Willie to sign with Baltimore

[BengalszoneBilly]

This is BAD NEWS! Now our defense has to face a pissed off Anderson twice a year.

Willie Anderson told The Enquirer late this afternoon that he will return to Baltimore on Friday morning to sign a three-year, $11 million contract with the Ravens.

He said he is going to try to get ready to play Sunday against his former team – the Bengals – which terminated his contract Saturday.

Anderson visited Baltimore on Tuesday and returned to his home in Atlanta.

“It’s cool,” Anderson said. “The organization was real cool. I was kind of nervous.”

Former Bengals wide receivers coach Hue Jackson, now Ravens quarterbacks coach, took Anderson on a tour of the Ravens castle-like facility in Owings Mills, Md.

“When Hue took me down into the locker room, I was nervous to meet all the guys,” Anderson said, “but then Ray Lewis, Lorenzo Neal, Chris McAlister, all the guys, came running up to me, it made me feel at home.”

The Bengals wanted Anderson to take a pay cut to $1.5 million – more than 50 percent – or else they would cut him. He declined. The club raised its offer to $1.8 million, but Anderson refused. Then his contract was terminated.

Baltimore has reshuffled its offensive line. Adam Terry is their starting right tackle. The Bengals play at the Ravens at 1 p.m. Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium.

[Kazkal]

A slowing down Anderson where we still have a young Odom & Jumpy so I'll say more likely works out in our favor in the end.

I Love willie but he's a raven now so I hope he gives up 5-10 sacks vs us per year : P

[ArmyBengal]

I would have much rather seen Willie go to the Chargers and have a chance at a Super Bowl. Not going to happen with the Ravens.

I don't think much of this move by Willie. I don't believe he would go to the Ravens with the sole purpose of "getting back at the Bengals".

Show me a player who says he rather "get back" at the team that cut him instead of winning the Super Bowl and I'll show you a liar !!!

WHODEY !!!

[jditty47]

in all honesty...much love and respect to the ravens ownership and head coach for signing him for a pretty big deal for someone his age. thats respect. i wish him all the best. not the rest of his team for sure, but he can still do well.

i'll miss willie. he is a great man, was great for the community and the team.

he got offered a big contract and the best chance to start...has nothing to do with getting back at the bengals.

[BengalszoneBilly]

I don't believe he would go to the Ravens with the sole purpose of "getting back at the Bengals".

That's really not the way it played out. The Ravens were the team who offered him a contract with an opportunity to start. He's be crazy not to accept it.

[agreen_112]

A slowing down Anderson where we still have a young Odom & Jumpy so I'll say more likely works out in our favor in the end.

I Love willie but he's a raven now so I hope he gives up 5-10 sacks vs us per year : P

I hope he does too, but your talking about Willie, not much gets through the brick wall.

I agree with you Billy, He had the best chance to start in Balti... Has nothing to do with getting back at the Bengals.... Good luck Wil

[Wraith]

Just glad he won't suit up for the game on Sunday. Good Luck Willie you are one of the good guys wish we could have had you end your career as a Bengal but thats the way the business goes sometimes.

[vettespd20]

To be honest and maybe this is just me being mad still, but a few minutes ago i heard some comments he made about the team and it makes me mad. YA YA we all know how the bengals management is and we all know how bad things are at times but for him to go on national tv today and say, THE BENGALS DIDNT CUT ME BECAUSE I CANT PERFORM, NOR DID THEY WANT ME TO TAKE A PAY CUT, ITS BECAUSE I AM TIRED OF CINCINNATI AND DIDNT WANT TO BE THERE ANY MORE. THAT IS THE REASON I LEFT THE TEAM. That is bull, i wish him nothing but the worst. There i feel a little better now

[BengalChamps]

Willie vs. Cheech....says all you need to know about this franchise. To cut a man like Willie and bring back Cheech(who got no NFL phone calls while he was on the street) is crazy. Mikey boy...you suck. This franchise will never win with you in control. I feel sorry for Marvin and Carson. They want to win but Mikey boy wont let them. I predict disaster this season. Sorry but im tired of being optimistic.

[derekshank]

I can sympathize with you being upset about the Henry signing... but I can't for the life of me understand all the outrage about letting Willie go. It's not like they don't have a younger replacement for him currently on the roster. And it's not as if he's got a lot of miles left on his tires. Yes he was a great player, but most NFL players finish their careers with other franchises. See Favre.

