SB Nation - Adam Kieft

The 2005 NFL Draft is evidence in Cincinnati that what can go wrong, does go wrong

Kirkendall — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 14:36:37 -0000

Yahoo! Sports' Jason Cole writes that "only three first-round picks from the 2005 NFL draft have signed contract extensions with their initial franchise so far." The 2005 NFL Draft, James Walker writes, that "the top of this draft class was probably the worst of this decade. The best players turned out to be linebackers DeMarcus Ware and Shawne Merriman and neither went in the top 10." Some of the names in that first round include Alex Smith, Adam Jones, Troy Williamson, Mike Williams.

Of course we know the story about the 2005 NFL Draft from the Bengals perspective. Several players were a big part of the Bengals 2005 playoff run. Odell Thurman was one of the finalists for rookie of the year. David Pollack and Chris Henry figured to be a big part of the team's future. Tab Perry started out as a decent return man and that was the year Jonathan Fanene was drafted in the seventh round. Pollack's career ended in 2006 and Thurman hasn't played a snap since his rookie campaign. Henry's story is well known. Adam Kieft was injured all of the time and never played and Eric Ghiaciuc was, well, Eric Ghiaciuc. Tab Perry was hurt in the same game that Pollack was injured and never returned to form. Of all the players drafted in 2005, only Fanene received a contract extension (note: Henry was cut and then re-signed to a minimum two-year deal).

When 2005 was winding down, I thought to myself that this could be the defining draft in the Marvin Lewis era. Two great linebackers. A talented wide receiver that caused fits against third-string cornerbacks and safeties. Instead, as it seems to happen in Cincinnati, what can go wrong, does go wrong.

Jeanty praises Maualuga; Robert Jackson has no regrets; Once the observer, Kyle Cook earned his job

Kirkendall — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 15:01:55 -0000

More photos » by Tom Uhlman - AP

6 months ago: Cincinnati Bengals' Rey Maualuga takes a break during football practice in Cincinnati Friday June 19, 2009. (AP Photo/Tom Uhlman)

Browse more photos »

The Enquirer wrote a piece on Chad's Twittering adventures. It's kind of surprising. That's something you'll expect to see at a blog like Cincy Jungle; but a newspaper?

Kyle Cook spent most of his time last season, while injured, studying and observing.

“Even when I was hurt, I was still sitting in the back of the room paying attention, watching film, seeing what works against these guys and what doesn’t work against these guys. You get to see everything that goes on. You learn the right things and you also learn the wrong things.”

The Bengals offense is still Brat's offense, says Carson Palmer. However, Chick Ludwig points out that we should "look for more shifting and motioning by the wide receivers and running backs in an attempt to create matchup problems for enemy defenses."

Rashad Jeanty praises Rey Maualuga:

"You can tell he’s a middle linebacker,” Jeanty said, “but he’s playing like a strong-side linebacker’s supposed to. He’s tough. He’s sticking his head in there. He’s a guy who reminds me a little of myself.” Jeanty acknowledged the competition will be tough, but he sees nothing wrong with that. “Whoever is not the starter, I’ll tell you, he’s going to be a hell of a backup,” Jeanty said.

In 1988, former defensive back Robert Jackson had "waged" such a contract dispute with the Cincinnati Bengals, that he sat out the entire season and missed Super Bowl XXIII. He torn knee ligaments during a preseason game in 1982, which kept him from playing in Super Bowl XVI. Many years later, he holds no regrets.

"I don't feel cheated by anything that might have been seen as negative in my career," Jackson said. "The injuries, the contract thing while playing in the business of the NFL, was all part of the game. I understand that.

"In 1988, I just felt I was above that normal standard of pro defensive backs. My play and numbers showed I was among the best secondary players in the NFL at that time. I did what I had to do, and the Bengals did what they had to do. The only thing I didn't like was they held my rights and I couldn't go anywhere else."

Dave points out that Central Michigan offensive lineman Joe McMahon is available for July's supplemental draft. It's not that I believe in trends, or karma. However, the last two offensive linemen that we picked up from Central Michigan were Eric Ghiaciuc and Adam Kieft. Just saying.

Irony Note of the Week: Before Ghiaciuc and Kieft, the last player from Central Michigan the Bengals drafted was, Robert Jackson.

Breaking down and ranking drafted positions in Cincinnati since 2003

Kirkendall — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 15:47:42 -0000

Breaking down Cincinnati's draft since 2003, I wanted to see how many players were left at each position and the strength of that position based on the foundation of the team's drafted players. There were some positions I didn't bother listing. Like quarterback, since there's no emphasis of improving the position after the team drafted Carson Palmer. I didn't list Tight Ends, because the last Tight End taken before Matt Sherry in 2008, was Matt Schobel in 2002. We're not going to grade positions based on arbitrary made-up numbers and letters; rather simply point out how many players are left, and perhaps some equation of how many are (and were) starters. I placed a strong emphasis on where the team is today based on these draft picks; not how they've performed during their Cincinnati career, other than possibly being starters. We can have that discussion if you'd like, but that's not the heart of this post.

I am, however, going to rank the positions we've drafted. This is nothing more than my opinion, and not some concocted Football Outsiders formula.

Here goes.

Dating back to 2004, the Bengals have drafted eight defensive backs -- six of whom have multiple starts, two of whom are first-round draft picks. During the 2006 and 2007 draft, Lewis drafted four guys at all four defensive back positions that started at one time in multiple games. Of the nine defensive backs since 2003, five remain, one signed a rich contract with the Vikings and another helped the Colts into the playoffs. There has been talent drafted by the Bengals at defensive back.

