There's The Beef

Perhaps the only person not excited to have first-rounder Andre Smith signed and at practice is his flabby stunt-double, Gus Parrish.

In training camp, Parrish sat in Smith's seat in the meeting rooms, took Smith's reps in practice and played the role of him in the rookie talent-show, imitating Smith's shirtless, floppy, 40-yard dash at the Scouting Combine. But with the real thing in town, Gus' chances of not making the final cut become much more likely.

Parrish was a long-shot anyway, but Smith is here to stay for at least four years, or until the Bengals organization folds, whichever comes first. The 330 pound, baby-faced mastodon, labeled a powerful, run-blocking mauler, will find a place along the starting line someday, but how soon and on which side is up to the Bengals brain-trust.

O-line coach, Paul Alexander has already made it clear that Smith won't be handed a starting job right away. The promising play of right tackle Anthony Collins has taken some of the urgency out of Smith's development, and Whitworth got the nod as the starting left tackle before training camp even began. How fast Smith catches up is anyone's guess, but at some point this season he'll be a valuable substitute or possible starter once injuries begin to pile up.

When he does eventually start, Smith will likely take over for Collins on the right side, keeping the rest of the line in their starting spots. When the Bengals first drafted Smith, I thought it made the most sense to put him on the right side, with Whitworth at left guard and Collins at left tackle. Now that the Bengals have prepared and practiced with Whitworth at left tackle, Smith should stay on the right side when he does crack the line-up so as to not disrupt the cohesion among the rest of the line.

Collins knows that Smith is after his job and will have to continue playing well to fight off that pressure. He proved himself a capable starting tackle late last season, and Marvin Lewis has said some positive things about Collins to the media this preseason. Even if Collins does lose his starting job to Smith this season, he would become a quality backup with starts at both ends of the line.

Any way you work it out, having Smith adds beef and talent to the most vulnerable aspect of the team. The offensive line needed to be addressed more than anything else this off-season and the Bengals have finally landed their future centerpiece in the rotund, shapeless, sagging form of Andre Smith.

Mojokong---keep your belly big and your head on straight, young man.

The Carson Conspiracy

Picture this:

Carson Palmer is ruled out of the preseason finale leaving him with a total of about five game-clock minutes of live action for the preseason. J.T. O'Sullivan plays well in every game and looks sharp with the starting receivers.

Week 1 against the Broncos rolls around and Marvin has to produce an injury report that has Palmer listed as questionable. Team doctors recommend that he sit out of practice a few more days in order to bring him back 100 percent, but Marvin Lewis needs him now. Ownership rules that team doctors know best and that Palmer sit out of practice during the week. Marvin holds steadfast to his rule that players only play if they practice and O'Sullivan gets the nod.

The outcome of the game is immaterial, as Palmer undoubtedly runs the first-team offense the next week in practice and tells everyone that he is perfectly healthy. He struggles in Green Bay and pundits begin to say how he hasn't had enough reps in the preseason. He struggles against Pittsburgh and team doctors begin to reexamine the once injured ankle in hopes of finding out what's wrong with their organization's superstar. He struggles again the next week and the fans begin to call for O'Sullivan, and so on.

Last season when Carson hurt his elbow, the team initially downplayed it and then trickled out information about the severity of the injury. Belief was held out by all parties that Palmer would return at some point until it became pointless after the season had become a horror-film.

This ankle injury feels a lot like that. The likelihood that he hurt it again increases after a high sprain. If Palmer continues his downward statistical trend this season, quarterback experts like Ron Jaworski will point to film that shows how his mechanics changed after the injury and that's why his passes sail into the arms of defenders.

Is it that farfetched? Does having Carson on the field automatically mean that he'll play well? Palmer's productivity has decreased every season since the playoff debacle of 2005; even when healthy, he doesn't appear to be getting any better. Perhaps offensive coordinator, Bob Bratkowski, is to blame, or the crumbling of the once powerful offensive line, but the facts are, Carson hasn't been an elite player since the glory days and there's little reason to think it will switch back on again soon, especially with more injuries.

Hopefully this is just a chicken-little conspiracy that never comes to fruition and can be buried in peat moss along with all the other slop I've been wrong about. But let's not pretend that this kind of thing doesn't happen. Let's not ignore the man behind the curtain, pulling the strings of the media and the fans; a man who might prefer a viable excuse of failure as opposed to the hard work that sustains success.

Mojokong---the sky is held in place by glue above Paul Brown Stadium.

The Battle Within

Preseason Week 3 preview:

Like a light wave from space, and like many of you, I will see the game on delay, and by then, some players may have already solidified, or lost their locker space for the season.

It's true that the third game of the preseason is widely considered the most important of them all, but it's still just dressing up an exhibition in the middle of summer---the fact that it's priced the same as regular-season tickets seems criminal to me. But for the dregs of the roster, the bottom-of-the-barrel guys, it could become one of the most important nights of their lives.

In nine days, the thicket of striped helmets along the sidelines of tonight's game will be dramatically reduced as teams are required to shed their rosters to 53 players by September 5th. That means upwards of 25 players will either be cut or demoted to the practice squad within that time. The performances that these fledgling hopefuls give tonight will have serious implications to their future professional football careers.

A few such men, vying for essentially the same spot on the team, reside in the ranks of the safeties. The journeyman and special-teams mavin Kyries Hebert, the versatile but hesitant Corey Lynch and the hard-nosed and raw Tom “Full” Nelson, all seem to be competing for the sixth safety and special-teams gunner spots.

Hebert has shown the ability to make tackles and be in the right spots on kick and punt returns, and was also forced into a couple of starts last season due to injuries to the regular starters. He's an inexpensive veteran that has 16 games and two training camps with the Bengals coaching staff under his belt. If it is a competition among the three, I'd consider him the frontrunner.

Corey Lynch also has experience with team, and notably saved a local woman's life at the scene of a car accident during the off-season, but the NFL has no room for human-interest stories and Lynch has not seemingly done enough on the field to impress the coaching staff in the past two games. Lynch was out most of last season with a knee injury and, at this point, he may be auditioning for other teams.

