Nugent, Trent to IR (and other roster moves)

[HairOnFire]

And notably, all the injuries I'm talking about (with the exception of Smith's second one) all happened before the season.

But with the exception of Smith successful adjustments were made for those injuries. Owens replaced Bryant as well as any move could have, and Dunlap could have adequately replaced Odom, if not upgraded the position, if given the chance. Yet due to a coaches decision Owens was instantly made the offenses primary weapon, a move that crap stats simply can't justify. Nor can the coaches decision to sit Dunlap for months be justified, especially when the Bengals feeble pass rush was dooming nearly everything they were attempting to do defensively.

Well, given how you were pointing out all the same things about Chad prior to the season, doesn't that suggest something? That perhaps it's not about who is in the role of No. 1 WR on this team, but the plays called. Chad, now in a complimentary role, isn't getting picked nearly as much, while TO is now an interception machine.

Please recall that I've been blasting the offensive scheme and playcalling since the opener against New England. Furthermore, I think it's clear my hatred of Chad isn't based soley in criticism of his play, although there's plenty of room to criticize him on that level alone.

Actually, I think you're off by a year. They guy I was "unconcerned" about was Collins...

Uhhhh, no. During preseason you mocked those of us who reacted in horror to video of Roland being tossed and abused in individual pass rush drills. You claimed you were completely unconcerned by the video and pointed to the Bengals offensive line rankings...thereby ignoring Roland's individual shortcomings as a pass blocker. Point blank, Roland is servicable at best if supported by other players within a blocking scheme, as was the case the previous season. Left to fend for himself he's a distinct liability. Or if you prefer, a steaming pile of shid so awful that a team might be tempted to use the 6th overall pick in the draft on a replacement.

Again, I said I only agreed to a point. Injuries don't excuse leaving Dunlap on the sidelines for so long, or the playcalling issues exposed by the switch to TO as the No. 1 guy, or the failure to have a better backup plan in the predictable circumstance that Moobs showed up like he did. Nor do injuries explain why the D can't tackle or why the o-line has regressed or why Benson suddenly can't hold onto the ball or why after a penalty-filled 2009 season we have a penalty-filled 2010 season or any one of many, many other issues. But injuries had their part in setting the stage for this whole debacle, too.

Injuries only help to explain why this team is currently 2-11, not why the season was lost after only a handful of games. For just one example, they help explain why Buffalo was not only able to mount a 2nd half comeback, but blowout this hapless team. But injuries don't explain the way this team played against Carolina, Tampa Bay, and Cleveland and IMHO that's when this season went off the rails. Nor do they explain why this team was able to beat Baltimore in week two, after which Marvin was heard saying..."Physical game, physical team. But we can play that way too."

Can, but won't.

[HoosierCat]

But with the exception of Smith successful adjustments were made for those injuries. Owens replaced Bryant as well as any move could have, and Dunlap could have adequately replaced Odom, if not upgraded the position, if given the chance.

Well, I certainly think you can argue that Dunlap could have replaced Odom, but Owens only replaced Bryant "as well as any move could have" because the Bengals first signed a guy they later admitted they knew had a bum knee (but were wishin' hopin' prayin' would get better), then ignored warning signs like his inability to finish a lousy three-day minicamp and didn't finally give up until after training camp got started. Essentially they wasted an entire offseason and sabotaged their own efforts to improve the offense by signing a "pre-injured" player.

Injuries only help to explain why this team is currently 2-11, not why the season was lost after only a handful of games.

Of course. Again, I'm not arguing that injuries are the reason the team has been an epic failure, they're just one of many factors.

[HoosierCat]

So, who's next for the Bengals' IR list?

Tom Nelson, come on down!

(And a hearty welcome back to Marvin White...)

[ShulaSteakhouse]

Interesting note by Hair that Gresham/Shipley were handed jobs right away, but Dunlap was kept inactive and even now Marvin is saying he's only playing because "he has to."

This further reinforces the notion that Marvin has little control over the offense or offensive personnel. Who would coach under those conditions???

It also tells me Marvin is somewhat clueless.

Marvin also insists on keeping guys around who just can't stay healthy....EVER: Roy Williams, Jonathan Joseph, Chris Crocker, Jonathan Fanene, Frostee Rucker, Antwan Odom - are these guys EVER healthy? I don't think any of them have made it through a full season w/o IR time or being deactivated for multiple games.

Now I can certainly understand not replacing JJ, Crocker and Odom (due to contract), but come next season that entire list needs to be replaced. And you can throw Jerome Simpson, Tank Johnson and Ndukwe on that pile as well (of course we'd be lucky if half those guys are replaced, quite a feat for any NFL Team).

On top of that their LB's and O-line are horrible.

So, find 2 new LB's, 3 new O-lineman, 3 new DB's, and they'll have something cooking.

