SB Nation - Nate Lawrie

Bengals worked out Joey Galloway, Ed Johnson and Mike Doss Tuesday

Kirkendall — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:27:58 -0000

More photos » by Winslow Townson - AP

4 months ago: New England Patriots wide receiver Joey Galloway hauls in a pass during NFL football training camp at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. Saturday, Aug. 1, 2009. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)

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While the signing of Larry Johnson, and to a smaller degree, the release of Ben Utecht, were Tuesday's primary headlines, the Bengals weren't through, just yet. On Tuesday, the Bengals worked out three other players; wide receiver Joey Galloway, safety Mike Doss and defensive lineman Ed Johnson. Johnson was released by the Indianapolis Colts in October because he lacked production. In Joey Galloway's case, he just never caught on with the Patriots. Mike Doss, who played for Cincinnati at the end of last year, was released with Chris Perry, Eric Henderson, Nate Lawrie and Gary Russell in April.

The Bengals invited Galloway, who could be used as a deep threat on a core of wide receivers that are more possession receivers. Unless, of course, you play Jerome Simpson, who has speed. It appears that Ed Johnson is more trouble than he's worth. Johnson was arrested in September of 2008 when Indiana police pulled Johnson over for speeding and found he was in possession of marijuana. Along with lacking production, there's no benefit signing Johnson at this point. Doss was awesome in college. Since then, injuries have really slowed him down and he's, at best, a special teams contributor.

In the end, I'll be surprised if the Bengals offer anyone that visited a contract.

Strength in numbers; an examination of who the Bengals started the regular season since 2006

Kirkendall — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 17:05:45 -0000

When the preseason marches towards a welcomed conclusion, discussion and debate takes place on who the team cuts and keeps. Sometimes the topic goes into salary cap causalities; veterans that are cut, like Willie Anderson and Rudi Johnson last year. Other times, the debate talks about players that surprisingly make the roster. As jsl413 broke down, the Bengals depth is strong in some areas, weak in others. Which means the Bengals could strengthen weaken positions by increasing the depth. It's a numbers game.

You see that notably with linebackers. In 2006, Brian Simmons was nearing retirement; his production was falling. David Pollack, while great with potential, was only then starting to adjust from being a defensive end in college to an outside linebacker in the NFL. Rashad Jeanty was a rookie. Landon Johnson was arguably our best linebacker. If you look back to that season, only one linebacker remains (Jeanty) with the Bengals and as far as I can tell, three are still in the NFL (Jeanty, Johnson and Ahmad Brooks). The position didn't improve in 2007 and grew worse when it was decimated by injury. Dhani Jones, an unlikely stability force who would join the team later in the year, became the most productive middle linebacker during Marvin Lewis' tenure. By 2008, the linebackers were on pace to be the most talented group assembled, taking less into the regular season while numerically increasing their numbers at other spots, like running back, defensive tackles -- two spots with limited production. You'll obviously see that again this year, with Jones, Jeanty, Rivers, Brandon Johnson and Rey Maualuga as the depth leaders.

Running backs is another example. In 2006, and even 2007, Rudi Johnson was considered the team's feature back. No competition. Hands down. After all, he set franchise rushing records in 2004 and 2005. However, along with the offensive line's degradation, he started degrading (some will note his inadvisable weight loss regiment, losing all of his strength in 2006) until he was finally cut in 2008. More importantly, the Bengals decided to take two fullbacks because Jeremi Johnson was simply not the force he used to be and the team liked Coats' enough to make room for him. While the talent level dipped, the team decided to strengthen the depth with numbers.

Take note of this. Am I saying that the depth and position is stronger because there's more players? Obviously not. You either have talent or you don't. A combination of average talent still makes that position average. But it is a luxury that most teams have, which largely depends on play-calling philosophy, as well as projecting your opponents philosophies. If you take on more defensive backs in any given year because your passing defense is poor, it allows you additional packages. But it's also dictated by strength. You will note how once the team had Leon Hall and Johnathan Joseph, they believed the position strong enough to only take four cornerbacks in 2008, as opposed to five in 2007 and 2006. Safeties increased because a long-standing issue of giving up big plays was still unanswered. You can bank on at least six safeties this year.

After the jump, you can see which players the Bengals took after cutdown day and how many players the team took at each position.

First thing we should note are the roster cut deadlines:

DATE	EVENT
September 1st	Roster cutdown to maximum of 75 players
September 5th	Roster cutdown to maximum of 53 players

Here's a breakdown on what positions the Bengals after final cutdown heading into the regular season.

