SB Nation - Odell Thurman

Bengals Banter: Head coach Marvin Lewis has Coors Light commercial potential. He just needs that moment.

Kirkendall — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 19:44:36 -0000

about 1 month ago: Cincinnati Bengals coach Marvin Lewis watches from the sidelines in the first half of an NFL football game against the Baltimore Ravens, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2009, in Cincinnati. Cincinnati won 17-7. (AP Photo/David Kohl)

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Three things happened. One, we posted a lengthy midseason review on Wednesday that we wanted to keep in your peripheral vision so that more readers will see and comment on it. Two. I got two brand spanking new video games within the past week. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Dragon Age: Origins. Three. I was off work yesterday, which meant a whole lot of #2 (go ahead with your Peter Griffin laugh). All things considered, we have a lot to get through today.

Bengals players nominated. On Wednesday, player of the weeks were announced by the NFL. In the AFC Dallas Clark won on Offense, Tyrone Carter on Defense and Stephen Gostkowski on Special Teams. The Bengals did receive two nominations this week. Cedric Benson on offense and Johnathan Joseph on defense.

If we're forced to look at the Wild Card. Even if the Bengals lose to the Steelers, there's an interesting dynamic here that could reverberate for the rest of the season. The Houston Texans (5-4), Baltimore Ravens (4-4), San Diego Chargers (5-3) and New York Jets (4-4) would be fighting either the Bengals or Steelers for two wild card spots. The Bengals already lost to Houston, swept the Ravens and have the Chargers and Jets on tap.

While some call it an easier schedule, it doesn't make it any less critical. In fact, I feel I'd rather the Bengals have a tougher schedule. This team seems like the team that raises the ante when challenged. What we saw against Cleveland earlier this year scares me.

Time to start thinking about a contract extension for Johnathan Joseph. I felt very strongly naming Johnathan Joseph and Leon Hall as the team's Defensive Player(s) of the Midseason. Not only are they on one of two teams with "two players with at least four interceptions", they "are tied for second for most interceptions in the AFC behind Buffalo's Jairus Byrd, who has seven." Leon Hall has the third most tackles among cornerbacks and one could argue that their coverages have enabled pass rushers the additional time needed to get to the quarterback.

Johnathan Joseph will enter the final year of his five-year contract in 2010 and it's time to start thinking about an extension. I know what you're thinking. It's a bit soon. I disagree. Once the season is over and if the Bengals and Joseph go through an entire offseason without conversation, then Joseph will feel insulted. With players as young as Joseph, whose biggest contracts usually come after their rookie deals (save for the first five picks of any NFL draft and elite superstars), the Bengals should reach out to Joseph soon and, at least, get the dialogue rolling. Once his contract is up and he declares free agency, there's probably a very small chance the Bengals sign him back. If he does sign an extension, this offseason will be when he does it. And considering how slow the Bengals are to get things like this done, it's time to start thinking about that now.

We let one get away. There really isn't an award for something we meant to mention yesterday at our cyber-cafe awards ceremony. I suppose we could call it "Coach of the Midseason" and nominate all of the coaches, like Paul Alexander or Mike Zimmer (or god forbid, Bob Bratkowski). What we really wanted to honor is how Marvin Lewis has turned this team around a second time. In 2003, Marvin Lewis took a 2-14 team and made them 8-8. In 2008, Marvin Lewis took a 4-11-1 team, turned them into a team that's 6-2 and preparing to battle the Pittsburgh Steelers for the lead in the division. How does one award that type of turn around from a head coach twice? I'm sure you could nominate all of our coaches for something, but Marvin Lewis should get the bulk of the credit for this team's complete reversal of holy crapiness to holy crap, they're good.

Should we talk about another contract extension? Lewis' contract expires after 2010.

Quote of the Day:

"That's why they brought me here - get the ball in my hand on third down and pass-protect for the quarterback," Leonard said. "Of the two, protect the quarterback is my No. 1 job."

Lewis really, really, really defends Jerome Simpson. One of the more interesting notes from yesterday comes from head coach Marvin Lewis' defense of Jerome Simpson.

“Jerome is doing everything he can to try to prove that he can get out there and make productive plays for us,” Lewis said. “He hasn’t lost an ounce of his athleticism and so forth but he has a lot to learn in coming to the NFL.

