SB Nation - John Thornton

Bengals Banter: Should the Bengals go pass happy against the Vikings?

Kirkendall — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 16:17:42 -0000

Should the Bengals attack the Vikings through the air this weekend? It's not exactly a state secret that the Cincinnati Bengals decided to follow the same model that two successful AFC North teams have used in their own respective successes. Effective rushing offense. Strong defense. So when the Bengals rush the football more than they ever have on a Marvin Lewis team, is the question about balance all that necessary? Then again, what do you mean by balance? Do you mean yardage? Do you mean play calling?

The Bengals offense has rushed the football 51.2% of the time, while passing 49.7% of their 793 offensive snaps. Though, I feel you while your argument starts simmering about predictability. This isn't a Bob Bratkowski bash-fest.

But my primary question is, what philosophy is working best this year? The combined winning percentage of the top ten teams that have passed the most through 12 games this year, is 0.675 (81-39). The combined winning percentage of the top ten teams that have rushed the football the most this year is 0.625 (75-45).

The next question. With Cincinnati heading to the comforts of a warm dome in Minnesota, should the Bengals go from a rush-heavy offense to a pass-happy offense? The Vikings have one of the best tackle combinations in the league, which limits opposing offenses to 84.2 yards rushing per game -- third in the NFL -- with only three touchdowns rushing allowed all season. On the other hand, the Vikings are middle of the pack against the pass. They're passing defense ranks 21st, allowing 18 touchdowns this season with an opposing quarterback rating of 91.2. But they also sport the league's best pass rush, sacking the quarterback 40 times this season.

So if you're the Cincinnati Bengals' offensive coordinator? Would you game plan a passing attack? Keep the status quo and pound the football until the Viking stop you? Or would you do your best to have a balanced attack?

Bengals should have an indoor facility. There's some raising the issue that the Cincinnati Bengals are unnecessarily traveling to Mason during inclement weather to practice indoors. Joe Reedy writes, "It also throws another unnecessary wrinkle into the preparation for Sunday's contest at 10-2 Minnesota. Instead of having the extra time to watch film or refine game plans to face Brett Favre and company, the team spent at least 90 minutes going to and from Mason."

You mean to tell me that the only place that the Bengals can practice indoors in the entire Cincinnati region is all the way in Mason -- like we're taking a bus ride to Rhode Island?

Paul Daugherty wrote, "The Bengals had to practice in Mason, because they dont have a bubble. You know M. Lewis was steamed about that. The public will not tax itself to pay for it, and you can bet The Family isn't likely to open its vault. The Men lose an hour and a half every time they have to get on the bus. The Family's business is football. Not winning football. Never forget that."

Palmer says: "It’s a pain. It’s a drag, but it is what it is," quarterback Carson Palmer said. "Just sitting on the freeway for 45 minutes or an hour – we’ve actually sat on the busses for a couple hours one year because of the snow. It’s the situation we’re in."

I have no doubt that the Bengals SHOULD have an indoor facility for days like today and for preparation in games that will be played indoors. I don't know a single person that doesn't support the Bengals building an indoor facility. Really, there's no better way of saying it then the Bengals should have one.

But god forbid that people have to travel 25 minutes during inclement weather on the highway which has been totally clear during our snowy days this week. I'll play my little violin mp3 during my 40 minute one-way commute. And considering I have no reason to believe that the Bengals are spending their entire waking hours watching film, I'm sure the commute to and from Mason is easily packed into their working day.

But in the end, yes, the Bengals need to join the ranks of other teams with an indoor facility. It just makes too much sense.

Moving on...

Did you know that Carson Palmer is the best passer in the NFL on third and long? It's true. Of the 52 pass attempts he's made on third and longer-then-eight, Palmer has recorded 25 first down passes. That's nine percentage points over second place Tony Romo.

James Walker asks the question, are the Bengals elite? Scouts Inc.'s Matt Williamson doesn't think so. Why?

Williamson believes the Bengals have several holes that could be costly when they meet elite competition down the stretch. The two most glaring weaknesses Williamson points to are the Bengals' lack of depth at cornerback and their unwillingness to throw deep on offense.

We meant to do this earlier in the week. WhoDeyFans is having a gathering at Bar 71 this weekend for the Viking and Bengals game to "partake in dollar beers, cheap wings and great burgers". All Bengals fans are welcome.

Chad: "They’ll keep jacking up the fines, I’ll keep jacking up the celebrations." Should there be a worry that the NFL could suspend Chad if they finally discover that fines haven't really ever worked?

Domata Peko: "I’ll be fine. I’m feeling good. I wish I could have played these two games (against the Vikings and Chargers). These are big games, with the big running backs they have."

John Thornton weighs in on the rotating right tackle, saying "the Bengals should settle in on a guy and roll with it."

Reader smoormaniddy points out Sports Illustrated's Ross Tucker's piece about how the Bengals used the practice squad.

What you didn't know is that three of the linemen who have started at least five games up front for the Bengals are veterans of the practice squad, including two who have spent multiple seasons on what used to be referred to as the taxi squad. Center Kyle Cook, left guard Nate Livings and right tackle Dennis Roland have earned their playing time the hard way and they play like it.

Mike Zimmer on Bengals rookies: "I’ve played a lot of rookies before, but never this many on a team that was good."

Notes from first post...

Listed below is the top ten quarterbacks ranked by passing attempts and their team's record.

