Smith Signs

Posted by Number 1 fan on 30. August 2009 19:59

It appears while I was away riding many many miles to help end Multiple Sclerosis, The Bengals and Andre Smith have reached a deal.

I am glad that is out of the way and he can start to get reps.  I can't wait for Hard Knocks to see how this went down.

Defense Looks Great in Bengals Win Over Pats

Posted by Under Argo on 22. August 2009 16:42

The New England Patriots never scored a touchdown Thusday night in Foxborough.  The Pats even had their savior back behind center who, for the first time in almost a year, was playing in front of his home crowd and still not Randy Moss, Joey Galloway, or a member of the Patriots backfield stepped foot in the enzone at Gillette Stadium. 

It is only pre-season but the Bengals defense looks even better than the 12th best defense in the NFL that they were last year.  This could be because of key acquisitions in free agency (Roy Williams and Tank Johnson, who both started Thursday night) and in the draft (Rey Maualuga and Michael Johnson).  It could also be that defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer wanted to put more emphasis on the pass rush than he did last year.  Tom Brady knows about Mike Zimmer's plan for the pass rush, Robert Geathers had a chance to tell Brady all about it when he sacked him in the 1st quarter.  (The video is here, the sack is about 1:40 in)

Rookies Rey Maualuga (now dubbed Hawaiian Punch) and Michael Johnson looked good and there is no doubt in my mind that they will be starting or at least rotating in on a regular basis by the time the Broncos come to town on September 13th. 

And how could I write an entire article without mentioning Chad Ochocinco extra point kick.  He now wants to change his first name to Esteban to show his soccer roots.  I think Esteban Ochocinco has a nice ring to it.

A Champion at camp

Posted by Number 1 fan on 17. August 2009 22:29

Today the Bengals got a visit from a true champion at camp, Muhammad Ali.  I guess this fits in with Marvin's theme in camp this year to fight back.  Ali did it better than most.  I am sure Chad OchoCinco was in awe as I can only assume Chad respects Ali's flare when he was in his prime.  After hearing about the visit, of course the image of Ali standing over a downed Sonny Liston comes to mind.  Then I immediately began to think of Kimo Von Oelhoffen standing over Carson Palmer in what was to be the end of the Bengals 2005 season.  Lets hope at the end of this season the Bengals are a little more like the first picture and not the second.

WhoDey

Darrius Heyward-Bey Isn't Helping Our Smith Situation

Posted by Under Argo on 11. August 2009 00:40

Darrius Heyward-Bey, the 7th overall pick in this years draft, in my opinion was one of the worst moves in the draft.  He's fast but when you compare him to the other top wide recievers in this years draft, Michael Crabtree and Jeremy Maclin, Heyward-Bey doesn't look too great.  On top of that, Al Davis in all of his wisdom, decided it would be a good idea to give the untested rookie wide reciever a 20% raise over last years 7th overall pick DT Sedrick Ellis. 

This causes some problems.  The Bengals drafted Andre Smith 6th overall so he should make more than the 7th overall pick right?  Andre Smith seems to think so but Mike Brown doesn't.  Usually I wouldn't care what Al Davis does in his fantasy world but when the Freddy Krueger of the NFL makes a decision that screws with the Bengals, it kind of pisses me off. 

So for now, instead of being on the field in Georgetown learning his new position of right tackle where he is needed, Smith will be spending his time in a board room, or where ever they do contract negotiations.  Anthony Collins is playing right tackle as of now and according to this article he doesn't look too bad. 

Also, the tackle that every Bengal should strive to be, Willie Anderson, has tweeted about Smith's contract situation according to this article. 

It's uncanny.  I wouldn't really want to dream about either of them.

Two Season Previews

Posted by Number 1 fan on 10. August 2009 09:50

As of 9:00am this morning the Bengals have cut Kenny Watson. This is very surprising. Watson has been pretty solid in a back up role for the Bengals in the past and has flashed signs of life at times when the Bengals needed something in the running game. I will be interested in hearing the reasons behind this move. (Hard Knocks should make it interesting)

I read two reviews of the Bengals upcoming season this morning. The first was a very positive outlook from the CBSSports writer and apparent Bengals fan Pete Prisco. He says look for big things from the Bengals.

