Professor

The Cincinnati Post - Geathers a 1st-teamer at DE this season

In a subtle move this training camp the Bengals elevated Robert Geathers into the starting lineup at left defensive end. Bryan Robinson began camp with the first team, but Geathers switched spots with the 11-year veteran before last week's preseason opener at Detroit.

Geathers finished last season with 10½ sacks, becoming the first Bengals defender to end a season with double-digit sacks since 1992. The Bengals were proactive and signed Geathers to a six-year contract extension this past offseason before he could become a restricted free agent.

"(Geathers) came into his own last year, and he's done a fine job against the run and the pass," said head coach Marvin Lewis. "A lot of those guys will rotate through there, but he's earned the opportunity to go out and move in the first base group. We changed some guys around and put Bryan and Michael Myers with the first sub-group. We did this so we involve all the guys in what were doing and we can take a good look at them that way."

Geathers starts opposite Justin Smith, who signed a one-year deal worth $8.6 million as the team's franchise player this offseason. Domata Peko and John Thornton start at the tackle positions. Robinson and Myers are the first two players off of the bench, with Robinson being effective playing both inside at tackle and out on the end.

A fourth-round draft choice in 2004, Geathers had 52 tackles to go along with his sack total in a backup role last season. He played in all 16 games but did not start a single game. He started all 16 games in 2005 but his production last season improved greatly coming off of the bench.

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