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Orange and Black in '07: How is Bengals' season shaping up?
Comment: Are you concerned about Cincinnati's preseason performance?
Monday, August 20, 2007
NFL rosters will be trimmed to 75 on Aug. 28, then get sliced to 53 on Sept. 1 — "Cutdown Day."
With 21 days remaining until Cincinnati's 2007 NFL opener against the visiting Baltimore Ravens, it's time to take a look at how the Bengals' 53-man roster shapes up.
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Five bold predictions
1. QB Carson Palmer will keep the momentum going by throwing for 4,000 yards for a second straight year to go with 36 TD passes and 18 interceptions. He deserves mention in the same breath with Peyton Manning and Tom Brady.
2. WR Chris Henry's eight-game suspension will be devastating, causing the Bengals to lose at least three games. No other candidate for the No. 3 receiver role can approach Henry's talent.
3.Rookie first-round draft pick Leon Hall will replace Deltha O'Neal as the starting left cornerback by Game 5. Hall's coverage technique, ball skill and toughness in run support are exceptional. O'Neal's contract runs through 2008, but he'll be gone after 2007.
4. The 30th-ranked defense will remain in the bottom third of the league because it's too inconsistent and lacks an identity. The line is too soft, the secondary is too young and the linebacker corps is too unstable.
5. Before the Sept. 10 opener, the Bengals will pluck a receiver, tailback and cornerback off the waiver wire.
Ludwig's mock 53-man roster
Quarterbacks (2): Carson Palmer, Jeff Rowe. In his limited opportunities, Rowe has shown more ability, poise and savvy than Doug Johnson.
Running backs (4): Rudi Johnson, Kenny Watson, Jeremi Johnson, Chris Manderino. The club needs Manderino, a sturdy Golden Bear from Cal, as a bridge until Jeremi Johnson's hamstring is fully healed.
Wide receivers (6): Chad Johnson, T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Tab Perry, Reggie McNeal, Glenn Holt, Skyler Green. McNeal and Green survive because of their kick-return ability. Holt, who has a pulled hamstring, deserves some slack because he's a proven winner on special teams. Antonio Chatman can't stay healthy and Bennie Brazell doesn't stick because he's a fragile, one-dimensional speed receiver with questionable hands.
Tight ends (2): Reggie Kelly, Nate Lawrie. Nicknamed "Senator" because he holds a political science degree from Yale, Lawrie has more experience than upstart rookie Daniel Coats.
Offensive linemen (10): Levi Jones, Stacy Andrews, Eric Ghiaciuc, Bobbie Williams, Willie Anderson, Andrew Whitworth, Scott Kooistra, Nate Livings, Dan Santucci, Adam Kieft. Kieft's comeback from a devastating knee injury in 2005 is one of the team's feel-good stories.
Defensive linemen (9): Bryan Robinson, Domata Peko, John Thornton, Justin Smith, Robert Geathers, Michael Myers, Jonathan Fanene, Kenderick Allen, Matt Toeaina. It's time to send injury-riddled Frostee Rucker packing.
Linebackers (7): Rashad Jeanty, Ahmad Brooks, Landon Johnson, Andre Frazier, Ed Hartwell, Caleb Miller, *Eric Henderson. Don't be surprised if Hartwell beats out Brooks as the starting middle linebacker.
Secondary (10): Deltha O'Neal, Johnathan Joseph, Dexter Jackson, Madieu Williams, Leon Hall, Chinedum Ndukwe, Marvin White, John Busing, Herana-Daze Jones, Ethan Kilmer. Where's Keiwan Ratliff? Long gone.
Specialists (3): Kicker Shayne Graham, punter Kyle Larson and long snapper Brad St. Louis. The "Three Amigos" live.
Practice squad (8): TE Daniel Coats, LB Matt Muncy, OT Alan Reuber, TB Curtis Brown, FB Stan White, LB Earl Everett, CB T.J. Wright, DE Xzavie Jackson.
*Note: If Henderson (wrist) goes on Injured Reserve, the club should keep CB Brandon Williams.
