WhoDeyRevolution

Please Sign HippopataSmith Early, Otherwise...

The O Line last year sucked. Levi Jones was overweight, kind of hurt, slow and letting people by him while he picked daisies and longed for the days when Joey Porter and him could stay up all night talking about their dreams. Whitworth and Bobbie were fine. Ghiuacic never developed into anything. Stacey Andrews wanted nothing to do with the Bengals organization, and I don't blame him.

This year doesn't portend to be any better. As of right now they are making Whitworth play out of position at LT, where he has problems on the edge against speed rushers. Nate Livings, as far as I know is good enough at LG, but I don't think putting him there means our left side rushing attack is going to set the world on fire. Santucci and Cook were, according to Hob, "ready" to start last year. But if they couldn't prove themselves to better than Ghiuacic then I'm not going to put any faith in them to be any better now. Luigs is a rookie stepping into a position where people like Casey Hampton and Ngata will be lining up to consume whatever gets in their way. Bobbie's a rock, but I don't like how on the roster he's listed as a G/C. Just sounds like he could be another guy that has to play out of position when it becomes apparent that the three headed monster at C isn't working. Collins rounds out the projected starters and should be a serviceable tackle on whichever side he ends up. The depth is paper thin with Kooistra and HippopataSmith as the only real back ups with any potential to start. 

I'm not listing the Hippo as a starter yet because I truly believe he will hold out for a significant amount of training camp. He has made bad decision after bad decision since it became apparent to him that he was destined to be a lottery pick. Couple that with Mike Brown's mule like negotiating tactics and the Bengals have irresistable force against immovable object. If he does come into the fold late he won't be NFL ready considering how well it seems he trains without coaching and structure.

As of right now, the Bengals and Marvin are in an unenviable position of having to play a G at LT, inexperience at C, and potentially their best lineman will still be getting in playing shape by the time the Bengals play the Broncos in week 1. This squad may not be as god awful as it was last year but I'm not overcome with optimism about it being a cohesive kick ass unit. Especially since our most important player's blind side will be covered by a guy with very little lateral quickness. 

Let's hope Hippo signs early so that all the pieces can fit more easily. I'd be infinitely more happy about a line of Collins, Whit, whoever, Bobbie, and HippopataSmith than what it is now. 

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. 

Baghdad Hob Eyes Holdout

To expand upon Brosef's brief post yesterday...Buried deep in Baghdad Hob's most recent roster analysis, are four words that we already highlighted...and with good reason.  Leaving aside the rest of the contents of Baghdad's article, four words that appear under the Offensive Line heading jump off the page:

In the past the Bengals have usually kept nine. They need 3.5 tackles and 2.5 centers. The rest have to be able to play some combo of center, guard and tackle.

Much depends which tackle they make Smith. With a potential holdout and Whitworth and Collins both with snaps under the belt at left tackle, Smith could very well end up at right.

Did you see what he did there?  Did you see what he did there?  Tell me you saw it.  To my knowledge (which could be wrong), of the first round draft picks, only Matt Stafford has signed a deal.  Yet, Baghdad Hob just casually massages in "With a potential holdout."  Immediately after reading these four words, a headache ensued.  As one starts to feel good about the offseason moves that the Bengals have made, one has to start factoring in "a potential holdout" of the first round pick. 

Levi Jones Cut

In a largely expected move, Levi Jones has been cut, as reported by Pro Football Talk.  Jones was reportedly informed that the team would try to trade him and otherwise release him after Offensive Tackle, Andre Smith was drafted with the 6th overall pick.  The move saves a lot of money (namely, a $3 million base salary due to Jones this year), which will most certainly be used to sign Smith and the other draft picks.  Two WDR thoughts on the matter:

(1) WDR does like the move (mostly because of #2 below) but it sure puts a lot of pressure on rookie tackle, Andre Smith and second year tackle, Anthony Collins.  Without Levi there, our line is very young and when you combine it with the fact that our center will have 0 NFL starts going into next season and will possibly be a rookie, it is no surprise what will determine the Bengals' 2009-10 success: Offensive Tackle, Offensive Tackle, Center. 

