Carson Palmer

[CarsonPalmer9]

i think that Carson is going to have a great year.................... I really think that he will be the NFL MVP!!!!! And maybe lead the bengals deep in the playoffs. I do think cincy will do only how well Carson plays

[HoosierCat]

i think that Carson is going to have a great year.................... I really think that he will be the NFL MVP!!!!! And maybe lead the bengals deep in the playoffs. I do think cincy will do only how well Carson plays

And Bruce Coslet said that the team would go as far as Akili could take it...more things change, the more they stay the same, eh?

But Carson is the key...or rather, the o-line is. Bobbie Williams and Levi Jones ought to be OK. Whitworth had his baptism of fire last season and came through well, he should be good (tho I think he'll be less effective in the running game than Steiny). Bluto? He's no Buckethead. Hopefully he at least achieves the status of "lunch pail." As for Big Willie...he'll last as long as his feet and knees do...and how long that is is anyone's guess.

[HairOnFire]

i think that Carson is going to have a great year.................... I really think that he will be the NFL MVP!!!!! And maybe lead the bengals deep in the playoffs. I do think cincy will do only how well Carson plays

And Bruce Coslet said that the team would go as far as Akili could take it...more things change, the more they stay the same, eh?

Steakhouse, is that you? Who else would jump immediately from a positive post predicting Carson Palmer would lead the Bengals deep into the playoffs to a reminder of Akili and Coslet?

[Stripes]

I doubt Palmer will end up the NFL MVP simply due to probability. He has as good a chance as anyone else I suppose. I expect him to have another great season though, and he may be primed for his best season yet. The offensive line will have to play better than it did in 2006, but without the injuries I don't see any reason to expect similar struggles. That shredded knee will be an afterthought too.

I'd love to see a 33/10 TD/INT ratio.

[ShulaSteakhouse]

If the protection is as bad as last year, or worse, I'm not sure about MVP.

i think that Carson is going to have a great year.................... I really think that he will be the NFL MVP!!!!! And maybe lead the bengals deep in the playoffs. I do think cincy will do only how well Carson plays

And Bruce Coslet said that the team would go as far as Akili could take it...more things change, the more they stay the same, eh?

Steakhouse, is that you? Who else would jump immediately from a positive post predicting Carson Palmer would lead the Bengals deep into the playoffs to a reminder of Akili and Coslet?

Cmon give us some more feel good cheerleading Hair, maybe the players will hear you and play better!

[fattyjay]

If the protection is as bad as last year, or worse, I'm not sure about MVP.

OMG, do you remember anything from last year? We lose our starting center and left tackle for the majority of the season, not to mention other minor injuries along the line, and you're complaining about the protection. That's like complaining that the defense didn't have more shutouts despite the fact that they lost all 3 starting LB's for most of the year. Give me a break.

[HoosierCat]

If the protection is as bad as last year, or worse, I'm not sure about MVP.

OMG, do you remember anything from last year? We lose our starting center and left tackle for the majority of the season, not to mention other minor injuries along the line, and you're complaining about the protection. That's like complaining that the defense didn't have more shutouts despite the fact that they lost all 3 starting LB's for most of the year. Give me a break.

Well, fatty, Carson's protection did suck, no question. Yes, the injuries were the primary cause -- but there's no guarantee more injuries won't happen in 2007. In fact, I think you can bet on Willie Anderson getting hurt, he always does, it's just a question of whether it reaches a point where he can't play through the pain (as it did in Indy last season). Levi was verrrrrrrry slow to heal last season and that worries me a tad.

On top of that, we don't have the depth and versatility we had last season. Steiny and Braham are both gone and we haven't signed anyone to make up for those two losses. And I think it likely that this is Stacy Andrews' last year in stripes; they'd probably have to pay him more than they are paying Bobbie Williams to keep him off the market next March.

Come the draft, it would not surprise me if one of those two day 1 picks is an offensive lineman.

[HairOnFire]

Cmon give us some more feel good cheerleading Hair, maybe the players will hear you and play better!

And maybe if you keep crying someone will change your diaper.

[HairOnFire]

On top of that, we don't have the depth and versatility we had last season. Steiny and Braham are both gone and we haven't signed anyone to make up for those two losses.

You're conveniently forgetting that Steinbach's replacement was drafted last year, and Braham's replacement has been on the roster longer than that. In fact, even the Bengals backup backup center was signed to a contract extension last season. All things considered the Bengals have planned for the expected losses of Steinbach and Braham as well as possible, and still have fewer concerns about depth than most NFL teams.

[derekshank]

Come the draft, it would not surprise me if one of those two day 1 picks is an offensive lineman.

It would me. When they used a 2nd rounder on Whitworth there was no secret made that we were going to let one of the 3 FA's (Willie, Levi, Steiny) walk. In fact, Marvin said we would sign whichever 2 were willing to sign first. They therefore drafted a guy who was good enough and versitile enough to play any of those 3 positions.