And you won't hear too many Packer fans bitching about it either. They were anxious to see where the future of the team was going because they knew Favre wouldn't be there forever. It was someone else's time. That's no different here. Sure, it's a rebuilding year. That hurts a lot of fans who previously had high expectations for this season - but this will be a fantastic season to see what the future holds for this team.

There are a ton of young players with question marks around them that we will have definitive answers about. It is difficult to get answers to those questions with Willie and Rudi on the roster eating up valuable playing experience in an obvious rebuilding year. Better to let them go play for someone else than eat up another year of a young players opportunity to prove himself.

We should know for sure whether Perry and Andrews are going to be adequate next year rather than having continued questions about whether the Bengals need to use high draft picks on their replacements. I'm much more interested in this team now than I was a few weeks ago, because I'll be watching the Bengals to see what the future holds, rather than watching another season living in the past ('05).

[HairOnFire]

We should know for sure whether Perry and Andrews are going to be adequate next year rather than having continued questions about whether the Bengals need to use high draft picks on their replacements. I'm much more interested in this team now than I was a few weeks ago, because I'll be watching the Bengals to see what the future holds, rather than watching another season living in the past ('05).

Well said.

Personally I think many of the late cuts continue to grind because few of the so-called replacements were performing at a higher level than the players who are no longer here. For example(s)......David Jones may look like a player who can develope but he wasn't playing better than Deltha, the Dancing Bear actually looked worse than Willie until the final preseason game, and Chris Perry FINALLY won the starting RB job....but by default. None of the moves make perfect sense for a team that intends to win big now, and that forces fans to grudgingly acknowledge this is a transition season.

[BengalszoneBilly]

None of the moves make perfect sense for a team that intends to win big now, and that forces fans to grudgingly acknowledge this is a transition season.

So what's your call on wins and losses? Inquiring minds want to know.

[HairOnFire]

So what's your call on wins and losses?

Not enough and too many.

[BengalszoneBilly]

So what's your call on wins and losses?

Not enough and too many.

Yeah, I leaned that way too, but I narrowed it down to numbers.

[kingwilly]

We should know for sure whether Perry and Andrews are going to be adequate next year rather than having continued questions about whether the Bengals need to use high draft picks on their replacements. I'm much more interested in this team now than I was a few weeks ago, because I'll be watching the Bengals to see what the future holds, rather than watching another season living in the past ('05).

Well said.

Personally I think many of the late cuts continue to grind because few of the so-called replacements were performing at a higher level than the players who are no longer here. For example(s)......David Jones may look like a player who can develope but he wasn't playing better than Deltha, the Dancing Bear actually looked worse than Willie until the final preseason game, and Chris Perry FINALLY won the starting RB job....but by default. None of the moves make perfect sense for a team that intends to win big now, and that forces fans to grudgingly acknowledge this is a transition season.

I am slowly getting my head around some of these moves.

As for Rudi, the club had the nads to cut a truly revered player. If we recall, in the spring many of us were outraged that they were already calling Rudi the starter, handing him the keys to the run game in the face of his clearly diminished physical ability. I said then that he should be cut. I had said it for some time. I cannot criticize the move that made sense from a roster and cap perspective. Knowing that Perry *may* be healthy, Watson has been solid when called upon and DeDe/JJohnson are in the queue if needed.

Cutting Brooks also took some nads and setting aside some pride. I debated that pick with a guy here "SkinnyMullet", questioning the wisdom of the pick, the recurring injuries, Brooks mental ability and then we saw his neighborhood altercation throw cold water on the hopes he could develop here. Hitting eject on Brooks is basically admitting mistake, something refreshing coming from ML and staff.

Deltha was a malcontent that had begun to let his attitude affect his play. His "un-team" attitude had worn thin the staff. Once he was physically on the level of Jones, they cut him. Jones will get better, Deltha won't. It does point to a "team in transition" but the upside of Jones far outweighs the downsides of a surly, PMS'd Deltha.

Willie is the cut that is the most visceral. He surely could have helped the team, either spot-starting or as the anchor for line depth. Vocal leader, thoughtful field-marshall and an example of toughness. The upsides were clear. Downsides were his health. Should he start 15 games, and start well, for the Ravens, the Bengals look silly. Likely, he will be down in chunks with foot issues. His feet are not better, they are just being managed. It is hard as he was a long-tenured player, Pro Bowler, potential HoF player, and ending that relationship is cringe-woorthy if the guy still has gas in the tank. I submit the gas gauge on Willie is unreliable at this point. Tip'o the hat to a fine player, father and man.