Nelson was highlighted on last night's Hard Knocks as a long-shot who is getting noticed by the right people within the organization. He made plays against New England and looked anything but tentative in his pursuit to the ball; the perfect quality for a special-teams gunner. I wouldn't want to see much of Nelson in zone coverage against a first-string quarterback, but as a practice dummy, an emergency safety and a gunner, I'd like him to be invited to the practice squad.

The other difficult decision that looms above the coaches in the meeting rooms deals with how many, and which running backs to keep. The fact remains, the Bengals have no great one on their roster; they have one good one and three promising ones. Based on what we've seen thus far in the preseason though, none of these four runners deserve to be cut.

I'm still of the opinion that Cincinnati should keep all four of them and use them in various situations throughout the year. The acknowledged starter, Cedric Benson, has fumbled in both games he's played in 2009, and while he hasn't looked bad, he also hasn't done anything to assume that he is a problem-free player who will automatically do just fine. The other contenders, Bernard Scott, Brian Leonard and DeDe Dorsey have all demonstrated specific and unique traits that could be used separately and effectively. The running game was abysmal last year and the infusion of talent there can only be a positive, but team management should be wary to cast any of these capable runners out into the street.

There's another battle quietly taking place among the fullbacks as well. Many jokes and sometimes cruel humor has been written within these pages at Jeremi Johnson's expense, typically centered around his constant challenges controlling his weight. Johnson did come to camp this July heavier than advised, but has made big strides to get back into playing shape and now looks like the starter for the season-opener.

It's easy to pick on someone when they let themselves go physically, but it should be equally noted when a player, or a person, battles back from weight concerns and goes about their life in a successful manner. After all, when Johnson is healthy and in playing shape, he's a possible pro-bowler and who wouldn't want that on their team? Good job, JJ, keep it up (and the weight down).

Rookie Fui Vakapuna has been nagged here and there by injuries this summer, but thanks in part to the problems at tight end, he seems safe to make the team. Fui has a good build for the position, carried the ball a decent amount at BYU and has the crazy-man stare that I like and opponents fear. He appears as a man who enjoys rough contact---with or without a helmet---and probably goes around hitting Coke machines throughout the winter and spring just to get his fix.

That leaves Chris Pressley as the most likely candidate of the bunch to wind up on the practice squad or cut altogether. Pressley hasn't had a lot of opportunities to prove himself and really hasn't looked bad when he has played, but as the nefarious Jim Lippincot will tell you, it's a numbers thing and it comes down to ability. Pressley may be a talented blocker and could end up making it in Cincinnati, but from where I'm standing, he's looks like an odd man out.

Other points of interest tonight include watching to see if Ochocinco is allowed to kick some more and if Rey Maualuga is allowed to crack skulls some more. The world is dying (well, at least I'm dying) to see just how legitimate Chad is as a kicker. The human megaphone and one-man-circus rightfully gained attention from the kicking world for his excellent form and quality results on his kicks. The Bengals have gone out and signed “Yosemite” Sam Swank to fill the kicker role for the next two games, but why not polish up the team's emergency kicker with a sore Shayne Graham sitting out the remainder of the preseason? These games don't count; let's have some fun out there, dammit.

It was most refreshing to hear the defensive coaches unanimously agree that by Week 1, Maualuga should start “for the betterment of the team.” Their knock on him is that he plays wild and crazy, but after seeing a similar chaos exuded from Odell Thurman during his tremendous rookie season, and the positive results that came from it, the Bengals need someone who is reckless and dangerous out there. Current starter Rashad Jeanty is slower and a lot less scary then Rey and has no real value to start over Maualuga.

The world thought I was a crazy, and probably still does, but I stand by my opinion that I would have taken Rey first overall. Elite players only come by once in a great while; it's vital to an organization to snatch one up when they see him.

Mojokong---can't we just skip the last preseason game?

Livings In Silence

With the cameras swarming around the Bengals for HBO’s Hard Knocks and the print media feeding fans daily updates and developments, it seems odd that one starter has gone through training camp and two preseason games without even a mention by name: Nate Livings. 
 
Livings is tops on the depth chart at left guard and started six games last season after Whitworth was injured.  With two seasons on the practice squad under his belt, the Bengals activated Livings for a nationally-televised Thursday night game in Pittsburgh.  
 
I can imagine Marvin Lewis grinning at Livings that night, clapping him on the back, saying “Welcome to the big show, Nate.  Now try not to get killed,” and then walking away chuckling the way he does. 
 
Livings didn' t get killed, but rather held up okay in that game and the games after.  He began showing consistency once he settled in next to another replacement, Anthony Collins, as the season finally completed its nosedive.  With the backup line in as starters, Cedric Benson ran his way to his career's best days, and because of the effectiveness of their play during that stretch, Livings and Collins have earned themselves starting spots in 2009.
 
From Bayou Bengal to just plain old Bengal, the Louisiana native has apparently been a successful project for the coaching staff, particularly o-line coach Paul Alexander, but why has there been zero  media coverage of this starter?  We've heard coaches talk about Kyle Cook's strength. We know about Whitworth's footwork, Bobby Williams girth and there's been plenty written about Collins and his development, but Livings appears to be a guy who blocks quietly.
 
The age-old saying about offensive linemen is that if they aren't noticed then they're doing their job.  With the kind of anonymity that Livings has going for him so far, he must be working overtime.  In that case, let's hope Livings is never mentioned again.
 
Mojokong---he who must not be named.

A Taste of The Kool-Aid: Preseason Week 2 Recap

Offense:
 
The NFL is as trendy as a teen clothing-store at the mall, and the current fad on display around the league is the 3-4 defense.  The Bengals will face a 3-4 defense 11 times throughout their schedule including five in a row to open the season.  In order to prepare and coach against the “cool” kids and their sexy formations, the Bengals must have been pleased to defeat a stout version of the 3-4 from New England on Thursday night.
 
