SB Nation User Blog: Kirkendall

Sam Wyche ranked as one the of motivational coaches in history; reactions to hard knocks shows pointless "expert opinion"

Kirkendall — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 18:32:06 -0000

In James Walker's latest mailbag, the following question was asked.

Nick from Cincinnati, Ohio, writes: With the Bengals drafting inside linebacker Rey Maualuga, will he sit behind starter Dhani Jones or be moved to left outside linebacker so he can start?

Now I got to thinking -- whether you go to Cincy Jungle or not -- shouldn't you have at least a working knowledge of how the team plans on using Maualuga? More responses to the Bengals making the playoffs.

NFL.com discusses the top ten motivational coaches in NFL History. Number nine, Sam Wyche. Any guesses on the most famous speech in his career? Though it's always nice to see former Cincinnati mayor, Jerry Springer. Right? Anyone?

Carson Palmer isn't very enthusiastic about Hard Knocks coming into Bengals training camp. However, Chick Ludwig makes an argument that the Bengals need them.

The series should enhance their poor image. They’re viewed as losers and perceived as criminals. They’ve had one winning season in 18 years and went through a stretch where 10 players were arrested in 15 incidents between December 2006 and June 2007.

But the most obvious reason?

And let’s not forget that season tickets are available for the first time in three years. Paul Brown Stadium is nowhere near sold out.

The Bengals don’t get any money from “Hard Knocks.” However, with 30 million HBO subscribers in 50 states, the team is bound to win some fans eager to cough up cash for tickets.

Remember: Team owner and president Mike Brown is a very smart businessman.

Speaking of Ludwig, he remembers when Akili Smith didn't know who he was.

Andrew Crummey got in 25 snaps last season, including 11 plays at center and a snap at tight end against Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney.

James Hasty said on ESPN's NFL Live:

"I just want to know why we would even want to watch the Cincinnati Bengals? I think we're going to watch them for one reason and one reason alone: How not to run a professional franchise."

This my friends, is "expert analysis" courtesy of ESPN.

Who Dey Fans respond to the article that the Bengals have the worst uniforms in professional sports.

Let me tell you what I think of Paul Lukas. This is a DBag that has spends his time making fun of the clothes that men wear. Rather than worry about the important things in a professional sport like the action or score, he wonders if the free safety is wearing socks that match his helmet. This ranks with the hoards of girls that root for players based on "who's hot".

Thank you.

Rookie Michael Johnson came away from the rookie symposium saying:

"There shouldn't be any excuses for messing up," he said, "They kept repeating, 'Choices, decisions, consequences.' There wasn't so much that there was a lot of stuff covered. But there was a lot of repetition and there's nothing wrong with that."

Warrant out for former Bengals running back Chris Perry; should we care?

Kirkendall — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 17:54:38 -0000

We saw it last night and wondered if we should even reference it. After all, at this point in time, the former Bengals player that has a warrant out for his arrest, is in fact, former. Even though when the warrant was issued after a failed court appearance on June 17, this former Bengals running back was released.

The City of Wyoming claims that Chris Perry owes the city thousands of dollars in back-taxes from 2006-2007. He was in court in April 22 and scheduled to make another appearance on June 17. He failed to show up and a warrant was issued.

Considering his court appearances and subsequent warrant happened while Perry was packing his bags out of Cincinnati, it's fair to say that this shouldn't hurt the Bengals attempt to rebuild their image. People that have no interest with the Bengals will say their typical things about the team's character issues. And that's fine. What else do we expect from small-minded trolls?

Perry was picked up by Orlando in the June 18 UFL draft. His ill-timed fumbling talent and tax problems are their problems now.

The Cincinnati Bengals would have to average a 9-7 record for 41 seasons to achieve .500 all-time

Kirkendall — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 17:45:03 -0000

The Bengals franchise has an all-time record of 272-354-2. So I got to thinking: What would the Bengals have to average, per year, in order to achieve an overall record of .500?

If the Bengals averaged a record of 10-6, it would take them over 21 seasons. If the Bengals averaged a record of 11-5, it would take 14 seasons and with an average 12-4 season, it would take over 10 seasons. And if the Bengals averaged a record of 9-7, it would take 41 seasons to finally achieve .500 all-time.

I figured this out using the following "formula". I subtracted wins (272) from the team's losses (354) to get 82 -- the difference between wins and losses. I subtracted wins from losses on the corresponding records (example: 12 wins minus 4 losses is a difference of 8). I divided eight into 82 to come up with 10.25. That would be how many seasons it would take to achieve .500. I checked my work by multiplying 10.25 into 12 wins and 4 losses to get 123-41. I added that record into their existing record and got 395-395.

