Other Mini-Camp Bites:

- After year's of waiting until the last minute to signing its rookies the Bengals finally seem to believe in the benefit of signing some of its rookies prior to training camp.   There is no reason to wait to sign the late round picks who basically sign slotted deals and the team had some early success this year.  Already in the fold are sixth rounders Bernard Scott and Morgan Trent and seventh rounders Clinton McDonald and Freddie Brown.

- On the negative front, the early word is OT Andre Smith has "holdout" written all over him.  Hearing this is esp. frustrating considering QB Mark Sanchez selected just one pick earlier is already signed.  Of course, Sanchez's QB contract could be exactly the reason why Andre is a potential holdout.

- Rookie DE/OLB Michael Johnson has gotten rave reviews but will still have the "prove it" tag come training camp.  He is a physical marvel but the rigors of training camp is more likely to show his "toughness" issues than a drill oriented mini-camp.  Workout warriors excel in drills.  One thing i found interesting was the how much attention Johnson received from special team's coaches during field goal drills during the "open practice" on Saturday. 

- Chad Ocho Cinco looked silly in his orange pants on a 90 degree day but looked to be working harder than at any time during the 2008 training camp (of course that is not saying much).

- Carson Palmer's elbow appears to have survived the camp without any problems. 

- Why does a team cut its 4th quarterback (camp arm) if its starting quarterback is coming back from an elbow injury and possibly limiting his throws?

- The most surprising development of the camp was talk of Jordan Palmer possibly beating out JT O'Sullivan for the backup quarterback job.   O'Sullivan may not be perfect but is a better player than last year's backup Ryan Fitzpatrick (esp. in the arm strength category).  Jordan on the other hand did not even get to play meaningful snaps in a pre-season game a year ago.  I am not saying it can't happen but Jordan is going to need to shine in pre-season game action before that discussion even starts.

- When Geoff Hobson is giving less than glowing reviews of 2008 2nd round pick Jerome Simpson it is time to get worried.  Personally, Simpson is a great athlete who needs time and reps to shine and he is not going to get that in a crowded receiving corp. 

- Speaking of the wide receivers the team's veteran trio of Cinco, Coles and Henry could make it hard for Andre Caldwell to see meaningful playing time as well.

- I will close with my Father's Day Bengals story: On Saturday, I headed down to the Pro Shop with my 18 month old , Rudy, to get a gift for my dad.  I had totally disregarded the select a seat event because i already have seats but was pleasantly surprised to see the stadium was open and the team was on the field for its final Mini-Camp practice.   As a result, Rudy and I watched the team practice from my seats (at least until he said they were "hot!").  We then moved a little closer and watched the team for twenty minutes or so (he actually sat still on my lap).   Of course, being an 18 month old he mostly enjoyed touring the stadium, climbing steps and drinking from every drinking fountain he could find.  Even if I did not get to watch as much practice as I would have like the joy of showing off the Jungle to Rudy for the first time was a special Father's Day treat.  I hope all the dad's out enjoyed a similar pleasant experience this weekend.    

In the mean time, I am missing USC Football.

So, for the next few weeks, I am going to begin my USC Football preview for 2009. Position by position.

Check back daily to see updates for previews of the other positions.

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In 2008, the USC Football team was loaded at the linebacker position. Brian Cushing, Rey Maualuga, Clay Matthews, Jr., and Kaluka Maiava were all drafted in the first four rounds of this year's NFL Draft.

Two were drafted in the first round.

Another was the 2008 college football defensive player of the year.

The three linebackers that will replace these guys have a whopping total of zero starts in collegiate football.

I think it's safe to say it may be a challenge for the linebacker corps to follow up with what has been such a deep position for the past six years or so.

But wait until you see the guys who are projected to step in and replace them.

The first is outside linebacker, Michael Morgan. Morgan is the backbone of what has been called one of the fastest groups of linebackers in USC's prestigious history. Running a 4.3 40-yard dash in the spring's workouts show that speed at its finest. He has the speed to combat a Javhid Best sprinting down the sideline.

Another linebacker, who is replacing Maualuga, Chris Galippo is quickly evolving into the leader of this year's crew. Playing the Mike backer position, Galippo has a lot of size and speed to play the position very well. He considers himself a good "sideline-to-sideline player" who always continues the play until the whistle.

                       Chris Galippo and Former LB Clay Matthews, Jr. (Flickr.com)

The third, Malcolm Smith is becoming the scariest and most feared of the linebackers. And someone who has the goods to succeed. When looking at it, Smith seems to bring a little from both Morgan and Galippo into himself. He has the strength and power to make devastating tackles, but also brings a ton of speed to the table, contributing to the aforementioned speed of the Trojan linebackers.

While the new crew may not be as explosive as last year's, these USC linebackers will remain one of the top classes in college football for another year.

