Bengals 2011: Not Just Another Draft

There’s no such thing as a luxury draft. They don’t exist. You’re always looking for ways to improve your football team. And if you look hard enough, even if you are the 1985 Chicago Bears, you will find a need.  Sometimes it’s easier to see needs than others; you don’t even have to look. But in the 2011 NFL draft, the Cincinnati Bengals didn’t just have needs. They had EMERGENCIES!!!

EMERGENCY 1:

The Departure of a Franchise Quarterback

Since being selected by the Bengals #1 overall in the 2003 NFL Draft, Carson Palmer went on to set nearly every franchise passing record:

• Highest Passer Rating, Career (Min. 500 attempts) – 89.0[13]
• Highest Passer Rating, Season (Min. 14 attempts/team game played) – 101.1 (2005)[14]
• Highest Completion Percentage, Career (Min. 200 attempts) – 63.8%[13]
• Most Completions, Season – 373 (2005)[14]
• Most Passing Yards, Season – 4131 (2007)[14]
• Only Bengals QB to pass for 4000 yards in a season (twice; 2006–2007)[14]
• Most 300+ Yard Passing Games, Season – 5 (2007; tied w/Boomer Esiason, 1987)[15]
• Most Touchdown Passes, Season – 32 (2005)[14]
• Most Touchdown Passes, Game – 6 (9/16/2007 at Cleveland Browns)[16]
• Most Consecutive Games w/Passer Rating over 100 – 9 (NFL Record; tied w/Peyton Manning and Tom Brady)[16]

Since returning from a knee injury suffered in his first NFL Playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2005, however, Palmer’s competitive fire has diminished, along with his skills, with every passing season. Somewhere in the middle of a horrendous 10-game losing streak during the 2010 campaign, that fire was extinguished. Palmer decided that 2010 would be his last season in a Bengals’ uniform, if not his last season in any team’s uniform.

According to reports, Palmer and his agent met with Bengals’ owner Mike Brown in early January of 2011 to ask for a trade to a west coast team. If Brown refused to trade him, Palmer said that he would retire from the game. Though Brown declared that he would refuse Palmer’s request, the NFL lockout made it a moot point. Brown couldn’t trade him, even if he wanted to. Trade or no trade, however, Palmer has made it clear to the Bengals that he will not be returning.

EMERGENCY 2

The (likely) Departure of a Franchise Wide Receiver

Rarely do we hear people use the phrase “franchise wide receiver.” If Cincinnati ever had one, however, it would be Chad (Johnson) Ochocinco. Drafted as a 2d Round pick out of Oregon State in 2001, Chad became a fan favorite in Cincinnati and beyond, not just for his amazing playmaking abilities, but especially for his creatively amusing post-touchdown celebrations. As Palmer’s interest in playing for Cincinnati waned with each losing season, Chad’s interest in establishing himself as a multimedia celebrity seemed to reach new heights every year. No one knows whether the decline in his performance on the field is related more to his age or his growing number of off-field interests.

Marvin Lewis must believe it’s either the latter, or a combination of both, because he’s seen enough. Though he gave Chad a long leash for many years, Lewis has decided that he wants his players focused on what they are paid to do – win football games.

No one expects to see Chad back in stripes this year. In his ten years in Cincinnati, he came to hold the following franchise receiving records:

• Most receiving yards in a season (1,440)
• Most receiving yards all-time
• Most receptions
• Most touchdown receptions
• Most receiving yards in a game (260)
• Most seasons with over 1,000 receiving yards (7)
• Most touchdown receptions in a game (3, tied with several other players)

No matter how you feel about his departure, you don’t replace a player like Chad with just anyone.

Apart from these twin emergencies, the Bengals also went into the 2011 Draft with a number of significant needs.

Need 1

Many fans remain convinced that the Bengals were on the path for a Super Bowl title in 2005 when Palmer got hurt in the playoff game against the Steelers. And they really did look dominant that year. Their success was due, in large part, to their phenomenal offensive line. The departures of Rich Braham and Eric Steinbach were devastating to the productivity of the offense, as was the decline of the aging Willie Anderson.  The offense has never really recovered. The Bengals must rebuild their offensive line.

Need 2

When the Bengals needed a strong safety in 2009, Mike Zimmer was able to secure the services of former All-Pro Roy Williams. In his first few games, Williams did not disappoint. Sadly, for him and the team, the injuries just haven’t quit coming.

Need 3

With Rey Maualuga reportedly being moved to middle linebacker, whether as a starter or as a back-up to the emerging Vincent Rey, the Bengals need someone with the size and speed to play SAM. Maualuga had the size, but he never had the speed or the instincts for the position. He’s a player who was simply born to play in the middle. So, it wasn’t a matter of finding someone to replace Maualuga. The Bengals simply needed a starting SAM.

To summarize, the Bengals entered the draft Thursday night with 2 emergencies

1. How do you replace a franchise QB?
2. How do you replace a franchise WR?

They also had significant needs at

1. SAM backer.
2. Guard.
3. Strong Safety

We nailed each of those 5 in SPADES!

AJ Green was not only the best WR in this draft, but was arguably the best offensive player in this draft.

Andy Dalton has the mark of a winner. If you look at every great quarterback, you’ll see that each of them has something in his eyes that you just can’t explain or describe. Whatever it may be, it clearly says one thing: “I’m in charge here, and I’m in control of this situation. I AM the leader of the offense.” Whatever IT is, Andy Dalton has it.

Dontay Moch. What a steal. Watch tape of Von Miller in college. Miller was the #2 pick in the draft. Keep that in mind. Now, go watch tape of Dontay Moch. Finished? Now, tell me one thing that Von Miller can do that Dontay Moch can’t, except Moch can do it faster.

Clint Boling. One of the top guards in the draft. I’m very surprised but happy he fell as far as he did.

Robert Sands. I didn’t put this guy in my mock because I was afraid of being disappointed. But I’ve wanted this guy since I started comparing college safeties when the Bengals season ended (i.e., early October).

Ryan Whalen. This kid looks and plays as hard as nails. He could become to the NFL what Rex Hudler used to be to MLB. “You might have more talent than me, but you’re not going to work harder than me. And I WILL beat you!”

Corey Lindsey. Great for depth at CB, and has the potential to start for us one day.

Jay Finely. Good choice for Gruden’s WCO. Though the Bengals will have him add 15 to 20 pounds to his frame, Finley’s a strong runner with good hands.

In conclusion, we won’t really be able to judge this draft class for a few years. On paper, however, I think Marvin Lewis and his team of scouts and coaches did an outstanding job. We hear complaints that they should have done more to improve the offensive line, and I agree. In a normal year, we would have. But this was not a normal year. The Bengals had two emergency situations that forced them to take a QB and a WR in the first two rounds. Besides, they drafted two offensive linemen in the last two rounds of last year’s draft who they’ve already invested a year in developing. They must not have seen any of the Olinemen in this years draft class that they thought would help them more than Otis Hudson or Reggie Stephens this year. Whalen, Lindsey, and Finley offer them help at skill positions where they are either relatively thin or where their depth in 2012 is questionable. But apart from the sheer talent of this draft class, I think we will look back at it in 3-4 years and recognize it as a STATEMENT draft. No more divas. No more guys with questionable backgrounds. These are all good football players and good people. Guys who love the game. Guys committed to the game. Guys committed to improving themselves at the next level. As Marvin Lewis said of AJ Green, each of these guys brings the kinds of intangibles representative of a “New Breed” of Bengal. On that count, I think this draft deserves an A+.