Comments
By Ramzesus
September 3, 2007 10:25 AM | Link to this
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August 31, 2007 6:18 PM | Link to this
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By IdahoBengal
August 23, 2007 3:00 PM | Link to this
The offensive players are over-confident and read too much of their press clippings. Hungry in ‘05…drop off since. I’m not talking about stats. I know Carson, Chad, TJ, and Rudi have great stats. I’m talking about converting on 3 and 1 in the forth quarter. I’m talking about the continual mental breakdowns. Pre-snap fowls…drive killers…turn td’s into fg’s. Chad must lead the league in false starts…ridiculous. The offensive players are not mentally tough enough. No big picture.
By IdahoBengal
August 23, 2007 2:52 PM | Link to this
The defense is clearly still bottom tier. The D-line is solid but unspectacular vets…what you see is what you get. They aren’t going to be pro-bowlers all of sudden. The back seven could show significant improvement because they are young. But, with the bend don’t break phylosophy…”no big plays.” It takes the aggresivness out of defenders. A permanent pre-vent defense.
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August 23, 2007 6:08 AM | Link to this
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By Who Dey Guy
August 21, 2007 2:07 PM | Link to this
Free Odell - Free Odell
By Harold
August 21, 2007 4:22 AM | Link to this
Picks all wrong. First,no way they keep only 2 qb’s. No one does. While you could call Rowe no. 2,need third qb for injuries and for additional arm at practice. Second, no way Lawrie beats out Coats because unless he screws up, nothing in Lawrie’s game — other than maybe strength — is better than Coats. Third, no 10 lineman or nine DL’s. Toeaina makes practice squad though I personallly would get rid of Thornton who, other than being a true pro, is just not good enough and never will be.
By Harold
August 21, 2007 4:22 AM | Link to this
Picks all wrong. First,no way they keep only 2 qb’s. No one does. While you could call Rowe no. 2,need third qb for injuries and for additional arm at practice. Second, no way Lawrie beats out Coats because unless he screws up, nothing in Lawrie’s game — other than maybe strength — is better than Coats. Third, no 10 lineman or nine DL’s. Toeaina makes practice squad though I personallly would get rid of Thornton who, other than being a true pro, is just not good enough and never will be.
By eric
August 21, 2007 3:56 AM | Link to this
I have been a fan since 1970. The Brown thought process has always been about offense. aka The money spent on Carson and Chad, thats fine and a fine investment. Chuck has lost Odell and Pollack, (one and two picks). I was so frustrated when the D did not man up against the saints, I would rather get beat deep then let him go 6 for 6 (Brees), drives me out of my mind……chuck start realizing marvin has made the team faster and blitz and play man. The fans do not won’t the D to be 31st.
By eric
August 21, 2007 3:54 AM | Link to this
I have been a fan since 1970. The Brown thought process has always been about offense. aka The money spent on Carson and Chad, thats fine and a fine investment. Chuck has lost Odell and Pollack, (one and two picks). I was so frustrated when the D did not man up against the saints, I would rather get beat deep then let him go 6 for 6 (Brees), drives me out of my mind……chuck start realizing marvin has made the team faster and blitz and play man. The fans do not won’t the D to be 31st.
By Jer
August 21, 2007 1:53 AM | Link to this
I turned the Saints game off after a quarter. I love the Bengals, but I agree with the people saying this looks like an 8-8, 9-7 team. You wouldn’t think it would be possible, but I think the defense is worse then the last 2 years. If you don’t think that is possible look at the Reds bullpen. It has been worse then last year’s bullpen which is hard to believe. If the Bengals had Perry and Henry their offense would be so good that they could probably still go 11-5 with a bad defense.
By Jer
August 21, 2007 1:53 AM | Link to this
I turned the Saints game off after a quarter. I love the Bengals, but I agree with the people saying this looks like an 8-8, 9-7 team. You wouldn’t think it would be possible, but I think the defense is worse then the last 2 years. If you don’t think that is possible look at the Reds bullpen. It has been worse then last year’s bullpen which is hard to believe. If the Bengals had Perry and Henry their offense would be so good that they could probably still go 11-5 with a bad defense.
