You got to admit..........

[BENGALTHEM]

The Bengals roster is strong this year from top to bottom. Free agency and the draft has made this team IMHO the best team I've seen on paper in a looong time. This is definitely an upgraded AFC North Division Champs Team. I think we match up with any team in the NFL. This team is stacked. I can't wait for this season to begin!

We did a good job upgrading the D-line as well as the 2ndry.

We upgraded special teams. esp. punt returns.

Despite the obvious, can't wait to see Chris Perry, Tab Perry, Pollack, Thurman, Sam Adams, Joseph, Chatman, Dexter, Nichols, Madieu, Frostee, McNeal.........f**k it, the whole Bengals squad.

As far as TE.....as long as you have two recievers with 1,000 yards and a 1400 yard rusher, a big time TE may not be a huge nescessity.

I think are whole season hinges on whether Carson Palmer can make it back to where he was last year.

It would be nice to do it while we still have the O-line and Justin Smith intact.

AHH yes the Bengals are a superior team.........

Here's to:

KW getting some snaps at TE (in certain situations)

Tab Perry getting some time at WR and Safety. (I guy like that has to be on the field more)

Joseph starting at corner, Tory James sliding to free safety and Madieu Williams rotating to strong in certain situations.

McNeal being our place kick holder for xpts and Fg attempts.

Frostee Rucker being the steal of the draft

The Bengals running more 3-4 defense.

And Chris Henry finding some religion.

CHEERS!

[Stripes]

AMEN, brotha!

Well to most of it. I'd scratch the Tab/safety thing, the McNeal as a holder thing, the Kdub TE thing, and the Tory/safety thing.

[HoosierCat]

I think are whole season hinges on whether Carson Palmer can make it back to where he was last year.

I think you are right.

If the Bengals had signed no one in FA and traded all their draft picks to Buffalo for wings and beer...they would still be a playoff/Super Bowl threat if Carson is back on opening day.

If Carson misses significant time -- like 8+ games -- then the best draft and all the FAs in the world wouldn't make us any more than a pretender.

I know Carson is sick of answering questions about his knee...but there's a reason that's happening. The '06 Bengals are all about The Knee.

(And while I'm on the subject of The Knee, may I wish Kimo VonD*cklessWonderHoffen a bad case of crotch rot once again . Yeah, I'm still p*ssed.)

[Stripes]

Hey, there's always a bright side. If Carson's recovery does take as long as many think, then we can go 7-9 or worse and get another top 15 pick!

Add that guy to an already dominant football team (with Palmer), and you have a dynasty in the making.

I'll take that, even if it means dealing with constant B/S from Steelers fans and the national media.

[bengalboomer7]

Hey, there's always a bright side. If Carson's recovery does take as long as many think, then we can go 7-9 or worse and get another top 15 pick!

Add that guy to an already dominant football team (with Palmer), and you have a dynasty in the making.

I'll take that, even if it means dealing with constant B/S from Steelers fans and the national media.

I've thought a lot about this recently and it's still not enough. I FIRMLY believe Carson is gonna miss some games, I've already accepted that. What I wanted, which I think has been somewhat accomplished, is to establish the D to take pressure off the offense and win some 14-10 games until Carson returns. i didn't think there was any QB out there besides Kitna(yes, Kitna) that could come in and not miss TOO much of a beat. So why not bloster the D to take any presssure off a short time replacement QB.

Like I said, I think it's somewhat accomplished.

[Stripes]

Hey, I agree with ya Boomer. If there is any way to go out in 2006 and win games, I'm certainly all for it. Nobody wants a throwaway season.

It'd be absolutely awesome to have Wright and a solid defense behind him win 60% of the games he plays, and then get Palmer back to take us charging full steam into and through the playoffs.

[bengalboomer7]

Hey, I agree with ya Boomer. If there is any way to go out in 2006 and win games, I'm certainly all for it. Nobody wants a throwaway season.

It'd be absolutely awesome to have Wright and a solid defense behind him win 60% of the games he plays, and then get Palmer back to take us charging full steam into and through the playoffs.

That's exactly what I'm thinking, I just wanna make sure we have a defense to back him up.

[HoosierCat]

I've thought a lot about this recently and it's still not enough. I FIRMLY believe Carson is gonna miss some games, I've already accepted that. What I wanted, which I think has been somewhat accomplished, is to establish the D to take pressure off the offense and win some 14-10 games until Carson returns. i didn't think there was any QB out there besides Kitna(yes, Kitna) that could come in and not miss TOO much of a beat. So why not bloster the D to take any presssure off a short time replacement QB.

Like I said, I think it's somewhat accomplished.

I feel mostly the same..."somewhat" being the operative word. Pollack will be better, Odell will be better, Madieu will be back, and we have an exciting new rookie in Joseph.

OTOH, Tory James didn't get any younger. Brian Simmons didn't get any younger. Clemons is gone and we still haven't found someone to give us his six annual sacks. Sam Adams and Dexter Jackspon? Well, maybe these are the exceptions to the rule, maybe for once we got an aging DT and S who still can contribute. Or maybe we just got another B-Rob and Herring. Speaking of B-Rob...well, let's not.

