Archive for September, 2009

If there’s one phrase guaranteed to set Bengals fans off, it is the team’s annual declaration, usually just before the start of free agency in March, that they won’t be big players because they are committed to “building through the draft.” Well, if that’s truly Cincinnati’s strategy, then they obviously haven’t been very successful at it. There are any number of reasons for this, one of which is that Mike Brown & company don’t seem to have any idea how to wheel and deal in order to get value for players they don’t intend to keep and turn them into [...]

The Bengals cut their roster to 53 yesterday and can now spend the day sorting through other teams’ trash. The waiver wire system is a little more complex than the fraternity-boy “Dibs” system (sadly), but the Bengals are in a good position (No. 6), considering the train-wreck that was last season. I’d like to see Cincinnati try to shore up one position – nickel corner. I’m not comfortable with Morgan Trent, Geoff Pope, or David Jones matching up with Brandon Stokley, Jordy Nelson, and Limas Sweed, the No. 3 receivers for the first three opponents. I’d prefer to go garage-sale [...]

The Cincinnati Bengals cut 22 players today to get down to the final 53-man roster. The most notable pink slip passed out was given to DB Marvin White, a fourth-round pick in 2007 who played in 12 games last season (6 starts) at free safety before tearing both his ACL and MCL and being placed on injured reserve. The Bengals also waved goodbye (at least for the moment) to App State hero Corey Lynch, a sixth-round pick in 2008 who also ended last year hurt. As expected, the Bengals hung on to four RBs: Cedric Benson, Bernard Scott, DeDe Dorsey [...]

Yesterday, I argued that the Bengals should keep both Brian Leonard and DeDe Dorsey. Tonight, the proof arrived on the field. Now, Geoff Hobson himself is ringing the bell for both backs. Hopefully, someone in the front office will hear it. The Bengals beat the Colts 38-7 in their final preseason game behind splendid efforts from both Leonard and Dorsey. DeDe had 13 carries, 68 yards and a blocked punt return for a touchdown. Leonard hd nine carries for 64 yards and a touchdown along with two receptions for eight yards. Those are pretty impressive performances by themselves, but both guys have been [...]

Geoff Hobson weighed in on the Bengals’s roster a few days before the ax falls and now it’s my turn. I’ll focus on a few guys I want to stick and a few others who should pack their bags. Brian Leonard, DeDe Dorsey:  Team logic, according to Hobson, says only on of them stays. Hogwash, I say. If the team plans to keep two fullbacks, why not make Leonard the second one? After all, the team would keep two fullbacks due to the lack of depth at tight end. And isn’t Leonard pretty much an H-back? He gives you a [...]

File this one under “I’m not surprised.” According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, rookie Andre Smith came to sign his contract this week weighing a whopping 364 pounds. The Bengals responded by putting a weight clause into his contract. Than Andre’s foot responded by breaking slightly under all that weight. At this point, I can’t blame his foot. Nothing short of Hulk Hogan’s pythons (brother!) could have held all that weight up.   In other news, Schefter is also reporting that Carson Palmer will not play tomorrow against the Colts and will return in Week One against the Broncos. Makes sense. [...]

Despite being in impeccable football shape (oh wait…) and having a number of practices already under his belt (oh wait…), Andre Smith fractured a bone in his foot during a non-contact drill.  In case you missed it, that was a non-contact drill. Which means the broken bone occurred either by a fluke accident or because Smith’s body wasn’t quite ready to handle the basic movements  of practice. Barf. Marvin Lewis said it’s only a minor fracture and Smith should only be out a few weeks, but I’m not optimistic. A broken bone on a big man’s foot doesn’t seem to be a recipe for [...]