“He’s working diligently. Hell, he’s got his own coach. Which is great. He’s getting personal tutoring on every single play, every single day. Just trying to get where we can be confident that the quarterbacks can be confident in him understanding everything. He’s working hard at it. But some guys come here and they have a little better knowledge of how coverages unfold and things work. And Jerome’s working extremely hard at it. The other part of it, shoot, I don’t know if there’s a guy at any position that has the skill level of Jerome.”

OK, OK, coach. Anyone else see Joe Reedy during the ~~Coors Light commercial~~ press conference? I don't think anyone has disputed this kid's talent. But the truth of the matter is that he's probably going to be the team's fourth receiver. He needs to get on the field sooner or later. And if he's still not capable of being on the field as the fourth receiver, then you have to do something to utilize that roster spot. The deeper the Bengals get into the season as playoff contenders, the greater the possibility is that they'll need that roster spot on the field.

Bengals, no longer a finesse team, will beat the crap out of you. I've always wondered how Football Outsiders obtain their analysis. I don't mean the people. They're brilliant. I mean, do they watch game tape? A recorded broadcast? Or do they have access to All-22 -- an angle that shows all 22 players throughout the play. Can you imagine if we had access to that?! The analysis would be ridiculous. That's all we'd do -- once we tire of Modern Warfare 2 and Dragon Age... of course.

"Hello."
"Yea, bossman?"
"What is it, Josh."
"Yea, got the tape from last week's game. Going to take off work to check it out."
"You've got to be kidding me."
"I know!! I actually got the tape."
"Josh."
"Well, it was a sloppy win. But a win is a win, right?"
"Josh."
"I really want to watch the pass coverages and how offenses react. I need one of those video tape dial thingys that slows and rewinds the plays."
(sigh) "Fine. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Actually, can we make it two days."

With that said, Football Outsiders wrote a piece on the Cincinnati Bengals' offensive line.

It's typical to think of teams with great passing games and previously ineffective power blocking as "finesse", but any opponent harboring that assumption about the current Bengals is making a very big mistake. This is as much a power team as any AFC North bully could be, with its stacked lines and inside running, and the schematic variations tell the story of a line with great confidence and continuity. If the Bengals capitalize on their hot start down the stretch, the line will be a major factor -- with or without Andre Smith.

More, more, more.

All Bengals fans should read this Bob Labriola piece on Steelers.com, briefly explaining that the history between Pittsburgh and Cincinnati is a lot richer than you might think.

I was a part of The League panelists on Wednesday talking about Larry Johnson. I wrote that if Johnson wants to get back into the league, he should follow Cedric Benson's lead.

Laveranues Coles isn't very open with the media. “Uh, I don’t really speak (to the media),” Coles said. “I’m just chillin’.”

James Walker's biggest disappointment in the Bengals on his Midseason Report is that Andre Smith hasn't played yet. That's it? That's it.

Chick Ludwig thinks of ways to bring Maurice Purify to the 53-man roster, no matter what.

Steelers vs. Bengals: AFC North Game of the Year

Congradulations for Bengals fans, who donated "9,234 pounds of non-perishable and canned goods, 1,604 pounds greater than in 2008. In addition, Bengals fans gave $11,061 in cash donations to help feed the hungry in our community, a $3,041 increase over 2008."

Remember when we remarked that Ed Reed missed a lot of tackles last week against the Bengals? We weren't the only ones that noticed.

Steve Wyche handed out some love for the Bengals in his mid-season review. Cedric Benson was named as the Comeback Player and Andrew Whitworth was "Most critical to teammates' success".

Picture of the day. A reader sent this picture (a bit blurry) of a man wearing an Odell Thurman jersey... in France! And here we thought Steelers fans traveled well.

Note: if you have anything you want to share, email me anytime.

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.

Antwan Odom named AFC Defensive Player Of the Month for September

A Pragmatic Bengals Fan — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 15:41:07 -0000

More photos » by Mike Roemer - AP

Shown here bringing quarterback Aaron Rodgers down one of the five times this occurred on September 20th, Bengals Defensive End Antwan Odom was announced today as the AFC Defensive Player of the Month.

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Ladies and Gentlemen, for the first time since 1989 -- David Fulcher in December -- we have a Conference Defensive Player of the Month on our squad.

Announced on Joe Reedy's and C. Trent's twitter accounts nearly simultaneously (as it usually happens), Bengals Defensive End Antwan Odom was announced today as the AFC Defensive Player of the Month for the month of September.