Position	2006	2007	2008
Quarterbacks	3	3	3
Running backs (including FB)	4	4 (1)	5 (2)
Wide Receivers	6	6	6
Offensive Linemen	9	8	9
Tight Ends	2	3	2
Total on Offense	24	24	25

Defensive Ends	4	5	4
Defensive Tackles	4	3	5
Linebackers	8	7	6
Cornerbacks	5	5	4
Safeties	5	6	6
Total on Defense	26	26	25

Specialists	3	3	3

After the jump, we chart which players the Bengals kept since 2006.

2006

Position	#	Players
Quarterbacks	3	Carson Palmer, Anthony Wright, Doug Johnson
RB / FB	4	Rudi Johnson, Kenny Watson, Quincy Wilson, Jeremi Johnson (FB)
WR	6	Chad Johnson, T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Chris Henry, Tab Perry, Antonio Chatman, Kelley Washington
O-Line	9	Levi Jones, Eric Steinbach, Rich Braham, Bobbie Williams, Willie Anderson, Andrew Whitworth, Eric Ghiaciuc, Stacy Andrews, Scott Kooistra
TE	2	Reggie Kelly, Tony Stewart

DE	4	Justin Smith, Bryan Robinson, Robert Geathers, Frostee Rucker
DT	4	Sam Adams, John Thornton, Domata Peko, Shaun Smith
Linebackers	8	Brian Simmons, Landon Johnson, David Pollack, Rashad Jeanty, Marcus Wilkins, Ahmad Brooks, A.J. Nicholson, Caleb Miller
Corners	5	Deltha O'Neal, Tory James, Johnathan Joseph, Keiwan Ratliff, Greg Brooks
Safeties	5	Dexter Jackson, Madieu Williams, Kevin Kaesviharn, Ethan Kilmer, Herana-Daze Jones

Specialists	3	Shayne Graham, Kyle Larson, Brad St. Louis

2007

Position	#	Players
Quarterbacks	3	Carson Palmer, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Jeff Rowe
RB / FB	4	Rudi Johnson, Kenny Watson, Clinton Dawson, Jeremi Johnson (FB)
WR	6	Chad Johnson, T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Tab Perry, Glenn Holt, Skyler Green, Antonio Chatman
O-Line	8	Levi Jones, Willie Anderson, Bobbie Williams, Andrew Whitworth, Stacy Andrews, Scott Kooistra, Eric Ghiaciuc, Alex Stepanovich
TE	3	Reggie Kelly, Daniel Coats, Nate Lawrie

DE	5	Justin Smith, Robert Geathers, Bryan Robinson, Frostee Rucker, Jonathan Fanene
DT	3	Domata Peko, John Thornton, Michael Myers
Linebackers	7	Ahmad Brooks, Rashad Jeanty, Landon Johnson, Caleb Miller, Lemar Marshall, Andre Frazier, Anthony Schlegel
Corners	5	Deltha O'Neal, Leon Hall, Johnathan Joseph, Keiwan Ratliff, David Jones
Safeties	6	Dexter Jackson, Chinedum Ndukwe, Madieu Williams, Marvin White, Herana-Daze Jones, Ethan Kilmer

Specialists	3	Shayne Graham, Kyle Larson, Brad St. Louis

2008

Position	#	Players
Quarterbacks	3	Carson Palmer, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Jordan Palmer
RB / FB	5	Chris Perry, Kenny Watson, DeDe Dorsey, Jeremi Johnson (FB), Daniel Coats (FB)
WR	6	Chad Johnson, T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Glenn Holt, Antonio Chatman, Andre Caldwell, Jerome Simpson
O-Line	9	Stacy Andrews, Levi Jones, Eric Ghiaciuc, Bobbie Williams, Andrew Whitworth, Dan Santucci, Kyle Cook, Scott Kooistra, Anthony Collins
TE	2	Reggie Kelly, Ben Utecht

DE	4	Antwan Odom, Robert Geathers, Jonathan Fanene, Frostee Rucker
DT	5	Domata Peko, John Thornton, Jason Shirley, Pat Sims, Michael Myers
Linebackers	6	Keith Rivers, Rashad Jeanty, Dhani Jones, Darryl Blackstock, Brandon Johnson, Corey Mays
Corners	4	Leon Hall, Johnathan Joseph, Simeon Castille, David Jones
Safeties	6	Dexter Jackson, Kyries Hebert, Herana-Daze Jones, Corey Lynch, Chinedum Ndukwe, Marvin White