By vudu4u
August 20, 2007 8:48 PM | Link to this
I noticed the O-line getting pushed backwards and there was some confusion on pass-blocking assignments, even when Carson was in. The weak defensive corner was playing extremely soft on 1st and 2nd downs, even in the Red Zone. Point is, if the average fan can see these weaknesses, certainly any coordinator can too! Pre-season is an exercise in 2nd and 3rd string talent. Hopefully, the Bengals will consider switching to the 3-4 or 5-2, due to their small size and excellent quickness; otherwise..
By vuldu4u
August 20, 2007 8:47 PM | Link to this
I noticed the O-line getting pushed backwards and there was some confusion on pass-blocking assignments, even when Carson was in. The weak defensive corner was playing extremely soft on 1st and 2nd downs, even in the Red Zone. Point is, if the average fan can see these weaknesses, certainly any coordinator can too! Pre-season is an exercise in 2nd and 3rd string talent. Hopefully, the Bengals will consider switching to the 3-4 or 5-2, due to their small size and excellent quickness; otherwise..
By Bogey & Coco
August 20, 2007 8:09 PM | Link to this
We watch or listen to the Bengals with our good friend Frank when possible but in Cape Coral, Florida we don’t always get the chance. Without Chris Henry for the first eight games of the season, it could get ugly. I think they will be lucky to go 4 and 4. If Jones or Anderson miss any time, it will be wait till next year again. Young defensive backs will take time to mature. Coupled with the loss of Henry, the Bengals could be out of the running before midseason.
By CJB
August 20, 2007 6:01 PM | Link to this
As a long time Bengals fan, while I want to win the preseason games, I don’t think that they matter much. In fact, I honestly don’t think they were worth losing two important players. I suggest making the season one or two games longer and getting rid of the preseason entirely.
I do think the defense will be better, and I do expect better production out of the secondary. If we can cover our opponents better, I think we will see better production out of our D-Line, with signficantly more sack
By Marty
August 20, 2007 2:46 PM | Link to this
D.J.is right on. This defense is reactionary. They don’t control anything. Still no run stoppers, no pass pressure, they play “chase the guy with the ball.” Bresnahan needs to take a lesson from Pittsburg on how to blitz. If our offense doesn’t score an average of 28 points per game, we’re looking at a sub .500 season. If Carson passes for 4000 yards, we’re in trouble. We need to run the ball effectively to control the clock and keep our defense off the field.
By D.J.
August 20, 2007 2:33 PM | Link to this
The defense is no better than last year, and not as good as 2005. This defense doesn’t scare anyone. If anything, opposing offenses look forward to playing the Bengals similar to opposing teams look forward to facing Reds pitching. The offense is still good, but has become predictable. Bratkowski and Bresnahan are not creative. Team lacks depth. I would predict an 8-8 or 9-7 season based on current situation.
By Pigskin
August 20, 2007 2:17 PM | Link to this
It’s going to be a long year. Too many injuries already. The team just doesn’t look tough enough in the first two games. Yes, they are preseason games, but the toughness doesn’t seem to be there. If they don’t get it done this year, Cower will be available and we need somebody tough like him at the helm.
By Lissa
August 20, 2007 2:11 PM | Link to this
I think that the Bengals need to hurry and snap some help for the defense. Other than that I can see Palmer, Housh, and of course Johnson doing big things this year. Marvin quit field goaling and 4th and 1 have some heart.
By Pigskin
August 20, 2007 2:11 PM | Link to this
I think the Bengals will be lucky to go 8-8 again this year. Will we ever have a team in Cincy that can punch another team in the nose and make them take notice. We beat them by outscoring them if we are lucky, we never beat them because we manhandle them. I also think Marvin needs to get a lot tougher on the players and quit being so buddy buddy with them. Short story, we need to get a lot tougher and quit relying on the passing game to keep us in games. I agree Carson is one of the best.
By Matt
August 20, 2007 2:03 PM | Link to this
Everett does not make the 53 man roster are you kidding? That kid is a player. Unfortunately, I agree with you on Brooks, he just does not look ready enough to be the general of the defense. Satucci over Stepanovich?? i say keep Daniel Coats, he is the kind of player we need on this team. We are not very deep are we? And we should be getting Chris Perry back possibly before midseason so we do not need to go out and pick up Dillon (jerk) or anyone else.
