Big Willie Calls It a Career

[HoosierCat]

http://www.baltimoreravens.com/News/Articl...tired_list.aspx

So long, Willie. Thanks for everything but last year.

[Kazkal]

Shame,I wonder if he'll go in to coaching or just stick to his burger franchise ..

[Bearcat1975]

Would have been better if he retired a Bengal, but hey...even Munoz gave it one last go with the Bucs before hanging up the cleats for the last time.

I suspect he'll put more time into Fatburger. He seems a little big for the broadcast booth.

[gregstephens]

I'd prime Big Willie as Paul Alexander's replacement in a heartbeat.

Thanks for everything, Willie. I'm not even pissed you threw the Bengals under the bus by giving away our plays in Week One.

[Bearcat1975]

I'd prime Big Willie as Paul Alexander's replacement in a heartbeat.

Thanks for everything, Willie. I'm not even pissed you threw the Bengals under the bus by giving away our plays in Week One.

Boy that was certainly irritating at the time though. Big Willie was posted up right next to Harbaugh the entire game. Exchanging Burger Recipes I am sure...

[BengalPimp]

I cant really be mad at the guy, I mean, the Bengals basically dumped him. Anyways, thanks for everything. The 2nd best Tackle to ever play for the Bengals.

[Clackwoods]

I think he should sign with us and Retire a Bengal. I am glad he got to go to the AFC Championship game. He is a hell of a guy.

[gregstephens]

I think he should sign with us and Retire a Bengal. I am glad he got to go to the AFC Championship game. He is a hell of a guy.

I agree...but he can't. He's not been released by the Ravens, so he's still under contract to them if he ever came back.

[Bearcat1975]

Anyone here think Willie has a chance at the Hall? Not me, but if he got in I wonder if he would choose to be represented as a Raven to snub the Bengals?

[gregstephens]

Anyone here think Willie has a chance at the Hall? Not me, but if he got in I wonder if he would choose to be represented as a Raven to snub the Bengals?

No, but only because he played on crap teams. One or two deep forays into the playoffs or even a Super Bowl appearance would have done it.

But if he did, he goes in as a Bengal. Hands down.

[Clackwoods]

I think he should sign with us and Retire a Bengal. I am glad he got to go to the AFC Championship game. He is a hell of a guy.

I agree...but he can't. He's not been released by the Ravens, so he's still under contract to them if he ever came back.

Yea, but its not like the Brett Favre situation where he could go to a division rival and do damage. They could cut him under the understanding that he would be signing with the Bengals to retire. Even if he changes his mind it wont hurt them because they are set at Oline now.

[gregstephens]

I think he should sign with us and Retire a Bengal. I am glad he got to go to the AFC Championship game. He is a hell of a guy.

I agree...but he can't. He's not been released by the Ravens, so he's still under contract to them if he ever came back.

Yea, but its not like the Brett Favre situation where he could go to a division rival and do damage. They could cut him under the understanding that he would be signing with the Bengals to retire. Even if he changes his mind it wont hurt them because they are set at Oline now.

No, that would quite cool if Baltimore would let him sign the 'one day contract.' Of course, at this point, we have to even wait and see if SoP continues his offseason brilliance so far and offer to do that.

[Clackwoods]

I think he should sign with us and Retire a Bengal. I am glad he got to go to the AFC Championship game. He is a hell of a guy.

I agree...but he can't. He's not been released by the Ravens, so he's still under contract to them if he ever came back.

Yea, but its not like the Brett Favre situation where he could go to a division rival and do damage. They could cut him under the understanding that he would be signing with the Bengals to retire. Even if he changes his mind it wont hurt them because they are set at Oline now.

No, that would quite cool if Baltimore would let him sign the 'one day contract.' Of course, at this point, we have to even wait and see if SoP continues his offseason brilliance so far and offer to do that.

Well hopefully they will announce tomorrow that Mike Brown died two months ago and Marvin has been running the team all offseason!