With Carson Palmer on the sidelines in sweatpants, J.T. O'Sullivan posted his second straight start in which he looked sharp and very much in control.   Marvin Lewis talks about how the coaching staff has encouraged O'Sullivan not to worry too much and play within himself and the offense, and the advice seems to be working.  While O'Sully doesn't appear to be a quarterback that breaks fingers on his throws, he does have a nice touch to his passes, he makes smart reads, and he and his receivers are playing with rhythm---even if it is only preseason.  It's still the hope of every Bengal fan that he never plays a down in the regular season, but it's nice to know that the team is in better hands now than it was a year ago at the quarterback position. 
 
One receiver who has helped the appearance of O'Sullivan's play is Chris Henry.  Backup secondaries can't hang with Henry as he torches second and third-stringers in the preseason.  Slim has caught touchdowns in both games so far and rarely seems out of breath on the field.  Nickel-backs might have a hard time with a dynamic match-up problem like Henry this season.
 
The other receiver of note thus far is, of course, Ochocinco.  Outside of his kicking abilities, which are suddenly legitimate, impressive, and beg for an encore performance, he has all the shine and glimmer of that top-5 receiver we knew as Chad Johnson.  The man with two numbers is lightning fast, runs crispy routes and stiff-armed Teddy Bruschi like a champ on his way to a 35-yard scamper after the catch.
 
Another player who spent the evening in Foxborough scampering around the field, and as a result, further complicating the running back picture, was DeDe Dorsey.   DeDe looked like his old self, pin-balling off defenders, spinning, hurtling and most importantly, not going down.  The bouncy guy who averages over seven yards a carry in his career, made the most of his four touches with 60 rushing yards against the Pats. 
 
Dorsey is too explosive to cut.  If the focus of the off-season was to improve the running game, why not keep four different kinds of backs and play them to their strengths?  Dorsey is slippery, Brian Leonard is powerful, Bernard Scott is patient and Cedric Benson is both strong and fast.  Benson has fumbled in both preseason games. Chris Perry can speak of the horrors of fumble-itis, but hopefully Benson will get it out of his system before the boos remind him that these things matter. 
 
Aside from the fumbling, the running game looks alive and on its feet this season---as opposed to slumped over and struggling to breathe like last season---and much of that credit goes to the offensive line.  The ragtag bunch of big bellies up front created running lanes and pass-protected well.  Question marks on the line like Kyle Cook and Anthony Collins have encouraged fans and coaches that the offense will at least be able to compete in 2009, and with the weapons still on this team, a capable line could make Sundays fun again in Cincinnati. 
 
Defense:
 
The last time Marvin Lewis had this kind of talent along his defensive line, he won the Super Bowl.  While not quite as heralded as the legendary Ravens defense of 2000, this group of linemen has the potential to quietly sneak the defense into a top-10 ranking. 
 
The defensive tackle rotation of Domata Peko, Tank Johnson and Pat Sims is particularly encouraging.  Sims was beastly Thursday night, moving nimbly sideline-to-sideline and proving difficult to block on his way to seven tackles and a sack.  The second-year player seems ready to improve upon an impressive rookie season last year. 
 
And how many fans perked up when Robert Geathers sped past Nick Kaczur and slammed Tom Brady into the Foxborough turf?  If Geathers does that all season, and puts up the promising sack totals that he's capable of producing, this line will quickly gain the respect of the rest of the league.
 
Yet for all the talented players on the line, the Bengals’ best defensive player, up to this point, has been Keith Rivers.  The second-year pro coming off a season shortened by a broken jaw played strong, fast and smart, took excellent tackling angles to ball carriers and looked good in coverage.  Early in the game, Rivers came untouched on a blitz where he forced Brady to throw the ball out of bounds. This should have resulted in an intentional grounding call.  A lot of optimism swirls around Rivers and for good reason; it would come as a major surprise to me if he doesn't end up as the team's leading tackler this season. 
 
With Rivers showing up all over the field, his college teammate Rey Maualuga can just run downhill and obliterate the poor saps in his way.  Rey gave fans a sneak preview of the chaos to come as he blitzed the quarterback well, stopped the run at the point of attack and dissected a screen pass for a loss.  His tackling form looks sound as he crouches low before erupting square into ball-carriers, and he always, always runs through the tackle the way coaches preach to youngsters today.  If Rey can stay healthy and endure the physical rigors of the NFL, he will be an elite player at his position sooner rather than later. 
 
Speaking of up-and-coming defenders who must stay healthy to become Pro-Bowl caliber, Johnathon Joseph is sticking to receivers like carpenters’ glue.  Marvin has talked about his tackling ability and he and Leon Hall are the division's best cornerback tandem.  The depth behind the starters remains an issue, but while Joseph and Hall are in there, this defense has a luxury in pass-coverage.
 
When defense is discussed concerning the AFC North, the brutes of Pittsburgh and Baltimore will still get the spotlight, but this bunch of no-names in Cincinnati could be right up there with the big dogs in the end.  Still, as every Bengal fan knows, the team will have to prove itself one game at a time before anyone starts to notice.
 
Mojokong---geeked for the real thing.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Preseason Week 2 Preview: To Get You Through The Day

Week 2 of the preseason tells a lot about a football fan.

If you're one to know that a game is scheduled and that it may or may not be on tv and that if it is on, you might check it out, then you're a normal fan with more important things to do. Good for you.

If you're a person that was aware that the preseason had started but you don't know how far along it is, you're a bandwagon fan who gives up on the season with a 4-4 record and no one but team owners really needs you hanging around in the first place.

If you watch the game with a notebook while you dvr it to watch again later on and you curse meaningless third-stringers strictly out of habit, then you're like me. Come on in.

While you're here, let me point you to some potential areas of interest.

First is that of the running backs. Starter Cedric Benson has looked good, but fumbled last week against New Orleans; a nice hard-running, fumble-free game would make lots of Bengal fans feel better about things.

The backup spot is a battle between the stockier free-agent pick-up Brian Leonard, and the explosive rookie Bernard Scott. While Leonard was ahead of Scott in the depth chart last week, the rookie has come on strong and could apply even more pressure with a solid showing against New England. The shifty DeDe Dorsey needs to maximize the limited snaps he is likely to see as he seems on the outside of the running-back derby at this point.

