Spring Cleaning

Joe Reedy takes a nice look at some of the house cleaning Cincinnati has to do in the offseason. As many expect – and most are probably hoping for – this could be a drastically different Bengals squad in 2011. If I were running the show (and maybe I should be), here’s what I’d do with the usual suspects.

Marvin Lewis – I think it’s time for Lewis and the Bengals to move on. Lewis has been a good soldier and has had some success in the Queen City, but I think both would be better served if they divorced. And quite honestly, I’d prefer to see Lewis axed before the end of this season so Mike Zimmer can get a trial-run with the team. Outside of Zimmer, I’m not sure who I would want to take over in Cincinnati. Jon Gruden might work and Jeff Fisher would be enticing if he gets fired in Tennessee. But would either of them work for Mike Brown?

Terrell Owens – T.O. is proof positive that statistics don’t tell the whole story. By all accounts, T.O. is flourishing in Cincinnati. But if you watch all the games, you know that Owens has given up on many routes, short-armed some passes and dropped a few others for good measure. Plus, I think Carson Palmer has forced the ball to him at times, perhaps just to keep him happy. T.O. will probably get another chance somewhere else next season because of his success this year. But I don’t think the Bengals will miss him as much as you might think.

Chad Ochocinco – I’d like to see The Ocho get traded, which would mean Cincinnati would have to pick up a $6 million option, and that probably won’t happen. If both members of T. Ocho leave, the Bengals will need to add some firepower to the offense and an extra pick for Ochocinco (a second rounder? a third?) would certainly help. But Chad’s inconsistency on the field and with his emotions have worn me out. I’m ready to move on. And after watching Indianapolis and San Diego play football with a lot of spare parts this season, I think Cincinnati could survive the loss of T. Ocho. Especially considering Jermaine Gresham and Jordan Shipley would have one more year of experience.

Cedric Benson – I’m not necessarily opposed to bringing Benson back if the price is right. But I’m convinced that Bernard Scott needs more touches. Benson seems to have been worn down after last year’s breakout year.  And if Cincinnati doesn’t replace him, the Bengals should at least cut his workload significantly next season.

Carson Palmer – I think many in Cincinnati might be ready to move on from Palmer, but I still believe he can win a lot of games with a better scheme and more consistent players. Plus, drafting quarterbacks is a crapshoot  – and probably even worse than that when the Bengals are involved. (Remember David Klingler? Akili Smith? I rest my case). Furthermore,  there won’t be any quarterbacks better than Palmer who are available as free agents. So I think it makes the most sense to keep Palmer around and build the team around a running game. But I think it would also be wise to draft a quarterback in the second or third round as a potential replacement if Palmer’s injury history or his misfires persist.

Andre Smith – Oh, Andre. I think we all saw this one coming. But to be honest, Smith shouldn’t be labeled as a bust just yet. He’s been overweight, injured and inconsistent in his two seasons, but Cincinnati deserves some of that blame. The Bengals’ hard-line stance kept an undisciplined player out of camp and surely contributed to some of these problems. Ideally, I’d like to see the Bengals draft a right tackle in the first round of the draft, giving Smith some motivation and the team some insurance in case he continues on his rocky path. If both players pan out, one of the two could be moved inside to guard to replace Bobbie Williams. And Smith, who has struggled in pass protection but impressed in the running game could be an ideal guard.

Your thoughts?

I’ll focus on the defensive side of the football in an upcoming post.