Specialists	3	Shayne Graham, Kyle Larson, Brad St. Louis

Coffman and Coats given opportunities with Kelly's injury; Bengals sign Augustus Parrish

Kirkendall — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 19:34:11 -0000

More photos » by Al Behrman - AP

4 months ago: Cincinnati Bengals receivers Laveranues Coles (11) and Chad Ochocinco (85) walk to the sidelines together during practice at their NFL football training camp, Saturday, Aug. 1, 2009, in Georgetown, Ky. (AP Photo/Al Behrman)

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While Marvin Lewis promoted that he didn't have to add anyone to PUP before Training Camp, the Bengals went on to see David Jones, Brandon Johnson and Reggie Kelly fall. In Jones' and Johnson's case, their return to the team before the regular season is likely. In Reggie Kelly's case, he's out for the year. Some suspect that it could be career threatening. Being on the final year of his contract, it could be, at the minimum, the end of his Bengals career. Joe Reedy plays out scenarios, suggesting that Ben Utecht likely moves up with Chase Coffman getting plenty of snaps. The wild card now is Daniel Coats and whether or not Coffman can block.

Bengals signed Offensive Tackle Augustus Parrish, writes Chick Ludwig.

The Cincinnati Bengals signed an offensive tackle on Monday, but he’s not first-round draft pick Andre Smith. He’s rookie Augustus Parrish of Kent State.

Parrish (6-4, 303) started the past three seasons for the Golden Flashes at left offensive tackle. He signed with New Orleans as a college free agent on May 6, and was released by the Saints on June 4.

Palmer's flu-like symptom was bronchitis, writes the Associate Press. He's already back working with the team.

Dave is on the Nate Lawrie bandwagon.

Chris Henry had 40 passes thrown his way last year -- he caught 19 (47.5%). This figure includes "drops and errant throws by the quarterback where the receiver couldn't make a play." It's important to remember that reading these type of stats.

Geoffrey Pope "got the better of Jerome Simpson in coverage and got an interception." The issue with Simpson is that he has to improve if he's going to move up the depth chart -- where he currently stands as the first third-team receiver. Big C says he is improving.

Second-year wide receiver Jerome Simpson was at it again during the evening practice session. Simpson made a nice one-hand stab in the back of the endzone during receiving drills. He performed well throughout practice but still needs to work on his route-running. Simpson is a little flat coming out of his breaks, making it easy for defenders to jump the route. He has shown very little separation at the breaking point. It’s not uncommon to see defenders jump Simpson’s routes and come away with an easy interception. However, Simpson is making progress in all other areas, especially blocking downfield and catching the ball.

If you're watching Ochocinco's show, then Mark Kriegel calls you a bigger loser than Johnson. Yet, he writes about it after watching it. Of course, the easiest solution is to actually avoid the show if you don't like it. But in our nanny-state of mind, that's a bit much to ask I suppose.

There's absolutely no noise on the Andre Smith front. However, the Jacksonville Jaguars are hoping to avoid a holdout from another offensive tackle.

UPDATE: Bengals release five, including Chris Perry and Gary Russell

Kirkendall — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 20:12:31 -0000

We wrote earlier that the Bengals will have a tight competition for two spots on the roster -- given that Cedric Benson is surely the team's feature back. Well, the first causalities have already begun. Chris Perry is one of the several players cut from the team, writes Geoff Hobson.

Running back Chris Perry became the first first-round pick of the Marvin Lewis era to be cut Monday when the Bengals ended his injury-riddled five-year career in Cincinnati.

They also cut safety Mike Doss as well as two players that saw players taken at their positions in the third round Sunday in defensive end/linebacker Eric Henderson and tight end Nate Lawrie.

None of these cuts go as any surprise. Chris Perry was all but given his walking papers as soon as Cedric Benson signed with the Bengals during the 2008 regular season. Eric Henderson, another walking-ridden player, was likely replaced by Michael Johnson and Nate Lawrie was the fourth tight end after Chase Coffman was drafted.

However, it's unclear how we (if we should) perceive Mike Doss' release. He wasn't a big contributor, but speculation about an imminent Roy Williams signing is going to gain traction. However after not touching the position in the draft, they signed safety Tom Nelson out of Illinois State, an undrafted free agent, late on Sunday night.

UPDATE: Joe Reedy writes in his post about the cuts, that Gary Russell was also waived. We hardly knew ya.