We've got some things to legitimately be excited about for the first time in quite a spell folks, and Antwan Odom in his second year wearing stripes has been a large part of that.

Congratulations Antwan!

Now go smear Derek Anderson all over the turf on Sunday.

Sincerely,

A Pragmatic Bengals Fan

Flashback: Round 2. Last time the Bengals played the Packers, Cincinnati recorded five interceptions

Kirkendall — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 03:26:34 -0000

So the Denver Broncos quarterback Kyle Orton didn't throw five interceptions like he did against the Cincinnati Bengals when he was with the Chicago Bears in 2005 (aren't you impressed I mentioned three NFL teams in a complete sentence. It's arguable that it's a good complete sentence, but nonetheless). However, that doesn't stop our pointless interest story of 2009, re-playing teams and/or quarterbacks that completed five interceptions in 2005. Next up?

The Green Bay Packers.

On October 20, 2005, future hall of fame quarterback Brett Favre threw five interceptions against the Bengals. Two picks came from Deltha O'Neal and Odell Thurman respectively and Tory James. Neither of those players remain in the NFL and Favre has been in and out of the NFL since, so to speak. Even though the Bengals picked Favre five times, Cincinnati only scored seven points after the turnovers. What was really scary is that the Bengals barely beat the Packers 21-14. The Packers were moving the ball when Favre didn't throw picks, recording only three punts on the day and at least one first down on four of the five drives that ended in picks.

Now, it doesn't mean much this year. I'm really only talking to the nostalgic folk, who needs a pick me up after what we're now calling the BS at PBS.

Of course, the only thing that many fans remember the last time we played the Packers is this.

The Bearcats and Cincinnati Bengals South; a few previews for tonight, watching the offensive line

Kirkendall — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 15:15:57 -0000

Last year, while we sat through the back-end of a retched eight-game losing streak, it became apparent that the Bengals might miss the playoffs. While that thought horribly sunk in, there was another football team in Cincinnati that was taking over the show. We followed the Cincinnati Bearcats from start to finish last year, enjoying their ride to their first ever BCS game. Their games were exciting and their rise was awesome. Even though they lost to Virginia Tech 20-7 in the FedEx Orange Bowl, it was a great ride by the Bearcats. This year the University of Cincinnati are underdogs to conference favorites Pittsburgh and Rutgers. ESPN's Big East blogger Brian Bennett lists quarterback Tony Pike and Wide Receiver Mardy Gilyard as his preseason All-Big East team.

We plan on doing the same thing this year, observing them, though in less detail than Bearcats specific sites. My goal is to keep Bearcats interest high, supporting them for as long as we have Brian Kelly (which might not be very long). And for some of you, to turn you into Bearcats fans.

We also want to, though without any confidence that we'll do it regularly, follow the Cincinnati Bengals South, also known as the Florida Tuskers of the United Football League. While there's no roster listed online, as far as we can tell, we know that the following Bengals players are with the Tuskers this year.

Former Bengals defensive coordinator is also the Tuskers linebackers coach. This is by no means complete. Most of the names were found in a post we did about the UFL draft. So it's possible players have come and gone and we wouldn't know about it; it's not like I'm signing up for Tusker Tweets. Heh.

+ If you were in downtown Cincinnati, you had an opportunity to watch Hard Knocks on Fountain Square. However, managers decided to pull the plug. Was the crowd out of control? Were there Steelers fans that slipped past the defensive parameter, setting up a timer for dark matter to swallow the Queen City? No. The show had cursing.

“We try to keep our content PG-13,” says Kelly Leon, vice president of 3CDC, which programs Fountain Square entertainment.

Cursing. The cause for war and pestilence. Word has it from a prophet that the act of cursing will open a gateway in which aliens will enslave the human race to drain Earth's resources leaving the planet baron. Thank god others are doing their part to keep that gateway closed.

Moving on. Links and Notes

All four Bengals preseason games will be broadcasted in HD, carried by Local 12, starting tonight.

Joe Reedy previews tonight's game.

The Chickster says tonight's game will be the first test for the Bengals rebuilt offensive line | Joe Reedy agrees.

The first unit did well during last week’s scrimmage, which had line coach Paul Alexander to the point of jubilation, but Friday night is a different deal. It will serve as a better indicator to how much progress the line has been made and what is left to do.