[ArmyBengal]

While I was mad about the Willie situation, I found myself remembering that this is the same guy I argued about holding onto when we let Steinbach leave. His time should have been up in Cincinnati earlier than it was, but that is neither here nor there at this point and I wish him nothing but luck. If he were to sign a one day retirement deal to retire as a Bengal, I would be good with that. All of his success came while wearing stripes.

[HoTbOy]

I don't have anything bad whatsoever to say about WAnderson did the Bengals proud...GOOD LUCK

[derekshank]

While I was mad about the Willie situation, I found myself remembering that this is the same guy I argued about holding onto when we let Steinbach leave. His time should have been up in Cincinnati earlier than it was, but that is neither here nor there at this point and I wish him nothing but luck. If he were to sign a one day retirement deal to retire as a Bengal, I would be good with that. All of his success came while wearing stripes.

Yeah... and I understand the gripe if people were upset when they brought back Willie instead of Steinbach, simply because of youth. I think Steiny is way overrated, but that's fine. I get it.

I didn't get why everyone got their panties in a bunch over Willie's release last year. The youth movement makes sense. They needed to see if Andrews could do the job, and a rebuilding year like last year was a good year to do it. Now they have Collins and A. Smith, continuing to build the O-line with talented youth.

All in all, the Willie release impacted just one season, because he then retired... and the Bengals got a definitive answer on a player everyone wanted to know about. Seems like nothing more than sound planning, no?

[Bearcat1975]

I didn't get why everyone got their panties in a bunch over Willie's release last year.

Because the depth chart was RT - Andrews, Anderson

Then when Willie left it was RT Andrews, Koostra

And Anderson > Koostra

That's why I didn't like the move. I've seen enough of "The Koos."

I'm not sure what Collins and A. Smith had to do with releasing RT Willie Anderson before the start of last season, or how having Willie on the squad would hurt the young guys in general, but we all have to rationalize one way or the other.

I think it was a purely financial move having nothing to do with making the Bengals a better team and everything to do with the money saved by cutting him. What really added insult to injury was Willie being released, Willie signing with the Ravens as an informer plain and simple, and then the Bengals doing nothing with the money saved by cutting him in the first place.

[derekshank]

I didn't get why everyone got their panties in a bunch over Willie's release last year.

Because the depth chart was RT - Andrews, Anderson

Then when Willie left it was RT Andrews, Koostra

And Anderson > Koostra

That's why I didn't like the move. I've seen enough of "The Koos."

Actually Collins was ahead of Kooistra almost immediately.

I'm not sure what Collins and A. Smith had to do with releasing RT Willie Anderson before the start of last season, or how having Willie on the squad would hurt the young guys in general, but we all have to rationalize one way or the other.

Fair enough. A. Smith had very little to do with Willie's release. He had a lot more to do with Levi's. But Collins certainly had something to do with it... as well as Andrews... the RT they had just franchised to see if he was going to be worth giving a long contract to.

As far as how Willie being on the roster hurts the young guys... I've never said such things. But while not a cancer, he has always been willing to talk to the media when he felt he wasn't being treated fairly. I doubt very much he would have willingly sat the bench without a word.

I think it was a purely financial move having nothing to do with making the Bengals a better team and everything to do with the money saved by cutting him. What really added insult to injury was Willie being released, Willie signing with the Ravens as an informer plain and simple, and then the Bengals doing nothing with the money saved by cutting him in the first place.

The Ravens deal was completely out of the Bengals hands... and we've already discusses how if it was a purely financial decision, they would have parted ways with Willie earlier so they didn't have to pay him a big fat roster bonus for doing nothing but looking "not slim."

