Steinbach Extension/Willie Speaks/O-line

[bengalskyspy]

While he is often heralded as a saint, I for one think he is a bunch of hot air. Why the #ell is he complaining about the deals getting done now in the media? His mouth is as big as his arse. Face it Willie, you are not the priority. You even said as much, or were you just being sarcastic. I am particularly concerned about his comment that the O-line gets no respect, while the skill players get all the fame and glory. Get to a Superbowl you big baby. Your O-line let Kimo by to bust up Carson! STFU! We have already drafted your replacement in Stacey Andrews.

[WretchedOne]

Wow, thats a nice way to show even a little respect for a player that has seen some of darkest days of this franchise and STILL decided to stay a Bengal, even before Marvin got here.

And he's right. An offensive line gets basically no credit and the "stars" do, thats just the way football goes. Willie knows that he's an intergral part of this teams success. He may not get credit from the media, but he sure as hell is making A TON of money.

If you want to whine about players....go talk about Reggie Myles.

Or Cory Dillion

Or Carl Pickens

....

Don't talk s**t about players that have been the rock of this offense for over a decade and haven't trashed this city, the coaches, or the owners.

[AMC]

Dang....Glad you got that out of your system...

I for one will never come close to bashing Big Willie. I don't know him personally and he may be the world's biggest hypocrite, but all I can go on is the heart he puts into everything including the community. To be what he has been through and NOT cut and run??? I respect that more than someone cutting and running and getting a ring somewhere else.

I think this team is pretty much void of all lockerroom cancer. Thanks to Marvin for that.

[walshfan]

the Bengals will see how far Andrews has progressed come preseason.

that will determine whether Willie stays a Bengal or not.

[walshfan]

Look to hear that Steinbach is signed anytime now...

[TJJackson]

I suppose you are talking about this Enquirer piece

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/art.../604260334/1066

I read it over a couple of times. It sounds like Willy is havign a bad day.....and sheesh, given what a trooper he has been through the horrible seasons up til 2003, I think he is overdue for a bad day and letting off a little steam.

I would like to see him re-sign. Really, I would. But once he calms down and does some checking, he will find that the salary cap is fairly unforgiving to older players with high slaries. Whle it makes sense from a humanistic point of view to "reward" players for past performance, it is very, very bad for the ongoign success of the team to do so. You have to pay for perfomance in the here and now, and invest your money in your younger players.

Now, that isn't to say that they can't cough up a very nice piece of change for Big Willy. Certainly more than you or I will ever see, but NOT the kind of money it will take to sign Levi, who is much younger. Mind you, when Willy was that age, he DID get that big payday with the big (for that time) signing bonus. But he should not be expecting a top 5 player type contract - not because he isn't that type of player, but rather because his age and the demands of the new salary cap work against that sort of thing.

The whole "the line doesn't get respect" thing is just silly, and clearly just him blowing steam. Bobbie just signed a big extension. He includes Jeremi in his statement, and yet Jeremi is now the highest paid fullback in the league. NFL commentators were effusive in their love for the OL play this past year. It is also clearly the top priority of the front office to extend the OL in the here and now, expressed often. His comments in that light really don't make any sense.

So again, I just think he is having a bad day, and the Enquirer was more than happy to print his comments, knowing it'd be newworthy and draw interest.

He's a great player and a great person, and I for one and proud he is a Bengal. When i have a bad day, I am thankful the Enquirer doesn't come and print the comments I make that day for all to see.

[HoTbOy]

I agree that WAnderson doesn't deserve that but if true I haven't seen that or a link for it why not talk about him, everyone was ready to jump down CJohnson's throat when they thought he was gonna hold out for more $ so why not WAnderson if he is talking to the media like that...I beleive that WAnderson deserves a new contract but he wants like WJones $, and we are trying to bulid our team for the future...I would offer a 3 or 4 year contract worth about 21-24 mil...if not we could use the $ on LJones or ESteinbach and let SAndrews man that spot and wish WAnderson the best...

[AMC]

How about Bach mught be the best player on this team by position. Levi is good but Bach has more upside. the guys a freakin beast.

No offense Spain, but I HATE the word "upside". Oh, and "value at that spot", and "steal", and all those other Kiperisms. God I hate that crap....

And throw in there when they refer to "a" Vince Young or "a" Leonard Pope. WTF is that???

[DC_Bengals_Fan]

Couldn't hurt to let Willie test the FA waters a bit, and discover that he may have mis-read the market for aging RTs with no knee cartilage. I love the guy, but football's a cold business, and he may be about to learn that.