Quarterback	Attempts	Rating	Team	Record
Peyton Manning	460	101.9	Colts	12-0
Tom Brady	458	96.9	Patriots	7-5
Matt Schaub	434	97.2	Texans	5-7
Jay Cutler	421	75.3	Bears	5-7
Aaron Rodgers	420	103.3	Packers	8-4
Tony Romo	414	96.3	Cowboys	8-4
Joe Flacco	406	84.6	Ravens	6-6
Kurt Warner	404	97.0	Cardinals	8-4
Brett Favre	403	108.5	Vikings	10-2
Drew Brees	392	111.3	Saints	12-0
				81-39

Rushing offenses

Teams	Attempts	Yards	Record
New York Jets	432	2,023	6-6
Cincinnati Bengals	406	1,607	9-3
Miami Dolphins	398	1,805	6-6
Carolina Panthers	378	1,823	5-7
New Orleans Saints	374	1,711	12-0
Tennessee Titans	372	1,989	5-7
Minnesota Vikings	351	1,483	10-2
New York Giants	351	1,495	7-5
Denver Broncos	342	1,507	8-4
Jacksonville Jaguars	339	1,356	7-5
			75-45

Bengals Banter: Cincinnati isn't the only good team dealing with sellout issues

Kirkendall — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 15:29:16 -0000

More photos » by David Kohl - AP

17 days ago: Cincinnati Bengals guard Bobbie Williams (63) greets fans after his team defeated the Cleveland Browns 16-7 in an NFL football game in Cincinnati, Sunday, Nov. 29, 2009. (AP Photo/David Kohl)

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First things first. We at Cincy Jungle will be supporting our great University of Cincinnati Bearcats Saturday as they take on -- and take it to -- the Pitt Panthers for the Big East championship as well as a BCS game and, if the planets align, a national championship. We'll have an open thread today a few minutes before the game starts. Join us. Won't you?

This week we wrote things about the team's passing game, pointing out Palmer's struggles, especially under pressure. Here's the thing. We're not criticizing Palmer. We're pointing out facts. And if anything, we're pointing out, sometimes a lot more than we'd like, that the Bengals offense has taken such a dramatic change from a finesse passing team to a power rushing offense. If you haven't noticed that by now, then keep coming to Cincy Jungle. Even though veteran readers groan, we mention it at least once a week.

That's not to say we believe that Palmer is losing anything. Nor do we think he's a detriment to the team. And for the love of god, we don't hate him either. Far from it. Palmer was Cincy Jungle's MVP of the Midseason. He's not putting up gaudy passing statistics, compared to his 16-game averages from 2005-2007. No. But he's doing things he hasn't done before. He's picking up first downs any way he can, most notably, his legs. Under the most pressure when the Bengals have to score to win, Palmer takes charge and leads the offense to a game winning score. He just wins games. I still believe Palmer is the MVP of this offense, if not the team, for his leadership and late-game heroics.

So when we criticize Palmer, don't think we're hating on the guy. We're just merely pointing out things we've observed at that moment. The general overview of the God of Golden Arms is a suffocating man-crush on the guy. Does that clear the air?

+ Lineup Changes against the Lions. While listed as doubtful, the Bengals will be without Domata ">Peko, Bernard Scott and Jonathan Luigs against the Lions, writes Joe Reedy. Pat Sims will make his fourth start this season for Peko, while Larry Johnson is expected to take on the backup role with Scott being out. Brian Leonard is still expected to do what he does on third downs. Sims previous three starts came against the Browns, Ravens and Texans during a stretch in which Tank Johnson had to sit because of a foot injury.

+ Bengals aren't the only good team dealing with sellout issues. We've always assumed that the Bengals struggle to sell tickets this season has a lot to do with the economy. I still suspect that that is mostly true. However, "14 of the league’s 176 games have been blacked out" this year. Most of the teams that have been hit by blackouts, like the Lions, Rams, Raiders are having horrible seasons. Why would anyone want to spend the amount of money to watch an NFL team if you expect them to lose every week? That makes sense, right?

It's not just bad teams being hit by the threat of blackouts every week. The Jacksonville Jaguars are 6-5 and fighting for a wildcard spot in the AFC. They've been blacked out six times and owner Wayne Weaver "doesn't anticipate selling out any home games in 2009." The San Diego Chargers are 8-3, fighting the Bengals for the second seed in the conference, and have run the risk of not selling out for the first time since November 7, 2004. Last week, the Chargers were granted two extensions to sellout a home game against the Chiefs.

Joe Reedy writes that the league has granted 17 extensions this year. Four of them have been granted to the Arizona Cardinals, who are 7-4 and, you know, last year's Super Bowl participants.

More, more, more

Pat Sims and Frostee Rucker are going to give away tickets to Sunday's game, writes John Thornton. "Each player wants to get two families of four, with two children, to the game. If you are a single parent with three kids, that will work as well. And please reserve the tickets for people who have never been to a Bengals game."

Did you know: The Detroit Lions are the last team in the NFL to play a regular season game at Paul Brown Stadium?

CNati's Scott Priestle writes that defensive end Michael Johnson will face quarterback Matthew Stafford for the fourth straight year. Last year, Johnson was at Georgia Tech and Stafford in Georgia. Johnson "had only one sack and batted down one pass in three games against Stafford and Georgia."

Marvin Lewis will be on the Bengals sidelines. Jim Schwartz will be on the Lions sidelines. Both coaches coached for the Baltimore Ravens at the same time while Brian Billick, the head coach at the time, will serve as the game analyst for Fox.

Hey, where's my carriage...and what's that pumpkin doing there?

A Pragmatic Bengals Fan — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 14:54:16 -0000

More photos » by David Kohl - AP

about 1 month ago: Cincinnati Bengals running back Cedric Benson (32) runs past Houston Texans linebacker Zac Diles (54) on his way to a 10-yard touchdown run in the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 18, 2009, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/David Kohl)

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Okay everyone, I'm not going to tell you that the sky is falling but I may have reached for my umbrella once or twice yesterday. There is much bad and precious little good to talk about from yesterday's game, so let's get right into it.

I sat down to watch yesterday's game excited. I was anticipating a fight from the Texans, but judging by the mental fortitude shown by our Bengals over the past four weeks I expected the men in stripes to prevail in what I hoped to be the fifth consecutive victory from the Bengals. I was hoping to see a team come out swinigng at home for their fans, for their pride and for a continued sense of respectability in the national media. That wasn't what I saw yesterday.