“For the most part, we’ve been where we need to be and the mental mistakes haven’t been there as much,” left tackle Andrew Whitworth said. “Right now is a chance to show that. It doesn’t matter if you can’t do it on a live field. It’s a chance to get out there for some live action and to hit someone else. We’re ready for it.”

Robert Geathers will be entering his fifth season in the NFL and he's only 26 years old. He's looking to take on a role as a defensive leader.

Who Dey Fans react to Hard Knocks, specifically the way J.D. Runnels was cut.

WDR points out that ticket sales for the team continues to fall, striding towards their to goal to make sure games are not sold out to affect Mike Brown's pocket book. I really hope it works. Otherwise players will see open seats, become less inspired to play and rather than changing things, Brown will become even more penny-pinching.

Odell Thurman with the UFL's Florida Tuskers

Kirkendall — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 20:31:55 -0000

There was a point in time when many of us believed the duo of Odell Thurman and David Pollack would be the start of a fantastic defensive foundation. Thurman finished the season ranked high among finalists for defensive player of the year that eventually went to Shawne Merriman. Thurman was that guy Marvin Lewis had sought all along to man the middle linebacker spot; a defensive leader for many seasons. Pollack's transition from defensive end to outside linebacker was slow, but he was coming along nicely towards the end of the season.

Then, it all unraveled. Pollack suffered a neck injury against the Browns in the second week of the 2006 season. He never played again. Thurman's problems began when he violated the substance abuse policy during the 2006 offseason. Eventually he was suspended for an entire season, in an effort by Roger Goodell to set an example to the league that he meant business with the new Personal Conduct Policy. He wasn't reinstated in 2007. After that, he fell off the NFL radar.

However, he's appeared on the UFL radar, writes Chris Hays of the Orlando Sentinel.

The Florida Tuskers have signed former Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Michael Pittman, for Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Koren Robinson, and former Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Odell Thurman, according to Tuskers' coach Jim Haslett.

Bengals Training Camp: The vastly improved Bengals linebackers will be fun to watch this year

Kirkendall — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 13:29:01 -0000

More photos » by Tom Uhlman - AP

6 months ago: Cincinnati Bengals' Keith Rivers runs plays during football practice in Cincinnati Friday June 19, 2009. (AP Photo/Tom Uhlman)

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Let me take you back to September 4, 2007. The Bengals just won their first preseason game, beating the Indianapolis Colts 14-6 to end with a 1-3 preseason record. It was time to participate in National Layoff Day in which several professional football players lose their jobs so teams can get underneath the required 53-man roster limit. Running back Clinton Dawson made the roster -- as did Skyler Green.

What's really interesting from the team's 2007 kickoff weekend roster is the linebackers. Ahmad Brooks started the middle. Lemar Marshall and Landon Johnson played on the outside and backups included Caleb Miller, Rashad Jeanty, Andre Frazier and Anthony Schlegel. Brooks, Miller, and Marshall were lost early in the season and eventually Cincinnati signed Dhani Jones, Roy Manning and Jim Maxwell.

Fast forward two years. Of all the players on the 2007 kickoff weekend roster, Rashad Jeanty is the only linebacker that remains. Landon Johnson signed with the Carolina Panthers and Andre Frazier returned to Pittsburgh. Ahmad Brooks signed with the San Francisco 49ers, was waived in late November but re-signed in early December. Caleb Miller and Anthony Schlegel haven't signed on with another team and you have to assume Lemar Marshall is retired, after rupturing his Achilles tendon that year. Brooks, Frazier and Johnson, players that left Cincinnati and signed on with new teams, have combined to start zero games.

Dhani Jones signed on in 2007 and solidified the team's inside linebacker spot. Keith Rivers and Rey Maualuga were draft picks in 2008 and 2009 respectively. The Bengals signed Brandon Johnson and Darryl Blackstock to one-year contracts in 2008 and 2009 and Rashad Jeanty went from Exclusive Rights free agent to Restricted Free Agent and signed one-year deals each season.

Compare linebackers from the 2007 kickoff weekend roster to the team's current roster of linebackers.

Ahmad Brooks	Dhani Jones
Rashad Jeanty	Rashad Jeanty
Landon Johnson	Keith Rivers
Caleb Miller	Rey Maualuga
Lemar Marshall	Brandon Johnson
Andre Frazier	Darryl Blackstock
Anthony Schlegel	Abdul Hodge
	Jim Maxwell

To say that Marvin Lewis and company revamped the team's linebackers from 2007, while suffering the unexpected loss of David Pollack and Odell Thurman -- considered in 2005 to be the foundation pieces at linebacker like Rivers and Maualuga are now -- would be an understatement. Each linebacker spot is vastly improved with enough youth to see long-term growth.

