Wraith
-
Posts
2,835 -
Joined
-
Last visited
-
Days Won
46
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Events
Posts posted by Wraith
-
-
Monroe will likely be the best available OT at #6, since Smith is likely gone 1 or 2
-
Won't McCain be 167 by the time the next election rolls around....just saying.
-
I feel much more comfortable with Whitworth at LG than LT personally. Though I like Loadholt as a good mid-round find, I don't think he did himself any favors at the Senior Bowl and I have serious questions regarding his ability to stop elite pass rushers....see the Texas game where he was OWNED by Orakpo.
-
Britton will be a first round pick as well but he really doesn't merit much talk since he is not the prospect that any of the other four are and will be long gone by the time the Bengals pick in the 2nd.
-
Stafford, Curry, Crabtree, and Smith will all be gone by the time the Bengals pick at #6 as far as I am concerned that can be written in stone. Either Sanchez, Monroe, or Raji will go at the other position, lets say for arguements sake that the draft plays out like this:
Detroit: Matt Stafford, QB, Georgia (Smith could also go here)
St. Louis: Andre Smith, OT, Alabama (Monroe could go here but I am confident they go with a Tackle)
Kansas City: Mark Sanchez, QB, USC (Curry could go here as could Monroe or Smith or Stafford if either are available)
Seattle: Michael Crabtree, WR, Texas Tech (a mortal lock to go here)
Cleveland: Aaron Curry, OLB, Wake Forest (Could go with Jenkins though I doubt it, could certainly go with Raji if Curry is gone)
That leaves a pool of five candidates for the Bengals:
1) Rey Maualuga, ILB, USC: Give me Rivers and Maualuga on my LBer corp with good DBs and an adequate line and I'll show you a Super Bowl caliber defense. This guy is Polamalu with an extra 40 lbs. Hits like a Mack Truck, has great instincts, is the focal point of any offensive game plan. Will make Rivers look great(er) by giving him more room to roam. I could care less what his senior season looked like, he makes everyone else on his defense look better. Maualuga's fire would fill every player on the Bengals defense much like Polamalu does for Pittsburgh. This is a no-brainer mortal lock as far as I am concerned but there are other guys that are legitimate players as well that I would also be comfortable with.
2) B.J. Raji, DT, Boston College: UNBLOCKABLE! This is the guy the Bengals have been looking for since Krumrie broke his leg. Big, Extemely Strong, Very Quick. Can be a run stopper and a penetrator. Is every bit the player that Ellis and Dorsey were last year. Came out at the Senior Bowl and completely dominated. The only reason I list Maualuga ahead of Raji is Maualuga's ability to be the vocal and emotional leader of the defense. Raji would instantly make the Bengals a better team.
3) Eugene Monroe, OT, Virginia: Would make an instant impact for the Bengals, is a dominent LT prospect and would certainly help solidify the Bengals O-Line, partnering him with a second round Center prospect like Unger or Mack would allow the Bengals to let Andrews go in FA moving Collins to RT and allowing them to lockup TJ from a financial point of view. Love him as a pick just don't think he is as special as Maualuga or Raji.
4) Brian Orakpo, DE, Texas: Orakpo is an incredible physical specimen. 515 lb bench press, 600 lb squat from a 260 lb man is very rare, combine that with his desire to make himself a better football player in the offseason by boxing and you get an good picture of this guys abilities. 19 Tackles for a Loss and 11.5 sacks last year are also good indicators, can play 4-3 DE or 3-4 OLB, more quick than fast and not very large but makes up for it by hard work and by his freakish combination of strength and quickness. Really a one year wonder and there are questions about his durability which pushes him down my radar but would certainly make a great addition to this team.
5) Chris "Beanie" Wells, RB, Ohio State: Is exactly the kind of "power" back the Bengals need, I just question how much he is needed, I think he is very similar in alot of ways to Benson who was himself a high draft pick just a few years ago. Sign up Benson to a long term deal full of insentives and you don't need to spend a 1st round pick on a running back, any of these 4 guys would be a better prospectm IMHO
-
1) Andre Smith: THE reason why Alabama didn't beat Utah. Massive Road Grader who would look great as a Bengal. Strong Powerful Punch, simply stops people in their tracks. Mirrors well and could play either LT or RT. Faced superior opposition in College. One GLARING issue, signing with an agent before the end of the season indicates to me that he puts himself ahead of the team, I would have major issues with that.
