Steinbach Extension/Willie Speaks/O-line

[BengalByTheBay]

Point being, when Corey chucked his crap in the stands and bashed the hell out of the team and city, there were still people singing his praises. Willie becomes vocal for the first time since being here and people are crawling up his asspiece. I think that's horsesh*t for everything the man has done for the team and the city. He's been an advocate of the team and only been to a few probowls while enduring the years of futility. He's been professional and should be given the benefit of the doubt in this case. That's all...

WHODEY !!!

Not true. Willie has sounded off before. Last time that I recall was the season before Marvin when LeBeau imploded -- turned the team over to nobody -- and they went 2-14. That said, I wouldn't ever put him in the Dillon/Pickens class, but he has vented to the media fairly loosely in the past.

[ArmyBengal]

Point being, when Corey chucked his crap in the stands and bashed the hell out of the team and city, there were still people singing his praises. Willie becomes vocal for the first time since being here and people are crawling up his asspiece. I think that's horsesh*t for everything the man has done for the team and the city. He's been an advocate of the team and only been to a few probowls while enduring the years of futility. He's been professional and should be given the benefit of the doubt in this case. That's all...

WHODEY !!!

Not true. Willie has sounded off before. Last time that I recall was the season before Marvin when LeBeau imploded -- turned the team over to nobody -- and they went 2-14. That said, I wouldn't ever put him in the Dillon/Pickens class, but he has vented to the media fairly loosely in the past.

Please tell me you aren't going to hold that one against him !!! I'm suprised the whole f*cking team didn't pack up and leave town that year. Saying anyone shouldn't sound off against LeBlow that season is like telling a fat kid with a pocket full of Twinkies to stop smiling !!!

Once again, I'm all for Willie on this one... Agree or disagree, I'm for him !!!

WHODEY !!!

[ArmyBengal]

I understand the thought of it being easier to replace a RT as opposed to a LT, but tell me again how easy it is to find a pro bowl RT like it's nothing. I get what's being said and even agree that if Big Willie asks for the house, he might be packing his bags, but I think he still has at least three years left and God knows the guy has been an advocate of the team and the City.

WHODEY !!!

[Stripes]

tell me again how easy it is to find a pro bowl RT like it's nothing.

It isn't. There shouldn't be any doubt that if Willie does end up leaving next year, that there will be some drop off at the RT position, at least for a while. Andrews or Kieft may both be impressing the coaches in practice, but unless we draft a first round OT this year (Winston Justice), we won't be seeing the kind of skills we saw from Willie.

[ArmyBengal]

You all need to stop freaking out here !!! Chad hired Rosenwhore for more than a new contract, but take a look at what Chad has made while he has been here... Someone had posted the numbers average on another thread and it was STAGGERING how little he has made considering he has lead the AFC in yardage for three straight years and has been to the probowl for a few years straight now. C'mon, you can't honestly expect what is quite possibly the best WR in the game to continually get paid less than the 10th best WR in the league and not address it. Don't give me that crap about, "well he signed the contract" either. It's how you take care of people that produce.

I do believe the o-line will get their day in the sun and you can't tell me that no one appreciates their big monkeyasses either, because ESPN did a big story on how only Cincinnati and San Diego were the only teams last year to return their starting o-line lineup from the previous year. We are bringing them all back again and they get mad credit for being stellar and are a big reason the Bengals offense had a franchise setting season last year.

Once again, this is my opinion, but I think everyone needs to get off Chad because he's still getting less than some WR's who aren't #1's and the o-line should also just shut their yaps and wait, because it's coming... Oh yeah, Chad will get another extension before this current deal is up if he keeps doing what he's been doing for the past few years, so get ready to b*tch some more !!!

WHODEY !!!

[membengal]

I just tend to discount anything anyone says who are working on new deals...

Walter Jones was the unhappiest man in Seattle for years as they kept slapping tag after tag on him until a deal finally got done. It will get done with Levi, Willie and Eric, or some combination thereof, or it won't. Either way, those guys will ultimately make nice money here or somewhere else. I bet it's here for Levi and Eric...