Detailed Analysis of Bengals Roster - Examining likelihood of drafting each position

Kirkendall — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 14:48:06 -0000

Every so often we try to re-examine the team's current roster and how it relates to the NFL draft. Since we have less than a week to go, I figure it was time for us to examine the roster, look at (unscientific) probabilities that we'll draft at that position, and get a general feel for where this team stands. We'll do this all again a week or two after the draft to reexamine the team's roster. Note: Best and Worst Case scenarios are based on long-term visions that I have after drinking some funky blue stuff. Here goes.

QUARTERBACK (3)
Even though the Bengals signed J.T. O'Sullivan this off-season in response to Ryan Fitzpatrick departure for Buffalo, Cincinnati could look at drafting a quarterback, whom would compete with Jordan Palmer for that number-three emergency quarterback slot. If all goes well, and the Bengals select a late-draft quarterback (sixth round or later), there's a chance they could luck into finding a long-term backup solution. If all goes poorly, then we'll have another Jeff Rowe on our hands. I rated the Bengals quarterbacks as strong, weighting Palmer's return much more than any player does at any position. Without Palmer, it's a mediocre position.

Strength of position: Strong
Probability of drafting position: Maybe
Best case scenario: Find a quarterback late in the draft to eventually become a long-term backup solution.
Worst case scenario: Jeff Rowe
Highest round team could draft: Fifth Round

Carson Palmer
J.T. O'Sullivan
Jordan Palmer

RUNNING BACK (6)
This off-season, the Bengals were able to re-sign Cedric Benson to a two-year contract, and recently claimed Gary Russell off of waivers. Still on the roster is Kenny Watson, who briefly became the team's feature back in 2007 and recorded two 130-yard plus performances. Chris Perry's low yard-per-rush and propensity to fumble likely cost him. DeDe Dorsey and James Johnson will have to put together masterful off-season and training camp performances just to have a shot on the roster. The Bengals are likely drafting a running back to backup Benson while, we think, Russell will be primarily used as a short-yardage/goalline back.

Strength of position: Average
Probability of drafting position: High
Best case scenario: Draft a running back that plays behind Benson and eventually replaces him as the team's starting running back within a year or two.
Worst case scenario: Kenny Irons
Highest round team could draft: Second Round

Cedric Benson
Gary Russell
Kenny Watson
Chris Perry
DeDe Dorsey
James Johnson

FULLBACKS (2)
In 2004 and 2005, former Bengals running back Rudi Johnson broke franchise single-season rushing marks in back-to-back seasons. A large part of that contribution goes to quality blocking from the fullback spot. Daniel Coats moved to fullback last season. And while he did his best in the transformation from tight end to fullback, he's just not an NFL-caliber blocker.

Strength of position: Very Weak
Probability of drafting position: High
Best case scenario: A bull-dozer.
Worst case scenario: Not realizing the need for a quality fullback and doing nothing about it.
Highest round team could draft: Fifth Round

Daniel Coats
J.D. Runnels

WIDE RECEIVER (8)
This has been the most talked about position during the off-season; ranging from T.J. Houshmandzadeh's departure to trade rumors about Chad Johnson. Furthermore, the Bengals costliest free agent pickup was Laveranues Coles. With all that said and done, there's really no concrete idea of what the Bengals are going to do here. One argument suggests that the Bengals will pick up a top-tier wide receiver in the first round, with an opposite argument that the Bengals won't draft anyone. With Johnson, Coles and Chris Henry the top-three receivers on the depth chart, and Andre Caldwell and Jerome Simpson drafted last season, I don't see any way the Bengals draft a receiver. When and where would he play? Basing a conclusion at this position is a matter of conjecture and I don't believe the Bengals will, or even should, draft a receiver. If Johnson is traded, we'll see. However, I've been very clear on my position about the team drafting a receiver. I don't like it. However, this is the only position in which I rate "probability of drafting position" as unknown.

Strength of position: Strong (based on potential), Average overall
Probability of drafting position: Unknown
Best case scenario: Not drafting a receiver and Caldwell and Simpson come through.
Worst case scenario: Bengals use the first-round pick for a wide receiver and he never gets playing time.
Highest round team could draft: First through Fifth

Chad Johnson
Laveranues Coles
Chris Henry
Andre Caldwell
Jerome Simpson
Antonio Chatman
Mario Urrutia
Maurice Purify

TIGHT END (5)
We're a spoiled bunch when it comes to tight ends. No, not recently of course. Through our history, the franchise has seen all-pro quality tight ends with great hands. Then when the Bengals offense recently morphed back to a passing offense, the philosophy turned tight ends into blockers to help protection and limit trends between blocking and receiving specific ends. The question here is how do you think tight ends should be built in Cincinnati now?

