James Walker's Conspiracy Theory...Can You Really Argue With It?

WDR is a little confused about the Bengals early announcement of moving Andrew Whitworth to left tackle, putting first round selection Andre Smith at right tackle, plugging in Nate Livings at left guard (and unrelated to this post, putting Kyle Cook at center).  But apparently, with the 6th overall pick, the Bengals selected a right tackle, as announced earlier this week.  This is rare as most of the tackles selected that high in the draft are put on the left to protect the Quarterback's blind side. 

It's not a shock that Andre Smith would begin at right tackle in his first season but it is surprising that Marvin Lewis indicated that he would be a right tackle for years to come, and Whitworth would be the club's left tackle for years to come.  ESPN's James Walker has a conspiracy theory.  Walker explains his thought that the announcing of the move this early is indeed a little odd, correctly mentions that "With a team like Cincinnati, you always follow the money trail," and hypothesizes that it's a move to gain leverage in Andre Smith negotiations and ultimately pay Smith less money. Can anyone argue with this? Should these really be the underlying reasons for who goes where on our offensive line?

It remains to be seen whether Whitworth will be able to effectively transition to left tackle.  It also remains to be seen whether Nate Livings, a former undrafted free agent, can be an effective left guard.  Those are two large question marks on Carson Palmer's blind side.  At the least, what can be said is that the O-line has red flags all over it.  We now have legitimate questions at left tackle, left guard and center at a minimum.  Right guard Bobbie Williams will continue to be Bobbie Williams.  And although WDR is fairly confident Andre Smith can be an effective right tackle, if negotiations go sour and there's a holdout, another question mark may arise if he's significantly late to camp or we have to plug someone else in there because of the amount of time Smith misses.  While it's difficult not to like the team's offseason moves, one cannot reasonably conclude that this line does not have red flags all over it for next season. 

Comments

[Relele]

He's going to make the same amount of money if he plays on the left or right the only difference is he has less leverage when holding because they'll have Collins backing him up..With that being said Andre Smith was the most dominate tackle in college but he wasn't the strongest pass blocker but amazing when it came to run blocking so why not put him on the side where he'll be most successful?

I don't get why people are flippin out at the idea of a RT at 6,We Drafted Big Willie at 10 & Andre is supposed to have more upside.

[Sly Vramavomovich]

What happened to Anthony Collins? Did he die?

[Major Payne]

This is going to get ugly fast, especially with Smith changing agents again. But karma seems to mandate that "Big Daddy" Smith and Mike Brown deserve each other.

[schi-nati]

I actually don't have a problem with this. I kinda hope thats what the team is doing. The NFL rookie pay scale is so far beyond making sense- I could see why teams would play games. Its no less disingenuous than Smith's agent proclaiming him a "franchise left tackle" at this point in his career. I hope he gets signed and is in camp on time- both sides will benefit. With the notable (& painful) exception of Steinbach, the Bengals have shown a recent willingness to renegotiate contracts of young players who play well their first few seasons (Carson, Levi, Chad, Jeremi Johnson, Geathers, etc.).

[CurseofBoJackson]

"With a team like Cincinnati, you always follow the money trail" Because no other NFL franchise makes decisions or positions themselves based on dollar amounts and getting draft picks in camp right? I like the move, and I don't feel like Whit is much of a stretch at LT. Be more concerned about LG, that's the ?.

[BILL]

I can't believe this website would actually post something James Walker said and take it seriously. This guy has about as much credibility as this site. Smith is going to get paid what he is going to get paid. It is slotted. It doesn't matter if he plays guard. Walker blows and this site is on its way down that path. You guys need to hang it up until preseason, or at least scale back your stories.

[Hofbraunow]

James Walker, whatever, but it's true: a high draft pick this early would, in most *rational* cases ( i.e. other than the Bengals) would mean drafting someone for *left* tackle (Carson's blind spot)...

H. "Mister Money-Boobs" Smith played his card, waiting for the Bengals to get rid of Levi Jones, or whoever the Bengals 'backup/alternative' was, so he could then 'hold out' for more money...

Meanwhile, the Bengals then decide to play the 'We'll start you at right tackle' card, when it's no secret that our OL is in dire need of fortifying (with vitamins and minerals)...we need to protect C. Palmer's blind spot...if not with actual talent, at least with something big-and difficult-to-move, to buy another half-second for CP...hmmm... who might fit that bill...could it be...NAAAAHHHH, who ever it could/would be, let's start them at 'right tackle'...

Too bad we wasted a high/early draft pick...

[BengalAnthony13]

It's a fair point, but if that's the Bengals' reasoning you have to at least understand where they're coming from with this particular player. His agent situation is/was in flux, he is built like a RT more so than a LT, and they want to smooth his transition to the NFL. The Ravens are doing the same thing with Michael Oher. I know that he was drafted about 15 spots after Andre Smith, but it's still the same thing. Also, if you really looked at the line play last year, RT was more of a problem than LT. Levi played OK when healthy and Collins was very good in relieving Levi. My guess is that you'll see another switch of the line pretty soon. Collins should be starting somewhere on this line--especially over Livings.

[braddeygoddamit]

god help us... no seriously.. plz.....

[ItmightbeJB]

I'm not sure salary posturing matters at this point because it looks like the negotiations will extend through training camp. Without an agent (is it Keels this week)even in contact with the Bengals so far it would appear Andre the Hut has successfully pulled off the ol' Michael Strahan maneuver. You remember that one, where the Millionaire decides he ain't going to training camp even if it costs him a little slice of signing bonus cash!