I didn't factor in the Bengals two ties; because I simply wanted an idea of how far away the Bengals are from achieving a .500 all-time record. After calculating the depressing results, I had my idea. And then I realized it was probably a bad idea to promote how bad the Bengals have been in the past -- especially since Mike Brown took over (101-186-1).

July 15th is deadline for long-term deals of franchise players; Bengals are ranked 118th; Now we're ranking fashion in the NFL?

Kirkendall — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 15:19:54 -0000

July 15th is the deadline in which players with the franchise tag are allowed to sign long-term deals. Negotiations continue with Shayne Graham; two weeks remain if the two sides want to settle on a deal that last beyond this season. Otherwise, it's a one-year deal and unrestricted free agency.

The Bengals have the worst uniform, writes Paul Lukas. If there's a more meaningless waste of our time, please let us know. Fashion rankings in the NFL. Sad day for fans of the best sport in the world when we start gossiping about girly things. Moving on.

The USA Today is doing a series that explores the history of ten AFL Franchises in celebration of the league's 50th anniversary. Today? The Cincinnati Bengals and Paul Brown.

Understand, Paul Brown — who led the Browns to seven titles beginning with their AAFC inception in 1946 and entered the Hall of Fame in 1967 — remains an NFL icon and innovator. Face masks on helmets, racial integration, innovative plays — you name it, he did it.

Joe Reedy lists the ESPN Fan Rankings 122 professional franchises in North America -- the Bengals were ranked 118th. Far it be from me to have fans who, for all we know, have never stepped foot in the great (and broke) state of Ohio, to actually have a say on how other teams should be ranked. That would be like us ranking the Dolphins. Or the Clippers.

Dan Skuta is a linebacker -- who we spoke briefly about when the team signed undrafted free agents -- said he feels he'll make an impact with the Bengals (h/t to reader Patrick for the link).

I'm gonna make an impact on special teams right away. You never know what can happen ... I've talked to guys who started the season on the practice squad then ended up starting by the end of the season, so I'll be ready.

AHN's Matthew Harvey writes that Andre Smith will attend training camp; whether he signs or not, saying "while contract negotiations continue, he plans to attend training camp." Right.

Dave, on the other hand, reasonably points out that a holdout could easily be avoided. I agree. It could be. I just don't believe it's likely. Matt says a holdout is coming.

Competition at safety will be very strong. Roy Williams isn't here just to play. He's here to be the best.

“I want to be the best and will take that onto the practice field,” Williams said during the recent minicamp. “I’m going to compete and whatever I do I will try to do at a high velocity. I see all the other guys are like that as well. The competition is great and we will have a great team because everyone is competing for the same jobs and that’s a good thing.”

Scout Inc ranks the Bengals 24th in their recent power rankings.

Adam Hasenmayer ranks running back packages in his latest positional power rankings. The Bengals group led by Cedric Benson ranks 28th.

It remains a mystery to T.J. Houshmandzadeh that when you have confidence, you perform better. Really? Sorry. Houshmandzadeh to me is like a bad breakup after a long relationship. I'm being picky.

Michael Johnson is contributing to Bengals.com while at the rookie symposium. He was really taken in by Willie Brown's stories, which mostly dealt with racism in the 60s. However, one thing you learn is that even though rookies in the NFL seem larger than life, they really are just kids.

"It went fast, but it didn't bother me because I'm kind of a penny pincher," Johnson says. "Actually, I've got less money now than I did last year. In college, everything is pretty much provided for. But now this is the first time I've had to pay rent, buy food, figure out what the utilities are going to be."

Andre Smith wants to sign so he can learn new position at right tackle

Kirkendall — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:22:45 -0000

I agree with reader chazerize that Andre Smith is saying all of the right things when he says he wants to be in camp because a "holdout could hamper his transition from left tackle to right tackle." However, along with Joe Reedy, there's the reality that Smith wouldn't say anything to contradict the point.

There are a lot of things at work here. There's the fact the Bengals have developed a reputation of signing first-round draft picks late -- sometimes deep into training camp. There's the reputation that Andre Smith has already developed; not to mention the reputation of his agent. There's the thought that Smith could be looking at what Vernon Gholston got last year -- maxes out at $50 million, "at worst" valued at $32.5 million and $21 million guaranteed. If that's the case, there's a thought that the Bengals could balk at that.