(2) And the amount of Bengals who don't want to be on the Bengals and are vocal about it is down to one.  As mentioned, the move is fine but WDR sure wishes we would have excommunicated the last remaining one.  While there was potential excitement to see the OchoCinco/Coles combination, this has been diluted by Chad's refusal to show up to any voluntary workouts and reportedly crying on the phone to TJ Houshmandzadeh because he can't get himself traded.

One Man's Take on the Bengals Draft

Generally, I avoid trying to use the first person but since draft day provides many different opinions, I can't speak for the rest of WDR.  Given that... 

What I liked:

-Drafting an Offensive Tackle in the 1st round: Protection for Carson Palmer was needed.  There was a point where I thought Aaron Curry would fall and was actually rooting against it because if Carson Palmer doesn't have time to throw, the Bengals have no chance.  Curry would have been a justifiable deviation from the Offensive Tackle plan that I just didn't want.  I also don't mind the selection of Andre Smith.  Smith was the #1 projection for almost a full calendar year and it really all came apart on one day.  I'm still trying to figure out his "character concerns" that people seem to blow out of proportion.  While Eugene Monroe was there, uncertainty exists for him as well as he dislocated a knee cap in college.  I like the Andre Smith pick.

-REY MAUALUGA!!!: A moment of shear panic consumed me when this guy was available for the Pittsburgh Steelers.  That's all the Bengals need...two crazy Polynesian dudes running all over the place wreaking havoc on our offense.  Instead, he fell and the Bengals pounced on him.  While I would have been fine with Center Max Unger or Maualuga, I think the right choice was made.  The defense now has swagger and a little bit of crazy.  Point taken from Comrade Jenkins...Marvin and Zimmer will have to coach him up and keep him disciplined but if you watched a USC college football game last year, you should be excited about this pick.  If we weren't on boycott, I'd consider a Maualuga jersey.  But we are on boycott and are not coming off of it so it looks like I'll be relegated to P Dub at least until the Bengals make the playoffs.

What I didn't like:

The draft just wouldn't be complete without a selection like this: Bernard Scott, RB, Abilene Christian.  Here's his Scouts Inc.'s character profile (Scouts Inc.'s gave him a 5, the lowest possible character score):

2008: Finishing 18 month of probation for giving false information to a police officer during a traffic stop. 2005: Central Arkansas dismisses Scott from the team for striking a coach who was trying to break up a fight during a spring practice. 2002: High School dismisses him from team before senior season for involvement in an off-campus fight.

What more can be said at this point?  Jason Shirley last year and Bernard Scott this year.  Disgusting.

The Offensive Line - What is the Plan?

So apparently, the Bengals might be trying to trade Levi Jones and if they can't trade him, they might release him (h/t Stripe Hype who gave a h/t to Go-Bengals...blogging at its finest).  WDR has no problem with this.  Levi Jones is not a good football player.  At some point in time, he was a good football player.  But then he signed a big fat contract and then started playing like a big fat guy who signed a big fat contract.  He's also expressed multiple times that he doesn't want to be on this football team even though the Bengals have given him a big fat contract and he may not be able to get a big fat contract from anyone else.  As we've seen the last two years, you don't want a guy with a big fat contract who doesn't want to be on the football team protecting your Quarterback's blind side. 

But what WDR has a problem with is where that puts the Offensive Line.  As of now, the Offensive Line is the same minus two starters (Eric Ghiaciuc, Stacy Andrews) and if Levi Jones is traded or released, that's three.  Currently, the following Offensive Tackles, other than Jones, are on the roster: Anthony Collins and Dennis Roland (I don't know who he is either).  Currently, the following Centers are on the roster: Kyle Cook, Andrew Crummey and Dan Santucci (combined starts: 0, combined offensive series: close to 0).  Just exactly what is the plan at Offensive Line?  If Jones is taken out of the equation, the starting O-Line looks like this:

