Bengals offseason news

[PhilipNelsonFan]

-OL Stacy Andrews has been franchised and DE Jonathan Fanene has been resigned.

-Cincy will look at RBs in this draft.

-Backup S Herana-Daze Jones signed a one-year deal.

-It's been a week since Marvin Lewis and Chad Johnson last talked. Come on, guys.

[PhilipNelsonFan]

http://www.daytondailynews.com/s/conten ... ngals.html

To sum it up:

-Justin Smith, Madieu Williams, Landon Johnson all likely gone

-Ryan Fitzpatrick will return

-The free agents being looked at basically all suck

-Tab Perry also probably on his way out

[Monkeyfeng06]

madieu williams is gone.. oh well, he was asking too much anyway. i think our young safeties will be fine this coming season.

I LOVE THE SHAUN ROGERS TRADE!! LOVE IT!!! YEAH!!!!

[Monkeyfeng06]

in other news...

david pollack is cleared by his doctor to play football again.

hooray!

3-4 here we come!

[GS Warriors 1]

Shaun Rogers to Cincy is a no deal and it looks like he's heading to Cleveland for CB Leigh Bodden and a 3rd round pick.

[Monkeyfeng06]

^ yews, thank you... we know...

[PhilipNelsonFan]

Just because Cincy's a small-market team doesn't mean they have to be a small-minded team also. What a terrible blow to this franchise, and on the day that the Bengals managed to lose two of their five best defensive players to other teams.

I'm not predicting any more than six wins for this team next year if the front office allows itself to be trampled on by the rest of the league. And if the Browns haven't been called upon to sell this team yet...grab your torches and pitchforks, gentlemen, and let's get an angry mob going.

Jon, I wouldn't put any stock into David Pollack's return. I doubt he starts, and I doubt he lasts too much longer in the NFL. But if I'm proven wrong I won't complain.

[Monkeyfeng06]

stop calling me jon!!

[Monkeyfeng06]

there's a rumor that the bengals might trade for jet's Dewayne Robertson. i think that's a good deal. although if the bengals pull this trigger, we are not going 3-4.

[Monkeyfeng06]

i don't care much about pollack but it's always good news to hear that he can play again. (if that happens) odell is the future of this defense. (brooks too) if odell can be trouble free and back to his game again, this defense is going to be much better.

[PhilipNelsonFan]

I can't call you "monkey" every post. I'd rather mix it up. Me knowing your first name helps but if you insist I will stop.

[Monkeyfeng06]

looks like the robertson rumor just might come true!!! ESPN IS REPORTING IT!!! ZOMG!!!!

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3274297

[PhilipNelsonFan]

LOL. Good news if it's true.

[PhilipNelsonFan]

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ ... 1066/rss07

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ ... 1066/rss07

There's your reading material. Here's what the lineup is going to look like (pre-Dewayne Robertson):

DL: Geathers-Peko-Fanene
LB: Jones-Thurman-Brooks-Jeanty
DB: Joseph-White-Ndukwe-Hall

Presumably, the trade for Robertson implies that he'll start at DT and Peko moves to DE. Fanene, Frostee Rucker and John Thornton then fight over the backup DE spots, and you might throw a rookie in the mix. Bryan Robinson is let go and Landon Johnson is also let go.

Another possible scenario could find Geathers being moved to OLB again, Jeanty reduced to a backup (again), and Rucker, Fanene, Peko (maybe) and a first-rounder fighting over two spots.

Again, I don't think this is a very good idea because we lack the personnel, but the coaching staff appears to be hell-bent on making this work.

[Cohiba13]

So, the deal fell through.

[PhilipNelsonFan]

[PhilipNelsonFan]

Cincy signed LB Darryl Blackstock to a one-year minimum-salary deal. Depth filler at best. Lemar Marshall is probably more useful.

[PhilipNelsonFan]

Here's information on the LB corps, courtesy of the Bengals' team site:

LINEBACKER LOOK (Age on Opening Day)

PRESUMED STARTERS: LOLB Rashad Jeanty, 25, third season; MLB Ahmad Brooks, 24, third season; ROLB Dhani Jones, 30, ninth season.

