Bengal's feel Cook's presence

[BlainThePain]

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20090804/SPT02/308040083/1066/SPT02/Cook+s+presence+felt+on+line

Bengals feel Cook's presence on line

By Joe Reedy jreedy@enquirer.com August 4, 2009

GEORGETOWN, Ky. As part of the rebuilding of the offensive line, many thought that the Bengals would draft a center in the second or third round or try to get an established veteran via free agency.

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They did neither. Instead, offensive line coach Paul Alexander had his starter already on the roster, even if most everyone else didnt know about it.

Cook has been confident and decisive in his line calls while also supplying a bit of nastiness, three traits that were never equated with former starter Eric Ghiaciuc, who is now in Kansas City.

Chad Ochocinco summed up the Ghiaciuc years with one of the lines of the offseason. After Ghiaciuc told the Chiefs Web site that he thought the wide receiver was a disruption in the locker room, Ochocinco rebutted: Tell Ghiaciuc his play was a distraction.

You have to have a little bit of leadership and swagger because youre making the calls in a way so that everyone is following you, Cook said. From the start of OTAs weve had guys step up. Last year didnt turn out the way we wanted to and we put our foot down. Whether it was toughness, approach to the game or communication. Its just rolled over from that.

Cook was on the verge of being inserted into the offensive line rotation last year. He was going to see some action during the game at Dallas in Week 5 before suffering a dislocated toe during pregame warm-ups. That injury ended up sidelining him the rest of the year.

When Alexander and the coaching staff sat down for personnel meetings during the offseason, he had a feeling that Cook could be the starter. Cook signed with the Bengals in 2007 and spent the year on the practice squad before playing five games on special teams last season.

When asked if Cooks progress has surprised him, Alexander said: A little bit. He amazes me but we kindve knew when we sat down and evaluated the offseason that we thought this guy was good.

It ended up being one in a series of changes for the line. Since last years training camp Willie Anderson and Levi Jones were released while Stacy Andrews and Ghiaciuc departed via free agency.

Compared to last years line which started the opener at Baltimore, only Bobbie Williams is in his original spot at right guard. Andrew Whitworth has moved to left tackle while Cook, Nate Livings and either first-round pick Andre Smith or Anthony Collins have moved into the starting lineup.

While Whitworth and Williams are the leaders of the line, Alexander has looked Cooks command and sees him as a rapidly developing third leader. Cook has also impressed his line mates with his play.

The finesse that a true center in the AFC needs, he has it. Play calling, defense recognition of defenses, its all there, Williams said. I like the mean streak too, its a plus. Thats what you want from your guy. Hes getting us going in the right direction.

Cook has shown some of that mean streak already to the linebackers. During minicamp, he got into a scuffle with Dhani Jones on the first day and then was jawing back and forth with Rashad Jeanty on the second day. During Sundays Oklahoma Drill, Cook won both of his matchups, including the highly-anticipated one against rookie Rey Maualuga.

Its about setting a tempo and letting the guys know that youre bringing something to the table and that youre going to help out the team, Cook said. You just dont want to roll over because someone been around the league for 7, 8, 9, 10 years and let them know that you can walk all over me. It doesnt matter whether it is Dhani on my team or Ray Lewis on the other team, Im going to do the same thing no matter who Im playing against. If you do it now in practice youre going to be doing it in a game.

How Cook fares against the tough defenses and lines of the AFC North remains to be seen, which he realizes. But at this point its about making progress and developing from there. Even Cook doesnt know if the line has fully transformed from docile to angry.

You cant say were changing that right now because you dont know. Were facing black vs. white right now, said Cook about the line becoming tougher and meaning. Thats our mindset and our goal, but you have to be a tough team because of whose in our division and you have to be tough each and every day.

[Clackwoods]

I really like what I am seeing from this guy, I hope he turns into our franchise center

[ArmyBengal]

All you can do is hope all the good stuff being written and said comes to fruition once it's time for the season to start.

I guess it's better than hearing how bad he sucks and how we should have never let Ghiaciuc get away !!!

[Ickey44]

All you can do is hope all the good stuff being written and said comes to fruition once it's time for the season to start.

I guess it's better than hearing how bad he sucks and how we should have never let Ghiaciuc get away !!!

But....but.....Groundhog said he sucks and his predictions ALWAYS come true. How can you guys be optimistic??

[ArmyBengal]

I'm just an optimistic type of person to begin with and like I said before, it makes things more entertaining prior to the start of the season.

Heck, even Browns fans think they can make a run this season. I disagree with that thought, but good for them. Seriously...

[TJJackson]

But....but.....Groundhog said he sucks and his predictions ALWAYS come true. How can you guys be optimistic??

Awaiting reports from JoeWrong and agreen, the other two members of the Triad of Omniscience

[Ickey44]

But....but.....Groundhog said he sucks and his predictions ALWAYS come true. How can you guys be optimistic??

