Does anyone think that Pollack is remotely healed?

[walzav29]

I don't think Marv would let ouchies sit on the sideline. On the other hand he isn't on the pup list. What do you think? David gonna be there week 1? How could he be any better than Jeanty with all of that rust?

[Stripes]

I think he'll be fine. I do think Marvin would bench a guy for an ouchie in a preseason game. Pollack has already earned the starting job... He has much less to prove than Jeanty.

[HoosierCat]

All I know is that my patience with Pollack is running a bit thin. From holdout to oh-he-has-to-learn-the-position to this year's string of mysterious injuries, it's time he started living up to that first round selection. Everyone loves to p*ss in Chris Perry's corn flakes but IMHO Pollack isn't far behind Perry in the "underachieving 1st round pick" category.

[ShulaSteakhouse]

I think he'll be fine. I do think Marvin would bench a guy for an ouchie in a preseason game. Pollack has already earned the starting job... He has much less to prove than Jeanty.

Uh, who is that in your new sig there partner? (name) I'd like to see more of that on my, uh, own free time.

Haven't seen any updates from sleepy Hobson yet this week on Pollack, who knows. Like the guy a lot, but in the interim - Jeanty's fun to watch.

[bengalboomer7]

All I know is I pimped this guy all offseason predictng a MONSTER(capital monster, yeah, that big ) season this year. I still think he has the kind of personality where all he can do si succeed......but.......you gotta get on the field first.

[Stripes]

Uh, who is that in your new sig there partner? (name) I'd like to see more of that on my, uh, own free time.

http://www.lucypinder.info/ - Lucy Pinder

Same here on the Pollack pimpage, Boomer. I expect huge things from him, and am naturally overly optimistic about it.

[Kazkal]

All I know is that my patience with Pollack is running a bit thin. From holdout to oh-he-has-to-learn-the-position to this year's string of mysterious injuries, it's time he started living up to that first round selection. Everyone loves to p*ss in Chris Perry's corn flakes but IMHO Pollack isn't far behind Perry in the "underachieving 1st round pick" category.

Perry ran the ball twice his rookie season

Pollack missed a total of 2 games last year and played injured,Pollack has a hamstring injury they happen its still the preseason idiot.its not even close to the same thing.

[Stripes]

Damn, Kaz! Cease fire!

[Kazkal]

Uh, who is that in your new sig there partner? (name) I'd like to see more of that on my, uh, own free time.

http://www.lucypinder.info/ - Lucy Pinder

Same here on the Pollack pimpage, Boomer. I expect huge things from him, and am naturally overly optimistic about it.

I have a new desktop

[HoosierCat]

Damn, Kaz! Cease fire!

Oh, that's OK, being called an idiot by Kaz is a compliment. I mean, c'mon, he struggles to find the shift key and space bar, so I have to cut him some slack.

As for His Lordship, The Honorable Right Defensive Savior David Pollack, Esq., versus his Supreme Worthlessness, The Waste of a Roster Space Chris Perry, well, I can only point out that at least Perry managed to rank 56th last season on sportsline's RB ranking. Given that there's 64 No. 1 and No. 2 RB slots, he's at least within the ranks of second-string RBs.

Lord Pollack? Well...he ranks 175th among LBs. Even assuming that every team runs a 3-4 (which they don't), that makes for 128 starting LB spots. Well, at least Pollack qualifies for solid backup status.

As for his actual on field contributions, well, 4.5 sacks and 28 tackles last season. Compare that to the first round pick we are still trying to replace in his freshman outing: Takeo Spikes: 2 sacks and 114 tackles.

I've spent no small amount of energy over the last couple years lampooning the idea that the Bengals deliberately spent a first round pick on a backup RB. Given the example of Pollack, I may have to rethink that argument, since it appears they spent their next first-round pick on a situational pass rusher.

Yes, yes, I know, he was a DE in college, is learning a new position, is the King of Kings and Lo...oh, wait, that's another guy...well, anyhow, the bottom line for me is this: Perry has made it clear that he wasn't worth the pick. But Lord Pollack, first hampered by a self-inflicted holdout (longer than Perry's) last season, was then only effective situationally, has missed beaucoup practice time in '07 with a variety of mystery injuries (foot, hamstring) and frankly remains a question mark as to whether he was worth a first round pick or not.

I really hope he pans out. But at this point I wouldn't bet you 2 cents that he will.