Offensive Offseason Review

Just when I begin to think we didn't do so bad in free agency this year, I consider this...here's a list of positions that we still need on offense in order for one to reasonably believe that we've improved from last year:

Center (other than Eric Ghiaciuc)

Offensive Tackle (maybe 2)

Fullback

A second Running Back

Sure, fans can argue (1) we can still make a trade, (2) we can still sign some free agents, or (3) we still have the draft.  To quickly respond:

(1) We most likely can't or won't trade anyone besides Chad Johnson, which would immediately create another need at WR unless you are comfortable with Laveranues Coles, Chris Henry, Andre Caldwell and Jerome Simpson next season.  Sure, one (not me) could argue that you draft Michael Crabtree or Jeremy Maclin, trade Chad for a late first round pick or an early second round pick and draft an Offensive Tackle and a Center with the second round pick and whatever pick you get from Chad.  But first of all, if Mike Brown didn't trade Chad last year, why would you assume that he would this year?  I fail to understand how people speculate on that again this offseason.  Secondly, it's a clear violation of the Too Savvy Rule.

(2) Nearly all of the good free agents that would provide an upgrade at the above positions are gone. After we didn't pursue the three best Centers available, Eric Ghiaciuc is among the best Centers left for crying out loud and look where that got Carson last year.  For whatever reason, we keep bringing in decent Fullbacks and then not signing them all while not pursuing some of the most promising available (Leonard Weaver, Justin Griffith, Lorenzo Neal).

(3) We do still have the draft but if we start a rookie at all four of the above positions, could that possibly bode well for next season? What production did we get out of our rookies last year?  The year before? 

TJ Speaks

In a chat on NFL.com today, Touraj "The Hardest Man in the NFL" Houshmandzadeh Jr. revealed some very interesting information regarding the Bengals supposed pursuit of the former Bengal as well as some entirely predictable news on Chad Johnson's commitment to the team.

Lou from Canada asked TJ: "Being a Bengal fan, I need to know, how persistant were the Bengals in trying to keep you a Bengal?"

Here is how he responded: "They were persistent, but it wasn't persistent with good intentions, in my opinion. They weren't as persistent as it has been reported that they were....If they wanted to keep me, I would be there. After four years, I re-signed, because they wanted to keep me. I didn't re-sign after eight, because they obviously didn't want to keep me...." "

WDR Take: We were split on our thoughts regarding bringing TJ back.  The team has gaping holes on the offensive and defensive line where we hoped they would use their free agency dollars.  But then we signed another aging vet WR (L. Coles) to a deal similar to TJ.  We all knew that the Bengals made a play for TJ but it is now clear that the Bengals were not in the running. 

What is the Bengals reasoning for not pursuing Housh and opting for Coles instead?  It is one thing to go after and lose TJ and settle for Coles.  It is another to not really pursue TJ and then sign Coles soon after.  But when has a solid offensive and defensive line even proven successful?

CJ from Texas asked: "What was Carson and Chad's feelings about you leaving Cincy? Did Chad ask you to hide him in your suitcase?"

TJ: Chad basically said, "Do what you have to do." He said he'll be right behind me.

Carson was happy for me, but wondered why it got to that point.

WDR Take: No matter what you hear from Chad, Chuckles or anyone else involved with the Bengals, Chad Johnson does not want to be on the Bengals.  He is not putting in 100%. He is not committed to the team.  WHY are the Bengals keeping him around? 

As for Carson, we wish he would express these feelings in public.  His potent offense has been decimated over the past few years and the team parts ways with his favorite target in favor of a new guy who has no relationship with their franchise QB.  Carson - please join the Revolution!