Also worth observing is the debut of rookie linebacker, Rey Maualuga, who sat out last week to rest a minor injury. Bengal fans have been itching to see the wild man hit someone, and reunite, side-by-side, with his old college teammate, Keith Rivers. It will also give less stringent fans the chance to learn the differences between Maualuga and fellow big-haired defenseman, Domata Peko---no one will blame you for mistaking the two in the preseason, but by Week 1, we all expect you to have it straightened out.

After Marvin Lewis publicly called out Chris Henry for dropping too many passes thus far, let's all keep our eyes peeled to see if Slim can't hang on to each pass he touches. Marvin said that he kept Henry in the game longer than usual last week in order to work on his inconsistencies. More setbacks and dropped passes, could make his remaining weeks of practice before the opener that much more gruesome.

Another one groveling in Marvin's doghouse is current backup safety, Chinedum Ndukwe. Once a player battling veteran Roy Williams for a starting spot at strong safety, Ndukwe now needs to redeem himself in the coaches eyes in order to gain that sort of recognition again from the people in charge.

Franchise-tagged kicker Shayne Graham would ease the troubled minds of many if he could demonstrate some consistency after missing a chip-shot last week and also after reportedly having a shaky training camp. Graham is getting a one-year contract of the average salary of the top-five highest-paid kickers in the league; it's time he start kicking like it.

The last thing to watch is how the second and third teams hold up against the Patriots' backups. After watching the Bengals fall victim to a plague of injuries last season, fans and coaches alike know the importance of team depth. Cincinnati has been knocked early for their scrapheap of backups and they wilted in the second half in New Orleans. While the majority of this kind of cannon-fodder ultimately proves inconsequential, when a specific position is hit unusually hard, it's these very grunts who can determine the difference between a wild-card birth and sulking at home for the winter. Teams like the Patriots have proven that Super Bowl victories can still be obtained with backups acting as stop gaps for decimated positions; receivers like Jabar Gaffney and Reche Caldwell spring to mind as examples.

So if you are to tune in to the repugnant dross the NFL passes off as preseason football, even more magnified than usual with the absence of Carson Palmer and his mild high-ankle sprain ---as opposed to the medium and hot flavors of high ankle sprains---then these points should entertain you without needing to resort to preseason gambling or expensive liquor, or both. Although that, I hear, can make for one hell of a preseason football party. You're only young once, you know?

Mojokong---to that Old Janks Spirit, for once and for all.

Key Ingredients to The Bengals Season: A Summerized Analysis

Before every season, before every training camp, Marvin Lewis thinks up a slogan for the team that he feels will be inspirational to his players, and makes it the organization's theme for the year. This year it's “Fight Back”, which is a sensible choice after a 2008 season that produced only four wins and saw a host of players end their season on Injured Reserve.

In order to fight their way back to a successful season in 2009, the Bengals will have to rely on many young players to develop quickly and will need the coaches and veterans to push them along.

One highlighted area of concern is the inexperienced offensive line; always a danger within the blitz-happy AFC North. O-line coach, Paul Alexander, has been with the team 15 years and knows how to turn young lines into top-notch units. Under Marvin Lewis, Alexander has developed players like Eric Steinbach, Andrew Whitworth and Stacy Andrews into solid linemen. With rookie tackle, Andre Smith, Alexander has another gem to develop---the only problem is that he still hasn't signed with the team and the long holdout that many felt was inevitable, has become a reality. Without Smith, second-year player Anthony Collins will start at right tackle, and Whitworth moves from left guard to left tackle. Collins showed himself as a capable tackle in the second half of '08 once Levi Jones went down, and Whitworth is agile enough to play either spot on the left. Still, the ideal scenario for Alexander, Marvin Lewis, and the entire Bengal organization, is to see Smith lined up on the first play in Week 1 and that still appears millions away.

As for veterans, Chad Ochocinco and Carson Palmer, both must fight back from injured and generally lame campaigns of last season. Palmer will have to prove that he's worked out the kinks from an injured elbow, and Ochocinco has to show that he still has the explosiveness that put on TV in the first place. The duo's return to glory will be greatly influenced by the effectiveness of the offensive line.

The same goes for running back, Cedric Benson, who resigned with the team in the offseason and has impressed coaches and pundits in training camp. After originally signing mid-season with the Bengals, Benson showed flashes of being the back who was drafted fourth overall coming out of college in 2005. He ran behind a patchwork offensive line last year and still put up decent numbers. If the Bengals can improve that line, Benson really has a chance to turn heads.

Also a player to look out for within Cincinnati's ground game is sixth-round pick Bernard Scott. Everyone lucky enough to watch Scott play on a consistent basis, raves about the back's ability, and he demonstrated some of that talent in the first preseason game, running for 30 yards on six carries.

The receiving threats of Chris Henry, rookie tight end Chase Coffman and free-agent acquisition Laveranues Coles, add even more weapons to a potentially quick-strike offense, but the key to any success still rests along the offensive line.

There is far more optimism on the defensive side of the ball. Although the unit was equally devastated as the offense by injury, defensive coordinator, Mike Zimmer, was able to lead his squad to a 12th place finish in overall defense. That number becomes even more impressive when one considers the amount of snaps they were forced to play based on the offense's ineptitude and its knack for three-and-outs.

The Bengals loaded up on tacklers this off-season, drafting linebacker Rey Maualuga and defensive end Michael Johnson, along with retaining safety Chris Crocker, signing free-agent safety Roy Williams and also defensive tackle Tank Johnson. Second-year player Keith Rivers returns from a broken jaw and is expected by many to have a breakout season. Defensive ends Robert Geathers and Antwan Odom need to accumulate more sacks this year in order to live up to their huge contracts. Starting cornerbacks Jonathan Joseph and Leon Hall are both solid and getting better, but should one become injured, the Bengals are very thin at cornerback and may not be able to adequately replace them.