Instead, I saw a team that came out flat with a short first offensive series after electing to receive the ball once again and a defense that looked good again until it lost two of its best players. Let's not beat around the bush, the loss of Antwan Odom is a very scary proposition and has the potential to be devastating. After the way Odom reshaped his body in the offseason adding bulk he has been an animal this year...a man possessed. He may not have notched another sack yesterday, but he did block a field goal. Losing production like he's provided hurts in a major way, and I don't have high hopes that the Bengals will be able to garner that production from anyone else. Perhaps Robert Geathers can prove me wrong and bring the heat from the other side (or from the right side if they slide him over), but so far this year I haven't seen it from Geathers even after all of the double-teams have been put on Odom through six weeks. Geathers has looked fairly pedestrian this year, a far cry from his 10.5-sack form or the man who terrorized the Ravens in the 2007 season opener.

Frostee Rucker is likely to replace Odom, and that scares me as well. Frostee has always made plays when healthy, but therein lies the rub. The guy can't seem to stay healthy long enough to make a real impact by being on the field to make those plays. I can only hope that the team can pull enough production out of a Rucker/Michael Johnson rotation to make up some of the slack created by Odom's absence for the remainder of the '09 campaign.

I along with the rest of you wait with baited breath for the announcement of Domata Peko's MRI results as well. Not only losing the NFL's sack co-leader but also losing your primary defensive tackle will hurt you in a hurry, and that's what we saw all day yesterday. Tank Johnson brings a lot of the same skill set that Peko brings to the table, but can he stay healthy enough to increase his snaps to cover any prolonged Peko absence? Many will poo-poo Peko's absence saying that they've never seen him be a dominating player, but Domata is a highly underrated player that draws an awful lot of double-teams himself. He is also a respected leader on that defensive line. Not having him lining up for any extended period of time will hurt this team almost as much as losing Odom will. I hope that Katie Blackburn has been on the phone with John Thornton today...we could use him right about now.

On offense I'm puzzled by a few things. Primarily, how bad can Chase Coffman possibly be that he hasn't dressed yet this year? I would go back and count how many critical drops Dan Coats has logged, but I'm not currently in a place where I can take my shoes off. Top it off with J. P. Foschi's fumble yesterday to basically eliminate any chance of an eleven-point comeback and it equals a big fat Tight End Receiving Fail. Coffman was the most prolific receiving tight end in NCAA history a year ago and in a season where Palmer is using the tight end as his primary hot read, how can Coffman possibly not be an option when Dan Coats would make a terrific DB considering how many passes he's knocked down?

Too many penalties continue to pile up on the offensive line. We've talked about it every week. Paul Alexander, please start knocking some sense into our linemen's heads. Mental errors have killed far too many drives over the past six weeks. Please fix this.

Oh wait...I'm not done talking about dropped passes yet. Laveranues Coles, thank you for catching a touchdown yesterday. That isn't going to make me forget about your dropped first down in the fourth quarter, though. Drops are killing this football team. It's getting to the point where I'm waiting for a drop in any drive where momentum is starting to build. I don't know if Carson is throwing the football harder than he did in the past (ever seen Rookie of the Year...maybe his elbow injury had that effect), but if Coles was catching balls from Fastball Favre all year last year I don't understand the dropsies in 2009.

I'm sure there were positives here and there yesterday, but when you watch your Cardiac Cats come out and play with as little heart as they did in the second half yesterday they're hard to come by for this blogger. Additionally, it's not unusual for us to see our offense be out-coached but Houston absolutely just took advantage of weaknesses in the Bengal defense all day yesterday. I don't recall Zimmer being out-coached that blatently since he's been here in Cincinnati. Hopefully he'll be able to bring the unit around and compensate for the losses of Odom and Peko (although hopefully Domata will return to us soon) for Chicago next week.

Again, I'm not ready to declare doom and gloom and preach fire and brimstone yet. I did however have a feeling yesterday that was awfully familiar. I felt like a Bengals fan again, and any of you who have been a Bengals fan as long as I have know exactly of what I speak.

I reman as always (although slightly less optimistically),

A Pragmatic Bengals Fan

P.S. I actually had to come back and write this. We abandon the run most of the day only to decide to run a draw on first down, down by eleven with three minutes to go. I nearly threw something. I actually unleashed the fury of the CAPS lock key on my Twitter when that play was called and subsequently eaten up by the Texans defense.

Sage advice from Mo Egger for new/returning Bengals bandwagon fans:

A Pragmatic Bengals Fan — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 13:37:20 -0000

This is just brilliant satire from our friend Mo Egger's blog over at The Homer. You'll see it was posted a couple of days ago due to the fact that he refers to Brad St. Louis as a current Bengal, but I'll parenthetically repair that. With Mo's permission I lovingly repost this piece that gave me more than one belly laugh yesterday when I read it. Hit the jump to read one of the best things I've read in a while.

-This week, and for a while until the team falters, the number of Bengals bandwagon fans you'll see will increase. I like bandwagon fans. The more people that want to talk about my favorite team, watch games, tailgate, the better. To an extent, we're all bandwagon fans. Your interest in a team or sport ebbs and flows depending on the success of whom your rooting for.

So if you're a bandwagon fan, new to the 2009 Bengals, welcome. We're glad to have you and we hope you're here for a while, though we know we're just a loss or two away from seeing you leave our lives for a while. Let's enjoy the time we do have. Let's go through a couple of things....

First, let's get rid of that "2005 AFC North Champions" shirt. You need some new gear. That shirt isn't gonna help you blend in. It's been four years, and besides, a team from the Bengals' division won the title that year. Keep it as a keepsake if you must, but don't wear it.

Same for the lame "Two Johnsons and one big Willie" shirt you bought about four years ago. There's a Johnson still on the team, his name is Brandon. Rudi's gone, his effectiveness slipping probably around the time you checked out, sometime late in 2006, injured in '07, cut before last year. He's looking for a job. Chad is still here, but he doesn't go by "Johnson" anymore. He's "OchoCinco" now. And Willie's gone too, blown out before last season. Bobbie Williams, who was actually here when you last wore the orange and black, is the wise-old one on the offensive line.

