Q: I'm not sure about the Smith, Whit, Livings combo. I'm not concerned about the arguments I've read elsewhere (i.e. Walker), arguing that Smith should not be a RT because you don't waste a No. 6 pick on a RT and pay him $50M. We needed the best O-lineman available, no matter the position. Plus, once here, you play your best five-man group no matter who gets paid what. My problem is that I think AC (Collins) is better than Livings and the best combo would be RT=AC, LT=Smith, and LG=Whit. AC proved he can stand up to the best pass rushers and deserves playing time. Whit has proven he is very valuable at LG because he dominates the most dominant DTs. And it's those dominant DT's that push the pocket and lead to the sacks. So why aren't they playing their best five, which includes AC? Also, Lewis said Smith will be the RT as long as Whit is here, but what if Smith proves better, wouldn't they switch it then? After all, Smith was the No. 6 and Whit was the second-rounder, so Smith at least projects to be better than Whit. --Brad B., Atlanta, GA
Hey kids, are you ready for another journey into the kaleidoscope that is Baghdad Hobson's Choice? I'm not.
BRAD: They believe they are playing their two best tackles in Whitworth and Smith. If that's what you believe, how can you have anybody else playing outside? I can see that. But my concern is you switch two guys with the move in Whitworth and Smith. If you keep Collins at left tackle and Whitworth at left guard, the only guy you switch is Smith. As you said, Collins held up pretty well last year and Whit made life miserable for guys like Justin Tuck and John "Mad Eye Moody" Henderson.
The first paragraph goes, logic, nonsense, logic, nonsense, mad eye moody nonsense.
And maybe I'm behind the times but it took a couple searches to piece that doozy of a nickname together through the google.
Although I do think saying Collins is better than Livings is a bit presumptive. They considered Livings a pleasant surprise at left guard during his stint next to Collins at the end of last year.
But a lot of what they did makes sense.
What makes sense? I'm going to move on.
As Marvin Lewis mentioned earlier this week, he saw Smith as the road-grader right tackle type while he scouted him. Plus, having Collins on the bench makes them more flexible.
There are the typical rookie questions about Smith, weight-wise and his ability to make the transition from college left tackle to NFL left tackle. The soap opera with his various agents also suggests a tractor-pull of a contract negotiation and if he doesn't sign until something like Aug. 17 and you had him working at left tackle, that's a nice little disaster waiting to happen.
I underlined that last part. Isn't it comforting to know that the Bengals and Hob have no doubt in their minds about how smooth signing Smith is going to be? Instead, let's just put him at RT and switch our whole line around so that everyone gets to play out of position. Instead of just hammering out a deal and putting the best football team possible on the field for all of training camp. Christ.
Until you get some definite answers about the kid, (i.e., a deal, a good weight, etc.), they've opted to go with what they know at left tackle. And, at this point in his career, Smith's ability to run block is ahead of his ability to pass protect so it seems, although not by much. So put him at right while he learns and if there are snags, you can turn to Collins for right.
Forewarning. If you don't like when Hob steals lines from other writers and uses them in a mash up of a sentence or paragraph, skip ahead.
Meanwhile, the sun will rise and set, deals will be discussed, empires will rise and fall and you know Whitworth is your left tackle on Sept. 13. More importantly, he knows it and has been getting the work.
Moving stuff. Forget it, I'm on the Whitworth at LT train after that prose clinic Hob just put on.
I agree with you on the money. At No. 6, you have to pick the sixth player in the draft, not a player who is the sixth pick. We all know they needed a tackle and they would have had to put Eugene Monroe at left and move Whit to right even though he's a natural lefty. You could make the argument Smith is worth every penny because he can play both and I don't think you can say that about the other top two tackles.
What in the hell does that second sentence mean? I have no words, only love for the circular logic, semantics, whatever that was.
At least not yet.
If you ask me, I think Smith is going to be the left tackle some time down the road. I know Lewis said Whit is at left and Smith is at right for the duration, but NFL coaches and women are the two species that reserve the right to change their minds. Like the bumper sticker says, "Stuff happens." There is no script and teams have to adjust to events. It's hard to say it's bad or good because they haven't played. If it doesn't work, you've got to believe he changes it.
NFL Coaches and women, singing their siren songs in the night.
What you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.