Two years after 2007, the Bengals are now focused on Dhani Jones in the middle. Keith Rivers returning after missing nine games to injury -- and he's looking to have a major impact this year. Rey Maualuga will compete with Rashad Jeanty all season long, claiming starting rights at strong-side linebacker. Here's where the Bengals really improve. After recording 112 tackles in 2008 with only nine starts, Brandon Johnson will be a backup weak-side linebacker. Whomever doesn't win the competition between Jeanty and Maualuga, will be a backup at strong-side linebacker.

Our linebackers will be fun to watch this year.

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.

Bengals big-play offense is taking shape (again); Whitworth is an emerging leader; Bengals linebackers are most underrated in AFCN

Kirkendall — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 16:28:17 -0000

Alright, so some fans/sites aren't drinking the Kool-Aid. That's fine. It's hard to imagine that a transformation from failure to a system of success could happen overnight, or through an offseason. Carson Palmer is coming back (again) and there's no telling if he'll be able to sustain the success he had earlier in his career. Bob Bratkowski is changing the playbook. Marvin Lewis is changing his demeanor. The offensive line has gone through personnel changes, so there's an "incomplete" score in the preseason forecast. Chad Johnson came off the worst season in his career, T.J. Houshmandzadeh is gone, and the offense is depending on Chris Henry; a guy that wasn't so dependable early in his career. Cedric Benson had a nice finish last season, but for the most part, like the offensive line, we're not sure how strong the position will be.

There's the draft, which many have rated as very good. Free agency brought in pieces to an overall puzzle -- none of whom are designed to be the best player on their respective unit. Last year's (lack of a) pass rush put the defensive secondary on their heels -- and for the most part, they did as well as expected of them when the quarterback has time to scan the field, set his feet, and deliver passes with patient technique.

A Mike Brown factor still exists, which will never go away until he doubles the scouting staff and upgrades the general personnel staff.

If you have reservation about this year, then that's alright. History tends to be on your side and projecting the Bengals to go better than .500 in 2009 is based on a faith that the Bengals have improved everywhere on the field. On the other hand, if you're excited about that faith that the Bengals have improved, then that's alright too. We wouldn't be fans if we weren't unique to our own opinions.

Moving on.

Is it fair to say that the Bengals offense is coming back to form? Look at Joe Reedy's reports:

Laveranues Coles made two nice catches on sideline routes. Chad Ochocinco also got into the act along the sideline, diving forward for a low catch inbounds.
David Richmond beat Geoffrey Pope on a 45-yard pass by Carson Palmer.
Chris Henry caught two long passes, first with Jonathan Joseph covering and then closed the practice with a reception with Castille covering of which he said afterward “you can’t play me like that.”
Jordan Palmer had a nice completion to Jerome Simpson on a double reverse and completed a 40-yarder to Ochocinco
Carson Palmer and Laveranues Coles connected on a 50-yard pass with Johnathan Joseph covering.

The defense isn't too shabby, intercepting their share of passes and, as Bob Bratkowski says, a decent amount of pressure on the defense. “The blitz packages have been strong. It’s been exciting because it forces us to be spot on." Furthermore, the defense is getting great work in by playing against a good core of receivers.

“They’re more versatile than in previous years,” said cornerback Leon Hall. “Chris (Henry) gives you the tall receiver that can stretch you down the field, Laveranues is crafty and Chad always makes plays. It makes it better for us to see receivers like that.”

Reedy's Blog Reports
Thursday Morning Session
Thursday Afternoon Session
Friday Morning Session
Friday Afternoon Session

A leader is emerging. Andrew Whitworth stood up during a winless first-half in 2008 and took charge of the lockerroom.

Andrew Whitworth became an instant folk hero for the Cincinnati Bengals in their 21-19 victory over Jacksonville on Nov. 2, 2008.

That was the day he gave a rousing pre-game speech — he was mad as you-know-what about the Bengals’ 0-8 record and wasn’t going to take losing anymore — then he retaliated against Jaguars defensive tackle John Henderson, who pulled off Whitworth’s helmet after a heated blocking exchange and attempted to gouge Whitworth’s eyes.