Awaiting reports from JoeWrong and agreen, the other two members of the Triad of Omniscience

Yeah, but I don't think Agreen ever has anything really negative to say. It's mostly blind optimism.

[ShulaSteakhouse]

Remember Alexander thought Guy-chick was the man also.

[derekshank]

Remember Alexander thought Guy-chick was the man also.

Yep. I drank the Kool-aid back then. A lot of that was based on the fact that Ghiaciuc had performed admirably in spot duty his rookie year.

Now, though I'm happy to hear about the sheer brute strength of Cook, I'll not be buying into the propaganda Hobson feeds us until I see it for myself on the field.

[Kazkal]

Well acourse Hobson is only gonna try sell you his own mother,But I Like what your hearing about Cook From the other Players...

He also seems be packing on few lbs he said he was up too 312....So Strong Savy Center with Nasty Streak....hope he works out

[Bearcat1975]

But....but.....Groundhog said he sucks and his predictions ALWAYS come true. How can you guys be optimistic??

I never said Cook sucks. I said he doesn't have any NFL experience, and therefore, making him your starter...sucks. None of our Centers presently on the roster have any real NFL experience.

...as you will soon find out. And as spotty as the starters on the oline are...heaven help them if even one of them gets injured, and you know they will.

By the way, our Centers are Cook, Dan Satucci or whatever his name is, and the rook who has been at guard all camp.

What you call "pessimistic" is called "realism" in the rest of the NFL world outside the bridge of your own nose. But don't take my word for it. The Bengals will show you themselves soon enough.

The only thing I find annoying is when posters like you put words in my mouth that I quite frankly never said or wrote. For some of you, this is deliberate, for others it is a basic lack of reading comprehension. You, honestly, I think it is the latter so there is little point debating with you.

That being said, when the season finally is here, you won't find any "I told you so's" from me. Which I have said many times. I take no solace in the perennial ineptitude of this once proud franchise. Which I have also said many times. But I'm not going to bury my head in the sand and act like its all good either.

And before you play the pessimism card again.. (groan), scroll back to the Reggie Kelly thread. I'm about the only one in there with a positive spin on his and Utecht's injury. But this oline? This oline is a flippin' trainwreck waiting to happen.

[HairOnFire]

The only thing I find annoying is when posters like you put words in my mouth that I quite frankly never said or wrote. For some of you, this is deliberate, for others it is a basic lack of reading comprehension.

Wait a minute, weren't you the poster who completely misunderstood Alex's post about he and his sister doing charity work to raise funds to fight cancer.....prompting you to incorrectly assume his sister actually had cancer?

[redsbengalsbucks]

The only thing I find annoying is when posters like you put words in my mouth that I quite frankly never said or wrote. For some of you, this is deliberate, for others it is a basic lack of reading comprehension.

Wait a minute, weren't you the poster who completely misunderstood Alex's post about he and his sister doing charity work to raise funds to fight cancer.....prompting you to incorrectly assume his sister actually had cancer?

But that was just an honest mistake, everyone here knows that Mamabear is the smartest poster here!

[HoosierCat]

But this oline? This oline is a flippin' trainwreck waiting to happen.

I can't agree. If anything, the o-line has fewer questions than it's had in several years. Whitworth may not be as good as Levi in his prime, but Levi was never going to be in his prime again and Whit will do. Nate Livings played well down the stretch last year, and helped win a national championship in college playing LG to Whit's LT. Bobbie is a rock and Collins is doing well enough at RT to even win over a doubting John Thornton. Smith will get signed eventually, bolstering the line further.

Versus the last couple of years when both tackles were continuous injury question marks, and the center position was a worry AND depth was nonexistent, all we have to really fret about is Cook.

[Kazkal]

Well looking like a good thing cook is the starter Because Luigs ain't getting the same kind of love...

Before the pads came off, defensive tackle Pat Sims threw down rookie center Jonathan Luigs twice in a double-team drill…

[ArmyBengal]

Well looking like a good thing cook is the starter Because Luigs ain't getting the same kind of love...

Before the pads came off, defensive tackle Pat Sims threw down rookie center Jonathan Luigs twice in a double-team drill…

Sims isn't exactly a "little guy" by any stretch either and I do expect him to have a good year on the d-line, so it doesn't really suprise me he got the best of the rookie. I heard Luigs was getting reps at Guard as well and I think that's a good idea for the time being.

[Kazkal]

---Sims isn't exactly a "little guy" by any stretch either and I do expect him to have a good year on the d-line, so it doesn't really suprise me he got the best of the rookie. I heard Luigs was getting reps at Guard as well and I think that's a good idea for the time being.---

Ya the Guard Reps will be good,If Cook does work out and turns out to be Starter LG seems alittle more open