The End Has Come

The cuts have been made and the Bengals have made it to 53 guys. Some of the guys on this list may still return for the practice squad, but that decision will be made a later date. Are some of your favorites on this list? Here is how they got to the magic number:

Placed on Reserve/Injured list:

Tony Dye - S - Ankle Injury

Placed on Reserve/PUP list:

Pat Sims - DT - Hamstring Injury

Placed on Reserve/Suspended by Commish list:

Dontay Moch - LB - Suspended 1-4 games for using performance enhancers

Waived a Player With Injury Settlement:

Nick Hayden - DT - Ankle Injury

Waived 18 Players:

Jourdan Brooks - Rookie FB

Colin Cochart - TE

Bryce Davis - Rookie LS

James Develin - FB

DeQuin Evans - DE

Vidal Hazelton - WR

T.J. Heath - CB 

Daniel "Boom" Herron - Rookie RB

Otis Hudson - G

Grant Hunter - Rookie LB

Chris Lewis-Harris - Rookie CB

Micah Johnson - DE

Emmanuel Lamur - LB

Vaughn Meatoga - Rookie DT

Roddrick Muckelroy - LB

Matthew O'Donnell - OT

Zac Robinson - QB

Reggie Stephens - G

The Bengals said that they would release a practice squad list of 8 players tomorrow. The players must clear waivers in the next 24 hours to be considered. At this point, those on waivers can now be picked up by other teams. Colin Cochart, Nick Hayden, and Roddrick Muckelroy are the only players that will not be eligible for practice squad signing. 

So, now, Who Dey Nation...Here is your 53 man Roster! Can I get a Who Dey for the 2012 Bengals?!? Here is the depth chart per Bengals.com:

Offense:

QB - Andy Dalton, Bruce Gradkowski

RB - BenJarvus Green-Ellis, Bernard Scott, Brian Leonard, Cedric Peerman

FB - Chris Pressley

WR1 - A.J. Green, Andrew Hawkins, Ryan Whalen, Marvin Jones

WR2 - Brandon Tate, Armon Binns, Mohamed Sanu

RT -  Andre Smith, Dennis Roland

RG - Kevin Zeitler

C - Kyle Cook, Trevor Robinson, Jeff Faine

LG - Clint Boling

LT - Andrew Whitworth, Anthony Collins

TE - Jermaine Gresham, Donald Lee, Orson Charles

Defense:

SS - Taylor Mays, Jeromy Miles

FS - Reggie Nelson, George Iloka

LDE - Carlos Dunlap, Robert Geathers

NT - Domata Peko, Brandon Thompson

DT - Geno Atkins, Devon Still

RDE - Michael Johnson, Jamaal Anderson

SLB - Manny Lawson, Dan Skuta

WLB - Thomas Howard, Vincent Ray

MLB - Ray Maualuga, Vontaze Burfict

RCB - Leon Hall, Jason Allen, Adam Jones

LCB - Nate Clements, Terence Newman, Dre Kirkpatrick

Special Teams:

KR - Brandon Tate, Andrew Hawkins, Adam Jones, Marvin Jones

PR - Brandon Tate, Andrew Hawkins, Adam Jones, Marvin Jones

LS - Clark Harris

K - Mike Nugent

P - Kevin Huber

Now, who is ready for some real football??????? September 10th is coming...Those Dirty Birds are on our list!!! Who Dey!!!

        

 

 

 

Luck-y Colts and Black Friday Reloaded

Last night our guys packed up and headed to Indy for the preseason finale. The last preseason game is, probably, the most insignificant game of the season. However, I decided to spice it up and lightly smack talk my Indy friend. To my dismay, of course. I needed warming up for the season start next week, so it was good practice. What can I say? I am shameless. After I ate my words, I decided to look at the positives and negatives of the game. So, here goes my friends!!

Positives

The first team offense, while they were all actually on the field, looked really good and were really productive in picking up yards. 

The O-Line, seemed to do a better job for a good part of the game. 

The back up running backs came to play. This is a huge change from what we have been seeing in these games.

The D-Line did well against the run and the backfield looked solid.

The Rookie WR were ready to play and made some good plays.

Rookie C Robinson did a good job. So if Faine can't start during the opener, we may be able to relax a tiny bit if he has to start. 

Negatives

The back-up CB and Safeties, Iloka specifically, seemed to struggle a little.

Andy Dalton got hurt. It looked a lot uglier than it was. The injury turned out to be a funny bone bruise, but for a minute there, I am sure there collective gasp and whimper from Who Dey Nation. 

The O-Line, even though, they did better, they still need to keep it up and step it up more. Andy shouldn't have been put in that situation.

Both teams received a lot of penalties. Though, some were phantom, a lot were necessary. We need to clean up our game. No hitting, no blocking from behind, and for God's sake do not put your arm around the receiver before the ball gets there. 

We lost again...

Overall, the last preseason game, was a success. I think the game really showed what people were capable of and those that needed to fight fought. Marvin Jones, Rookie WR, dropped a perfect pass from Gradkowski that would have been an instant TD. He made it up though on another series, with the same play and this time a beautiful catch where he actually scored. He had a few more good catches in the game, as well some returns on Kick Offs. Sanu made a couple athletic grabs and is really showing his big presence, breaking through guys after the catch on plays. He did get 2 pass interference break ups that were penalized. Had he not been interfered with, he would have had a couple more great plays. AJ Green, caught one pass with the first team offense. 

Leonard and Peerman were revived last night, as well. Leonard did well with the first teamers. He found holes more easily and seemed to fight more. Peerman...Peerman...Peerman! What can't this guy do? Last night, he received most of the carries and looked phenomenal. His feet were quick like the Road Runner (Meep, Meep), his cuts were quick and accurate, he just sliced and diced his way through Indy's D and ST. He had the opportunity to field a kick off that he may have taken to the house, had his own player not assisted on his tackle. We definitely need to be more aware out there. Boom Herron, had a couple okay runs. He put the ball on the ground and the Colts recovered. I think he has probably sealed his fate and it doesn't equal the final 53. The Law Firm sat, even though most thought he would play. He is going to be back for the Ravens on Sept 10. Scott is still out, as well, for an unknown amount of time. 

Special Teams looked good. Huber and Nugent, both kicked well last night. Nugent seems to be fully healed from his injury in the offseason. His longest of the night was 48 yards with lots of power. Huber is turning out to be an artist at this position. The rest of the guys seemed to step it up on returns and tackling. We incorporated more rookies in and the did well. Baby Hawk, did drop another punt, though. This is twice now in the preseason games. This is something we need to nip in the butt now with more work or not letting him field kicks.