And there there are the guys in between, the question marks: Is Landon Johnson starter-caliber, or a career, if versatile, backup? Can Caleb Miller and Greg Brooks stay healthy enough to show anything? Is Keiwan Ratliff anything more than a nickle back? John Thornton and Justin Smith...just playing out the string? And the rooks: Rucker, Peko, Nicholson..all have ??? marks. Will any of them make a difference? Oh, and of course there's Mr. Inactive, too.

This D could go either way, I think...

[kingwilly]

At the very least, this D won't be any worse (as of now, without injuries and on paper) than last year.....

[bengalboomer7]

I've thought a lot about this recently and it's still not enough. I FIRMLY believe Carson is gonna miss some games, I've already accepted that. What I wanted, which I think has been somewhat accomplished, is to establish the D to take pressure off the offense and win some 14-10 games until Carson returns. i didn't think there was any QB out there besides Kitna(yes, Kitna) that could come in and not miss TOO much of a beat. So why not bloster the D to take any presssure off a short time replacement QB.

Like I said, I think it's somewhat accomplished.

I feel mostly the same..."somewhat" being the operative word. Pollack will be better, Odell will be better, Madieu will be back, and we have an exciting new rookie in Joseph.

OTOH, Tory James didn't get any younger. Brian Simmons didn't get any younger. Clemons is gone and we still haven't found someone to give us his six annual sacks. Sam Adams and Dexter Jackspon? Well, maybe these are the exceptions to the rule, maybe for once we got an aging DT and S who still can contribute. Or maybe we just got another B-Rob and Herring. Speaking of B-Rob...well, let's not.

And there there are the guys in between, the question marks: Is Landon Johnson starter-caliber, or a career, if versatile, backup? Can Caleb Miller and Greg Brooks stay healthy enough to show anything? Is Keiwan Ratliff anything more than a nickle back? John Thornton and Justin Smith...just playing out the string? And the rooks: Rucker, Peko, Nicholson..all have ??? marks. Will any of them make a difference? Oh, and of course there's Mr. Inactive, too.

This D could go either way, I think...

I agree, the somewhat is definitely stressed right now. But ti's the only way I think we can be successsful in the beginning of the year. That's just what happens when you bring in a backup, he's a backup for a reason. So, to me, it's on the defense to get us to the bye, which is when I believe Carson will finally be back.

[CBin2k7]

you know TDB, you reminded me of the 2003 Atlanta Falcons. 1 year after going to the divisional playoffs, Vick gets hurt in the preseason, misses a handful of games, and then the Falcons stuggle to I think a 5-11 or 6-10 record. That nets them a top 10 pick and that pick turned into D'Angelo Hall.

Adding D. Hall to a playoff team, took the Falcons to the NFC Championship game in the 2004/05 season. Obvioulsy they slumped last year, but you get the point.

If Carson is not 100 percent, then you do not risk it, his long term health is way more important than temporary satisfaction.

[lando griffin]

AMEN, brotha!

Well to most of it. I'd scratch the Tab/safety thing, the McNeal as a holder thing, the Kdub TE thing, and the Tory/safety thing.

Actually, I think McNeal as the place kick holder would be brilliant...I'm not positive, but it can't be that hard to learn, and there would always be the threat of him running or throwing for a 1st down or 2 point conversion.

[BengalChamps]

McNeal being our place kick holder for xpts and Fg attempts.

Im also with you on this. I hadnt thought of this as an option. Wouldnt Darrin Simmons be salivating at the thought of this! Many trick plays to consider...

[redsfan2]

(And while I'm on the subject of The Knee, may I wish Kimo VonD*cklessWonderHoffen a bad case of crotch rot once again . Yeah, I'm still p*ssed.)

[BengalszoneBilly]

I'd scratch the Tab/safety thing.

Especially that! He's too valuable a weapon returning kickoffs to rick injuring him om defense.

[BlainThePain]

McNeal being our place kick holder for xpts and Fg attempts.

Im also with you on this. I hadnt thought of this as an option. Wouldnt Darrin Simmons be salivating at the thought of this! Many trick plays to consider...

Larson does a great job as the holder, and IMO if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Larson also has some decent speed to pull off the trick play (remember the TD run he had against New England). Besides all of this, I think McNeal has enough to learn this year already. I could see him taking over down the road, but for now I say we should just let him focus on QB, WR, or both. What I'm hoping for him is he can be a WR and 3 QB like Randle El was for Pissburg. I think we all agree we could use the extra roster spot this year.

[turningpoint]

Hey, there's always a bright side. If Carson's recovery does take as long as many think, then we can go 7-9 or worse and get another top 15 pick!

Add that guy to an already dominant football team (with Palmer), and you have a dynasty in the making.

I'll take that, even if it means dealing with constant B/S from Steelers fans and the national media.

Not with oour O line situation.