What will we get? A 1st or 2nd round WR, maybe a 1st round QB or RB, and a bunch of middling mid-round defensive players forced into major roles they'll never be ready for.

[HairOnFire]

Well, I certainly think you can argue that Dunlap could have replaced Odom....

I can and I have...since the opener. Or if you prefer, since we got our first glimpse of a skinny Odom on rollerskates in the preseason.

...but Owens only replaced Bryant "as well as any move could have" because the Bengals first signed a guy they later admitted they knew had a bum knee....

Please forgive, but who cares? It's not my money, there's no salary cap hit to consider, and Owens stepped in immediately and has performed reasonably well. So the fundamental problem is based upon making any newcomer the primary offensive weapon being gameplanned around. There's simply too many timing and route running factors to consider. In fact, there's no valid reason for anyone to expect a passing game staffed by so many newcomers to succeed, and every reason to expect it to struggle or fail outright.

Again, I'm not arguing that injuries are the reason the team has been an epic failure, they're just one of many factors.

IMHO injuries simply aren't a valid excuse when debating this seasons coaching failure. The season was doomed in preseason, when the coming seasons core strategy was debated and then determined.

[kingwilly]

So, who's next for the Bengals' IR list?

Tom Nelson, come on down!

(And a hearty welcome back to Marvin White...)

Holy Christ.

Nelson?

Now, I see we are signing a Buffalo 6th round pick who never panned out... THAT is scraping the bottom of the barrel.

Staggering. There is no one else left to fetch?

[HairOnFire]

Finally, for those of us who were begging for saftey help last year, the much anticipated Jeromy Miles era has begun.

Free advice for Marvin White. Do not buy. Rent.

[HoosierCat]

IMHO injuries simply aren't a valid excuse when debating this seasons coaching failure.

Well, no one is saying they are. But IMHO this:

The season was doomed in preseason, when the coming seasons core strategy was debated and then determined.

...is myopic. The "core strategy" isn't responsible for a sudden inability of the D to tackle, or Benson to hold onto the ball, or teams being unable to prevent multiple returns for TDs, blocked kicks & punts, receivers (and defenders) who drop balls that hit them in the hands, defenders who don't listen to coaches and jump offsides in critical situations and on and on and on.

Strategy is part of the reason they failed. But like injuries, it isn't the only reason.

[Trevor]

Lol i've always liked white,.. But hey man,.. You're not roy.... WWRAP UP!!!!!!!!!!!!

[jjakq27]

http://twitter.com/B...436815943499777

The Bengals today played S Chinedum Ndukwe, the team's leading tackler in the secondary, on the Reserve/Injured list. Ndukwe suffered a knee injury in Sunday's game at Pittsburgh. He has played in 12 games this season with five starts. His secondary-leading tackle total of 58 ranks fifth on the team, and he also has been credited with a sack, an interception, three passes defensed and a fumble recovery.

This makes the 15th player to season-ending IR this year.

I don't think we can judge this coaching staff on the results with all these injuries. I think they should stay fully intact until it can be proven without all of these injuries that they cant compete. If only we could stay healthy. Then we will truly be a contender. Everything else is in place.

Signed - Mike Brown

I concur Pops,

Love,

Pumpkin

[ArmyBengal]

http://twitter.com/B...436815943499777

The Bengals today played S Chinedum Ndukwe, the team's leading tackler in the secondary, on the Reserve/Injured list. Ndukwe suffered a knee injury in Sunday's game at Pittsburgh. He has played in 12 games this season with five starts. His secondary-leading tackle total of 58 ranks fifth on the team, and he also has been credited with a sack, an interception, three passes defensed and a fumble recovery.

This makes the 15th player to season-ending IR this year.

I don't think we can judge this coaching staff on the results with all these injuries. I think they should stay fully intact until it can be proven without all of these injuries that they cant compete. If only we could stay healthy. Then we will truly be a contender. Everything else is in place.

Signed - Mike Brown

I concur Pops,

Love,

Pumpkin

Love you too sweetie, now hurry along and get Troy and the others, we have to all make sure we are on the same sheet of music when it comes to the load of bullsh*t we are about to dump on our "beloved" fans **they all snicker**. We have tickets to sell !!!!

[COB]

Nelson out with the flu or something. Bad luck for a guy who absolutely needs to be healthy at all times to stay on the roster.

I like Marvin White, always like his physical style of play.

[jjakq27]

As posted elsewhere....

Bengals sign Ratliff

The Bengals on Wednesday signed cornerback Keiwan Ratliff as a free agent.

Ratliff originally was a Bengals second-round draft pick out of Florida in 2004. He played in 51 games with eight starts for the Bengals from 2004 through September of the '07 season, and he later had stints with Tampa Bay, Indianapolis and Pittsburgh. The Bengals re-signed him for the team's Wild Card playoff in January, then released him on June 18.