[Kazkal]

True enough I'm a idiot for my typing skills I never denied that,I've always called myself stupid but people who are trying to say pollack is just as bad as perry or odell is on meth and lost 50 lbs are on a different scale of stupid. If pollack is injured and misses a large amount of time this season then yes I could see comparing him to chris perry,last season he started out as a pass rush end on 3rd downs till he earned his starting spot back theres more to a player then stats ya he had a avg start then lit it up at the very end of the season but its better then 2 carries.

[Kirkendall]

All I know is that my patience with Pollack is running a bit thin... it's time he started living up to that first round selection.

Justin Smith (cough)

Alright Smith lovers.. bring it.

(just kidding, I could care less.. he's paid for my beer before so he's a-ok)

[aaronburr]

But Lord Pollack, first hampered by a self-inflicted holdout (longer than Perry's) last season, was then only effective situationally, has missed beaucoup practice time in '07 with a variety of mystery injuries (foot, hamstring) and frankly remains a question mark as to whether he was worth a first round pick or not.

Gettin' a little ahead of ourselves there.

I definitely concur with your frustration. But I don't think Pollack is bad, nor do I think he played that badly (I know, you have stats, etc.), but I am chomping at the bit waiting for him to dominate like a #17 pick should. Adding to the anxiety is the hold-out and position change learning curve, but also the potential he has shown. I think it'd almost be easier to handle this if he was a complete disaster altogether. There's still plenty of time to avert the flop status, but like most fans, I don't want to wait much longer.

[Stripes]

He's only in his second season, and I don't think performance last year was really all that bad considering the circumstances. He shouldn't have held out, but what's done is done. If/when he gets on the field, I expect good production.

[membengal]

All I know is that my patience with Pollack is running a bit thin... it's time he started living up to that first round selection.

Justin Smith (cough)

Alright Smith lovers.. bring it.

(just kidding, I could care less.. he's paid for my beer before so he's a-ok)

Kirk, I am with hof and other on this, I don't understand the vitriol, Smith has been an everydown defensive end since his selection, steady against the pass AND run (f**k you dwight freeny and your only rush the passer approach). He was a missing piece to the Bengals' puzzle from the moment he got here, and has more than justified his selection over the years.

[walzav29]

The thing that I don't understand is when Pollack could have shown Marvin that he is worthy of starting other than his draft status. Jeanty has produced on the field all preseason and practice. It will be surprising to see Pollack starting week 1.

[bengalboomer7]

The thing that I don't understand is when Pollack could have shown Marvin that he is worthy of starting other than his draft status. Jeanty has produced on the field all preseason and practice. It will be surprising to see Pollack starting week 1.

If he's healthy enough to play, he'll start. But I'm not worried if jeanty is in there

[DC_Bengals_Fan]

As for His Lordship, The Honorable Right Defensive Savior David Pollack, Esq., versus his Supreme Worthlessness, The Waste of a Roster Space Chris Perry, well, I can only point out that at least Perry managed to rank 56th last season on sportsline's RB ranking. Given that there's 64 No. 1 and No. 2 RB slots, he's at least within the ranks of second-string RBs.

Lord Pollack? Well...he ranks 175th among LBs. Even assuming that every team runs a 3-4 (which they don't), that makes for 128 starting LB spots. Well, at least Pollack qualifies for solid backup status.

As for his actual on field contributions, well, 4.5 sacks and 28 tackles last season. Compare that to the first round pick we are still trying to replace in his freshman outing: Takeo Spikes: 2 sacks and 114 tackles.

Oh come one now, Pollack didn't start until the very end of the year, and he was quite effective by that point. Those Sportsline ranks are fairly worthless anyway.

Based on what he did at the end of last year, he looks like a pretty danged good LB. Compared to Chris Perry, who has never looked like a RB at all. Might injuries keep Pollack off the field? Sure. But based on what he's shown so far, I think he's demonstrated that he'll be good when he's in there.

[HoosierCat]

All I know is that my patience with Pollack is running a bit thin... it's time he started living up to that first round selection.

Justin Smith (cough)

Alright Smith lovers.. bring it.

(just kidding, I could care less.. he's paid for my beer before so he's a-ok)

No doubt that Justin has underachieved relative to his high draft pick, but he still has been a solid if unspectacular DE. His situation is a bit like Big Daddy's: never really became the dominant player you expect out of a top pick, but had a solid career nonetheless.