The off-season and training camp have so far been a success for Cincinnati and has provided some optimism to a fan base that could sorely use some. But the facts remain that they are not a particularly deep team and that they play in one of the toughest divisions in football.

The team does appear to be fighting back, but can they scrap their way back to respectability this season? A string of injuries or a failed offensive line, could spell out disaster for the Bengals again this year. On the other hand, a healthy base of starters and gradual improvements from the younger players could pave the way for future success. As it is now, I put the Bengals at 6-10 and obviously missing the playoffs.

Mojokong---wishing I were more on-board.

Bengals Left Off-Centered

At one point, circa 2005, Marvin Lewis was so popular and well-endorsed as an up-and-coming coaching genius, that he could have run for president. The team was playing well, Carson Palmer looked like the next elite quarterback of the league, and the fans and media plunged themselves head first into the Bengal frenzy.

The saga reached its crescendo when Palmer's knee ligaments were weed-whacked by the Steelers on the first play of the only playoff game Marvin has reached as a head coach. Many experts and fans alike point to that moment as the pivot to freefall for the team's success. However, another serious injury that occurred the next season, to an even more obscure player, could be more responsible for the downward spiral the team has suffered: the tibial plateau fracture that ended Rich Braham's career in Week 2 of 2006.

The offensive line in those golden days of 2005 was one of the best in the NFL. Both Willie Anderson and Levi Jones were healthy and regularly mauled opponents. Eric Steinbach and Bobby Williams provided a nice contrast of blocking styles. And there was Braham in the middle, pointing out blitz schemes for his line mates before every play and then taking on the huge nose-tackles of the AFC North after snapping the ball.

Once Lewis took over in 2003, nearly every offensive player improved with Braham at center, especially Rudi Johnson and Carson Palmer. After his injury, the running game slowly decayed and Palmer has struggled to adjust without his line captain.

Former team president and football demigod, Paul Brown, selected Tennessee center Bob Johnson, with the first pick of the Bengals' first draft in 1968. He knew the pivotal impact that a solid center can have on an offense---it must be an important position with a title like center. If a good offensive line makes everyone's job easier, than a good center makes the rest of the line's job easier, and the result is a finely tuned offense that purrs as it elegantly moves down field.

Since the second quarter of that early-season game against the Browns, the Bengals have still not adequately replaced Braham, and the offense has never been as good as it was then. Rudi Johnson is now out of the league and Palmer continues his work to return to a plateau that he has fallen from since Braham went down. Willie Anderson was abandoned by his team and thus forced to play (well) for divisional rival, Baltimore. Levi physically broke down and was released this off-season. Eric Steinbach was given a huge contract by the Browns in '07 and plays well there too. Bobby Williams reminisces about the old days and wonders where everybody went.

The evidence of Braham's effect on the team is clear from a combination of history and statistics, but the most obvious measure is wins. The Bengals shocked the league in 2003 going 8-8 after a two win season the year before. The next season, they again finished 8-8, but then took the step up to 11 wins in 2005 and won the division. It's been down the tubes since, with Cincinnati unable to produce a winning record in the past three seasons.

Whether Kyle Cook or fourth-rounder Johnathan Luigs is the answer at center remains a huge unknown for the Bengals. Cook is tops on the depth chart for now, but the team should want to make good on their draft pick and hopefully work Luigs into the rotation soon.

With all the depth and talent at the wide receiver position, and such youth and inexperience on the O-line, one can't help but wonder if a player like former-Ravens center Jason Brown who signed in St. Louis as a free-agent this winter, would not have been a more sensible target than Laveranues Coles within this offense. Hindsight is always crystal clear when it comes to NFL free agents, but it does seem like the center position has not received its proper dues as a team priority this off-season. This is awfully surprising considering how important Braham was to Lewis' previous success.

Mojokong---ah, to be rich at center.

The Preseason's Here! The Preseason's Here! -- Preseason Week 1 Recap

For years, pundits have cautioned readers and viewers of how little there actually is to discern from games played in the preseason. Formations are limited and basic, plays are watered down and predictable and the word vanilla is for some reason the most common adjective to describe preseason action. But, like every year, we addicts have been jones-ing for a peek at the gridiron for the past six months, so, naturally, we make a big deal about it and feel compelled to give analysis anyway.

Allow me to follow suit.

The offensive line---that worrisome band of overgrown, green-horned youngsters and one grizzled but smiling veteran, Bobby Williams---looked like a cohesive unit capable of providing spacious holes for Cedric Benson to run through and capable of giving Carson Palmer enough time to get comfortable in the pocket. The scheme the offensive line faced against the Saints in the preseason opener will seem like ring-around-the-rosie compared to the the carnage that the Steelers and Ravens are sure to bring when it counts, but still it was nice to see the most vulnerable part of the team undaunted in their first live action of the new year.

More concerning was the play of Carson Palmer. There are certain facets of the game that Palmer has shown little improvement on throughout his career and some of those surfaced again in New Orleans last Friday.

The most minor gripe to Palmer's game is his inability to throw a good deep ball. He regularly underthrows his speedsters on fly routes causing the receiver to wait on the ball and make a more difficult play. T.J. Houshmandzadeh cultivated an early jump technique in order to adjust to Palmer's underthrown deep balls.

On the very first play from scrimmage, Palmer went deep to Chad Ochocinco and had Carson delivered it three more yards, it very well could have resulted in a score. Instead, Chad waited on the ball and it was knocked down once the defender caught up with the play. With deep threats like Chad and Chris Henry, it's important to hit receivers in stride once they break free from the defender. Important, that is, if the Bengals want back the quick-strike offense that once took the league by surprise.

Another poor mark against Palmer was his bad read on the interception to Johnathan Vilma. Since his knee injury, Palmer has been interception-prone, leading the league in picks in 2007. Sometimes he tries forcing the ball into tight spots, but more regularly, he doesn't recognize defenders and throws it right to them. He admitted after the game that he should have run for the first down rather than try and chance it with a linebacker lurking in the area. Palmer must cut down on his turnovers for this offense to noticeably improve.