This year, every starting position on the O-Line (except center) is signed through the '09 season. Regardless of our concerns about how well those starters hold up, it would be a bit extreme to use a 1st or 2nd rounder on a guy who would be designated a back-up, especially considering how many actual starting needs that could or should be filled on defense.

But... back on topic. With a year under Ghiaciuc's belt, and how the O-Line played much better at the end of last year, even with several starters out, I expect the protection to be much better. And just for the record, even with some of the incredibly inconsistent protection Palmer received, he was still 2nd in TD's 5th in yards, and 6th in rating. I see no reason to doubt a legitimate MVP run if the O-line gets healthy.

[HoosierCat]

On top of that, we don't have the depth and versatility we had last season. Steiny and Braham are both gone and we haven't signed anyone to make up for those two losses.

You're conveniently forgetting that Steinbach's replacement was drafted last year, and Braham's replacement has been on the roster longer than that.

And you are conveniently ignoring the first sentence of mine you quoted. Coming into last season we had Braham and Bluto with Wilkerson stashed on the PS. Now we have Bluto and Wilk. Last season we had Whitworth to back up Steiny. Not sure who's officially backing up LG now, Andrews I suppose. And last year we had a guy in Steinbach who could play anywhere on the line in a pinch, something that came in extremely handy several times in multiple seasons while he was here. Now he's gone.

That is by definition less depth and versatility.

[HoosierCat]

Come the draft, it would not surprise me if one of those two day 1 picks is an offensive lineman.

It would me.

I look at it this way: Braham and Steinbach are gone, Andrews will likely be gone after next season, and Keift has been worthless. That pretty much leaves us with our starters and Koo. And of our starters, both tackles are coming off of injury-plagued seasons. On top of that, the Bengals have been sniffing around at least one FA center, which suggests they may not be sold on Bluto and/or Wilkerson. So I think o-line on day 1 is quite possible. If they manage to wrangle some kind of trade and pick up an extra day 1 pick, then I would bet on it.

[derekshank]

Come the draft, it would not surprise me if one of those two day 1 picks is an offensive lineman.

It would me.

If they manage to wrangle some kind of trade and pick up an extra day 1 pick, then I would bet on it.

Fair enough. Center is certainly an area that could be improved... but I'm going based on the fact that we currently have only 2 first day picks. If we find a way to get another, the liklihood increses exponentially. But with just 2 day one picks, I find it hard to believe that it will be anything but defensive needs.

[Stripes]

The offensive line is less deep than before simply because two players have left and zero players have come. I don't think that's cause for concern though, because we have two capable starters already in place and the near certain likelihood that the Bengals grab a lineman or two on the second draft day. I'd venture to predict that our only offensive draft pick(s) this year will be on the line.

[DC_Bengals_Fan]

On top of that, we don't have the depth and versatility we had last season. Steiny and Braham are both gone and we haven't signed anyone to make up for those two losses.

You're conveniently forgetting that Steinbach's replacement was drafted last year, and Braham's replacement has been on the roster longer than that. In fact, even the Bengals backup backup center was signed to a contract extension last season. All things considered the Bengals have planned for the expected losses of Steinbach and Braham as well as possible, and still have fewer concerns about depth than most NFL teams.

I'm actually with you this time, Pollyanna.

The O-line: The line will almost certainly be better this year than last. Guychkjldfsk is coming along well and will have another year of experience. Whitworth looks pretty good. If Willie holds up, the O-line should be pretty good. Being healthy is more of an improvement than losing Steinbach hurts.

Carson: Carson has all damned offseason to actually rest, chill, prepare, work on mechanics, and all that stuff he didn't last year.

Receiver: Receiver is still stacked. Perhaps we'll have Henry for 16 games this year, which should offset an expected regression to the mean for TJ (surely last year was a career year?). Should be a push.

Defense: Carson will, ah, be throwing quite a bit this year. Lots of opportunity to rack up yards and TDs.

Add some QB and O-line improvement to a guy who was already about top 5 or so with a season rating of 90? I'll guess he posts a season rating of around 95 or better and finishes top 3 MVP. He has a great chance of winning it if Peyton cools off and LDT doesn't repeat what he did last year.

[Kirkendall]

Come the draft, it would not surprise me if one of those two day 1 picks is an offensive lineman.

It would me.

I look at it this way: Braham and Steinbach are gone, Andrews will likely be gone after next season, and Keift has been worthless. That pretty much leaves us with our starters and Koo. And of our starters, both tackles are coming off of injury-plagued seasons. On top of that, the Bengals have been sniffing around at least one FA center, which suggests they may not be sold on Bluto and/or Wilkerson. So I think o-line on day 1 is quite possible. If they manage to wrangle some kind of trade and pick up an extra day 1 pick, then I would bet on it.

Maybe next season, but we have too many immediate needs on defense. Drafting for the purpose of adding depth on the offensive line in the first two rounds would give us the same results of the past few seasons which includes a defense that can't contain a Division 2 offense. Then again, hoping for the status quo this season has been the theme.