Either way, even though Smith says the right things, nothing changes. We're still expecting a prolonged holdout and, at worst, Anthony Collins starts at right tackle against the Denver Broncos.

Silent Auction overtime? Former Bengals receiver guarantees playoffs

Kirkendall — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:25:25 -0000

+ The Friar brought up a topic that's often generated debate among the CJ crowd. Originally we brought up the debate of overtime after the Bengals and Eagles finished the game in a 13-13 tie. However in reality, changing overtime because of a potential tie isn't a strong enough argument -- there's been two ties in the past ten years and four ties since 1990. But if the case is argued on fairness, then I believe you have the strongest argument. In March, Rich McKay said that the "team that won the coin toss won 63 percent of the games." And of the teams that won, 43.4% won on the first possession.

Back to the Friar, who referenced this Shutdown Corner piece, saying that instead of a coin toss, the NFL should use a silent auction.

Each coach writes down the yard-line at which they’d be willing to accept the ball, and they put their bid in a sealed envelope. Both coaches hand the envelopes to an official at midfield, and the coach who’s written down the least advantageous yard-line gets the ball, at the yard-line he's written down.

So, for example, say the Steelers and Cardinals are going to overtime. Naturally, both teams want the ball first. Mike Tomlin would like the ball, but he wouldn’t mind putting the responsibility on his great defense, either, so he writes down “22 yard-line.” But Ken Whisenhunt is willing to take more of a risk, trusts his offense more, and he’s written down “11 yard-line.”

You have to admit, it's interesting. We'll have to wait for that "$1" Price of Right bid which will give Marty Mornhinweg some company in the great hall of brilliant overtime decisions.

+ Recently you've gotten the feeling that either T.J. Houshmandzadeh has completely changed, or feels comfortable enough to open himself up being a self-declared lead dog. Granted, he's a Seahawk now, so our opinion of him matters little. But since we're in the middle of another dead period in the NFL offseason, why not chat about the guy that's more comfortable in Seattle because people are richer and don't ask him for an autograph as much (or perhaps Houshmandzadeh hasn't been in Seattle enough to make his face recognizable to more normal fans who just watch the games).

Last week, Houshmandzadeh guaranteed the Seahawks will make the playoffs. We don't have a problem with a player guaranteeing his team will make the playoffs; in fact, shouldn't more players have enough confidence to say that their team is a winner? But don't you guys get a little tired of athletes "guaranteeing" anything?

More.

Chick Ludwig makes the argument (again) that Ken Anderson and The Rattler should be in the Hall of Fame.

Even though he's just a punter, Bengals rookie Kevin Huber is expected to make a difference on special teams.

Dhani Jones is more than safe; Cincinnati is a great fit for Brian Leonard

Kirkendall — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 15:14:29 -0000

+ B. Clifton Burke writes that Dhani Jones could be cut, because he's old and expendable, giving way to a core of younger linebackers. I understand the point of view; this time of year speculation grows about possible veteran cuts. However, the logic to cut Jones is paper thin compared to the reasoning to keep. First of all, he's on the cheap; scheduled to earn $1.2 million in 2009 and $1.25 million in 2010. Second of all, you don't cut the guy that led your team with 165 tackles (53 more than the second-ranked guy), and led the team in forced fumbles. Heck, he made tackles on special teams.

Finally, there is a misconception that the Bengals have a collection of young linebackers. In truth, if you include the unsigned Rey Maualuga, the Bengals will have four linebackers under contract -- and one of them is named Dan Skuta -- in 2010. If a new Collective Bargaining Agreement is signed, and the years of service criteria defines free agents, Rashad Jeanty and Brandon Johnson will be unrestricted -- one, if not both, are gone. If no new CBA is signed, then both players will be restricted free agents again.

The point is that if you cut Jones, you hurt your depth this year and beyond. There's no financial benefit to cutting him -- which is the reasoning behind most player releases. Furthermore, the coaches look to Jones to keep the defense motoring, while Defensive Coordinator Mike Zimmer raves about him.

“Dhani’s sharp. He handles everything pretty quickly,” Zimmer said. “He tells guys where to line up. He knows the checks. He knows what everybody does on the defense. It’s really nice having a guy like that.”

Marvin Lewis called Jones an extension of Zimmer.

"They've got the same very hard-headed personalities," Lewis said after Friday's second practice. "That's why when they disagree, it's hilarious. It's a matter of how long does it take for Dhani to back down and Zimmer to pull rank."

