Monday Morning Hangover: Bengals Camp, Week 2, Begins

Keith Rivers is falling behind due to his holdout, says defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer. Progress on a deal for No. 9 still appears to hinge on No. 8 Derrick Harvey getting inked in Jacksonville. Pro Football Weekly thinks it may be a while before that happens.

Not surprisingly, some observers are getting their panties in a bunch over Rivers’ absence. Me, I’m actually not too concerned. The deal will get done eventually (they always do) and while Rivers will no doubt have some catching up to do, he’s still looking at manning the same position he played in college. This isn’t David Pollack’s holdout, it’s Justin Smith’s. Smith didn’t sign until the eve of the regular season, which resulted in him missing one (1) whole game. In the next 15, he would go on to rack up 8 sacks and have one of his better years in stripes.

Moving on: Going into week 2 of training camp, injuries and absences have created some opportunities for guys lower down on the roster.

The Bengals front seven is coming together.

The Chickster on who looks strong, solid and needs work after week 1. Bengal Stripes also has some thoughts after the first week.

The Bengals training camp is a bonanza for Georgetown.

WDR argues that the Bengals are either no better or worse off at defensive end this year. I’ll go with even.