethic and I hope he does well. Trading him for Boerigter didn't work out so well. C'est la vie....

[Bretsky]

I really hope this guy succeeds. I liked him. Waiving him and signing Boerighter sure didn't work out so well, did it? Maybe we just need the "right" short guys?

If we could have transplanted Chatman's work ethic into Boerighters body, we'd have had something there...

I don't think Marc B's work ethic was that bad. He was below average before the injury. Tore his knee up so he's worse off. He's just not that good.

Chatman, I truly admire the guy. A little frickin warrior.

But he's too slow for a premier WR or punt returner. Donald Driver had serious upside. With Chatman you see what you get. A decent option. I dont' blame TT for trying to get more. It's nice to have a game changer as a returner; I sure miss Allen Rossum.

[retailguy]

[quote="Bretsky"]

Donald Driver had serious upside. With Chatman you see what you get. A decent option.

Driver almost didn't make the roster in 2001, 2002. I'm not sure anyone "saw" the upside, though today, it was clearly there.

I believe the reason that Driver succeeded had more to do with his work ethic than his upside. Chatman just needs the "right" environment. He'll never be a Steve Smith, but I think, and hope, he'll get better...

[Bretsky]

[quote="retailguy"]

Donald Driver had serious upside. With Chatman you see what you get. A decent option.

Driver almost didn't make the roster in 2001, 2002. I'm not sure anyone "saw" the upside, though today, it was clearly there.

I believe the reason that Driver succeeded had more to do with his work ethic than his upside. Chatman just needs the "right" environment. He'll never be a Steve Smith, but I think, and hope, he'll get better...

Honestly I saw solid upside with Driver in 2002 and liked to compare him ...prematurely at the time...with a young Robert Brooks. Part of that was knowing of his incredible work ethic....workout regiment.....and seeing what Favre did to some of the WR's.

I also thought Cory Bradford had huge upside as well and he hasn't turned out to be nearly as good as I thought he would.

I'll be cheering for Chatman too; but he'll have to do it on that huge heart because the huge talent isn't there.

[HarveyWallbangers]

Driver almost didn't make the roster in 2001, 2002. I'm not sure anyone "saw" the upside, though today, it was clearly there.

Actually, I think you prove the point. He didn't do much, but people saw the upside, so they hung on. People have this notion that Driver isn't that talented. That is such a crock. He's quick. He's fast. He has world class hops. I'm sure the Packers saw that and felt it was worth developing him for a couple of years.

You aren't seriously comparing Antonio Chatman to Donald Driver, are you? The talent level isn't even remotely comparable.

[retailguy]

You aren't seriously comparing Antonio Chatman to Donald Driver, are you? The talent level isn't even remotely comparable.

No, I'm comparing the work ethic and the opportunity. Those, to me at least are very similar.

I thought I was pretty clear a few posts earlier what I thought of Chatman.

I really would like to see this guy succeed. He's just an all around good guy with sure hands and the willingness to do whatever is asked of him. What's wrong with that?