Additional Camp Notes

Additional camp notes.

In training camp, everybody wants to hear about how the new guys look. Our biggest new guy, Antwone Odom, is sidelined with a foot sprain. Number one pick Keith Rivers still hasn’t shown up for camp and new tight end Ben Utecht has barely been mentioned in any press coverage.

More concerning than the lack of excitement generated by those guys however, are the conspicuously quiet Jerome Simpson and Daryl Blackstock. There’s a battle for the third receiver spot, and all the names I keep hearing that are involved in this contest are Marcus Maxwell (who is getting a lot of press from ESPN writer James Walker), Antonio Chatman, and third round pick Andre Caldwell. Many thought Simpson was taken too high and he can’t even compete for a third receiver spot, than we may have reason to worry.

Daryl Blackstock is being edged (at least on paper) by fellow Arizona Cardinal castaway Branden Johnson. I had high hopes for Blackstock when we signed him, and he still may produce. Hopefully competition can raise both players’ performance.

Keep an eye on the defensive end spot left open from Odom. The ethereal Frostee Rucker seems to be slotted for that space, but we did sign Fanene to an off-season deal and I’m sure management would like to see him on the field as much as possible. Henderson is another name to keep an eye on in that spot.

Mojokong - pouring it out.

Camp Notes

It’s time to let yourself boil over with excitement again. Mojokong has returned with the start of training camp. And this year, I’ve brought Keith Rivers with me (he should be here any minute). Let’s begin then.

Points of interest:

It had to have been a tough pill for Willie to swallow when he saw his name listed second on the depth chart behind Stacey Andrews. Nobody likes being demoted and after 13 seasons of hall-of–fame caliber play, he had to have felt just a little under appreciated. But Willie is a consummate pro and a role model teammate who was both honest and supportive of Stacey Andrews when questioned about the depth chart

“"On top of (camp), knowing sometimes that competition brings rift," Anderson said. "I love Stacy Andrews. I raised him. The last thing I want to do is (have a) rift among the line. I don't want that to happen."
Words from a battle-hardened Berenstein Bear. You could write aesop fables about this guy’s moral standards. What a mess this team would be without a leader like him.

This offensive line is the best we’ve seen since ‘05. With rookie Collins getting heavy praise from the coaches, we now have seven quality, healthy lineman to rotate in and out. Even if Willie doesn’t start, he’s gonna see plenty of snaps throughout the season if he stays healthy. Andrew Whitworth became our best lineman last season, and was recently rewarded with a four year extension (at a very affordable price). With Whitworth’s new contract and Stacey Andrews promotion on the depth chart, the Bengals are phasing out Levi and Willie in favor of the more mobile, younger guys up front.

Jeremi Johnson came to camp too fat and was told he couldn’t play until he could bring his weight down to 270!! Come on JJ, we expect more professionalism than that. The fullback position is one of the more overlooked tasks in today’s NFL. Yet Johnson has been solid in his five years here and no one has benefited more from his head-on blocking style than Rudi. Marvin won’t put up with overweight players. He has no time or patience for such neglect of some pretty basic responsibilities like keeping yourself from ballooning to over 300 lbs. Last year’s back up tight end, Daniel Coates, could be converted to become our new starting fullback, which to me sounds worrisome. The lack of running game was the biggest reason for a losing season last year, and we need everything to go smoothly for a unit that looks awfully questionable as we start camp.

Odom’s sprained foot is just another taste of the wretched curse that lingers over PBS, Georgetown College, the team bus, or any other location the Bengals gather in. The most worrisome part of it all is that this is the kind of injury that tends to last far too long with this team. I can already see it: The Bengals will push his return back two weeks longer than necessary saying they’re taking all the “precautionary measures” they can before putting him back on the field. When he does come back, he’ll tell the press he’s doing so at about 85 percent. He’ll give a fairly mediocre performance in his first game back, complain that he can’t physically do what he does best - rush the passer - and elect to have season ending surgery so that he can come back completely healthy next year. It might have been better had he just broken his foot and come back in 6-8 weeks.

On paper, the Bengals look like another 8-8 team. We have no impact players on defense and our running game is a huge question mark. To have any success this season, players will have to over achieve, coaches can’t make mistakes and they can’t be killed by injuries. It’s up to a no-name defense, a has-been stable of running backs, and a very young corps of secondary receivers to get us above .500. For the first time in a few years we have little expectations going into training camp. Maybe we can prove the pundits wrong again this season, but in a good way this time.

Mojokong - Anything to keep my mind off of the Reds. Watching them play out their season is like watching that movie "Leaving Las Vegas".