There's always speculation on veteran cuts this time of year. The age argument often works with veteran players -- but not with Jones. Not right now.

Dave reads the Chickster the riot act.

Brian Leonard thinks that Cincinnati will be a great fit for his skills.

"I'm kind of like a hybrid back, so the team really needs to know how to use me," Leonard said. "I guess St. Louis didn't feel like they could use me, with the kind of skills I had. But Cincinnati is a great fit."

Cincinnati will have a physical secondary, with added experience.

Training Camp is becoming more of an event for fans (do you agree?)

Joe Reedy guesses the depth chart.

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

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

More photos » by Tom Uhlman - AP

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

Browse more photos »

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

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

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

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

Rashad Jeanty praises Rey Maualuga:

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

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

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

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

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

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

Charting Contracts for the Bengals 2009 Rookie Class

Kirkendall — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 19:19:47 -0000

As we wrote in a preview post, the Bengals tend to sign a majority of their picks in the week leading up to training camp. However, sometimes they do things differently. Like signing four of their 11 draft picks in June. The following is a chart that we'll (hopefully) update when the team signs their rookies.

Pick	Round	Rookie	Position	Years	Base	Signing	Total
1	1	Andre Smith	OT
2	2	Rey Maualuga	LB
3	3	Michael Johnson	DE
4	3	Chase Coffman	TE
5	4	Jonathan Luigs	C
6	5	Kevin Huber	P
7	6	Morgan Trent	DB	Four	$1.750 M	$112,000	$1.862 M
8	6	Bernard Scott	RB	Four	$1.750 M	$77,500	$1.828 M
9	7	Fui Vakapuna	FB
10	7	Clinton McDonald	DT	Four	$1.750 M	$39,000	$1.789 M
11	7	Freddie Brown	WR	Four	$1.750 M	$37,588	$1.787 M

Dates of Signings:

June 16: Morgan Trent
June 18: Freddie Brown
June 20: Bernard Scott
June 22: Clinton McDonald

Bengals offensive line is a question about inexperience

Kirkendall — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 17:49:55 -0000

B.J. Bethal writes in response to Dave's optimistic post review, "can anyone find the depth chart and name one quality offensive lineman on the roster?" One must define quality. Does quality mean Pro Bowl? Or does it mean a lineman that could start with other teams? What about Andrew Whitworth? Could Bobbie Williams be quality? Even Anthony Collins' brief stint as the starting left tackle were quality enough performances -- and he's projected as the team's first backup offensive tackle. There is quality there. The better question is if the 2009 starting lineup will bring quality performances among the team's offensive line.

But the question isn't about quality right now. The issue is wondering if inexperience will transform into a collective quality.

Williams is the only lineman projected to start at the same spot he started when last season kicked off. Nate Livings is a leading candidate to start at left guard, where he started the final six games last season. Whitworth hasn't started at left tackle since the third week in the 2007 season (though he did take snaps at left tackle against the Eagles in 2008). Kyle Cook has no career starts. Andre Smith has yet to sign his first NFL contract and Anthony Collins -- the tackle that would likely start over Smith if contract negotiations are drawn out -- made all of six career starts at left tackle. The following chart is easy enough to read. Games started isn't total NFL starts; it's games started at that position (Bengals career). Total starts is based on NFL career.

Position	Projected Starter	Games Started	Total Starts
Left Tackle	Andrew Whitworth	13	38
Left Guard	Nate Livings	6	6
Center	Kyle Cook	0	0
Right Guard	Bobbie Williams	77	89
Right Tackle	Andre Smith	0	0
	Anthony Collins	0	6

Based simply on position projections that we're led to believe, the Bengals have 96 games worth of starting experience -- however, 80% of that experience is Bobbie Williams. We knew the Bengals were to become an inexperienced offensive line when Eric Ghiaciuc, Stacy Andrews and Levi Jones departed (not offered contract, left for Philly, released). Center Jonathan Luigs was drafted alongside Smith to join Collins and Livings with the team's dedicated effort to rebuild the offensive line around veterans Whitworth and Williams -- who is entering the final year under contract.

Here's the biggest key of all. With the amount of inexperience starting on the Bengals offensive line, I believe it's an unrealistic expectation that the Bengals will become the offensive line of 2005 where Carson Palmer had a career year and Rudi Johnson set the franchise rushing record. It might be unrealistic to expect a 17-sack allowed season like 2007. There will be growing pains. And it's very likely that the Bengals will have to move personnel between now and the first game of the regular season in order to put together the best fit.