[cincy9275]

for one i never said that it would be easy to do anything please don't put words in my mouth( said it was easier = less of a problem) . but to find a quality ( once again never said anything about a probowler) right tackle is a lot less of a problem then it is to find a left tackle. guys that usually get put on the right side are player that can't play left tackle and i do believe that andrews would do a very fine job . our best tackle is levi and he does deserve to make what all the others are making and is a more important piece to this team than willie ,yes willie has been here through all the tough times but this is a business and wining is the name of the game and if that mean signing levi would mean the loss of willie the so be it. and if you have been reading hobson's pre draft position reports you would know that yes losing willie would hurt but we are also stacked on the online . and willie still has a year left so andrews can learn more and that give us plenty of time to shore up the future of that position .

[DC_Bengals_Fan]

I do believe the o-line will get their day in the sun and you can't tell me that no one appreciates their big monkeyasses either, because ESPN did a big story on how only Cincinnati and San Diego were the only teams last year to return their starting o-line lineup from the previous year. We are bringing them all back again and they get mad credit for being stellar and are a big reason the Bengals offense had a franchise setting season last year.

Yeah, they're stellar, had great years, and they're watching everyone else get paid. They're also good enough at math to wonder whether they're coming back. Whether they have their day in the sun - I guess we'll see.

[ArmyBengal]

The way I see it, is they will get their money one way or another...

If they don't get it from us, they will get it in FA. Where their money is going to come from boils down to geography, but there's no doubt they will get paid. They know it's coming from somewhere... Lets just hope it's from the Bengals !!!

WHODEY !!!

[ArmyBengal]

for one i never said that it would be easy to do anything please don't put words in my mouth( said it was easier = less of a problem) . but to find a quality ( once again never said anything about a probowler) right tackle is a lot less of a problem then it is to find a left tackle. guys that usually get put on the right side are player that can't play left tackle and i do believe that andrews would do a very fine job . our best tackle is levi and he does deserve to make what all the others are making and is a more important piece to this team than willie ,yes willie has been here through all the tough times but this is a business and wining is the name of the game and if that mean signing levi would mean the loss of willie the so be it. and if you have been reading hobson's pre draft position reports you would know that yes losing willie would hurt but we are also stacked on the online . and willie still has a year left so andrews can learn more and that give us plenty of time to shore up the future of that position .

Chill, I never said you said, it was easy, I asked a question. That's all. (Sounds like a kids argument)

Anyway, my point isn't that someone can't be replaced, but for anyone (not you specifically) to just dismiss what Willie brings to this team is crazy and the line would take a step back without him on it. I understand and agree with you on the business part of the organization, but we have money and the use of the tag to make this happen and then work out a long term deal. Hell, even taggin him for another year wouldn't be bad if the arguement of developing Stacy "the dancing bear" Andrews is the case and then let him go after that year...

As for Hobson's report on the O-line, yes, I've read it and it's another reason I've been so vocal on the board for not wanting to go after Mangold in the first. Anyway around, we all want what's best for the team and what's going to keep Carson intact back there. My argument is that I believe keeping the o-line intact for another 3 years minimum would be the best way to accomplish that. People don't have to agree, it's just my standpoint. Just as you have yours !!!

WHODEY !!!

[The_Next_Big_Thing]

FYI all this "right tackle/left tackle" stuff is nonsense. On our squad, it's the RIGHT tackle who protects Carson Palmer's blind spot, not the "super important left tackle". Carson is a leftie!

[ArmyBengal]

FYI all this "right tackle/left tackle" stuff is nonsense. On our squad, it's the RIGHT tackle who protects Carson Palmer's blind spot, not the "super important left tackle". Carson is a leftie!

I'm not arguing that... See my point below:

Anyway around, we all want what's best for the team and what's going to keep Carson intact back there. My argument is that I believe keeping the o-line intact for another 3 years minimum would be the best way to accomplish that.

That's all I'm saying here...

WHODEY !!!