The 1st team D looked good, all over the ball. The back ups did pretty well too. There were a few mental errors out there. Burfict put added another sack to his already impressive preseason and Muckelroy had another good start at MLB. These guys are finally coming together, or so it seemed. I guess we will see in Baltimore. Kirkpatrick sat again, with soreness in his healing knee, and Pacman was still out. This is an area still filled with injuries. Hopefully we can get everyone back and up to speed. If not, we may be in trouble if one more person goes down. 

Now that the preseason is officially over, it is time to get down to business. Everyone knows, by now, that today is cut day. At 9pm the teams will be down to their official 53 man rosters. This is like a real Black Friday, without good deals, just mourning. This has got to be awful. The only good news is, if you are cut, there are practice team hopes and possible waiver pick ups. Hopefully everyone played to their fullest ability. Just because you are cut from the Bengals, doesn't mean someone else won't like what they see. A lot of guys will be unemployed and dreams will be dashed. I would not want to be a coach today. Well, unless I had a cold black heart and enjoyed stabbing people in the face. The good news is with the new rule that the NFL implemented Wednesday teams are allowed to place a player on IR and have the opportunity to actually bring him back in Week 8 (the new trade deadline), instead of being lost for the year. It is my understanding, that this privilege has to be designated to one player when placing him on IR after Sept 4. That may be helpful with some of the guys that just need more rehab time. Anyway, whatever happens, tonight you will meet your new Bengals. Who Dey!

To wrap this up, some other news for your eyes to enjoy...The Referees (yes, the real ones) and the NFL are meeting today. Hopefully, they get something done. Robert Kraft said that Tom Brady is better than Joe Montana (I don't think he is better right now, but I think after he is gone we are all going to agree...you never notice greatness until it is gone and not spanking your ass anymore). Andy Reid is officially on the hot seat this season. The Eagles owner came out today and basically said, win or else. Reid has had a rough offseason with his sons death, so hopefully the team steps up for him so he doesn't have to see his career die too. 

I will leave you with Brady and Montana stat comparisons: 

*Please note, Tommy's are still active, so depending on what he does in the future it could impact these numbers greatly in one direction or the other*

                                                                   Brady                                                 Montana

W-L                                                           124-35                                                 117-47
Super Bowl W-L                                       3-2                                                         4-0
Pass Yds                                                   39,979                                                  40,551
TD                                                               300                                                         273
Interceptions                                            115                                                          139

Brady actually does seem to be better now that I look at it, or on his way to being better, everywhere except in Super Bowl win record.  He has made it to more Super Bowls though, and with one more win, he will tie Montana there. So what do you think? Do you think Kraft is still wrong? Or are we watching greatness? Time will tell. Who Dey!

In Other NFL News

I know this is hard to believe, but to a lot of people, the NFL doesn't revolve around the Bengals. Can I get a Who Dey though? Hell Yeah! So, today, for those following along, you are lucky enough to get two blog posts. One for the new Center, Jeff Faine and now one for the news around the league. Hooray! I am going to cover a few topics here: Concussions, Officials, Hard Knocks, Cardinals, and the J-E-T-S Jets Jets Jets.

Let's start with the least exciting, shall we...The Cardinals. First of all, this team hasn't really been relevant, unless there is something I am forgetting, since their loss to the Steelers in the Super Bowl in 2009. Hell, they were barely relevant leading up to that game. Last year, everyone, including myself, thought that Kevin Kolb would lead them to the promise land. I mean, imagine what a QB could do for this team. They have one of the best WR ever in Larry Fitzgerald. Why can't someone just get him the ball. Leinart was just another USC bust and Warner was past his prime. So here comes this guy that was exciting and young that started the previous season as a QB with the Eagles, until he got hurt and Vick stole the show. Kevin Kolb seemed like an oasis in the Arizona desert. As he started taking over the team, though, everyone realized he was just that an Oasis. Still no relief. So this season, John Skelton steps up to challenge him. Now it is the last week of preseason and still no QB decision out of Arizona. I heard someone on ESPN say that this was good because now the other team couldn't prepare against one single quarterback. I would say that would be a relevant answer...if you had Tom Brady and Michael Vick you were picking between. Not Skelton and Kolb! They are both pocket passers and neither one have shown too many signs of greatness. I would say they are barely mediocre after watching them this preseason. Gimme a break, Arizona. If these are your cards (both literally and figuratively) just fold and let us all see what you have. If it isn't trickery and you are really undecided at this point because they both are as mediocre as the other, good luck this season.

Is anyone else watching Hard Knocks? I have to say, I have been really struck Philbin as coach this year in Miami. He seems like he genuinely cares about each person. Instead of phone calls for cuts, he has them all talk to Ireland and then he sits them down and gives them hope or answers. He also genuinely cares about winning, but wants to do it right. So, even though Chad "Head Butter" Johnson was they best WR he had, he still cut him. He knew it wasn't right and it was better to groom. He sat RB Thomas down to talk about being late and not being a good role model. His door is always open. Good for him, with an offseason in the NFL that has brought numerous player arrests for stupid stuff because they just can't seem to get themselves off of the streets. I mean Dez Bryant beat up his own Mom, which doesn't seem to be the first time the way she talked. Aside from Goodell's punishment and his new found 10 yr old boy curfew, he is going to go on like usual with the Cowboys. It takes a big man to take stand against these guys for real. So, I guess all I wanted to say here was Kudos Philbin for building a good, clean, program in Miami. While you are there, maybe you could help out the U. I heard their reputation is in the toilet, with the prostitutes and all. 

The NFL has finally made it official. The replacement refs will start the regular season instead of the regular referees. If I were these regular referees, I would be getting a little nervous. First of all, under the old contract they were making good money and had NFL benefits, as well as retirement. They worked for about 4 hours for, including playoffs, about 24 days of the year. They made more than most Americans a year that work 365 days of the year for 8-10 hours a day. I know they see these guys out there running on the same field, making millions. But, tell me, do they get hit? Do they get injured? Do they have a high concussion rate? Do they risk their bodies or their lives? Do they bring in the revenue to this league? The answer to every one of those questions is: HELL NO!! So they need to shut up and get back out there because if they don't, they may be out completely. These replacement guys haven't been perfect and they are making mistakes. Some that really anger us as fans, but they are going to be good like the regular refs. We all struggle in the beginning of anything. Then no one is going to miss them anymore. Coaches can always challenge if it is too bad. Soon enough they may just another old schmuck like the rest of us if they don't get this deal done. So Regular Referees, get your shit together. This league is going to leave you behind. 