2) Michael Oher: Has the entire package physically, is strong, quick can be just about anything you need him to be....unfortuneately his scouting report comes with two issues...IMMATURE, requires extra coaching and hand holding, doesn't alway play up to his potential without alot of coaxing...DUMB, and this breaks my cardinal rule, DON'T DRAFT DUMB FOOTBALL PLAYERS!
3) Eugene Monroe: Not as physically gifted as Oher nor as big as Smith but there is one thing about Monroe that cannot be argued. He was so good in college as a junior that he made Brandon Albert (15th overall pick in 2008) start as a guard and Albert was good enough to start week one in the NFL as a LT. Smart, Athletic, good power, great technique, four year starter, in short the ONLY LT prospect in this draft that is a sure thing.
4) Jason Smith: Projects to be a great pass protector in the pros, Smart, Quick. Not nearly as powerful as the previous three nor as good a prospect. Might start as a liability in the run game and had very little experience in college playing "three yards and a cloud of dust" football and might simply not be capable of that in the NFL. Only a Bengals prospect if they trade out of the top ten.
And here ends the list of LT prospects that could make an immediate impact on the Bengals team. Since Smith will be long gone by 6 only Monroe is a viable prospect for that Bengals at 6 IMHO. I would be comfortable with that selection though I would prefer either Maualuga or Raji.
-
Big Rey Maualuga fan, he has great instincts and hits, HARD, him paired with Rivers again gives me goosebumps.
-
Maualuga will be there at 6. Oher will be gone by 12 at the latest there is no possibility that he falls all the way to the second, but taking Robinson out of Oklahoma, Unger out of Oregon, or Mack out of Cal is a possibility (though Robinson will likely go late in the first). Nicks is a first round talent and with his showing in the bowl game is likely to go late first early second, a good possibility in the third however will be Iglesias out of Oklahoma who has first round statistics and plays like a first rounder but looks funny in practice and will time out slower than expected.
-
If we draft a Duck I think it should be Patrick Chung late in the third. I love the way he plays
-
Maualuga plays with such intensity, he hits and sets the tone for the entire defense, his production is off the charts and he has been the best player on the best defense in college football for three years now. He has great chemistry with Keith Rivers and their teamwork will make both of them better, so much of linebacker is playing with instincts and having a guy you feel comfortable with next to you will ease Rey's transition immensely. Maualuga will give this Bengals defense an identitiy much like Ray Lewis gave the Ravens an Identity. with Rey, a healthy Rivers, Leon Hall, Jonathan Joseph, White and NDukwe, Peko and Sims this team will have a legitimate top ten defense which will benefit the short term much more than a rookie LT who is likely to hurt as much as he helps next year. Sign Andrews, stick Collins at LT whitworth and Williams at Guard and draft a second round C (Mack or Unger) and you have a stable O-Line IMHO. Give Palmer more chances (turnovers) and not require him to win all the games for us by compensating for a lousy defense and the Bengals will make the playoffs next year (barring injuries). Maualuga is the obvious and right choice for the Bengals.
-
Junior Seau, Willie McGinest, Chris Claiborne, Lofa Tatupu, Ronnie Lott, Troy Polamalu just to name a few, USC defensive players are generally as good as advertised. Also see Carson Plamer....he turned out ok.
Best Players 1-6 IMHO
1) Andre Smith
2) Rey Maualuga
3) Aaron Curry
4) B.J. Raji
5) Eugene Monroe
6) Brian Orakpo
-
My one hard and fast rule about the Draft is:
If you have a chance to pick Ray Lewis, you should!....Maualuga is the closest thing to Lewis I have seen coming out of college.