Backer is the one position that is getting the major overhaul with the departure of Landon Johnson's 53 starts scattered at all positions. Heading into his third season, Jeanty has the most Bengals starts at backer with 22.

Jones appears to be the heir to the all-round Johnson with not only his versatility, but his ability to get young guys like Jeanty, Brooks and Thurman lined up. After arriving off the street in September, Jones made one start at strong and started the last nine games at weak.

Brooks, who turns 24 on Friday, has a lot riding on his shoulders and precious few NFL snaps to get better and established. Since arriving ballyhooed in the third round of the 2006 supplemental draft, he has appeared in just 13 games and played only five quarters last season after tearing his groin.

The club thinks he's going to be OK medically, but Lewis said last month Brooks had to back off his workouts for a week.

X-FACTOR: MLB Odell Thurman, 25, third season.

Two questions. Will Thurman, not on the roster yet, be reinstated by training camp and, if he is, how good will he be after a two-year layoff?


Thurman
He was a gamebreaker his rookie year with five interceptions and four forced fumbles to go along with a team-leading 148 tackles. But he hasn't seen the field since the 2006 training camp because of back-to-back year suspensions stemming from violations of the NFL substance abuse policy.

If he comes back anywhere close to '05 and Brooks asserts his ample talent, the Bengals basically have two first-round picks ages 25 (Thurman) and 24 (Brooks) playing next to each other. And the club could conceivably flip-flop with Brooks in the middle or Thurman at weak, or the other way around.

NEW ARRIVAL: OLB Darryl Blackstock, 25, fourth season.

He had three sacks last season playing behind Calvin Pace in Arizona, but the Cards' version of a hybrid 3-4 didn't exactly fit him as a strong-side backer and nickel rusher. No one really knows what new defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer is concocting out of what appears to be a 4-3 base, but at 6-3, 240-245ish, Blackstock could be a SAM, Will, or rush end here. He's also one of those big linebackers special teams coach Darrin Simmons loves.

OUTSIDE UPSIDE?: OLBs Corey Mays, 24, third season, and Eric Henderson, 25, second season.

Both guys are symbolic of the overwhelming injuries the position suffered last season. Mays didn't arrive off waivers until Oct. 2 and ended up the club's runnerup in special teams coverage. Henderson, who spent all of 2006 on the practice squad, was shelved for '07 when he dislocated his wrist in the second preseason game.

A converted college defensive end, Henderson is seen as a guy that can rush with his hand on the ground as well as play strong or weak.

Mays' lone NFL start came last year at strong but he can also play the other side. But between the two of them, they've only got 20 NFL games.

BACKUP MIKE: MLB Anthony Schlegel, 27, third season.

Schlegel is coming off the most snaps of his career with four starts in 13 games. He's a tough guy that was thrown into the fire when he arrived off waivers eight days before the opener after playing in all four preseason games for the Jets. He may only be a true middle backer, but after Brooks and Thurman, he's the only one if the team dosn't move Jones.

LATE ARRIVAL: OLB Jim Maxwell, 27, fifth year.

Next to Jones, Maxwell has the most years of experience at the position. When he played in the Bengals' last three games last season, it gave him 36 games with four teams. He arrived Nov. 27, but made himself known on special teams with three tackles and a forced fumble against Browns punt returner Josh Cribbs.

OTHERS: If David Pollack decides to play and with the Bengals looking at a 4-3 base, that may move him to defensive end from strong-side backer. The Bengals aren't pursuing Caleb Miller and it's doubtful they'll try to re-up 31-year-old Lemar Marshall after he blew out his Achilles last season.

Alex Stepanovich also left, so the Bengals are now two-deep at C: Eric Ghiacuic and Dan Santucci.

Also, be on the lookout for Kyries Hebert, who may be a critical piece this season given our young secondary. He's the fourth S behind White, Ndukwe and Dexter Jackson, but he was supposedly the best safety in the CFL when the Bengals signed him. I like his size he brings to the position; does he have the upside to play in the NFL, though?

[Monkeyfeng06]

bengals sign ben utecht!

good signing. i just hope the colts won't match.

[PhilipNelsonFan]

Agreed. Utecht isn't much but I'd rather not have TE be such a gaping need.