Now on to concussions. This league has been dealing with concussion and brain injury backlash forever, but it seems to be really bad in the past few years. I just want to mention it because ESPN has been running a series on it and the new ways to combat this with better hitting, etc. Goodell has already implemented rules in hitting and the game to make is safer for players. This controversy and these new hitting rules, have people all over the place. I am right down the middle on this one. I always hear the argument, after Harrison puts another helmet to helmet hit on someone and is fined yet again, that it is just football and it is dangerous, you know that when you suit up. This, I sometimes agree with. It is football. You are expected to get hit and put your body out there. You knew what were signing up for and that is why you make all of that money. Then, you have all of these tough guys coming back, and suing the NFL. Years later after they played, they still have head injuries that are irreversible. Now, you even have high school students getting paralyzed and suffering. So, then you think, to protect the NFL and keep the sport going, more rules need to be in place. Do we watch this sport because we want to see guys get laid out or because we just want our team to win and make great plays? For me it is the great plays, the flips into the end zone, the one handed interceptions. I don't want to see anyone hurt. I would venture to say, though, that about 50% of America does not agree. They want to see those big hits, they want to curse Goodell. This is a catch 22 issue for the heads of the NFL, but what is right? Should we let them play or protect them and our sport from injury and law suits?

Of course, I saved the best for last. The Jets, ESPN's favorite team! I am not going to say much here. Coming from Patriots fan-dom, makes my skin crawl at the mention of their name and if you have been following this blog at all, you know how much I LOVE Timmy Boy! Speaking of Timmy Boy, the Chosen One...0 touchdowns this preseason. And his comrade, USC great Sanchez (please tell me you heard the sarcasm there)...0 touchdowns. Oh, hold on, whole Jets offense...0 touchdowns. Good job in the offseason Rex. You built a great one! Maybe you should stop looking at those shoe magazines and get your dick out of your hand and coach this team. No, wait, don't. Jesus will carry you and his Son to victory with no talent. Silly me! Let's all pray...Not too hard, though. I think God may be laughing at him too! On a happy note for all of us and Tebow...A new Tim Tebow documentary will be released on September 11, 2012! So save your money and mark your calendars! A day of sadness for the United States is now to be even sadder! 

All I can do is close my eyes and shake my head...Is it over yet?



 

Center of Attention

If you haven't heard, or don't know already, the Bengals Center Kyle Cook injured his ankle in last week's preseason game against the Green Bay Packers. This is unfortunate because, not only is he a great Center with great ability, his back-up is a Rookie in Trevor Robinson. Robinson hasn't had very many starts at the position and is a real wild card come game day. So, not know exactly what they were up against with the injury and scared about letting an inexperienced rookie in to start the season, with an already struggling line, the team worked out veteran Center, Jeff Faine. He came in to the league in 2003 and has played for the Browns, Saints, and Bucs. He seems to have pretty good credentials, being a first round draft pick and 2007 Pro Bowl Alternate. Another plus for him, he has already worked under Jay Gruden, so he is familiar with the offense and schemes. 

Drum roll please...dadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadadada
Meet Your New Bengal

                                                                             Jeff Faine

Height: 6'3"
Weight: 303 lbs
College: Notre Dame
Draft: 21st Pick by Brownies
Previous Team: Tampa Bay - Released in March, many think due to cap issues.

He seems like he might be a good pick up, but he hasn't had an offseason to speak of in real team drills, so hopefully he has stayed sharp. I am sure that they wouldn't have picked him up if there were questions. 

In the meantime, the Bengals had to drop someone to keep the roster level in tact per NFL standards. Unfortunately, that man was Justin Hilton, Rookie WR, out of Indiana State. That is too bad. I guess I knew it was going to happen one way or the other. Either via the practice squad or on Friday. We were just so deep at that position. He just seemed like such a good guy and so grateful. I really thought he would make it to the practice squad. I guess anything possible, so who knows, maybe that will still come to fruition. He had a great camp and had a few good catches in the preseason games, most notably, the catch against Green Bay on the sideline last week. Anyway, he was our latest casualty. 

A little slip up, though, came from Bengals.com. When they first tweeted the Faine signing, they said the team released Nick Hayden, the 3rd year DT out of Wisconsin. Hayden has had a solid camp, but he is down the roster on an already talented defensive line. So even though, the Bengals deleted their tweet, is it still a sign of things to come. Oopsie! Let's not look any more into that. I don't want rumors to get started.
 

Waiver, Injuries, Roster News

Today was the day that Bengals had to get down to 75. As you know, I already posted the other cuts or roster moves on a previous post, but they still had to drop down one man by today. The news is in, and the man of the hour is WR Kashif Moore. He was basically irrelevant to the other things going on and competition with that position, so it made sense. The team has more cuts to endure this week. They have to be down to the 53 man final roster by this Friday the 31st. Then starts the 1 day to claim men that have been waived if the 8 man practice squad has not been decided at that time.

With Friday looming and with the amount of positions so deep with talent on the roster or filled with injuries, like in the DB area, the cuts and roster moves could be interesting. In one of Marvin's previous press conferences he said that a lot of the injured guys that were close, really stepped their game up to be able to be ready to play by Thursday against the Colts. However, I think, Lewis will still keep some of them out for that game just to make sure they are 100% healthy for the season opener on the 10th in Baltimore. Some notable guys still out, that may be ready for Thursday, but are definitely going to be ready for the regular season are: 
Manny Lawson, BenJarvus Green-Ellis, Jermaine Greshman, Rey Maualuga, and Robert Geathers. 

Here are some roster notes that I have gathered from my own personal views or some other sites:

The Safeties look like a lot more impressive than I think any of us thought. Marvin and Zimmer keep praising them. It looks as though, they are thinking about mixing Taylor Mays with Jeromy Miles and match them with Nate Clements. The only note here, is that hopefully, Mays concentrates on hurting the other teams and not us. He and Jeromy have really showed up this offseason and during camps. I am looking forward to see this combination out there on the game day. 

Leon Hall, coming back from Achilles surgery, has looked good at the cornerback spot and kept up really well with the Packers WR corp. Mix that with Reggie Nelson, and this backfield could be dangerous and one to watch. So, according to Bengals.com, this is what the backfield could look like on a roster, with the guys that we have left before cuts:

Left CB: Clements, Newman, Kirkpatrick, Heath
Right CB: Hall, Allen, Jones, Lewis-Harris
SS: Mays, Miles, Dye (Sands is on IR)
FS: Nelson, Iloka (Iloka has looked good, but Clements has speed, so who knows if he makes it)

Sticking with Defense...We have a lot of injuries here that we need to recover from. Here, with the injured guys listed, seem to be how the roster is forming from watching practice and games:

DE (Left): Dunlap, Geathers, Micah Johnson - This group is plagued with injuries. Hopefully Geathers and Dunlap will find their way back for the season opener. Johnson did have a good game against the Packers, so if nothing else, he does seem practice squad worthy.