It was a move to the future. It wasn't a move to attempt one more failed playoff run. It wasn't an attempt to hold on tightly to one more season with the pathetic remnants of the overaged prima donna group that was the '05 roster. It was a move forward. And as with anything else, to do that, you often have to take a step back. Moving on from Rudi, Willie, Deltha, Levi, and Thornton in such a short span of time will surely have it's growing pains... but that's what is known as rebuilding.

[HoosierCat]

All in all, the Willie release impacted just one season, because he then retired... and the Bengals got a definitive answer on a player everyone wanted to know about. Seems like nothing more than sound planning, no?

Well, I guess that's one way to put it. I guess another would be that the Bengals dumped an ex-Pro Bowler who could still play for a project who demonstrated he was nothing special. And who didn't want to be here (h/t TJ Jackson). At a cost of, what, $8 million, while cutting Willie over $2 million?

All of which leads inexorably to the 6th pick in the draft, an apparently flighty tackle who we'll have to hand $50+ million before he takes an NFL snap.

Sound reasoning or not, the end result could have been just a bit better, no?

[derekshank]

All in all, the Willie release impacted just one season, because he then retired... and the Bengals got a definitive answer on a player everyone wanted to know about. Seems like nothing more than sound planning, no?

Well, I guess that's one way to put it. I guess another would be that the Bengals dumped an ex-Pro Bowler who could still play for a project who demonstrated he was nothing special. And who didn't want to be here (h/t TJ Jackson). At a cost of, what, $8 million, while cutting Willie over $2 million?

All of which leads inexorably to the 6th pick in the draft, an apparently flighty tackle who we'll have to hand $50+ million before he takes an NFL snap.

Sound reasoning or not, the end result could have been just a bit better, no?

Fair enough that Andrews didn't want to be here... but it was just as much the Bengals that didn't want a long term deal just yet. They didn't want to meet his money demands without knowing he could do the job. And no one did know. It was all speculation until last year.

Sure... it would have ended better had Andrews played well, and then been offered a long term contract he couldn't refuse. Neither of those things happened, and none of us were sad to see him go. Meanwhile, Willie retired - so the Bengals would be in the exact same boat either way.

The only thing we can say for sure from the whole thing is that there is no reason to bitch about letting Andrews walk. Had they kept Willie and Andrews didn't get much playing time, many here would still be masturbating to the thought of his ginormous potential... and having a hissy fit that they let him walk while retaining a player well past his prime readying for retirement.

As it is... we all know exactly what the Bengals had in Andrews now. A guard who wanted OT money... and none of us have anything to complain about it, because while it wasn't a best case scenario, the Bengals were able to move on with all the information needed to make the right decisions. That is sound planning.

[HoosierCat]

As it is... we all know exactly what the Bengals had in Andrews now. A guard who wanted OT money... and none of us have anything to complain about it, because while it wasn't a best case scenario, the Bengals were able to move on with all the information needed to make the right decisions. That is sound planning.

And it only cost them an additional $5 million...oh, what the heck, Mikey would have just pocketed it anyhow, right?

[themaninblack]

Willie is probably my favorite Bengal and I am happy to see him finally hang it up on his terms. Great career, one of the best this organization has ever had, and a borderline HOFer. I really think the Bengals should consider retiring number 71 in his honor.

[Dadraftnick]

