We here at WhoDeyFans have for a long time been fans of CincyJungle.com. Recently we were approached with the opportunity to merge with them with the goal to create the best Bengal’s fan website on the planet. Starting today we are going to begin this merge.

What you can expect:

First and foremost, you are going to get a ton of kick ass Bengals content.

You are still going to get the award winning Who-Dey Weekly podcast as always.

You are going to have around the clock Bengals coverage. When it happens, you can read about it at cincyjungle.com.

I personally want to thank everyone who has been involved with WhoDeyFans since 2007 (Writers, readers, commenters and guests) I started the site just to get my thoughts on the Bengals out and thousands of you have been a part of that. Sincerely, Thank You!

WhoDey!

In conjunction with this year’s draft and my new book, Draft Daze, here’s Day 16 of the countdown.

Did you know?

ESPN’s first televised the draft in 1980.

Bengals Thought:

In Todd McShay’s latest mock draft, published today on ESPN.com, McShay has the Bengals taking Desmond Trufant, with Florida State tackle Menelik Watson and Alabama running back Eddie Lacy as backup plans. Of the trio, I’d be happiest with Trufant. You can never have too many corners in the NFL, and the Bengals are pretty old outside of Dre Kirkpatrick and Leon Hall.

In advance of this year’s draft and my upcoming book, here’s Day 17.

Did you know?

Bill Shakespeare was taken third overall in the first NFL Draft in 1936. (Not that Bill Shakespeare).

This year:  NFL.com’s Mock Draft Central has Florida defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd as the consensus No. 3 pick in this year’s draft.

Did you know?

Draft picks didn’t always know right away when they were drafted. Long-time personnel man (and current NFL.com contributor) Gil Brandt remembers a time when team officials brought rolls of quarters to the draft, so they could call the draft picks with the help of an operator, who would tell them how much each call cost in quarters.

Bengals Thought

In Brandt’s latest mock, he has the Bengals taking Florida State tackle Menelik Watson. You’d have to think Andre Smith would be leaving Cincinnati if that pick were to happen.

In advance of this year’s draft and my upcoming book, here’s Day 19 of the countdown.

Did you know?

There is a website at draftmetrics.com that attempts to analyze the NFL Draft on a statistical basis. In a sense, it’s the Moneyball approach to the NFL Draft.

Bengals Thought: If you’re rating draft success based on the number of five-year starters your team selects (and some people do), the Bengals rate better than you think. According to draftmetrics.com, the Bengals were one of the four best teams at acquiring five-year starters, based on their picks in the 1993 – 2006 drafts. Using that data, draftmetrics.com estimates that Cincinnati will acquire about 2.25 five-year starters in this year’s draft.

In advance of this year’s draft and my upcoming book, here’s Day 20 of the countdown.

Did you know?

There’s a a fantasy game at www.playthedraft.com where you create a portfolio featuring stocks of different players and attempt to accumulate as much money as possible as those stocks fluctuate during the draft process.

Bengals Thought:

According to ScoutsInc., Alabama offensive tackle D.J. Fluker is rated as the 21st best prospect in the draft, but the Bengals don’t really need him unless they fail to sign Andre Smith. Instead, with a roster that has very few holes, the Bengals should instead pounce on a player who falls unexpectedly during the draft. That group could include Texas safety Kenny Vaccaro, who hasn’t run great 40 times during the draft process, or someone like Alec Ogeltree, who would be drafted much higher if it weren’t for some off-the-field issues.

In advance of this year’s draft and my upcoming book, here’s Day 21.

Did you know?

Todd McShay was a high school quarterback and played at the University of Richmond before joining ScoutsInc. and ESPN.

Bengals Thought: McShay has the Bengals taking Washington cornerback Desmond Trufant in his latest mock draft and he said in his latest poodcast that he caught some flack from Bengals fans for it. But I don’t think McShay is entirely off base. Even though the Bengals would seem to be well stocked at defensive back, the team could draft another considering the age of some of its corners (Adam Jones and Terrence Newman). In today’s NFL, you need to have at least three respectable corners, so it’s not entirely impossible that the Bengals would take one within the first two rounds.

The NFL Draft begins Thursday, April 25.

In advance of this year’s draft and my upcoming book, here’s Day 22 of the countdown.

Did you know?

Former Bengals tight end Reggie Kelly, who was drafted in the second round of the draft by the Atlanta Falcons, thought he might be selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and former head coach Tony Dungy.

Bengals Thought:  I’ve seen at least one mock draft that had the Bengals picking a tight end in the first round and I just don’t get it. Jermaine Gresham is a quality starter, although inconsistent, and Orson Charles, who was drafted last year, had a solid rookie season. I’d be a little surprised if the Bengals drafted a tight end anywhere this year, let alone in the first round.

The NFL Draft begins Thursday, April 25.

In advance of this year’s draft and my upcoming book, the draft countdown continues.

Did you know? 

NFL Network Mike Mayock was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 10th round of the 1981 draft. His dad was a Steelers draft pick in the 1950s.

Bengals Thought:  In Mayock’s most recent draft rankings, his running backs are as follows:

1. Eddie Lacy, Alabama

2. Montee Ball, Wisconsin

3. Andre Ellington, Clemson

4. Giovani Bernard, North Carolina

5. Marcus Lattimore, South Carolina

Of the group, Lacy, Ball, and Lattimore would seem to be similar players to Benjarvus Green-Ellis. Ellington and Bernard are perhaps better complements. Overall, it’s a deep running back class, with a lot of talent. The Bengals can get a back with some legitimate skills in the second round and beyond. Bernard is intriguing to me because he has both good speed and some experience catching the ball out of the backfield, which I think would help the Bengals offense.

The NFL Draft begins Thursday, April 25.

Continuing the draft coutndown in advance of this year’s draft and my upcoming book, here’s Day 23 (a day late).

Did you know?

Draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. was nearly hired in the Baltimore Colts personnel department before joining ESPN.

Bengals Thought: Kiper predicted Georgia linebacker Alec Ogletree for the Bengals in his latest mock draft. Ogeltree has had a number of off the field issues, but his talent alone warrants a higher draft pick. He would also fill a position of need, so it’s likely the Bengals would take a long look at him if he were available at No. 21.

I’m happy to report that I’ve finally emerged from a bout of seclusion that would have made a hermit cringe. For the past year, I’ve been busy writing a book about the NFL Draft that should be published later this month. And because I bleed orange and black, it will feature a healthy amount of Bengals content.

Now I’m finally free to write about the upcoming draft and share some of my thoughts on the best moves for the Bengals this year. But I’ll also be sharing some of the information from the book that I found interesting. And I’llbe doing it for the next 25 days to get Bengal Nation ready for the draft on Thursday, April 25th.

Did you know?

The first draft pick ever, Jay Berwanger, a halfback from the University of Chicago, never played pro football.

Bengals Thought:  I’d like to see Cincinnati go after another halfback this year, Tavon Austin, but early estimations have him getting selected before the Bengals draft pick at No. 21. Thus, I’ll explore some contigency plans in future posts.

We go through this every year. The doors to the candy store burst open, and all the kids on the street flood the shop with gluttonous screams as they race toward the prizes of NFL Free Agency they have been dreaming of for months. Meanwhile, Bengals fans sit outside on the curb watching all of the fun because Dad won’t part with our allowance just yet.

It stinks to watch. Every year we get no closer than nose-pressed-to-glass bystanders while the others the treats. It is life as a Bengals fan.

However, we don’t often wake up with stomach ache, either, moaning over bloated contracts that started out so sweet but quickly turned sour. I won’t say never (Antonio Bryant, Laveranues Coles), but not often.

The fact of the is that it is far too easy to do something dumb in free agency. Teams are more disciplined during the draft, but free agency tempts all of us to believe that the right guy will unlock the legendary potential that will bring the prize jewel of postseason success. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it becomes a disaster. Mostly it turns out OK. But the big-time, headline-grabbing deals aren’t structured for just “OK” results.

That is why it is so easy to get burnt. And that is why the Bengals are bystanders during the sugar-induced frenzy of the early stages of free agency.

These first few days of free agency will be annoying, watching other teams grab the popular goodies and make the big splash. Sites like PFT.com will not feature the name “Bengals” much. But take heart. It will be OK, because ultimately teams are not built through free agency. Ask the Browns, the Eagles, the Cowboys or the Redskins.

While the Bengals have several holes to fill, they are not riddled with holes up and down the roster. Yes, they have significant needs at safety, linebacker, running back, perhaps at receiver and potentially at right tackle. All of those can be addressed in the first four rounds of the draft with good picks. With free agency, the front office will be looking for depth, which is where sustained success is built.

That means the Bengals will pass by a Reggie Bush and go for someone like Beanie Wells instead. They will eschew Dashon Goldson for a guy more like Glover Quin. And they will bypass a Philip Wheeler and hone in on someone more on the level of a Jason Philips. Not a lot of sugar in moves like those. But they are less likely to make you want to vomit if they don’t work out later, too.

As I was scanning the headlines this weekend, the impending release of James Harrison by the Steelers was one that came up a number of times. I couldn’t help but smile at the though of Harrison being told, “Sorry, Jimbo, but you ain’t that good any more.” But then a question began to form in my mind.

How long will free agents continue to allow their contracts to be back-loaded and risk never seeing seeing significant portions of the large deals that they sign?

Harrison became a victim of the salary cap for the cash-poor Steelers because he is a 35 year old player who was due $6.57M in 2013 and $7.57M in 2014. I don’t recall reading just how much of a cut the Steelers wanted him to take, but he would not budge. That age would finally catch up with Harrison and render him unworthy of the high dollars at the back of his contract is not exactly shocking. It makes perfect sense.

Most contacts in the NFL are back-loaded, allowing teams to bring in the guys they need at an immediately affordable price but still promise the player significant money. Just look at Joe Flacco’s new contract as the quintessential example. He will make a modest $6.8M cap dent in 2013, jumping to around $14.5M-$15M in 2014 and 2015, and then soaring to $28.55M in 2016, $31.15M in 2017 and $24.75M in 2018. Frankly, those numbers are stupid. Is any player worth a $31M cap hit? No. So unless Flacco leads the Ravens to hoisting the Lombardi trophy as the SuperBowl MVP at least two of the next three years, there is a better chance of my wife converting to Mormanism so that I can also marry Sophia Vergara than of Flacco ever seeing the bulk of that money.

While other contracts are not this extreme, they are build on a similar model. With players’ salaries not being guaranteed, teams have incentive to work contracts this way. Make a guy feel good by promising him significant jack. And if he does not live up to the promised money, the fans will ask, even demand, that the team get rid of him.

The only way I can see this changing is if free agents demand the big money up front. When will that happen? Who knows.

In the first few days of free agency, the Bengals are generally about as active as a university library on a Friday night. This year is shaping up no differently. If you were watching the headlines over the weekend for teams looking to bring in new guys, you saw plenty of teams being discussed. But the Bengals were not one of them.

That is not to say that the Bengals have not been busy in this run up to the start of free agency. As has been referenced for months, the team has been very active in pursuing their own free agents, trying to maintain the roster they have built and prevent their own from hitting the open market. In the past few days, they have made a number of such moves, beginning with the franchise tag of Michael Johnson that consumed $11M of the teams’ estimated $55M in cap space.

Since then, they have returned the entire special teams unit of field-flipper Kevin Huber, flawless long snapper Clark Harris, and opting to keep the younger (though often injured) Mike Nugent over his good replacement, Josh Brown, which has been received with mixed reviews. My suspicion is that the club felt that they rolled 7s last year with Brown after calling him off of the couch to kick after Nugent went on IR. Nugent will have to stay healthy all season for the front office to look good on this decision. But keeping a good kicking unit in place this weekend was a win for the team.

The team also kept a trio of up-and-comers in Cedric Peerman, Jeromy Miles and Vincent Rey. The coaches like all three players, and they are likely to see their roles expanded this year. Depending on who and when the Bengals take their first running back (they will likely draft two), Peerman could be the front runner for working in tandem with BJGE. And with the need at safety, Miles could get a long look to start opposite Reggie Nelson. Both will be primary backups if they do not win the starting gig. Rey is far less likely to start, but he could still move up the depth chart and see his number of snaps in rotation increase.

Finally, the team made their most lauded signing of the weekend by offering Wallace Gilberry a 3-yr/$6.75M deal. He definitely looks to be the right guy in the right place at the right time, fitting well in Zimmer’s rotational system after being cut by two other teams. If Gilberry simply holds steady in his production, the team will have made a steal. If he improves at all, they will look absolutely brilliant.

A lot of work remains, however, if the team wants to not regress. Re-signing Adam Jones is imperative. He proved how valuable he can be when healthy, and the team invested a lot of patience in him, waiting through injury after injury to get him there. Terence Newman ought to want to stay with the team because he is far better with Zimmer than without. I would not be surprised if the team does (or does not) announce deals with guys like Thomas Howard, Dan Skuta or Dennis Roland.

The team looks poised to allow Andre Smith and Rey Maualuga to test the open market. They seem to want both back, but not at their current asking prices. Allow Smith that chance is a riskier move than Maualuga (who likely will see very little interest), but at an asking price of $9M based on one really good year, who can blame them? And the team appears ready to part ways with both Pat Sims and Bruce Gradkowski.

As for guys outside the roster, there is not even a rumor to report. With teams free to start signing guys on Tuesday, there probably still won’t be much to report until late in the week when the spending frenzy is over and coaches can do some scouring for more of those “diamond in the rough” players that they have become pretty good at finding.

So while we are likely to be a bit underwhelmed at whomever the team finally does sign, hopefully they will bring more to the team than we see at first.

Every year we build our free agent “Wish List” that will turn a weakness into a strength in one fell swoop. Every year the front office at PBS marks those names off of their list, replacing them with guys who elicit groans, tirades, or questions (“Hey Mike, who the **** is…?”) Free agency is built for the big splash, the daring move, the lauded signing. Yet the Bengals avoid it like a fat guy racing past a vegan restaurant. No interest.

Why? Because it is so easy to get burnt by signing a high priced free agent. The signings that make the crawl on ESPN ought to come with the same warning you hear on investment commercials: “Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results.”

Remember the clamor last year for the Bengals to sign Robert Meachem? He was touted on every Bengals message board as the perfect compliment to A.J. Green. But the Chargers won the bidding war at 4-years/$26M. Their payoff? In 15 games played, he netted 14 catches for 207 yds. Would he have been just as bad in Cincinnati? We’ll never know. But we do know that the Chargers got squat for their money in year one of that deal.

Two other names high on the 2012 wish list were Carl Nicks and Ben Grubbs. Both guards signed for huge contracts (5-yr/$47.5M and 5-yr/$46M respectively). Groans erupted around Bengals Nation when the two (predictably) went to other teams. Instead, the team drafted Kevin Zeitler and got 70% of their production at 16% of the price.

Not all high priced free agents are bad moves. Vincent Jackson was very strong for the Bucs, finishing with the fifth most yards among all receivers. But at just over 5-yr/$55M, they had better get that kind of production for the life of the contract, which will see him through to age 34.

Bottom line, as frustrating as it is to watch the best free agents go to other teams year after year after year, the Bengals avoid more bad moves than they make. Building through the draft does not generate the same media buzz or fan excitement, but it is a solid way to build a team. It’s how this team was built.

Here is the rub for me. The Bengals are so close that it is time to go all-in. With Johnson tagged, sign Atkins and Dunlap, and then go get a guy. A big guy. Not a bank-breaker, but someone who stirs us all up. Dashon Goldson. Dannell Ellerbe. Domenik Hixon. I’m not so much concerned with who exactly as that he is someone with some name recognition who fills a need. Then go do some more building in the draft. The Bengals are close, and it is time to strike. The Steelers are aging and on the cusp of salary cap hell. The Ravens are still good but have some signs of wear too and do not look built to repeat their title. Go get that one guy who puts the team over the top!

On Thursday, the San Diego Chargers announced that they released Takeo Spikes, making him a free agent. So if he follows through with his intention to play in 2013, it will have to be with another team.

That team should be the Cincinnati Bengals.

Spikes played his first five years in the league during the worst period of the Lost Decade. The team was 19-61 in his time here, so it is little wonder that the new, first-time head coach Marvin Lewis was unable to convince him to stay with the team. In those dark days, nearly anyone who could get out of Cincinnati did. It is ironic, then, that the Bengals have been to the playoffs four times since his departure, while Spikes has never made a playoff appearance despite being a very capable player.

I would love to see both Spikes and Mike Brown exorcise some bad karma and work out a deal to bring Spikes back to the franchise that drafted him. It would be a good thing for both parties.

Brown certain would not pay the $3M that the 15-year veteran was slated to earn in San Diego. But if Spikes would return for perhaps just north of half of that amount, the Bengals would add some solid depth at the outside LB position at a cheaper price than returning Thomas Howard. It is doubtful that Spikes would start, but he should still provide some valuable snaps. More importantly, he would bring an important veteran presence and work ethic as a mentor to a group with a lot of young players.

For Spikes, the move would bring his career full circle. But more importantly, it would put him on the roster of a team that has been to the playoffs in back-to-back years and with a legitimate chance to return again next year.

I don’t expect him to offer a “hometown” discount, he might accept a small “playoff potential” discount. The list of potential suitors for a veteran entering his 16th season is not going to be long, and doubly so for teams with a good shot to make the playoffs. So unless the Patriots give him a call, the Bengals ought to be able to get this deal done.

Let’s do it.

Despite the complaints of a small (but vocal) minority of fans, Andy Dalton will undoubtedly be the starting quarterback in 2013. The coaching staff knows that he has to improve his level of play, as evidenced by recent comments from Jay Gruden, but they are also committed to giving him every opportunity to take that next step forward. Even if they weren’t, where are they going to go with this year’s crop of QBs?

While the starting QB position is locked, the guy who will back him up is far from it.

Bruce Gradkowski has been the chief clipboard-holder for Andy’s two years with the Bengals. Numerous articles have been written over that time about the teaching, coaching and moral support that Bruce has given to Andy as he entered the league with a minimal off-season to prepare for one of the biggest stages in all of sports. We don’t often think about what kind of a quality guy it takes to help someone who is standing in the way of doing the job he would like to be doing himself. Bruce has done that for two years in Cincinnati. Plus, he has something ideal in a backup QB: the demonstrated ability to take over when called upon and do a decent job of running the team. Of course he is a step back; every backup QB is. But sending him into the huddle does not have the same white-flag-of-surrender feel that sending out Jordan Palmer had. So if the Bengals can bring him back at $1.8M/year again, it wouldn’t be the worst move they make this spring.

If the Bengals decide to seek someone else to fill the role, Tarvaris Jackson could be an ideal candidate. He is another guy with plenty of starting experience, and he should be more of a viable threat than Gradkowski to push Andy Dalton during camp. More realistically, though, he would lessen the drop-off if Dalton were to sustain an injury. He may demand a bit more money than Gradkowski, but he bring more to the table as well. It all depends on how much insurance the front office wants to buy.

Other interesting free agent options include Matt Moore and David Garrard. Both are close enough to starting caliber that they may prefer to find a team where they have a legitimate chance to win the starting job. That is not likely to happen here. But if the Bengals were able to land one of these guys (ie teams are too afraid of Garrard’s injury history), they could be useful in developing some gadget/confusion plays. Both have big enough arms to drop a mean deep ball if called upon to do so.

However, my gut tells me that free agency is not how the team will look to address this spot. An uneasy feeling tells me that a developmental 5th/6th round pick is going to spar with Zac Robinson for the job.

It feels like a completely wasted pick, too.

Sift through the names of the developmental QB picks that the Bengals have taken in the recent past. Tyler Hansen. Zac Robinson. Jordan Palmer. Jeff Rowe. None of these names are at all inspiring. None of them are someone we would feel having one James Harrison lead-with-the-helmet play away from taking over the season. Yet, with numerous large contracts needing to be ironed out this year and next year, the Bengalized part of me sees the team trying to save $1M by going to someone completely inexperienced to be the chief clipboard-holder.

The times when the backup QB position has been the most secure has been when they have guys like Gradkowski and Jon Kitna who had spent time under center on other teams. It allows them to keep only two QBs, opening an extra roster spot for a position that needs a little more depth. It is not my preference, but I think the team will part ways with that strategy this year.

Reports surfaced this week that the Kansas City Chiefs have negotiated a trade to acquire Alex Smith, sending the #34 pick and a conditional pick in 2014 to the San Francisco 49ers. With five picks between #31 and #93, the rich get richer. It got me thinking about how nice it would be if the Bengals could swing a trade and acquire an extra pick.

Trade who, though?

The Bengals have drafted well enough in recent years that they are beginning to be on the “plus” side of the talent pool. But they are not overloaded at many positions. Who could they spare that other teams would want?

One name comes to mind: Pat Sims.

They had more defensive linemen than they really could play last year. Brandon Thompson, last year’s 3rd round pick, barely saw the field. And Devon Still, last year’s 2nd round pick who drew positive reviews from coaches, saw his playing time dry up once Sims returned to the field. The team will want to get both of these players more involved next year and begin reaping the rewards from these investments, likely making Sims the odd man out in 2013.