Actually a lot of players you loved when you were last a fan are gone. Justin Smith has moved on. So has Landon Johnson, Levi Jones, Chris Perry, Madieu Williams, and Eric Steinbach, just to name a few.

Carson is still the quarterback, though he's just now rounding back into form after missing most of last year, when you were wondering why people still went to games and figuring out ways to scalp some Colts tickets.

Remember how much fun you had saying "Houshmandzadeh?" Yeah well, he's not here either. The fun name to say is "Maualuga." (MAH-WUH-LOO-GA)

The crazy hair guy is Domata Peko. Defensive line. Where John Thornton used to play. Shayne Graham is still on the team. He hangs out at 2009's place for the pretentious, Bootsy's. Speaking of Bootsy's, he's so 2005. Crack Sauce is the new Bootsy.

Oh yeah, and speaking of pretentious, Paul Brown Stadium still has luxury suites, football domain of the pretentious and bandwagon jumpers alike. I'm sure if you find your way to PBS, you'll be bee-lining the suites. Give the other a-holes my best. Ask how many people had to be laid off the retain it and how many of their company's lower-salaried workers get to enjoy it.

Also, when you last left us, our men were running up quite the arrest tally. Most of those fellows involved aren't here anymore. Odell Thurman has moved on the something called the UFL (I'd explain that concept, but your head would explode). What may surprise you is that Chris Henry is still here, and believe it or not, acting every bit the model citizen.

Marvin Lewis is still the coach. Mike Brown is still the owner. You won't understand why most of us still can't stand him despite the team's record. Perhaps you do your shopping in Butler County.

Let's see, who else might you be looking for? David Pollack? Neck injury forced him to retire. Sam Adams? Biggest free agent bust in team history, though he was possibly a worse owner than nose tackle. Owned a team called the Jungle Kats that played Arena Football. Actually, he might've been a worse owner than Mike Brown. Torry James is gone too. Replaced by Leon Hall. He and Jonathan Joseph are forming quite the duo in the defensive backfield. Cedric Benson is the new Rudi, wearing number 32. He's doing quite well. However, screams of "Ceeeed" are not repalcing "Ruuuuudi." Just yell "go!" when he carries it. There's also this newcomer named Andre Caldwell...he's been money late in games, caught the game-winning TD passes against both Baltimore and Pittsburgh, which since you might have been rooting for the Steelers at the time, is probably something you remember.

Brad St. Louis is now the object of our frustration. He's the long snapper. (Note from Craig, here's the reference to St. Louis I wrote about earlier. When this was posted two whole days ago he was still a Bengal.) Actually he was the long snapper when you were last with us, but you didn't know who he was because no one knows who the long snapper is if he's good, which he is not. You'll hear some grumbling about a guy named Andre Smith too. He was the Bengals' first round pick this year. He weighs as much as your Prius.

Anyway, welcome back to the bandwagon. It's great to have you. Throw on your new Bengals t-shirt (iron out the folds) or your Maualuga jersey and settle in for the season. At least until they lose two in a row.

A lesser error doesn't justify the fact it's an error; DeDe Dorsey scores two touchdowns

Kirkendall — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 14:50:31 -0000

I typically defend Geoff Hobson more often than not. No one has answered me when I ask who works harder than him on any other NFL team website. And if you complain he tends to have a favorable spin on the Bengals, well, then duh. How many times have you gone to your boss and said, "your product stinks and you suck at nearly everything you do." Oh, oh. I almost saw a hand back there. No? You have to put things in perspective. However, I can't defend him here.

One reason the Bengals don't make a move on long snapper Brad St. Louis? His punt snaps have been solid. If they get a guy in here that can do the short snaps but struggles with the long ones, that could be more damaging because a bad punt snap can end up in a touchdown as opposed to a missed three points or one point.

I can't. I can't possibly defend him. He's a good guy. And he pumps out information quicker than any beat writer out there. But I can't defend him here. I just, I just can't. I can't justify the logic of one error weighing more than another. They just shouldn't happen. Long snap. Short snap. Under center. Alright. That's enough of that. On to more important things.

+ Watched parts of the first UFL game on Versus Thursday night. The stadium wasn't even half full and the game seemed generally sloppy, which shouldn't be surprising. This is the first game of a new league and it will take time to build a following, provided they keep appealing to NFL fans during days in which the NFL isn't playing. Former Bengals running back DeDe Dorsey scored two touchdowns, leading the Las Vegas Locomotives to a 30-17 win over the California Redwoods.

Moving on, swan.

We had brought up the topic that maybe T.J. Houshmandzadeh's departure was a good thing. I referenced an old piece in which the team had gotten tired of Chad Ochocinco and Houshmandzadeh yelling at the God of Golden Arms Carson Palmer. John Thornton tweeted us, "TJ wasn't a problem in lockeroom tho or with Carson. TJ and Carson were closer than ppl know".

Don't forget to checkout the SB Nation Fantasy football updates -- I should be making an appearance this afternoon.

A South Carolina newspaper did a feature on former Gamecock cornerback Johnathan Joseph.

Who Dey Fans hopes the Bengals better use a two-running back system. They also examined the Bengals scouting department with a clear mind that doesn't include the ramblings of tired talking points.

Chad Ochocinco "all but guaranteed a Bengals' victory in Baltimore"

"They don’t really stand a chance, realistically speaking," Ochocinco said.

Pete Prisco analyzes the first quarter of the season. About all of the mentions we got was being runner up as the surprise team of the year (Denver took the nod) and being the team on the other side of the Fluke Play.

Don Banks says that Carson Palmer and the Bengals are back, while taking note that they're one bounce away from being an undefeated 4-0.

John Erardi talks about quarterback Joe Flacco and the Ravens offense. Erardi and Joe Reedy talk about Baltimore's killer rush defense.

Since 1999, there have been only 18 games where the Ravens have allowed a 100-yard rusher (the last was Kansas City’s Larry Johnson in 2006). The Bengals have done it three times: two by Corey Dillon and one by Rudi Johnson.