NT: Peko, Sims, Thompson - This is per Bengals.com. I still think Sims is going to be placed on waivers at the end of the week. If not, and I am wrong (which is very possible), he will be placed on the PUP list on the roster which will still make him ineligible for 6 weeks. 

DT: Atkins, Still, Hayden, Meatoga

DE (Right): Michael Johnson, Jamaal Anderson, DeQuin Evans

SAM LB: Lawson, Skuta, Moch

MLB: Maualuga, Muckelroy, Burfict

WILL LB: Howard, Rey, Lamur, Hunter - I don't see Lamur or Hunter getting past this Friday.

Now for Special Teams chat. These spots are fairly obvious:

K - Nugent
P - Huber
LS - Harris, Davis

PR - Tate, Hawkins, Jones, M. Jones - My thought is after seeing what we saw during the Packers game that they may rotate Tate and Hawkins until PacMan is completely healthy and this could be his again. He looked really good in camp on PR and Hawkins just didn't really excel at this. I think he is too small or just doesn't make good decisions. At first, I thought he just could get away because punts are much faster with the other team getting to you easier, but then when he called fair catch and then let the ball fall and roll to him, I was more worried about skill.

KR: Tate, Hawkins, Jones, M. Jones - Think this will be Tate again and maybe a Hawkins rotation.

Moving onto Offense...we have all seen my thoughts on the Green Bay loss and my fear for the season, so I won't make too many notes here. I will say though, that these are going to be tougher cuts come Friday, because the WR have really shown up this camp and we are stacked. Hopefully we can use them effectively and they stay hungry.

With that said, we will start with the line. This is a place, we need obvious improvement. They aren't protecting Andy and they are the first line of defense for the flailing running game. 

LT: Whitworth, Collins - Collins has been playing multiple positions; we are very sturdy here

LG: Boling, Robinson

C: Cook, Stephens

RG: Zietler, Hudson - Hudson might has well be non-existent here

RT: Smith, Roland, O'Donnell

Now the ball movers:

TE: Gresham, Lee, Cochart, Charles - Before preseason and camp started, there were a lot of rumors of Lee not making the Roster. He has really silenced those people and shown up this summer. Cochart cannot block and Charles is a rookie that I think can be developed into something great. Now we just need Jermaine to get back out there from his injury. Having Gresham back would really be helpful in the blocking game to help those runners.

RB: Green-Ellis, Scott, Leonard, Peerman, Herron, Brooks - Leonard and Peerman do well on special teams, so they are pretty safe. Unfortunately, Herron just hasn't had enough time to develop with early injuries and now a slow start. Brooks is probably gone on Friday for sure.

FB: Pressley, Develin - Chris is our guy

QB: Dalton, Gradkowski, Robinson - With Hansen's cut, Robinson will go to the practice squad and Andy and Bruce will be our guys on Sunday. 

Finally, the most talked about position battle of the season...

WR: Green, Tate, Hawkins, Binns, Whalen, Sanu, Jones, Hazelton, Hilton - It's possible one of these guys could be traded. Whalen has looked better this year and he is very coachable. He won't survive the waivers on Friday, but is this our guy? I think Hilton will go to the practice squad and I am unsure how they view Hazelton. He seems to get a lot of reps at camp, but in the games, he isn't as solid. I think the top 6, at the end of the day, look more like this:

Green, Tate, Binns, Hawkins, Sanu, and Jones - Obviously Jones and Sanu look really good. Sanu has great hands and ability. Jones can go deep and get the ball, but so can Binns and he has been a real stand out and he has great size. Same thing with Tate. In fact, I remember when the Patriots drafted him. It was for that reason, he is speedy and elusive. Not to mention, he had a great catch and effort to keep his feet in last Thursday against the Packers. I really like this guy. 

I am really excited to see these guys continue to battle to make this 53 man roster on Thursday against Luck. It looks like Andy may only be in for a series. Hopefully, everyone else will step up and we can see these guys scrap out a win. With the cuts due in on Friday at 9:00pm, I will blog final rosters and cuts, as I get them. I am very curious and excited to meet my new, official Cincinnati Bengals! 

Then, the next tough decision...what jersey should I get?? Who Dey!



 

OT

So it's official, RGIII and Luck are good. Maybe even great. They both look like they have been playing in this league for years. They are making smart decisions, their throws are precise, and they are leaders of their new teams. I guess the new era is upon us. They played each other tonight, and as quarterbacking goes, they were basically a draw. Luck was 14-23 with 151 yards and a TD. RGIII was 11-17 with 74 yards and a TD. The Redskins and Griffin came out on top, which means nothing in the preseason. Watching these two guys doing this good, this early makes me really nervous. Now is the time where the great teams of this past decade (Steelers, Ravens, Patriots, etc.) are getting old or are re-building really sore areas. Now is the time that new great teams are born to knock those teams off of their pedestals. Are we, as Bengals, missing the train again? I look at these teams, neither of which was great last year, with fresh rookie quarterbacks. They are looking 100 times better than us. Preseason or not, this is scary. Sure we are holding plays close to our chests for the regular season and sure we have injuries. So are they and so do they. The difference is, from day one they have put that aside and still scored touchdowns and put up decent numbers. What are we doing right now? Sure we are pulling off some wins, but it isn't pretty. Our offense isn't all there. Andy in his second year is still making sometimes poor decisions, the line can't keep people off of him (good luck in this division), and our running game is shitty at best right now. You know who else's running game sucks? The Colts. You know who else loses preseason games? The Colts. You know what team still manages to put up points and great plays by the first team filled with rookies? The Colts. You know what team can barely score a TD with their starters and has very few beautiful plays? The Bengals. So, we are either really holding back, our injuries are really too much, or we just aren't up to par to get this thing done against the whole NFL. Let's hope we are just really holding back. Don't get me wrong, we have a lot of positives here in Cincy, just no explosion or consistent play making like these two new rookies. Will we ever get there? 

On a positive note for Bengals fans...That Quitter, now in Oakland is still stinking up the air on the other side of the country. When I first moved here, I kept hearing people talk about how good Carson Palmer was and the rest of the team just wasn't helping him out. I heard of all of his great moments and all of his potential. I saw the games too, the NFL is a national televised sport and I was not on board. I heard, "He just doesn't have any weapons, Ocho is too busy with TV, these guys just can't get open or hold on to the ball". Blah, blah, blah. Let's face it, he was a bust, is a bust, and always will be a bust! When he came out last year and said he was demanding a trade or not coming back, any credibility he did have was gone. He became a Quitter of the worst kind. Fans of the NFL and players in the NFL are competitive. What kind of competitor quits, right? Anyway, good news was, eventually he was traded for some draft picks, which will hopefully turn out to be fruitful. Bad news is, Oakland needed help at the position and obviously thought like many other Bengal fans, "He was dealt a bad hand, he can be great". Ha! Last year he was very mediocre. This year in preseason he just sucks, like usual. So is it his weapons in Oakland? Could two separate teams not be doing him justice? Nope, he sucks. One more time...Carson Palmer sucks! So now we in Bengal Nation can get the last laugh. Here's mine...hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaHA! I give him to game 5 to lose that starter spot. Our very own, Outlaw Buckeye Terrell Pryor is breathing down his neck and he is actually looking good. I think that may also be a little bit of karma, since Carson used to bash the Buckeyes and their fans. Maybe if you had actually be a quarterback and done something with the Bengals, people wouldn't have clung to the Bucks. Now you are up to your old tricks, in a new state and atmosphere. My thank you card is in the mail Oakland!