When he is on the field, Sims is a heavy load that clogs running lanes in the middle of the line. He could be a solid addition to a team that struggled with defending the run. Perhaps a team like the Jaguars, the Jets, or the Cowboys, who are switching to a 4-3 defense. At 335 lbs, Sims may even be big enough to play NT in a 3-4 defense for teams like the Colts, the Saints, or the Cardinals. So there should be a market for him. Maybe enough to net a 3rd round pick.

The problem is, though, that Sims is a free agent. The Bengals would have to convince him to sign a deal before the start of free agency in order to make this happen. He made just under $1.2M last year with base + bonuses, so he will likely be affordable for the Bengals. But signing before free agency is does not create a lot of financial leverage for Sims. If he hits the open market, he will probably find a taker this time around.

If the Bengals had made Sims a two-year offer, a trade scenario dealing Sims before this year’s draft could be a possibility. But they didn’t, so it is likely nothing more than wishful thinking on my part. I just can’t help my greedy nature, thinking how awesome a fifth pick in the first two days of the draft would be.

Over the past few days, I have taken a look at the positions that have significant needs to be addressed either through free agency or the draft. I put a poll with each to gauge your opinions on how the Bengals should approach each position. And you have spoken. With a little more info now that the Combine is complete, let’s recap.

Running Back: This position drew the strongest amount of interest, and for good reason. The position has to be more productive. BJGE was productive over the entire season, but the running game needs more pop and sizzle than he alone can give it. But if you are looking for the Bengals to draft that change-of-pace back on Day 1 or Day 2, you may find yourself disappointed. The Bengals are sending signals that they are looking for a more complete back, someone with some overlap with BJGE’s skill set who could carry a healthy portion of the load if necessary. (Truthfully, doesn’t it make sense to get as much for the investment as possible for a high draft pick?)

Nearly half of respondents wanted either Eddie Lacy or Giovani Bernard, and more than three-fourths want someone who will go by the end of the third round. I wholeheartedly agree with the latter. But the lackluster performances at the Combine have solidified my opinion that the Bengals will not take a running back in the first. There are too many good backs and not enough great ones to warrant it. I would be surprised if they take a back until the #53 pick. Depending on how the draft breaks, they may even dare to wait until #84. I do think they will grab a second back in the later rounds to compete with Cedric Peerman for the change-of-pace role.

Wide Receiver: This position also drew a lot of response, but it was the exact opposite of RB. Only one-fourth of voters thought that the team needs to take a receiver on Day 1 or Day 2. Over 40% prefer to supplement the group through free agency, and one-in-seven said to stick with the guys they have.

The position needs a little attention, but not an overhaul. Those hoping for an infusion of a #1A, top shelf free agent will not have that wish granted. The team simply is not going to spend that type of cash on this position for at least another year (when they can negotiate with A.J. Green). They are far more likely to either seek a low cost/high upside free agent–perhaps a guy like David Nelson, recently waived by the Bills–or else take a guy late in the draft, a la Marvin Jones last year. Maybe two if they land a compensatory pick.

Safety: In a testament to the offensive-orientation of the league, reaction dropped off considerably when we moved away from RB and WR. The Bengals do not take safeties in the first. But before last year, they did not take guards in the first, either. So perhaps they will break yet another trend and look to solidify the backfield on Day 1. Especially since the current class of free agent safeties is, for the most part, not the most inspiring.

Linebacker: Here is the other strong candidate for a Day 1 pick. I was surprised that one-in-four care only that Rey Maualuga is relieved of his Bengals uniform. If that is you, recent comments by Mike Zimmer suggest at least a decent possibility that the team does not agree with you. Do not be at all surprised if the team offers him a deal to compete for the SAM backer spot, with the size of the being a strong indicator of his shot to win the job. I can very easily envision the starters for next year being Maualuga at SAM, Burfict at MIKE or WILL (depending on who they draft) and a draft pick at the third spot.

Offensive Line: While many are focused on other spots, we have to admit that the line was not at its peek for much of the season. Big Whit may be showing signs of age. (We know how quickly Levi Jones went downhill.) And center was a bit of a mess when Trevor Robinson was not manning the spot. On top of a need for depth, a breakdown in negotiations with Andre Smith could take this position from important to urgent. If Smith re-signs, the team may look for a tackle in round 3 or 4. If not, it could stand everything we know on its ear.

The offensive line is not slated for an overhaul like the running backs or linebackers, and it isn’t in need of a significant addition like safety or receiver. But there is still a significant move to be made: re-signing Andre Smith. If the front office cannot get that deal done, then there will be another position of need to address in free agency or the draft.

If you missed them, here are quick links to my draft strategy posts about wide receivers, safeties and cornerbacks, running backs, and linebackers.

Most fans didn’t want Andre Smith when the Bengals drafted him. His weight was concerning, and the images from the Combine were simply haunting. While some still view him as Moobs the Broken-Footed, his play last year was closer to Andre the Giant Right Tackle. I’m not calling him Willie Anderson yet, but as one of the better tackles in the game and heading into his prime years, he is worth the team’s investment.

Opposite him, Andrew Whitworth had knee problems that hampered his play. The team ran behind Smith far more often than Big Whit because it was more effective to do so. It may not be this year, but the team will need to think about drafting his eventual replacement before too long. Unless they choose to give the seemingly forgotten option of Anthony Collins a try. Collins has filled in at both tackle positions in his time as a Bengals with little loss in production. I would welcome an open competition between the two this year. Whit would likely win, but competition can’t hurt.

Moving to the interior, Kevin Zeitler is an obvious lock at right guard for years to come. At left guard, however, the Bengals have an interesting situation. Clint Boling played pretty well for the majority of the season. But the Bengals has a lot of money–$5.35M–invested in Travelle Wharton over the next two years. Will that money buy him an advantage at the starting spot? It’s sharp cheddar to pay a backup. Or will that big contract make him a cap casualty?

The Bengals have already announced that there will be an open competition between Trevor Robinson, the undrafted rookie who did a respectable job for much of the season after taking over from Jeff Faine, and Kyle Cook, the undrafted signal-caller for the past few years who struggled after returning from a knee injury. That promise of a competition means that Cook will not become a cap casualty on the cusp of free agency. But if he can’t win the job over Robinson, could the ax fall at the end of training camp? His salary could buy a quality free agent.

With the young talent on the interior, the war room is unlikely to pick a guard or center until the later rounds, if at all. If talks with Smith do not go well, they could look at taking Alabama’s D.J. Fluker. Or if they have to tag Smith, they could decide to look for a developmental project like Terron Armstead, who set the Combine abuzz by running a 4.65/40.

The front office will not invest big money in anyone but Smith this year, so high priced free agents are out of the question. They may pick up a free agent along the way, but they will likely be content with low draft picks and college free agents. How do you see it?

The linebacker group is another position that could be in for a complete overhaul this offseason. All of the veteran players are currently free agents. How many are worth bringing back? Could the Bengals turn them all loose and start over?

The hidden gem of the entire 2012 draft was clearly Vontaze Burfict. He took the “typical Bengals move” punchlines made in the wake of his signing and made them look stupid. Marvin Lewis knew what he could have in Burfict, the enforcer he has been seeking for a decade. Lewis commented this week at the combine that Vontaze could play “wherever he wants”. That’s Marvin-speak to say Burfict is on track to take over at the MIKE position, even in spite of his dominant season at WILL.

Then there is the defamed Rey Maualuga. Rey will explore free agency, but how much interest will there be for a poorly rated backer who is prone to over-pursuit, misses gap assignments and has poor coverage skills? Perhaps his old coach, Pete Carroll, will try to bring the Samoan back to form. If not, the most likely scenario I see is for him to return to the Bengals at a near-minimum deal to compete for the SAM position, where he was better in his first two years. This would simplify his job, since SAM is geared toward stopping the run–which he is better at–and relieves him of captaining the defense.

There there are the duo of Manny Lawson and Thomas Howard, who came to the team together in 2011. Lawson didn’t have a bad year, but it wasn’t a good year, either. And Thomas observed most of the season from the IR list. Either would cost the team about $2.5M/year to bring back. I suspect the team will let Lawson leave, and may try to return Howard to compete with a draft pick for the weak side spot.

Finally, I could see the team wanting to re-sign jack-of-all-trades backer Dan Skuta for a similar $1.3M contract, allowing him to compete for one of the outside positions but mainly keeping him for depth because of his flexibility. He may want to look for a better shot at a starting gig on another team. It’s hard to say if he will find it.

Known for having an affinity for players from Georgia, a number of mock drafts have pegged the Bengals to address their need at LB early with Alec Ogletree. But his recent DUI charge and brushes with the law in college cloud the issue. Is he a basically good kid who made a couple of mistakes? Or is he just a knucklehead, a reincarnation of Odell Thurman? Fans lean toward the latter. Perhaps the Combine will help determine which is true. He and Burfict could make a great pair, but not good enough if Ogletree can’t keep himself out of trouble. (If Pittsburgh does the formerly-unthinkable and cuts James Harrison for his cap space, don’t expect Ogletree to be there at #21.)

If the Bengals opt to take a safety in the first, they will probably target guys like Khaseem Greene or Arthur Brown with the #53 pick.

I have made no secret that I would love for the Bengals to steal Dannell Ellerbe from the soon-to-be cash-strapped Ravens. Yes, he is an inside backer, but the Bengals routinely move guys out of position. Some may think that I am targeting the wrong Raven, preferring Paul Kruger instead. Either would be a phenomenal grab. But cash will likely preempt either deal from happening. Will the Browns get aggressive and snatch one of those guys instead?

The Bengals could find just as productive a player at less money in Oakland’s Philip Wheeler, who leads PFF’s rankings for LBs at +9.9. Or on an even more cash-friendly level, they could try to bring back Brandon Johnson, who was a capable backup at all positions during his time in Cincinnati.

Much work remains to be done with the group. With the right set of moves, the team will improve their #8 ranking in points allowed in 2012 and become the premier defense in the division. A lot is riding on a handful of moves at this position over the next two months.

Another position headed for an overhaul is the running backs. Only BJGE and Dan Herron are signed with them team past March 11. With the rest as free agents, now is a perfect time to reshape a position that has been a significant culprit in the under-performing offense.

We know that BJGE will be back in 2013. But the guy who was supposed to switch off with him, Bernard Scott, will probably be sent to seek his fortunes elsewhere. I was as excited as the rest about the kid for a couple of years. But that excitement has atrophied as he sat on the bench clinging to crutches. That explosive burst we saw on occasion is of little use on the sidelines.

Someone who fans are debating over is Brian Leonard. He was an effective third-down option for Carson Palmer, but he has not received the same opportunities under Jon Gruden. With his production down, some want to let him walk while others want to keep him and get him involved on third downs again.

The free agent most likely to return is Cedric Peerman. The Bengals often keep their RFAs, and Peerman did well with the opportunities he got in 2012. He averaged 7.2 yds/carry over 36 attempts. Not bad at all. And even if you remove his longest run of 48 yards on a fake punt against Jacksonville, he still averaged 6.0 yds/carry. He has earned the chance to come back and see if he can be productive with more touches, and that chance could come at Brian Leonard’s expense.

Finally, Dan Herron will return to contribute again on special teams, filling the spot left by Peerman since his rough preseason and 5 yds on 4 carries over the final 4 games of the season aren’t exactly eye-popping. Chris Pressley will return for another year at fullback.

With at least one spot to fill, and as many as three if they decide to clean house for new RB coach Hue Jackson, there is plenty of interest in drafting a guy early in the draft. The draft is stocked enough that the Bengals should not feel pressed to take one in the first round, especially with the devaluing of the position and success of other teams finding great backs in late rounds. The odds of both popular names–Eddie Lacy and Giovani Bernard–being gone by the 37th pick seem low, although other quality backs would still be available even at #53 and #84. Odds look favorable that the Bengals could draft two RBs this year, one early and another late.

Then there are always those temptations in free agency. I’ve heard more than one fan lobby for bringing in the guy they wish had been here all along: Steven Jackson. But entering his 10th season, age and durability are legitimate concerns. I’ve heard others call for Chris Rainey, the troubled RB set to be released by the Steelers who plowed through the Bengals’ defense this season. I don’t even want to talk about the cash-hungry diva Reggie Bush.

There are so many ways to approach upgrading this position that I could have gone crazy with the poll. But instead, I’ll leave it to you to make a comment if you don’t see the names you covet. Discuss.

On Thursday, PFT (among many outlets) ran a story covering comments by Marvin Lewis that will surprise no one: the Bengals will use their profuse cap space to focus on their own players. Just how wise is this strategy?

We hear it every year. “We’re focusing on signing our own guys.” They burst the free agency bubble every year before it is even half way inflated. But this year, it is the right strategy.

Even though having an estimated $54M to spend is a phenomenal amount, the team has to be judicious with it. The price for the success of the past few drafts is coming due. Current free agents Michael Johnson and Andre Smith play at high paying positions. They could cost $16M-$20M/year. Geno Atkins and Carlos Dunlap are entering the final year of their rookie contracts. We would all prefer that the Bengals lock them up now, not wait until they might test free agency. Dunlap doesn’t have the stats (yet) to match MJ, but we can still pencil at least $10M/year for those two. And while the team can’t negotiate with them yet, they have to have money to pay A.J. Green and Andy Dalton when they are eligible to extend next year. That’s at least $10M/year for that pair, and could push up toward $15M/year if they both have the season we hope for in 2013.

If the grand total for the Bengals to sign or tag Johnson, Smith, Atkins and Dunlap comes in at $30M, my old school math tells me that leaves $24M for the Bengals to spend. The team does not need to hold back this year all of the money that they plan to use to negotiate with Green and Dalton next year. But they would be wise not to spend all of it, either.

If they save back around $5M for Dalton and Green, and they need around $9M to sign their draft picks and free agents, that leaves around $10M for returning guys like Wallace Gilberry, Pat Sims, Adam Jones, Terence Newman, Andrew Hawkins, Cedric Peerman, Dan Skuta, Kevin Huber, and Mike Nugent or Josh Brown.

That is a lot of guys to squeeze into $10M. Too many, in fact. However, they ought to cut Jason Allen ($3M) and Jamaal Anderson ($2.5M) open some room. Could it also put Kyle Cook ($2.5M) and Travelle Wharton ($2.7M) on the cap casualty list? Probably not, but it should be considered. It does put Thomas Howard, Manny Lawson, Robert Geathers, and Rey Maualuga on the Unlikely To Return list.

Bottom line: put away the wish list of high-priced free agents: Greg Jennings, Steven Jackson, Dwight Freeney, etc. My hope is to see the team bring in a few guys to upgrade the team’s depth, primarily at safety. But the reasoning behind the “we’re focusing on signing our own guys” mantra is sound. Doing otherwise would set the team down the same path the Steelers find themselves on right now… overspent.

When is the last time you can remember the Bengals having a formidable secondary? Not just good corners (Joseph/Hall), but an entire secondary? It’s been a while. You might cite the ’05 team that generated turnovers at a prolific rate, but I could also argue that their steep decline in ’06 indicated that they were more opportunistic that year than daunting.

After faltering a bit in 2011 with the departure of JJoe and injury to Hall, the corner position is putting itself together again. Leon Hall had a shaky return in the first few games but ended the year strong. Adam Jones had his first full, healthy season as a Bengal and showed why he draw interest from the coaches. Terence Newman bounced back to have a solid season under his old coach. And while Dre Kirkpatrick did not see nearly as much action as we would have liked, he is another first round talent that will be added to the mix for 2013.

Safety, however, is the ugly step-child of the secondary. The team usually waits until the late rounds to draft at this position, and the guys they do draft don’t seem to stick past their rookie contract. They are perennially on the hunt for bargain free agents to fill the holes in the torn, patchwork quilt that is the backfield. But with the team having fewer glaring needs than the past, this neglected spot is coming into focus this year. Many fans want the Bengals to address this spot much earlier in the draft. At least by Round 3, if not earlier.

Three options rise to the top of the draft class: Kenny Vaccaro, Matt Elam and Jonathan Cyprien. To get Vaccaro, the Bengals would certainly have to grab him in the first round (if he even gets to pick #21). And it is dicey to think that they could wait until their second pick in the second round (#53) to grab Elam or Cyprien, although they could still go after guys like Bacarri Rambo (you’ve gotta love a name like that!) or D.J. Swearinger even into the third round.

Another tactic may not follow as solid of logic and would certainly not be a long-term solution but could be as sweet as 5-scoop bowl of revenge: Ed Reed. With the Ravens already overspent for the 2013 salary cap without having addressed the $20M or so it will cost to keep Joe Flacco, it is pretty safe to assume that Reed has played his last game in a Ravens uniform. Has he played his last game for good? Is he too purple-and-black to sign with the Bengals for a year or two? Even if so, there is a long list of other free agent safeties that could be brought in–not all for major money either–and make a contribution.

You know what to do. (I’ve split the poll for double the fun!)

Until free agency begins in a few weeks, it is difficult to know just how the Bengals are crafting their approach to the draft. And the group that we could debate about most over what the right approach would be is the wide receivers.

The need for a receiver not named A.J. Green to be a legitimate threat on the field was the most discussed topic of last year’s offseason. It was doubtfully a coincidence, either, that the Bengals’ best offensive came when Mohamed Sanu had his 4 game outburst at midseason. The need is real, the remedy is clear, but the solution is nearly as muddled as it was a year ago.

This has led to some fans wanting to draft another big time, pro-ready receiver to pair with A.J. Green. Someone like Cordarrelle Patterson, should the football gods smile and make him available for the taking at #21. That would be quite a potent tandem, indeed, much like Mike Wallace and Antonio Brown. Perhaps a little too much. It is highly doubtful that the team would eventually be able to pay both receivers the big time contracts. Could you let a talented receiver walk in four years, much like Pittsburgh will bid farewell to Wallace in a few weeks? Or would you prefer to reap the riches of two potent WRs (as the falcons are) for four years and worry about replacing someone when that time comes?

Others want a proven talent now, and a free agent like Greg Jennings fits the bill nicely. Again, the potency is difficult to argue. A guy like Jennings should certainly raise Dalton’s level just by being on the field. But we know the Bengals’ history of (not) pursuing high dollar, high demand free agents. And unlike Patterson, the contract that a top free agent will command will hamper efforts to re-sign all of the other talent (MJ, Smith, Atkins, Dunlap) that we want the front office to get done.

Still others hold to the rule of thumb that most receivers take a year to develop. If that is true, Mohamed Sanu and/or Marvin Lewis ought to be ready to step into that role. And with Andrew Hawkins likely to return as a RFA, shouldn’t that be enough to get the job done? If so, the team could lower the priority of a WR in the draft and grab another quality receiver in round 3 or 4 who just needs a little time to bring his game up to the pro level.

Yet another approach would be to draft an affordable free agent receiver, perhaps Ted Ginn or Josh Cribbs. The departure of Brandon Tate creates a need for a receiver/return man, and either would be an upgrade from Tate and make the position at least a little deeper (more so with Ginn than Cribbs). Then the war room could sift for a value pick later, much like they got with Marvin Jones, or simply bypass the position in the draft.

So give me your draft strategy for the receiver position. How much need do you see, and where does that need fit in the free agency and draft process?

This position has been more patchwork than plan for too long. It is time the Bengals take a quality safety high in the draft or snatch a guy the way the 49ers swooped in and stole Donte Whitner a couple of years ago.

Reggie Nelson: signed through 2015
Reggie had another solid season and proved to be worth wooing back from leaping to the Jets. (Given the Jets season, I’m sure he feels he made the right decision.) He should be a staple of the backfield for a few more years.

Chris Crocker: unrestricted free agent
Left on the scrap heap after the 2011 season, Crocker was brought back when the position was a mess and had a productive season. He attributed that in large part to having fresh legs from not being in anyone’s training camp. If the Bengals give him another year, how hard will they work him in camp?

Nate Clements: unrestricted free agent
I don’t say this with disrespect because of his good 2011 season, but the party is over. The transition to safety didn’t work. We thank you sincerely and wish you well in whatever comes next.

Taylor Mays: signed through 2013
Potential unrealized. He may be a physical freak, but we are still waiting for it to translate to the field. Zimmer may like him, but time is running out. If he cannot show improvement in preseason games, it’s time to move on.

Jeromy Miles: restricted free agent
The special teams contributor continues to flirt with playing time. The team will likely bring him back. Will he ever break out and become more than just a teams guy?

Robert Sands: signed through 2014
Sands was making some noise in the preseason before a chest injury put him on IR for the season. A late-season arrest did not get him tossed from the roster, but it didn’t make his position any safer, either. If he picks up where he left off, he will be fine. But any slippage in his play or repercussions from his arrest could cause the ax to drop.

George Iloka: signed through 2015
He played in the first four games of the season, but his play was not impressive and his status slipped to the point where he spent the final six games deactivated. Not exactly a vote of confidence from the coaches. He may hang on to a spot next year, but he could find himself bounced if they keep Crocker and add a guy with a high draft pick.

Tony Dye: signed through 2014
For a college free agent, Dye wasn’t bad. I look for him to land on the practice squad when all is said and done.

Free Agent Wish List
Could they make a run at Dashon Goldson? The 49ers don’t have much cap space, and despite losing, just making it to New Orleans will drive up every free agent’s asking price. He would definitely bring the physicality demanded in the AFC North in the run game but is reported to be a liability in pass coverage. The Giants will have a hard time keeping Kenny Phillips if they choose to re-sign Martellus Bennett, though Phillips may draw enough outside interest to scare off the Bengals front office.

