Jump to content

Enquirer Camp Preview

HoosierCat

By HoosierCat
in Cincinnati Bengals

 Share

Recommended Posts

AMC Newbie

AMC

Posted
Posted
Starts here...

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/art...PT02/707220372/

Not a great deal of "new" news but a good summary of things going into TC. One worrying thing: Levi has yet to be medically cleared.

Be interesting to see how the special teams sort out with Wilkins, KK, and Stewart gone. Kilmer and Tab Perry will be the cornerstones.....

Link to comment
Share on other sites
GapControl Collaborator

GapControl

Posted
Posted
I disagree with monotone Mark's assessment of "The Bad #1". I think we have the talent to replace him... and honestly, wouldn't it be foolish to project high expectations for the guy? I say, yes.

(for those of you that refuse to click on the link, I'm talking about Brooks)

i read the article last night. foolish to present brooks as the defense`s savior it is. it`s also foolish to say we have the talent to replace him. i am not sure we have any true, NFL talent in the MLB position on this team, yet. who do you suggest? caleb miller?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Spor_tees Newbie

Spor_tees

Posted
Posted
I disagree with monotone Mark's assessment of "The Bad #1". I think we have the talent to replace him... and honestly, wouldn't it be foolish to project high expectations for the guy? I say, yes.

(for those of you that refuse to click on the link, I'm talking about Brooks)

i read the article last night. foolish to present brooks as the defense`s savior it is. it`s also foolish to say we have the talent to replace him. i am not sure we have any true, NFL talent in the MLB position on this team, yet. who do you suggest? caleb miller?

Well worst comes to worst you have a veteran in Hartwell that you could play there.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Walrus Newbie

Walrus

Posted
Posted
I disagree with monotone Mark's assessment of "The Bad #1". I think we have the talent to replace him... and honestly, wouldn't it be foolish to project high expectations for the guy? I say, yes.

(for those of you that refuse to click on the link, I'm talking about Brooks)

i read the article last night. foolish to present brooks as the defense`s savior it is. it`s also foolish to say we have the talent to replace him. i am not sure we have any true, NFL talent in the MLB position on this team, yet. who do you suggest? caleb miller?

Well worst comes to worst you have a veteran in Hartwell that you could play there.

Not sure that Brooks is portrayed as a "savior" here, per se. I think he makes a valid point.

A young, stable force at MLB is CRITICAL for this D. Aside from Ahmad, we have nobody who provides that. We have invested 2 Day 1 draft picks (Thurman and Brooks) and 1 day 2 draft pick (Nicholson) in the MLB position in the past two years and don't have a consistent MLB for the foreseeable future. If Brooks is a bust, Hartwell might be fine for a season, but his health is a big question mark and he's not a long-range solution -- not a guy you can build on. Frankly, if that happened I think we're better off with Miller at MLB and keeping Hartwell at WLB. Miller is a fine backup, but not the guy you want starting if you can help it. If Brooks is a bust, it's back to the drawing board and the D takes another significant setback.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Crazy4Bengals Newbie

Crazy4Bengals

Posted
Posted
I disagree with monotone Mark's assessment of "The Bad #1". I think we have the talent to replace him... and honestly, wouldn't it be foolish to project high expectations for the guy? I say, yes.

(for those of you that refuse to click on the link, I'm talking about Brooks)

i read the article last night. foolish to present brooks as the defense`s savior it is. it`s also foolish to say we have the talent to replace him. i am not sure we have any true, NFL talent in the MLB position on this team, yet. who do you suggest? caleb miller?

Well worst comes to worst you have a veteran in Hartwell that you could play there.

Not sure that Brooks is portrayed as a "savior" here, per se. I think he makes a valid point.

A young, stable force at MLB is CRITICAL for this D. Aside from Ahmad, we have nobody who provides that. We have invested 2 Day 1 draft picks (Thurman and Brooks) and 1 day 2 draft pick (Nicholson) in the MLB position in the past two years and don't have a consistent MLB for the foreseeable future. If Brooks is a bust, Hartwell might be fine for a season, but his health is a big question mark and he's not a long-range solution -- not a guy you can build on. Frankly, if that happened I think we're better off with Miller at MLB and keeping Hartwell at WLB. Miller is a fine backup, but not the guy you want starting if you can help it. If Brooks is a bust, it's back to the drawing board and the D takes another significant setback.