-
1 Detroit: Matthew Stafford, QB, Georgia (could have picked this pick in August)
2 St. Louis: Andre Smith, OT, Alabama
3 Kansas City: Matt Sanchez, QB, USC
4 Seattle: Michael Crabtree, WR, Texas Tech
5 Cleveland: Aaron Curry, OLB, Wake Forest
6 Cincinnati: Rey Maualuga, MLB, USC
7 Oakland: B.J. Raji, DT, Boston College
8 Jacksonville: Eugene Monroe, OT, Virginia
9 Green Bay: Brian Orakpo, DE, Texas
10 San Francisco: Michael Oher, OT, Ole Miss
11 Buffalo: Everett Brown, DE, Penn State
12 Denver: Chris "Beanie" Wells, RB, Ohio State
13 Washington: Michael Johnson, DE, Georgia Tech
14 New Orleans: Michael Jenkins, CB, Ohio State
15 Houston: Jason Smith, OT, Baylor
16 San Diego: James Laurenitis, LB, Ohio State
17 New York Jets: Knowshon Moreno, RB, Georgia
18 Chicago: Vontae Davis, CB, Illinois
19 Tampa Bay: Percy Harvin, WR/KR, Florida
20 Detroit (from Dallas): Aaron Maybin, DE, Penn State
21 Philadelphia: Jeremy Maclin, WR, Missouri
22 Minnesota: D.J. Moore, CB, Vanderbilt
23 New England: Brian Cushing, OLB, USC
24 Atlanta: Brandon Pettigrew, TE, Oklahoma State
25 Miami: Peria Jerry, DT, Ole Miss
26 Baltimore: Duke Robinson, OG, Oklahoma
27 Indianapolis: Alex Mack, OC, California
28 Philadelphia (from Carolina): Hakeem Nicks, WR, North Carolina State
29 New York Giants: Darius Heywood-Bey, WR, Maryland
30 Tennessee: Sen'Derrick Marks, DT, Auburn
P31 Arizona: Tyson Jackson, DE, LSU
P32 Pittsburgh: Ebon Britton, OT, Arizona
Bengals Rd. 2: Max Unger, OC, Oregon
Rd 3a: Connor Barwin, DE, Cincinnati
Rd. 3b: Ian Johnson, RB, Boise State
-
I agree but he would play DE for us.
-
with 7 losses under our belt we are essentially eliminated from the playoffs so it seems like a perfect time to talk about prospects for the Draft
My new favorite is Terrance "Mount" Cody who played refridgerator Perry this weekend and played FB on a goalline situation. He is 6'4" 365 or so and can move. Cody is the heart of the Alabama Defense just look at the YPC last week before and after his injury (minus the one 62 yard run) 11 rushes for 10 yards vs. 19 rushes for 98 Yards after Cody went down.
Rey Maualuga, ILB, USC: Quick, Big Hitter always in the right gaps
James Laurenitis, ILB, Ohio State: Not as Quick or Fast as Maualuga but more instinctive still a once (or twice) in a generation playmaker
Greg Hardy, DE, Mississippi: An absolute BEAST as a pass rusher
George Selvie, DE, South Florida: Incredibly productive
Ricky Jean-Francois, DT(DE), LSU; at 295 might be a little too Thonton-esque as a DT but he is an animal, I like his swagger as well
Tyson Jackson, DE, LSU; a real three down DE big enough to plug the run, quick enough to rush the passer good instincts, good program
Brandon Spikes, ILB, Florida; not really an option in the first but if he slips to the second he would be my choice even if we took Rey or James in the first.
Taylor Mays, FS, USC; it has been since Fulcher in his prime that we had a real impact player at safety and while Ndukwe and White have been playing very well wouldn't it be nice to have 3 impact safeties (4, with Lynch). Mays is every bit as good as Laron Landry was as a college prospect a couple of years ago.
Any of these players will make an immediate impact on the Bengals team, and yes I have no interest what so ever in Moreno or Wells in the First, history proves that effective RBs can be had in the later rounds.