Chris Perry, on the other hand, is pretty much in the "bust" categry until he does something -- anything -- to prove otherwise. It's an "injury bust" versus a "talent bust" but a bust nonetheless.

Lord Pollack is hovering somewhere in between that right now. Everyone can complain about stats all they want, but how else to get an objective read on his contribution? Don't like sportsline LB rankings? Fine, let's compare Pollack's first year to that of the guy Marvin kept comparing him to, former Raven college-DE-turned-LB Peter Boulware:

Pollack: 28 tackles, 4.5 sacks

Boulware: 57 tackles, 11.5 sacks

Now, that was a banner year even for Boulware. The next 3 seasons he "only" averaged a bit more than 8 sacks, with tackle numbers ranging from the high 30s to the low 60s. And that's all I'm asking for. So if Prince David gets his appparently fragile butt out on the field and gives us 40-50 tackles and 8-9 sacks, I will gladly stop picking on him. Even then, I'm not sure if that gts him above the Justin-esque ""solid but unspectacular" level, but that's a debate for another day.

[GROIIIDayton]

Chris Perry is not a bust you will all be eating your words once he stays healthy. I don't know if you ever watched him in college but he carried the ball 40+ times and single handedly beat some s**tty team from the middle of this state. He will get healthy and he will be a great running back soon.

[GregCook]

Chris Perry is not a bust you will all be eating your words once he stays healthy. I don't know if you ever watched him in college but he carried the ball 40+ times and single handedly beat some s**tty team from the middle of this state. He will get healthy and he will be a great running back soon.

Chris Perry is starting his third season, most likely PUP'ed. Out of 33 games he could have played, how many has he actually played? 17 including playoff where he rushed 2 times for 3 yards and caught 6 passes for 11 yards. Some of the people on this board might have done better. Now once he's PUP'ed, then he will have played 17 games out of 39 possible. He is the living, breathing face of a FIRST ROUND BUST.

Pollack, way to early to say. But we'll know this season if he's worthy of that first round money. The fact that Jeanty is pushing Polack tells me the Bengals are concerned about their guy though.

Evidently Jonathon Joesph has been shining in practice so mabe Marvin has finally made a great 1st round pick, his first since Carson. Marvin drafts much better after the first round, thankfully for the Bengals.

[HoosierCat]

Chris Perry is not a bust you will all be eating your words once he stays healthy.

Well, that's just it, isn't it? And that's why I referred to him as an injury bust, not a talent bust. If he ever manages to stay healthy, he may come to shed the label. And heaven know I have rooted for him to do so. But so far he has been a huge disappointment.

[bengalboomer7]

Chris Perry is not a bust you will all be eating your words once he stays healthy. I don't know if you ever watched him in college but he carried the ball 40+ times and single handedly beat some s**tty team from the middle of this state. He will get healthy and he will be a great running back soon.

He's not in college anymore where you get games against no name teams like The Sisters of the Blind university. i think it's time to come to the fact that for now and into the future he's a first round pick that was picked to be a backup player. Blame it on the "best player available" theory or the "Small scouting dept." theory, but a backup is what he is, and what he's going to be.

[Kazkal]

Lord Pollack is hovering somewhere in between that right now. Everyone can complain about stats all they want, but how else to get an objective read on his contribution? Don't like sportsline LB rankings? Fine, let's compare Pollack's first year to that of the guy Marvin kept comparing him to, former Raven college-DE-turned-LB Peter Boulware:

He has a freaking hamstring injury how many players have hamstring injurys? steve smith broke his leg 2 years ago and has a hamstring injury now I guess hes a bust also right?

[HoosierCat]

He has a freaking hamstring injury how many players have hamstring injurys? steve smith broke his leg 2 years ago and has a hamstring injury now I guess hes a bust also right?

No. Steve Smith has shown he can actually play at an elite level. Pollack hasn't even shown he can be a full-time starting SSLB. And I didn't say His Lordship was a bust; in fact, I specifically said he's somewhere between bust and "solid" status right now.

What I am saying is this: I hope Pollack breaks out this season, I really do. But so far all I've seen is a guy who 1. screwed up his rookie season with an asinine holdout 2. spent last year struggling with the move to a new position 3. spent the spring in a boot and the summer on the sidelines with a hammy pull and 4. is looking now at possibly playing second fiddle to a refugee from the CFL.

Despite that, there seems to be a widespread assumption that he will kick a$$ and take names this season. Well, I hope so. But I'll believe it when I see it.