Pre-Season Depth Chart: Defense

Defense

Left End
Antwan Odom: Most noteworthy free agent signing under the Marvin regime. He’s fast, has long arms, and best of all..he isn’t Justin Smith.
Frostee Rucker: Finally saw some regular action late last year. Has one more season to show some value or else he wastes a roster spot. Potentially another worthless draft pick.

Right End
Robert Geathers: Almost getting sacks won’t cut it this year. Doesn’t handle the double team well (not many do in this league), and will rely on teammates to relieve some of that pressure. Amazing athlete.
Jonathan Fanene: Large for an end. Solid backup. Signed to a multi-year deal in the off-season.

Defensive Tackle:
Domata Peko: Improves every year. Bigger than people think. Important component to a thin position.
John Thornton: Aged. Still serviceable, but reaching the end. Best locker room presence on the team.
Pat Sims: Good prospect. Should beat out Thornton in training camp.

ROLB:
Ahmad Brooks: Freak athlete with a problematic groin, an unfortunate combination. Might be better in the middle slot; he’s more of a seek-and-destroyer than a blitzer. The Obe Wan of the defense: our only hope.
Rashad Jeanty: Younger than his old man face indicates (26). Solid against the run. Kinda slow. Defense played much better when he returned from injury.
Eric Henderson: Could switch to DE. Had a nice preseason before injury. Bull-rusher. Unknown against the run.

MLB:
Dhani Jones: Over achieved in ‘07. Sure tackler with mid-thirties speed. Seems better suited to play weak-side linebacker.
Corey Mays: Played decent in the last four games. Contributes on special teams. Someone is conspicuously missing in this slot, can you guess who?

LOLB:
Keith Rivers: Needs to validate his eighth overall pick. Played on a stellar college defensive unit. Should rack up high tackling totals. Think of a more exciting Landon Johnson.
Daryl Blackstock: Special teams ace. A tall third down pass-rusher with long arms = deflected pass attempts.

Cornerback:
Jonathan Joseph: Solid when healthy. Still improving. Should have a monster year.
Leon Hall: Showed significant improvement throughout last season. Good cover skills, good tackler, not blazing speed.
Deltha O’Neal: Great ball skills, with quickly eroding speed. Can take more risks on interceptions as a third corner. Needs to just shut up and play.
Simeon Castille: Undrafted free agent that some projected as high as a fourth-round pick. Good name.

Free Safety:
Marvin White: progressed nicely last season. Can really hit. Lots of energy and enthusiasm. An alleged workoutaholic. Potentially unstable.
Ethan Kilmer: should be fully recovered from injury. A more modern Kasevaharn type.

Strong Safety:
Chinedum Ndukwe: Lots of potential. Ball hawk and strong tackler. Intelligent player who should thrive in Zimmer’s program. Reminds me a little of Roy Williams (roll your eyes all you want). Expect big things.
Dexter Jackson: Garbage. Only skill is timing the snap count. Waste of space. Should have been on the train outta here with J Smith, Landon Johnson and Madieu.


Thanks to an infusion of both young talent and quality coaching, this defense will rapidly improve. Our secondary is filled with quality prospects and will soon be the strongest link in the defense; something Bengals fans haven’t seen since the ‘80s. More turnovers and three-and-outs should result from an improved pass-rush with the additions of Odom and Blackstock. If Brooks can stay healthy and Dhani Jones plays as well as last season, the linebacking corps should be steady but unexciting.

Ndukwe is key to the future success of this team. Think back to all the strong safeties under Marvin Lewis: Rogers Beckett, Kim Herring, Ifeanyi Ohalete, Dexter Jackson. What do they have in common? All were free agent veterans and all were distinctly lousy. Chinedum is the only SS drafted in the past six years and was a seventh-rounder at that. Perhaps this position is overlooked as a key to build a defense around. He’s the right size for a SS at 6'2'’, 220 lbs. and he puts his weight into ball carriers.