Strength of position: Weak (if you think TEs should be receivers), Mediocre (overall)
Probability of drafting position: Low
Best case scenario: Utecht provides a reason why we should have signed him.
Worst case scenario: Kelly leaves after the year, Utecht is disappointing (or injured) again and Matt Sherry amounts to nothing.
Highest round team could draft: Fifth Round

Reggie Kelly
Ben Utecht
Matt Sherry
Nate Lawrie
Brad St. Louis (LS)

OFFENSIVE TACKLE (4)
We've talked about offensive tackles just as much, if not more than Chad Johnson rumors. The facts are appalling; 51 quarterback sacks allowed, and the league's 30th best yard-per-rush average. As it stands, Collins and Jones would figure to be the team's starting offensive tackles. However, Jones has been reportedly on the trading block, and additional reports suggest that he'll just be released if no suitors are found. There is an option that the Bengals could move guard Andrew Whitworth to tackle. However, until that happens, we're keeping Whitworth as a guard in our analysis.

Strength of position: Weak
Probability of drafting position: Certain
Best case scenario: First-round draft pick contributes to an offensive line rebound and multiple All-Pro selection.
Worst case scenario: Bengals do little to address the position leaving the line in a weakened state and pushing back personnel turnover to a point that rebuilding efforts are pushed back an additional year.
Highest round team could draft: First Round

Anthony Collins
Levi Jones
Dennis Roland
Scott Kooistra

GUARD (4)
While offensive tackle is rated as a certain need, guard really isn't that far behind. However the urgency is less because the team figures to have two starting guards, and a third guard that filled in decently when Whitworth went down in 2008. The issue here is 2010. After this year, the only guard on roster will be Andrew Whitworth. If the Bengals don't draft a guard or two this year, it will likely become a critical need in 2010.

Strength of position: Average
Probability of drafting position: Maybe-High
Best case scenario: Bengals draft a quality guard this year, allowing Williams to mentor him for a season and becomes starter in 2010.
Worst case scenario: As typical with the Bengals perception, guards aren't all that critical. Therefore don't address the position and draft guards next year simply to fill the roster.
Highest round team could draft: Fourth Round

Bobbie Williams
Andre Whitworth
Nate Livings
Evan Mathis

CENTER (3)
The first draft pick by the Cincinnati Bengals franchise was a center. That's how Paul Brown viewed the offensive line; build from the center out. During the height of the Bengals offensive success during the Carson Palmer era, Rich Braham occupied center, directing traffic and handling the beasts of the AFC North. After his injury in 2006, the Bengals offense began to depreciate. No, we're not blaming Eric Ghiaciuc here -- there's was a general lack of effort by the coaches and front office to rebuild the offensive line allowing the team to suffer so poorly in 2008.

Strength of position: Mediocre
Probability of drafting position: Certain
Best case scenario: Bengals draft one of the top-three centers in the second round as part of a long-term offensive line rebuilding project.
Worst case scenario: Bengals do nothing and put all their faith with the centers on roster, once again, deciding that rebuilding the team's offensive line isn't critical.
Highest round team could draft: Second Round

Dan Santucci
Kyle Cook
Andrew Crummey

DEFENSIVE END (5)
You know the issue here; two highly paid defensive ends failed to pressure the quarterback with any consistency evident by terrible sack numbers. However, because both defensive ends are highly paid, we don't project the Bengals drafting a defensive end on the first day of the NFL draft. However (part 2), because of the Bengals terrible pass rush, many experts are projecting that the Bengals will draft a defensive end high; even in the first round. While they've made some plays in the past, the Bengals roster of backup defensive ends can be, and perhaps should be, easily replaced.

Strength of position: Mediocre
Probability of drafting position: Maybe
Best case scenario: Bengals find a gem in the fifth round or later that challenges the two highly paid defensive end to put in some production. Also, Antwan Odom and Robert Geathers were hurt last year; having a "gem" as a backup player that can get to the quarterback will help immensely if injury becomes a factor again.
Worst case scenario: 2008
Highest round team could draft: First

Robert Geathers
Antwan Odom
Frostee Rucker
Jonathan Fanene
Chris Harrington

DEFENSIVE TACKLE (5)
Last year, the Bengals had defensive tackles Sedrick Ellis and Glenn Dorsey high on their board. This year, with the potential we've seen from Pat Sims, the signing of Tank Johnson and the potential of Jason Shirley, the Bengals could totally leave defensive tackle alone in the NFL draft. On the other hand, the Bengals could draft a defensive tackle high in the draft to complete a four-man rotation of Peko, Sims, Tank and super-massive defensive tackle, forcing the team into a combinations of rush-defensive tackles and pass-defensive tackles. Still, we don't see it. It seems more likely that the Bengals could be content with defensive tackle already.

