From top to bottom I believe this is the best draft the Bengals have ever had. I don’t think we got an early steal really with Kirkpatrick drafted around where he should have been and the same for Zeitler. We may have even taken them a few picks before they projected, but in no way were the "reaches", IMO. The first round was “solid” and I was originally disappointed in only having a “solid” first two rounds. . After the second round though we nailed the draft(and possibly after the first round) with a ton of value... pick after pick. Most of them also filled needs.

Kirkpatrick should be a starter next year, and provides insurance if Hall is ready to start this year. It also provides us with the starter if all of the CB’s that are in the last year of their deal leave. Even if they return most are getting too old to be reliable/top tier starters.

Zeitler will start day one and upgrade the G position, and the entire line tremendously. I still wish we would have taken DeCastro, but Zeitler figures to be a 10+ year starter and should offer a Pro Bowl at some point.

Still will eventually be the starter, if not this year. As we know, Zimmer don’t really care who starts though and Still figures to get plenty of playing time. Thompson was a steal at the very end of round 3 and should see playing time and provides insurance if Sims isn’t ready to start the year, or is hampered. Still or Thompson also figures to be the eventual starter at DT along side Atkins.

Orson Charles is a stud at TE. He can stretch the field and make some big plays. He is a very willing blocker is loves to get after it, but he is a little undersized to be a real power blocker. His effort will cover for a lot of that and if the coaches get him using great technique it will be mainly a non-issue. Gruden should use a lot of 2TE sets for a variety of reasons, IMO. First, it causes match up problems. Second it keeps the defense off balance and guessing whether we are going to power run or throw. Third, it may put our most talented players on the field. Charles won’t be a starter with Gresham, but he will develop into a good option for Dalton and I believe will make a tremendous impact in both the Passing and Run game.

Sanu and Jones should compete along with Binns for the #2 starter at WR. I’d say the early edge goes to Sanu, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Jones ends up winning this spot. The WR core now has not only depth and options but it’s extremely young when you throw in Shipley, Baby Hawk, and Whalen. Though I think Whalen is likely cut/PS if Shipley is ready. One of these two will likely be the starter either in the future and very possibly this year.

If Mays and/or Sands slip at Saftety and we don’t convert one of the older CB’s to Safety Iloka provides insurance THIS season while coaching him he could very easily develop into the Starter at Safety. He has a ton of upside and if he can fix his tackling issues will be a good starter.

I wasn’t a big fan of the Boom pick personally. I can’t see him supplanting Peerman with Peerman’s outstanding play on ST’s. I’ve also not given up on Peerman’s ability to run the ball if given the chance. That said, Boom is an upgrade for the PS and protects against injuries.

Burfict….. I know a lot of people werent’ fans of this LB. I think he plays faster “on the field” then his numbers indicate. He plays with a lot of passion. My only concern is not off the field but on the field and more importantly IN THE LOCKER ROOM. If there are any indications of him causing problems in the Locker Room he should be cut day one.

When all is said and done we should see atleast 4 starters, IMO and

According to Bleacher Report the Bengals rank number 2 in the League in terms of teams with the "Brightest Future".

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/922102-cincinnati-bengals-and-the-7-teams-with-the-brightest-futures

Of course, I would say #1, but I'll take #2. They don't even mention the fact that we have extra Draft Picks this year and next year from the Palmer and OchoCinco trades. That should help us keep plenty of talent stock piled for years to come.

During the game I made the comment I can't remember a receiving having a better rookie season as AJ Green has had so far. It was quickly, and wisely, pointed out that Randy Moss was a beast as a Rookie. After the game, I went ahead and pulled some stats to compare AJ Green and Randy Moss. The comparison I'm making will be through the first 4 games and also another through the first 5 games.

First 4 games of Rookie Season

First 5 games of Rookie Season

The numbers show that AJ Green is playing as well as Randy Moss through the first 4 and 5 games of the season. The only area that Randy Moss has a clear advantage in is TD receptions. In all other area's it's fairly close, with AJ Green winning most of those categories. Not shown, is that Randy Moss did have a 190 yard receiving game in his 5th game of the year, which would be the most receiving yards in a game between these two. 

I should also add that AJ Green is working on a strike shortened off-season, with a Rookie QB, and a rookie Offensive Coordinator. During Randy Moss rookie season the Vikings were clearly a pass first team, where theBengals are a run first team(or atleast a balanced team). Randy Moss also received favorable matchups because he had a Hall of Fame Receiver starting opposite of him in Cris Carter.

In closing, Randy Moss was one of the most physically gifted athletes to ever enter the NFL. If AJ Green can come even close to the career numbers that Moss put up, we have one hell of a receiver in AJ Green. I'm definitely not going to say AJ Green is, or will be, a better receiver than Randy Moss. At this point in his very young career he matches up very favorably to one of the greatest receivers to ever play the game.

