Carson happy with all star draft

[Dadraftnick]

Carson is very happy with the draft, and so am I - Hell, even the people with Bengal Derangement Syndrome (Bengals Hatters) have to give us some props.

This draft is like an all-star team, it must be one the most decorated/accomplished drafts in Bengals history.

1) OT Andre Smith- All-American 1st team and Outland Trophy winner ,for the Best Interior Lineman.

2) ILB Rey Maualuga-AP 1st team All-American and Chuck Bednarik Award winner, for the Deffensive Player of the Year.

3a) DE Michael Johnson-AP All ACC DE a 6-7 DE that put up 9 sacks last year.

3b) TE Chase Coffman-AP All-American 1st team and John Mackey Award winner for best Tight End.

4) C Johnathan Luigs-07' All-American Rimington Award winner for best Center.-

5) P Kevin Huber- AP All-American 1st team, finalist for Ray Guy Award for nations best punter.

6) CB Morgan Trent- All Big Ten Holds 200meter indor state record and was All-American in track, was named to Sporting News Freshman All-American team.- held opponents to 31% passes completed for 3.07 yds per attempt.

6a) RB Bernard Scott-Little All-American 1st team Harlon Hill Trophy Awars winner for best Division II player.

7a) FB Fui Vakapuna

7b) DT Clinton McDonald All Conference USA

7c) WR Freddie Brown

Even UFA WR Quan Cosby was a USA Today All-American and was Texas State 100 and 200 meter Champion

The pundits and the fan base aren't the only ones enthused about the Bengals draft. It also put a smile on the face of the franchise.

Throw tackle Andre Smith and linebacker Rey Maualuga into an offseason mix in which he has already been fired up by the dedication of running back Cedric Benson and wide receiver Laveranues Coles, and quarterback Carson Palmer senses big things on both sides of the ball.

"With (Mike) Zimmer's leadership on defense, the good young cornerbacks that can cover and the pass rushers, we've got a chance to be really good," Palmer said Tuesday. "From what the coaches have been saying, they like the guys they got from top to bottom."

Palmer is well versed in Smith and Maualuga, thanks to the pre-draft dissection of Smith and Palmer's membership in the USC alumni club that has embraced Maualuga. He's been a fan of his fellow Trojan for a couple of years.

"Ever since he knocked out the quarterback from UCLA on the sidelines," Palmer said. "I'll never forget that. He laid this guy out. It made you laugh. I mean, you felt bad for the quarterback and the quarterback's mom, but you just had to laugh. Rey is coming to the perfect division."

You're right. Palmer watched USC games and always hoped the Bengals could somehow get Maualuga.

"For us to get a guy who is one of the best players on one of the best defenses in college football is huge," Palmer said. "Just the fact he's played for Pete Carroll and been in his defense and has had Pete rub off on him for awhile. You're getting a guy that is fast and athletic, perfect for our division. So many guys get drafted out of the division. He got drafted into the right division.

"You know you're going to get 35 runs a game from Baltimore, 30 to 40 runs a game from Pittsburgh, 35 from Cleveland. He's a guy that wants to come up and hit fullbacks in the mouth and make tackles in the backfield. It's not like he's going to the NFC West where there's speed all over the place. You've got two (USC) linebackers with different styles. Lofa (Tatupu) is perfect (for Seattle). It's a fast, explosive division. Our division is slower, more run first."

Which is why Palmer likes Smith teamed with Benson, two guys he believes are going to revive the Bengals running game. He liked what he saw on that now famous plane flight from Cincinnati to San Diego in which he shared an aisle with Smith.

"It looks like we got an impact guy that can come in and play right away; he was supposed to be the best of the three tackles," Palmer said. "He seems like a guy that wants to come in and work hard and do all the things the coaches are going to ask him to do and be a good teammate. I'm excited for him to get out there. It's a position we needed to fill."

Palmer doesn't have a preference on where Smith lines up ("Whatever helps the team most"), but he says he's hearing that Smith is athletic enough to play either side. After hearing Smith's line that he considers the quarterback like his mother, Palmer joked he hopes they have a good relationship.

"You want a guy that takes pride in keeping your jersey clean and giving you a pocket to step into," Palmer said. "That's always good."

But Palmer also couldn't help be intrigued by a guy that is supposed to put heat on the other pass rusher. The dimensions of Georgia Tech defensive end Michael Johnson caught his eye.

"At 6-7, you can do a lot in the passing lanes, especially with long arms," Palmer said. "If you've got a defense with good hands, you can get a lot of interceptions with tipped balls. A guy like that can tip a lot of balls and that's a quarterback's nightmare because those can turn into seven points so quickly. All your fast guys are downfield, and now it's just the offensive line and quarterback chasing down somebody like a linebacker. Besides that, he supposedly has a fast first step and gets after the passer, so that adds another dimension."

But Palmer has been around long enough to know that nothing can be judged this May or even next May.

"You don't know about the draft until two or three years later," he said. "Guys have to perform well, stay on the field, and stay healthy. But if you look at what we did on paper, it's a great draft. We filled spots

[ArmyBengal]

Anyone noticing how all the threads seem to be muddling together ?? Just that time of the year I suppose...

[HairOnFire]

Anyone notice how many fights we've had immediately following an excellent draft?

It doesn't make much sense until you consider how primed for anger the Fed-Ups were, and how the draft left them with little room to complain.

Yet complain they do.....prompting message board flare-ups, thread closings, and the occasional ritual killing.

Very entertaining.

[ArmyBengal]

Anyone notice how many fights we've had immediately following an excellent draft?

How many excellent drafts have there been around here lately ??

I get your point though and think it has everything to do with the fact that people aren't use to getting 3 first round talent guys (Smith, Maualuga, Johnson) who could take over starting positions from day one along (maybe not Johnson) with 3 other guys (Coffman, Luigs, Huber) that have that same chance heading into camps (Huber already has).

It automatically causes people to start worrying about starting all those rookies and they soon start defending how great last year's 4-11-1 really was.

It's actually quite comical to think about...