Draft Options
Three names stand out, and you probably know them all: Kenny Vaccaro, Matt Elam and Eric Reid. If Vaccaro slides to the Bengals at #21, I would be all for taking him. If they go elsewhere in the first round, Elam and Reid are currently ranked as a bit of a reach for the Bengals at #35, but that could change in the next 3 months depending on workouts and whose agent can create some buzz. (Personally, I’d rather get Giovani Bernard at #35, if possible.)

As unexcited as I was about the teams participating in this year’s Super Bowl, congratulations are still in order to the winner. So here is a tip of the hat to the Baltimore Ravens, along with as many nice things as I can muster. (Sorry it isn’t a longer list.)

A sincere, heart-felt congratulations to Bobbie Williams on collecting a ring. He was nothing but class in his 8 years with the Bengals. I am truly glad for the big guy.

I am sure that there is no better feeling for Ray Lewis than going out on top. With the game now over, Ray’s career moves into the past tense. He had not been the larger-than-life figure on the field the past couple of years, but the lack of his emotional leadership will have some effect on the team next year. I’m not saying the team will fall apart without him, but a hole in the team’s fabric is still a hole. It will take some time for the team to adjust to life without him.

Joe Flacco earned himself a big, fat payday with the win and with gaining the MVP title in the process. And I hope he smashes the team’s piggy bank. PFT is speculating that he will cost the team north of $20M per year. (Can you say “Cha-ching!” boys and girls?) Both the team and Flacco made statements in the immediate aftermath of the game that they want him to play in Baltimore for the rest of his career. But love of city and team isn’t going to get the deal done. I would not be surprised if Flacco’s agent opens negotiations with the Ravens at 5 years/$120M with half guaranteed.

That being the case, Flacco will consume at least one-sixth of the team’s $120M salary cap next year. And the team was estimated to have only $15M-$16M in cap space for 2013 before the Super Bowl win. And with the win, everyone’s price tag just went up. This will put the team in the same position that the Steelers are dealing with now: renegotiating and cutting the contracts of expensive veterans to be able to keep key players.

If the Ravens need to clear out $4M+ to ink a deal with Flacco, plus another $6M-ish to sign their draft picks, they are going to have a difficult time keeping other key free agents. Paul Kruger had a strong season and will undoubtedly be the target of several teams in need of a productive pass rusher. Dannell Ellerbe will also be pursued by several teams. Both TEs–Dennis Pitta and Ed Dickson–are restricted free agents this year. They won’t be terribly expensive to keep (this year), but every dollar will have to come from somewhere. Other notable free agents include Bryant McKinnie, James Idehigbo, Cary Williams, and of course, Ed Reed.

So congratulations, Baltimore. Enjoy it now before the hangover sets in.

I appreciate the perspectives out here on WDF regarding who will win today, and who we are rooting for, but I need to be blunt and say that I personally despise both of these teams, and I could care less who won.

I mean, how can any red-blooded Bengal fan root for the 49ers to win this game??  This is the team that ripped our collective hearts out in both of our Super Bowl appearances.    I was in grade school for Super Bowl XVI, and high school for Super Bowl XXIII and I remember them both in grandiose detail.  Both times I felt confident of victory, and both times I was disappointed.  For you young fans, who may have been too young for those games, imagine your disappointment after the Texans loss, and magnify it by 1000, and you might get close to the feeling of losing the big game.  I will forever hate Joe Montana and his evil minions Jerry Rice, John Taylor, and Roger Craig for that.  To this day, decades later, I can close my eyes and see John Taylor catching the game-winning touchdown from Montana in Super Bowl XXIII, the ball sailing just past the outstretched arm of new Browns defensive coordinator Ray Horton.  I remember Lewis Billups dropping a sure interception, and Krumrie’s leg flapping in the air.

Then there’s the Ravens.  A divisional opponent.  Ray Lewis and Ed Reed have been Bengal killers for years.  In 1999 they did what the Bengals couldn’t do:  They broke through with a great defense, solid special teams, and a “good enough” offense to win it all.  The Bengals have a great defense, a solid special teams, but I guess the offense isn’t “good enough” enough. Sigh.  To me, Baltimore reminds me of what the Bengals could–and should–be, but aren’t.  And that’s a tough pill to swallow.

Normally I pull for the AFC participant (unless the Giants are playing–they’re my NFC team).  This year, though, I’m rooting for a 0-0 tie with both teams looking embarrassingly average.  I can’t stand either Harbaugh brother, and I can’t wait to see Ray Lewis retire.  Kaepernick is a gimmicky quarterback, and Flacco is an overrated one.  Randy Moss is playing and talking S*&$, and former Bengals Bobbie Williams, Justin Smith, and Ahmad Brooks are all soaking in the glory.

Ithink I’m gonna puke.

The only thing that would be worse would be a Niners-Steelers Super Bowl.

I was listening to ESPN’s Mike & Mike discuss the possibility of the read-option run by RG3, Russell Wilson and Colin Kaepernick to change the way the game is play, and I got to wondering… is that a change you would like to see?

This could be a moot question in a year or two. We are on the early side of the development of the read-option. If defenses figure out an effective way to counter this style of play, then it will go the way of the wildcat. And those style of QBs may become a mere footnote in the greater history of the NFL (much like Pat White).

I don’t see the read-option being that kind of flash-in-the-pan phenomenon, though.

So, let’s say defenses continue to struggle with the read-option. In a copy-cat league like the NFL, we know at least a few teams will try to integrate it into their playbook next season. If they find some success with it, and if Wilson and Kaepernick chew through the NFC South and AFC South in 2013, we could be sitting on the cusp of a major shift in the way the NFL game is played.

The balance will quickly shift toward offense. That means points. And the viewing public loves points, right? Games that now end in 20-17 scores will jump because the read-option (at least right now) has one more threat than the defense can cover. For example, the 49ers were 11th in points scored this year (had they scored all season at the 28.6 pts/game that they have with Kaepernick at QB, they would have been 4th in the league), while the Seahawks were 9th and the Redskins were 4th. The read-option allowed novice QBs to keep pace with many of the games elite gunslingers in terms of points scored.

Fantasy leagues would thrive on the infusion of points. Do you want to watch high-scoring shootouts every Sunday? Would the NFL end up feeling like arena football?

The counter-shift on defense will be an even higher priority on speed across the board. Smaller defensive linemen who are fast and can get off of blocks will become an ultra-premium because they will have to react quickly to what the QB is doing. Linebackers will also need to be smaller and faster. And defensive assignments will evolve, with someone–a safety or a backer–becoming responsible for the rushing QB. I see those changes translating easier to a 3-4 defense. (Of course the Bengals run a 4-3.)

So, do you see this potential evolution in the game as a good thing? Would you welcome a shift toward speed and offense that the read-option may bring? Or do you want to leave the blend of the hard-hitting, power game and the speed play that we have now just the way it is?

Super Bowl: Sunday Feb 3 6:30pm

The SuperBowl this year (also known as the Harbaugh Bowl) is this Sunday. I believe there are reasons that as a Bengal fan you could root for or against either team. Usually, because the Bengals are not in the big game, I root for a good game. However, I think this season I will be rooting for the 49′ers. First off, if you are into NFL betting then as of this post the Ravens were 4 point underdogs to the team from San Fran.

Reason 1 to root for the 49′ers, Ray Lewis. This is the biggest reason for me. I am done with this guy. Yes, he is a great player. Yes, in recent history he has “given back” to the community. I still remember the punk from the U. I remember that he was guilty of more than what he ended up being charged with relating to a murder and I am over the over dramatic way he approaches pretty much everything.

Reason 2 to root for the 49′ers, the fans. Yeah, as Bengals fans we take enough gruff from the fans of the Ravens and the Steelers. It is why we celebrate so much when we beat them. In their eyes the Bengals are the little brother not worthy of being on the same field and another Super Bowl win will just increase that kind of behavior.

Reason 3 to root for the 49′ers, Colin Kaepernick. For some reason I have a soft spot for this kid. I liked him coming out of college and root for him to do well. Of all the young Qb’s (minus Dalton of course) the upside to this kid is big. I think he can be a star in the right system and he may have that system in San Fran.

I am well aware the 9ers are the team that shattered the Bengals dreams in the 80′s but the Ravens shattering them currently trumps this. So I through my support behind the San Fransisco 49ers this weekend. But I still hope it is a good game.

This is a position that must be addressed high in the draft. Excessive pressure is being put on Andy Dalton because the running game is often stagnant. The Bengals looked their best in the 3-games stretch where BJGE had consecutive 100-yard games. That needs to be the rule, not the noteworthy occurrence.

BenJarvus Green-Ellis: signed through 2014
Not all will agree, but I see him as a small upgrade from Cedric Benson. I prefer his nose for the first-down marker, his quiet work ethic and (mostly) sure hands. But is he a primary back? I’m not feeling it. A complimentary guy with more speed would bring more potency to the running game. That might reduce his carries, but it should make his carries more effective.

Bernard Scott: unrestricted free agent
Like many, I thought that 2012 would be his year. Turns out it was his year on crutches. He seems to always be fighting nicks and dings. I hope he gets a shot somewhere next year, but I doubt it is here.

Brian Leonard: unrestricted free agent
The Leapster was an interesting phenomenon for a while and a handy third-down option, but he seems to have been figured out. The team may give him a deal, but it will be mainly for depth if they do. It depends largely on what they think of Dan Herron.

Cedric Peerman: restricted free agent
This Ced is exactly the kind of guy you want on the team as a person and a player. As an RFA, the team will bring him back. This off-season will be his time to show that he can be more than a backup and special teams player. But if I get my wish of a high draft pick, he will get pushed to the back of the pack again.

Dan Herron: signed through 2015
Herron was a small disaster in the early going, but he slowly made his way into a little bit of playing time. If the coaches like the way he is trending, he could replace Brian Leonard as the “gadget” guy of the group when Gruden wants to dig into his bag of tricks. At half of Leonard’s cost, I think Herron has the edge here.

Chris Pressley: signed through 2013
I know he is a fullback, but I’m not doing a post just on him. Pressley does his job well enough, and his position for next season is safe… if there is such a thing as safe in the NFL. They will probably bring in a CFA just to keep him honest, but the kid would have to be pretty impressive to unseat Pressley.

Free Agent Wish List
Can you already the clamor to bring in Steven Jackson, the guy they should have taken instead of Chris Perry? If that’s your wish, good luck to you on that. He will be 30 next season. He won’t be cheap. Mike Brown loves him some old-and-cheap bargains, but old and expensive ain’t on the Owner/GM menu at the PBS commissary. And beyond Jackson, the list gets uninspiring quickly. Keeping Cedric Peerman is a better option than most of what remains (aside from Danny Woodhead, who won’t leave New England).

Draft Options
It was hard not to be impressed by Eddie Lacy in the national title game. And I like much of what I have read about Giovani Bernard. Either way, I very much want the Bengals to address this need by the end of the 2nd round. Many of the early mock drafts have the Bengals taking lots of defense, but RB simply has to be a high priority. It is as important–maybe more important–than figuring out who the #2 WR will be. A stronger threat to run will not allow teams to set so deep and key solely on A.J. Green. There must be more balance on offense, and they will have to draft that guy.

Sometimes in sports, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. I would say that was the case with the Bengals’ corners this year. Largely a group of cast-offs from other teams, the team ended up ranked 7th in passing defense for the season. Who would have guessed that to start the season?

Leon Hall: signed through 2015
Coming off of an Achilles injury, there was no way to know what to expect from Hall this year. He got torched frequently to start the year, but as his play improved–along with the return of Pat Sims–the defense became the tough unit we are used to seeing. Hall’s salary more than triples to $6M this season. With the Bengals leading the league in cap space, however, there is no chance of him being a cap casualty.

Adam Jones: unrestricted free agent
It took him a long time to stay healthy for a full season, but he proved to be a valuable commodity once he could stay on the field. Currently atop PFF’s ratings for CBs at +11.1, he will generate interest. I would like to think that both he and the team are happy enough with each other to work out a respectable 2 or 3 year deal. Three legit corners is a working minimum in the league now.

Terence Newman: unrestricted free agent
What a pleasant surprise Newman turned out to be, much like Nate Clements in 2011. His resurgence under Mike Zimmer ought to be enough to get him to want to return. Another deal makes sense for the team, too, as depth at corner is something the teams hasn’t had in a while.

Jason Allen: signed through 2013
If Newman is the thrill of victory, then Allen was the agony of defeat. He only got into 4 games, making a grand total of 3 tackles all season. Due $3M for 2013, can he survive past June 1 unless the position is ravaged by injury again? Few will be shocked, or disappointed, if he doesn’t.

Dre Kirkpatrick: signed through 2015
He didn’t make it very far through the rookie learning curve. An off-season without crutches will do him a world of good, but he has a long way to go before he starts opposite Leon Hall. Re-signing Jones and Newman buys the time they need until Dre is ready to take over.

Brandon Ghee: signed through 2013
Time is running short on Ghee, who was drafted as insurance in case the team could not keep Johnathan Joseph. Full of promise, he has not been able to stay on the field. He missed all of 2012 on IR with a wrist injury. If he can stay healthy in 2013, he could make a good fifth corner. Right now, that’s a big “if”.

Shaun Prater: signed through 2015
Ditto Ghee, only he has a longer leash. If both he and Ghee are healthy and playing well when the season starts, I could see Ghee making the team while Prater waits on the practice squad, since he is eligible and Ghee is not. But Prater will not make that an easy decision for coaches. A long, hard-fought camp battle between Ghee and Prater will be a good thing for the team.

Chris Lewis-Harris: signed through 2014
You probably only remember the college free agent for his 15-yard penalty for interfering with a fair catch in the playoff game in Houston. He is likely to find himself on the practice squad again in 2013, if he is employed by the Bengals at all come September.

Taveon Rogers: signed through 2014
Rogers could not stick as a receiver, so he flipped to defense in an attempt to make the team. A pre-season shoulder injury derailed those plans. If he has speed and hands, perhaps he could be a dark horse to challenge for a spot during camp. Perhaps.

Free Agent Wish List
Of course, this discussion has to begin with Darrelle Revis. What’s not to like? He would be the ideal counter to Torrey Smith and Sheldon Brown, noticeably shifting the balance of power in the AFC North. Despite the Bengals having plenty of cashm to sign him, the idea has all of the earmarks of a pipe dream.

The Jets won’t get what they hope to receive (multiple firsts to a 1st & a 3rd) for a guy coming off a significant knee injury. But the Bengals do not surrender high draft picks easily if at all. While they can afford his salary this year, they are unlikely to want to pay him the $10M-$11M/year that he wants for his next deal. And as someone who has proven he will hold out to get what he wants, would he dare to begin angling for that money this year? By my Bengals math, High Picks + Major Money + Injury Questions = No Deal.

A name that intrigues me is Keenan Lewis. The Steelers surely want him back since he emerged as a quality defender this year. So what not weaken a rival and strength yourself at the same time? Leodis McKelvin is another guy who, like Lewis, could be a solid addition at a reasonable price. Same for Michael Adams of the Cardinals, who are tight on cash and will be looking to re-sign Greg Toler first.

Draft Options
My spider senses tell me that the Bengals will not target a CB until the third day of the draft. The needs at LB, S and on offense simply outweigh any need at this spot. Unless they let both Jones and Newman sign elsewhere. With Hall and Kirkpatrick signed for another 3 years, and with Ghee and Prater for depth, keeping Jones and Newman is the key to keeping a strong unit. And giving Allen’s money to a guy like Lewis makes them all the better.

The trend toward receiving tight ends not only makes game sense, it also makes business sense. TEs cost half (or less) of what WRs cost. When a team can get a guy who is a physical mismatch at half the price of play-making WR, what’s not to like about the guy?

Jermaine Gresham: signed through 2014
Gresham is a microcosm of the teams’ offense. Inconsistent. Laden with potential. Under-performing. MIA at times. He ought to dominate the middle of the field with his size, but his hands stop that from happening. He will make a fantastically tough catch on one play only to drop an easy catch on the next. The team will stick with Gresham as the lead TE through the off-season and well into the regular season. If he does not show clear signs of progression by the midpoint of the season, they ought to begin relying more on Charles and think about moving on this time next year. But hopefully it doesn’t come to that. He needs to study guys like Tony Gonzalez, Heath Miller and Owen Daniels, and find the little things they do that would bring his game closer to their level of play.

Orson Charles: signed through 2015
To me, Charles is a microcosm of the lack of creativity in the offensive scheme this year. He had 8 receptions all year. I’m not saying he should have had 50 catches, but 8? Dual tight end sets could be a bigger portion of how the Bengals attack opponents next season. He is reported to have the hands to make an impact over the middle and in the red zone, but we have little from his rookie season to confirm or deny those reports. That tells me the team either wouldn’t or couldn’t open the playbook as wide as the better offenses in the league do. That problem in on the coaching staff.

Richard Quinn: unrestricted free agent
He was never active for a game with the Bengals. That can’t be an encouraging sign for a 4th year player. He will either take a minimum contract with the Bengals and battle with practice squader Bryce Davis for the 3rd spot, or else seek his fortunes elsewhere in 2013.

Free Agent Wish List
The team has its two active TEs in Gresham and Charles, so why drop big money to bring one in? So as fun as it would to banter over a Martellus Bennett, it just isn’t going to happen. But they need depth in case one of their guys gets injured.

As a Purdue fan, I’d love to bring in Dustin Keller. The Jets are seriously overspent (nearly $20M over the cap) and will have a hard time keeping him. But again, money will make his name a non-starter. At best we are probably looking at a guy like Jared Cook of the Titans, and maybe more along the level of an Ed Dickson. Woo. Hoo.

Draft Options
I don’t see the team investing a high draft pick at this position, so guys like Tyler Eifert and Zach Ertz will be long gone by the time they look for a TE. I would be happy if they address it early enough to get Travis Kelce, who strikes me as coming from the Dallas Clark mold. But I wouldn’t be surprised if they wait even later and go for guys like Levine Toilolo from Stanford or Joseph Fauria out of UCLA.

There will be plenty of angst from certain quadrants of Bengals Nation in regards to Andy Dalton over the next 6 months. The pessimists among us are plentiful and proud. But are they right?

Will certain fans try to sack Dalton during the off-season?

Cue the hand-wringing.

Let’s be honest. On one hand, any derivative of the word “regress” is just wrong. Most of his stats improved from last year. We might not have seen as much progress as we had hoped, but he didn’t get worse. On the other hand, he made some bad decisions with the ball–particularly in December–and struggled at times with accuracy, particularly when going deep down field. He grew in many areas but not all. And that is n-o-r-m-a-l for QBs in their second season.

Take a look at the second year stats for Matt Ryan, who is poised to break into the “elite QB” conversation. You’ll see a mixed bag. Same goes for Drew Brees and Philip Rivers in their second full seasons. Or look at Joe Flacco (a closer comparison for Dalton in terms of ceiling IMO… both may be top 10 QBs one day but I don’t see either being a top 5 guy) in his second season, and you’ll see numbers very similar to Dalton last year.

The bottom line is this: Don’t panic. The second season just isn’t a good gauge for a QBs career path. If we do not see a clear step forward in his third season, then we will be having a very different conversation next year (against a loud chorus of “I old you so” from Pessimism Inc.) about what to do at QB. But we are not there yet. Andy deserves another year of development. Besides, there is squat among free agent QBs and the team is not going to draft another QB in the high rounds this year, so all of the consternation won’t change one thing anyway.

Bruce Gradkowski: unrestricted free agent
For the sake of Dalton’s continued development, I would like to see the Bengals keep Gradkowski for another year or two. As Andy comes into his own over the next couple years, having a familiar, experienced support structure behind him will still be important as he gains confidence. Rather than making Dalton the veteran at the position in his third year, let Grad be the old man of the group a little longer. He is serviceable if needed for a short run, and he allows the team to carry just two QBs and carry an extra man elsewhere if they choose. He won’t exactly be in high demand, so he price should stay under $2M/yr, which is certainly affordable.

Zac Robinson: signed through 2014
The Bengals like Zac well enough to keep him on the practice squad for two years. With his eligibility for the PS expired, they have to either put him on the team or release him. To stay on, his job this off-season is to prove to the coaches that he can perform at least equal to Gradkowski, saving them money if they choose him and let Grad go.

Free Agent Wish List
Talk about a thin crop! You might get an upgrade in backups by bringing in Tarvaris Jackson, but I feel sorry for any team sorting through this list in search of a starter. The best option on the list is Matt Moore, a completely unknown quantity. After that, they’re left picking through names like Rex Grossman, Derek Anderson, Brady Quinn, Jordan Palmer… Ugh.

Draft Options
I’ll fall out of my chair if the war room goes for a QB before the fifth round. By that point, he’s pretty much just a guy to keep Robinson honest with a little competition. For a late pick, as a Big10 guy, I’d take Matt McGloin of Penn State late in the sixth to serve in that role. To lead Penn State to a good year after the catastrophic off-season they had, the kid has to have a little something as a leader.

Ok, so the Bengals are out. However, NFL football is still going on and like us, most of you will be watching.

Who do you root for?