Discuss

We have a very good dilemma facing us after the All-Star break.  What will the Rotation look like?  A lot of this is hard to determine, due to players coming back from injuries.  However this is a great situation for our Reds to be in. Its not without a lot of questions though and the Manager and Front Office have to be extremely careful here. With a few players coming off injuries and another making the jump from College to the Majors, we have to be very careful not to over use anyone.

When everyone comes back we have: Homer Bailey, Edinson Volquez, Mike Leake, Bronson Arroyo, Johnny Cueto, Aaron Harang, and possibly Sam LeCure.  Sam LeCure has already been demoted.  Its not so much the way he pitched as it was to get another player in the Pen, according to Dusty Baker and others.  So even if you assume that LeCure is the first 'odd man out' that still leaves one more to get to a 5 man rotation. Obviously when Volquez is healthy he will be with the Major League Team. Some have said that Volquez should be moved to the Pen for the rest of the year.  I'm not sure I like that move, even though it would strengthen our Pen immediately.  The problem is, if he is moved to the Pen, we have to be even more cautious with him.  Pitching on back to back days, or 3 out of 4 days is worse on an arm coming off TJ surgery. With that said, we would have a Pitcher in the pen who could only pitch every other day at the most.  I prefer to keep Volquez in the rotation, but wouldn't be totally against him in the Pen. As of now it looks like he will be a Starter, from his rehab starts.  In my opinion we still have to be cautious with him.  We can't risk his future for this year, no matter how close we are to the division title.  I think he should be a starter but, we need to watch his innings and pitch count very closely.  We should also try to give him an extra day of rest whenever possible.  The problem with all of this is that we already have one pitcher in this situation.  Mike Leake!  

As everyone knows, Mike Leake made the jump straight from College to the Majors. Even though he hasn't had high pitch counts in his starts, he is still going to throw a lot more innings than he ever has.  As I said above, we can't risk our future for this year.  We have options, and a good chance to continue winning this year while setting our staff up to be dominant for the next few years.  They have been cautious with him so far.  In my opinion they have done a very good job handling Leake so far.  Giving him an extra day off, allowing him to skip a start, watching his pitch count, and watching how many innings he pitches. So if we have to be careful with Mike Leake and Volquez then that is going to put even more pressure on our Pen.  On top of that you have to factor in that, Homer Bailey may have to be monitored when he comes back and we run the risk of over using our Pen, who has struggled at times this year.  

With all this said, what do we do with our rotation after the All-Star break.  It has to make sense for us to continue to stay in competition this year while not mortgaging  the future.  Look at what our rotation could be next year if we don't ruin any of our arms: Volquez, Cueto, Arroyo, Leake, and either Bailey or Chapman.  I believe with the injuries the club has to get very creative with the Rotation in the second half. I don't exactly have the answer but with Volquez, Bailey, and Leake they should be able to come up with something to allow them to have plenty of rest between starts.  What does everyone think? What do we do with the rotation after the All-Star break? Is there a way that we could use Bailey, Volquez, and Leake as essentially 2 starters.  Allowing them to have an extra day off and to skip every 3rd start?  Has this been done before?  Leake could be sent down to the minors whenever they need to clear out an extra spot for the Bullpen.  Does this seem like a possibility?  Is there other options here that have been discussed?  I would like everyone to give their opinions on what we could do to make sure that we don't cause an injury to any of our young arms, while still making sure that we compete and give ourselves the best chance to make the Playoffs.

The post 'Best Offseason in a Long Time' by DCBengalFan and the comments between jim0ijk got me thinking (I know scary, huh?).  Which Offseason was better?  This years or last years?  I am going to break each offseason down in a variety of categories such as Players added, Players lost, Draft, etc....

Continue reading this post »

According to the Bengals Official Website TE Reggie Kelly has officially signed with the team.  It comes from a Tweet from Reggie himself.  It is also posted on the Bengals official website.

http://www.bengals.com/news/article-1/Reggie-Deal-done/b1ac2a08-eaaf-4598-9588-51a69fead686

This should help our TE situation tremendously.  I know we drafted the best TE available, but to have a guy like Reggie showing him all the tricks is completely invaluable for Gresham.  This also allows us to not rely on Dan Coats and provides protection in case Coffman isn't the TE we thought when drafting him.  In Coats case he is a good blocker but a complete liability if he has to run a route.  He can not catch the ball consistently. 

Speaking of Coats I saw a video on the Bengals website that showed him dropping 4 passes that hit him in the hands during the recent Rookie Minicamp.  Oddly this video has been edited.  I'm sure of it.  It was the Offense vs. Defense video from the Rookie Minicamp.  It was originally over 3 min 50 sec. when it was posted.  I checked again this morning and those clips of Coats dropping passes as they hit him in the hands have been edited out of the video.  It is now just barely over 3 min.  Did anyone else see this video?  Am I confusing this with another one on the website? 

