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Bengals have plenty of offseason concerns
Monday, June 02, 2008
My five areas of concern regarding the Cincinnati Bengals this offseason:
1. Center. No player is under more scrutiny than Eric Ghiaciuc. Bengals fans are having nightmares over what Cleveland Browns defensive linemen Corey Williams and Shaun Rogers might do to him. Backups Dan Santucci and Nate Livings provide depth, but lack experience.
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2. The health of offensive tackles Levi Jones and Willie Anderson. Jones fought off a knee injury to start the final 13 games at left tackle. Stacy Andrews should start at right tackle — thanks to his $7.455 million franchise tag — but the club needs Big Willie. After all, he's "Mother Gibraltar" — a combination Mother Teresa and The Rock of Gibraltar.
3. Defensive tackle. Domata Peko and John Thornton are the incumbents, but rookies Pat Sims and Jason Shirley will push for playing time. Jonathan Fanene will move from end to tackle on passing downs to form a "Samoan Connection" with Peko.
4. A Chad-less receiver corps. If Chad Johnson sits out, it's a lose-lose-lose situation for everybody. He'll miss out on a big paycheck; the team will miss his talent; and T.J. Houshmandzadeh will draw double coverage. Jerome Simpson and Andre Caldwell show great promise, but rookie receivers usually struggle.
5. Tailback. Rudi Johnson (hamstring) and Chris Perry (ankle) are coming off injuries and Kenny Irons (knee) is headed, for the Physically Unable to Perform list. Kenny Watson is Mr. Consistent, and DeDe Dorsey is an emerging talent. "Tailback By Committee" is the answer.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2253
or
c
ludwig@DaytonDailyNews.com.
