Examiner.com take on Andre Smith

[membengal]

Congrats greg. You laid a pile of s**t, and attracted a troll fly.

What a surprise.

[Bearcat1975]

Congrats greg. You laid a pile of s**t, and attracted a troll fly.

What a surprise.

[gregstephens]

Wow...tough room.

I disagree here. I don't think there is anything cheap with looking at available information and asking the question. I think a lot of the negative response here isn't because THAT is the one question that is off limits, but more a response indicating we don't even want to think of the possibility at this point. Been burned in the first round too many times in the past. Don't even want to think about it now.

[ShulaSteakhouse]

What I find humorous are the Bengal apologists who are content with a #6 pick that they "didn't expect to contribute much this year any ways."

Uh, what?

Name one other team that doesn't expect their top 10 pick to contribute right away? Even QB's that high tend to start soon, depending on who they have in place.

Anthony Collins doesn't strike me as someone Andre Smith should have ANY trouble beating out for a position almost immediately. The hold out doesn't matter much ultimately - the season hasn't even started yet. Offensive tackles don't need to be in that great of shape.

Andre has had plenty of time to absorb the playbook in Alexander's oh-so complicated "line em up and punch em in the mouth" scheme.

Everything is just an excuse from this pitiful organization and it's apologist following it seems.

I am not expecting much from this team at all this year, but would hope their #6 pick, and arguably the best OT in a good OT draft, could beat out a 4th round, 2nd year player who has impressed no one so far at RT.

[TJJackson]

What I find humorous are the Bengal apologists who are content with a #6 pick that they "didn't expect to contribute much this year any ways."

Uh, what?

Allow me to clarify, at least from my point of view

At the moment he was drafted and through all the mini-camps and OTAs, I expected him to contribute heavily

When he held out, my expectations fell every day his holdout continued

Doesn't matter if you were drafted #1 or number #1001 - rookies need camp, rookies need reps

He didn't get them, and my expectations went from high to near nothing

[Ickey44]

What I find humorous are the Bengal apologists who are content with a #6 pick that they "didn't expect to contribute much this year any ways."

Perhaps you have trouble reading. Nobody uttered a word about him not contributing this year until after his 30 day holdout. That's when people starting saying he won't contribute so much this year. It's gonna take him until at least week 5 or 6 to get the playbook down since he's missed so much time. And now you have the foot injury...

I expected him to start this year, but that was only gonna happen if he was in camp by the end of the first week. He's way too behind now to start any time before Week 10.

[jonahdsage]

I think if anyone didn't want the number six pick, who happens to be arguably the best OT in the draft this year (which, coincidentally (because mike brown is an idiot) is one of the greatest needs on our team), to get significant playing time this year was a little delusional. I certainly expected him to be here from day one and start opening day. As that didn't happen, my desire for him to start hasn't changed, it's just the urgency that has. No one wants to put a guy in just because he was drafted high (look at jerome simpson) -- he needs to go in when he's ready. This is a frustrating setback, certainly. Any one who doesn't think this is a setback or thinks we shouldn't be frustrated by it may have stage 4 blind homerism.

The problem with Greg's article, in my opinion, is that by starting a new thread (which he always does) and putting the word "bust" in the title after so short a time just makes it seem like he's using the board to get more hits on his article. I've enjoyed Greg's writing in the past, if for nothing else than some more bengals' commentary during the day, but I don't feel like this article added anything new to the discussion other than Andre Smith being a bust. I think it's outrageous for people to start calling jerome simpson a bust his second year in -- to call Andre a bust his second day in seems unrealistic at best and entirely pandering or self serving at worst.

Let's all be frustrated, certainly, because it sucks. We need this guy in there for several reasons. But to throw out "bust" already is just like GHD blaming everything on Mike Brown (how is the bengals signing a contract that benefits the team and that Andre seems excited about such a terrible thing?!). So my final advice for you, Greg, would be rely on insightful commentary to get hits, not extravagant titles or claims.

[gregstephens]

You know, I had deleted this topic in the hailstorm of controversy it has caused. However, after finding a much smaller story on SI.com:

/>http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/extramustard/hotclicks/09/02/another-season-another-blonde/index.html

I decided there was no reason to delete it. You guys don't like that I wrote it, sorry. You guys don't like I posted it on the boards like I do every other story, email Terry. Debate it, don't debate it. I don't really care. Do whatever you want.

[membengal]

You know, I had deleted this topic in the hailstorm of controversy it has caused. However, after finding a much smaller story on SI.com:

/>http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/extramustard/hotclicks/09/02/another-season-another-blonde/index.html

I decided there was no reason to delete it. You guys don't like that I wrote it, sorry. You guys don't like I posted it on the boards like I do every other story, email Terry. Debate it, don't debate it. I don't really care. Do whatever you want.

You are using THAT (si.com's tongue-in-cheek hot list) as the basis to seek hits and call trolls?

You've lost it, Greg.

[Ickey44]

You know, I had deleted this topic in the hailstorm of controversy it has caused. However, after finding a much smaller story on SI.com:

/>http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/extramustard/hotclicks/09/02/another-season-another-blonde/index.html

I decided there was no reason to delete it. You guys don't like that I wrote it, sorry. You guys don't like I posted it on the boards like I do every other story, email Terry. Debate it, don't debate it. I don't really care. Do whatever you want.

You're in the corner, frowning with your arms crossed, aren't you?

[jonahdsage]

haha this is one of the funniest threads I've ever read on here. You guys are making it seem like Greg is some evil mastermind sitting behind his computer plotting something sinister. I think he jumped the gun in calling Smith a bust, which has implications all its own, but do we really need to be this harsh with a guy who's contributed quite a bit in the long dregs of the offseason? Sheesh.

[HairOnFire]

Joe Pong!

[TJJackson]

Joe Wrong?

[Kazkal]

Should post this on dotcom plenty people hate Andre over there and wanna much rather see him bust then have success just so they can say they were right.

but would hope their #6 pick, and arguably the best OT in a good OT draft, could beat out a 4th round, 2nd year player who has impressed no one so far at RT.

Hoping for that myself :|

[Pidge]

What I find humorous are the Bengal apologists who are content with a #6 pick that they "didn't expect to contribute much this year any ways."

It's a fair point. We're not the Pats FFS, out top picks aren't in the 20's and so you'd hope they'd at least contribute quickly, cuz the team needs them to what with their hideous record last yr and all. Personally, I was hoping he'd make the RT position his own by season's end. The holdout makes that possibility more unlikely though. The injury, well, that's the icing on the cake. So now, yeah, not holding out much and I don't expect him to contribute much. Where my own personal delusion comes in is that I sorta hope that we won't need him to hit it out the park straight away. I'm holding onto that nugget until results say otherwise.

[volcom69]

Should post this on dotcom plenty people hate Andre over there and wanna much rather see him bust then have success just so they can say they were right.

Thats the reason i dont go there much it gets so annoying, but it seems to be following over here latly and its getting anoying. I wanna be excited about this team, or about the players they pick up, but you really cant when there is so much negativity going around about the players, and the team.

[Pidge]

haha this is one of the funniest threads I've ever read on here. You guys are making it seem like Greg is some evil mastermind sitting behind his computer plotting something sinister. I think he jumped the gun in calling Smith a bust, which has implications all its own, but do we really need to be this harsh with a guy who's contributed quite a bit in the long dregs of the offseason? Sheesh.

Yes, it's a founding rule of the internetz. Whenever an opportunity arises to be slightly hysterical and act like a knob, TAKE IT!

[HoosierCat]

And on that appropriate note by pidge, I think well call this closed.