Who's saying Brooks is going to be a bust? It is way too early to call him a bust!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
HoosierCat Grand Master

HoosierCat

Posted
  • Author
Posted
A young, stable force at MLB is CRITICAL for this D. Aside from Ahmad, we have nobody who provides that. We have invested 2 Day 1 draft picks (Thurman and Brooks) and 1 day 2 draft pick (Nicholson) in the MLB position in the past two years and don't have a consistent MLB for the foreseeable future. If Brooks is a bust, Hartwell might be fine for a season, but his health is a big question mark and he's not a long-range solution -- not a guy you can build on. Frankly, if that happened I think we're better off with Miller at MLB and keeping Hartwell at WLB. Miller is a fine backup, but not the guy you want starting if you can help it. If Brooks is a bust, it's back to the drawing board and the D takes another significant setback.

Well said. FWIW, there were some message board rumors floating around a couple months back that Jeanty and Brooks had been spending a lot of time working together and developing as a tandem in the offseason, which if true bodes well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Walrus Newbie

Walrus

Posted
Posted
A young, stable force at MLB is CRITICAL for this D. Aside from Ahmad, we have nobody who provides that. We have invested 2 Day 1 draft picks (Thurman and Brooks) and 1 day 2 draft pick (Nicholson) in the MLB position in the past two years and don't have a consistent MLB for the foreseeable future. If Brooks is a bust, Hartwell might be fine for a season, but his health is a big question mark and he's not a long-range solution -- not a guy you can build on. Frankly, if that happened I think we're better off with Miller at MLB and keeping Hartwell at WLB. Miller is a fine backup, but not the guy you want starting if you can help it. If Brooks is a bust, it's back to the drawing board and the D takes another significant setback.

Well said. FWIW, there were some message board rumors floating around a couple months back that Jeanty and Brooks had been spending a lot of time working together and developing as a tandem in the offseason, which if true bodes well.

That would be great news, if true -- especially if it means Brooks is showing some leadership and that the unit is actually starting to gel.

Just to be clear for Crazy4Bengals or others, I definitely don't think Brooks is a bust -- just unproven. His future looks very bright by all accounts. If he delivers on his potential (physical tools) he could be one of the best MLBs in the league.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
The PatternMaster Newbie

The PatternMaster

Posted
Posted

My main concern going into camp is how well can Ghiucic and Whitworth fill in for Braham and Steiny, that is going to be huge.

Also I'm looking to see how the lb's perform, specifically Hartwell and Brooks. I also want to see how the young guys in the secondary play, should be an exciting camp.

PS who thinks Goodell will make a decision on Odell by the 26th.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Crazy4Bengals Newbie

Crazy4Bengals

Posted
Posted

Bluto (aka Ghuicic) showed last season he could fill in just fine for Braham. Sure, it was a little rough early on, but once he was taking all the starter reps, he got the job done.

And Whitworth instead of Steinbach changes the offensive line. No more finesse pulling, just plain old simple ass smacking power line play.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Kirkendall Newbie

Kirkendall

Posted
Posted
I disagree with monotone Mark's assessment of "The Bad #1". I think we have the talent to replace him... and honestly, wouldn't it be foolish to project high expectations for the guy? I say, yes.

(for those of you that refuse to click on the link, I'm talking about Brooks)

i read the article last night. foolish to present brooks as the defense`s savior it is. it`s also foolish to say we have the talent to replace him. i am not sure we have any true, NFL talent in the MLB position on this team, yet. who do you suggest? caleb miller?

Well, if worse comes to worse, and Brooks doesn't pan out, that would give our boy Odell time to regain to return to football shape. I know some of you want to dump him out on the curb, but to me, he's just as likely to win his position back than Brooks is to keeping it. And if Odell is eligable to play and the team would be better of WITH him on the field, then you have to put him in.

And yes, I and 99% of everyone else agrees and knows -- "as long as he stays clean".

Link to comment
Share on other sites
redsbengalsbucks Newbie

redsbengalsbucks

Posted
Posted
Bluto (aka Ghuicic) showed last season he could fill in just fine for Braham. Sure, it was a little rough early on, but once he was taking all the starter reps, he got the job done.