John Thornton's take on Levi Jones and Big Willie

It sucks that Levi Jones is no longer a Cincinnati Bengal. I really think his career as a Bengal went downhill when Willie Anderson’s health went downhill. Willie was and still is a big brother to Levi. They became two of the best OT’s in the NFL together. And their career’s had a similar path. Both were 10th picks in the NFL Draft by the Bengals. Both started out on losing teams. But then success happened. Willie became very successful on and off the field. A few years later, Levi did the same thing. Willie started to suffer injuries that led him to miss time on the practice field, and so did Levi. That’s where things went wrong. Willie was older and made the Pro Bowl a few times so the team gave him more leeway with his recovery time, while Levi was a notch below and didn’t the exact same treatment. Sometimes big brother gets away with things that little brother can’t. I think that soured Levi. Both Willie and Levi voiced their opinions to the media about the teams medical staff, which didn’t go unnoticed. Willie’s injuries started to take a bigger toll on his body. Even though he played at a high level, he started to miss games, and that’s when the Bengals had to start thinking about replacing Willie. The same happened to Levi. After Willie left for Baltimore, Levi was here on his own. I think if Willie was still here, Levi would still be here. When healthy, Levi is still one of the best in the game. But the last few years he hasn’t been healthy, so the team had to replace him. I think if his health is back, he will return to form. Maybe a change of scenery will help. I think he will go to Seattle. It’s a West Coast team and he will be blown away by their facilities and the perks of being an employee of Seahawks owner Paul Allen. But….that’s just my opinion, you know it always comes down to money. As far as Levi’s career with the Bengals, he will always be underrated. He was a guy that took one for the team and played six days after knee surgery in 2003 so that the team could stay in the playoff hunt, and his knee was never the same since. I think in the back of his mind, he would probably not do that again. The Bengals did reward him with a huge contract in 2006, so they showed their gratitude. Injuries can kill a career and relationships. I wish Levi well. He will do well as long as he plays football, and I know he will be successful in his many business endeavors. I’m sure I will run into him in Las Vegas this summer like I always do. It’s so funny. Me and my boys will be at our booth in a nightclub, and Levi will walk by and say the same thing, “JT, you need to just move here.” And I will say, “Nope, this is your town.”

[Clackwoods]

All in all, the Willie release impacted just one season, because he then retired... and the Bengals got a definitive answer on a player everyone wanted to know about. Seems like nothing more than sound planning, no?

Well, I guess that's one way to put it. I guess another would be that the Bengals dumped an ex-Pro Bowler who could still play for a project who demonstrated he was nothing special. And who didn't want to be here (h/t TJ Jackson). At a cost of, what, $8 million, while cutting Willie over $2 million?

All of which leads inexorably to the 6th pick in the draft, an apparently flighty tackle who we'll have to hand $50+ million before he takes an NFL snap.

Sound reasoning or not, the end result could have been just a bit better, no?

Fair enough that Andrews didn't want to be here... but it was just as much the Bengals that didn't want a long term deal just yet. They didn't want to meet his money demands without knowing he could do the job. And no one did know. It was all speculation until last year.

Sure... it would have ended better had Andrews played well, and then been offered a long term contract he couldn't refuse. Neither of those things happened, and none of us were sad to see him go. Meanwhile, Willie retired - so the Bengals would be in the exact same boat either way.

The only thing we can say for sure from the whole thing is that there is no reason to bitch about letting Andrews walk. Had they kept Willie and Andrews didn't get much playing time, many here would still be masturbating to the thought of his ginormous potential... and having a hissy fit that they let him walk while retaining a player well past his prime readying for retirement.

As it is... we all know exactly what the Bengals had in Andrews now. A guard who wanted OT money... and none of us have anything to complain about it, because while it wasn't a best case scenario, the Bengals were able to move on with all the information needed to make the right decisions. That is sound planning.

Personally,

I would much rather have Andre Smith and Anthony Collins starting this season than having Levi and Andrews so I am happy with our choices. As long as Andre stays out of trouble!

[jjakq27]

While I was mad about the Willie situation, I found myself remembering that this is the same guy I argued about holding onto when we let Steinbach leave. His time should have been up in Cincinnati earlier than it was, but that is neither here nor there at this point and I wish him nothing but luck. If he were to sign a one day retirement deal to retire as a Bengal, I would be good with that. All of his success came while wearing stripes.

What's funny is that despite all of the maneuvering, etc., the Bengals don't have one of the three (Jones, Steinbach and Anderson) left on the team. I have mixed feelings about Steinbach but it's a shame that he couldn't have stayed here.

And I too would like to see Willie return for one day and retire as a Bengal.