Although a young class, with no collegiate starts, each of these three have had substantial playing time, coming in on back-up and mop-up duty situations all last season, as well as being major contributors on special teams.

They are ready to embrace the new challenge

I think it's safe to say it may be a challenge for the linebacker corps to replace legends.

But I also think it's safe to say the projected starting linebackers have what it takes to become one of the best corps in the nations.

Reserve Linebackers: Luther Brown, Jordan Campbell, Ross Cumming, Dan Deckas, Nick Garratt, Uona, Kaveinga,

Recruits: Marquis Simmons, Frankie Telfort

According to Calvin Watkins of FanHouse.com, former Cowboy LB/DE Greg Ellis will be signing a 3 year contract to become a Raider later today. Financial terms were not disclosed.

There were many who thought that Greg Ellis may become a Raider (or at least hoped). I was not among those people. He does not fit the mold of the type of player this Raider team has been focusing on this offseason.

Ellis is the type of player the Patriots were thought to have interest in. He is over 30 (He'll be 34 in August) and is somewhat of a "tweener" which works great in the Patriots' 3-4 scheme. Plus the Patriots are in the market for a DE/LB these days so it seemed like the obvious fit.

3. An active off-season.  The team moved quickly to sign WR Laveranues Coles to replace TJ Houshmandazadeh and give the team a solid veteran possession receiver.  They followed up the signing with two bargain basement additions in low risk high reward guys S Roy Williams and DT Tank Johnson.  One tidbit you probably don't know is that the Bengals are still poised to receive compensation picks for TJ and Stacy Andrews because all three players the team signed were cut by their former team's meaning they won't count against the Bengals in the formula used to determine comp picks.

4. Carson appears to be healthy and has shown signs of seizing a leadership role.  His calling out of Chad Ocho Cinco was politically correct but long overdue.

5. The Ocho actually appeared at an OTA practice.

Stories to Watch At Mini-Camp:

1. The play of the restructured offensive line:  Will Nate Livings and Kyle Cook maintain their starting gigs or will Anthony Collins and Jonathan Luigs close the gap.  Say what you want about the offensive line's top end talent but the competition and depth is better than it has been in recent years.

2. How the talented wide receiver unit shakes out.  Even without the Ocho the Bengals receivers were a talented lot.  Is Coles a good fit for the scheme? Has Chris Henry really re-dedicated himself to the game? Can 2008 draftees Andre Caldwell and Jerome Simpson find a way to contribute and live up to their draft status?  Does the Ocho still have it?

3. Can we get a read on the running back situation behind Cedric Benson.  Beyond Benson there is an aging Kenny Watson and a lot of question marks.  Don't forget Benson is far from a sure thing himself.

4.  Do the Bengals have the players they need to improve an anemic pass rush?  Antwan Odom has supposedly put on a lot of weight (not necessarily a good thing) and Robert Geathers' micro-fracture is the biggest story no one is talking about.  Even at 100% this duo of high priced talent is a question mark.  The depth behind them is a combination of raw but talented (Michael Johnson), hard working but injury prone (Jonathan Fanene) and on the verge of bust status (Frostee Rucker).  Mike Zimmer made major strides with a patchwork defense last year but it is hard to believe the defense will be able to take the next step without being able to turn up the heat on opposing passers.

5. Where and how soon does Rey Maualuga break into the starting lineup?

6. Is there any depth at cornerback?

7. How does Roy Williams fit into the team's plans at safety?

In 2008 he attempted to complain his way out of town when the team called his bluff, he showed up out of shape and out of sync.   With his legacy on the line, one would expect him to re-dedicate himself and rebuild his reputation.  Instead, he has avoided the team's phone calls like the plaque while costing himself $250,000 in workout bonuses for the 2nd consecutive season.

Former teammate Eric Ghiaciuc (now with Kansas City) stated what we already knew but the team refuses to say with the following:

As much as you try to focus on football with your day-to-day routine of meetings, lifting, walkthroughs, practices, games, you can focus but it's still there behind you.  I think we were doing our best to focus on what we needed to be focused on in our profession, but it was there and it was a problem.

This on top of Carson Palmer's comments a few weeks ago regarding Chad and you know all is not right in Bengal-land.   In an off-season of optimism, Chad remains the poison pill which could spoil it all.  

One could view the presence of "Hard Knocks" is either a blessing or a curse.  On the plus side, Chad might actually want to work hard and hog the spotlight.  On the negative side, Chad's poor practice habits and distractions could also be available for all to see. 

At this stage, Chad may need to realize he needs the team as much if not more than the team needs him.  After all, the team appears to have some depth at wide receiver but Chad's legacy not to mention Hall of Fame hopes are on life support (Art Monk barely made it).   The sooner Chad learns that the better it is for not only the Bengals but himself.