And Whitworth instead of Steinbach changes the offensive line. No more finesse pulling, just plain old simple ass smacking power line play.

Bluto is average at best and showed no real improvement last season even with all the starts. He is the main reason that Rudi's YPC went down last year. The improvement that you saw on the line was the fact that the other linemen adjusted and gave him more help than they ever had to Buckethead.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Crazy4Bengals Newbie

Crazy4Bengals

Posted
Posted
Bluto (aka Ghuicic) showed last season he could fill in just fine for Braham. Sure, it was a little rough early on, but once he was taking all the starter reps, he got the job done.

And Whitworth instead of Steinbach changes the offensive line. No more finesse pulling, just plain old simple ass smacking power line play.

Bluto is average at best and showed no real improvement last season even with all the starts. He is the main reason that Rudi's YPC went down last year. The improvement that you saw on the line was the fact that the other linemen adjusted and gave him more help than they ever had to Buckethead.

Get off the drugs man. It wasn't Bluto being average that lowered Rudi's YPC last year, it was the consistant injuries all over the and trying to fill things in as we could. I believe every starter on the Oline missed at least one game last year. Not only that, but Bluto's play DID improve as the games went on. You just don't like him.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Walrus Newbie

Walrus

Posted
Posted
Bluto (aka Ghuicic) showed last season he could fill in just fine for Braham. Sure, it was a little rough early on, but once he was taking all the starter reps, he got the job done.

And Whitworth instead of Steinbach changes the offensive line. No more finesse pulling, just plain old simple ass smacking power line play.

Bluto is average at best and showed no real improvement last season even with all the starts. He is the main reason that Rudi's YPC went down last year. The improvement that you saw on the line was the fact that the other linemen adjusted and gave him more help than they ever had to Buckethead.

Get off the drugs man. It wasn't Bluto being average that lowered Rudi's YPC last year, it was the consistant injuries all over the and trying to fill things in as we could. I believe every starter on the Oline missed at least one game last year. Not only that, but Bluto's play DID improve as the games went on. You just don't like him.

I think RBB just wants to see Stepanovich get the nod... <_<

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Crazy4Bengals Newbie

Crazy4Bengals

Posted
Posted
Bluto (aka Ghuicic) showed last season he could fill in just fine for Braham. Sure, it was a little rough early on, but once he was taking all the starter reps, he got the job done.

And Whitworth instead of Steinbach changes the offensive line. No more finesse pulling, just plain old simple ass smacking power line play.

Bluto is average at best and showed no real improvement last season even with all the starts. He is the main reason that Rudi's YPC went down last year. The improvement that you saw on the line was the fact that the other linemen adjusted and gave him more help than they ever had to Buckethead.

Get off the drugs man. It wasn't Bluto being average that lowered Rudi's YPC last year, it was the consistant injuries all over the and trying to fill things in as we could. I believe every starter on the Oline missed at least one game last year. Not only that, but Bluto's play DID improve as the games went on. You just don't like him.

I think RBB just wants to see Stepanovich get the nod... <_<

Could be, since Stepanovich, despite his utter failure in Arizona is an ex-Buckeye.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Kirkendall Newbie

Kirkendall

Posted
Posted
Bluto (aka Ghuicic) showed last season he could fill in just fine for Braham. Sure, it was a little rough early on, but once he was taking all the starter reps, he got the job done.

And Whitworth instead of Steinbach changes the offensive line. No more finesse pulling, just plain old simple ass smacking power line play.

Bluto is average at best and showed no real improvement last season even with all the starts. He is the main reason that Rudi's YPC went down last year. The improvement that you saw on the line was the fact that the other linemen adjusted and gave him more help than they ever had to Buckethead.

Get off the drugs man. It wasn't Bluto being average that lowered Rudi's YPC last year, it was the consistant injuries all over the and trying to fill things in as we could. I believe every starter on the Oline missed at least one game last year. Not only that, but Bluto's play DID improve as the games went on. You just don't like him.

A good idea of how well the line did was the production of other players. Obviously.

For example:

Between Sept-Oct, Rudi's YPC was 3.89 (142-552) and Palmer was sacked 21 times.

