Props to Rotoworld for catching an update (or maybe it was there from the start and I just blew past it on first reading) to this piece on bengals.com. Writes Geoff “hey Rocky, watch me bury the lead!” Hobson:
Lewis said the Bengals could conceivably sign a player in free agency and then draft the same position because there are positions they need two players. He’s probably talking about running back and the offensive line, where they are talking to the agents for Cedric Benson and Stacy Andrews.
This is the first word Bengals fans have had of actual talks since a [...]

I was on my way out for the evening when I saw the video of Chad on NFL Network and didn’t have time to do much more than scribble down a few outtakes. Now that I’ve had a chance to come back and digest it, here are some thoughts.
1. Chad seems to feel strongly that he will not be traded. He cites both internal and external conversations, and there’s no waffle in his assessment. No “I’ll let my agent handle that” or “I’m under contract” or “we’ll see what happens,” just a flat-out statement that he’s going to be in [...]

Good segment on NFL Network with Chad Johnson. It sounds as if Ocho Cinco may finally be getting it. Highlights:

“I’m going to be a Bengal for a while” based on conversations with people inside and outside the organization, and that he will “do what I can do” to get the Bengals to the postseason.
“We will definitely get 9 back — and we will get 84 back.”
“I’m at peace thanks to you [Deion Sanders] and Ray [Lewis] and a few others.”
“Defensively we played great football, on offense if we had played like [2005] I believe we would be here [in Tampa] [...]

It’s offensive tackle all the way in the latest update of the Cincinnati Bengals Mock Draft Big Board. OTs Michael Oher, Eugene Monroe and Andre Smith hold the top three spots on the Board, with Baylor OT Jason Smith the runner-up at No. 4. Of the 91 mocks included this time around, 58 chose an offensive tackle.
Though Oher remains in the lead, much of his strength lies in pre-Senior Bowl mocks, and he appears set to fade as those are updated. The other three OTs, meanwhile, have all gained in more recent projections, particularly Monroe. However, like Wake Forest LB [...]

National Football Posts’s Andrew Brandt has the franchise and transition tag numbers for 2009.
The transition tag has been pretty much useless ever since the introduction of poison pill in 2005. If the Bengals use the franchise tag on WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh this year, it would cost $9.88 million.
A franchise designation for K Shayne Graham would, in contrast, run the team “just” $2.48 million.
The final possible tag recipient is RB Cedric Benson, whose price falls between those two options at $6.62 million.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have tapped former Boston College coach Jeff Jagodzinski for the offensive coordinator position.
Bengals QB coach Ken Zampese had interviewed for the job on Monday.

Checking out Sports Illustrated’s Super Bowl coverage over lunch today, I clicked on this link and was temporarily blinded by the supernova-bright glare of the obvious: “Study: NFL TV ads full of violence, sex, alcohol.”
Study? Someone had to do a study to figure this out? Then again, it probably means these guys got paid to watch football games, so I’m kind of jealous I didn’t think of the idea first.
Common Sense Media’s biggest beef seems to be with ads dealing with erectile dysfunction. I will admit that I just don’t get the Cialis ads, the ones where they always end [...]

Hue Jackson was looking like a shoe-in for the San Francisco 49ers’ offensive coordinator job Tuesday when he was called back for a second interview. Alas for the former Bengals WR coach, it was not to be as the 49ers hired former Jets RB coach Jimmy Raye. So if there was ever any truth to earlier rumors that Marvin Lewis was interested in bring Hue back as OC of the Bengals — which would obviously entail the firing or demotion of current OC “Sideshow” Bob Bratkowski — Jackson remains available. In his comments to the media yesterday, Lewis declined to [...]

Yesterday, Cincinnati Bengals DT John Thornton scored a solid interview with Senior Bowl star DT B.J. Raji. Thornton rings the bell again today with a fresh conversation with one-time Bengals CB Charles Fisher, whose career was cut short by injury. Fisher is now a scout for the Seattle Seahawks and provides an insiders’ perspective on the ongoing draft process.

Cincinnati Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis held forth Wednesday on the subject of the Bengals’ offseason plans. He promised an offseason of both continuity and change. Call it “changenuity.”
“Continuity has proven in the NFL the best way time and time again, whether it is system or coaches,” Lewis said. “There are a lot of areas we need to improve in and we’ve got to get it done; both coaching-wise and playing-wise our feet are at the fire and we’ve got to get some areas fixed and be better than what we did last year. I feel comfortable that will happen [...]