Friday, August 20, 1999TRAINING CAMP INSIDER
Last call for Kresser, Covington
BY GEOFF HOBSON
The Cincinnati EnquirerThe Bengals have to see some kind of life out of backup quarterbacks Eric Kresser and Scott Covington. With no end in sight to the Akili Smith holdout, they may have to look elsewhere to feel more comfortable about a backup quarterback.
The problem is, teams usually wait until the final roster cut to release quarterbacks, figuring no one will pick them up then because it takes too long to pick up a team's system.
Rookie watch
Bengals receivers coach Steve Mooshagian shakes his head when he watches free safety Cory Hall. “He's all over the place. A good-looking player.”Mooshagian should know. One of his last acts as the recruiting coordinator at Fresno State was recommending the school sign Hall even though no other school appeared interested as the summer began. Then, as Mooshagian was leaving to become the head coach at Fresno City College, Hall, from Bakersfield, Calif., got his grades.
“He was a guy we didn't even visit,” Mooshagian said. “We talked a few times, but we watched him on film and offered him a scholarship over the phone. When (the Bengals) drafted him, he laughed and said: "We're finally together. You were going out, and I was coming in.'”
Chalk talk
Mooshagian and linebackers coach Mark Duffner are key guys for head coach Bruce Coslet upstairs in the coaches' booth. When the Bengals are on offense, Coslet checks with Mooshagian to see if the instant replay shows he should challenge a referee's call. He goes to Duffner for a defensive play.“You've got to get used to looking up at the monitor after every play, and then I've got to get the down and distance downstairs,” Mooshagian said. “So you're busy up there. We almost tried one (Saturday), but it wasn't definitive enough after all of us in the booth looked at it a few times.”
The Bengals wondered if the quarterback's arm followed all the way through for a pass, or if Cincinnati had caused a fumble. But the angle wasn't clear.
Expect Coslet to challenge at least one call during the exhibition season, “just to (test) the process.”
Injury update
Two of the Bengals' top pass rushers are out or limited. DE John Copeland is giving his hamstring a few more days to heal. OLB Reinard Wilson (groin) is questionable.
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