Personally I am torn. Part of me wants to root for the Ravens. My reasoning is that they are a division opponent and whats good for the division is good for the Bengals. The Bengals will get to play them twice next season and it would be nice to beat a super bowl team twice next year. I do not want to root for Ray Lewis. I am just tired of this guy, and will be happy when he retires.

I only would root for the Pats for a couple reasons. My wife’s uncle is a huge fan and if they win it means the Ravens lose. However, I am as tired of this team as I am of Ray Lewis. Probably jealousy, but it is what it is.

On the NFC side there is more interesting story lines.

Atlanta. I like Tony Gonzales, a lot. After 16 years in the league he has finally won a playoff game. He is one of the great tight ends and a ring could not go to someone more deserving.

San Fran. I like Colin Kaepernick. This is a QB I was high on for the Bengals when he was in the draft and I really like the way he plays. A mobile guy with a strong arm, he is fun to watch.

If you are in a place where you could make a wager, think about a parlay bet and pick the winner of both games. It may turn watching teams that you don’t care about into teams you do care about.

WhoDey

2012 was a great year to be a Bengals fan! They made the playoffs in back to back years for the first time in 30 years. That’s amazing. The Bengals are an up and coming team STILL and they play in a division where the rest of the players are turning into grumpy old men. Ed Reed, Troy Palamalu can’t play forver. Its guys like Ray Rice, Antonio Brown, Mike Wallace that scare me in the AFC North. We get it, the playoff outcome is not what he had hoped for but let’s be real here fans. It could be a LOT worse. We’d love to hear your thoughts this offseason on what the Bengals should do to strengthen the team so please email us or leave us feedback on iTunes, via email or on Twitter. Let’s look back on 2012 as the positive season that it was, and get pumped for 2013.

In this week’s show:

We look back at the loss in Houston

John from KY calls in and gives us his take on Rey Mauluga and Marvin Lewis.

Who’s to blame?

Shoutouts/Announcements

Looking ahead to 2013 and the draft

THANK YOU to everyone who downloaded Who-Dey Weekly this year. It’s been an amazing ride meeting Bengals fans across the globe. You fans are the reason we keep doing this show! Please feel to email us this offseason. I will do my best to do projects here and there to keep the podcast fresh in your mind. We’ll be back around the draft to cover the Bengals. Looking forward to a fun offseason and an even bigger 2013 for Who-Dey Weekly!!!

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It’s one year later, and the question remains the same: who is the #2 receiver? That fact that we could list at least three names is evidence that there still isn’t one. This isn’t the only question facing the offense this off-season, but failing to find a good answer will continue the inconsistency in the passing game.

A.J. Green: signed through 2014
What can I say about him that your eyes haven’t already told you? He is a team player and won’t gripe if he has to play one more year under his rookie deal. With all of the money they will be spending on Johnson, Smith, Atkins, etc, they will need enough room left to offer him something like a 7-year/$60M+ deal.

Mohamed Sanu: signed through 2015
Expectations will be high in 2013. Surprisingly, he only logged 153 yds before going on IR. But with 4 TDs in 16 catches, the kid is clutch. There were rumors of him being poor in practice, which sounds way too much like Jerome Simpson for my liking. If he learns an appreciation for preparation like Geno Atkins did in his first off-season, we could be in for a real treat next year.

Marvin Jones: signed through 2015
Tall and fast, the tangibles work in his favor. But he just hasn’t wowwed us as much as I’d hoped. Many receivers need a year of seasoning, so perhaps 2013 will be his breakout year. He caught for more yards than Sanu, but with only 1 TD (in the season-ending scrimmage game against the Ravens), those yards are simply more forgettable. Not fair, but true.

Andrew Hawkins: restricted free agent
Hish height works against him, but he makes good things happen when he has the ball. He more than doubled his production from 2011, but it still seems like Gruden could further work him into the offense with more screens and misdirection plays (basically extended runs). However, he won’t ever be the #2WR.

Brandon Tate: unrestricted free agent
How was this guy ever a preseason contender for the #2WR? We’ve seen enough to know we’ve seen too much.

Ryan Whalen: signed through 2014
There is a lot standing between Whalen and playing time. He’s currently the fifth man in a 6-man group. With the decent shot that the Bengals draft another guy to move him down the depth chart (again), what if they swung a trade with the Colts–who might like to reunite him with Andrew Luck–perhaps for guy like DB Josh Gordy or RB Donald Brown? Oh well.

Dane Sanzenbacher: signed through 2013
He will be a battler in camp, but he will get a shot to see what he can do.

Vidal Hazelton: unrestricted free agent
The signs are not good for the Haze. He’s run out his eligibility for the practice squad, and he lost out to Sanzenbacher–a guy not even on the team–when they needed to another WR. He might be better served trying to catch on with a team like Miami who has a bigger need at the position.

Free Agent Wish List
Free agency is unlikely to be the way that the Bengals address their need at this position. It’s doubtful they spend the cheddar to bring in a guy, considering their own guys they have to re-sign. And with names like Antonio Bryant and Laveranues Coles such recent memories, who can blame them for being skittish? But let’s have some fun anyway.

How sweet would it be to bring in Dwayne Bowe? Fans would high-five in the streets, the talking heads would have an aneurysm, and defensive coordinators would run to change their shorts. Also, an OSU alum like Brian Hartline might enjoy returning to the Buckeye State. He would be a true #2WR in every aspect of the game. And Greg Jennings‘ name is getting plenty of run in Bengals circles, and why shouldn’t he? He would be quite an asset when the Packers come to town. And in the other 15 games too.

[Oh, and to all of those who knocked my recommendation last year to bring in Reggie Wayne... TTTHHHHHHPPPP!!! But I still love ya anyway.]

Draft Options
I see the #53 pick as a prime spot for the Bengals to target a WR. I found guys like Cordarrelle Patterson and Justin Hunter of Tennessee, Da’Rick Rogers of Tennessee Tech and Markus Wheaton of Oregon State graded to be available around that time according to different Big Boards. I’m not a draft expert, but they all look to have the kind of size that the Bengals like. The real question is whether the war room believes they need a receiver this high.

This is the first in a series of articles looking through each of the position groups with an eye toward free agency. And why not begin with one of the lightning rods for this team?

Rey Maualuga: unrestricted free agent
Often a liability, he should not be the middle backer next year. But I say he will be a Bengal in 2013. [Collective groan.] Face it. Rey will draw zero interest, making him cheap to re-sign. And he has experience in Zimmer’s system. He is a reclamation project at this point. If Zim can tear him down and rebuild him again (by benching him and making him earn his way onto the field again), he just might find a serviceable player hiding in there somewhere once Rey stops trying to not lose his job.

Vontaze Burfict: signed through 2014
The kid was simply brilliant. Moving him to the middle of the defense is inevitable. Marvin showed his GM skills by reaching out to a kid that everyone else had given up on and finding a real gem in the process.

Manny Lawson: unrestricted free agent
He had a decent if unspectacular season. Re-signing him wouldn’t be a bad move, but it feels like settling. How often did you hear his name? For similar money, I’d prefer Brandon Johnson. This position could be a prime target for a high draft pick.

Thomas Howard: unrestricted free agent
I’d like to see the Bengals give him another chance after missing most of last season. Howard and Burfict could be quite a tandem, the core of the best LB corps the team has had in a long time.

Dan Skuta: unrestricted free agent
Jack of all trades, master of none. One of those guys is good to have, but Lemur is just as good and cheaper.

Vincent Rey: restricted free agent
The kid has hung on longer than I ever thought he would. Good for him. I see another year on the fringes for him as the Bengals hang on to him for depth.

Emmanuel Lemur: signed through 2014
With a season under his belt, I look for Lemur to take another step forward in 2013 as a primary backup player. He made he most of limited chances, and he deserves to be the pacesetter for the non-starters through the off-season. He has Marvin Lewis’ endorsement so far. I think he will live up to it.

Dontay Moch: signed through 2014
After being sidelined for the past two years with physical issues, this is the last go around for Dontay if he can’t get and stay on the field. It would be a shame to see him end up in the over-stuffed “What Might Have Been” NFL drawer, but his time to avoid that fate is running short.

Only three guys are signed past next month (and you could argue that Moch shouldn’t count since the team was trying to convert him to a defensive end) plus J.K. Schaffer on the practice squad. So some big-impact decisions must be made for this position group. Could this be a spot where the Bengals actually spend money to bring in a free agent?

Free Agent Wish List
I would love, love, love to see the Bengals pursue and sign Dannell Ellerbe. Could you imagine a mid-field of Ellerbe, Burfict and Howard? Sure, someone would have to move to SAM, but it sounds like an enforcer-minded unit that would pound opponents into submission. I love the way Ellerbe pursues the play and has a nose for the ball. With Flacco’s impending contract looking likely to squeeze out guys like Dannell, finding $3-4M/yr to put him is stripes would make a huge statement in my book.

The cash-strapped Raiders are going to have a difficult time re-signing Philip Wheeler. So why not pillage that team a little further? The guy is a tackling machine, logging 78 tackles, 3 sacks and 6 passes defensed. And as an OLB, he should be an easier fit than Ellerbe.

There might not be a lot of sizzle here, but Brandon Johnson was always a solid contributor when he was in Cincinnati. He wasn’t actually a starter in most of that time, but he played almost as much as one. Plus, any day the Bengals can add to their team by taking away from the Steelers, I call that a good day.

Michael Johnson should be Cincinnati’s number 1 free agent target

Well, we all would have liked the season to have extended a bit further than it did, but the positives to take away from the 2012 campaign are many.  First, the team broke down several long-standing barriers on the way to back-to-back playoff appearances.  Secondly, the young up-and-coming stars got another season of experience under their belts.  Third, the Bengals have 3 picks in the first two rounds of the 2013 draft thanks to the Carson Palmer trade, and fourthly, according to ESPN the Bengals have a league-leading 55.1 million dollars in cap space. 

Of course, Mike Brown’s frugal nature is partially responsible for this number, but we also have to recognize that the team has been able to assemble a young and talented team while superbly managing the restrictions of the salary cap.  The Brown family deserves kudos for the job done over the last two seasons.  Drafting exceptionally well and supplementing that with solid veterans at value prices has worked out.

Now comes the hard part.   Many of these young stars the team has drafted over the past several years are coming up on big second contracts, and the Bengals will need to be prepared to do what they can to keep them in stripes.  Guys like Geno Atkins, A.J. Green, and Andy Dalton will need extensions soon.  But in the meantime, let’s look at this year’s crop of unrestricted free agents, with some thoughts on whether or how much the team will push to bring them back (note:  Restricted Free Agents were excluded from this analysis since chances are, they’ll be back):

First, the Defense

DE Michael Johnson: In my mind, bringing MJ93 back should be their primary free agency objective. Johnson is still very young (he’ll turn 26 in February) with his best football still ahead of him. At 6’7 and 270, he has rare size and speed, and he’s falt out produced. over the last two seasons, he’s registered 94 tackles, 17.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 2 fumble recoveries,  7 passes defended and 2 interceptions.  Johnson provides a consistent passer rushing bookend and gives offenses another threat besides Geno Atkins. In my view, the team should work to extend him before free agency starts, and if unsuccessful, he is worthy of the franchise tag. Number one priority. 

DE Wallace Gilberry: a mid-season signee after Jamaal Anderson went down, Gilberry proved to be a reliable, consistent, and high motor contributor on the defensive line. Gilberry finished with 24 tackles, 1 forced fumble, 3 fumble recoveries, and an impressive 6.5 sacks in just 14 games. He’s still only 28 years old, and provides the team with a solid back-up with starting ability: everything Anderson was supposed to provide before he was injured. The market for Gilberry shouldn’t preclude the team from being able to provide a competitive offer to retain his services. 

DE Robert Geathers: Geathers has been a good soldier and given Cincinnati his best effort for 9 years now. He can be counted on to do his job to the best of his ability, and he generally does well at setting the edge and staying home. Outside of that, his production has diminished greatly. Pro Football Focus ranked him as the worst of Cincy’s D-linemen, with only 30 combined tackles and 3.0 sacks in 2012.  With Anderson returning from injury, and Carlos Dunlap as the only DE’s under contract with experience, the Bengals need to resign their best options, and of their three fee agent DE’s, Geathers’ waning production and age (he’ll be 30 in camp) make him the odd man out. He could return for a team-friendly price, but as of now I don’t see him coming back. 

DT Pat Sims:  It was clear to me that the Bengal rush defense was better with Sims playing early downs. Sims demands double teams, and clogs up the middle. He even showed some bull rushing ability late in the year. Much was made of the run defense’s issues last season when he went down. with Sims a free agent last year, the team drafted a pair of highly regarded DT’s in Penn State’s Devon Still and Clemson’s Brandon Thompson. With Sims being another player with regular injury and conditioning issues, the signs point to the Bengals moving forward with their youngsters, Still and Thompson. That said, if Sims remains unsigned as camp draws near again-like last year-the Bengals might be tempted to offer him another one-year deal. At this point, I’d say he won’t be back.

LB Thomas Howard: Howard was Cincinnati’s best Linebacker in 2011, and was slated for big things in 2012 before being last for the year after the first game.  The bad news of course was the team had to put him on injured reserve, but the good news is the injury opened the door for Vontaze Burfict to establish himself as a true rising star on defense. My suspicion is that assuming Howard’s knee is healed and he passes all medical checks, the Bengals will push to bring him back. He’ll be 30 at the start of the season, and the Bengals will look to draft a LB either way, but Howard’s return would allow the Bengals to slide Burfict to his natural position of MLB (replacing Maualuga), with Howard retaking his spot on the weak side. 

LB Rey Maualuga: number 58 joined Cincinnati in the second round in 2009, and I, like many other fans, was thrilled by the news. My expectation was that The USC MIKE backer would eventually settle the middle linebacker spot for the Bengals 4-3 defense for the future after failed attempts with guys like Nate Webster, Odell Thurman, Ahmad Brooks, and Dhani Jones. Unfortunately, its time for all of us to admit we were wrong. Maualuga is a good kid and a  ”try hard” guy, but that isn’t getting the job done. He freely admits to being overly critical of his own play and has a hard time getting over mistakes. Worse, I have yet to see him display the kind of aggressiveness and fire you expect to see in a MLB. He’s no Ray Lewis or London Fletcher there. More worrisome is the fact that Mike Zimmer will never be able to hide Maualuga’s lack of quickness or foot speed ever again.  Houston exposed it forever. Most alarming is the fact that Vontaze Burfict, an undrafted rookie who played 2 fewer games and from the weak side, finished with more tackles. The bottom line is that the Maualuga’s era is over, and the Burfict era has begun. The Bengals should make no effort to bring 58 back. 

LB Manny Lawson: Lawson may be another player the team chooses not to pursue. He had a solid if unspectacular season, posting just 39 total tackles and 2 sacks and 1 forced fumble. I see Lawson as a reliable defender for the most part, but much like Maualuga, his speed (or lack thereof) was a bit exposed in 2012.  With the emergence of rookie Emmanuel Lamur, Dontay Moch waiting in the wings, and at least one draft pick likely ticketed to the LB spot, I don’t see Cincinnati pursuing Lawson early on. If he’s still on the market as training camp approaches, they may reconsider, but at this point I don’t see him back. 

LB Dan Skuta:  Skuta will test free agency for the second year in a row. Last year, as a restricted free agent, the special teams ace and smart back-up LB generated some interest from Kansas City before eventually re-signing for a another year. I see the Bengals bringing Skuta back again on a reasonable one or two year deal to remain in his role as a key reserve and special teams captain. However if another team makes a push for him with the promise of a chance to play more defensive snaps, the Bengals could find themselves outbid. 

CB Terence Newman: He’s no spring chicken at 34 years old, but he had a career revival last year under Mike Zimmer’s tutelage. Newman secured the starting spot opposite Leon Hall, finishing with 2 interceptions and a forced fumble. It’s a deep cornerback free agency class which may drive his price tag down, and the potential to play for Zimmer’s (assuming he’s back) will be worth a discount as well. Ultimately, the Bengals will look to youth with Dre Kirkpatrick, Shaun Prater and Brandon Ghee under contract, (plus there’s Jason Allen I guess) but will all three coming off injuries and unproven, the Bengals would do well to bring Newman back on a one year deal. 

CB Adam Jones: Jones should also be brought back on a one or two year deal. Jones proved to be a solid corner in nickel packages, and he is a dynamic return man. The former Pacman has really turned his career around, and a few poor plays notwithstanding, he’s another valuable role player. Between his solid play as a reserve defender, and his value on special teams, the Bengals should get him back. That said, he may draw some interest from other teams now that he’s proven himself. 

CB/S Nate Clements: Clements was signed before the 2011 season as a stopgap response to Johnathan Joseph’s signing with Houston, and that’s all he is. His coverage skills have diminished as he’s clearly lost a step, and his tackling isn’t much better. Newman and Jones beat him out at corner, and the team’s experiment using him as a safety was largely a failure. At 33 and a group of young reserves expected to contribute, it’s doubtful the Bengals will try to bring him back. 

S Chris Crocker:  after the 2011 wild card loss to Houston, Crocker was a persona non grata in Cincy and not expected back. As  a free agent last year he got no play at all until the Bengals signed him off the couch after the secondary couldn’t gel with Clements and Taylor Mays. The goat from 2011 became a Godsend. Much has been made of Crocker’s influence in helping the defense finish in the top 10 again this year, and in particular his ability to communicate with the other DB’s. There’s no doubt the team would like to see Mays or one of the other young safeties take over, and they may use one of their 3 picks in the first two rounds on a safety. So I see this year playing out like last. The team will try to move on from the 33-year old, but will have his phone number handy just in case.

Next, the Offense

OT Andre Smith: I may be in the minority with the fans, but I don’t think the Bengals will tag Smith. He’s a solid tackle, and may just be coming into his prime, but he is by no means irreplaceable. He struggled at times this year with stunts and blitzes, and let’s not forget the guy has constantly shown to have issues with his conditioning. Look, I am all for making a push to bring him back, but if the market gets crazy, the team shouldn’t. That money is better spent in other areas on the team with potential replacements readily available and under contract in Anthony Collins and Travelle Wharton, and there’s always the draft. Plus, it looks like it might be a fairly deep free agency class.  Remember, the team turned down the option they had in his contract to extend him for two more years.  he’s shaped up since then, but not enough to make him a top priority. And if this contract negotiation is anything like his rookie contract, it could get ugly.   

OT Dennis Roland: Roland is a valuable back-up tackle and plays as an extra tight end in heavy packages and run formations. He’s also a special teams contributor and has experience as a starter in a pinch. He shouldn’t demand much on the open market, and re-signing with the club should appeal to him. I see Roland as a valuable role player and its a good fit. Look for the team to work to bring him back. 

WR Brandon Tate: ummm, yeah, no. Call me harsh, but Tate has very little value as a return man, and virtually none as a wide receiver.  Despite having the advantage of having over a year to learn the play book and secure the favor of the coaching staff, Tate couldn’t beat out Armon Binns to start the season, and then quickly lost time to rookies Mohammed Sanu and Marvin Jones once they got their feet wet. At best, he’s fairly reliable in the return game, but even that’s in question. He doesn’t have break-away speed, no real moves in the open field, isn’t always careful with the football, and even fielded a punt inside the five yard line.  It seemed clear that Marvin Lewis was favoring Adam Jones’s potential game breaking ability over Tate’s supposed reliability at the end of the year.  If the team wants to use a roster spot on a player who’s strictly a return man, there will be better options in free agency like Josh Cribbs and Ted Ginn. He’s toast. 

QB Bruce Gradkowski: Gradkowski has been a serviceable back-up signal caller the last two years, and has delivered victories in his only significant playing time (last year’s opener at Cleveland and this year’s finale versus Baltimore). But the ultimate deciding factor as to whether or not he returns could come down to the fate of offensive coordinator Jay Gruden. Gradkowski is a Gruden favorite. If he moves on to be a head coach elsewhere, the new OC may want someone else to back up Andy Dalton.  Hypothetically, if Gruden were to move on and Hue Jackson took over for example, he might want to opt for someone like Jason Campbell. File this one under “We’ll see.” 

RB Bernard Scott:  Scott had a hard-luck 2012, ending on injured reserve. He was expected to provide the Bengal offense with some sizzle to complement the yeoman, lunch pail running of BJGE. I fear this is the end of the line for Scott. The team knows they need to upgrade the position, and it’s doubtful Scott will be a part of their efforts. If he doesn’t get any sniffs elsewhere, he might be a late summer addition for depth, or if other players are injured in camp, but that would be it. 

RB Brian Leonard: Leaping Leonard has certainly earned his keep since coming over in a trade from St.Louis, but his snaps have declined the last two years with Jay Gruden’s arrival and the emergence of Cedric Peerman.  Leonard is a solid special teams contributor, has sure hands and plenty of guts, but I don’t see him coming back, particularly if Gruden and Peerman do. Leonard’s primary value is on 3rd down in pass protection and as an outlet receiver, and unless they try to work more two back sets to take advantage of that, I don’t see him coming back if Peerman does, and since Peerman’s return is all but assured as a restricted free agent, there you go. 