Carson does a lot of things well and he's still a top-10 quarterback in the league, but he needs to sharpen his improvisational skills, his progression reads and his deep throws before he becomes an elite signal-caller once again.

One player who does appear ready to return to stardom is the fast-talking, but actually faster running, Ochocinco. He seemed razor sharp in his first field action since his forgettable year last season. Once he broke free of his defender on a curl route, he gazelled his way for 40 or more yards and showed a bit of the dangerous side to him that some of us had forgotten he possessed.

Marvin was critical of Chris Henry's inconsistencies regarding dropped passes, but Slim had no problems slicing up the Saints' backup secondary and showed that he too could be a match-up problem for a lot of teams on the Bengals' schedule. Laveranues Coles got popped on his first catch as a Bengal, but bounced back to catch another one and clearly has a set of plays already designed for him.

Even backup quarterback J.T. O'Sullivan made some nice throws, particularly one long one to Henry on a play where O'Sullivan got smacked to the turf and never even saw the pass completed. Jordan Palmer threw accurately on the run and looked more confident than he did in garbage time at the end of games last year.

All in all, the offense showed some life and it all starts with that inexperienced line up front. Even without Andre Smith, offensive line coach Paul Alexander is under the microscope with such a raw stockpile to work with. These guys are protecting some valuable assets; they must hold up under pressure. They must. Maybe Alexander knows something we don't; let's hope so.

Mojokong---too excited for perspective.

Battle of the Running Back Stable

Due to the efforts to improve the running game, Marvin Lewis and the Bengals now have one too many quality running backs in their stable and will likely have to send someone home by the end of the preseason.

Cedric Benson did fumble, but looked good otherwise and won't likely be challenged for his starting spot. The offensive line opened up gaping running lanes for Benson early on, and he showed speed getting to the outside and bursting through the line. The Saints wrapped him up eventually but Benson overall impressed me.

His backup for now, Brian Leonard, could be looking over his shoulder after the performance that Bernard Scott gave. The talented sixth-round draft-pick looked agile and hard to tackle in his six runs for 30 yards. The kid has been highly touted as a showstopping tailback with electric moves and excellent instincts. If he keeps turning heads, not only could he pass Leonard on the depth chart, he may force DeDe Dorsey off the team.

DeDe only had three carries for five yards in the first preseason game. He's been with the team for a while and should know the offense well enough, but Scott has a higher ceiling than does DeDe and Leonard is a player that many consider bulky enough to carry the load should Benson ever go down. Dorsey isn't frail (210 lbs.), but may have a hard time physically if he's asked to carry the majority of the hand-offs.

Teams will be forced to prune their rosters back to 75 players by September 1st and then back to 53 players by September 5th. Veteran Kenny Watson has already become part of the trimmings and there will likely be another running back added to that pile. Every moment counts for every player in training camp, but the pressure is amplified within the stable of running backs. Don't fumble, don't miss blocking assignments and don't ease up, or that glue truck's a comin' for ya.

Mojokong---ode to Boxer.

The Brown Elephant in The Room

If Mike Brown agreed to allow HBO to do their annual training camp special, Hard Knocks, this year on the Bengals in order to improve the team's image and its culture, then the desired effect after the first episode hasn't gone as planned.

As a person, I was dismayed at the way the team goes about cutting players in training camp. Team employee Jim Lippincot, woke up before 5:30 am, pulled his shorts up to his armpits and rapped on the door of a sleeping J.D. Runnels. Runnels, groggy and confused, was told he was cut based on his perceived lack of ability and was informed that a van would be awaiting him at 7am that morning to take him to the airport.

But as a fan, I understand, that business is business and the most important thing is to win games; not to be nice. Therefore, I was most horrified to see how hilariously backward the franchise somehow operates itself on a day-to-day basis.

Without an inside look like Hard Knocks, fans for years have questioned the business savvy and football instincts of owner, team president and all-powerful Bengal ruler, Mike Brown. There have been organized efforts to expose Brown's unorthodox way of maintaining his football team, and a lack of success has led fans to become bitter and salty toward the man in charge.

This off-season was an overall success for the Bengals and seemed to shore up some doubts about the team's future; doubts that were magnified after a four-win season.

But then HBO pulls back the curtain and exposes the sad, little man hunched over the controls; a man who looks to have lost his spark and only wakes up everyday because his body tells him to. I looked at this man and I removed a win from my prediction for the Bengals' season, putting it currently at 6-10.

At some point early on at camp, Brown attempted a motivational speech to his players and coaches that had the tone and inspiration of a eulogy. Anyone in the room had to wonder why they would align themselves with such a bland individual, but then likely remembered the large wads of cash that he provided to them. He should have just passed out fifties to everyone and left. Why trudge along through a painfully awkward formality? If Mike Brown is at all fired up about the season, he certainly has a funny way of showing it.

Then there is Brown's daughter, Katie Blackburn, who was asked about the negotiations between the team and first-round pick Andre Smith.

Her response had a certain Cleaver Family quality to it:

“You're offering these people so much money and for some reason they're saying its not enough. All I know is that usually these things have a way of working out. I would hope that it'll work out with Andre sooner rather than later.”

With Gee Whiz attitudes like this toward serious business like player contracts, it's no wonder that 10 out of the last 16 draft picks have missed time at training camp because of a holdout. I'm sure it's a complicated process that takes lots of work on both sides of the board table, but as a fan, it's a little disconcerting to hear from a high-ranking Bengal employee that these things just have a way of working out.

But the most revolting scene was seeing Brown cram all of his coaches into a conference room, and share “wild thoughts” about changing a defensive lineman into a tight end, and then seeing the coaches shift in their seats and begrudgingly agree to give it a try. Based on this, is it unfair to assume that Brown would rather convert an existing player to a different position rather than sign a new player? He even said that the player in question, Chris Harrington, had good speed for a defensive end, but very good speed for a tight end---if that even makes any sense---in what sounded like an attempt to sell the skeptical coaches on the suggestion.