Rivers may surprise me, but I don’t see him as a big playmaker. I see him playing for ten years and racking up big tackling totals once he hangs it up, but he may never be a player who changes games.

Sims could develop into a solid starter relatively soon, perhaps as early as preseason. He and Peko have potential to become the runpluggers this team has sought for many years.

The Takeo Spikes and Jeremiah Trotters of the world have no place here in Cincinnati. If a decent DT emerges from the training camp cut list, we may see a signing there, but otherwise, I think the coaching staff is ready to roll with what they have.

Mojokong - Yo no queiro mas jugadores jodidos.

Pushed Down the Mountain Side

The Bengals flag at the Press Box flies at half mast today after management found it necessary to release the beast, Odell Thruman. In a move that will leave many scratching their heads, the Bengals continue to baffle its pundits, its fan-base and even its players with seemingly rash decisions followed by scarce, shadowy explanations.

Why hold on to Thurman for years of suspension and rehabilitation only to cut him loose when he’s at the very end of his road to recovery? Why make the decision when he’s at the funeral of his grandmother and last surviving family role-model? Why not give him the chance to showcase himself on the field where he’s at his best?

Unlike Chris Henry, Odell was reportedly making the effort to improve his decision making. He was addressing his admitted problems with drugs and alcohol and had apparently kept himself in good physical shape. If there was a setback in his compliance of the treatment and testing program either the league or team, or both, had put in place for him, than it would be hard to blame management and ownership of giving up on him. A person can only be helped if they first and foremost want to help themselves.

Of course, the Bengals press release sounds like the work of Pentagon press writers, providing us with the most vague and indiscernible information possible on the matter.

"The NFL provided Odell the opportunity to earn his way back onto our team, but we have not seen the right steps taken by him,"says Marvin Rumsfeld in a written statement.

What is troubling, however, is the next sentence:. "With our offseason work in progress and new talent added at our linebacker position, we've determined it's best to keep moving in a direction that does not include Odell."

This is a crappy thing to say about someone. When the talent level in the linebacking corps is thin, it’s important that we keep Odell sober and address his medical problems, but when we draft and sign some new guys, all of a sudden Odell’s rehab becomes less of a priority. The Bengals care about a persons health only when it’s good for the team. This is the kind of cut-throat competitive attitude we as fans and customers of the NFL demand in our teams, and justifiably so. But in extreme situations like Odell’s, we should all take a step back and realize that these aren’t racehorses, but people, some of which have real medical problems that go beyond the field and the sport. To gauge the danger of a person’s addiction on wins and losses is detestable and I would hope Marvin can show at least some sensitivity on the issue..

I wish Odell the best in resuming his career on another team. It would truly be a shame to not see his tackling ability in action again. I also wish him a healthy, drug-free recovery and the strength to keep it that way.

Mojokong - the sun also rises.

Pre-Season Depth Chart: Offense

Pre-Season Depth Chart:

OFFENSE

Quarterback
Carson Palmer: Any objections?
Ryan FitzPatrick: Harvard-grad; knows the playbook; holds the clipboard well.
Jordan Palmer: Carson clone; should move up to second spot by Week 1.

Running back
Chris Perry: A healthy former first-round pick should beat out some woeful competition.
Rudi Johnson: The down-waster has a lot to prove this summer.
Kenny Watson: Old reliable will find a role in the offense and on special teams.
DeDe Dorsey: He runs like a japan-anime character.

Fullback:
Jeremi Johnson: Quietly becoming a proven veteran.

Wide Receiver:
TJ Houshmandzadeh: Although he gets better every year, he’s a worrisome No. 1.
Jerome Simpson: We’ll remain cautiously optimistic of our mystery showcase, for now.
Antonio Chatman: Is more of a fourth receiver. Tough for his size.
Andre Caldwell: Has some upside.
Doug Gabriel: Bigger guy. Knows the NFL. Might not make it through the pre-season.