The Baltimore Sun's Mike Preston, while calling the Bengals soft, predicts a two touchdown lead. This is one of the posts we'll have on file next week if the Ravens lose.

Kevin Vanvalkenburg (apparently a costar in Van Helsing), writes that the Ravens left tackle Jared Gaither is looking like a long shot to play Sunday.

It was great having the Bengals on Hard Knocks; SBNation.com relaunches

Kirkendall — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 14:16:16 -0000

+ Last night, SB Nation relaunched the home page, SBNation.com, which will seek to do on a national level what each SB Nation network blog already does for its team or sport: provide the most timely, engaging and highest quality fan perspective information and conversation on the web. The company's CEO tells you what to expect with the new SBNation.com site.

This will by no means touch us, redefine what we do. Everything is still the same, save for a national level homepage. Think of it as the difference between ESPN.com and the division blogs. They're different. Make sure you check SBNation.com out at some point and put it in your favorites; unless you're like me who has so many favorites, that he's not sure what half of them are anymore.

+ HBO played the fifth and final episode of Hard Knocks Wednesday night. Let me say, first and foremost, this show has been terrific. It was neat getting in-depth perspectives of the star players, as well as those competing for a job. I'm glad people outside of the Cincinnati Bengals fanbase, got a better perspective with Chad Ochocinco. What I liked the most was the coaches. Marvin Lewis showed more emotion in this show than I've ever seen him. Jonathan Hayes' interaction with Chase Coffman probably reminds everyone of their own playing days and being ripped by the coaches. Most all of the position coaches had personality and most of the show's storylines, while jumpy sometimes, worked.

John Thornton summarizes the show, and relates with the players that struggle everyday just to keep a job in the NFL. He also points out that Pressley deserved the starting fullback job because "he pancaked pretty much every guy he touched".

It was a bit tense watching players wonder if they made the team or not. Tom Nelson, DeDe Dorsey, Chris Pressley and Fui Vakapuna were the most featured. Nelson and Dorsey got congratulatory calls from Marvin Lewis. Pressley was told that the team liked him and wanted him on the practice squad -- which is a good thing, because he's one play away from making the 53-man roster if Jeremi Johnson goes down. Vakapuna made it to the stadium, sat on a cart in the garage and Lewis approached him, telling him there's just no room.

Didn't it seem like when Chad was told he can't use Twitter and UStream like he wanted to, that he acted like a crack addict told that the supply was running out. When Coach Lewis told the team in a meeting that the new social media policy the league implemented was in place, Lewis also said it was banned from the lockerroom. Chad thought it was really in regards to him:

"He should have just called me into his office and told me; it was directed at me," The Ocho said. "I understand where the league is coming from. I understand where he's coming from."

I thought the concluding episode was a proper send off. I was thrilled to have the chance to watch the Bengals in-depth like that. There were moments where I regretted seeing what I saw, but I can't tell you how awesome it was. Good job HBO.

If you look at the Cincinnati Bengals roster, you have to ask yourself, is this team better than 2008?

Kirkendall — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 17:59:11 -0000

Relatively surprised by the lack of overall reaction from other fan sites, I had hoped for an idea of what others thought about the team's 53-man roster. Maybe some expected the look we received Saturday afternoon, thus electing to play off the analysis. Others could be sitting by, waiting for the practice squad announcement, as well as any changes after the Bengals make claims on the waiver wire; as well as possibly signing veterans; not that the practice squad has anything to do with the 53-man roster the Bengals will have heading into the regular season. And then maybe some are simply too disgusted to logically differentiate how the Bengals look this year, compared to last year, that led to a 4-11-1 season.

I've often chalked up last year as a season in which the Karma gods said, "it's your turn" to have a bunch of things happen that you won't recover from -- such as losing the starting quarterback, a disgruntled receiver, over 20 guys on IR (many of whom were starters), aging players where their body's are breaking down, etc. I know. It's an excuse. Excuses don't change the fact the Bengals started last year 0-8 and finished with the worst ranked offense in the league (note: we had a better record than Cleveland, so that's cool). That also doesn't mean the Karma gods won't point at us again in 2009. Perhaps it's our turn again. Carson Palmer goes down, the offensive line continues to struggle and the rushing offense becomes the biggest disappointment after high expectations. The defense has to bail us out, and historically speaking, that's not something we're capable of believing. Then again, if you believe in balance, all the went wrong last year, is righted. Palmer retains his title as the God of Golden Arms, the rebuilt offensive line comes through and Cedric Benson resumes what he did in the final three games last year -- averaging 154 yards from the line of scrimmage per game. Oh, and last year's 12th ranked defense with added personnel, makes a run at the top ten. Hey, anything could happen, right? After all, the Bengals are playing a much weaker schedule than they were in 2008. And in the division, during the past two even numbered seasons, the Baltimore Ravens struggled (6-10 in 2005, 5-11 in 2007) and the season after winning the Super Bowl in 2005, the Pittsburgh Steelers missed the playoffs. We can only hope for trends.

Will the Bengals make a run this year? That, like most things in life, is totally unpredictable. And no one predicted that quarterback Carson Palmer would miss 12 games in 2008. However, I believe that the Bengals will be far better this year than 2008. You can see that if you take a position by position look at the roster.

Quarterback - Saying that Palmer is returning assumes he won't get hurt again in 2009. And I won't say that durability issues are starting to become worrisome with our starting quarterback. The fact is, injury forced him to miss 75% of the regular season last year and this year's preseason (though mostly out of caution and additional time for rehabilitation during needless preseason games). The foundation of where the question is more answerable, points towards the team's backup quarterback. If Palmer goes down again, do you believe J.T. O'Sullivan is a better passer than Ryan Fitzpatrick? Some could point to this years preseason and answer yes. O'Sullivan also has a history of being a decent performers in some regular season games. Others will point to the same collection of arguments saying that Fitzpatrick had a good preseason in 2008 and J.T. O'Sullivan also has a history of being a disaster in some regular season games.