Playing at left tackle, he wants the responsibility of being the team's elite blocker:

“Left tackle is a position that you have one of your elite players play,” Whitworth said during a break at minicamp, which concludes Saturday, June 20, at Paul Brown Stadium. “That’s the position I want to take the responsibility of playing, and playing well.”

+ Linebackers. Joe Reedy writes that the Bengals linebackers, while underrated, could be very good. The popular vote for the team's starting lineup is Keith Rivers, Dhani Jones and Rey Maualuga. However, because of the competition that Maualuga will bring, Rashad Jeanty isn't just lying down either.

The player though who has made the most gains – and has the most to prove – is Rashad Jeanty. He has held on to his spot at SAM (outside), but figures to face competition from Rey Maualuga.

Even before Maualuga was selected in the second round, Jeanty was making plenty of changes. He cut off his dreadlocks and also changed uniform numbers, going from 93 to 53. FitzGerald said the fourth-year player has gotten lighter and stronger during offseason conditioning.

And with a position battle between Jeanty and Maualuga figuring to be among the most watched of training camp, the upcoming competition has made both players stronger. While the Bengals are expected to be more aggressive with pressure, Jeanty knows the defense will have to earn that trust first.

And yea, we still have Brandon Johnson to think of, who finished second on the team with 112 tackles. The most noticeable thing is that since 2003, the Bengals have used a collection of middle linebackers. All who have started at middle linebacker, saved for Dhani Jones, are no longer with the team (and several are out of the NFL).

2003 – Kevin Hardy
2004 – Nate Webster, Caleb Miller, Landon Johnson
2005 – Odell Thurman, L. Johnson
2006 – Brian Simmons, Ahmad Brooks, Caleb Miller
2007 – Brooks, Miller, Anthony Schlegel
2008 – Dhani Jones

Reader: Thirty different NFL teams with at least one arrest since Bengals last arrested player

Kirkendall — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 19:27:59 -0000

Ever since the Bengals signed Tank Johnson, we've been keeping our eye on (meaning I'm preaching from my soapbox) people's reactions while it relates to a long-forgotten issue with players being arrested. The issue before was players already on roster, which by default threw Johnson and Cedric Benson under the same umbrella because of the past issues -- which were mostly (but not totally) DUIs, caught with pot and the such.

In 2006 (chart after the jump), the Bengals had eight different players that were arrested in some form with ten different incidents. Since then, they've had three (Quincy Wilson for disorderly conduct, A.J. Nicholson with misdemeanor assault and Chris Henry for assault and disorderly conduct). In Henry's and Wilson's case, the charges were dropped and Nicholson was released. In fact, since 2006, when all the "issues" were picking up mainstream media momentum, only two players remain with the team (Henry and Frostee Rucker).

A reader sent me the link that details arrested NFL players. Doing his own research, the reader said that 30 NFL franchises have had players arrested since the last time any Bengals player got in trouble with the law. That includes seven in Jacksonville and five in New York (Giants). You guys can make more analysis if you want by clicking here and defending your Bengals. (Note: I didn't notice Ahmad Brooks on this list.)

I apologize to those of you that are tired of hearing about this, or just don't care.

The 2006 String of Arrests in Cincinnati

Date	Player	Incident	Resolution
12.9.06	Deltha O'Neal	Charged with DUI at a checkpoint.	Pleaded to reckless ops
12.3.06	Reggie McNeal	Resisting arrest	Fined and placed on probation
9.25.06	Odell Thurman	DUI	Pleased no contest
8.5.06	Eric Steinbach	BUI (Boating)	Diversion program and fine
7.22.06	Matthias Askew	Obstruction of police business, resisting arrest and two parking violations	Acquitted. In turn, he sued the city for unlawful arrest and excessive force. City paid him $500,000
6.21.06	Frostee Rucker	Two counts of spousal battery and vandalism	Sentenced with 36 mounts of summary probation, one year domestic violence counseling and 750 hours of community service.
6.14.06	Chris Henry	Provided alcohol to three teenage girls	Two days in jail, 88-day suspended sentence
6.3.06	A.J. Nicholson	Burglarizing apartment of former FSU teammate	No contest, two years probation, 60 days work program
6.3.06	Chris Henry	Speeding and DUI	Reckless ops, 30-day suspended jail sentence
1.28.06	Chris Henry	Concealed weapons charge	Hundred hours of community service, two years probation