And finally, Special Teams

K Mike Nugent: Nugent was Cincinnati’s franchise player last year, a move made essentially to ensure his return at the relatively affordable franchise number. The Bengals won’t do that again this year for a couple reasons: firstly, they’ll certainly want to keep the tag available for a player with more value like Michael Johnson or Andre Smith perhaps, and secondly, they’ll have more leverage this year with the arrival of Josh Brown. Brown was signed after Nugent injured his calf in practice, and finished the season for the Bengals. Brown may in fact be the better option as he was money, including the kick that killed Pittsburgh, but either way, the Bengals will have two options to negotiate with. 

K Josh Brown: as mentioned above, the Bengals will have the luxury of having two solid kickers who’ll want to return to negotiate with. Brown’s become a hero in WhoDeyville, and sounds like he wants to come back. The Bengals will almost certainly bring back one of these two solid kickers. Brown’s solid performance wins my vote. Besides making everything but a tough 56-yarder at Heinz Field, Brown’s kick-offs have been deeper. 

P Kevin Huber: the Cincinnati product had a career year, and was one of the best in the league. He seemed to have an uncanny ability to pin opponents inside their ten yard line. As a Bengal draft pick, and Cincinnati native, Huber should be motivated to return, and the market should not preclude the team and his agent from cutting a mutually-agreeable deal.  

LS Clark Harris:  Harris is an unrestricted free agent, but there shouldn’t be much concern about his return to Cincinnati.  It’s a good deal for both the Bengals and Harris that he return, and his price tag as a long-snapper and emergency tight end is minimal.  I expect this one to get worked out fairly quickly and without issue.

Who do you think should get tagged, who should be signed back, and who can go flip burgers?

With no further games to discuss for the next seven months, and with John Clayton releasing the list of salary cap space yesterday, it is time to firing up the discussions about free agency. We know that the Bengals will not be major players in bringing in outside guys. (When have they ever been?) But they have plenty to do during the free agency period.

Let’s begin the discussion with a look around the AFC North to see where everyone stands, going in reverse order of space.

Pittsburgh Steelers: -$10.8M

Notable UFAs: Mike Wallace, Larry Foote, Keenan Lewis, Casey Hampton, Rashard Mendenhall, Will Allen, Charlie Batch, Byron Leftwich, Max Starks, Plaxico Burress.
Notable RFAs: Isaac Redman, Jonathan Dwyer, Emmanuel Sanders, Steve McLendon.

These guys are screwed. I love it.

The main story lines we’ll be hearing out of the Evil Empire will be the contracts that they are restructuring. Pushing money out in the future will get them back under the cap and even keep a couple of these guys, but it also extends the problem out into the future. As the third-most overspent team, the cap will be a drag on their roster. Unless they hit a grand slam in the draft, it will be hard to improve on their 8-8 season. Mike Tomlin will take the blame, but overspending is a major culprit. At some point they are going to have to weather a bad season (or more) to right the money ship.

Baltimore Ravens: +$15.7M

Notable UFAs: Joe Flacco, Ed Reed, Dannell Ellerbe, Bryant McKinnie, Sean Considine, James Ihedigbo, Chris Johnson.
Notable RFAs: Dennis Pitta, Ed Dickson.

The main story line for the Ravens will be Joe Flacco, who wants to be paid like a top-tier quarterback. I don’t know that he has all that great of a case. I hope he digs in his heals deep on this, pushing for something in the range of 7 years/$100M. Getting that would pretty much kill there cap space, making it very difficult to sign impact guys on defense like Ellerbe and McKinnie. Ozzie Newsome will not want to give Flacco that much and tie his hands in cap space, but he may have to.

Cleveland Browns: +$48.9M

Notable UFAs: Juqua Parker, Kaluka Maiava, Phil Dawson, Sheldon Brown, Scott Fujita, Ben Watson, Josh Cribbs, Mohamed Massaquoi.
Notable RFAs: Jordan Norwood.

The Browns are flush with money, and they can re-sign anyone they want. The problem is that there biggest impact free agents are getting older, and they aren’t exactly flush with young talent. So look for the new leadership to make a major splash during free agency by signing a few big names, generating plenty of buzz in the news cycles and re-exciting their perennially roller coaster-ridden fan base.

It’s very possible the whole strategy could work, too. At least in 2013. It all depends on who they hire as a coach, what they do at QB, and what free agents they land. There are just too many variables right now to know where this team will head.

Cincinnati Bengals: +$55.1M

Notable UFAs: Andre Smith, Michael Johnson, Kevin Huber, Adam Jones, Terence Newman, Pat Sims, Thomas Howard, Bruce Gradkowski, Manny Lawson, Rey Maualuga, Robert Geathers, Cedric Peerman, Wallace Gilberry, Mike Nugent, Josh Brown, Bernard Scott, Chris Crocker.
Notable RFAs: Andrew Hawkins
Possible Early Extensions: Geno Atkins, Carlos Dunlap, A.J. Green

Mike Brown has driven us nuts by sitting on his wallet for so long, but he will have to open up that fat thing this winter. Not to bring in new guys, but just to keep the ones they’ve got. Smith, Johnson, Huber and Atkins are absolute must-sign guys, and all but Huber are going to cost BIG bucks. Sims, Gilberry, Hawkins and several other guys are keep-if-at-all-possible list, but the price has to make sense.

We are going to have a lot of fun discussing and debating free agents over the next few weeks. It is good to see the Bengals in the driver’s seat in the division. Finally, Mike Brown’s miserly habits pay off!

How often do you hear it said? “Quarterbacks get too much of the credit for wins and too much of the blame for losses.” No matter how often guy like Cris Collinsworth remind us, we are still eager to heap the praise and the criticism on one guy.

There is no denying that Andy Dalton’s play was rough in the final quarter of the season, culminating in an offensive stink bomb in Houston that would make Orkin proud. But I have to concur with my compadre Eric’s assessment that Andy has taken more than his fair share of the blame for the offense’s late-season woes.

From my vantage point, here is where the blame ought to lie.

1) The Offensive Line. I say it all the time: the game is won in the trenches. And this year, the line struggled mightily in pass protection. Much of that had to do with Whitworth playing a bit gimpy and Cook being brought back from a significant foot injury when perhaps he shouldn’t have. In 2011, Football Outsiders ranked them 4th in pass protection. In 2012, that ranking tumbled all the way to 28th, giving up nearly double the amount of sacks from the year before. So, yeah, they had plenty to do it.

2) Jay Gruden. The guy leapfrogged from the UFL all the way to NFL offensive coordinator, and we are still seeing evidence of the learning curve. His decision to “get other guys involved” and basically ignore his best player TWICE was sophomoric. His plays often lacked misdirection, timeliness and creativity. When we have a good idea from our couches what is coming, you bet your booty the defense on the field does too. And that ain’t good.

3) Andy Dalton. His game still has room to grow on several levels. Not hitting receivers in stride is a big pet peeve for me. He settled the questions from last off-season about his arm strength, but the accuracy of his deep ball is lacking. With the consistent instability of the pocket, he did not show the decisiveness or patience I’d prefer to see. I think all of these will improve if/when the line returns to its previous pass-blocking form.

4) Lack of a second receiver. Waiting for Jermaine Gresham to be come that guy is starting to seem futile. I’ll have more to say on this in the days to come.

Again, I am not exonerating Dalton from blame for how the offense struggled in 2012. But I am not going to put nearly as much blame as talk radio and the Twitterverse is, either. However, I do want to see a big step forward from him in 2013. Third year guys are not going to get the slack that younger guys do.

Immediately following Cincinnati’s 19-13 loss to the Texans in Houston, the internet boards, chat rooms, blogs and radio shows were overwhelmed with irate fans beside themselves with frustration.  It quickly boiled over from the angry to the surreal.  I couldn’t believe some of the things I heard.   

But as the Bengal Universe spun way off its axis, I was most flabbergasted by the withering criticism thrown at Andy Dalton.  Suddenly, he’s gone from being a franchise QB to build a winner around to things like (actual quotes):

• “Limited Ceiling”
• “Journeyman at best”
• “Bust City, USA”
• “Andy Flacco”
• “Worse than Mark Sanchez“

Can we have some perspective here, please??

Yes, Andy had a bad game, but wow.  Really?  Let’s not throw the baby out with the bathwater.  There are 20 NFL teams that missed the playoffs, and several of those would love to have Andy Dalton under center.  Think Kansas City, Arizona, Tennessee, Jacksonville, and Buffalo to name a few.  My point here is the absurd criticism of Andy Dalton is completely overblown, and Marvin Lewis is absolutely right to stand by his quarterback.

So before the lynch mob shows up at PBS with pitchforks and lighter fluid to burn a red straw man in effigy, I’d like to humbly submit the following points to Who Dey Nation for your measured consideration:

• Andy is a winner:  That’s clear to me.  He carries himself like a winner.  He has the respect of his coaches and teammates.  They all refer to him as a winner.  He has been a winner everywhere and at  every level.  Look at his win-loss record at TCU.  It’s ridiculous.  Heck, look at his win-loss record in Cincinnati.  Sure, he’s now 0-2 in the playoffs, but in the regular season he’s now 19-13.  That’s a .593 winning percentage, and tops among Bengal QB’s.  He’s also the first quarterback to lead the Bengals to the playoffs in consecutive seasons since most of you were in diapers (or unborn!).  Plus, and this may just by my perception, he seems to have that intangible quality of the better quarterbacks in the league.  An air of confidence and unflappability you never saw in Carson Palmer.  Just wait until he’s truly matured as an NFL signal caller.  Then we should see some real winner-ness.  That leads me to my next point…
• He’s only 25 for Pete’s sake:  He’s got a lot of football ahead of him.  He will doubtlessly improve as a quarterback next year, and the year after.  Don’t believe me?  Then consider…
• He’s improved in virtually every statistical category from 2011 to 2012.  And he has the third most TD’s in two season in NFL history behind Dan Marino and Peyton Manning.  And that’s not good enough?  Sheesh. Tough crowd.  Sure he threw a few ill-advised passes, but don’t they all?  Andy’s taking steps forward, and there’s no reason to believe he won’t next year. That being the trend, we can then look forward to the fact that…
• The best QB’s don’t truly “break out” until year 3:  Most QB’s don’t become confident field generals until their 3^rd, and sometimes their 4^th seasons.  That’s true for guys like Manning, Ryan, Rivers, Brady and the rest.  That being the case, it’s likely that his best football is immediately ahead of him.  But let’s not forget that…
• Every QB needs help:  The offensive line went into the toilet with Kyle Cook’s return, the offense slowed down considerably when Mohammed Sanu got hurt, Jermaine Gresham is as inconsistent as they come, and the running game was never truly utilized.  Without an offensive identity, or players to create threats and mismatches besides A.J. Green, there’s only so much a QB can do.  The good news is, those pieces will also mature or get upgrades.
• He’ll get better at the deep ball:  Seriously, I think this one annoys me the most.  First, we were told last year that he just chucks it up too much and expects A.J. to come down with it.  Then we’re told he’s not chucking it up to A.J. enough, covered or not.  Well, which is it?  Half the time we’re told he’s got a noodle arm, and then we’re complaining that he’s overthrowing the receivers too much.  It’s all ridiculous.  Personally, I happen to believe Andy has an NFL-quality arm, and his deep accuracy will improve, as will the rest of his game, as time goes on.
• Do you REALLY want to go looking for someone else? Are we too young or too spoiled, or both, to remember the names  David Klingler, Jay Schroeder, Paul Justin, Jeff Blake, Gus Frerotte, Akili Smith, Jon Kitna, and Neil O’Donnell?  I’m not.  Those are a few names in the long list of attempts at a franchise quarterback between Boomer Esiason and Carson Palmer.  None of those guys came CLOSE to Andy’s success for their entire Bengal careers—let alone two seasons.  But let’s say we draft somebody.  Do you really wanna gamble in the draft again?  Fine.  You might get another Andrew Luck or RGIII, or you may wind up with Jake Locker or Blaine Gabbert.  Despite the millions of dollars and thousands of man hours spent in scouting, it’s ultimately a crap shoot.  A percentage of them flame out no matter what you do.  It’s a franchise-stifling waste if you go that route and fail.  The better option is to recognize that we have a solid player right now.  Let’s invest in him and use the draft capital on ways to improve around him as the known commodity.  Still not convinced?  Call Larry Fitzgerald and see if he’d take Dalton in the desert.  I’m sure he’d like a crack at A.J.’s numbers.

All I’m saying here is “Red” deserves another year before we start writing his obit as the starter in Cincinnati.  Give him some decent protection so he’s confident in the pocket.  Get him some legit targets besides A.J. in the receiving corps, and for cryin’ out loud teach Gresham to catch and use both hands.  Maybe even get him a dynamic running back (perish the thought!). From there, with another year of experience under his belt, we can potentially make an honest, fair assessment without the emotion.

Sincerely,

Eric

PS-Maualuga, on the other hand, needs to go.

The Podcast Awards were announced at New Media Expo in Las Vegas Monday night January 7th.

ESPN’s Matthew Berry and I at the Podcast Awards at New Media Expo at the Rio Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, NV.

There is going to be plenty of debate over the coming off-season over whether Marvin truly is the man to take this franchise into the future and beyond merely making the playoffs. It is a debate worth having. If you belong to the anti-Marvin camp, you have plenty of ammunition to use as you make your case.

But if your debate is centered around the 2013 season, you are wasting your breath. Marvin is under contract for next year, and there is no scenario that I can imagine where Mike Brown doesn’t stick with Marvin. If there is one thing more important to Mike than money, it’s continuity.

Well, there is one scenario, actually. I wouldn’t call it probable, but it is one that I could get behind.

We all know Marvin’s faults. I don’t need to list them. But I would consider his biggest strength to be the draft. The Bengals have have consistently had superior drafts over the past few years, and I attribute that to 1) outstanding evaluation by the crew that he has put together, and 2) Lewis’ amazing ability to minimize the influence of Mike Brown in the scouting and drafting process (which I am convinced he has somehow done).

Isn’t that the foremost ability you want in a General Manager?

Yes, I think Marvin is better suited to be the GM than the HC. Some fresh blood among the coaching staff could do the team some good. Maybe Zimmer takes over, or maybe Darrin Simmons. (At this point, there is no way I consider Gruden. I am shocked that other teams are still looking at him after his debacle in Houston.)

But at the end of the day, I still believe ML will be wearing the headset in 2013.

The unholy stinkfest played by the Bengals’ offense in Houston on Saturday has turned Bengals fans into a far less endearing version of Bob Wiley from one of my favorite comedies, What About Bob: neurotic and intensely needy.

Yes, the performance by Gruden’s crew was about as appetizing as a persimmon-flavored sucker chased by a stick of the dirt-flavored gum you passed off on one of your friends when you were 9 years old. This team clearly isn’t where it needs to be yet on offense, and questions aplenty to address as we consider free agency and the draft.

But balance is a healthy thing. Perhaps this is a bit early, but as that 17th roll of antacids finally calms your stomach, remind yourself that this team did see some baby steps in growth in 2012. It might not have been quite as much growth as we hoped for, but growth is still movement in the right direction.

Double digit wins. Four months ago, most of the football brain trust expected the Bengals to take a step backward and was picking the Bengals to go 7-9 or 8-8 this year. Instead, they turned in their third double-digit win season in the past 8 years. This was made possible largely by a defense that became one of the stingiest in the league over the second half of the season.

Dominating defense. It is fair to wonder if the return of Pat Sims didn’t spark this unit’s turn-around. Once they got going, they implemented a scorched earth policy that would have made General Sherman proud. Keeping the group together will begin costing money this year, but it ought to be money that the front office is glad to spend.

Youth. Most of the playmakers on this team are still in their rookie contracts. The problem of paying the difference-makers and letting the good-but-replaceable guys walk is far preferable to the problem of overpaying an aging roster while trying to retain young talent, such as is facing the Steelers again this year.

Resilience. This team didn’t give up on themselves when we were ready to fold the tents on the season at the end of October. Bengals teams in years past would have imploded upon reaching the 3-5 mark. More than a couple of teams this year did. That this team could fight its way back and make the playoffs at all is a huge departure from the past.

All of these are baby steps forward for a franchise that is steadily moving away from the Lost Decade.

Again, there is plenty to dissect over what went wrong this season, and I (along with everyone else) will have plenty to say about it in the coming months. The team is not at all there yet, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t making progress. We need to recognize the good as well as the bad.

I tend to be the level headed Bengals fan. I see you on twitter, on almost every bad play there is the barrage of tweets calling for so and so to be fired, or so and so to be cut. It is an instant reaction to what you just witnessed on your TV screen. One suck conversation after the Bengals again lost to the Houston Texans in the opening of the playoffs was this:

I love that the guy is a fan and has a platform to voice his opinion. I also love that he knows it is a gut reaction to the horrible display of football we all witnessed.

Earlier in the season I called for the firing of Marvin Lewis. I think I am still on that bandwagon. As crazy as it seems that you would want to fire a coach that has turned the culture of this team into one where the playoffs become fairly regular from a team that was consistently the worst in the league, I still think it may need to happen. I think Marvin may have taken this team as far as he can. A team that is competitive and has great talent, but may not know how to win in big games.

The answer is not to promote Gruden or Zimmer. Each has his own shortcomings in the parts of the team they control. Sure, the defense was great in the back half of the season, but the Dolphins and Browns were not impressed. The Ravens made them look silly.

The majority of yesterdays game debacle falls on the shoulders of Jay Gruden. Why in the hell do you go away from your best player in a game? That would be like the Vikings trying to pass it constantly to get other people involved rather than run Peterson all day. It is insane and is almost a fireable offense. Why does it take until half time to realize that the game plan you drew up was just about the worst thing you could have designed? Was there no plan B? AJ Green has to get the ball in the first half. A screen, reverse or bomb is fine,  just put the ball in his hands.

It is not all bad though. I know you are pissed, it is good to be pissed. But if I was to rewind to coming off the OchoCinco / TO experiment when Carson Palmer decided he wanted to go to greener pastures and said to you:

The Bengals are going to win 19 of their next 32 season games and make the playoffs both seasons

You would have said I was crazy and been very excited at the possibility. It is good to want more, that is what success is built upon. Remember when the Arizona Cardinals made it to the super bowl? Now they are excited when they are not in last place. They had a flash in the pan season and followed with nothing. It is good to be competitive and have a chance in the post season.

I have seen some quotes from the coaches / players that have given me pause. I wanted to point out a few. First from Marvin:

From the kind of the onset of things we didn’t get off to a good start offensively.

You have to realize that before halftime. The Texans were trying to gift you this game and you just wouldn’t accept it.

Andy Dalton:

We were trying to get some of the other guys going, but we weren’t making plays. I need to do a better job making sure A.J. gets his catches. He is one of the best receivers in this league. He needs to have the ball thrown his way a lot. I think I could have done a little bit better job, but we tried to get other guys involved as well

- Were they taking AJ Green away as an option? -

No, they weren’t necessarily taking him away; we just had designs where we were going to other guys. We got to the second half and I started throwing his way.

Ugh, this has to be addressed as the dumbest move of the season. All season it was known if AJ was in single coverage then he was getting a shot. Why change that in the biggest game?

Finally, I got this one of Twitter from the local news and honestly I am having a hard time believing it is true. But I am going to post it as I got it:

Rey Maualuga:

I know for a fact I didn’t give it my all in the first half. It’s so frustrating when it’s the playoffs and you don’t show up.

As my head shakes in disbelief one other quote comes to mind from the movie Rudy:

You just summed up your entire sorry career here in one sentence!

I hope Rey gets picked up by another team next season, I have a hard time believing he will be a Bengal.

Here are the inactive lists for the Bengals and Texans with just over an hour until kick-off:

Bengals:  CB Jason Allen, TE Richard Quinn, DT Devon Still, DT Brandon Thompson, WR Dane Sanzenbacher, RB Daniel “Boom” Herron, and S Chris Crocker

Texans:  OT Antoine Caldwell, FB Tyler Clutts, CB Roc Carmichael, OL Andrew Gardner, CB Stanford Routt, OL Cody White, and NT Terrell McClain

For the Bengals, there are no real surprises, considering Crocker showed up as doubtful on yesterday’s injury report.  Unfortunately, the quad injury he suffered in the first quarter last week apparently hasn’t healed enough for their liking.  This may create a problem for the secondary, as the Bengals will more than likely turn to Nate Clements and Taylor Mays to fill the void.  Much has been made of how much the defense’s improvement over the second half of the season coincided with Crocker’s return.  Thompson and Still have been regulars on the inactive list thanks to Cincy’s deep defensive line.  Sanzenbacher just got to the Bengals so his being inactive is also no surprise.  Herron has been coming on as of late, but with Cedric Peerman healthy, the Bengals couldn’t carry an extra back.  Quinn and Allen were once again inactive, and I really have to wonder what the Bengals see in them.  Quinn hasn’t played at all this year, and Allen has been down 99% of the time since camp–and he was a fairly expensive free agent.

On the Texans side, their offensive line continues to go through health issues, as well as their linebacking corp.  The Texans placed ILB Tim Dobbins on IR last night, and called up practice squader Cameron Collins, who is active.  Veteran journeymen Barret Ruud and Bradie James will start at the inside linebacker spots.

Crocker being down hurts the Bengals, but the Texans may have more issues with the offensive line facing Cincinnati’s front four, and BJGE may find the matchup with Houston’s inside backers to be favorable.