Running back - Let me remind you of last year. Chris Perry and Rudi Johnson had decent offseasons which fooled enough people into believing that both would mimic their incredible one-two combination in 2005. Johnson was hurt through the preseason and subsequently released. Perry never recorded more than 75 yards rushing and through six games in which he recorded 10 rushing attempts or more, he averaged three yards or more in only two games.

This is what you have to ask this year, adjusting your mindset into a comparitve analysis of where we were last year: Is Cedric Benson a better option than Chris Perry? Is Bernard Scott a better option than Kenny Watson? Is DeDe Dorsey in 2009 a better option that DeDe Dorsey in 2008? I suppose if he plays more than four games this year, that answer is yes.

Wide Receiver and Tight End . T.J. Houshmandzadeh leaves and Laveranues Coles arrives. This, to me, isn't the argument. Chad Ochocinco is far more motivated to play this year and he looks to play two combined Pro Bowl seasons in 2009. Chris Henry looks like he did his first two seasons where he recorded 15 touchdowns; along with his total life change in which you get the feeling that you can finally trust him. Even if you're asking for a comparison between two wide receivers (Houshmandzadeh and Coles) to see if the position is stronger, I believe looking at Chad and Henry's motivations clearly makes the position stronger alone.

Tight End on the other hand, is different. I do believe the position is weaker. I won't go on what we expect out of Chase Coffman, he's a rookie. We won't know until the season plays itself out. Reggie Kelly and Ben Utecht going down hurts the position, because two rookies are manning the position with Daniel Coats, who benefited greatly after Kelly went on IR because he was fighting for a roster spot with Coffman as the team's third Tight End. Now Coats, having the perfect scenario of two injuries playing out to make a roster spot, is now the team's starter. This will be the second time in two seasons he became the default starter because of injury.

Offensive Line. Not only is this the most critical for the team to improve upon, it's also one of the more dramatically changed compared to the starting lineup last year against the Baltimore Ravens.

	2008	2009 *
LT	Levi Jones	Andre Whitworth
LG	Andrew Whitworth	Nate Livings
C	Eric Ghiaciuc	Kyle Cook
RG	Bobbie Williams	Bobbie Williams
RT	Stacy Andrews	Anthony Collins

* Projected

I believe while we've improved at left tackle, we've dropped at left guard; Livings is replaceable at best. I also believe it's obvious that we've improved at center, while as of right, we're kind of pushing at right tackle. However, I'm too hesitant to actually say if we're improved or worse. Apart of me wants to say we are, because of the changes in perseonnel. However, another part of me just isn't sure.

Defensive End. Oddly enough, this position holds the same personnel this year as it did last year with one exception; Michael Johnson, who did not record a single sack during the preseason. In fact, this group only recorded two sacks in four preseason games; Robert Geathers sacked Tom Brady and Frostee Rucker had a sack, forced fumble and fumble recover.

This is where I believe we improved (albeit only slightly). Antwan Odom entered last year with a bum ankle, having been carted off at the start of Training Camp when he suffered the injury. He missed four games in the season and recorded three sacks on the first year of a well-paid contract. During the offseason, he gained bulk without losing the speed. Geathers looked great in the preseason, aggressively fighting blockers against the run and pass. I believe he's the best overall defensive end on the roster. Fanene has always been solid and can play both end and tackle. The biggest chance that the Bengals took was holding onto Rucker for one more season. It's not that he lacks talent; he just lacks the ability to stay healthy.

Defensive Tackle. John Thornton went into semi-retirement after this year, Jason Shirley converted to an offensive linemen and Michael Myers wasn't re-signed. The Bengals responded by replacing all of them with Tank Johnson. The Bengals will go into the regular season (as of this post) with three defensive tackles, likely using Rucker and Fanene in rotation. Is the position improved, worse or is it a push? I think this has everything to do with Sims, who led the team with three quarterback sacks during the preseason and led all defensive linemen with 13 total tackles. It's with my belief that he, not Tank Johnson, made a convincing argument to start opposite Domata Peko. The question though, is the position stronger than it was last year? I believe it is.

Linebackers. Think of it this way. Brandon Johnson recorded 112 tackles and Rashad Jeanty recorded 97 tackles last year. They ranked second and fourth respectively on the team. And there's a shot that neither will be starters against the Denver Broncos. Keith Rivers will retake his spot as the team's weak-side linebacker and it's evident that the Bengals coaching staff wants to start Rey Maualuga over Jeanty on the strong-side. Having two guys that combined for 209 tackles just shouts to the heavens that the Bengals strongest position, in terms of depth, is linebackers. The team's starting middle linebacker, Dhani Jones, is coming off a season in which he led the team with 165 tackles.

Compared to last year, the Bengals replaced Darryl Blackstock with Maualuga and Mays with Abdul Hodge, who led the Bengals with 18 tackles (13 solo) this preseason. Furthermore, if you watched the way Rivers played this year, he already looks far superior last year. He's quicker, stronger and far more aggressive than he was last year. He has the potential to be a multiple Pro Bowler. It's my belief that the Bengals linebackers is the strongest position on defense.

Secondary. Simeon Castille, Dexter Jackson, Herana-Daze Jones, Corey Lynch and Marvin White all have something in common; all were with the Bengals in 2008 when the season started; none are with the Bengals in 2009. Replacing those five are Geoffrey Pope, Morgan Trent, Chris Crocker, Roy Williams and Tom Nelson. I believe cornerbacks is improved, mostly because Johnathan Joseph and Leon Hall look better this year than last. Morgan Trent lacked a solid pedigree with the Michigan Wolverines that makes us conclude we've improved the position with Geoffrey Pope as a filler. The Bengals could even look at upgrading the position from now until the season kicks off on the waiver wire or on free agency.

As for safety, we appear better. The questions are; is Tom Nelson better than Corey Lynch and is Roy Williams better than Marvin White? Chris Crocker is obviously an improvement, considering he could be one of the team's secondary leaders.