By Matt
August 20, 2007 2:02 PM | Link to this
Everett does not make the 53 man roster are you kidding? That kid is a player. Unfortunately, I agree with you on Brooks, he just does not look ready enough to be the general of the defense. Satucci over Stepanovich?? i say keep Daniel Coats, he is the kind of player we need on this team. We are not very deep are we? And we should be getting Chris Perry back possibly before midseason so we do not need to go out and pick up Dillon (jerk) or anyone else.
By George Hiotis
August 20, 2007 1:50 PM | Link to this
I am concerned about the team this year — To many injuries to key player and the offense is out of sync. I hope to see improvement this coming Monday night — or it could be a long season.
By George Hiotis
August 20, 2007 1:50 PM | Link to this
I am concerned about the team this year — To many injuries to key player and the offense is out of sync. I hope to see improvement this coming Monday night — or it could be a long season.
By ed
August 20, 2007 1:00 PM | Link to this
The offense worries me but I did think they looked tired and out of sync because of the injuries. They have two weeks to get something in gear and I hope they look much sharper this week. The defense created how many turnovers that the offense sat on. I think the defense looks much faster this year but they have six safeties and four corners instead of the other way around……….
By Mike
August 20, 2007 12:50 PM | Link to this
Webmaster, please display postings on your message board in “oldest-to-newest” order. That way, we can read the article, then logically read through each posting in sequence without having to drag all the way down to the bottom of the page and begin reading up. Doesn’t that make sense?
By Daryl
August 20, 2007 10:59 AM | Link to this
How many chances does Chuck, I have no clue defense,Bresnahan get? I would have fired him after the San Diego game last year. Also, tired of hearing about hurt players - not my problem. Marvin has had 5 years to get it done. I sure don’t see it this year. One more thing, if you think these guys can turn it on the first game of the year and play signifigantly better than they are now, what are you drinking?
By RM
August 20, 2007 10:54 AM | Link to this
I agree with NP, based on what I saw at training camp and the first 2 pre-season games, the defense is in serious trouble. I’m one of the biggest Bengal fans around, but the truth is the truth….I’m afraid we are looking at a 8-8 or at best a 9-7 season unless the Bengals pick some help off of the waiver wire when the other NFL teams start cutting poeple in the next 2 weeks.
By preacher,franklin,ohio
August 20, 2007 10:46 AM | Link to this
bad,again,who,cares,god,bless,you,all.
By NP
August 20, 2007 10:39 AM | Link to this
The defense is in big trouble. If they are just running Moller plays, are they saying they can’t compete unless they run some trick play? I think running simple plays and competing man to man will show you quite a bit. Lets see if you can just beat the man right across from you. Personally even in pre-season, i know i would get tired of being pushed around on defense like our guys are. It’s going to be a long year for the defense!
By Joe Pfaffl
August 20, 2007 10:17 AM | Link to this
Who Cares !
By Dale
August 20, 2007 9:54 AM | Link to this
Chick is right on. The defense looks bad, and the Bengals have too many people hurt. The loss of Chris Henry amd Chris Perry will be huge. Willie & Levi have not been close to being on the field. No Jeremy either , and where was Reggie Kelly, I don’t buy personal reasons for missing a game.
The defense has been shredded twice in preseason.Where is JJ? Too many questions.
By fan
August 20, 2007 9:49 AM | Link to this
they need a better faster running back
also a dominate linebacker would be nice
another ted ginn type wideout
By J.
August 20, 2007 9:26 AM | Link to this
I think our defense is AWESOME!
By Jonah
August 20, 2007 9:24 AM | Link to this
I’m not concerned. I echo Johnson and Palmer’s thoughts, preseason is for knocking off the rust for the starters, and for evaluating everyone else. Preseason games have no relationship to the games that count. I would bet a paycheck that there is very little or no statistical correlation (maybe a negative correlation, if any), across all teams in the league, for preseason records versus regular season records. WHO DEY!!!