He then went on to inform the coaches of how the final depth chart would shake out, and Marvin Lewis was shown leaning back in his chair and rubbing his face. Not having the final say must be difficult for Marvin. Being told how to run his team by a man with a proven lack of football intelligence must feel like an elephant sitting on his chest. A big brown elephant.

Mike Brown was handed the team by his late father, Paul Brown, a man has who rightfully earned his spot in the football annals for being a great innovator of the game. Paul Brown didn't need a general manager or a team of scouts; he was smart enough to do it himself. Paul Brown could inform his coaches on how the team would shape up because he was a championship coach himself. But all Mike Brown has championed is strong-arming the City of Cincinnati into a stadium lease that many people felt was underhanded and self-serving. And to follow Mike's reign will be Katie Blackburn and her husband Troy, who, in all seriousness, can do no worse.

There are proven models all over the country of ways to run a successful NFL team (we know, Pittsburgh, we know. Sit back down please). The common theme to most of these is that owners pay people who know the game to run the team. Typically it makes sense to look outside the family in order to fill these positions. The owner writes checks, sits in luxury suites and hands over trophies---it's that easy. Mike Brown should give this lifestyle a try, for the benefit of us all.

Mojokong---writing my way out of town.

Raiders of The Lost Marbles

Because of curious personnel decisions in the past and one notably rambling press-conference after the firing of a coach, Oakland Raiders owner and generally strange dude, Al Davis, has led some to believe that he has mentally “gone fishin.”

Since the Super Bowl loss to the Bucs, the Raider franchise has gone adrift, showing neither semblance of direction nor hope for future success. The Black Hole, the raucous fan-base dressed like extras from the Mad Max films, must be clubbing each other with their maces and spiked bats out of the frustration that Davis has brought upon their franchise. Finally, Davis' lunacy is beginning to affect other teams---like the Bengals.

On Draft Day, Davis woke up---which is an accomplishment for a man who looks like a mummy---arose slowly, creaking and cracking as he did so, and put on one of the Raider track suits that he wears every moment of his waking life. Once dressed and indisputably alive, he looked at himself in the mirror and reminded himself that he is a mobster in his own mind, and that this would have to be good enough. He snarled his lip and carried on to his War Room where he would fire anyone who looked him in the eye and told him that speed was not the most important element to a football team. He wasn't going to let anyone stop him from making a spectacle of himself...yet again.

With their first pick, the Raiders selected Darrius Heyward-Bey, a speedy receiver from Maryland who no one projected as a first-rounder. Outsiders giggled and rolled their eyes at the crazy old man atop his Silver tower, shouting curses down to all those who called him a crazy old man. Just to spite these worthless, nay-saying sods, Davis signed Heyward-Bey to a contract that was a 20 percent increase from the seventh overall pick from the 2008 draft. The bloated contract for a fairly obscure rookie sent shockwaves throughout the negotiating rooms of other teams handling their own rookie contracts.

Like a child tugging at their parent’s coat and pointing to the cool toy the other little boy at Macy's got for Christmas, draft-picks and their agents began demanding the increase Heyward-Bey received.

Team management tried reasoning with their rookies.

“But you must understand,” team management says, “he's crazy. You can't go around comparing contracts to those that have been drawn up by the insane. There has to be some kind of law against that kind of thing, isn't there?”

If so, neither Andre Smith nor his agent has been made aware of it. The same goes for fellow rookie receiver, Michael Crabtree, who appears to be a good distance from his rocker as well. Crabtree has stated that he intends on negotiating his contract as if he were signed ahead of Heyward-Bey, feeling that his fictional rendition of the draft seems to fit better in the universe than the real one. He has threatened to sit out the season and reenter the next draft, where reason and logic might play out in a more uniform manner for Crabtree.

Smith has not been quite so radical —in fact the man they call Goo has been rather silent during his holdout---but he remains at home and the negotiations are reportedly still millions away from a deal.

The Jaguars are feeling the sting of the Raiders dementia too. Their stud offensive tackle, Eugene Monroe, is also spending his afternoons in air-conditioning on cushions rather than feeling the hot temperatures of training camp with grass stains all over his clothes. Jags head coach, Jack Del Rio is concerned with how far Monroe is falling behind due to his holdout. I wonder who's to blame.

Of course, neither the Bengals nor the Jaguars are going to voice that Davis runs his team like a fifth-grader on a playground and because of his nonsensical contract to his precious speedster, he single-handedly has made their situation more difficult, but they certainly might be thinking it.

Al Davis should take a worldwide cruise to see the Earth's wonders or something before that rusted out bucket of his kicks. Leave all that football business to the whipper-snappers within his organization who may just be more in touch with the game and reality itself. If you're going to be crazy, Al, go wonder off and babble to trees or chase after firetrucks. Stop ruining it for the rest of us.

Mojokong---commitment to petulance

Cutting Corners

The lack of depth at cornerback is beginning to show after third-corner David Jones needed a screw inserted to assist a stress fracture in his foot. With Jones out four to six weeks with an injury that may linger and nag him for months once he does return, the Bengals will be forced to take a closer look at rookies Trent Morgan and local guy, Rico Murray, to compete with the long-toothed Jamar Fletcher for the third-corner spot. Also in that mix is Geoffrey Pope; a predominantly special-teams player that the Bengals picked up right after training camp last season.

The presumption seems to be that starting free-safety Chris Crocker will slide into the nickel spot against three-receiver sets and be able to handle slot-receivers adequately. Crocker is a safety for a reason; he hits people and reads coverages well. He certainly seems to be the most capable safety on the team to make the switch to corner in a pinch, but I wouldn’t call him a sure thing there.

Even with Crocker in the nickel spot, the team would still be left with backup Marvin White to play at safety. White has shown some instincts for hitting, but he’s been caught out of position on some big plays against the Bengals. New safety Roy Williams also excels at tackling, but has also fallen victim to the big play.

If Fletcher is forced to play, he might be able to still produce. It’s true that the Bengals are his fifth team and that he was signed mid-season last year, but once he suited up and hit the field, he made some nice plays and covered well. Still he’s up there in years, and he needs to show he’s fast enough to run with the younger dogs.