 

Cut Your Losses

Sorry for no posts at all this week. It has been crazy and filled with in-laws and non-stop running. I was able to make it to the game last night and get caught up on some Bengal and NFL news today...FINALLY!! Where to begin...

Let's start with cuts. As you may or may not have known, the NFL had to go through some cuts/roster moves this week trying to get down to their final teams to start the season. The Bengals did just that and dropped from 85 to 76 on their offseason roster. They still need to drop or move 1 more to get down to 75 before the 27th of this month. Here are the moves that were made, in case you are curious and/or super excited to see grown men get their dreams dashed.
 
First the guys that got moved to IR on the roster for injuries:
Brandon Ghee, CB - wrist injury
Shaun Prater, CB - knee injury
Taveon Rogers, WR/CB - shoulder injury
Robert Sands, S - chest injury
Travelle Wharton, G - knee injury

The final curtain call:
Luke Black, DE
Aaron Brown, HB
Tyler Hansen, QB
Matt Murphy, G

Some of these guys are really no surprise. I would say that I am more surprised it wasn't a few others added on or instead. However, we all know cuts aren't over and the practice team still needs to be built. And may I say, what a waste for Luke Black. I know this happens all of the time when teams are thin. This poor guy comes out undrafted, the Bengals are thin in the preseason at DE and pick him up. First of all why? It is the preseason. Who cares if we are thin. Throw someone else in, see what others are made of, move guys around, teach guys new roles. Instead they pick up this guy, he gets a brand new jersey sewn, he drinks a lot of Gatorade, he practices for 1 week, he plays in one game. Then comes the phone call. Does anyone else think this is a waste? A waste of a jersey, a waste of a helmet, a waste of Gatorade, a waste of paper to sign him, and a waste of time! Did anyone else catch that this is preseason? Now we cut him. Good for him for the second chance, for the networking, for the chance to play against HoF players in the Packers. Bad for him...it's over sucker. Thanks, have a nice day. There's the door...a waste and sad. I understand when games mean something, but that is just silly. Now I have to write his name up there under the cuts when others have had time to lose their roster spots and are still there. So, I would say it is a waste of my time too!

Moving along...Bengals v Giants in PBS. Wow, so this is what champions look like. Too bad they were wearing G's on their helmets. Aaron Rogers, minus a few minor errors looked good. He threw well, they had some good plays, and Cedric made us think...was it the right choice to let him go. Our D was decent. There were a couple turnovers and sacks. Newman and Micah Johnson seemed to come up big. Leon Hall looked good on some of the coverages, and the line did pretty well. Muckelroy stepped up in his moment and the guys had some good stops. They seemed a little faster off of the their blocks with the qb breaking the pocket to run, however still had a hard time in the chase. Not to mention they gave up 27 points. 

The real problem was the offense. There were turnovers, missed opportunities, bad calls from the replacement refs, and the first team seemed to be really trying to force everything. The chemistry wasn't there. We still cannot seem to get the running game going. Sure, I get that BenJarvus Green-Ellis is out, as well as Bernard Scott, but it seems like our blocking was a little off too. The back ups did do a lot better this week, after a more than dismal appearance last week. Leonard looked better, but never broke free enough to be an explosive addition. Brown...well why talk about him, he's gone. Boom Herron did actually move the ball a little and looked good on a pass where he managed to scrape and claw for a few extra yards on the play. Nothing that was very notable from any of the backs though...I take that back, they didn't fumble! Overall, our running game with this back ups is still a C-, at best. So what happens when we need these back ups to step in in the regular season? Is it just too bad for us? 

Now, the rest of what we call the offense. I get that Andy really wants to be cool and hang with A.J.. However, he was over throwing him, not placing the ball well in the endzone, and A.J. didn't seem that in to it. I felt like Dalton was just really trying too hard to solidify their chemistry for America. In the mean time, he missed other opportunities with other receivers whose jersey numbers were not 18. Even on the 1 yard line, 1st and goal, he tried twice on the same to play to get the ball to him in tight coverage, unsuccessfully, when there was always at least one guy calling for the ball, wide open in the end zone. I understand that it is comfortable, Green is a go-getter, and everyone in America thinks they are besties, so it makes it more natural to go to him. That is NOT how we are going to win games, especially not make it to a Super Bowl. This is a new year. Teams are going to have plans for him. He isn't going to be wide open 95% of the time anymore. Teams know how to pressure Andy now. They know what he is capable of, therefore, he is going to have to find new targets. Dalton, also needs to step up his own game. Forget arm strength, he needs to place the ball better, over defender's heads. A.J. is taller than a lot of the NFL back fields. If Andy can get it up there and not too far ahead of him, he will get it. Andy, also, obviously needs to see the whole field and the line needs to keep these defenses at bay. We, as a team need to learn to execute better in the endzone. This isn't all Andy's fault. Guys need to fight to be open and they need to get those extra yards. There is no reason why we start a 1st and 10 play on the goal line and end up at 4th and 10 or 12 or whatever when it is all said and done. I know, I know, Binns really had the TD. He wasn't touched when he rolled in, but if you have replacement referees and a coach that isn't going to challenge it, you are going to have to find a way to fight through it and get it done. For God's sake, anyone with the ball could have fallen forward and scored. Instead we settle for a field goal. This is exactly what the Bengals were about last year. They can't finish drives. I don't know if it is the coaching, the play calling, or bad QB decisions. What I do know, is it sucks. If it sucks for us as fans, it sure as hell has to suck worse for the players. Something needs to be done here. This is an area where we struggle and it is getting old. This is not how people win their divisions and certainly not how they win championships. Your defense can only do so much. Someone needs to step up. And on all that is holy, stop forcing passes to Green! God has given all of the lucky passes to Tebow, his chosen son...not you Andy. Use your tools!