Here are some of my thoughts as we wrap up Friday and look forward to the playoffs tomorrow.

The Bengals have a really good chance of winning this game.

Tune into channel 9 (wcpo) in Cincinnati this evening at 7:00pm to see yours truly sit down with the people from The List and talk Bengals football.

The Pittsburgh Steelers season is done and it is because of the Bengals.

Our podcast guest Brett Kollmann breaks down why the Bengals and Texans are a bad fit for the game this Saturday. Read his post, the guy is sharp and breaks down plays better than you are going to see on any TV show.

The 6th seed in the AFC has done well recently in the playoffs.

I looked at WhoDeyRevolution today and while the site is not officially dead, they have lost any momentum they may have once had. I miss the way their guys would come and argue with us here.

Midway through the season, over half of you reading this had the Bengals done. Aren’t you glad they still play the games?

Saturday is the big day, and if you are like me, you’re almost literally counting the hours until game time.  This is the fourth playoff appearance for the Bengals of the Marvin Lewis regime, so luckily for us it’s become almost commonplace to be in the playoffs and the awful stench of the lost decade seems firmly in the rearview.

That said, the Bengals are 0-for-3 so far in the post-season dance under Coach Lew, and frankly all 3 losses have been of the particularly ugly and heart-wrenching variety.  Something I have no desire to relive.

So as the hour draws closer, it’s a good idea to look for the positives and identify those good omens floating in the tea leaves.  We can use all the karma we can get, and since I wrote a “Reasons for Optimism” article before the Bengals took down the Steelers in Pittsburgh, let’s do it again and keep the good vibes going.

Here are the reasons to know—not think, not believe—to know, the Bengals will win Saturday:

• The Bengals have momentum:  I know Marvin Lewis has been keen to point out all week how this is the playoffs and everyone is now 0-0.  That’s fine, but I don’t buy it.  It’s misdirection again from behind the striped curtain to me. I think momentum from the regular season (positive or negative) affects the post-season.  After all, it’s a well-worn adage that you want to “peak at the right time” and never to “back in” to the playoffs.  If history is any judge, Marvin is wrong here.  The last three playoff squads were the epitome of “backing in” and they played like it.  Besides, wouldn’t you rather enter the playoffs on a 3 game winning streak than a losing streak?  Exactly.
• The Texans have anti-momentum:  Again, Lewis’s protests aside, the fact is the Texans are backing in like a dump truck.  They’ve lost 2 games in a row, and both when they had something to play for in home field advantage.  They basically played themselves into this game, when they could’ve had the weekend off, and made sure the road to New Orleans went through Reliant Stadium.  While Cincinnati comes in the winner of 7 of their last 8, Houston is 1-3 over the last four games. 
• Cincinnati is healthy:  The Bengals limped into the playoffs last year with several key players down or limping badly.  The run defense sorely missed DT Pat Sims in last year’s match-up, the pass defense was missing CB Leon Hall, and Rey Maualuga and Chris Crocker were gimpy.  This year the defense will have all 4 players ready to go, along with a new guy named Vontaze Burfict. You may have heard of him.
• The Bengals kicking game:  While the Texans seem to have a slight advantage on offense, and the Bengals have a slight advantage on defense, it’s the kicking game where Cincinnati has a pronounced edge.  The coverage teams have been lights out all season, Kevin Huber is having a franchise year as a punter and the Bengals have been dominating field position as a result.  Plus, Josh Brown has been money in the bank in crucial moments since taking over for Mike Nugent.  This is of course opposed to….
• Shayne Graham:  Moonlight is Houston’s place kicker this year, and is 31 of 38 on FG tries for the season.  That’s 81.5%.  Not great; not bad either.  However, I have to believe that if the Texans need a big 43-yarder, like Brown hit for us in Pittsburgh, Graham will do his customary choke-job.  You know, like he did in 2006 to keep the Bengals out of the playoffs, or in 2009 in the wild card loss to the Jets (TWICE!).  For once, it’ll be nice to see the shank coming and be happy about it.
• Matt Schaub:  The Texans have playoff experience from last year’s run, but their franchise QB does not.  Schaub was out for the season last year at this time, so he’ll be making his first foray into the postseason on Saturday.  Quarterbacks tend to get jittery in their first playoff games—just like Andy Dalton last year.  Plus, like the Texans in general, Schaub has been in a major slump as the season has drawn to a close.  With a heavy dose of Cincinnati’s famous pass rush, Schaub may make a few playoff rookie mistakes to give up the game.
• Bengals are Dogs:  It’s a proven scientific fact that the Bengals simply play better as underdogs.  It’s been that way for eons.  With the Texans as a 4.5 point favorite, this plays right into our paws.
• Bengals play better on the road:  Another weird but totally true factoid.  Cincy was an embarrassing 4-4 in the Jungle, and that was helped along by Baltimore’s scrubs last week.  Meanwhile, the Bengals were 6-2 on the road, including road wins at tough places like Pittsburgh and Washington along with a win on the west coast in San Diego.  This young Bengal squad seems to be comfortably playing in hostile environments, which as a wild card entry, is a good thing.
• Revenge:  Of course like the whole “momentum” thing, Lewis has been downplaying the motivational gold of wanting revenge on the Texans in front of the media, but I am sure he’s been pointing it out—repeatedly—to the team.  While he claims there’s no more blood in that turnip, I tend to think the guys have seen plenty of tape on that game this week.  Many of the faces in the Bengals locker room are new—but most were in that same locker room last year and it should add a level of extra intensity to their preparations and game play.  Conversely, while Texans fans may speak confindently about how they took down these same Bengals last year, secretly they’re nervous about the revenge thing.
• They’re just due:  Bad luck eventually runs out, and this team has proven over and over again that they are good at breaking bad habits.  Remember how the Bengals couldn’t win on the west coast?  A win at Seattle last year made the win this year in San Diego a ho-hummer.  Remember how they couldn’t beat teams with a winning record?  How about their infamous o-fer against Baltimore and Pittsburgh.  Then there was the whole thing about never making the playoffs in back-to-back *non-strike seasons.  All of these seemed like a big deal until this team scratched them each off the list.  Now comes the fact that the Bengals haven’t won a playoff game since the George Herbert Walker Bush administration, and their 0-for-ever record in road playoff games.  Streaks are made to be broken, and as impressively terrible as they are, these too must fall.  Why not Saturday?

So there you have it, Bengals fans.  Who needs statistics, film study, and game-plans when you have karma on your side?

Light a candle, pray the rosary, wear mismatched socks and do the reverse hokey-pokey.  It’s all good.

Who Dey! 

The last time we spoke the Bengals needed to beat Pittsburgh to get into the postseason. Check. They also needed to beat the Ravens to clinch double digit wins for the third time under Marvin Lewis. Check. Now the Bengals have a prime opportunity to end their most daunting streak, winning a postseason game for the first time in forever. The Bengals are facing a familiar postseason foe, the Houston Texans. This same Houston Texans team that knocked them out of the postseason one year ago. Can the Bengals get over the hump? Or will it be the same postseason debacle we’ve seen in the Marvin Lewis era? One and Done. Let’s hope they figure it out Saturday!

In this week’s show:

Bengals win in Pittsburgh and beat the Ravens

Brett Kollman of BattleRedBlog.com (A Texans blog) joins us to tell us how scared he is of the Bengals.

It took 95 episodes but we finally got our first BEN GALS Cheerleader on! Selina Samano joined us and fills us in on her Texas roots and who her favorite Bengals player is currently.

Shoutouts/Announcements

Your phone calls

Bold Predictions/Score Predictions for Saturday against the Texans.

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Vegas might be considering the Texans to be a 4.5 point favorite to win Saturday’s game, but you might not know that given some of the talk whirling around the interwebs. More than a few non-Bengals-oriented sites are lining up the Texans’ recent losing skid against the Bengals’ strong second half of the season and coming to a different conclusion from the odds-makers.

A honest assessment says that this should be a good game and could go either way. (That’s what we want in a post-season game, right?) Both teams are good, particularly on defense. And neither team is executing as they would like on offense. They game will come down to which way a handful of plays swing. The Bengals can be on the winning side of those plays if…

Jermaine Gresham exploits Houston’s depleted linebacker corps. Despite Brooks Reed looking to get back on the field this week, the Texans’ mid-fielders have been battling the injury bug. That spells a big opportunity for Gresham, who has done a much better job of commanding the middle of the field this season. Taking advantage of a defense that is a little soft in the middle and paying extra attention to A.J. Green will be the spark that the offense has been lacking the past few weeks. And along that same theme…

Andrew Hawkins makes his presence felt. Our interest will naturally be drawn to the matchup of AJ vs JJoe. [AJ went 10/106 in their two games last year.] Same for the Texans’ defense. With a little creativity and timeliness from Jay Gruden, Hawkins could remind us why he draws comparisons to Wes Welker at times.

The offensive line gives Dalton a little time. Much like the Bengals, the Texans will rely on their pass rush to disrupt Dalton and break down the offense. Expecting the line to look as solid as it did a month ago is setting yourself up for big disappointment. But they need to improve their play just enough to give Andy a little bit more time and room, leading me to the next point…

Andy Dalton stays calm and collected. If we’ve learned anything about Dalton in the last month, it’s that he is far less effective when he has one eye on the pass rush. (That’s true of most all QBs though.) He has to stay in that zone where he is in command of the game and be okay with taking a few shots, because he will whether he wants to or not.

The defense makes life hard on Arian Foster. The Texans live by the run, so they Bengals will have to make them die by the run. The more we are hearing the names of Peko and Sims, the better. Force Matt Schaub to live up to his Pro Bowl selection. (The best way to do that is with an early lead.) Andre Johnson will likely get his, but he can’t do it all on his own. Keep the ball in Schaub’s hands and watch the D-line feast on him.

Earlier this week there was talk of the Bengals beefing up the front office. Add that to the fact that the Bengals have now been to the playoffs 3 out of the last 4 years and are a young team that only looks to improve and you could wonder if this is the beginning of a new Bengals era.

We sniffed it before. We were all ready to jump on board the Carson Palmer train and ride it into the new Bengals domination in 2005. Those times were derailed on one play in the playoffs where Carson’s knee may have gotten better, but his heart never did.

This seems different. A kid out of Texas with fire red hair and no Heisman in his pocket has meant more to the Bengals than number 9 ever did. He came in with the most talented receiver ever to put on the stripes in his first two years. Surround them with a bunch of no drama hard at work type players and you get the current WhoDey kids.

Whats not to like about these Bengals? I can hear the naysayers still, only their voices are not as loud as before. “You couldn’t beat Miami, Cleveland ……” . The knock used to be the Bengals can’t win division games against two of the best teams in the NFL every season. Then it was the Bengals couldn’t beat teams with winning records, or playoff teams. This season the Bengals beat the defending super bowl champs. Along with a couple playoff teams and ended the Steelers season.

There are a lot of things the Bengals still need, they are not a complete team. However, the organization seems to be on the right track and with the success of the last several drafts I am confident that the pattern will continue. This is a fun time to be a Bengals fan. Lets all root for them to take that next step together, there is plenty of room back on the bandwagon.

WhoDey

The Bengals defensive line is really good.

The Bengals are in the top 3 for sacks this season and this is largely because of the play of the Bengals defensive line. The front 4 for the Bengals have generated 42 of the teams 51 sacks (that alone is better than 25 other NFL teams). This means the Bengals are able to generate a ton of pressure on opposing quarterbacks without fancy blitzes. This allows the linebackers the space to roam and stop the run. Geno Atkins, Carlos Dunlap and Michael Johnson are going to give Matt Shaub fits on Saturday.

The rest of the Bengals defense is pretty good too.

In the last 8 games the Bengals have gone 7 and 1. They have allowed an average of 12.8 points per game and their one loss was by a point. This streak includes beating the Giants, Steelers and Ravens. In the last 3 games (Eagles, Steelers, Ravens) the defense has 9 turnovers, nine sacks and 3 touchdowns. The Bengals top tackler is Vontaze Burfict who was an undrafted free agent and is having an amazing season.

The Bengals special teams is a game changer.

Losing Mike Nugent to injury was tough for Bengals fans, but the blow was softened when Josh Brown came in and made a long clutch kick to start his Bengals career. Follow that with the field changing punting by Kevin Huber and the outstanding play of the Bengals coverage teams, the Bengals should dominate this third phase of the game. Kevin Huber has routinely placed punts inside the opponents 20 and also boasts a 69 yd punt this season. When you can’t score on every drive, it helps to have a guy that can flip the field for you.

Even though this is the same matchup as last seasons first round playoff, the two teams involved are heading in separate directions. I look for the Bengals to not only cover the spread but win the game outright. My score prediction is Bengals 27 Houston 17.

This season is easily divided into two chapters, split at the bye week. The first was awful and better left forgotten, marred by ineffectiveness and missed opportunities. Fortunately, the second chapter has featured what would seem to be a completely different. And that is the team that will be making the trip to Houston in a few days.

I’ve learned several things about this team as I’ve watched them over the past two months. Here are some of them. Feel free to add to the list.

The defense can make life difficult on any team. We saw signs of it beginning against the Broncos, and they just kept building each week. They held more potent offenses like Dallas and Pittsburgh (who scored at least 20 points in each of their final six games except against the Bengals) to well below average and totally dominated the poorer offenses they faced. [That is very good news as they prepare to face a struggling Houston offense.]

The offense is only as good as the protection that the offensive line provides. The line looked good when they faced more meager defenses, but they have looked meager against the better defensive lines that they have seen over the past four weeks. Dalton’s level of play has corresponded completely. Offensive line coach Paul Alexander has been getting praise for finding a guy like Trevor Robinson amongst all of the CFAs after the draft, but his line unit has to step up its play if the team hopes to break its 22 year playoff-win drought. [That's bad news as they prepare to face J.J. Watt.]

Kevin Huber is a difference-maker. The guy flips the field as easily as Shaun White flips tricks on a snowboard. He set a new franchise record for average punt distance by a comfortable margin this year. And unlike Mike Nugent, he has no need to fear not being with the team in 2013.

Andy Dalton is still a work in progress. And that is okay. Good quarterbacks often don’t find their full potential until their fourth or fifth season. Take Matt Ryan as an example, who is in his fifth season and has just broken into the top 10 this year. Dalton still needs some polishing, but he has shown enough to believe that he can be one of the better QBs in the league in a couple more years and can keep the Bengals competitive for a long time.

The front office has some tough decisions facing them over the next few years. Making back-to-back playoffs is a direct result of the strong drafts that the team has had recently. But paying all of the talent they’ve found as rookie contracts begin to expire is not going to be easy. It won’t be this year, but soon we could see the team have to let go of guys we like a lot because they just can’t sign everyone and not bust the salary cap. As long as the team continues to draft well, being a source for free agent (instead of a destination as in years past) will actually be a good thing. (Could Marvin Lewis perhaps continue his streak of home run drafts as the team’s General Manager?)

This team is finally built for sustained success. Hallelujah!

Last year the Bengals were happy to make the playoffs. This year they want to make a splash in the post season. On the surface it looks the same. The Bengals face the Houston Texans in Houston in the first playoff game on wildcard weekend. That is where the similarities end.

Last season the Bengals limped into the playoffs. They had a fast start to the season but then failed to beat division foes Pittsburgh and Baltimore and needed some help to make the post season. They got the needed help and got outplayed badly in Texas.

The knock last year was that they didn’t beat anyone with a winning record and could not play in big games.

This season the Bengals had some dissappointing losses. They dropped a game to the dolphins and the browns and gave one away to the cowboys.

The Bengals also did some amazing things this season.

• They won 7 of their last 8 games.
• In those 8 they gave up an average of 12 points a game.
• They did not allow an opening drive TD all season.
• They beat 2 playoff teams and the defending super bowl champs.
• They beat the Ravens and Steelers to end the season.
• They lead the league in sacks, getting to the quarterback about 50 times this season.

Then you look at a Houston team who last year beat the Bengals in the playoffs

• Houston has scored one offensive touchdown is its last 11 quarters.
• They have lost their last 3 games giving away the number 1 overall seed.

The Bengals have a better than average shot of winning this game. With a year under their belt I am excited to see what the stripes do this year in Houston.

WhoDey

Santa was good to me this year.  I got a Bengals toaster, a new authentic Dalton jersey and a playoff berth.  It feels so good to be here.  Playoff bound, a good core group of guys and a team that finally looks to be on the up-and-up.  People will talk about this Sunday’s game against the Ravens and why is does or doesn’t matter (everyone knows that it does) but there is something else that has got me thinking.  Who will we play the first round of the playoffs?  There is possibility that we could play one of four different division leaders.  What are the scenarios?  What are the match-ups?  Let’s find out.

New England

Scenario:  NE win, Denver win & Houston win or NE loss & Baltimore loss.

What scares me: Tom Brady and the offense.

Doesn’t bother me: Defense.

If the season ended today this is who we would be playing…and my least favorite choice.  There is just something about a Tom Brady offense that scares the crap out of me.  We do have one of the best defenses in the league but I don’t expect a brick wall to stop a high speed train either.  The upside is that that their defense is atrocious.  The only thing they got going for them on that side of the ball is their run D and that’s still 12th in the league.  Still, I don’t like this match-up.

Houston

Scenario:  Houston loss, NE win & Denver win.

What scares me: J.J. Watt

Doesn’t bother me: The passing game.

I do have to say that this match-up has some appeal to it considering it would be the rematch from the wild card game last year.  We’re a better team now…but so is Houston.  Foster is still beast and Schaub is an improvement over Yates.  Then there is Watts.  It’s obvious that we’ve had a problem with the defense getting to Dalton as of late and having the ‘sack master’ on the other side of the line won’t help either.  I feel this match-up is a little better than NE but not my favorite.

Denver

Scenario:  Denver loss & NE win.

What scares me: Peyton Manning

Doesn’t bother me: Run D

Here’s another chance at redemption.  I think the game against the Broncos earlier this year was a winnable one.  We had just started turning our season around and I think a rematch will show the progress we’ve made.  Manning is a nightmare and containing him is a job that no one wants.  The second thing that scares me the most are the DBs.  They have a combined total of 16 INTs on the season.  Dalton will need to thread the needle even better during this match up.  A little better match-up but still not my first choice.

Baltimore

Scenario:  Baltimore win & NE loss.

What scares me: Ray Rice

Doesn’t bother me: Everyone else.

Here it is.  I think this is our best match-up.  I know…it would require us to lose this week, which we should not do on purpose, but I think this is our best match-up.  We’re the most familiar with this foe and have the best chance of beating in a playoff game (in my opinion).  Flacco has been struggling lately and the defense just aren’t the cutthroat squad they have been in the past.  I think our only challenge with this game would be Ray Rice.  Containing the run and forcing the other team to throw has been a good tactic for us all year and we’d have to knock it out of the park with the Ravens to be successful.

So here it is.  We’ll find out who it’s going to be by Sunday night.

P.S.  Bengals beat the Ravens on Sunday 17-13.

Sunday’s win in Pittsburgh wasn’t pretty, and it may not have been the resounding blowout win we may have desired, but it was nonetheless a huge victory and a seminal event in franchise history. 

Back on October 21st, Bengaldom was in open revolt. After a fairly impressive 3-1 start, the Bengals had dropped two games in a row to vastly inferior opponents. They lost an infinitely winnable game at home to the disheveled Dolphins, then traveled to Cleveland and allowed the Browns to put up an embarrassing 34 points.  Most fans expected them to win at least one of those games, if not both. 

It was getting ugly. But it would get worse. 

The only immediate remedy was to get back in the “w” column, and the Steelers, also reeling from a rough start, came to town to play the Bengals in front of a sold out crowd at PBS for NBC’s Sunday Night Football. Losing those other games was bad, but beating the Steelers would make it all right again. 

As the Bengals walked off the PBS turf hanging their heads after a 24-17 loss, the season seemed all but lost. Heading into the bye week at 3-4, the playoffs suddenly seemed a ridiculous impossibility. It looked like another lost year. Angry fans demanded Marvin Lewis to be fired, the Mike Brown haters returned in full force with the tired old criticisms, and some already began turning their attention to the draft. 

Looking back, I think what hurt the most was the way in which they lost. Pittsburgh waltzed into Cincinnati, spotted the Bengals a 14-3 lead, and simply waited for the Bengals to implode, which they inevitably did. The offense was completely inept and the defense allowed someone named Jonathan Dwyer to gain 122 yards and close out the game with a first down running the ball to kill the clock. 

That was truly ugly. 

But we all know what happened next. The Bengals came off the bye losing to Denver in a close one, then ripped off four straight wins to get right back into the thick of the hunt.   

Even before the Bengals played Dallas and Philadelphia, talking heads and experts from ESPN, NFL Network, CBS and others were already pointing to the December 23rd Steeler rematch as a high noon showdown for the playoffs. They were right about that. 

And they virtually all saw the Steelers taking it. 

Who could blame them? After all, we’re the Bengals–the perpetual also-rams of the NFL. They are the Steelers–their mythical might and history of success were undeniable. Besides, it was an overly-documented fact that Andy Dalton and A.J. Green were 0-3 against them.  