[AMC]

Couldn't hurt to let Willie test the FA waters a bit, and discover that he may have mis-read the market for aging RTs with no knee cartilage. I love the guy, but football's a cold business, and he may be about to learn that.

I think if anything Big Willie is finally noticing Marvin's theory of rotating personnel through and staying relatively young. Signing up the young guys first seems to be Marvin's philosophy....

[UK Bengal]

spain you are just a wanker pure and simple you know very little about football and obviously what u do know is googled. I mean your free agency predictions suck u want to trade all the good players on the team and make 1 stupid irrelivant post after another. The reason must be you are high 24/7 i dont think anyone can be that dumb

[skyline]

I wasn't crazy about his comments, but who cares? I don't think there's any question that he'll come out and work his butt off for the team as he's always done. He understands that it's just a business, and I don't see it hurting his game in the slightest.

You can't overlook everything he's given up for this team due to one interview.

[bengalskyspy]

My point is that we always seem to overlook Willie's comments because we feel guilty that he chose to stay with the Bengals and make millions despite the fact that the team stunk. The man deserves no pass. I am simply calling it like it is, a selfish, whiney comment. He's a big boy, and I don't mean his girth. He knows about the business of the NFL. There is no excuse for his selfish tirade in the media. He could have had this conversation in private with Management. If any other player had made this kind of comment, we would all be asking for his head on a platter. He should take a cue from Chad and get his business done behind the scenes.

[HoosierCat]

Willie has never been shy about voicing his opinion, which is why I often refer to him as Big (Mouth) Willie. While I can't really disagree with what he says, he probably ought to chill. But his comments point up again something I've been saying for weeks: the Bengals need to make a decision about him. If they are going to keep him beyond this coming season then they need to committ whatever money Willie wants to do it. Otherwise they need to look for some trade value this weekend.

[Bengalhead]

While he is often heralded as a saint, I for one think he is a bunch of hot air. Why the #ell is he complaining about the deals getting done now in the media? His mouth is as big as his arse. Face it Willie, you are not the priority. You even said as much, or were you just being sarcastic. I am particularly concerned about his comment that the O-line gets no respect, while the skill players get all the fame and glory. Get to a Superbowl you big baby. Your O-line let Kimo by to bust up Carson! STFU! We have already drafted your replacement in Stacey Andrews.

Skyspy,

I couldn't agree more. I defended Willie for a long time. He seems to forget the words that came out of his mouth not long ago "TAKE CARE OF THE OTHER GUYS FIRST" Well, that is exactly what is happening. But now that he realizes he may not get his money and he's talking @##$%. Willie, I love you but shut the &*%$# up. You said yourself that they should do what they are doing now so deal with it!

[Walrus]

You can't overlook everything he's given up for this team due to one interview.

...and don't forget the interview(s) he did at the end of the season where he emphasized signing Jones, Steinbach and Williams over himself because of their age. He clearly has his head on straight about this. Maybe he's sore that Chad got his extension before 3 of the linemen. But Willy is a very smart, seasoned player and will do just fine whether he's a Bengal in '07 or playing elsewhere.

[DC_Bengals_Fan]

Willie has never been shy about voicing his opinion, which is why I often refer to him as Big (Mouth) Willie. While I can't really disagree with what he says, he probably ought to chill. But his comments point up again something I've been saying for weeks: the Bengals need to make a decision about him. If they are going to keep him beyond this coming season then they need to committ whatever money Willie wants to do it. Otherwise they need to look for some trade value this weekend.

What could you get for 1 year of an old tackle? 7th round pick?

I guess it matters how off he is on his actual value. If he's deluding himself, let the free market straighten him out and sign him after he figures it out. I don't get the feeling he really wants to leave.

[Kirkendall]

Willie Anderson deserves Brett Favre treatment in Cincinnati. He's durable, he's played through the toughest of injuries during one THE WORST period of a franchise in NFL history. Willie wants to be a Bengal for the rest of his career and I believe not only should he be, but we should do whatever we have to to keep him in town.

It's not like he's demanding money that would cripple the team. He realizes the proportions of cost and salary and how they can hurt a team. He, along with Jones and Steinbach, want some of their share. And we'd be fools to think they are more expendable than Carson, Rudi, or Chad. Some people truly don’t understand the value of a great offensive line – which we have. The chemistry alone is invaluable.

I also don't put much stock into his statement. I believe, AT WORST, he's frustrated his boys (fellow linemen) aren't getting re-signed quickly enough -- most notably Levi Jones -- and this is his attempt to get the front office to focus on it.

We should rally around a guy like Willie that's always been the good guy before we rally around the Brown family who's been enemy #1 for over a generation.