Other game notes: Marvin Jones showed up big again with a 15 yard touchdown pass from Gradkowksi. Sanu made a couple tough catches and made a good move to get extra yards at one point. Justin Hilton caught a long ball from Hansen and looked really good doing it. I am rooting for him because he seems the most thankful for the opportunity and an all around good guy. I think the practice squad is definitely in his future, though. He will grow and learn there and we may hear more from him in the future. Like I said above, Muckelroy did well at MLB in Maualuga's absence and Micah Johnson really stepped up, sacking, and recovering fumbles. Newman is coming into his own as a Bengals, with his interception. He did a good job covering. Cochart had a couple nice catches in at TE. Other than the small victories for individual players, the whole game was a bust. 

Who cares about the loss, though, it doesn't matter anyway. What matters is our offense was exposed and seems to be up to the same old tricks. I am curious to see them next week against the Colts and Luck, who are playing really well in the preseason. Hopefully Gruden gets at these guys and Marvin stops being Marvin (he seems to be the common denominator here with the offense issues, so I will blame him like the masses do). On another note, there isn't much more time to shave this team all of the way down, so expect more drop updates soon. Who do you think should go next or what do you suggest we do to fix this red zone finishing problem? I am curious to hear what others think.

On a non Bengals note (well for now anyway). Lance Armstrong stopped fighting the doping charges after all of the witnesses and proof were submitted. Now he has to give up his medals and wins. Baseball players are still doping and blaming everyone they can, in turn, keeping themselves and their records out of the the Hall of Fame. Who knows who else is doping. The moral of this story is: Stop doing drugs! If you can't perform, don't. You are ruining sports and wasting my time if everything you win is being stripped. When will all of these guys finally get it that they are going to be caught!? No one likes a cheater! Didn't your mother teach you anything? Oddly enough, in a sport where you think they would dope (the NFL), they only dope on marijuana. They are still tough, getting slammed everyday, and wearing heavy equipment. Take note every other sport in America...a little smoke is just a joke, but a pill or shot is makes you a stupid idiot and America shake their heads in disappointment. Now Lance has no wins and 1 nut...hooray for him! 

Who Dey!

Farewell to Camp, Hello Football Season

Another camp season has come and gone. It was nice to have it in Cincy for various reasons. I really hope this will amp up the fan population around here. I am tired of talking to people who have lived here their entire lives and are Jets or Dallas Fans because the Bengals have been irrelevant for so long. Hopefully this sparked some fires in some people around town. Seriously, why didn't they do this sooner? Not to mention, I am sure it only padded the teams pockets more with Pro Shop and food/drink sales, and they saved on travel and expensive equipment moving. A win-win for all if you ask me! So, anyway, I feel like it was a productive camp from a location stand point and player development. From what I saw, this team really is poised for greatness. All of these guys are hungry and ready to put in the work. There wasn't any show boating or Ocho antics. Just good football. They really are a team to be proud of now.

Today's camp was definitely more involved than Friday's camp. We were back to helmets and pads and actual running in the routes. A lot of the day was the individual groups working with their coaches; lines, backs, quarterbacks, wide receivers, etc. They practiced a lot of special teams again. The team continued working on on-side kicks and punt returns. Again, Marvin Jones was a big stand out, catching a couple long zingers down the sideline, putting in some good footwork against Newman. This kid is ready. He is really going out there for these catches and he isn't afraid to lay out. He has nice feet and is fast. Jones may be our answer on the other side, opposite Green. Sanu and Hawkins continued to look solid, catching most of the balls thrown their way. Watching camp today, I think Sanu is going to really compliment Hawkins underneath. They both have great ball handling skills, they are elusive and reliable. Where Baby Hawk and can sneak around since he is so small, Sanu and can take some hits in tough coverage since he is built like a TE. Of course, Binns and Tate looked good and both made some pretty tough catches. Tate really has stepped up. Today he just kept coming up with the ball even during big hits. Really, there were a lot of great catches out there from the whole WR corp. The quarterbacks were airing out the ball and looking pretty good also. They were intercepted a couple of times, though. However, I never know if I should be happy that the backfield looks so good or sad that the passers were off base? A little note: The QB's had to run sprints after practice. I don't know if this was why, some other reason, or they just like to run back and forth across the field.

Jermaine Gresham didn't dress, but was out on the field before practice began. In his absence, Donald Lee really looked good and Orson Charles was solid, as usual. The running backs redeemed themselves a little during this practice. They were really protecting the ball and finding a few holes. Boom Herron looked pretty good, running well and catching a couple of of short passes, working with the second and third team offenses. Green-Ellis didn't practice again, so hopefully he is resting to get himself back out there. I don't need any more fumble festivals during the regular season. I was very pleased to see Kirkpatrick was out there FINALLY, suited up, playing with everyone. It is nice to see him working on the field and healthy, getting up to speed. He got beat a few times, but that is to be expected since he has missed so much. Aside from that he looked good on routes and cutting.The rest of the backfield looked pretty good too. Nelson got another interception and just continues to position himself for the big plays. He is going to have another great season back there. Burfict was back out there too. He spent time before the actual camp start on the bike and came out suited up and ready to play with everyone else. Mays was probably thanking his lucky stars since Maualuga has yet to return to the field because him. He is a one man wrecking ball. 

I have to say, as excited as I was for camp to get started so I could get a little taste of football, I am even more excited for it to be over! In the next couple of weeks the teams will start to slim down their rosters, the battles will be won and over, the preseason will wrap up, and before you know it the regular season will be here! I don't know about you, but I absolutely cannot wait for that first Monday night in Baltimore! It is like Christmas. You wait impatiently with anticipation for the morning to come so you can see what Santa left for you. I feel those same feelings welling up waiting to see what this team is going to do when it counts. Can we make back to back play off appearances for the first time in 30 years? Can we dominate our division again? Will A.J. and Andy make it through their sophomore slumps? I really think all of these questions have no reason to not have a positive answer from what we've seen so far. Hell, I think I am as excited for this season, as ESPN is to see Tebow's pectorals! And we all know, that is pretty damn excited! 

Thursday is another preseason game at home. This time the Packers are coming through. Leading up to the game, I think some moves will be made on the roster with the deadline coming up. The team has to shave down from 85 to 75 players by August 27. So this week and the game are going to decide some fates, if they weren't already decided. I am still standing by Sims to be the next possible cut. He has yet to practice with the team. Though he is very good at what he does, the 8 guys they have there are very solid right now. Not to mention, Hayden has had a really good camp. If Hayden were to stick around with the team, that would be 9, not including Sims. The Bengals did add a rookie free agent, Luke Black from Fairmont State, at DE to help alleviate some stress with all of the injuries for the game on Thursday. Note to Mr. Mays...We do not need your help here, stand back Son! 

I will leave you with some of today's camp pictures. Thanks for reading, remember to follow through Google or signing up for emails. Who Dey!