From Billy Madison but I think it pretty much sums up alot of articles Hob has written.
Posted by: Mhlit1980 | May 26, 2009 at 12:54 PM
"stuff happens"....i know they cant use the actual bumper sticker, but why not just use a different phrase? I mean we all love dubbed-for-tv movies, but this is ridiculous.
Posted by: williamsvoort josf grwinian | May 26, 2009 at 01:18 PM
For all of you douchebag WDR authors and bloggers that shat on the Coles signing:
http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=553141
Posted by: BengalAnthony13 | May 26, 2009 at 01:42 PM
Mhlit - I feel dumber for reading that. What the hell does any of that even mean??
Posted by: Scott Ricketts | May 26, 2009 at 02:51 PM
Scott --
It's from the movie Billy Madison. Don't ask me why he decided to quote it.
Posted by: BengalAnthony13 | May 26, 2009 at 03:08 PM
I quoted it because way too often Hob says stuff in his articles that make no sense whatsoever. It's not that big of a deal just a little jab at Hob.
Posted by: Mhlit1980 | May 26, 2009 at 03:18 PM
Haha. Best part of that movie is when Billy (Adam Sandler) calls Steve Buscemi's character to apologize.
Posted by: BengalAnthony13 | May 26, 2009 at 05:14 PM
Who William-ShattED (poetic-ly incorrect license) on the Coles signing? I thought everybody around here seemed to think signing Coles was a good, positive move.
Posted by: Hofbraunow | May 26, 2009 at 05:16 PM
Hofbraunow --
Not at all. I kept harping at the authors and bloggers here that this was a good move, and everybody just kept crying in their soup about T.J. and that Lav Coles wasn't an adequate replacement. He'll be a big asset to the offense if he stays healthy, for sure.
Posted by: BengalAnthony13 | May 26, 2009 at 06:37 PM
Because we all know the best way to determine if a move is good or not is... Mike Florio's "Best Offseason Moves" column in late May!
Posted by: Showtime | May 27, 2009 at 12:34 AM
Seemed that the sentiment around this site was that people were sad to see TJ go because he's been such a great player for the bengals, not that it was a bad move to sign Coles instead.
Personally, I think the TJ-Coles difference isnt huge and we got him for less years and less money. (Which won't mean a thing if the CBA isnt renewed)
And yeah, Hobson makes no sense again. You just stare at the lines of words strung together - it looks like it's a sentence with some sort of meaning, but it really doesnt any...
Posted by: Mike H | May 27, 2009 at 01:00 AM
Anyone else catch this morning's post that Odom put on THIRTY pounds in the off season due to hard work in the weight room? I'm not holding my breath waiting for Hob to ask if there's anything more to the story than that. Sounds a little Bonds-esque to me...
Posted by: my bong was named Darnay | May 27, 2009 at 07:39 AM
Were they serving HO-ho's and Ding-Dong's in the weight room? Maybe they opendd a Mickey D's in the lounge. That would help explain the extra weight.
Posted by: stripedwarrior | May 27, 2009 at 08:52 AM
Sorry All, I got the reference, and I was agreeing, I felt dumber after reading that crap.
Posted by: Scott Ricketts | May 27, 2009 at 11:38 AM
Okay, let me preface this by saying that I have a nine-year-old daughter, and I'm familiar with the Harry Potter universe:
What in the BLUE HELL made Baghdad Hob compare John Henderson to a fictional character at a fictional school of magic? I mean, I can see calling Matthew Stafford "Chunk" because, thanks to a Sports Illustrated "Separated at Birth" photo feature, the resemblance between the first overall choice in this year's draft and the fat kid from "Goonies" is amazing. But this? This is mind-boggling. Job well done, Hob.
Posted by: Wyatt | May 27, 2009 at 01:36 PM
"my bong was named Darnay"
That is quite possibly the best screen name I've ever seen.
Posted by: BengalAnthony13 | May 27, 2009 at 04:28 PM
Ditto to BengalAnthony13
Posted by: Mike H | May 28, 2009 at 12:49 AM
refers to this:
http://jaguars.fandome.com/video/105812/Week-9-Andrew-Whitworth-and-Jaguars-DT-John-Henderson-Fight/
Posted by: Tremain Mack's Cabbie | May 28, 2009 at 11:27 AM