Why can't Whitworth play RT?

[walzav29]

It seems to make more sense to me. I'm sure they have a better idea than me, but it seems like if Whitworth can play LT, than RT would be a piece of cake. It seems like a better starting 5.

[Spor_tees]

It seems like anything has to be better than Scott "False Start" Koistra. Koistra has to be averaging 3 or more penalties per game. Things will get a lot better once Ghiacic comes back too. Levi, Stacey, Ghiacic, Williams, and Whitworth are the best starters right now.

[walzav29]

That's what I think too. It's confusing. Who knows what will happen after bye week.

[HoosierCat]

That's what I think too. It's confusing. Who knows what will happen after bye week.

Per today's Enquirer, Levi is now listed back at LT as the starter, while Whitworth is the starting LG. Stacy Andrews has been demoted to backup LG.

So I would say the answer to "why can't Whitworth play RT?" is "the Dancng Bear can't play LG."

[DC_Bengals_Fan]

That's what I think too. It's confusing. Who knows what will happen after bye week.

Per today's Enquirer, Levi is now listed back at LT as the starter, while Whitworth is the starting LG. Stacy Andrews has been demoted to backup LG.

So I would say the answer to "why can't Whitworth play RT?" is "the Dancng Bear can't play LG."

So the claim is that the Bear is worse at LG than Kooistra is at RT?

[damiancasey]

Dumb question, I apologize, but what is Levi's history at LT? Should Carson be scared?

[HoosierCat]

So the claim is that the Bear is worse at LG than Kooistra is at RT?

Either that, or they are pulling Andrews back due to his dinged shoulder. I don't know which, but I think it has to say something that the guy who was installed as the starting LG in camp, spent all of TC and preseason there, and started the season there...is now dropped on the depth chart at a point where we could clearly use his replacement, Whitworth, at RT.

Whether that's because he stinks, or he's hurt, I dunno. I will say that I haven't seen anything out of him that's made me miss Steinbach any less yet, but it's really too early to tell if the Bear is for real.

[HairOnFire]

I'd say most of you have been guilty of grossly overrating how good Stacey Andrews is. I'll also suggest that Andrews never won the starting LG spot....so much as it was handed to him when Levi's injury forced Whitworth to play on the edge. Simply put, now that Levi has been declared healthy the left side of the line returns to what was originally planned, and Andrews falls back into the same backup role he once held.

[CJBestInAFC]

So lets say Kooistra gets injured do you play Andrews at RT if this scenario happens? I think they should make the move with Whitworth now and play Stacy at LG. I know a lot of draft analysis said that Whitworth would be better suited as a RT than a LT, so why not make the move? I think it is easier to find guards then it is to find offensive tackles. The Bengals coaches seem to be holding back Whitworth and Andrews at this point in the season. Kooistra is better suited as a backup, and I do believe the line is the best with Levi, Andrews, Ghiaciuc, Williams, and Whitworth. When are they going to put fat ass Anderson on IR. I can't wait until he is no longer on the team because his play and physical health has taken a major hit. Hey they could of used the money they are paying fat boy Willie and invested it into the D where it is clearly needed.

[HairOnFire]

So lets say Kooistra gets injured do you play Andrews at RT if this scenario happens?

That would be my guess.

[HoosierCat]

I'd say most of you have been guilty of grossly overrating how good Stacey Andrews is.

I don't know about "most" but yeah, there was no shortage of people who waved away any concerns about Steiny walking by pointing to da Bear. With the always handy benefit of 20/20 hindsight, it's looking more and more like letting Eric go while keeping Justin was exactly the wrong thing to do. If Steinbach were still here, Willie's injury wouldn't be an issue, since they could indeed simply shift Whit to the right side. Meanwhile, Justin's performance has been below par, even judged against his usual good-but-not-great standards.

Obviously, things could still turn around, but right now it looks like that roll of the dice -- and by extension the one one to extend Willie -- have both come up snake eyes.

[ShulaSteakhouse]

I'd say most of you have been guilty of grossly overrating how good Stacey Andrews is.

it's looking more and more like letting Eric go while keeping Justin was exactly the wrong thing to do. If Steinbach were still here, Willie's injury wouldn't be an issue, since they could indeed simply shift Whit to the right side. Meanwhile, Justin's performance has been below par, even judged against his usual good-but-not-great standards.

Huh, sounds like my preseason and off-season comments were right on in regards to the 0-line and the cap allotments - go figure. I got blasted for daring not to tote the board's company line with everyone else and praise everything the Bengals' did.

[HairOnFire]

I'd say most of you have been guilty of grossly overrating how good Stacey Andrews is.

I don't know about "most" but yeah, there was no shortage of people who waved away any concerns about Steiny walking by pointing to da Bear. With the always handy benefit of 20/20 hindsight, it's looking more and more like letting Eric go while keeping Justin was exactly the wrong thing to do.

