Cincinnati Bengals quarterbacks coach Alex Van Pelt is an unsung hero of sorts for the team.
Van Pelt is one of the biggest reasons Bengals rookie quarterback Ryan Finley went from struggling upon arrival to looking incredibly sharp during preseason contests.
One of the biggest changes? Footwork. According to Van Pelt, Finley is now working with his left foot forward — just like Aaron Rodgers and others. Via Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com:
“I did it with Aaron in Green Bay. I really took it from him. Tom Brady has taken it from him. Obviously I believe in it now. I’ve seen it live and I’ve coached it, too. I see the benefits in it. For a young guy it’s hard to first get that. (Finley) was right foot forward. Complete change. It takes some time. He’s gotten ten times better.”
Finley says he didn’t have strict footwork at all in college, which would partially explain some of his struggles once he started working with the Bengals staff.
Van Pelt is the bigger story, though. He says he’s transitioned Andy Dalton to the same thing footwork-wise, which might explain why Dalton looked like a new player at times early last season before everyone started getting hurt.
Perhaps fans should have seen this coming. The new Bengals coaching staff hardly retained anyone from Marvin Lewis’ staff. Yet Van Pelt, with only one year on the record in Cincinnati after coming over from Green Bay, was one of those guys retained.
The “why” with Van Pelt isn’t hard to see, especially with the rookie Finley, who will get the nod as starter Thursday night during the team’s fourth preseason game.