[derekshank]

Something to consider: Shaun Salisbury interviewed Trent Green (who had the same injury) about Palmer's injury. He said that the most important factor (even more important than the progress on his rehab) was that the injury didn't happen to his plant leg. The recovery time is much shorter, because there isn't as much pressure being placed on that knee.

Palmer will be going back to a bigger knee brace like he wore in college which should help with stability. He's not a running back, or even a scrambling QB, so his knee doesn't have to be good as new for him to make most of the plays he made last season. It just has to be good enough not to risk further injury. (That saidwe'll want him to feel at least comfortable enough to be able to move around, because he's not Bernie Kosar back there).

Here's another reason I'm choosing to be optimistic. He had his surgery on January 11th (which was incredibly early given the date of the injury). The date of the first game is 9/10/06. Almost 8 months to the date. That might be a little early, but because of our week 5 bye week it would give him until 10/15 to play our 5th game. Almost 40 weeks to get healthy. That is certainly doable for a guy who works as hard as Palmer.

The other thing is that while Wright is not a starting QB in this league... this is by far the best offense he's ever played on. Best WR's he's ever seen, best O-line he's ever seen, and a top 10 rushing offense that the Brat said they have been focusing on improving this off-season. Match that with an improved offense, and it is not unreasonable to hope for 2-2 with Palmer coming back in week 5. Not a ton of harm done considering the cirsumstances.

P.S. The thing that stuck out to me the most about the original post was the McNeal as place kick holder. Pretty much all our trick plays have been run out of Special Teams... so he would be an added weapon to that aspect without having to be fully ready at WR. It makes a lot of sense (provided he has good enough hands to handle the responsibility).

[bengalboomer7]

I'd definitely rather wait until the bye to test Carson out. He's gonna be her for ten years, so there's now reason to try and swing him in three weeks early.

I was the same thin gon draft day and thought it was interesting.

BTW, how long did it take Trent Green to recover?

[derekshank]

I'd definitely rather wait until the bye to test Carson out. He's gonna be her for ten years, so there's now reason to try and swing him in three weeks early.

I was the same thin gon draft day and thought it was interesting.

BTW, how long did it take Trent Green to recover?

It's hard to say, because he did it in while playing for the Rams and in a pre-season game, and Kurt Warner had his first MVP season in the mean-time... so Green didn't really have an opportunity to play again until he went to KC.

Green obviously would not have been ready at any time diring that season, since he did it in August... and the season is over in January... only 5 months. Palmer has 8-9 months to be ready to make a real impact on our season's outcome. I'd feel a lot better if he had a full year... but he doesn't. My guess has consitently been him being ready by the 5th game. Anything before that will be a pleasant surprise... and anything after that will be a major disappointment.

The point is... he will play this season. The only questions are, will it be early enough to get the team to the playoffs, will he be healthy enough to lead this team to the playoffs, and is our team good enough to win a few games in his absence? I'm choosing to take an optimistic perspective and say that the answer is yes to all of them... because I believe there is more evidence pointing to good news than bad... but who really knows. Time will tell.

[Stripes]

so his knee doesn't have to be good as new for him to make most of the plays he made last season. It just has to be good enough not to risk further injury.

There lies the problem, I think. I doubt his knee will be in the clear as far as re-injury risks go until it's back at 100%.

I don't want him out there if he's not completely recovered in every aspect of the word.

[derekshank]

so his knee doesn't have to be good as new for him to make most of the plays he made last season. It just has to be good enough not to risk further injury.

There lies the problem, I think. I doubt his knee will be in the clear as far as re-injury risks go until it's back at 100%.

I don't want him out there if he's not completely recovered in every aspect of the word.

I disagree. I tore my ACL right after my Junior year in college. I was medically cleared to run track again my senior year (about 8-9 months later). I didn't feel entirely comfortable doing everything I had done in the past, but I was no longer at risk to re-injure it. I was hesitant to do things I was cleared to do, because the re-injury thing was in the back of my mind, and I just didn't feel ready. I ended up not running my Senior year. It had nothing to do with my knee itself... it was how I felt about it.

You'll hear RB's talk about similar things after they recover from an ACL injury. It take most around 18 months before they feel completely comfortable on it again, even though they are cleared to do normal football activities long before that time with no risk of further injury.

Palmer doesn't have to feel like the knee is brand new. If the doctors clear him as ready to go, I'll be happy. I certainly don't want to see him rush back out there and risk his career for a couple extra games this season... but I just don't think it'll be a problem. The problem will be if he doesn't feel comfortable scrambling and getting out of the pocket as he did last year. That might effect his confidence and his ability to do his job well... and ultimately that is where the risk of injury comes in. Playing not to get hurt usually gets you hurt.

They won't put him out there until he lets them know that he's ready to go... I just think he'll be ready to go. He's certainly more mentally tough than I was in my senior year in college, and I don't see this injury getting the best of him. Once he's cleared to go, he'll be fighting to get back on the field, and I think he'll be fine.