Defensive Backs	Year	Round
Corey Lynch	2008	6
Leon Hall	2007	1
Marvin White	2007	4
Chinedum Ndukwe	2007	7
Johnathan Joseph	2006	1
Keiwan Ratliff	2004	2
Madieu Williams	2004	2
Greg Brooks	2004	7
Dennis Weathersby	2003	4

If you look at the list of offensive linemen, there is a lot of good. Eric Steinbach wasn't just a starter -- he played tackle and center. He was signed to one of the richest contracts in NFL history as a guard. Andrew Whitworth took over Steinbach's departed role as the team's starting guard, that can play tackle at a moment's notice. Anthony Collins was perhaps the biggest surprise when he was asked to block some of the league's best pass rushers at the tail-end of 2008. Stacy Andrews started several games, and left for more money in Philadelphia. While we're generally not happy about the way Ghiaciuc's career panned out, he has been the team's starting center since 2006 -- perhaps that's just lack of options? Of eight drafted offensive linemen, four remain and only one has significant starting experience -- however, Collins is on pace to be the team's starting tackle for this season and beyond.

The problem with the offensive line is the lack of players drafted that are starting today. Levi Jones was a 2002 draft pick and has possibly already played his final game in a Bengals uniform. Bobbie Williams was a free agent and Ghiaciuc and Andrews are likely gone. Heading into this season and next, the Bengals are lacking a core of drafted players because most of them have already left Cincinnati, or are, at best, backup talent.

Offensive Linemen	Year	Round
Anthony Collins	2008	4
Dan Santucci	2007	7
Andrew Whitworth	2006	2
Eric Ghiaciuc	2005	4
Adam Kieft	2005	5
Stacy Andrews	2004	4
Eric Steinbach	2003	2
Scott Kooistra	2003	7

I was conflicted with our defensive line. Since 2003, we've drafted ten defensive linemen -- six of whom remain with the team. Both of our projected starting defensive tackles are our draft picks, and the team's best pass rusher, Robert Geathers, was drafted in 2004. Toeaina was favored with some -- but having placed him on the practice squad for a significant period of time in 2007 opened the door for the Chicago Bears to sign him away. Pat Sims has a high ceiling and could be the team's starting defensive tackle for some time, while guys like Frostee Rucker, Jonathan Fanene and Jason Shirley remain fixed as backups. I don't believe we've drafted great with defensive linemen, but there we have picked up a few pieces that figure into the team's long-term vision.

Defensive Line	Year	Round
Pat Sims	2008	3
Jason Shirley	2008	5
Matt Toeaina	2007	6
Frostee Rucker	2006	3
Domata Peko	2006	4
Jonathan Fanene	2005	7
Matthias Askew	2004	4
Robert Geathers	2004	4
Langston Moore	2003	6
Elton Patterson	2003	7

I realize that ranking wide receivers could be the most premature of all positions. First of all, there was little reason to draft the best wide recever in any draft because the team had already invested in Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh -- even Peter Warrick was figuring into the team's long-term vision until a degrading knee condition suffered in 2003 ended his NFL career. Between 2003-2007, the teams drafted six wide receivers, primarily looking for depth and that viable #3 receiver. Even though he's embarrassed the team, and stunted his own growth, Chris Henry had both the talent and size to be the league's best #3 receiver. He's still with the team and reportedly working hard to have his talent and potential realized. During the last off-season (between 2007-2008), Chad Johnson cried and negotiations for T.J. Houshmandzadeh weren't going well. So the Bengals drafted three wide receivers, two of whom were thought to be replacements for both 30-plus year-old receivers. The 2008 draft was definitely considered a rebuilding draft for wideouts, therefore it's hard to really grade this. You can't based their projected careers on their rookie season's because of the talent that they had to leap-frog to get there. This season and next will be critical for them.

Wide Receivers	Year	Round
Jerome Simpson	2008	2
Andre Caldwell	2008	3
Mario Urrutia	2008	7
Ethan Kilmer	2006	7
Bennie Brazell	2006	7
Chris Henry	2005	3
Tab Perry	2005	6
Maurice Mann	2004	5
Kelly Washington	2003	3

Linebackers have always been cursed during the Marvin Lewis era. David Pollack, Odell Thurman, Ahmad Brooks and A.J. Nicholson never really had their careers realized for one reason or another -- ranging from injury, off-the-field issues to simply not being good enough. Landon Johnson started many games, led the team in tackles then left. Of the nine linebackers drafted since 2003, six have started. What makes linebackers ugly, is that only drafted linebacker remains on the team today.

Linebackers	Year	Round
Keith Rivers	2008	1
Angelo Craig	2008	7
Ahmad Brooks	2006s	3
A.J. Nicholson	2006	5
David Pollack	2005	1
Odell Thurman	2005	2
Caleb Miller	2004	3
Landon Johnson	2004	3
Khalid Abdullah	2003	5

Drafting running backs has been terrible for this team. If you exclude Jeremi Johnson, the Bengals have drafted Kenny Irons and Chris Perry since 2003. That's it. Irons' NFL career is likely over and Chris Perry has suffered through several season-long injuries that's hampered his production and development. Our ranking of running backs is mostly degraded based on the fact that we've picked up so few, and of those we did pick up, have been disappointing at best. Perry's 2005 season was cause for hope that he'd become the team's "two" or a one-two punch with Rudi Johnson -- or another powerback. That vision never fulfilled itself and if Perry isn't cut by the regular season, he's likely playing his final season in a Bengals uniform.

Running Backs	Year	Round
Kenny Irons	2007	2
Chris Perry	2004	1
Jeremi Johnson	2003	4

That's my opinion guys, what's yours?