Sunday, June 04, 2000Bengals scouts hit all angles
By Neil Schmidt
The Cincinnati EnquirerJim Lippincott sits at his desk, clicker in hand, hour after hour. A library of videotapes fills a quarter of the office the Bengals' director of pro/college personnel shares with assistant Debbie LaRocco and scout Duke Tobin.
It is a slow day in June, but scouting never ends. Lippincott has written reports already on 26 college players; he'll likely near 500 by winter.
“I filed the first batch on May 10,” he said. “Arkansas. We start with the ones we won't visit in person.”
How do NFL teams prepare for the following year's draft? Here's what the Bengals do:
Most every team subscribes to one of the two scouting services, Blesto or National Football Scouting, which provide a master list of every player with pro potential; the Bengals use NFS. Lippincott circles each college with seven or more players on the list, then cross-checks to see how many of those have players rated among the 10 best at their position.
That's how he determines which colleges deserve in-person visits.
“A couple years ago, Kansas State had 16 names (on the NFS list), but only one was in the top 10,” Lippincott said. “Meanwhile, Oklahoma had only six names but four were in the top 10, so that became a bigger visit.”
Lippincott, Tobin, scout Frank Smouse and Bengals vice president Paul H. Brown then map out who visits which schools. Some colleges have guidelines: Florida State, for example, allows scouts during the month of October or on any Monday. Florida welcomes them on Mondays and open dates.
Then LaRocco sends each school a letter telling them when the Bengals will visit.
Because they're often looking at films made when players were underclassmen, Lippincott and Tobin continually update their reports with the current college season. After returning home the first half of December to prepare reports for NFL free agency, they head back out for senior all-star games.
“By the time the (Bengal) coaches hit the road in March, our rankings are in place,” Lippincott said. “They get the opportunity to major at their position. We think what Duke and I do is scouting, what they do is research.”
By the time the draft arrives in mid-April, the team has several reports on each potential draftee from which to compare.
YEAST IMPROVING: Craig Yeast is a statistical wonder, though not in the football sense. His recent bout with pancreatitis proved unusual because the two major risk factors associated with the disease are alcohol and gall stones, but Yeast doesn't drink and doesn't have problems with his gall bladder.
“My doctor said in 10 percent of people (affected), it just happens,” Yeast said. “I guess I was one of the 10 percent. It's an experience I hope to never go through again.”
The inflamed pancreas landed the second-year wide receiver in Georgetown (Ky.) Community Hospital for eight days. He couldn't digest food or water because of the pain. He lost eight pounds, and when you weigh only 165 to begin with, that's significant.
“It was a very uneasy feeling, not just some of the day, but all day,” he said. “I don't think I was ever in any real danger, but the pancreas is something you really can't mess with.”
Yeast has gained back 51/2 pounds and only needs to be cleared by his doctor Monday to return to workouts.
NO CAMP CHARGE: Bengals president Mike Brown echoed the rest of the NFL's reaction to word the Redskins will charge fans to attend training camp: That means easy scouting for competitors. Scouts aren't allowed at other team's practices unless money is charged.
“I don't know that we're planning on sending someone; you have to pay 10 bucks,” he joked.
With the Redskins the first to seek extra revenue this way, Brown fears a trend.
“We have created a system that pushes teams to seek always to maximize income,” he said. “Once this starts, it puts us on a slippery slope. I wish teams wouldn't charge for training camp, but I'd guess that if it turns out to be a moneymaker, other teams will do it.” SCHEDULE: It's a quiet time at Spinney Field, as Bengal coaches were on vacation last week and are also gone this week.
Veteran voluntary workouts will be held June 13-15 and June 20-23. Then comes another dead period from July 3-14 as coaches again take vacation. Bengals training camp in Georgetown opens July 21.
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