How Much More Can Willie Anderson Contribute?

[Kirkendall]

Alright, as long as y'all love Willie, I guess I'm cool.

[CJBestInAFC]

Willie is 32 right now and is only going to decline. Who cares if he goes to another team and becomes close to his former probowl form? You don't over pay for a player that is going to have to share snaps next season with another tackle. They should move Whitworth to RT and resign Stacy Andrews to play LG. The Bengals are only hurting themselves by keeping Willie at his current price tag. What happens if they decide to keep Willie at his current price and then let a guy like Stacy Andrews walk because they can't afford to resign him and Stacy goes onto another team and becomes a great tackle or guard. How stupid would the Bengals look. Stacy's brother is a pretty good T

[COB]

In today's Dispatch Willie pretty much lays it all out. Willie is my favorite Bengal player of all time. He stomps on the terra, has radioactive blood, and could've knocked King Kong off the Empire State Building with one badass stare. 3 or 4 more years? GO WILLIE!!

http://www.columbusdispatch.com/live/conte...6V.html?sid=101

CINCINNATI -- Right tackle Willie Anderson knows Bengals coach Marvin Lewis considers it verboten to reveal specifics about injuries.

But when Anderson heard his 10-year-old son ask about Internet rumors predicting the end of his career, he decided it was time to set the record straight, even if it might draw the coach's wrath.

"My son asked me, 'Are you retiring?' " Anderson said yesterday. "He reads Web sites and fan comments."

So Anderson told reporters the right knee injury that has kept him out since the Oct. 21 game against the New York Jets is a bone bruise and second-degree medial collateral ligament sprain.

"I'm going to get in trouble, but I'm getting tired of people saying, 'Willie's done,' " Anderson said. "I had a bone bruise. That's what it was. It takes time to heal."

Anderson said he was injured when Bengals tight end Reggie Kelly accidentally hit the knee with his helmet after finishing a block against Seattle on Sept. 23.

Because Lewis is deliberately vague about injuries, speculation grew as Anderson kept missing games.

"My knee didn't wear out," Anderson said. "I took a helmet to my knee. That can happen to anybody. Before then, I was fine."

Anderson also missed training camp because of a chronic heel condition that remains an issue.

"My foot is what it's going to be," he said. "I've had three or four doctors just recently tell me I should be fine and should be able to continue playing and just take care of it once I'm done playing football."

Though Anderson said the knee is now healed, he did not practice yesterday. He said whether he will play Saturday against San Francisco or in Cincinnati's final two games is up to the team. But he vowed to return next season.

"I've played 12 years in the NFL," Anderson said. "I came into the league when I was 20. I'm 32 years old now. I see myself playing till I'm 35 or 36 years old."

Anderson signed a five-year contract extension last year, but the Bengals face the prospect of losing Stacy Andrews as an unrestricted free agent. Andrews has filled in capably for Anderson this season after starting the year at left guard.

"He should be a hot commodity," Anderson said.

Lewis heaped praise on Anderson, saying he has been invaluable as a leader even from the sideline. But he hedged when asked if he had any doubt Anderson could recapture his past form.

"He's dealing with some things physically that he'll have to overcome," Lewis said. "There is no question about that, and he understands that. But to answer your question best, he really believes he'll be fine, and he'll do that."

[Kirkendall]

Who cares if he goes to another team and becomes close to his former probowl form?

Me. But if you're cool with less than pro bowl talent, then hey, who am I to argue your point of view. That seems to be something we're used to during our 90s dynasty.

[DC_Bengals_Fan]

Stacy's brother is a pretty good T

Ever heard of Ozzie Canseco?

[HairOnFire]

Right tackle Willie Anderson knows Bengals coach Marvin Lewis considers it verboten to reveal specifics about injuries.

Pretty funny. Yesterday I was writing a post I was writing about how Willie himself was directly responsible for all of the speculation about him retiring due to comments he made earlier in the season about..."this is how it's going to be from now on and there's nothing they can medically do to repair the injury." After suggesting in my post that Anderson give greater details about his condition I quickly deleted what I had written precisely because I figured he'd never do such a thing.

"My knee didn't wear out," Anderson said. "I took a helmet to my knee. That can happen to anybody. Before then, I was fine."

The Bengals have been deliberatly vague about Anderson's condition, saying only that the injury preventing him from playing was NOT the same ding that kept him shelved earlier in the season. Frankly, I don't know who is served by that type of evasiveness but only Anderson can offer detailed information about his medical condition. By rule the Bengals can't.

"My foot is what it's going to be," he said. "I've had three or four doctors just recently tell me I should be fine and should be able to continue playing and just take care of it once I'm done playing football."

I accept his explanation about the knee injury without complaint. However, my concerns about the foot injury continue to linger and I doubt I'm alone in this regard. Even if he returns and plays at a high level the injury makes the position unsettled and a cause for real concern.