Besides the so-called experts, it was clear that Steelers fans thought they had the playoffs in the bag. Their boys in black and yellow would easily dispatch they upstart Bengals, then whip the hapless Browns. Reading their commentary on the Internet, they even maintained designs on the division, even though it was a mathematical impossibility.  Their spoiled rants showed that they had no grasp on reality, and no matter their record, they wouldn’t stoop to consider the thought that the Bengals could beat them. Despite losing 4 of their last five, no one feared the Bengals, winners of 4 of 5.  In short, their arrogance was disgusting. 

Sunday was an opportunity to exorcise demons, stake a claim to the playoffs, earn some respect, and punch a bully in the nose. 

Mission accomplished. 

It wasn’t easy, and make no mistake: Pittsburgh gave it their very best effort. But this time, their best simply wasn’t good enough. 

Their defense gave Dalton and Green fits, but when the Bengals needed a big play, they came through. That 21-yard pass from Dalton to Green with 8 seconds left was the kind of play champions make. The kind of play Pittsburgh couldn’t make. 

And as great as their defense played, Cincinnati’s was better. Sure they held the Bengals to just 14 rushing yards, but Pittsburgh got zero points on 3 Bengal turnovers—including 2 in the critical fourth quarter. The orange and black defense stoned Big Ben all afternoon. The Bengals too got 3 turnovers-but each one was huge in the outcome and the Bengals capitalized on each. The first was a defensive score, with Leon Hall taking the Roethlisberger pass 17 yards to the house. His second pick with 14 seconds left set-up the aforementioned Dalton-Green heroics and Josh Brown’s game winning kick. The last, a fumble on the last play of the game, sealed the win for Cincy. 

Leaving the field after this Steelers contest, an elated group of young stars savored a hard-fought and well-earned victory. And perhaps they earned some overdue respect too.  

So far, those same clueless and spoiled Steeler fans are licking their wounds, and insisting that it’s not that the Bengals were that good, but that the Steelers are that bad.  Despite their confidence last week, they now attempt to insist that they’ve known of their team’s weakness all along, and that this result was a fait accompli. 

But that’s a bunch of whining by some sore losers. 

The truth is that on a day that Steeler Nation celebrated the 40th anniversary of the seminal moment in their history, with the upper hand in a race to the playoffs against a team they typically beat, they were defeated.  Plain and simple. Cincinnati proved, in the most hostile environment possible, that they were the better team, and redeemed themselves for that Sunday Night loss.  It was a day that an upstart Bengal team overcame the resident bully, 60,000 towel-waving lunatics and a green room full of hall of famers to win. Cincinnati’s heroes looked into the jaws of steel town and came through with sweet redemption on a cold Pittsburgh afternoon. 

Perhaps Sunday’s win for the Bengals, perpetuated just a few yards and 40 years away from Franco Harris’s famous catch, will have a similar effect in long term path for the Bengals. 

Time will tell.

You may not like hearing this, but the Cleveland Browns are inching their way toward being good again. Well, toward being somewhat competitive again. Sorry, I got a little bit ahead of myself there for a second.

Browns fans won’t like hearing this, either. I’ve been saying for a few years now, and I’ll keep saying it no matter how much they dislike it. The Browns won’t be truly competitive again until they pick a quarterback, a head coach and a system and stick with them for more than one year.

Today I was pleased to learn that Browns returner extraordinaire Josh Cribbs agrees with me.

Frustrated after yet another loss last week to the Broncos, Cribbs vented his feeling about nearly everything: the organization, the fans, and the perennial changes. Here is an excerpt of his comments from Cleveland.com.

“I hate that we rebuild every year,” he said. “You gotta teach guys how to play special teams because, in college, you don’t take special teams to heart. Guys don’t pay a lot of attention to it. They don’t know how important it is. Every year is a constant rebuilding process, every year. Coupled with that and the turnover and the regime [change] constantly happening, you know I’m not on the field by myself. . . . It’s not a good recipe for successful football.”

His frustration is completely understandable. The one thing that the team needs most is stability. And it’s the one thing their front office refuses to give them, forgetting that the quick path to success is neither easy to find nor long-lived.

Here is a suggestion for Cribbs. Since you are a free agent after Sunday, give Marvin Lewis a call. You’d be a heck of an upgrade over Brandon Tate. And you’d get to play for a team that is building the right way, slowly winning back the fans in the process. Plus, best of all, you can rub it in to the Browns twice a year!

Success and happiness are just phone call away.

The Bengals are locked in to the 6th seed of the playoffs no matter whether they win or lose against the Ravens. So it is natural to wonder whether Marvin might choose to sit rest some of his normal starters in the season finale. Of course, Marvin was asked about it. He gave what I say is the right answer: No. It’s not the right answer because the front office is still hoping to sell out the game. It’s right because getting that 10th win this season is huge for this organization.

Improve on last year’s record. After starting out the 2011 season at 6-2, the team limped its way to a 9-7 finish. Even though this year’s competition was a little better, repeating a 9-7 record is less than ideal. Getting to double-digit wins would show that the foundation of this team is rock solid.

Beat a playoff team. So far, they are 0-2 against the Ravens and Broncos. The Redskins are the only contender they have beaten so far, and if the ‘Skins lose to Dallas this week, they will be 0-3 against playoff teams. Losing to the Ravens will resurrect all of last year’s talk about how the Bengals can’t beat good teams.

Beat a division rival. Beating the Steelers on their home turf to knock them out of the playoffs was a satisfying win. That was the kind of game that the Bengals have been all too prone over the years to finding some mind-numbingly frustrating way to lose. The Steelers just seem to normally have the Bengals’ number in games like that. But let’s face it, the Steelers just weren’t that good this year. They were like Scut Farkus in A Christmas Story… all intimidation and no punch at gut-check time.

The Ravens are also stumbling toward the end of the season, and now is the perfect time to punch them hard and bloody their nose as well. Put the division on notice that the Bengals are for real. Beating the two teams that have harassed them most in back-to-back weeks sends that message. Style points mean nothing in a bare-knuckles division like the AFC North, but wins do.

Build momentum into the playoffs. Over the past few years, the football gods seem to have revoked the advantage of the bye week and even of home-field advantage. The 6th seed has not been a mere consolation prize recently, either. The Bengals will face a challenging road through the playoffs no matter what. Ending the season by beating a playoff-bound division foe would be a nice boost of confidence that this team can keep pace with quality opponents. And since sitting good players to end the season has been the quickest way out of the playoffs lately, let’s not tempt fate.

Energize the fan base. Bengals fans have been dying for a team that will reward their loyalty with wins. But they have been burned too many times to have blind faith any more. They need proof that they won’t be disappointed once again. Once they have it, watch out! A win over the Ravens this week would show fans that good times aren’t just coming, but they are here. Watch season ticket sales for 2013 pick up with a win this week… or stay flat with a loss.

So when you read again and again this week that the game against the Ravens is “meaningless,” give a hearty laugh, shake your head or simply make fun of the author. We know very well that any game against the Ravens is important, but the one this week is especially so.

I watched the NFL Network re-air the Bengals deliver the knock-out blow to the Steelers Wednesday night. The game was just as fun the second time, but far less stressful. During a commercial break, I saw NFLN’s blurb covering the QBs named to the Pro Bowl. (Because, you know, we fans care only about quarterbacks, right?)

Honest to God, this is no joke. Whoever wrote the script for the story had the audacity to describe RG3 as coming from the “hyper-competitive NFC East”. The guy reading the script actually read it completely straight, too. Not even a hint of a snicker. How he did it, I’ll never know.

Hyper-competitive? A division that may not have a 10-game winner? Child, please.

I get it. Most of these media chuckle-heads live on the East Coast and root for one of those teams. And everybody wants to think that their favorite team plays in the toughest division in their conference, if not in all of football. So the myth easily takes shape.

The stuff-shirt talking heads would earn some credibility with me if they would actually admit that the NFC East isn’t very good this year. Every division has down years. But they can’t do it. Probably because they might have to admit that playing the AFC North could have had something to do with it.

Look, media types, I’ll make a deal with you. Talk about the Redskins and your new darling, RG3. He’s good. We like him, too, even though we will burn out on him long before you will. It’s good to see a team rebound, and I’m good with that. But you’ve got to shut up about the rest of the mediocre-to-poor NFC East.

We don’t care who is going to replace Andy Reid. We don’t care how the Giants’ defense will get their mojo back. We aren’t all that interested in where Michael Vick might end up. We’ll care for a few minutes once some team signs him, but that’s it.

There are 26 other teams not named the Giants, the Cowboys, the Eagles, the Packers, the Patriots or the Steelers. Talk about some of them for a while. Some of them actually have interesting story lines going on, too. For the love of Mike, please just shut up about the NFC East.

The hiring of Marvin Lewis marked the end of the Lost Decade. In the wake of an extended period of football futility, most of Lewis’ tenure as head coach has been spent trying to steady a team that has lurched and backfired and stalled like a stick-shift AMC Pacer with a 16-year-old behind the wheel.

In Lewis’ first two seasons, he lifted a team that had gone 55-137 in their 12 years under Mike Brown’s ownership and got them to repeat 8-8 records. Then in 2005, a high-flying offense and an opportunistic defense surged to become division champions for the first time since the demise of the AFC Central. And Bengals fans rejoiced.

But the following years exposed the team’s weaknesses. They had plenty of talent but lacked the fortitude to overcome in the face of adversity. Playing a division winner’s schedule was more than they could handle in 2006, and a collapse at the end of the season dashed more than just playoff hopes. Fan discontent and disillusion began to settle in again.

In 2009, the ‘Cardiac Cats’ began the season with a bang and managed to sweep the division on their way to winning the AFC North again. Again, the lurch to the top was followed by another stall the following year as the team stumbled to a 4-12 finish, back to last in the division.

Since then, however, the team been on a better, slow and steady building trajectory. Last year they climbed back over the Browns to finish third in the division. The team showed that they had flaws. Increasing the strength of their schedule only slightly gave them a better chance to sustain their success going forward.

Sustain they did. They will either match or improve their record from 2011 by one game this year. And they climbed over Pittsburgh to be second in the division, which will again increase the strength of their schedule for 2013. And while I would never wish away winning the division (which the Ravens secured for themselves this weekend by beating the Giants), taking second puts the Chargers and the Colts on the Bengals’ schedule in 2013 instead of the Broncos and the Texans.

This steady build is giving the young talent on this team the chance to grow while still tasting success. Dalton and Green have not had to face the level of fan frustration and criticism that learning while losing has brought upon players like Richardson and Weeden in Cleveland. That’s not an insignificant difference for the psyche of players who are used to winning all along the way on their paths to the NFL.

The Bengals are probably still about two years away from hitting their full stride. Andy Dalton still has room to grow as a signal caller, and most QBs don’t reach their full potential until around their fifth season anyway. Also, continued development on the O-line and secondary is necessary. But they are not so far away even now to finally get that elusive post-season win. So with continued steady growth, we should finally have something to be excited about for years to come.

How many times had you heard it? “The Bengals haven’t gone to the playoffs in back-to-back seasons since ’81-’82.” Too many times to count, right?

Well, we can check that one off of the list.

This week, the Bengals gave us the most delicious of early Christmas gifts. They didn’t just beat the Steelers for the first time in the Dalton era. They punched their ticket to the playoffs for a second straight year. And the tore out they hearts of Steeler fans everywhere in the process.

How sweet it is.

In the past two years, the Bengals have been able to slay many of the demons that have plagued them for years:

1. Beating the Bills for the first time in 23 years
2. Two wins on the West Coast in two years
3. Winning over the 12th man in Seattle
4. Finally beating a bully in the division

One final hurdle remains: a playoff win.

No matter who the #3 seed ends up being… Houston, Denver or New England (and it could still be any of those three)… getting that win this year won’t be easy. But it isn’t impossible, either. The most likely opponent, the Patriots, are tough but not insurmountable. Even the mighty Tom Brady can be rattled when pressure gets to him, so the defensive line will need to win in the trenches. More importantly, the offense will have to scour the equipment room and find the rhythm that seems to have escaped them lately.

Per PFT, here are today’s inactives for today’s titanic playoff clash at Heinz Field:

Bengals: CB Dre Kirkpatrick, K Mike Nugent, RB Daniel Herron, TERichard Quinn, S George Iloka, DT Brandon Thompson, DT Devon Still

Steelers: CB Ike Taylor, QB Byron Leftwich, CB Justin King, LB Adrian Robinson, DE Al Woods, OT Mike Adams, WR Plaxico Burress.

The Bengals are going with Josh Brown as place kicker–a good call considering that Mike Nugent is still working his way back from the calf injury and Brown has been stellar so far.  Boom Herron is down, and Cedric Peerman is up.  Having Peerman back should help both the running game and special teams.  First round pick Dre Kirkpatrick is down again still recovering from the concussion suffered in the San Diego game.  The others, TE Quinn, S Iloka, and DT’s Thompson and Still were expected.

One notable name missing from the list is Adam Jones, who was listed as questionable with a hamstring injury.  His availability is good news both for the secondary and special teams, where his return game will be helpful.

As for the Steelers, the best news for Cincinnati is the confirmation that Ike Taylor is down, meaning Keenan Lewis and Cortez Allen will draw coverage on A.J. Green and Marvin Jones.  Newly-signed DB Justin King is also down, so the Steelers are thin in the defensive backfield.  OT Mike Adams was also questionable and down, which likewise hurts their thin offensive line. 

T-minus 30 minutes, Bengal Nation.  Let’s go!

Having been a fan and observer of the Cincinnati Bengals for over 30 years, I can say with honesty that I have witnessed most of the team’s seminal moments. Both Super Bowls, almost every playoff game, six head coaches, two home stadiums, and the reigns of both King Paul and King Mike.

It is a rare time and unusual time in Bengaldom. Marvin Lewis has reconfigured the team from scratch a third time in his tenure, and after 10 years and hundreds of roster moves, he may finally have a truly championship caliber assembly of moving parts. 

He has a gritty and determined young quarterback with the intangibles and pedigree to be great. That quarterback doesn’t have the size and arm of a number 1 overall pick, but he has everything Carson Palmer didn’t. Everything that is of most importance.  Andy Dalton is a leader and a winner. When you have those qualities, he rest generally takes care of itself. 

Of course it helps that he has perhaps the best wide receiver to come out in years in A.J. Green.  While Palmer was feeding the ball to the “look at me” sideshow of Chad Ochocinco and temperamental T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Green’s unassuming demeanor and team-first mentality is a breath of fresh air and a study in the new era’s anti-hero, which is the same as the old era’s hero.  

I didn’t think they made players like these cars anymore; at least not in optional orange and black exterior. 

Add to them the best DT in football in the equally-unassuming and undersized Geno Atkins, the redemptive projects known as Vontaze Burfict and Adam Jones, and there is a lot to like about the make up of the team. The front office has managed to draft well as of late, and free agent signings have been panning out.  The offense has been growing steadily, and the defense has become the model of consistency. 

Dare I say it-they have the look of a consistent winner now, top to bottom. 

Sure they have their issues. Who doesn’t? But this is the best looking group I’ve seen since the days of Boomer Esiason, Anthony Munoz, and Reggie Williams. 

But looking the part and acting the part are two different things. As the saying goes, and in deference to the Nature Boy, if you want to be the man you gotta beat the man.  The “man” in this instance is the evil empire known as the Steelers. The hated black and gold storm troopers have been the class of the NFL for forever. They are often talented, and perpetually tough. If they can out finesse you, they will, but they can always try to intimidate you-and usually do. 

Pittsburgh is not the blitzkrieg of fear they used to be. Their offensive line, an ongoing issue, is even more of a liability thanks to several untimely injuries. They are an astonishing minus-14 in turnover differential, they aren’t getting pressure on defense, and their secondary is without their best corner back.  They are an aging group and finding it harder to hide their frailties with superior schemes and sheer brutality. They are even starting to point fingers and show cracks in their famous solidarity, with Ben Roethlisberger openly questioning offensive coordinator Todd Haley’s olay-calling. Perhaps worst of all, they don’t seem to have the heart they used to have. If there was ever an opportunity to force their current roster into upheaval, it’s now. 

Heart is one thing the Bengals never seemed to have in great supply, but guys like Dalton, Green, Atkins, and Burfict are changing that.  Now all they have to do is prove it Sunday against a wounded but dangerous animal in the den of yellow. 

Can they do it? That’s what’s left to be answered. Yes they can. Here’s how: 

Three Keys: Offense 

It will be important for the Bengals to possess the football. Pittsburgh did a great job in the first matchup in Cincinnati at keeping the Bengal offense on the sidelines. The Steelers possessed the ball for 19 more snaps and nearly a quarter longer in time.  This cannot repeat in Pittsburgh. The Bengals need to keep Ben Roethlisberger on the sidelines and make him play from behind.  

This means : 

Run the ball- a big day for BenJarvus Green-Ellis is just what the doctor ordered. The Bengals are rushing the ball much better than they were the first time the two teams played, though the Law Firm played well in the first meeting. Offensive coordinator Jay Gruden needs to emphasize power running and the line has to be up for it.  If BJGE can get 100 yards or more, The Bengals should find themselves in good shape. I don’t know about you, but I’d love to see the Bengals close out the game with four consecutive runs like the Steelers did mast time. Cedric Peerman’s availability is unclear, and the Bengals will be using a new full back in John Conner. The Steelers are always one of the best teams at defending the run. This will be a real challenge.

 Limit Turnovers- The Bengals cannot afford any giveaways. Dalton will need to be careful with the ball and pick his spots. The offensive line will need to protect him from the numerous blitzes, stunts and twists they’ll try. The guys up front had difficulty with the Eagles line games last week, so the Bengals will need to do a better job in Pittsburgh. 

Spread ‘em out- one way to help the running game and keep drives alive is to make the Steelers defend the perimeter. I like Gruden to call more than a few sweeps, reverses, and screen passes. The Bengals would do well to get the ball into the hands of Andrew Hawkins via reverses and bubble screens. The Bengals have also found success with quick-outs to the receivers, and interior screens to Jermaine Gresham. These plays will help open things up for Green-Ellis, slow the Steelers pass rush, and keep  drives going.  In the past, the Bengals have always found the most success against Dick Lebeau defenses with 3-receiver sets and quick passing games. With a depleted Steeler secondary and an I characteristically weak pass rush, the Bengals could potentially exploit them more than in the last game.  

 Three Keys: Defense 

The Bengals need to continue their recent defensive success. This means simply getting the Steelers into difficult third downs, and then getting the heck off the field. Cincinnati did well in forcing the Steelers into third downs last time, but allowed far too many conversions. Roethlisberger’s ability to avoid the rush, extend plays, and improvise make him a unique challenge for Mike Zimmer’s boys.  Here’s how they do it: 

Stop the run-The Steelers will like to establish the ground game as they did last time, when they got over 100 yards from Jonathan Dwyer and 167 as a team. Along with Dwyer, they will have Rashard Mendenhall back, who was unavailable last time, along with Isaac  Redman and Chris Rainey. The Steelers will have a full compliment of backs to use. The Bengal defense admitted they were sloppy in their run game discipline last time. They need to be on point this week.  The way Pittsburgh salted the game away running right down the Bengals throats should be motivation enough to keep it from happening again. 

Coordinated Pressure-The Bengals lead the NFL in sacks, and getting to Big Ben is the best way to ensure victory Sunday, as proven by Dallas last week. That said, Roethisberger is tough to contain and bring down. The Bengal defensive front must put together a coordinated rush, maintaining rush lanes and collapsing the pocket around number seven. No escape paths should be shown him. If he can escape the pocket, he’ll find one of his receivers open no matter how well the secondary covers. Atkins, Carlos Dunlap, Michael Johnson, and Wallace Gilberry need to take advantage of the young and makeshift Steelers offensive line. Consistent pressure on Ben will limit his effectiveness, shorten their drives, and potentially cause turnovers. 

Linebacker Coverage-Last time, Pittsburgh took advantage of an incredibly poor showing by Rey Maualuga in pass coverage on crossing routes and passes to TE Heath Miller and the running backs.  Maualuga has been much better since then, having dropped weight and worked hard with Burfict to develop the right communication. Add to that the emergence of rookie free agent Emmanuel Lemur, and the linebackers look better on paper. If they can limit Roethlisberger’s underneath options, it will help the secondary, who knows they have their hands full with the Steeler wide-outs. 

Three Keys: Special Teams

 Nothing new here.

Limit Return Yardage-Pttsburgh has great kick returners in Emmanuel Sanders and Chris Rainey, and the Bengals gave up a TD on a punt return in last year’s game in Pittsburgh. The Bengals are generally good on kick coverage. They’ll need to stay disciplined in this one.

Brown or Nugent?-Mike Nugent is still having calf muscle issues, while Josh Brown has been money on field goals and has shown a booming leg on kick-offs. It’s imperative that the Bengals make the right call on who to activate for place kicker. The game may come down to a field goal, so the guy suited up is huge. Personally, I say stick with the hot (and healthy) foot and activate Brown. 

Careful Return Game: Adam Jones is questionable for the game. If he can’t go, then the Bengals are forced to use more of Brandon Tate in the return game. Tate fumbled in last year’s game in Pittsburgh and his bone-headed decision last week to catch a punt on the goal line don’t instill me with a lot of confidence. I’d prefer Jones returning the punts, but if Brandon Tate is the guy, he needs to be on top of his game and keep the football secure. 