Falcons, Camp, Sailing Ships, and Secret Agents

The Falcons game in Atlanta was another good, solid performance in the preseason. A lot of the jitters were gone from some of the newer guys, some other guys were able to step up, and some were able to show their solidity and consistency. Even though it is preseason, it sure feels nice to be 2-0. Sanu was able to get a nice grab in the end zone from Bruce Gradkowski, Marvin Jones caught another good long ball, and of course Green and Dalton hooked up for another highlight reel score! Who Dey! A few things from the game, though, that I was sure were not huge problems in the beginning of camp season:

#1 Thing we learned from the Falcons game - RB is not settled down the depth chart. I know fumbles happen and it is early. I don't want to see them this frequently from different players, though. That was an issue last year at the back position. This is an area of the team where we definitely needed improvement from injuries, fumbles, lack of finding suitable running lanes. This just showed that if we get injured at the top, we are in a lot of trouble. Five backs gave it a whirl (Leonard, Peerman, Boom, Brown, and Brooks). Together, they combined for 27 yards and 1 touchdown. We had two back up quarterbacks that rushed for a combined 49 yards rushing, almost double...Cue C+C Music Factory's hit, "Things that Make You Go Hmm". Then the 2 fumbles, 1 from two separate backs. Maybe the Atlanta defense was better, maybe since it was the second game, it was less vanilla play calling, maybe we simply are still flawed in this arena. This is and has been an issue for some time. We need better insurance if the The Law Firm or Scott (which is a regular issue for Bernard) go down. Hopefully, this is rectified before the regular season.

#2  Thing we learned from the Falcons game - Taylor Mays (I am currently waving my huge white flag) We surrender!!!! We are on your side man, I swear!! What is this guy doing? Does he know his teams colors? Maybe he's color blind...We are the ones with stripes on our helmets, fool! Nothing like going to war with friendly fire. He is taking all of our guys out for the other teams, Maualuga and now Burfict. Marvin said he needs to keep his head up when he tackles...I think he just a secret agent, working for the Shittsburgh or something. I've never had to think about my guys being injured by their own guys. Come on Taylor! In honor of Shark Week, maybe our guys should be equipped with those electronic devices that give out warnings to keep the predators away...maybe they'll work on Mays too.

#3 Thing we learned from the Falcons and Jets game - We have a hard time containing a mobile quarterback. Even when the first string D is on the field, it seems as though when, the Son of God, Davis, and a couple other qb's got out of the pocket, we could not contain them. They were cutting, sliding, and eluding us like cats in the wild. This should not be happening. Those big guys up front for the D should know if these guys are in the pocket for too long and do not appear to be throwing the ball, they need to get off of their blocks and attack. I know it is easier said than done. But this is something I feel like we need to work on. This has happened now a few times in both games. This is allowing the other teams to keep drives alive that were clearly dead. Let's go for the jugular!

Moving on to camp now. Camp was super laid back, no helmets, just walking. I was surprised they even practiced on Friday. It was only for an hour, but it was a day after game day. Guys were bumped and bruised and just taking it easy. It was nice to see Kirkpatrick doing some drills on the back field with Sims. Both of their recoveries seem to really be coming along. Not too much else to say about camp...no fires, no tents, no helmets.

Now, on to the first hard cuts of the season...

Weber - We was the back up kicker, which was good while Nugent was injured. He was very average at best. Someone else will probably pick him up later in the season. Who knows, maybe you will be able to buy insurance from him soon.

Shipley - This seemed to be a huge shocker to people. I am not sure why, though. He played his rookie year and did really well, then he was out for an entire season. Not just any season either. A season where we saw the birth of Green and other guys like Hawkins and Simpson step up when needed. So Jordan wasn't really missed. We were all pretty happy to see him back this year, though, because everyone thought he would be an added threat underneath. Then we met Sanu and Marvin Jones... added to Green and a healthy (?) Gresham, with a an all purpose RB in Green-Ellis. Suddenly, he became irrelevant. Not to mention, in camp, I had said before, we wasn't really up to par. He had a lot of drops and a few route issues. In preseason, he has only had one catch. According to some reports, he had ice wrapped around his knee after the Atlanta game also. It is unfortunate, but I am sure that he will find another place. Especially now with camps fully underway and other teams making decisions at their positions. He is still a quality guy and hard worker. Anyway, isn't Miami looking for a receiver?? 

Some predictions for future cuts...

Daniel "Boom" Herron - He has just not been great. He was injured and his time to shine in Atlanta was less than lackluster

Aaron Brown - Has practiced well, but hasn't really been able to step up. He isn't eligible for the practice squad, so where else can he go?

Pat Simms - I don't know why, but with the depth on the defense right now and his injury, I just think he may be the next guy. I may be wrong, but who knows.

Who do you think is next?

Sunday is the last public camp and it is in the stadium. So, if you haven't gotten out yet, the time is now. Thursday, Green Bay is coming to town for the last preseason game at home. It should be a good game to really see what these guys are about with preseason closing up and the 1st team staying in the games longer. I think we will see good things! Who Dey!

Boo-Boos and Position Battles

As you know there was no practice yesterday, so I spent yesterday with the red hot RedLegs! Therefore, not too much Bengals info from me. However, today is Game Day!! So, in honor of game day, we will have the boo-boo report. 

Here's who's out for tonight's preseason game in Atlanta:

LG Travelle Wharton - Out for season with knee injury
RB BenJarvus Green-Ellis - Out for Falcons game with a sore foot
RB Bernard Scott - Return status unknown with hand injury
WR Ryan Whalen - Who really knows...it is Ryan Whalen with a hamstring pull
CB Dre Kirkpatrick -Questionable for regular season with Osgood-Schlatter syndrome in knee
CB Shaun Prater - Out for unknown amount of time with knee injury
CB Brandon Ghee - Out for extended period of time with a wrist injury
CB Adam "PacMan" Jones - Day to day with calf/hamstring pull
CB Jason Allen - Day to day with mystery injury...Let's call in Scooby Doo! I bet he could solve it!
S   Taylor Mays - Concussion
S   Tony Dye - Foot injury
MLB Rey Maualuga - Out for game with sprained right knee
LB Thomas Howard - Out for game with sickness
DE Robert Geathers - Out for extended period of time with knee surgery
DE Carlos Dunlap - Out for preseason with knee inury
DE DeQuin Evans - Missed practice with unknown injury...Scrappy...Violet...anyone?
DT Brandon Thompson - Unknown injury
DT Pat Sims - Will return soon, just taken off of PUP list

With all of these injuries, there are going to be a lot of opportunities for more to shine. I am curious what the game will hold. By the time you read this the game will, at least be started, so this will be old news. I am going to talk a little about it anyway. Who are you most curious to see show up out there on the field? I am most excited to see the RB race with BJGE and Scott out. Last week against the Jets, Peerman really stepped up and we already know what Leonard is capable of. The question is, can Peerman have another great or better game, what can Aaron Brown, Jourdan Brooks, and Boom Herron bring to the table? Herron has been injured a lot lately and I think for him and Brown it is going to be a battle to even stick around. We are already four deep at RB with the stellar performance of Peerman in camp and on game day. With the injuries, though, you never know. Herron is always intriguing to me because he is a Buckeye and towards the end of his career he was a great player for them. Of course, his senior year, he was unable to play most of the season with the punishments handed down by the NCAA in the Terrelle Pryor tattoo scandal that he was a part of. So, though, he played toward the end, his real time play was limited and he has been out most of camp. Seeing him tonight will answer a lot of questions for his future. 