Strength of position: Average-Strong (based on potential)
Probability of drafting position: Low-Maybe
Best case scenario: Bengals rely on their two draft picks in 2008 and Pat Sims and Jason Shirley \ come through.
Worst case scenario: Tank lost gas in the... well... and Sims and Shirley play average at best.
Highest round team could draft: First... more likely Fourth or later.

Domata Peko
Pat Sims
Tank Johnson
Jason Shirley
Orien Harris

LINEBACKERS (7)
I've pointed out before that linebackers could be a serious concern after 2009. Everyone save for Keith Rivers and Dhani Jones will be free agents. It's to the point that if the Bengals don't draft a linebacker this year, this could be the primary focus during the weeks leading up to the 2010 NFL Draft. However, it's speculated that Aaron Curry is on top of the Bengals board this year, and if he falls, the Bengals could pounce on him. If that's the case, then the "need" is tremendously reduced. The question at this point would be, at what cost to the offensive line.

Strength of position: Average
Probability of drafting position: Likely
Best case scenario: Bengals draft as many as two linebackers, one middle and one strong-side to eventually replace the current starters.
Worst case scenario: Rivers is hurt again, Jones feels his age and the Bengals don't draft a linebacker in 2009.
Highest round team could draft: First (if Curry falls to us); Fourth or later if he doesn't.

Keith Rivers
Dhani Jones
Rashad Jeanty
Brandon Johnson
Darryl Blackstock
Abdul Hodge
Jim Maxwell

CORNERBACKS (5)
If you base grades on the starters, I believe that the Bengals cornerbacks are very strong. While they're not shutdown backs, perhaps not even elite backs, I think they've made their share of great plays on defense. David Jones showed he has some talent but there's plenty of room for improvement. The difference between the teams cornerbacks and backups is pretty significant. Mike Zimmer has said that he'd love to draft a cornerback to play nickel and/or coverage-specific safety. I believe that the Bengals will address cornerbacks later in the draft to improve their depth.

Strength of position: Strong
Probability of drafting position: Maybe
Best case scenario: Bengals draft a coverage-excellent cornerback and improves the overall depth at the position.
Worst case scenario: Bengals bank on injury-free season at cornerback and do nothing to improve their depth.
Highest round team could draft: Third-Fourth

Johnathan Joseph
Leon Hall
David Jones
Simeon Castille
Geoffrey Pope

SAFETY (6)
This is another position that we could make a strong case for. However, that projection is based on potential. Corey Lynch started well in 2008 before falling to injury. Marvin White has his moments -- good and bad -- but also fell to injury. Chris Crocker was an awesome surprise and now he's talking leadership. Chinedum Ndukwe is the team's best seventh-round pick since drafting Houshmandzadeh. At the same time, there's weaknesses at safety against the pass. How many plays were there when a pass went over the top while the safeties were sprinting to catch up with wide receivers that blazed by him? We suspect that the Bengals will address safety in the draft to acquire a guy that's better suited to defend the pass.

Strength of position: Average-Strong (based on potential)
Probability of drafting position: High
Best case scenario: Bengals find another start-quality safety stacking the position with potential talent.
Worst case scenario: Crocker slumps, Lynch is hurt again and the Bengals have to rely on lesser talent on the team's depth.
Highest round team could draft: Third-Fourth

Chinedum Ndukwe
Chris Crocker
Corey Lynch
Marvin White
Mike Doss
Kyries Hebert

PUNTER (2)
If the Bengals had a good performance from Kyle Larson last year, this might not be a big deal. However, when your offense is forced to punt 100 times in a season, that means a lot depends on field position. And we didn't get that. Opposing teams had shorter field positions and the Bengals were often playing from behind with a terrible offense. A good punter could have helped that. Not only have the Bengals brought in competition for Larson, but there seems to be a very high likelihood that the Bengals draft a punter.

Strength of position: Weak
Probability of drafting position: High
Best case scenario: Bengals draft UC's Kevin Huber; a guy they've targeted since the end of the season.
Worst case scenario: Larson returns as the team's punter.
Highest round team could draft: Sixth

Kyle Larson
Ryan Plackemeier

KICKER (1)
This is an interesting position. Place kicker Shayne Graham still hasn't signed his franchise contract. There's a chance that if Graham doesn't sign a long-term deal by the end of 2009, he could be gone for free agency. Will that mean that the Bengals will draft a kicker this year? No. Next year? Well, probably no.