Anyway now that Reggie has signed this should allow us to not have to worry about Coats.  He shouldn't see very much play time and is going to be fighting to even make the roster.  Especially as a TE.  This provides us with more depth and insurance at TE should we see a repeat of last year and the position gets devastated by injury.  It hopefully will also allow us to run more 2 TE sets and be able to run and pass out of this formation which is very important.  One more thing it helps is the locker room.  Reggie is considered a Pro's Pro and always seems to do things the right way.  He will be someone the younger guys should look up to.  GREAT SIGNING, IMO!

ESPN's rumor section is now showing that we could see Antwan Odom traded this Summer.  It says that since drafting both Carlos Dunlap and Geno Atkins that we may see a veteran cut or traded.  it also mentions that Robert Geathers is a possibility here.  I like the depth we have and the possibilities here.  Especially if Michael Johnson is going to see some time at SAM.  I like the depth we have accumulated.  It protects us against injuries and it also allows are Defensive to stay fresh throughout the game. 

I believe you have to be an insider

http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/features/rumors

 

Cincinnati Bengals have only kept eight defensive linemen on the roster in the past, and with the drafting of Carlos Dunlap and Geno Atkins in April, there might be some veterans out of a job, including Odom and Robert Geathers. Reedy writes, "if either got injured or was outplayed, one of them could be traded or released."

Given that Odom was able to pile up 8.0 sacks over the first five games before being injured in the sixth, we'd expect quite a few teams to come calling if he did become available.

So lets say that we do decide to put Odom on the trading block, what should we get for him?  Should we trade him?  If so does Dunlap have the inside shot to start?  I want to see what everyone else thinks about this.  I would only trade him if we could get a pretty good pick out of him or a player that could contribute at another position.  For instance a backup QB.  Anyway let me see what eveyone else's opinion is on this.  I would just assume keep him unless we get something really good in return.  I like the depth we have.  I also wouldn't be surprised if we see surprise cuts at other positions. Anyone else think that we could see surprise cuts?

Agree or disagree with the signing it appears that it is happening.  According to ESPN Adam Jones has signed a 2 year deal with the Bengals.  

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=5169205

Hopefully we can move on and support him since it appears he will now be a Bengal.  The Bengals site is not reporting anything however.  The Bengals site normally doesn't announce anything until it official. The article states that the contract won't actually be signed until Monday.  ESPN didn't site the Sources however it appears that it is atleast a step closer.  This along with the Gibril Wilson signing should atleast provide more depth to the Secondary.  

I was wondering if Pacman does sign, what does that mean for current Bengals players?  How does it affect the current players?  Obviously if he signs then it will mean more competition for the CB position.  Its pretty safe to say that we already have our starters.  So that would leave Ghee, Trent, and Jones fighting for the Nickelback spot.  There has also been a lot of talk about moving Ghee to FS.  I like this idea a lot, personally.  I think that Ghee could be a star at FS.  I don't see any reason he still couldn't play some CB. If we do not sign JJ and Hall long term he could still end up being the future starter  (hopefully this is a non issue).

A position that most of us probably haven't thought about, (Right now most of us are still trying to figure out why we went after Pacman) punt returner.  Does this make it easier to cut Cosby?  First off I would like to say I would hate to lose Cosby this way.  It would provide another option here and it could potentially make it easier to cut Cosby.  I'm not going to say it will happen but its something that we probably don't consider initially when we think about what it means for our team.  There are going to be some fierce position battles in Training Camp.  You can add CB and Punt Returner to that list.  So, I know most people don't want Pacman and I am one of them that would rather have passed on this move.  However if he does sign it is another position that will be affected.  Training Camp just got that much more interesting.  Oh and you can bet there will be WAY more national media at Training Camp.  How will the Current Bengals players (and Pacman) handle the extra media attention.  Only time will tell.  What does everyone else think this could do for the position battles?

Mike Zimmer recently spoke about a few things regarding the Defense.  We are going to get to see Michael Johnson at LB.  Zimmer says it will be at SAM and WILL.  Zimmer said “We’re trying to utilize everybody best we can. We’re just looking at different combinations. Maybe we have some sub packages out of our regular defense."  I think what Zimmer is doing is exactly what he said he was going to do: Look at ways to get more pressure on the QB.  I like this move.  Zimmer also said that they already know that Johnson can play end, so don't look at this as a permanent move.  Its more of a move to get his best players on the field and to put those players in the best position to succeed.    Bratkowski PLEASE take notice!  Creativity is a good thing!