"The Bengals will push for a playoff spot -- and maybe more."

Pete goes on to talk about Palmer's injury and how the Bengals are trying to change the losing attitude. He mentions the improving defense and how the Bengals have added depth to a few positions.

The second article I read was from the hacks at the Morris Daily Herald. Their Bengals outlook was not so positive. You may think I am calling them hacks because of the prediction they make for the Bengals this season (2-14). In actuality, I think their hacks for some of the stellar journalism like the following:

"You also need to play decent defense to succeed, and the Bengals could be among the NFL's very worst at stopping people"

"Take it from someone who owned him in two fantasy leagues in 2008 - even when Palmer was on the field last season, he wasn't very good, as his 69.0 QB rating indicates."

There it is. the boys at the Morris Daily are salty because they had a horrible fantasy season last year. In response to the first quote I agree. That is if being better than 18 other teams describes among the very worst. While I may not be as optimistic as Mr. Prisco, I do know that the Bengals will finish better than 2-14 and I am fairly certain they will not be the cellar dwellers in the AFC North.

WhoDey

Cincinnati Bengals News

Posted by Number 1 fan on 4. August 2009 11:04

The Scores Report has the Bengals as the second worst offensive line in football:

"2. Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals certainly don’t have the worst collection of talent on their offensive line, but nobody really stands out and who knows how well they’ll play as a unit. Rookie first round pick Andre Smith has all of the talent in the world, but his work ethic and conditioning have been criticized in the past and therefore he remains a huge question mark. Cincinnati views him as a right tackle, so maybe that will take the pressure off of him in his first year. That said, is Andrew Whitworth the guy you want protecting Carson Palmer’s blindside? Can Kyle Cook overcome his lack of experience with good football IQ? There are a lot of question marks surrounding a unit that will have new starters at four different positions this year."

The examiner has their version of power rankings which reads to me as a monkey pounding the keys of his keyboard until something legible shows on the screen. He states that the first 12 teams are the playoff teams then proceeds to start with the worst teams in his rankings. Here are his wonderfully insightful thoughts on the Bengals:

"Cincinnati Bengals - They’re the Bengals…need I say more??? Being the subject of this year’s Hard Knocks won’t help at all. They’ll still be the Bengals. There are a few analysts that have the Bengals rated as a possible playoff team. I do not see this happening. The Bengals corporate culture is centered on losing. It’s who they are. The talent level doesn’t matter; neither does Carson Palmer’s health. He hasn’t been right since the Steelers took his knee out in the 2006 Wild Card game. The Bengals won’t bust a grape in 2009 or in any other year, until something changes in the mentality that governs them as a team."

How did you expect Hard Knocks to help? Are they going to play line? Do you know what Hard Knocks is? The corporate culture is centered on losing? That is the focus of their business plan, how can we lose today.

Walker has 5 questions with the ever elusive Cedric Benson. I wonder if they had beers afterwards.

The Bengals signed an Offensive Tackle, just not the one you want signed.

Ouch

Posted by Number 1 fan on 4. August 2009 10:19

Ahh the injury bug. The Bengals were bit bad last year. Well four days into camp and the bug is back. Starting tight end Reggie Kelley is out for the season with an achilles tendon injury.

What does this mean for the Bengals? Reggie Kelley was a key part of the outside blocking of the running game. There are two more tight ends on the roster, Ben Utecht and Chase Coffman. Utecht and Coffman. Both are known not for their blocking but for their pass catching ability. This is a pretty big loss for the Bengals. However this does give a guy like Coffman a chance to learn the blocking schemes with the first string offense and secure his spot as the starter. We all know the kid has sick hands, now if he can be a decent blocker there is a chance for some major improvements at the tight end position for the Bengals.

WhoDey

Summer Camp

Posted by Number 1 fan on 2. August 2009 20:35

The only player news from camp this weekend is corner back David Jones has some kind of a foot injury and was seen in a boot. The Bengals resigned former cornerback Jamar Fletcher. Carson Palmer has also missed time due to "Flu like symptoms". Lets hope this is not a case of the Elbow Flu that has come swinging up from Mexico.

Other news to note from camp was the WhoDeyRevolution guys were out in force. They apparently chartered a plane to fly over the field with the message "I can only see one scout from here.". Pictures on their site here.