Strength of position: Strong
Probability of drafting position: Unlikely
Best case scenario: Graham resigns
Worst case scenario: Graham doesn't resign
Highest round team could draft: Eighth

Shayne Graham (unsigned)

That's my analysis. You might agree, you might not. Either way, I expect to hear from your perspectives as the NFL draft is scary close.

Injury Report--Cincinnati v. Houston

Tim — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 14:29:21 -0000

Looking at the list of the Bengals' walking wounded this morning, I began to wish that I'd started drafting this post last Wednesday. Coming up with fourteen (14) unique medical afflictions would cut into valuable pre-game screwing around time, and I'm not willing to do that on a day as beautiful today. So forgive me for mailing this one in:

HOUSTON
D. Barber--out (hamstring)
A. Davis--out (finger)
M. Williams--probable (shoulder)

CINCINNATI
A. Caldwell--out
R. Maui'a--out
C. Palmer--out
J. Fletcher--doubtful
C. Mays--doubtful
J. Simpson--doubtful
B. Utecht--doubtful
N. Lawrie--questionable
A. Chatman--probable
S. Graham--probable
K. Hebert--probable
T.J. Houshmandzadeh--probable
D. Jones--probable
F. Rucker--probable

The fourteen (14) aforementioned Bengals are all suffering, to varying degrees, from Cushing's Syndrome.

Final Injury Report: Bengals @ Texans

Kirkendall — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 13:19:22 -0000

Typically during injury/practice reports, I just chart out everything as an informational post. This keeps you guys in the loop, providing an idea of how our guys (and opponents) are working through the week.

However, this week, I wanted to go through some things.

One has to wonder how serious Corey Mays' ankle injury is. Since the week against the Cowboys, Mays has been listed as either doubtful or out. He's listed this week as doubtful with a nagging ankle injury he suffered a few weeks back against the Browns. He hasn't been active since.
If anyone thought Houshmandzadeh would take off a week because of injury, then they don't know Houshmandzadeh. Since 2005, Houshmandzadeh has missed four games -- two in 2005 with a hand injury, two in 2006 with an ankle injury.
However, speaking of wide receivers, with Houshmandzadeh dealing with an ankle problem, they've lost Caldwell for perhaps a month. Jerome Simpson is doubtful with an ankle injury and Antonio Chatman is probable with the same injury.
In fact, the Bengals have three receivers with bum ankles.

Status

Bengals

OUT: WR Andre Caldwell (foot), RB Reagan Maui'a (hamstring), QB Carson Palmer (right elbow)
DOUBTFUL: CB Jamar Fletcher (hamstring), LB Corey Mays (ankle), WR Jerome Simpson (ankle), TE Ben Utecht (chest)
QUESTIONABLE: TE Nate Lawrie (back)
PROBABLE: WR Antonio Chatman (ankle), K Shayne Graham (right groin), S Kyries Hebert (ankle), WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh (ankle), CB David Jones (knee), DE Frostee Rucker (shoulder)

Texans

OUT: S Dominique Barber (hamstring), WR Andre Davis (finger)
PROBABLE: DE Mario Williams (shoulder)

Practices

BENGALS	Wed.	Thurs.	Fri.
WR Andre Caldwell (foot)	OUT	OUT	OUT
QB Carson Palmer (right elbow)	OUT	OUT	OUT
WR Antonio Chatman (ankle)	DNP	DNP	FP
CB Jamar Fletcher (hamstring)	DNP	DNP	DNP
S Kyries Hebert (ankle)	DNP	LP	FP
WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh (ankle)	DNP	FP	FP
CB David Jones (knee)	DNP	LP	FP
TE Nate Lawrie (back)	DNP	LP	FP
LB Corey Mays (ankle)	DNP	DNP	DNP
WR Jerome Simpson (ankle)	DNP	DNP	DNP
DE Frostee Rucker (shoulder)	LP	DNP	FP
TE Ben Utecht (chest)	LP	LP	DNP
K Shayne Graham (right groin)	FP	FP	FP
RB Reagan Maui'a (hamstring)	--	LP	OUT

TEXANS
WR Andre Davis (finger)	OUT	OUT	OUT
WR David Anderson (illness)	DNP	?	?
S Dominique Barber (hamstring)	DNP	DNP	OUT
DE Mario Williams (shoulder)	LP	LP	LP

DNP - Did Not Practice
LP - Limited Participation in Practice
FP - Full Participation in Practice

Additional roster moves

Kirkendall — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 21:51:39 -0000

The Bengals made a series of moves on Friday that included signing quarterback Jeff Rowe to the team's practice squad.