Zimmer also mentioned the draft and the non-draft of a Safety.   “They just wanted a name. If I took your name off the board they would have been happy, they didn’t care. But I know you can’t play. So why do it? Don’t worry. We’ll get a safety.” Obviously, Zimmer felt that the Safety's on the board would not make the team.  I said during the draft when they passed on a Safety in the 5th round that they have a plan for the position.  It appears they do.  Don't expect a huge signing any time soon though as Zimmer said “there are guys out there and guys on other teams that can play and who are going to get cut,”.  Looks like Zimmer will be watching closely during the Training Camps and Preseason.  Its very likely that we may sign a Safety late in Training Camp after they are cut by another team, according to these comments.  Another option is all of the FA we have brought in.  Zimmer has brought in Undrafted Free Agents, signed a few from Waivers, and they continue to have veteran Free Agents visit.  With all of these players we are surely to find one that, at the very least, can improve the depth at the position.  

These are the reasons I, and every other Bengals fan, love Zimmer.  He is creative in getting his best players on the field, think Rey at SAM last year, Johnson getting snaps at SAM and WILL this year, and in the best position to succeed. He is constantly looking at every option to upgrade the Roster and thus the Defense.  Bratkowski PLEASE PLEASE take a note from Zimmer and be creative.  The possibilities that our Offense could have, IF we had an O coordinator as creative as our D coordinator.  I guess we can dream!

Now that we know this about the Safeties, do we feel better as fans?  We all were a bit shocked that we didn't draft a Safety (Zimmer also mentioned they contacted every team ahead of them an tried to make a trade for Mays).  They seem to have had a contingency plan.  They are actively trying to upgrade the position and from Zimmers comments about Safety's being cut from other teams, it seems they aren't going to stop looking to upgrade the position any time soon.  This could potentially give us a much improved Defense.  Yea I said much improved, is this possible?  I think with Zimmer we could have the best D in the league, at some point.

I wanted to bring up something that hasn't received a lot of attention lately, mainly due to the draft and the Free Agent visits.  Atleast not as much attention as I would like to see, personally.  Marvin Lewis (career record 46-49-1 in the Regular season), the NFL Coach of the Year in 2009, is in the last year of his contract with the Bengals. Mike Brown has offered Marvin a contract extension on two separate occasions, according to Marvin.  Marvin has rejected the offers each time.  It is widely believed the reason they have yet to come to an agreement on an extension, is because of an internal power struggle between the two.  Marvin was qouted as saying,  "There were things that when I started this job in 2003 that were important to me; we can't change those. They have to stay on track and I have to make sure we're continuing to progress that way and those are the things as important to me as anything.", at the NFL Scouting Combine in February 2010.  It appears that Marvin is indicating he would like more control over personnel decisions, or for Mike Brown to hire a traditional General Manager.

What does all this mean for the future of the Head Coacing position of the Cincinnati Bengals? If Marvin doesn't sign an extension Mike Zimmer would likely get the Head Coaching position.  Personally, I would like to see Marvin Lewis as the Head Coach for a couple more years.  After that time, I would like to see Marvin move to the Front Office, as a General Manager or Vice President of Football operations, and Mike Zimmer become the Head Coach.  Could this be what Marvin is wanting now?   Mike Zimmer and Marvin Lewis work extremely well together and this would be the perfect situation moving forward for this franchise.   Mike Brown is getting older and hopefully he will want to make sure the Franchise is as stable as possible before his daughter, Katie Blackburn, takes over as the Owner.  Bengals fans can only hope.  Will Marvin sign and extension during the upcoming football season?  Does he sign an extension even if the Bengals have a disapointing season?  Does Mike Brown stick to his stubborn views and not give in to Marvin?  As Bengals fans what would you like to see with the Head Coach position for now and into the future?  This should be an interesting debate and I want to know what all the other Bengals fans think of this situation.  Would you like to see Marvin in the Front Office after a few more years as Head Coach?  We are in a great spot as a Franchise and this decision could be the most important decision of all this offseason.

Just read, on the bengals official website, that the bengals claimed RB Cedric Peerman off Waivers.  Could compete for a spot on the Roster.  Peerman was a first year player last year, out of the University of Virginia.  He was selected with pick number 185 in the 6th round of last years draft, by the Baltimore Ravens.  He is 5'10" and 216 lbs.  Link below is to his profile on NFL.com for last years Combine. 

http://www.nfl.com/combine/profiles/cedric-peerman?id=79629#tabs:tab-analysis

Combine Results (2009):

40 Yard Dash : 4.45 seconds

Bench Press : 27.0 reps

Vertical Jump : 40.0 inches

Broad Jump : 118.0 inches

3 Cone Drill : 7.35 seconds

20 Yard Shuttle : 4.29 seconds

Peerman's last two years in college he averaged over 5 yards a carry and had a combined 12 Touchdowns.  He also had 44 receptions for 193 yards receiving his Senior year for the University of Virginia. 

Looks like the Front Office is still looking at a variety of options at the RB position. I doubt they are done yet, we'll see.