Archive for March, 2011

According to the folks at ProFootballTalk, Washington quarterback Jake Locker had a very strong pro day workout, completing 40 of 42 passes, with his only incompletions coming on deep balls (Must avoid joke. Must avoid joke….). While the completion rate is impressive, I’m not swayed much by pro day workouts. I prefer the body of work that’s compiled against live opponents, some of whom are trying to rip your head off. That makes TCU’s Andy Dalton stand out in my eyes. And on top of that, Dalton had a very good pro day too, completing 49 of his 52 passes. [...]

Ephram put together a nice statistical breakdown of the top quarterbacks in the draft for CincyJungle. His data seems to suggest that Cam Newton is the best of the bunch. But statistics alone don’t tell the whole Cam Newtown story. Instead, I think that same data shows the genius of an Andy Dalton selection. 1)Dalton should be there when the Bengals pick in the second round 2) He has plenty of experience and is extremely accurate 3) His intangibles seem to be in order 4) His interception rate is acceptable In my mind, those factors make Dalton the best fit [...]

NFL.com’s Pat Kirwan takes a look at what the Bengals – and everyone else in the AFC North – need in this year’s draft. Unfortunately, I didn’t see a GM on his list.

Two more mocks by CBSSports’ Rob Rang and Chad Reuter tabbed Georgia receiver A.J. Green for the Bengals. It’s becoming a lot like last year when everyone mocked Jermaine Gresham to the Bengals. They were right last year. This year, I hope they’re wrong. In my mind, receiver ranks way down the list in terms of the team’s needs. Am I missing something here?

The NFL handed out its compensatory picks and Cincinnati only got one, an extra pick in the seventh round (245th overall). The Bengals usually gain a few in this process, since they typically lose more free agents (and better ones) than they acquire. This year, however, the acquisition of Terrell Owens probably kept them from getting a better haul. Thus, even though T.O. is gone, it seems he’s still hurting the team. Sigh.

Tim and Pat from Sirius NFL Radio’s Movin’ the Chains ran through a quick mock draft today. Even though these things are inexact sciences at best, it still left some intriguing options for the Bengals. Here’s how it all went down: 1. Carolina – Alabama’s Marcel Dareus, DT 2. Denver – Clemson’s Da’Quan Bowers, DE 3. Buffalo – LSU’s Patrick Peterson, CB That brought Cincinnati up with both quarterbacks on the board. A.J. Green was there. So were Nick Fairley and Von Miller. Tim and Pat took Auburn’s Cam Newton for the Bengals. I would’ve taken someone else, but it [...]

I waded through Marvin Lewis’ entire transcript from the NFL meetings and two things jumped out: One:  It’s pretty hard being an NFL coach. Earlier in the interview, Lewis said all the right things about Chad Ochocinco. He’s under contract. We’ll see how it all plays out. Blah. Blah. Blah. Later in the interview, he got a softball question about Ochocinco’s soccer tryout and swung away. That of course, was the quote about “what has (Chad) ever done that he’s completed? What circle has he connected?” That was the quote that flew across cyberspace and sparked a swath of blog [...]

I used to get frustrated that Mike Brown was so insulated from fans and only spoke publicly twice a year. I will never feel that way again. The more he talks, the more I wish he would just stop. He is making my head hurt. Via Geoff Hobson: “I’ve seen any number of players who at one point didn’t want to re-enlist, come back, and play, and be quite happy about it,” Brown said. “It just depends how it goes. As far as getting value, I don’t see any opportunity to get what I consider value and having said that, [...]

In current non-events, Geoff Hobson has posted an update that the Bengals have yet to make a move toward acquiring Eagles QB Kevin Kolb. Eagles head coach Andy Reid, who says his club is listening to offers, indicated Sunday the Bengals haven’t inquired about backup quarterback Kevin Kolb. This, I’m sure, is welcome news to Kolb, who I’m sure has no interest in suffering the same fate as the Bengals most recent quarterback. For those hoping that the Bengals will do something to bring Kolb to Cincinnati, it is time to throw that scenario onto the trash heap of smart [...]

Since there is little to write about outside of the draft, I decided to beat that topic further into the ground. Here’s a mock draft courtesy of NFL.com provided by an anonymous scout. In this one, the Bengals get Clemson defensive end Da’Quan Bowers, a nice bookend to the emerging Carlos Dunlap. I’d be happy with that. But it would still leave glaring holes at quarterback, running back, offensive line, and safety to address later. Cincinnati simply can’t afford to miss on any picks this year. And trading back once or twice probably wouldn’t be a bad idea either. But [...]