I can only speak for myself, and I have never pointed to Andrews being anything more than a backup. A backup likely to be gone after this season OR signed to a modest FA contract that reflects his status as a true backup or fringe starter. Nor did I feel Andrew's availability had anything to do with any long-term plans to replace Steinbach. In fact, I've repeatedly pointed to Whitworths versatility as the key factor in replacing whichever offensive lineman was lost, be it Levi Jones, Willie Anderson, or Eric Steinbach. He's the key, not the Bear.

As for the decision to keep Justin over Steinbach, most second-guessers will conveniently forget that those types of choices aren't based on short-term concerns. Overpaying for Justin Smith might have been a mistake, but it bought the Bengals time. More importantly though, it's the type of mistake that can be wiped from the books in one year. By comparison, overpaying for Eric Steinbach is a decision that came with 7-year handcuffs, and that's unacceptable if the Bengals really felt Steinbach wasn't worth what he was demanding.

[DC_Bengals_Fan]

I don't know about "most" but yeah, there was no shortage of people who waved away any concerns about Steiny walking by pointing to da Bear. With the always handy benefit of 20/20 hindsight, it's looking more and more like letting Eric go while keeping Justin was exactly the wrong thing to do. If Steinbach were still here, Willie's injury wouldn't be an issue, since they could indeed simply shift Whit to the right side. Meanwhile, Justin's performance has been below par, even judged against his usual good-but-not-great standards.

I try to give benefit of the doubt occasionally - and I have to figure that it has to be tough playing DE when the LBs don't do anything at all to take pressure off of you.

And let's do recall just *how much* money the Brownies gave Steinbach. Everything becomes trendy in the NFL, and last year wasn't the year to try to resign a LG.

Let's face it, while our O-line depth isn't what you'd want, I don't know how many teams could deal with losing 3 starters and installing one new one.

[HairOnFire]

Huh, sounds like my preseason and off-season comments were right on in regards to the 0-line and the cap allotments - go figure. I got blasted for daring not to tote the board's company line with everyone else and praise everything the Bengals' did.

A better trained monkey would know that he can't grab the peanut being offered until he stops grinding his organ.

Besides, you've consistently misunderstood what the Bengals were doing in regards to Levi and Whitworth so it's silly for you to claim after the fact that your comments were right on.

[Scottishbengal]

Why can't Whitworth play RT?

WHY CAN'T CINCY PLAY D??????? there, now I feel better, I can get back to my dram now and not worry about Sunday!

[HoosierCat]

By comparison, overpaying for Eric Steinbach is a decision that came with 7-year handcuffs, and that's unacceptable if the Bengals really felt Steinbach wasn't worth what he was demanding.

Not at all. They could have simply let Justin walk and franchised Steinbach instead. No handcuffs needed. Of course, they may indeed have decided to slap the cuffs on, after both Willie and Levi turned up lame at camp -- but at least they would have been positioned to do so.

DC...

Let's face it, while our O-line depth isn't what you'd want, I don't know how many teams could deal with losing 3 starters and installing one new one.

Maybe, but keep Steinbach and all we are really talking about is Bluto vs. Step. All the rest is just shuffling, all of which could have been prep'd for in TC.

Like I said, this is all 20/20 hindsight. I hated letting Steinbach go, but I've also been a long-time defender of Smith, and reluctantly agreed with the call to franchise him over Eric. All I'm saying is that if I knew then what I know now...I would have gone the other way.

[TJJackson]

I'd have to say that while I too think it'd be better for the Bengals if they started grooming Whitworth to replace Willie by the end of the year, I'm fairly certain they originally drafted him with two purposes in mind

1) take over the LG spot for a year or two in the wake of Steinbach's departure while Andrews or another lineman works their way into the spot

2) eventually replace Levi (who since early 2006 has been showing up a lot on the injury report) at LT

I thought this was kinda odd at the time because Whitworth is built more along the lines of a RT, and naturally, Willy is a lot longer in the tooth than Levi and would need to be replaced sooner. So this led to thinking that they have not given (tho clearly they should do so by now) on the snake-bitten Adam Kieft (remember him? I was in the Georgetown stadium when he went down in training camp 2005, never to return to the active field)

My belief as it stands right now: From what I am reading, this next draft should include a very strong crop of OTs, and I'd bet a dollar if my darling Hair hadn't already cleaned out my wallet that the Bengals will take 1 of them on day 1, preferring a LT over a RT if all else is equal. Depending on which side they draft for, then, Whitworth will slide to the OTHER OT spot. If they don't draft a OT first day next year, I think that will mean they still believe Adam Kieft is their RT of the future. Which is a mistake.

I think Andrews will be fine by the end of the year as a OG. Not great, but competent.