[BengalChamps]

Big Willie has many good years left. Maybe as many as 4 years. His performance this past year was awesome and his performance in the Pro-Bowl 2 months ago left no doubt that there is still gas in the tank.

I think he is getting nervous because he REALLY wants to stay here and retire as a Bengal. He has a lot of value left but not as much value as Levi and Steiny. He wants market rate for his services, but I dont think the cap can support paying market rate for the 3 OLine left to sign. Maybe there is room left. I dont know our cap situation well enough.

IMO we have to find a way to get him to accept less than the market will bear to retire as a Bengal and keep the offense intact.

[WretchedOne]

There is no point in really getting "huffy" about any of this for another 10 months really.

Willie IS signed for 2006 so we still have until March, whatever, to get him a new deal.

10 Months.....

[derekshank]

Listen... I hope Willie re-signs here, and he has been incredibly loyal to the team. I think to some extent the team owes him something... but no one deserves "Brett Favre" treatment. This reminds me of the Curtis Martin signing the Jets did a couple years ago. They admitted that they over-paid him, but wanted to show him that he was valued for his years of service to the team. A hell of a nice gesture... but it usually results in losing when you go around honoring good guys with loads of money when they are over the hill.

I'm a Willie fan. I really am. I'm not all that pissed about his comments, because even though they do sound a little bit like whining, he has earned the right to complain being the only player worth his salt through a decade of losing. BUT that doesn't mean you sign him to the overpriced contract he is looking for. Don't cut him. Do what you can to keep him here... but by all means DON'T overpay him for past service. That type of precident will put a quick stop to our dynasty dreams.

[derekshank]

spain you are just a wanker pure and simple you know very little about football and obviously what u do know is googled. I mean your free agency predictions suck u want to trade all the good players on the team and make 1 stupid irrelivant post after another. The reason must be you are high 24/7 i dont think anyone can be that dumb

damn... lay off. I don't generally agree with Spain either, and I sometimes even poke fun at his rants when they don't make sense, but he has the same right to post here that you do. If you don't like his opinion - ignore it. It's really easy to be a tough guy on a forum and say really nasty things that you would never say to a man face to face... so take a deep breath and cool off before you lash out like that again. We're all Bengal fans... and believe it or not, not everyone has to agree.

[BengalByTheBay]

Willie Anderson deserves Brett Favre treatment in Cincinnati. He's durable, he's played through the toughest of injuries during one THE WORST period of a franchise in NFL history. Willie wants to be a Bengal for the rest of his career and I believe not only should he be, but we should do whatever we have to to keep him in town.

It's not like he's demanding money that would cripple the team. He realizes the proportions of cost and salary and how they can hurt a team. He, along with Jones and Steinbach, want some of their share. And we'd be fools to think they are more expendable than Carson, Rudi, or Chad. Some people truly don’t understand the value of a great offensive line – which we have. The chemistry alone is invaluable.

I also don't put much stock into his statement. I believe, AT WORST, he's frustrated his boys (fellow linemen) aren't getting re-signed quickly enough -- most notably Levi Jones -- and this is his attempt to get the front office to focus on it.

We should rally around a guy like Willie that's always been the good guy before we rally around the Brown family who's been enemy #1 for over a generation.

I don't think we know what he's asking for. He has rejected a contract offer from last season to extend him -- that's all we know. Maybe he's going to ask for something realistic, maybe not, but we don't really know. I like his example of J. Ogden getting a career deal. (a) He is younger and went to the ProBowl before Anderson (for whatever that's worth) and ( he's a Left Tackle and © how well is that working out for the Ravens? We can't pay him "whatever it takes" because you can't really do that for CP, CJ, Levi, etc., etc. You've got to pick and choose in this league. Oh, and I agree with Joisey, I recall many times that Anderson was more than happy to vent to the media.

[Stripes]

Willie has made a couple other quiet comments in the past that I haven't appreciated, such as that one about how the contract he was offered was so small he couldn't even remember the number. He's a great player, and seems to be a good man, but I won't enshrine him in gold foil. He did play hard for us through the bad years, but now is not the time to start pouting.

[HoosierCat]

What could you get for 1 year of an old tackle? 7th round pick?

He just made the Pro Bowl last season, and he ought to have 3 or 4 solid years left in him. And any tam trading for him would undoubedly want to work out a new deal first, soo it wouldn't be 1 year. I could see a lot of teams with o-line issues -- Houston, for example, or the Jets -- being very interested. As to his exact value, who knows? But even if it was just a 7th, what would you rather have: that 7th, or nothing when he walks next year?