Between Nov-Dec, Rudi's YPC was 3.80 (199-757) and Palmer was sacked 16 times.

Consider the final month however. Rudi had two 100-yard rushing performances (only month with two 100-yard performances) and four touchdowns. It was, bar far, his best month. Palmer wasn't sacked in two games of the final month -- six for the full month including the disaster from Andrew Whitworth on Dwight Freeney. However, that's much, much better than the 14 sacks in Bluto's first three games.

Also, if you look at metrics, the Bengals had the 10th best offensive line with 4.43 ALY, 5th best power % (72%). The only two things they struggled with was 10+ yard runs and allow so many stuffs (stops behind the LOS).

As much as the line had their woes, I can't completely blame one or the other.

But the positive to take from this is that the o-line DID improve and with the circumstances included, performed well at the end. Rudi too, ended on a good note -- not including the 13 rush performances against Pittsburgh.

Excellent optimism for 2007.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
redsbengalsbucks Newbie

redsbengalsbucks

Posted
Posted

I agree that the injuries(to the OL) are why Rudi was less than his great self last season, but I still did not like the progression of Bluto during his playing time.

My hope is he will have learned how to make better line calls and worked on his strength over the off-season, because I would rather he impress this year than have to start an Arizona reject. (even though he is an ex-Buckeye)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
HoosierCat Grand Master

HoosierCat

Posted
  • Author
Posted

To the point about Rudi's performance, it's worth remembering that after the season, it was revealed he'd been playing with a bum knee. The o-line situation didn't help, obviously, but it's probably impossible to say which was the more important issue. In any event, Rudi looks to be healthy, at least starting out. The o-line...well, we will see. I'm expecting that Whitworth will take the majority of first-team snaps at LT this camp, even if Levi is medically cleared at some point, and that in turn will give Stacey all the time in the world at LG, and that in turn will give the two of them time to develop some rythym. So at least we should be somewhat better prepared if another spate of injuries strikes the line.

I'm still not sold on Bluto either, but it is what it is. Hopefully he keeps improving.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Bobcat Bengal Newbie

Bobcat Bengal

Posted
Posted
To the point about Rudi's performance, it's worth remembering that after the season, it was revealed he'd been playing with a bum knee. The o-line situation didn't help, obviously, but it's probably impossible to say which was the more important issue. In any event, Rudi looks to be healthy, at least starting out. The o-line...well, we will see. I'm expecting that Whitworth will take the majority of first-team snaps at LT this camp, even if Levi is medically cleared at some point, and that in turn will give Stacey all the time in the world at LG, and that in turn will give the two of them time to develop some rythym. So at least we should be somewhat better prepared if another spate of injuries strikes the line.

I'm still not sold on Bluto either, but it is what it is. Hopefully he keeps improving.

Hmm....

Don't be suprised to see a heated Training Camp battle between Santucci and Bluto.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
HoosierCat Grand Master

HoosierCat

Posted
  • Author
Posted

It just keeps getting better (not). Now Levi is "hopeful" he'll be ready for the opener. Great, just great.

http://www.bengals.com/news/news.asp?story_id=6144

Also sounds like he is less than thrilled with the Bengals (on) crack medical staff, saying they screwed up his rehab when he came in for the OTAs.

Jones said his ankle got mauled on the first series of the last preseason on a run block, so he wasn't all that surprised the knee went on Oct. 15 in Tampa. He felt he took a step back when he left his rehab program in Arizona to join the Bengals in April, but now that he went back to Phoenix for the past month he's hopeful he can play in the Sept. 10 regular-season opener.

"I got on a different program. It didn't go as well as it went before," he said. ""Everybody has their own way doing things. I'm not saying their way is wrong, it just didn't work for me."

"When I got here, their focus was just to get it stronger while basically overlooking all the pain issues I was having," Jones said. "That just caused my muscle groups to shut down one by one. Out in Arizona they focused on all the contributing factors. Strength would be the last thing they focus on because it doesn't really matter if it's strong if you have too much pain to put pressure on it. I've got to sit down with their medical staff to find out what we're going to do. Hopefully get something done that is a lot better than what I went through the last three months here."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
 Share
Go to topic listing
×
×
  • Create New...