Let's not forget the one lineman that gets the least attention - Bobbie at ORG - is in his 8th year, and it'd be advisable to try to start identifying his replacement. Santucci? Come on :-)

The player I can't figure out is Kooistra, who played reasonably well in spot duty prior to this year. He's sliding. Not sure why.

[SkinneymulleT]

I'd say most of you have been guilty of grossly overrating how good Stacey Andrews is.

I don't know about "most" but yeah, there was no shortage of people who waved away any concerns about Steiny walking by pointing to da Bear. With the always handy benefit of 20/20 hindsight, it's looking more and more like letting Eric go while keeping Justin was exactly the wrong thing to do.

If we let justin walk and our d is like it is now, all we would have heard about is all the lop-sided balance of money allocated to the offense and how if we kept justin how much better our pass rush would be, but justin has been a solid player for years, never getting injured and being very productive...so damned if you do...but I was in favor of keeping stieny and letting willie and booby walk, but that is in the past. Steiny is more versitile, athletic and is smart. Our run game sucks, in part to the lack of ability of our gaurds to pull and block in space, something steiny did very well.

[HoosierCat]

My belief as it stands right now: From what I am reading, this next draft should include a very strong crop of OTs, and I'd bet a dollar if my darling Hair hadn't already cleaned out my wallet that the Bengals will take 1 of them on day 1, preferring a LT over a RT if all else is equal. Depending on which side they draft for, then, Whitworth will slide to the OTHER OT spot. If they don't draft a OT first day next year, I think that will mean they still believe Adam Kieft is their RT of the future. Which is a mistake.

Agreed. While my draft day flag remains permanently encased in concrete in Camp DT, I continue to see o-line coming in the first or second round (probably first) next April. I don't think they bank on Kieft.

I think Andrews will be fine by the end of the year as a OG. Not great, but competent.

Maybe. But if so, then I have to say I was mistaken in not objecting to the Bengals tendering him with a higher, second-round tender, back in March. "Competent" backup OGs aren't hard to find, and we may well have suckered the Jets into giving us a 4th for him with a lower tender. And we would have had more $$$ in FA, which might have allowed us to hang onto one or more of our key ST guys...again, this is all 20/20 hindsight, but I'll be damned if everything this team has touched hasn't turned to crap this year.

The player I can't figure out is Kooistra, who played reasonably well in spot duty prior to this year. He's sliding. Not sure why.

x2.

[Kazkal]

. He's the key, not the Bear.

True that, Whitworth <3

1) take over the LG spot for a year or two in the wake of Steinbach's departure while Andrews or another lineman works their way into the spot

True that,I see andrew being a long term staple on the bengals line and only playing LG till they draft another true guard,Which I'd say will be this coming draft day1

[HairOnFire]

Like I said, this is all 20/20 hindsight. I hated letting Steinbach go, but I've also been a long-time defender of Smith, and reluctantly agreed with the call to franchise him over Eric. All I'm saying is that if I knew then what I know now...I would have gone the other way.

Well, why did you think the franchise tag was best used on Smith? Wasn't it because doing so bought the Bengals a much needed starting DE for another year?

And how would all of the second guessers feel about this very subject if next years perfect hindsight focused on a franchise tagged Eric Steinbach approaching an even more inflated free agenct market...still refusing to sign a long-term contract?

[HairOnFire]

My belief as it stands right now: From what I am reading, this next draft should include a very strong crop of OTs, and I'd bet a dollar if my darling Hair hadn't already cleaned out my wallet that the Bengals will take 1 of them on day 1, preferring a LT over a RT if all else is equal.

But Sugarteets, it's actually a pretty weak crop of offensive lineman. You'd know that if you didn't spend so much time in the kitchen, baking treats for everyone. In fact, the highest rated LT prospect is considered by many to be a fairly marginal prospect who might be best served sliding to the right side. Not a very strong class for OG's either.

So c'mon sweetums, what say you don't let down your Hair this year? Let's buy us a new DT and watch the neighbors stare. Oh, and if Dorsey and Ellis are already gone lets roll the dice on Howie Long's kid. He's big and stiff and everything else you like in a man, right?

[TJJackson]

But Sugarteets, it's actually a pretty weak crop of offensive lineman. You'd know that if you didn't spend so much time in the kitchen, baking treats for everyone.

I'll stand by what I said, honeybunny, as I have checked and doublechecked, and the general feeling is that the 2008 crop of OT's is pretty good.

Not a very strong class for OG's either.

On this, based on what I have read, we agree.

Let's buy us a new DT and watch the neighbors stare.

No argument there either....weird, not arguing with you.....but if when our pick rolls around (which may be in the first hour the way things have been going thus far for our men in tiger-stripes) there is a blue chip OT and no blue chip DLs (I say DL because I'd be fine with a blue chipper who can man any of the 4 DL spots) or blue chip LBs then I want the OT, especially if he can play OLT.

[Spor_tees]

Jake Long from Michigan is Howie Long's kid?