Archive for January, 2011

Well, mock draft season has officially commenced and the Bengals are on the clock with the fourth pick. CNNSI.com’s Andrew Perloff gives Cincinnati Alabama defensive tackle Marcell Dareus in his mock draft. My gut reaction is that Dareus wouldn’t seem to be a good fit. The Bengals are fairly deep at defensive tackle with Domata Peko, Pat Sims, and Geno Atkins already there. This may be the year for the Bengals to trade back in the draft if they can find a dance partner because none of the top prospects seem to match exactly what the Bengals need (an offensive [...]

With the Senior Bowl and its practices approaching in a little more than a week, conventional wisdom would suggest that Cincinnati needs to make any coaching changes before that point. Thus, the clock is ticking for offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski and everyone else. The fact that nothing has changed already makes me more than nervous. If the Bengals don’t make any significant changes after a 4-12 season and a losing streak that tied the franchise record, everyone involved should be ashamed. Quite frankly, all the fans deserve better. But as Paul Daugherty pointed out, we’re gluttons for punishment. And pain. [...]

According to a link on Cincy Jungle, a 28-year-old Bengals fan is selling his NFL loyalty to the highest bidder. Kudos to him. Haven’t we all wanted to make the switch?  But to be honest, most of us can’t, myself included. Sure, we’d love to switch teams, trade allegiances and root for some perennial power with annual trips to the playoffs, and Super Bowl wins every few years, but for those of us who are true fans, we can’t. Even if we tried, our inner core would be always be tied to the train wreck that is our beleaguered Bengals. [...]

I noticed a post on PFT.com about the overhaul facing the Saints this off-season. They have 28 free agents this year. Ouch! Could any of them maybe end up in stripes? Here are a few of the names on the list of Saints FAs: Reggie Bush: High-priced free agent + injury history + shiny new contract. Sounds like a recipe for disaster for me. With his taste for celebrity status, I have to think that he ends up on one of the coasts if he leaves NO. Jeremy Shockey: No. Just no. Pierre Thomas: If Ced chooses to walk, he’d [...]

The Bengals and Bills have been rewarded for their equally terrible seasons with an opportunity to coach the Senior Bowl. With that said, I am happy that Marvin Lewis recognizes the value of this experience. The NFL Combine is not the most ideal format for evaluating talent. In fact, it’s about as effective as the Westminster Kennel Club Show. Players run and jump. They bench. They answer a few questions. And they do nothing under exact game conditions. Meanwhile, down at the Senior Bowl Lewis and his staff – which may or may not have some changes – will get [...]

To be clear, this is an unconfirmed rumor at this point. But if Willie Anderson’s tweet, which I found on Lance McAlister’s blog, is correct, we are all screwed again. Things tweeted “Don’t know if I’m late but I just received word no changes on Bengals Staff except Linebackers coach” –Willie Anderson on Twitter This may be incorrect, or it may change in the coming days. God knows I hope it does. But if it turns out to be correct, Mike Brown is going to have a five-alarm media disaster on his hands. Tuesday’s press conference was bad enough, but [...]

A lot of draft pundits and interested observers are suggesting that the Bengals should take Georgia receiver A.J. Green if he’s available when the Bengals pick at No. 4. Mel Kiper has him at No. 3 on his latest Big Board. FoxSports.com made an argument for Green in its recent mock. I think that idea is absurd. The Bengals already have Jordan Shipley and Jermaine Gresham, who should be even better in their second year. Jerome Simpson and Andre Caldwell chewed up some pretty good defenses in the last two games. And the Bengals offense is clearly better-suited for a [...]

It is a fact that the Bengals have one of the smallest scouting departments in the NFL. Fans have griped about it for years. Talking heads mention it every draft season. Mike Brown thinks it’s fine the way it is. BROWN: “The scouting thing is another criticism that rises up when we don’t do well. If you look at our record on scouting over the last 10 years, we rank 10th for the number of games played by players we drafted. I think we sank to 11th on the number of players who are in the league that we drafted, [...]

I’m clearly sick in the head. Yesterday’s train wreck of a press conference is occupying an unhealthy amount of my thoughts. And since I’ve spent the last hour looking through the transcript instead of working, maybe commenting on it will bring some needed catharsis. God knows I need it.

I lent my face for radio to the guys at Who Dey Weekly and we discussed the Bengals offseason plans. I guessed wrong on a few things and hit closer to the mark on others. Click the link above to here for yourself.