Special Teams. Kyle Larson. Kevin Huber. Set. Serve. Match.

The roster as it is, isn't perfect. No roster in the NFL could possibly be perfect. However, that isn't the question. The debate right now is: Is the 2009 Bengals better than the 2008 Bengals?

Poll

Simple poll question. Do you believe that the Bengals roster in 2009 is better than the roster in 2008?

Yes

490 votes

No

40 votes

530 votes | Poll has closed

Langston Moore signing is likely a numbers thing; ESPN features Bengals (joy); nervous about Carson Palmer?

Kirkendall — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 11:00:23 -0000

+ One of our newest residents Jake wrote on Monday that the Bengals signed former 2003 Draft Pick, Langston Moore. What does this mean for the team's depth chart? Most likely nothing. But we have a relatively fair guess. Before the signing, the Bengals had five defensive tackles on roster: Domata Peko, Pat Sims, Tank Johnson, Clinton McDonald and Pernell Phillips (note: McDonald is actually listed as a defensive end on Bengals.com, but as a defensive tackle on the depth chart).

Phillips hasn't taken a preseason snap yet and he's likely going to miss the game Thursday. It wouldn't make sense to play Sims, Peko and Tank through the entire meaningless preseason game, which leaves McDonald. So the Bengals signed Moore to fill in during the latter stages of the preseason game in an effort to conserve the main rotation guys. Of course, it's just a guess. But a fair guess, we think.

Reader firstPick asked John Thornton about the move, to which Thornton said, "Good move. He's a good inside rusher. I hope he gets a shot 2 stick. I hated to see him cut 3yrs ago." Makes sense. If Phillips can't play during the preseason, then why not hold onto Moore if he performs and make Phillips a practice squad candidate?

+ ESPN's Elizabeth Merrill details the Bengals disaster since Mike Brown became the team's owner in the early 90s. Brown is quoted in the piece as saying, "Do I think we will be perpetually down? I do not. I've seen every team in this league when it was down. And the lesson from that is you can come back and fly high." The problem with this is that the Bengals haven't flown anywhere after being down. Consider that from 1991 to 2000, the Bengals achieved .500 one time (1996). During that same time-frame, they've won five games or less in seven of ten seasons. In the nine seasons since, the Bengals achieved .500 four times, winning five games or less in only three seasons. Am I really saying anything we haven't said before?

+ Carson Palmer didn't practice on Monday, the third straight day, and is doubtful to take the field on Thursday against the Rams. The issue:

"I can throw, but not drop back right now," he said. "I'm trying to keep my arm in shape, basically. I'll take it day-to-day."

While there's no report that indicates anyone should be worried, forgive me for being worried. We know what happens when Palmer doesn't play. The training staff hasn't been noted as exactly being the front runners of player recovery in the league. Secondly, Palmer is hurt. I'm freaking out right now.

More, more, more.

Former Bengals safety Kevin Kaesviharn signed with the Carolina Panthers on Monday.

Backup guard Evan Mathis is taking snaps place of Jonathan Luigs, who hasn't practiced at all this week.

Bengals offensive coordinator likes what he sees with Jason Shirley's conversion to the offensive line:

"It's going pretty good," he said. He added Shirley had a pancake block against the Pats, but Bratkowski also said, "I'm not sure he's quite ready to play in the regular season, but he shows potential."

Players likely out this week against the Rams:

Shayne Graham (groin), defensive tackle Pernell Phillips (leg), tight end Matt Sherry (shoulder), defensive end Antwan Odom (Achilles), wide receiver Antonio Chatman (ankle), cornerback David Jones (foot), and tight end Ben Utecht (concussion).

Who Dey Fans is right. Peter King mentions the Bengals. And doesn't talk about us like the terrorists of the NFL. That's progress, right?

Marvin Lewis received the "Steve Patterson Award for Excellence in Sports Philanthropy, in recognition of the impact of his work and the example it sets for all of professional sports."

Running back Brian Leonard is looking forward to this week's game against this old team.

Levi Jones' name is being thrown around in Seattle.

The offseason boxing regiment that Chad Ochocinco Johnson used to train, has him confident enough to call out Andre Berto.

The Washington Post's The League, asked me if I were Chancellor Roger Goodell, what policy on Twitter would I implement? I didn't make one thing clear. If Twitter updates are made about the person that hasn't anything to do with the team, league or other players that could possibly give another team a competitive advantage, then that's cool.

For your get to know your opponent file. Five things to know | Camp Tour

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

Depth of the 2009 Cincinnati Bengals Part 2: Defense

jsl413 — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 19:47:09 -0000

My boy Tom Nelson got a free shot at NE backup Brian Hoyer. Soon after this picture was taken, Hoyer was spotted napping quietly on the turf. Sources say Hoyer did not take his helmet off before napping, leading to speculation that Nelson hit him really hard. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

View full size photo »

There was some debate as to whether or not the offense was quite as deep as I contended it was, particularly at the running back positions. Today, I'll take a look at the Bengals defensive depth, and make use of the jump to try to shorten our front page a little bit!

In short, I think the defense this year can only improve upon last year's 12th place effort. Additions of guys like Roy Williams and Tank Johnson, rookies Rey Maualuga and Michael Johnson are the primary reasons that the defense is so deep this year. Add to the mix that Chris Crocker will have a full off-season under his belt this year, DT Pat Sims has shown flashes of excellence in his second year, and Antwan Odom and Robert Geathers look to be healthy, and you've got to feel good about this defense.

Significant losses on the defensive side of the ball were relatively few. John Thornton is no longer with the team and Orien Harris was traded (the Harris loss is listed as the only "key" defensive loss at nologoneeded.com, which I find to be hilarious.)

A look at defensive depth (note, I'm looking at depth more than I'm focusing on overall talent), position by position, after the jump.

Defensive Tackle: We'll start up front with the big men. While our defensive tackle rotation is not particularly deep, I think it is more talented this year than we've seen it in quite some time. Domata Peko is the real deal. Pat Sims, as this blog has mentioned, looks like he could be a very good player this year too. Tank Johnson, the smallest of the top three at 305 pounds, has a history of being a productive player when he stays focused on the field.