To me, what these really point to is a team trying to show it has some nads. If every decision perfect? Probably not. Did they show soem nads making the moves.? I think so. Will it work? If by work you mean make the playoffs, then probably not. Some of the players being asked to step-up are still a bit raw (Jones, Andrews?) and this will be a wildcard factor in this teams success. The big picture is that I see ML trying to wrest back some control of the team form a meddling owner who broght back Henry in the face of his public position. This is a make-or-break year for ML, who I see showing he has the ability to make the tough decisions which he can point to when he is interviewing for the SF, Oakland, KC, or other NFL jobs that might be available come 1/2009.

[Ickey44]

We should know for sure whether Perry and Andrews are going to be adequate next year rather than having continued questions about whether the Bengals need to use high draft picks on their replacements. I'm much more interested in this team now than I was a few weeks ago, because I'll be watching the Bengals to see what the future holds, rather than watching another season living in the past ('05).

Well said.

Personally I think many of the late cuts continue to grind because few of the so-called replacements were performing at a higher level than the players who are no longer here. For example(s)......David Jones may look like a player who can develope but he wasn't playing better than Deltha, the Dancing Bear actually looked worse than Willie until the final preseason game, and Chris Perry FINALLY won the starting RB job....but by default. None of the moves make perfect sense for a team that intends to win big now, and that forces fans to grudgingly acknowledge this is a transition season.

I am slowly getting my head around some of these moves.

As for Rudi, the club had the nads to cut a truly revered player. If we recall, in the spring many of us were outraged that they were already calling Rudi the starter, handing him the keys to the run game in the face of his clearly diminished physical ability. I said then that he should be cut. I had said it for some time. I cannot criticize the move that made sense from a roster and cap perspective. Knowing that Perry *may* be healthy, Watson has been solid when called upon and DeDe/JJohnson are in the queue if needed.

Cutting Brooks also took some nads and setting aside some pride. I debated that pick with a guy here "SkinnyMullet", questioning the wisdom of the pick, the recurring injuries, Brooks mental ability and then we saw his neighborhood altercation throw cold water on the hopes he could develop here. Hitting eject on Brooks is basically admitting mistake, something refreshing coming from ML and staff.

Deltha was a malcontent that had begun to let his attitude affect his play. His "un-team" attitude had worn thin the staff. Once he was physically on the level of Jones, they cut him. Jones will get better, Deltha won't. It does point to a "team in transition" but the upside of Jones far outweighs the downsides of a surly, PMS'd Deltha.

Willie is the cut that is the most visceral. He surely could have helped the team, either spot-starting or as the anchor for line depth. Vocal leader, thoughtful field-marshall and an example of toughness. The upsides were clear. Downsides were his health. Should he start 15 games, and start well, for the Ravens, the Bengals look silly. Likely, he will be down in chunks with foot issues. His feet are not better, they are just being managed. It is hard as he was a long-tenured player, Pro Bowler, potential HoF player, and ending that relationship is cringe-woorthy if the guy still has gas in the tank. I submit the gas gauge on Willie is unreliable at this point. Tip'o the hat to a fine player, father and man.

To me, what these really point to is a team trying to show it has some nads. If every decision perfect? Probably not. Did they show soem nads making the moves.? I think so. Will it work? If by work you mean make the playoffs, then probably not. Some of the players being asked to step-up are still a bit raw (Jones, Andrews?) and this will be a wildcard factor in this teams success. The big picture is that I see ML trying to wrest back some control of the team form a meddling owner who broght back Henry in the face of his public position. This is a make-or-break year for ML, who I see showing he has the ability to make the tough decisions which he can point to when he is interviewing for the SF, Oakland, KC, or other NFL jobs that might be available come 1/2009.

Well said, and I agree.

[bengalfreak3]

None of the moves make perfect sense for a team that intends to win big now, and that forces fans to grudgingly acknowledge this is a transition season.

The Bengals never intend to win big is the problem. And every year, save one, for the last 18 years has been a transition season.

On a friendlier note, Hair, howthehellareyou? Still married to a Brown's fan? Its been years since the AOL (& ManThing) days eh? Sorry to hijack the thread guys.

[TheCinciBengal]

man this sucks this is really bad news