[Kazkal]

[turningpoint]

FYI all this "right tackle/left tackle" stuff is nonsense. On our squad, it's the RIGHT tackle who protects Carson Palmer's blind spot, not the "super important left tackle". Carson is a leftie!

Um carson Palmer is right handed.

Matt Lienart is a lefty.

f**king idiot.

[Kazkal]

Owned lol. was gonna say um look at all carsons pictures or him playing preatty sure it shows his left side is the blind side

[2ndyearBengal]

Uh oh Big Thang

[BengalByTheBay]

Not true. Willie has sounded off before. Last time that I recall was the season before Marvin when LeBeau imploded -- turned the team over to nobody -- and they went 2-14. That said, I wouldn't ever put him in the Dillon/Pickens class, but he has vented to the media fairly loosely in the past.

Please tell me you aren't going to hold that one against him !!! I'm suprised the whole f*cking team didn't pack up and leave town that year. Saying anyone shouldn't sound off against LeBlow that season is like telling a fat kid with a pocket full of Twinkies to stop smiling !!!

Once again, I'm all for Willie on this one... Agree or disagree, I'm for him !!!

WHODEY !!!

[mjm47]

From a column on espn.com...

For much of his 10-year NFL career, Cincinnati Bengals right offense tackle Willie Anderson labored in relative obscurity, arguably the best performer on a miserable team, a Pro Bowl-caliber blocker who got little recognition despite having the respect of his peers.

But now that the Bengals have reversed fortunes under coach Marvin Lewis, winning the division title in 2005 and poised for perhaps an even better season in 2006, Anderson might have a difficult decision if he is to remain with an emerging powerhouse team and perhaps finish out his career with the only franchise for which he has ever played.

Anderson is entering the final year of his contract and, having witnessed the lucrative extensions to which the Bengals recently signed quarterback Carson Palmer and wide receiver Chad Johnson, even though both players had four seasons remaining on their existing deals, the veteran blocker vented some frustration this week about his own situation.

"Does my body of work mean anything?" asked a miffed Anderson, rhetorically, this week.

Arthur Anderson/WireImage.com

Willie Anderson, right, has been a Bengal through the good and bad times.

Privately, Anderson's sentiments were much stronger than that, the words of a man who feels that his loyalty to the franchise, and his insistence on lining up every week and often playing hurt for a team that had little chance winning, has been unappreciated. The team's first-round choice in the 1996 draft, Anderson is, indeed, a fixture in the city and in the lineup. He has started 152 games in 10 seasons, 96 of them in a row, and has earned three straight Pro Bowl berths. The former Auburn star has played on creaky knees and sacrificed his body for the good of a team that was usually pretty bad, and now he wants some love in return.

For sure, Anderson's "body of work" does mean something to the Bengals, and to ownership. But the prideful Anderson and owner Mike Brown and his family might harbor differing views as to the overall value.

And that's where the problem arises.

One of the NFL's good guys, Anderson always has had a slightly skewed view of his worth and has in the past had considerable difficulty grasping the notion that, as a right tackle, he is never going to be paid the same as the premier left-side tackles. He and agent Terry Bolar have cited the contracts signed in the past by left tackles such as Jonathan Ogden of Baltimore and Seattle's Walter Jones and suggested that Anderson similarly should be rewarded. But there are certain unwritten rules in the NFL and one of them is that left tackles make more money than their right-side peers. That reality eats at Anderson, consumes him at times, but the situation is what it is, and it's not likely to change.

A complex and emotional guy, Anderson can be a dichotomy at times. He talks about wanting to play his entire career in Cincinnati but privately tells people he would like to be traded to Atlanta, where he makes his full-time home. Earlier this year, he noted that, given his age, the Bengals should try to sign some of their younger players first, before they worried about keeping him around. When they did just that, he was upset, and this week he finally made his personal feelings public ones.

