Archive for April, 2009

C. Trent has a solid look at the Bengals’ 2008 draft, in the course of which he says of tackle Anthony Collins, “[t]here are some in the organization who believe he can replace Levi Jones for good.” Collins started the final six games last season at left tackle. Peter King thinks the Bengals will pick either Andre Smith or B.J. Raji. Conventional wisdom has Raji off the radar after the Tank Johnson signing, but Tank is just signed for a year, and if the Bengals do indeed see Collins as the LT of the Future, well…okay, I still wouldn’t bet [...]

Just a quick piece of advice to kick off draft week here at Stripe Hype: lock down your boards. Now. We have officially passed the point of analysis paralysis regarding the 2009 draft. As I wrote a few days ago, the crazy money that this year’s top picks are going to get has hopelessly skewed all their breakdowns. Like Matt McGuire said, from now on, no player is good enough. If Jesus Christ descended from heaven and declared himself eligible for the draft, scouts would complain about his lack of ideal height and how that time he turned water into [...]

…the Cincinnati Bengals select Alabama OT Andre Smith. The Bengals entertained a trade offer from a team with a mid-round pick which offered that selection plus a starting right tackle, but that player will be a free agent in 2010 and Cincinnati had no guarantee it would be able to sign him prior to next March. The team declined to add a second-round selection in 2010 to the deal, leaving the Bengals stuck at six. With the top two tackles, Aaron Curry and Michael Crabtree off the board, the Bengals considered both Brian Orakpo and Tyson Jackson, but in the [...]

WOIO-TV in Cleveland is reporting that the Cleveland Browns have settled on taking either WR Michael Crabtree or QB Mark Sanchez with the 5th pick in next week’s draft (h/t PFT). True? Smoke? Who knows. But Bengals fans would welcome either pick, since Cincinnati has no need of a quarterback, and few Bengals backers are excited about the prospect of Crabtree in stripes, unless the pick is accompanied by Chad Ochocinco’s departure.

With one week to go until the 2009 NFL draft, Alabama OT Andre Smith remains the favorite for the Cincinnati Bengals’ selection at No. 6. OT Eugene Monroe runs a strong second, and in fact many of Andre’s backers pick him only because Monroe and fellow top OT Jason Smith are off the board. DT B.J. Raji is now a distant third, but is still running surprisingly strong among those who think he’ll be the best player available at six. As always, the Big Board was assembled by combing through Fansided’s Mock Draft Database, and also incorporates mocks from the [...]

I’ll just let the guys at go-bengals take over on this one. As I see it, well, y’know he’s getting a head start on that whole post-NFL broadcaster career. Bengals bashing is always popular, right?

So I’m watching NFL Live tonight and here comes more from Michael Smith, the same guy who got Bengalsdom in a lather with his prattle about the Eagles’ interest in Chad Ochocinco. This time the subject was running backs, and Smith held forth on the possibility that the Bengals would use the No. 6 overall on OSU’s Chris “Beanie” Wells. The Bengals want to upgrade their running game, he said, and could go with Beanie in the first. Seems unlikely to me, especially in the wake of the Gary Russell signing, but of course you can never rule out anything [...]

The Bengals grabbed RB Gary Russell off waivers Friday. Russell had five rushing TDs for the Steelers in 2008. The Bengals tried to sign him as an undrafted free agent in 2006, but he chose to go to Pittsburgh. Russell, who was cut by the Steelers Thursday, led the team in kickoff returns last season with a 23.1 yard average on 16 returns. The Bengals lost their primary kick returner, Glenn Holt, to the Vikings in free agency. Holt averaged 24.1 yards on 46 returns last season.

Money, its a gas. Grab that cash with both hands and make a stash. New car, caviar, four star daydream, Think I’ll buy me a football team. – Pink Floyd, Money Over at Walter’s site, Matt McGuire gripes about Aaron Curry’s falling stock. “From now on,” he rants, “no player is good enough.” Matt, you’re exactly right. But the nitpicking isn’t due to the media. It’s due to the money. We’re a week ahead of the draft. Teams have had the combine, the pro days, the private workouts. They’ve looked at endless hours of game film. Final evaluations are being [...]

With the signing of DT Tank Johnson a few days back, conventional wisdom has been that the Cincinnati Bengals are out of the running for DT B.J. Raji. However, in his latest mock, SI’s Don Banks writes that some sources say Marvin Lewis will jump all over Raji if he’s still there. But Banks believes that in the end, the Bengals’ needs on the offensive line will trump everything else, and with both Jason Smith and Eugene Monroe gone, he gives Cincinnati Andre Smith. In Banks’ mock, not only do the Bengals pass on Raji for Andre Smith, they also [...]