Tight End:
Ben Utecht: Will be asked to pick up the slack for a second-rate receiving corps.
Reggie Kelly: Is like Boxer from Animal Farm; tough, reliable and loved by his teammates.

Left Tackle:
Levi Jones: Briefly lost his identity last season. He seems fragile both physically and emotionally.
Anthony Collins: O-line coach Paul Alexander says, “He’s better than we thought.”

Left Guard:
Andrew Whitworth: Crazy athletic, versatile, healthy. Our best overall lineman.
Nate Livings: 335 lbs., let’s hope he isn’t needed much this year.

Center:
Eric Ghiacuic: Was snacked on by enormous d-tackles last year. Needs to bulk up and man up.
Dan Santucci: Seventh-rounder last year who is at least familiar with the offense.

Right Guard:
Stacey Andrews: Great feet for a comet-sized man; fits our outside running game.
Bobby Williams: Veteran bruiser; valuable in a rotation; provides nice depth. Last year of contract.

Right Tackle:
Willie Anderson: Officially the grandfather of the Berenstain Bears.
Scott Kooistra: Saw time at both tackle and guard last season.

Do you feel that breeze? It’s coming in through the gaping hole of our receiving corps in this offense. Without Chad, Bratkowski and Palmer are faced with a C+ unit at best. Coupled with the uncertainty of the running backs, one is left wondering where the explosiveness will come from. The good news is that our blocking looks very solid on paper. Even if Levi cracks, Willie crumbles and Ghiacuic wilts, the Bengals have some nice depth with the versatility of Whitworth and Andrews. Collins was a smart draft pick and Kooistra has blossomed into a pretty serviceable player. Blocking extraordinaire Reggie Kelly is expected to see a lot of action in two tight end sets and Utecht is supposed to be a better than average run-blocker himself. A lot was said of improving the running game and relying more on smashmouth football rather than a big-play philosophy. With our existing personnel, it looks like we won’t have much of an alternative.

Mojokong Lite - the healthy alternative.

The Impractical Son and Mr. Johnson

It was only a matter of time before murmurings of Shaun Alexander returning to the homeland to play football would begin. The rumors were expected but the visit the Bengals lined up for him was not.

If this were three years ago, Alexander would be a no-brainer. But he’s aged, he fumbles and his work ethic has been questioned in Seattle. We need to address the anemic running game, not pussy foot around it by bringing in another question mark to an already filled stable of questionable backs. I don’t envision Alexander being all that effective anymore and I’m out of patience to take a wait-and-see approach on him. He’s damaged goods from the scrap heap and unless he comes with a scratch-and-dent price tag, I don’t want him.

It seems I can’t avoid giving my take on the Chad issue, so I’ll briefly touch on it.

Ignore him.

Turn your head and pretend he isn’t there. Don’t take your 85 jerseys to Koch’s for Cyclones tickets. Cyclones tickets?! When we get swept up in the negative backlash which stems from his selfishness, then we make it easier to give him what he wants. He’s looking for attention, and we’re buying into it hand over fist. The fact STILL remains that HE IS UNDER CONTRACT!!! His options are to play or sit, and why would he sit out all year? He wouldn’t make his money for the season, he would still have two years on his contract and he wouldn’t be able to showcase his talents to other employers. It’s smart business to remind Mr. Johnson that if he didn’t like playing for this team, he shouldn’t have signed the contract.

Mr. Johnson says he’ll be a disruption, but by ignoring him, he can’t be. He won’t allow his on-field performance to slacken because he could stand to lose a great deal of money from other teams that way. He can’t physically fight his teammates or coaches (although he already has), because that’s assault. He can blabber to the media if he wants, but they only care if you do.

I know people aren’t going to ignore him. He’s made for TV and we’re a TV culture, but that’s the best way to beat him. Drew Rosenhaus knows that. It’s the reason why he puts Chad up to all these spectacles. And until he does something on the field, that’s all I have to say about Mr. Johnson.

-Mojokong- Hmmm...the civil servant who can't run or the talented prick?