-
I'll be with you in spirit, not likely I am going to make the trip to Cincy anytime soon to see a Bengals game (travelling 800 miles with two two year olds is a gruelling experience I reserve only for visiting family)
-
I'll go so far as to say that Boomer Esiason was a better QB:
Boomer: 37,920 Passing Yards 247 Passing TDs 81.1 QB Rating 184 INTs 1598 Rushing Yards 7 Rushing TDs
Kelly: 35,467 Passing Yards 237 Passing TDs 84.4 QB Rating 175 INTs 1049 Rushing Yards 7 Rushing TDs
Boomer threw for more yards, more TDs and rushed for more yards and perfected the no-huddle offense that Kelly used to his advantage. Boomer was the best play-action QB I have ever seen and Boomer did not have the luxury of having a Hall of Fame RB or a Hall of Fame DE.
-
Columbus? Just a Thought, I have never thought of PBS as a tailgating destination.
-
Brian Setzer...DISCUSS!
-
Man the version of "Hotel California" on the Hell Freezes Over Album is just incredible and you have to give a nod to Don Felder because that Spainish Guitar intro is just awesome, and it is so difficult to be a guitarist in a band with three guitarists without ending up sounding like a gang of out-of-tune Harleys (borrowed that quote somewhere).
It is so difficult for a guy to shine in a band of viruosos with Rick Wakeman, Chris Squire, and Bill Bruford to contend with it is no wonder that Howe couldn't get a word in edgewise, it seems to work best for a group like that to limit their musicians to three to give everyone more space (ala Cream or Rush) all that being said Howe is incredible, In 1991, when in an interview about Innuendo, Brian May admitted he couldn't play Howe's flamenco guitar part and that is quite some compliment.
-
AS I have said Previously Yes was my favorite band in High School, I love Steve Howe but I was more into Chris Squire. Never was much into Asia but Howe did a great little acoustic piece on "Innuendo" by Queen which evolved into a dual of sorts with Brian May which is well worth to $.99 on iTunes just to listen to if you have never heard it.
-
Tim Reynolds and Dave Matthews did a spectacular album together call Live at Luther College it is well worth finding and listening to, Reynolds in particular is a superb guitarist and Matthews (while he doesn't have Reynolds' chops) get the most emotion I have felt in a long time out of an acoustic guitar.
-
Dyno-MITE!
-
Both Great Players, Chris Squire was my favorite Bass Player when I was in high school, John Paul Jones is doomed to be eternally overshadowed by Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, and John Bonham. The Ocean is a great bass line from Jones.
Claypool, yes, completely not familier with Mike Watt but I have never been to into hardcore punk.
Geezer Butler (Black Sabbath)
Steve Harris (Iron Maiden)
Who be great examples of "Heavy Metal" bassists.
AS to McCartney, the Bass lines for "Penny Lane" "Old Brown Shoe" and "Lady Madonna" are really, really good and most of his work is perfect for the sound and the style of the music. I am more of a Lennon fan than a McCartney fan as a songwriter but to not give him his due as a bassist is a mistake IMHO. Listening to "Let it Be" right now and the bass line moves and accentuates the rest of the song very nicely. It is never going to be cited as a great technical achievement but you can't deny the results.
Another in the Les Claypool vain would be Stu Hamm but both of these players I think miss the point of the bass which is to be the rock solid foundation that a song is built upon, bridging the gap between the rhythm components and the melodic components. Not to say you can't play it as a lead instrument (and I have) but in the best circumstances you shouldn't have to. Claypool and Burton in particularly expanded the bass and thus should be listed as one of the greats. "My Name is Mud" and "John the Fisherman" are great pieces by Claypool.
Anyway this is a good conversation that distracts us all from the Bengal business at hand
Draft one of these 3 players PLEASE!
in Cincinnati Bengals
Posted
As to comparisons to Dorsey and Ellis from last year I will tell you I still believe both players will be multiple time pro-bowlers in their careers and I think Raji compares favorably. I would like Maualuga but I certainly would not cry to long or hard if they chose Raji. How long have we been crying for a dominent Defender in the Middle of the line? Peko is a good second guy, Sims showed signs last year, but anymore you need a rotation of good guys to keep players fresh, ala NY Giants.