Special teams ace Herana-Daze Jones and backup center Kyle Cook were both sent to injury reserve. Cook injured his toe during warmups before the 31-22 loss to the Dallas Cowboys (only the Bengals suffer season-ending injuries during WARMUPS). Cook's injury likely forces Bobbie Williams into the role of backup center, in case Eric Ghiaciuc goes down.

The Bengals signed Geoffrey Pope, from the practice squad to replace Herana-Daze Jones, giving the Bengals 10 defensive backs. Nate Lawrie was also signed off the team's practice squad giving the team three tight ends... a position that hasn't contributed much this season.

With the signing of Rowe, and two players signed away, the Bengals now have eight players on the team's practice squad which includes the exemption of Carl-Johan Bjork -- so they can sign one more player.

Cook and Herana-Daze Jones increases the total of players on Injury Reserve to seven.

Thursday morning links and notes -- Marvin to fans "Do what you've got to do."

Kirkendall — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 15:19:45 -0000

The NFL is beyond popular. It's almost a way of life; tailgating, clothing, satellite packages (who uses satellite services just to ave NFL Ticket?), car decals, etc. This weekend kicked off with a boom; ESPN's Monday night doubleheader drew 12.5 million viewers for the Vikings-Packers game while 9.7 million for the late-night Broncos-Raiders game. Twenty eight of 29 NFL markets, NFL games topped the local ratings.

For the Bengals/Ravens disaster Sunday afternoon with 26.6% of local households tuned into the game with a 51% household share; clearly most rated program during that time in Cincinnati; and it's a trend that's consistent with most NFL cities.

I understand why so many Bengals fans are upset. Hell, I was confused, frustrated, etc. But for now, I'm going to apply the loss against the Ravens as just being a bad week. Let's see what happens up until the bye week. Otherwise, what's the point for the next 15 games?

Pragmatic takes a look at the Bengals offensive line -- and a look down memory lane. I agree, the offensive line hasn't been trustworthy. Unfortunately, I haven't had the time to review the game a second time around -- why the hell would I anyway? But my question is this: Were the Bengals offensive line truly outmatched, and beaten, or was the offense's inability to move the ball a product of the scheme? In other words, if the line has a hat on guys, and stick with them, then gaps open up for other defenders, wouldn't that a problem with the scheme rather than the line? Like I said, I don't know. Just a thought.

Marvin Lewis about fans who might be on the edge: “Do what you've got to do. That's what the focus is. If you're a fan, then be a fan. You get to determine that." Thanks. Between the attitudes of Mike Brown, and Marvin Lewis about the fans, why should we care anymore? Chick Ludwig weights in.

However, Palmer explained a different attitude from Lewis in a Wednesday team meeting:

"The first thing Marvin said was, 'We're going to be undefeated at home. We're going to protect our turf. We have great fans, and we need to keep 'em in the game by putting good stuff on the field,' "

Lewis Press Conference
Palmer Press Conference

Antwan Odom on playing his old team, the Tennessee Titans: "I want to show them what they missed out on. There's a lot of motivation. I want to go out and show them I can be a third-down guy, every-down guy. There's no hard feelings. It's a business."

James Walker on Palmer's 42-17 prediction for Saturday night's game between USC and tOSU. "There is nothing wrong with supporting your alma mater. But consider how big this game is and the way the Bengals are playing right now, this probably won't go over well in Ohio." Actually, we don't care what he predicts. If he throws four touchdowns and leads the Bengals to a win, all that alma mater rhetoric will be quickly forgotten.

Palmer isn't panicking about the offense's woes, however. "I know nobody wants to hear it, but it's Week 1. Not that there's an excuse or that it's OK, I just know how long this football season is and I know that the game that it really comes down to and the ones that really matter are the ones late."

So, the Bengals waived Nate Lawrie, the Ravens signed him to the practice squad, and then let him go so the Bengals could sign him back to the practice squad. What's wrong with that picture?

Marvin Lewis and the Bengals are "are working with Cincinnati Public Schools to launch a program that rewards students for getting good grades."

Which linebacker is better? USC's Ray Maualuga? Or tOSU's James Laurinaitis?

Beanie Wells isn't just expected to play Saturday night, but he's expected to be at full strength.

Saturday night will be a game between the top two college programs in this decade.

The Buckeyes need to protect the ball, have lights-out defense and play with an edge.