No Attempt at Matt Birk? T.O. Cut

As I mentioned, the Laveranues Coles signing could be promising individually.  But the Bengals' free agency performance still has ignored the Bengals' greatest needs, Center and Offensive Tackle.  One of the two best Centers available, Matt Birk signed a 3 year, $12 million contract on Wednesday ($6 million guaranteed) with the Baltimore Ravens.  The other, Jason Brown, signed a 5 year deal worth $37.5 million with $20 million guaranteed (conceded that this contract was probably too rich).  Who knows if Birk would've ultimately come here but the contract was reasonable and the Bengals were not mentioned in connection with any attempt at signing Matt Birk or any Center for that matter.  While Laveranues Coleslaw definitely helps out after the loss of T.J., one has to be nervous about Carson or Crazy Legs Fitzpatrick [Insert Name of Crappy 2009 Backup QB] still playing behind a depleted offensive line that performed abysmally last year, and the potential of our running game continuing to suffer due to poor O-line play.  It is unclear why the Bengals' front office continually ignores our greatest needs. 2007 and 2008 starter, Eric Ghiaciuc has struggled mightily and he's a free agent this year.  If we bring him back, we know what to expect (horrid run game and opposing Defensive Tackles getting pressure on Carson).  If we don't bring him back, who will line up at Center?  At this point, it looks to be either a rookie or an average/below average free agent Center.  Both prospects are not promising in the short term.  Perhaps Bobbie Williams will move over (a reader, Randall, pointed out that he is now listed as a G/C on the Bengals roster) but as we recall, that never got off the ground last year and if he did move over, his effectiveness at the position is uncertain and a need is created at Guard.  While Coles helps us to digest the T.J. loss and is an interesting change, the needs at OT, Center, FB and even a #2 RB still exist.  It's tough to imagine us addressing all of those positions in the draft, especially for the 2009 season.

In completely unrelated news that the Bengals should not concern themselves with but is nonetheless interesting and surprising (but not as interesting and surprising as ESPN will surely make it out to be), the Dallas Cowboys cut Terrell Owens.

Inexcusable

While Bengal Nation waits to see if the Bengals re-sign T.J. Houshmandzadeh and many will pin the success of the team's free agency performance in 2009 on whether we do so or not, there is one thing WDR simply cannot understand.  There were 2 monster free agent Centers out there in Matt Birk and Jason Brown and the Bengals were not mentioned in connection with either one.  Brown (formerly on the Baltimore Ravens) has signed a 5 year deal with the St. Louis Rams at $37.5 million with $20 million guaranteed.  Birk (formerly of the Minnesota Vikings) is still unsigned.  Yet it appears the Bengals did not pursue them and still are not pursuing Birk.

It is hard to imagine a more noticeable need on an NFL football team than the Bengals need at Center during the last couple of seasons.  Bengals Center Eric Ghiaciuc has been simply mauled at times against bigger, stronger, quicker defensive linemen.  That has contributed significantly to the downfall of the running game and pass protection.  But there hasn't been one blurb about the Bengals pursuing any Center.  Ths is the type of inaction that continually drives us up the wall.  There continues to be a blatant need and that need is not addressed (again).  While there is still time to sign Birk or swing some sort of a trade, as Bengals fans, we know that is unlikely.  If that is unlikely, then what is?  Just what exactly is the front office's plan for the Center position?  Starting a rookie (not a bad idea long term but not good for the short term)?  Re-signing Ghiaciuc?  Signing an average to below average Center after the top ones are gone?  Whatever it is, it doesn't look good in the way of improving the offensive line for 2009. 

And by the way, am I mistaken or does our 2009 free agency scorecard currently say:

Chris Crocker (signed)

Dede Dorsey (signed)

T.J. Houshmandzadeh (TBD)

Cedric Benson (TBD)

Stacy Andrews (signs with Philadelphia Eagles)

While it remains to be seen how the TJ situation will unfold and WDR isn't criticizing the Bengals efforts at re-signing him, we absolutely should not overlook the fact that even if it happens, as of now (keeping in mind that there is still time for trades, lower level signings, etc.), the players and coaching personnel is composed of the same group that went 4-11-1 with no key additions.  Our most glaring needs still exist (and one has even been magnified after the Andrews departure).  Yes we can continue our wonderfully consistent strategy of "building through the draft" but the likelihood of short term success on that is traditionally low.