MVN: Most Valuable Network

The Bengals mini-camp is now complete and the optimism surrounding the team appears to have carried through the weekend.  Some will say the rejuvenated passing attack was the story of the weekend, but personally, surviving the workouts without a major incident or injury is the best news of the weekend.  After all, you can talk up a breakout player or how the team appears to be executing well but at this early stage it is hard to get a good read on those items.  Mini-camp is about acclimating, evaluating and learning.   By all accounts the workouts were productive and nearly injury free (Dan Santucci had a minor injury but then again he is always hurt).

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.    

 

After the first week of free agency the Bengals had lost arguably their best player in WR TJ Houshmandzadeh along with (overrated) RT Stacy Andrews and the here we go again negativity was in vogue.   Fast forward 3 1/2 months and the negativity has been replaced with genuine optimism not seen since the team's playoff season.   It's gotten so good the "Ocho Cinco" even showed up for an OTA or two (ok let's not get ahead of ourselves).So why has the vibe changed so drastically in such a short time:1. No arrests or player outbursts in the media has left the focus on the field.   It's early but the lack of distractions can only help.2. A draft to get excited about.  You can debate an individual selection or two from the team's draft but in general the team filled its top needs on draft day with top talents... Read more

The Bengals optimistic optimism just received another (hopefully) pleasant surprise as wide receiver Chad Ocho Cinco made his first OTA appearance since 2007.  Only time will tell what this means in the big picture but it is refreshing to report positive news regarding Chad for the first time in a long time.  Did Chad realize the only person he was really hurting was himself (we already know the team argument doesn't work)? Could it be he realized he stunk last year and needs to redeem himself? Was it the realization that he needed to begin building some positive buzz if he hopes to be the start of "Hard Knocks"?  As long as Chad is practicing, listening to coaches and not disrupting it does not really matter.As for his plea for fans, Chad needs to realize for as harsh as he feels the Bengal media and fans can be, they will... Read more

On September 11, 2007 Chad Johnson performed his Future HOF touchdown celebration.  At the time Chad was one of the top 5 wide receivers in the league and in the midst of his sixth consecutive 1,000 yard receiving season.  While the gimmick was silly it was also seemed possible.  Flash forward 20 months and Chad has lost his last name (for the silly Ocho Cinco) and many are questioning whether he has also lost his game after a 520 yard season.  The Hall of Fame possibility is on the brink of flaming out thanks to a case of "me" instead of "we". 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... Read more

After talking about speculation regarding the draft for weeks TV and radio commentators often wrap up their draft coverage by griping about why grades are a foolish endeavor to feed our need for instant gratification.  They are correct when they say you can't truly grade a draft for three years but they rarely follow it up by grading the 2006 draft (hint: anybody can tell you how a team did three years later).  Enough of my babbling.  After writing mock drafts, profiles, articles and rankings for the last six months, I just want to do grades because I want to know how well I did three years from now (hint: I was wrong about the 2008 Falcons draft.  Really wrong) plus its fun so here goes in grade order:   (click on the team name for pick by pick analysis of the entire team and access to each players profile)Grade: APhiladelphia... Read more

One has to go back to 2003 (Carson Palmer, Eric Steinbach, Kelley Washington) or 1998 (Takeo Spikes, Brian Simmons) to find an NFL Draft which has generated the day after buzz on the Bengals 2009 draft and even then I do not think it compares (Remember we are talking about day after excitement).   In an off-season of negativity and free agent departures the Bengals went through the draft with the patience to let the draft come to them and selected top talents while also filling their top needs. One can make the argument that no team drafted more sheer talent in 2009 draft.  That said, it is not a draft class without substantial risk.  After all, there is a reason why Andre Smith fell to #6 (immaturity/weight), Rey Maualuga fell to round 2 (maturity/freelancing), Michael Johnson a top 10 talent in round 3 (inconsistent effort) and Chase Coffman to late in round... Read more

Day One of the 2009 NFL Draft is in the books and while it has been one of the more predictable drafts in recent years and has included just one dynamic trade (Mark Sanchez) but it has definitely had its moments including winners and losers:Winners: (There are a lot to choose from in this category as a lot of teams did well)Philadelphia Eagles - After filling their need for an offensive tackle by trading for Jason Peters, the Eagles filled their need for offensive playmakers with WR Jeremy Maclin and RB LeSean McCoy.  McCoy in particular was an excellent selection and heir apparent to Brian Westbrook in the backfield.New York Jets - The Jets entered the draft needing a quarterback more than anything else and were able to get their guy in Mark Sanchez without overpaying.  Giving up a 1st, 2nd and three veterans who were no longer in their... Read more

For the second year in a row the Chad Ocho Cinco cloud hangs over the Bengals heading into the NFL Draft (albeit much quieter this year) which makes it difficult to evaluate how big of a need wide receiver is. Or does it.  With Chad, they have Coles as the #2, Chris Henry as the #3, Andre Caldwell at #4 and Jerome Simpson as the #5 receiver.  A pretty good group although for the second straight year 2008 draftees Caldwell and Simpson will have a hard time making much of an impact.Now subtract Chad and the group still is pretty solid as Caldwell and Simpson slide into the 3 and 4 roles which is a reasonable expectation unless the team consideres Jerome Simpson to be a complete bust.  It is also worth noting the team's aggressive pursuit of Coles was a hedge against Chad being Ocho Stinko again.  We can... Read more

Wednesday night I plugged away through a four round mock draft.  Before I could post the mock, with the requisite article and Bengal selection breakdowns, a trade occured (Tony Gonzalez to Atlanta) as tends to happen this time of year.  My apologies for not correcting it but the ripples of the trade are many through a four round mock and another trade will happen before the draft which will change it again.  In the end take the mocks for what they are a projection.  No one is going to get all the picks correct, but you get to see the thought processes team's go through and who might be available when you team picks.  Without further ado here are the Bengals picks followed by the mock:Round 1: OT Eugene Monroe, Virginia - The Chiefs passing on Curry causes Seattle to take Curry which allows one of the top 2 tackles... Read more

Coming off a season in which the Bengals allowed 51 sacks (3rd most in the league) and average just 3.6 yards per carry (30th in the league) it is easy to conclude the Bengals offensive line is its biggest off-season need.  Adding to the troubles is the team's persistent failure to develop its offensive line talent as Bengals linemen have a strange tendency to regress after strong 1st (and sometimes 2nd) seasons.  Center is the most glaring need on the offensive line as the team's centers have a combined 12 games of NFL action (0 starts) and Crummey is actually a player and not just a nickname to describe former center Eric Ghiaciuc.  Speculation is the team will select a center in round 2 or 3 at the latest in a deep center class.The team has mentioned the possibility of entering the season with Andrew Whitworth and Anthony Collins at... Read more

The re-signing of Cedric Benson took the running back position from a top need to second tier need in the upcoming NFL Draft.  Benson showed a spark after joining the team at mid-season.  He has a nice blend of power and burst which makes you feel like he could be an every down back.  Speptics point out to 3.5 yards per carry and how the bulk of his yardage came against sub-par defenses while gaining just 52 yards on 26 carries vs. Pittsburgh and Baltimore.   With the depth chart showing the names of Kenny Watson (a solid 3rd down back), Chris Perry (1st round bust), DeDe Dorsey (can't stay healthy), James Johnson (who?) and recently acquired Gary Russell (goal line back/returner?).  With the above list hardly instilling confidence the Bengals will be looking to add a 2nd option to its ground attack in the draft. How early they select a... Read more