Peko is a pretty good all around tackle. I think he is especially strong against the run. I haven't seen enough of Sims to really quantify his skill set, but he is a big, powerful man, and could occupy multiple blockers as he develops this year. Johnson is reputed as a guy that gets good pressure on the quarterback from an interior line position. If these 3 stay healthy, I think there is a good chance that this unit is extremely productive this year. Mike Zimmer and DL Coach Jay Hayes have a good combination of size and various skill sets at the tackle position this year.

Defensive End: Similar to defensive tackle, the depth at end is not astounding, but it's solid and exciting. This unit should vastly outperform last year's lackadaisical effort that mustered little-to-no pressure on the quarterback week in and week out.

All that really starts with the return of a healthy Antwan Odom and Robert Geathers. It had to be a very encouraging moment for Bengals fans to see Geathers absolutely light up Tom Brady on Thursday night. Here's to hoping that speed endures this season, and Geathers continues to run around offensive tackles to lay the hurt on opposing QBs. Antwan Odom has not been remarkable this preseason, but looks much better than he did last year when he was hurt.

What makes this unit exciting is the continuing emergence of Jonathan Fanene and the addition of rookie freak athlete Michael Johnson. I was a little put off at the end of the game on Thursday when I saw Johnson take a play off - but I guess it didn't really matter, there were 15 seconds left in a preseason game. It's something to keep an eye on, however. We'll have to really watch how he does at shedding blockers and using his 6'7", 260 pound frame to his advantage this year. Fanene was a project when we picked him up in 2005. But he is a big man (292 pounds) and was very productive when th team was winning games and being "competitive" late last year.

It really seems like every time he's on the field, good things happen. Bengals fans have got to like this sort of depth and potential. All four of these guys are young and can still get better, especially as Zimmer employs more blitzes and the tackles improve this year.

Linebackers: I'm lumping all these guys together because there are a lot of interchangeable parts at linebacker for the Bengals this year. You've got to really like the wide array of skill sets and talent in the top 6 linebackers this year. Keith Rivers is in line for a monster season. The guy plays with a mean streak and has a chip on his shoulder after suffering the broken jaw last year. I liken him to Troy Polomalu in terms of demeanor - that is, he is soft spoken and cerebral off the field, but he has an animalistic drive to hit, hit, hit on Sundays.

Dhani Jones is a pretty cool guy, and a good football player. He did a very good job last year for the Bengals. I mean very good: he was one of only five players on the entire team to start every game. He led the team in tackles. He was third on the team in passes defensed. To top it off, his teammates voted him defensive captain. He is a positive influence on the young guys like Rivers and Maualuga, and a vibrant locker room personality.

Then it gets interesting. Rashad Jeanty has worked extremely hard since the Bengals acquired him out of the CFL in 2006. But how long can Rey Maualuga ride pine? For now, this is sort of inconsequential because Jeanty has played in the preseason and Maualuga has limited time. We'll see how the preseason finishes out at SAM. Jeanty will likely go into the season as the starter, but Rey Rey will get time off the bench, and he'll be a fun little fireball to watch.

I think Brandon Johnson and Abdul Hodge have had good showings in preseason, and both of these guys are likely to be special teams contributors as well as solid defensive substitutes to keep the starters fresh. There is a pretty significant drop off here, but that's more due to the talent of Rivers, the leadership of Jones, and Jeanty's consistency than a slight to Johnson and Hodge (who, to be fair, have flashed some pretty nice skills in this preseason). We'll see what happens with Maualuga's progression as the regular season nears, but he may need some time to prepare for a prominent role.

Cornerback: I am not particularly ecstatic with our cornerback corps this year. Joseph and Hall, if healthy, will be pretty serviceable and can occasionally cover guys on an island. I still think they'd be best served by regular help over the top, although Jonathan Joseph has speed to burn. Leon Hall shows good coverage skills, especially on intermediate routes. I think our high expectations for these guys are legitimate. Joseph had a pretty good game against Randy Moss on Thursday.

Beyond the starters though, I don't have much confidence in Geoffrey Pope, David Jones, Morgan Trent, or Jamar Fletcher. I was a strong advocate of picking up a third corner in free agency, but the Bengals spurned my desires and instead decided that David Jones could hack it at Nickel Corner. I guess Jones had a lot of playing time last year with injuries to our top corners, so maybe he'll be passable.

Coverage last year was solid - especially given the lack of a pass rush. Can't argue with results. This unit will be okay as long as Hall and Joseph are healthy. It might be okay for a few weeks without one of them, but if both go down, there will be problems.

Safety: Lumping these guys together too for simplicity's sake. I think this is a very deep position for the Bengals this year. The most attractive thing about Bengal safeties this year is a good mix of hard-hitting and strong coverage. Chinedum Ndukwe and Marvin White have not looked great this preseason, and it's sort of early to judge as we haven't seen many teams go over the top against the Bengals first team defense (Brady overthrew somewhat open receivers twice on Thursday).

There is some valid concern about the coverage skills of guys like Roy Williams and Chris Crocker, who are generally known for their hitting - and in Williams's case, knocked for coverage. It is hard to argue that this is not a talented top 4 guys, though. A rotation that caters to the strengths of Williams in the running game and White in coverage could be efficient for Zimmer this year.

The Bengals will likely retain Corey Lynch this year, as he showed value on special teams last year and is a smart defender. While we're talking about safeties, I'll point out that Tom Nelson is from my hometown (Arlington Heights, a NW Chicago Suburb), and is a guy that really improved his stock on Thursday.

Overall: Depth on the defensive side of the ball is strong at safety, defensive end, and linebacker. Defensive tackle and corner depth is decent at best, with some significant fall off in talent and production once you get past the top guys on the depth chart. Let me know what you think about the backup corners, who I haven't paid much attention to but tend to feel unsure about.