Obviously, another battle to watch tonight is still wide receiver. It will probably be the best battle to watch until the final rosters come out for the regular season. So many of these guys are neck and neck for this 2nd wide receiver spot. Aside from Binns crazy good camp, tonight I would like to see more from Sanu, Hilton, and Jones. I have had a soft spot for Sanu since his whole draft day debacle and watching his highlight reel. I think he can really open us for new and exciting plays, since he took a lot of wildcat snaps at Rutgers and was a high school quarterback. He seems to have a good eye for the ball and he is a smart player. Of course, Jones has been a camp surprise and really had the opportunity to shine against the Jets and he took it. I have heard through the mill, though, that Jones has some play book issues. I think he should be able to pull it all together, though, and be a complete package. Then of course there's still Baby Hawk, Hilton, Hazelton, and Shipley. Shipley, as I said before, has looked pretty rusty. Hopefully, the more he is out, the more rust he is able to knock off. He has continued to show progress. I would like to see him break back out tonight. Hilton and Hazelton seem to be average in camp. On Monday, Hazelton seemed to have some route issues. Hilton is a hard worker and you can tell he is hungry. I would be curious to see what he would do with an opportunity. Then there is Baby Hawk. He has been pretty solid and steady. He seems to be finding a niche at kick returner too. Who knows once the season starts with returners. PacMan and Tate have also been out there for some reps. Speaking of Tate...will tonight be his night to silence his critics? I hope so. I really like him. I have been his fan since he came into the league. I really want him to succeed with this team. Currently, he is listed at the number 2 slot behind Green on the depth chart.

Enjoy the game tonight. Hopefully, it brings us in Who Dey Nation more answers and less injuries. The beginning of the Jets game was like a war zone, players down every where, every down. This game, I want to see clean ball, low penalties and turnovers, high Bengals scores, and NO injuries. Who Dey!

 

More Camping, Without a Tent

Let me start by saying that camp seems to be a little less laid back now that preseason started. Maybe it is just me, but it seemed like the coaches and players were more on edge at Monday's practice. I ended up skipping out on Tuesday due to some other plans, so maybe it was just the Monday itself that made them edgy. It was nice to see the fire in them though. Maybe it is also because there isn't that much longer until the full team will be assembled and the others will become practice squad guys or just another man without a job in the NFL. So, to me the fire means they care. They want to make the team, possibly for the money, for some sort of job security, for fame, or hopefully for the love the game and the passion for winning. Either way, the fire is nice. The coaches were even getting in on the action. They were screaming, calling guys out for bad routes, dropping passes, etc. Aside from Monday, the only other time, I had actually witnessed discipline occurring during practice was when one of the guys, I would like to say it was Boling or Robinson (I can't remember now), had to run a lap around the practice field for a false start. We need to be tough on these guys. We can't beat ourselves this year. So I am glad to see them dig in publicly. So we, too, can see that they want to change and they want to win.

Another interesting note from Monday's practice was the trick plays that they seemed to be trying out. For those who went, it was definitely fun to watch. We got to see a nice flea flicker and even a half back direct snap to Leonard that put Andy Dalton as a wide out. The guys also practiced a lot of onside kicks and fake punts and kicks with Huber acting as QB once the ball was snapped. They looked good doing it and the crowd showed their pleasure through lots of ooo's and ahhhh's. Really, special teams is something they already look really good on, so throwing in this trickery is going to make for a really fun season. And the more we have in our play book on offense, the more we can mix it up and keep defenses always guessing. I am glad to see a more aggressive approach out there. Just reason number 1001 Gruden should be our head coach! Who's with me?!?

As a side note to camp, during the autograph signing, Jason Allen was asked who he thought was harder to go against in practice Andre (Johnson) or A.J. (Green) and he said A.J., hands down. He may have just been saying that, but after seeing A.J. in practice, I can definitely agree. This guy gets anything remotely in his direction. Even when he is laughing and just having fun. He just picks those balls out of the sky, off the ground, he is like a bloodhound for the pigskin...a "ballhound" if you will. However, we as Cincinnati fans knew he was good, but he is freaking amazing! I hope these young guys are watching.   

The Bengals are off tomorrow since they have another preseason game on Thursday night in Atlanta. So there won't be anymore camp updates until after practice on Friday, but I am sure there will be something I will want to chatter about. An insight to my mind...I think about football every 15 seconds, like they say most people think about sex. Sick right? I know. The only thing better is watching football while having sex. Thank God The Season Is Back ;)! Speaking of thanking God. We obviously have no relationship. Though I pleaded in my last post to stop showing Jets Camp on ESPN every 10 minutes, like the weather channel with local on the 8's, they have not stopped. What more do I need to do. I have prayed, I have cried, I have screamed...Still, "And back to New York with Sal Palantonio at Jets Camp". We killed them on national tv, we ripped Tebow up as a quarterback and spit him out. Still, do you know what the top news was today on ESPN??? TIM TEBOW'S BIRTHDAY!!! I don't care!!! At this point do the Jets faithful even give a shit?? Not to mention, the Bible tells me he was born on Christmas, so something is wrong with this anyway! Too far?? I don't care! He is a mediocre to horrible quarterback. His previous team replaced him with a man that could go down at any second with a neck injury. Stop talking about him. Oh and here's a news flash that I bet you never saw coming...THE JETS HAVE BEEN PRACTICING THE WILDCAT!!!! BUT GOOD OLE SEXY REXY SAYS IT IS A SECRET SO....shhhhhhhhhhhh! Like we are all idiots. Then Timmy Boy decided to tell us how easy it is for him because he did it in high school. Well Tim-bo, you know what I did in high school??? I ATE WILDCATS for breakfast, lunch, and dinner!!!! 

Okay, sorry for that rant. If you are one of the 10 people outside of Jets nation that love to hear everything about Tim Tebow, I give you my sincerest apology. Not really, go to church or get another wife or something and pull up a seat and watch ESPN. On that note, here are some random pics from Monday's camp. Enjoy! Who Dey!