So that’s it. All that’s left is to go out and stake their claim to the upper-echelon in the NFL. It’s time for Dalton and Green to prove-again-that they are worthy of being on the same stat sheets with guys like Dan Marino and Mark Clayton, and Peyton Manning and Reggie Wayne. It’s time for them to kill the “They can’t beat Pittsburgh” talk, and stop a 30-year drought of back-to-back playoff appearances in the process. It’s time to make this Bengals team, this era, one to be remembered more so than others. The time is now.  Make a statement in this statement game. 

Who Dey.

Plenty has been said this week about the importance of the winner-makes-the-playoffs showdown for the Bengals when they face their arch-nemesis on their home turf in the bowels of Pittsburgh on Sunday. Steelers week is always exciting, but the added facets of both securing a playoff berth AND eliminating the Evil Empire from the playoffs gives this game a weight that is not easily surpassed.

But don’t forget that another game this week will have a bearing on what happens to the Bengals too, once they deliver the crushing blow to the Steelers that they have received from that team a number of times.

I said a few weeks ago that I have no idea how this week’s matchup bringing the inconsistent New York Giants into Baltimore to face the reeling Ravens. I feel no differently now. Conventional wisdom says to go with the more desperate team, but who exactly would that be? Both have watched their leads over their divisions erode. Neither have looked very good in recent weeks. The one difference is that the Ravens have already guaranteed themselves a playoff spot — even if they lose their final two games (which would make for five straight losses to end the season) they still back in — while the Giants are in trouble of missing the playoffs entirely.

A win by the Ravens means that the best the Bengals can do is a #6 seed. (I am assuming that the Texans will rest guys against the Colts in Week 17.) That would result in a trip to Foxboro, MA to face Tom Brady and the Patriots. The Bengals have a good enough defensive front to make such a match-up a better game than most would expect, but it’s not my first choice by any means.

A fourth straight loss by the Ravens means that if (I mean when) the Bengals beat the Steelers this week, the Week 17 showdown between the Bengals and Ravens will be for the division crown. And how confident is a Ravens team going to be that peaked in October and hasn’t played good football in a month as they face a team that struggled early but has come together to play much better in the second half of the season?

Not only would back-to-back wins over the Steelers and Ravens exorcise more of the deons that have plagued this franchise, but it could set them up as the #4 seed in the playoffs, allowing them to host the Indianapolis Colts. That is still not a gimme game, but it is a better draw than going on the road to play the Patriots.

This is it. This is the THE statement game of all statement games. Beat the Steelers in THEIR house to earn a spot in the postseason. You want to be considered one of the best teams in the AFC, scratch that, the AFC NORTH you must win this game. Otherwise its another year of the same old Bengals. The Bengals backed in a year ago by losing their last game against Baltimore. There’s little hope of the Steelers losing next week against the Browns. This group of Bengals, like years past in 2005, 2009 need to win on Sunday and make the statement that the Bengals are in fact contenders in the AFC North, postseason and beyond.

In this week’s show:

Nice, ugly win vs Philly

Offensive line played like garbage

Feedback

Shoutouts/Announcements – Shop till you Drop!

Paul Dehner of CBSSports.com joins us

Bold Predictions/Score Predictions for Sunday and next week vs Baltimore

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It’s a fact.  I know it to be true because I had it printed on this shirt.  See?

But we’ll get to that in a minute.  We won a prime time game.  It’s about time.  People are calling it mean words like ‘sloppy’ but I only care about one letter…’W’.  34-13 is a walloping the our defense were the ones that delivered it.  I don’t think we have to sugar coat anything.  Our offense was not up to the challenge but our defense made it all possible.  4 fumbles and and INT is the way to go.  On the other side of things, Dalton was only 13/27 for 127 yards.  He’s going to have to do better than that against Pittsburgh.  However, BenJarvus Green-Ellis had another 100 yard game and we definitely need to keep that going.  A.J. was okay but I think we can put some of that on Andy.  I think we can all agree that we still need some improvement but we’re grateful for win.  Scroll down for this weeks game.

Week 1: Mon, Sep 10 – Cincinnati at Baltimore Ravens, 7 p.m. ET (ESPN)

13-44  L 0-1  1-0 on Picks

Week 2: Sun, Sep 16 – Cleveland Browns at Cincinnati, 1 p.m. ET (CBS)

37-27   W 1-1  2-0 on Picks

Week 3: Sun, Sep 23 – Cincinnati at Washington Redskins, 1 p.m. ET (CBS)

38-31 W 2-1  3-0 on Picks

Week 4: Sun, Sep 30 – Cincinnati at Jacksonville Jaguars, 4:05 p.m. ET (CBS)

27-10 W 3-1  4-0 on Picks

Week 5: Sun, Oct 7 – Miami Dolphins at Cincinnati, 1 p.m. ET (CBS)

17-13  L 3-2  4-1 on Picks

Week 6: Sun, Oct 14 – Cincinnati at Cleveland, 1 p.m. ET (CBS)

34-24 L 3-3  4-2 on Picks

Week 7: Sun, Oct 21 – Pittsburgh Steelers at Cincinnati, 8:20 p.m. ET (NBC)

12-17 L 3-4  4-3 on Picks

Week 8: BYE

Week 9: Sun, Nov 4 – Denver Broncos at Cincinnati, 1 p.m. ET (CBS)

31-23 L 3-5  4-4 on Picks

Week 10: Sun, Nov 11 – New York Giants at Cincinnati, 1 p.m. ET (FOX)

31-13 W 4-5  4-5 on Picks

Week 11: Sun, Nov 18 – Cincinnati at Kansas City Chiefs, 1 p.m. ET (CBS)

28-6 W 5-5  5-5 on Picks

Week 12: Sun, Nov 25 – Oakland Raiders at Cincinnati, 1 p.m. ET (CBS)

34-10 W 6-5  6-5 on Picks

Week 13: Sun, Dec 2 – Cincinnati at San Diego Chargers, 4:15 p.m. ET (CBS)

20-13 W 7-5  7-5 on Picks

Week 14: Sun, Dec 9 – Dallas Cowboys at Cincinnati, 1 p.m. ET (FOX)

19-20  L 7-6  8-5 on Picks

Week 15: Thu, Dec 13 – Cincinnati at Philadelphia Eagles, 8:20 p.m. ET (NFL)

34-13 W 8-6  9-5 on Picks

Week 16: Sun, Dec 23 – Cincinnati at Pittsburgh, 1 p.m. ET (CBS)

Well…I did have all this stuff I was going to say about the game but my buddy Eric already did.  The main point to think about here is ‘we win, we’re in’.  I believe that these two teams have grown in opposite directions since their last battle.  The Bengals have gotten better while the Steelers have gotten stinkier.  Now, even though I do hate those dirty, rotten cheaters, I do have to admit that they know how to play…a bit.  I think we all feel that the Steelers have become our nemesis and there isn’t a bone in my body that doesn’t want them destroyed.  I think Andy has to come out and realize that he can be the elite quarterback that no one expects him to become.  I’ll I’ve heard lately is Andy’s good…but that’s it.  No one thinks he can take this team to the next level…but I think us die-hard, WHO DEY fans think he can.

Without getting into a deep analysis about this I’m just gonna say it’s gonna be a close one.  We need to establish the run early.  We’ve been doing a pretty good job of this lately but it’s going to be a little bit harder to do that this week.  We should come out fast, maybe a no huddle, and get points on the board.  The less those puke-yellow towels are waving around the better.  Defense needs to just keep doing what their doing with an emphasis on keeping Ben in the pocket.  When he starts scrambling we enter the ‘Danger Zone’ and that is more dangerous then the one from ‘Top Gun’.  The final say is going to be who wants it more, and lately I’m not sure which team that would be. I know I want it more then those ugly Steeler fans so I’m gonna go with my boys.  Close game. 20-17  WHO DEY!!!

W 9-6

Week 17: Sun, Dec 30 – Baltimore at Cincinnati, 1 p.m. ET (CBS)

W 10-6

In case you are living under a rock, let me state the obvious: Sunday’s game is huge.  Not your typical “big game” huge.  Assuming there’s no apocalypse on Friday, Sunday’s tilt in Pittsburgh becomes the equivalent of a large meteor hurling towards the earth. 

• The Bengals have won 5 of their last 6 games. The Steelers, meanwhile, have lost 4 of their last five.

• Pittsburgh most recent home game was a 34-24 loss to the Chargers, whom the Bengals defeated in San Diego the previous week.

• Turnovers decide games. The Steelers have a minus-14 turnover differential right now. The Bengals are plus-3.

• Pittsburgh’s top corner back, Ike Taylor, has been ruled out, forcing back-up DB Cortez Allen to draw coverage against Bengals pro bowler A.J. Green. Allen himself is still recovering from a hip flexor injury that forced him out earlier this year.

• The Bengals are 4-point underdogs. Every fan knows the Bengals play better as dogs.

• The Bengals are 5-2 on the road this season.

• And perhaps the least scientific reason: After 5 consecutive losses to Pittsburgh, the Bengals are simply due.  How many losses in a row can we sustain before we simply play better, and get more breaks than the other guy? 

The Bengals signed John Conner, aka The Terminator, to a two year contract Saturday after placing fullback Chris Pressley on injured reserve after he suffered a knee injury in the Thursday night win against the Eagles.  Conner drew attention two seasons ago for his role in the Hard Knocks program featuring the Jets, but he was a player I absolutely coveted going into the draft that season.  Conner is a traditional style fullback in the mold of former Bengal Lorenzo Neal.  He has the ability to blow up defenders at the line of scrimmage, has decent hands, and can fight for tough yardage in the red zone.

Conner, who hails from Cincinnati and played at Lakota West High School, was mainly a blocking back at Kentucky, but he did show the ability to catch the ball on occasion and scored several touchdowns.  His main skill, though, is being a blocking back, which is a somewhat antiquated concept for the NFL in 2012.  That said, there is still a place for a guy like Conner in the NFL, and most certainly in the smash-mouth AFC North.

“He does all the things that NFL teams ask their fullbacks to do.  He blocks. He catches the ball. And when you need him to make a carry in short yardage, he almost always picks up first downs. He’s going to have a long career in the league.”  ~Joker Phillips, former Kentucky coach

Conner, whom the Jets traded up to take in the 5^th round of the 2010 NFL draft, was coach Rex Ryan’s “hand picked” draft selection and was heaped with praise for his blocking, toughness, and special teams play.  After an injury settlement release in October, Conner has spent the past few months working out at Ignition Sports in Mason and preparing for his chance to get back into the league.  At the time of his release, Rex Ryan suggested that he might be brought back.  Instead, he will be counted on to help the Bengals make a final push for the playoffs.

John Conner draft breakdown

As the scoreboard tallies flashed across the television screen yesterday, the Bengals found themselves and their playoff chances greatly and unexpectedly enhanced.
With the Texans dismantling the Colts, the Broncos plucking the Ravens, and the Cowboys wrangling of the Steelers, opportunities thought to be lost after the Dallas game were suddenly again within reach.

Not only do the Bengals currently control the sixth and final AFC playoff seed, but they can even wrestle the division championship from Baltimore’s ever-weakening clutches.
But first thing’s first. Cincinnati must win next Sunday on the road against the one team that has shown to be their nemesis so many times before: the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The evil black-and-yellow storm troopers of the Monongahela.

Gawd do I hate them.

Believe it or not, Pittsburgh has managed to win just one of their last five games, and that was a squeaker against the reeling Ravens. Around that three point win, they’ve fallen to those same Ravens, the perpetually rebuilding Browns, the phoning-it-in Chargers, and the Cowboys.
While the Bengals are kicking themselves for early-season slips against Miami and Cleveland, Pittsburgh is similarly bemoaning losses to those same Browns, at perhaps more embarrassing: the Tennessee Titans and Oakland Raiders.

Nonetheless, the Steelers remain a formidable foe. They defeated the Bengals in Cincinnati earlier this year, and have never lost to an Andy Dalton-led Bengals squad. They too often appear to overpower and intimidate the Bengals more than we’d like to admit. Like it or not, they just seem to have our number.
And now, the reckoning. Here they are again, standing in our way.

If the Bengals win, they will all but assure themselves a spot in the postseason while eliminating Pittsburgh’s hopes. It would also set up a winner-takes-the-division showdown with Baltimore in week 17 at PBS, ands long the way prove that the Bengals are finally a legitimate threat and exorcise more than a few demons.
If they can only win.

It’s poetic, really. Right or wrong, win or lose, the collision at Heinz Field is as it should be. Either Pittsburgh will again prove that the football gods love them and their snaggle-toothed rabble of obnoxious fans, or the Bengals will make a historic and long-overdue leap forward, avenging the crimes of 2005 and 2006, and perhaps putting the first rusty nail into the coffin of Pittsburgh’s latest dynastic run.

Can they do it? Oh yes they can. Make no mistake about that.

Pittsburgh’s recent struggles are well-documented. They are not the cast iron brutes of yesteryear. Their defense is riddled with injuries, aged and slowing. Their offense is finding it harder and harder to mask an inadequate offensive line and an over-dependance on the pass. Cincinnati’s defensive line can potentially cause Ben Roethlisberger fits, and the secondary is coming together. The Bengal offense may have finally just the right combination of ground game proficiency and aerial weaponry to cause Dick Lebeau to ponder retirement. On paper, it’s a good match-up.

But will Marvin Lewis’s charges be up for the challenge? That is the question.

T-minus six days til high noon at the OK Corral with a playoff spot on the line.

The reckoning is all.

It is not a must win, but it would be big for the Bengals.

If you look at what the oddsmakers think about this game at any online sportsbook you notice the Bengals are favored to win by 4 points. Based on the path the Bengals and Eagles have taken this season it is an easy assumption to make that the Bengals should be favored.

But what do the Bengals need to do on the field to take care of the Eagles?

1. Pressure the QB – The Bengals currently lead the NFL as a team in sacks (42) and are led by the incredible Geno Atkins up front. The Bengals need to make the young Eagles QB Nick Foles uncomfortable in the pocket and not allow him the time needed for the play to develop. This alone will affect the outcome of this game more than any other factor.

2. Run the ball – In establishing the run the Bengals are going to open up the passing game. Benjarvis Green-Ellis has been on a hot streak lately and the Bengals need to continue feeding him the ball.

3. Get the ball to AJ Green – The Eagles are among the worst in the league at covering the other teams number 1 wideouts. There is no better number one than AJ Green. I expect him to want to make up for the poor game he had against the cowboys and think he could put up some big numbers tonight.

I expect this game to be a statement by the Bengals that they are hungry and in the playoff hunt. I can’t see them taking their foot off the gas as that is what burned them last week against the Cowboys. I can see the Bengals winning this game 34 to 13.

WhoDey

That one may come back to haunt the Bengals. Up 19-10 in the 4th quarter at home to a team riddled with injuries and emotionally spent. A team with one of the worst run defenses in the league yet the Bengals abandoned the run game. Dropped catches, dropped INT’s, missed tackles, ugh it was just not the Bengals day Sunday. Even worse was that Pittsburgh and Baltimore both lost. Time to strap it up men, at Philly, at Pittsburgh and home to Baltimore. The playoffs for the Cincinnati Bengals have already started. This week we’re joined by co-host of the Irish Impact podcast Kevin Wernert who is a lifelong Eagles fan to help us break down Thursday night’s primetime affair.

In this week’s show:

How do you blow that game?

Abandoned the running game despite having the lead and a RB averaging 7.4 per carry

Missed opportunities

John, Jeremy and FatalContent from Twitter gave us a ring on the Who-Dey Line

Shoutouts/Announcements – Shop till you Drop!

NFL looking to expand postseason to 14 teams

The Eagles are having a long year

Bold Predictions/Score Predictions for Thursday night

I made an appearance this week on Bleacher Report’s F*Ball NFL Podcast with Andrea Hangst who appeared on our show earlier in the season. Check it out sometime.

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Sure it turns out that Bill and I were both right.  I was right about the game and Bill was right about the division still being up for grabs. I’m not sure if that’s still the case but it was in the cards.  The title of the article describes exactly how I feel about last weekends games.  I was BITTER because the Bengals lost a very winnable game.  Key players did not execute at important times and that’s why we missed the boat.  However, the weekend also was SWEET watching two division rivals fall in their games, keeping our playoff hopes still very much alive.  But again, it’s BITTER because they both lost and if we could’ve pulled out a W then we’d have the 2nd wild card spot and we’d be one game back from the division leader.  Then again I also could’ve finished putting up my Christmas light this weekend…but I didn’t…so get over it!

Many will disagree with me but I think Dalton looked really good this weekend.  If you take away the INT I think he had a great showing.  He put the balls where they needed to be, however the receivers did not keep up their part of the bargain and there were too many dropped passes to count.  I don’t think they gave Benny the ball enough though.  Gruden did say it was because he wanted to put more points on the board at the end of the game instead of just running down the clock but I think they could’ve run for those first downs if they ran the ball like they did in the first half.  I knew we were in trouble when the Bengals looked like they were winding down and there was 6 minutes left in the 3rd quarter.  Defense played alright until the last 6 minutes of the game when they decided to give up big yards.  It didn’t help that the refs were not on our side but we mostly beat ourselves up with our own penalties as well.  To sum it all up…I told you so.  Let’s go Philly!  Scroll down to check it out.

Week 1: Mon, Sep 10 – Cincinnati at Baltimore Ravens, 7 p.m. ET (ESPN)

13-44  L 0-1  1-0 on Picks

Week 2: Sun, Sep 16 – Cleveland Browns at Cincinnati, 1 p.m. ET (CBS)

37-27   W 1-1  2-0 on Picks

Week 3: Sun, Sep 23 – Cincinnati at Washington Redskins, 1 p.m. ET (CBS)

38-31 W 2-1  3-0 on Picks

Week 4: Sun, Sep 30 – Cincinnati at Jacksonville Jaguars, 4:05 p.m. ET (CBS)

27-10 W 3-1  4-0 on Picks

Week 5: Sun, Oct 7 – Miami Dolphins at Cincinnati, 1 p.m. ET (CBS)

17-13  L 3-2  4-1 on Picks

Week 6: Sun, Oct 14 – Cincinnati at Cleveland, 1 p.m. ET (CBS)

34-24 L 3-3  4-2 on Picks

Week 7: Sun, Oct 21 – Pittsburgh Steelers at Cincinnati, 8:20 p.m. ET (NBC)

12-17 L 3-4  4-3 on Picks

Week 8: BYE

Week 9: Sun, Nov 4 – Denver Broncos at Cincinnati, 1 p.m. ET (CBS)

31-23 L 3-5  4-4 on Picks

Week 10: Sun, Nov 11 – New York Giants at Cincinnati, 1 p.m. ET (FOX)

31-13 W 4-5  4-5 on Picks

Week 11: Sun, Nov 18 – Cincinnati at Kansas City Chiefs, 1 p.m. ET (CBS)

28-6 W 5-5  5-5 on Picks

Week 12: Sun, Nov 25 – Oakland Raiders at Cincinnati, 1 p.m. ET (CBS)

34-10 W 6-5  6-5 on Picks

Week 13: Sun, Dec 2 – Cincinnati at San Diego Chargers, 4:15 p.m. ET (CBS)

20-13 W 7-5  7-5 on Picks

Week 14: Sun, Dec 9 – Dallas Cowboys at Cincinnati, 1 p.m. ET (FOX)

19-20  L 7-6  8-5 on Picks

Week 15: Thu, Dec 13 – Cincinnati at Philadelphia Eagles, 8:20 p.m. ET (NFL)

I think that in order to take a team to the playoffs that is worth taking we are going to need to win out.  Inching into the playoffs with a 9-7 record doesn’t work for everyone and I think we know that it doesn’t work for us.  (Look at last year)  Forget about proving ourselves to everyone else…we need to prove it to ourselves.  I think in order to do that you need a 10-6 record and a W next to the Steelers and the Ravens.  If you can’t beat both of your division rivals then what makes you think you can take it all the way to the Super Bowl?  I think it can happen.  I think that we needed a loss to bring ourselves back down to earth and realize that beating bad teams won’t get the job done.  We lost to a team that is fighting for their own spot in the playoffs and now we have a chance to go on national television (something we’re not good at) and take it to a team that needs demolishing.

Our D needs to tear through the offensive line and welcome this rookie to the NFL with handfuls of sacks.  Let’s say ‘hello’ to their rookie RB as well and show him that what Tampa Bay did last week can happen lots more.  Our receivers are going to come out with a fire under their ass and are going to catch everything under the sun…especially Green.  I think that Jones shows up again and also has a big day…maybe even a TD.  I also think that Benny will get the ball more and he breaks 100 yards for the 4th time this year.  Since the boys will do it on the podcast tonight I’ve prepared my ‘BOLD PREDICTION’ in advance.  Dalton throws for 300 yards and 3 TDs while Green-Ellis also runs for 100 yards and a TD and one receiver catches for 100 yards and a TD.  Bengals win big on primetime!  31-13

W 8-6

Week 16: Sun, Dec 23 – Cincinnati at Pittsburgh, 1 p.m. ET (CBS)

W 9-6

Week 17: Sun, Dec 30 – Baltimore at Cincinnati, 1 p.m. ET (CBS)

W 10-6