Undrafted rookie free agent Rico Murray is a much longer shot to make the team than sixth-round pick, Trent Morgan, but both will have to prove their worth on special teams to really get Marvin Lewis’ attention. Nonetheless, the injury to Jones certainly has not hurt either rookies’ chance of being here Week 1. The team will need bodies, and may even reach out to the recently cut Simeon Castille for practice-squad purposes.

And if one of the starting corners became injured, what then? Jamar Fletcher starts and opposing offensive coordinators grin to themselves, that’s what. Or untested rookies match up against starting receivers. After all, Jonathon Joseph suffered two foot injuries last season, and cornerbacks need their feet. Joseph and Hall are solid when they play, but the Bengals are a few tweaked hamstrings or a key turned ankle away from a living disaster at corner.

The free-agent market for corners these days consists of guys who have played a decade or more and probably can’t run all that well anymore—not unlike Fletcher— or backups who were taking up good locker space elsewhere. Either way, no quick fix currently orbits the NFL, and defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer is stuck with what he’s got.

Hopefully, a newfound pass-rush and an ability to stop the run will take the pressure off of this whole discussion and everyone will forget who the backup cornerbacks are in the first place.

Until then.

Mojokong—only sometimes do I occasionally.

When a Redwood Falls

Reggie Kelly’s injury is a big deal and here’s why.

The most vulnerable aspect to the Bengals is their blocking and they just lost arguably their best blocker on the team. He can line up on either side of the line to assist the offensive tackles, and is veteran enough to know how to deal with the vicious, sack-hungry outside linebackers of the AFC North. With the absence of Andre Smith at training camp, and an already young, shaky offensive line projected to start in Week 1, the last thing the Bengals needed to lose was a tight end who could block like a lineman.

There should be some strategy fallout from such a development. First, rookie pass-catcher, Chase Coffman, will be emphasized more at tight end and could see more pre-season action, though it would be a shame if he too were hurt before the season began. Also, Ben Utecht should now have ample opportunity to redeem himself after an underwhelming debut season with the Bengals. Lastly, offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski, might adjust to more spread formations featuring the team’s many capable receivers, most notably Chris Henry, who are too often found standing idly along the sidelines chatting, while double tight-end formations struggle mightily on the field for pointless three-yard runs.

The Bengals also may have people in place outside of other NFL training camps in hopes of signing a freshly cut tight-end as he pull away from their former team’s camp facility. A veteran like Alge Crumpler would be golden after such a setback. Worthwhile training-camp scrap-heap finds are rare and unpredictable, but one can dream, can’t they?

The Bengals still have grunts like Daniel Coates and their trio of fullbacks, but those are just futon mattresses that coaches fill their team with; they’re employed for practices and emergency situations only. Reggie Kelly was no futon mattress. He was a big part of the Bengals future running game and of their pass-protection. The other guys will have some tough blocking to make up for, especially Coates who will now have the chance to prove that he’s more than just fabric and stuffing.

Mojokong—Mr. Smith, Mr. Andre Smith, please report to training camp. Please report to training camp. Thank you.

Return Fire

In football, the kick return represents a new beginning. The offense and their fans are able to wipe clean the mistakes of the past and look ahead to the current possession with hope and sometimes desperation.

Bengals rookie running back and kick-return candidate, Bernard Scott, knows a thing or two about new beginnings. Scott bounced around to different college teams, putting up monster numbers along the way. His former coaches and NFL scouts rave about his talent and abilities. He ran a 4.4 in the 40-yard dash at the NFL Draft Scouting Combine and can reportedly catch as well.

Scott fell all the way to the sixth round based mostly on a handful of legal run-ins—all of which have either been dismissed or are about to be expunged. Those who know him best are confident of him keeping his nose clean and the coaches don’t seem particularly concerned about it either. A bad reputation—perhaps unfairly blown out of proportion—has allowed a potential gem of a kick-returner to fall into the Bengals’ lap.

With 4.4 speed and reported attributes that include excellent balance, field vision and elusiveness, Scott may be too talented to limit to only special teams. After catching 85 passes for 1,254 yards and nine touchdowns during his last two seasons at Abilene Christian, Scott has the skill set that could be utilized well in the third-down back role, especially in third-and-long situations for dump-off passes and screen-plays. Anyway you split it, he’ll have to try his hand at anything the coaches throw at him, and the kick-return and/or punt-return duties seen to make the most immediate sense.

"I've got a lot of confidence in my ability. I feel like I can help the running game," Scott said in a Bengals.com interview. "And I think I can help on special teams, too. I feel like special teams is probably going to play a big role."

Of course, no one in camp—with the exception of Carson Palmer—is just handed a role on the team without proving that he’s the most capable first. Scott is likely the underdog as the starting kick-returner behind promising receiver Andre Caldwell. Caldwell showed flashes in the return game late last season, highlighted by a 43-yard return against the Ravens. He seems sure-handed and when he sees a seam, he goes for it, displaying sneaky straight-line speed.

Another candidate is the bouncy DeDe Dorsey and his bacon-greased uniform. DeDe is so slippery that even the ball has a hard time staying put, resulting in the occasional fumble—the most unacceptable outcome for a kick-returner. Being small is tough on DeDe as he’s often dinged up, but smelling like bacon is harder as he is often chased home by packs of hungry dogs. It’s quite a gamble to appoint a guy like that to return kicks; he may not make it to work the next day.

A dangerous kick-returner has been sought after around these parts since Stanford Jennings once held the post in the days of yore. We’ve seen how an effective returner can add a bonus quality to a team; Devon Hester, Josh Cribbs, Leon Washington and Darren Sprowles are guys who change games all by their little selves.

Tab Perry was consistent but not explosive. Glen Holt became essentially useless, forming a habit of running directly into tacklers. The Bengals must improve their special teams this season if they want even a sniff at the playoffs, and gaining an advantage on kick-returns would go a long way toward doing just that.

Mojokong—you return kicks, I’ll return library books.