But the truth is, the Bengals offered Anderson a three-year contract extension a year ago, and he rejected it, because he felt the numbers weren't right. So now Anderson probably faces a tough decision on his future. Sometime after the draft, Bengals officials likely will huddle with Anderson and Bolar and again try to address his issues. They might even make another extension proposal and, if they do, here's the decision for Anderson: Sign an add-on deal, likely for numbers that still aren't to his liking. Or play out the final year of his contract, at a base salary of $4.75 million, and become an unrestricted free agent next spring.

It could be a tough call. Were Anderson to opt for free agency, he would enter the market at age 32, with a pair of suspect knees that have undergone plenty of tune-up work in the past, and with 11 seasons of tread rubbed off the tires. Oh, yeah, he'd still be a right tackle, still subject to a lower pay standard. Free agency, actually, might be nothing more than a harsh slap of reality for Anderson in the long run.

The situation isn't an easy one, either, for Bengals' brass. The club recently signed right guard Bobbie Williams to a contract extension, but has other offensive linemen, beyond Anderson, to deal with as well. The superb left side of the line, the tandem of tackle Levi Jones and guard Eric Steinbach, needs to be addressed. Both players can be free agents after this season and both will require lucrative contracts to retain. Cincinnati can't afford to lose all three players -- Anderson, Jones and Steinbach -- and maintain its status as one of the NFL's best young teams.

Look for Lewis, who has big-time clout with the Bengals' front office, to become involved in the Anderson situation after the draft. And look for meaningful dialogue between the two sides. Just don't look for any easy answers.

[BengalByTheBay]

That's a pretty balanced take seems to me. Yes, we can all agree that we like Willie and he has been through horrible times (we should form a support group....oh, wait we already did). I, for one, was thrilled when he got his first ProBowl election. But I also like the point made in the article that he said the team should focus on signing the younger guys and then he got pissed when they did just that. Finally, he does seem to act like there shouldn't be a difference between RT and LT numbers, but that is clearly where the game is at right now. I still hope they can get something done with him. But if it came down to one that had to go, Levi & Steiny would stay if it was up to me.

[ArmyBengal]

FYI all this "right tackle/left tackle" stuff is nonsense. On our squad, it's the RIGHT tackle who protects Carson Palmer's blind spot, not the "super important left tackle". Carson is a leftie!

Um carson Palmer is right handed.

Matt Lienart is a lefty.

f**king idiot.

HOLY SH*T ME TO TEARS !!! I totally missed that one...

TNBT, you should be banished to a Steelers web forum for that skip up !!!

Anyone else (like me) who didn't catch it, should be smacked upside the head as well !!!

WHODEY !!!

[ArmyBengal]

We're not entirely in disagreement here, but your excuse would also work for Dillon and I don't think you'd take it that far. The point is simply that Willie has cut loose with his mouth before. And that wasn't the first time. As such, these recent comments aren't really that big a deal. But it's simply not true that he's always kept his mouth shut.

I did bring up Dillon earlier and stated that for how much sh*t he gave this city, he was still getting praises sang to him based on his accomplishments during the decade of futility and Willie should be given at least the same level of repsect, if not a TON MORE (probowls and all). I do however, after looking back through it, think it's getting overblown a bit and truly believe our o-line will be taken care of at some point, in one form fashion or another (tag). We shall see. Nice conversation though !!!

WHODEY !!!

[HoosierCat]

One of the NFL's good guys, Anderson always has had a slightly skewed view of his worth and has in the past had considerable difficulty grasping the notion that, as a right tackle, he is never going to be paid the same as the premier left-side tackles.

And there it is. All you need to know is in the above summary. Big Mouth Willie is a good guy. And a damn good RT. But he's never made any secret about his desire to get paid. Anyone remember his response a few years ago, pre-Levi, about a possible move to LT: that he'd do it for another million a year?

I love Willie...but I also think that he needs to be punched in the face every once in a while. Any guy who goes out drinking with a buddy, gets into an argument with him over something dumb, goes outside and they beat the crap out of each other for a while, then come back in and buy each other a round, knows what I mean. Me, been there, done that. It's a stupid guy thing but we're stupid guys and that's what we do. It doesn't mean anything the next day.

Marvin and Willie just need to beat the crap out of each other some night. Deal will be done the next day.