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SECOND THOUGHTS
Bengals should pass on wide receivers
Sunday, April 20, 2008
I haven't even mowed the lawn and the Reds are out of it. Again. Going by what we've seen thus far, Cincinnati is a lock to record its eighth straight losing season. And I'm thinking that the earthquake did not originate in Illinois. All the ruckus was triggered when the Brewers' very large Prince Fielder began jumping for joy, knowing that his team had a three-game weekend series in the Queen City.
Get defensive: No doubt the Bengals will be tempted to draft wide receivers now that they've finally had enough of Chris Henry, and now that Ocho Cinco is doing more pouting than a betrayed "Survivor" contestant.
Extras
And if the NFL ever makes T.J. Houshmandzadeh cut his hair, who knows what that does to him?
Picking wide receivers early in the draft, though, is about as risky as booking a ticket on Skybus. The Bengals should stock up on defense and develop a solid running game. Hey, the Patriots won a bunch of Super Bowls with no-name receivers and solid D (and great coaching — something Cincy lacks).
Draft fatigue: It seems that every time I turn on the radio, Mel Kiper is talking about the NFL draft — the most overhyped event on the sports calendar. Yeah, the draft is cool, but are we really so starved for football that we have to analyze the pros and cons of drafting a safety from Mississippi State in the sixth round?
Brownell's back: There weren't a lot of attractive college basketball coaching openings this season, which means Wright State's Brad Brownell will be back for a third season with the Raiders. But after WSU wins 25 games in 2008-09, the big schools will be calling again. My prediction: Illinois will offer a five-year deal.
I don't think Brownell will make a desperate move, though. (See Drake's Keno Davis, who took the Providence job.)
Clean house: I'd give the Reds until the end of April, then clean house. If the entire team were up for free agency at season's end, how many Reds would the Yankees and Red Sox fight over? Not many.
Bronson Arroyo is terrible. Edwin Encarnacion is worse. David Weathers is the least intimidating reliever in the majors and I can see why Cubs fans booed Corey Patterson.
Quick hits: Todd Boeckman donned the black jersey in THE OSU's spring game, which means he wasn't supposed to be hit. Then he runs a QB sneak at the goal line? ... Seems the NFL has tired of the Bengals' act. Only one Cincy game this season will be televised in prime time, and that will be on the little-watched NFL Network.
Knucklehead of the Week
Aging Astros shortstop Miguel Tejada is 33 years old. But until last week, when he was outed on camera by a smart-aleck ESPN reporter, Tejada was a spry 31. The good news, though, is that the once-feared slugger says he feels like he's 25. I'm thinking the Astros would like a do-over on the trade that brought Tejada to Texas. Maybe Miguel is just trying to make fans forget that he was linked to possible steroid usage by the Mitchell Report.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2163 or
bkollars@DaytonDailyNews.com.