Ratliff, a native of Columbus, has career NFL totals of 73 games (12 starts), 139 tackles (103 solo), five interceptions and 16 passes defensed.

Most recently, Ratliff played for the Florida Tuskers of the UFL. The Tuskers finished their 2010 season with a 5-3 record and a berth in the league's championship game, which they lost to the Las Vegas Locomotives, 23-20.

http://www.bengals.c...ad-9a46cc2484a8

[HairOnFire]

I wonder who would win in a battle between our beloved Bengals and the Florida Tuskers?

[HairOnFire]

IMHO injuries simply aren't a valid excuse when debating this seasons coaching failure.

Well, no one is saying they are.

Actually, you were doing just that. Granted, you admitted the excuse only works "up to a point" but since the Bengals season was doomed long before the wave of injuries hit I don't think there's a valid reason to qualify things. Nutshelled, this seasons demise was rooted in a staggering coaching failure, not due to injuries or bad luck.

Strategy is part of the reason they failed. But like injuries, it isn't the only reason.

I've never claimed or implied there was only one reason that caused this seasons epic failure. Nor will I pretend that every factor contributed equally. Rather, I think the single biggest factor relates to switch from a run first offense to this seasons mistake prone pass first clusterfug. In short, I believe that decision alone would have resulted in this team failing to meet our expectations, and by itself would have doomed this team to non-contending status.

If you want to take things a step further you can indeed toss in everything else when attempting to explain the worst record of any team playing in the AFC and the 2nd worst in the entire NFL. But again, this team was realistically out of playoff contention by week 5, before injuries gutted it's roster. And of the three injuries you cite as being the most critical I remind you that adequate, if not superior, replacements were already on the roster when the season began. Yet it was coaching decisions that resulted in Owens being used too much and Dunlap being used too little. And those aren't the only examples of roster mismanagement I could use, are they?

[COB]

As posted elsewhere....

Bengals sign Ratliff

The Bengals on Wednesday signed cornerback Keiwan Ratliff as a free agent.

Ratliff originally was a Bengals second-round draft pick out of Florida in 2004. He played in 51 games with eight starts for the Bengals from 2004 through September of the '07 season, and he later had stints with Tampa Bay, Indianapolis and Pittsburgh. The Bengals re-signed him for the team's Wild Card playoff in January, then released him on June 18.

Ratliff, a native of Columbus, has career NFL totals of 73 games (12 starts), 139 tackles (103 solo), five interceptions and 16 passes defensed.

Most recently, Ratliff played for the Florida Tuskers of the UFL. The Tuskers finished their 2010 season with a 5-3 record and a berth in the league's championship game, which they lost to the Las Vegas Locomotives, 23-20.

http://www.bengals.c...ad-9a46cc2484a8

[COB]

Finally, for those of us who were begging for saftey help last year, the much anticipated Jeromy Miles era has begun.

Free advice for Marvin White. Do not buy. Rent.

He's probably just sleeping at the bus station.

[TJJackson]

I wonder who would win in a battle between our beloved Bengals and the Florida Tuskers?

I'll take the Bengals plus the points

[BengalPimp]

I like Marvin White, always like his physical style of play.

I do not refer to that player by his name.....I simply call him "Toast"

I can't tell you how long it would take me to even try and think of another saftey who is worse in coverage. He was bad here, and absolutely horrible with the Lions.

[BengalPimp]

Free advice for Marvin White. Do not buy. Rent.

But don't sign a lease...may I suggest an extended stay motel? One that rents by the week?

[HairOnFire]

Finally, for those of us who were begging for saftey help last year, the much anticipated Jeromy Miles era has begun.

Free advice for Marvin White. Do not buy. Rent.

He's probably just sleeping at the bus station.

I think he should sleep at the stadium instead. That sort of thing goes over real big around here.

[kingwilly]

I like Marvin White, always like his physical style of play.

I do not refer to that player by his name.....I simply call him "Toast"

I can't tell you how long it would take me to even try and think of another saftey who is worse in coverage. He was bad here, and absolutely horrible with the Lions.

It took me .075 seconds to think of one: Ifeanyi Ohalete.

Another second to think of one more: Rogers Beckett

And another to think of a third: Kim Herring

[jjakq27]

The Bengals today signed S Cary Harris to the practice squad. Harris (5-11, 187; Southern California) is a second-year NFL player. He was a Buffalo sixth-round draft choice in 2009 and played in four games with one start in '09 for the Bills, with two interceptions, two tackles and two special teams tackles. He opened 2010 training camp with the Bills and played in two regular season games (no statistics) before his release on Oct. 22. He was signed to Minnesota's practice squad on Nov. 24 and released on Nov. 30.

[HoosierCat]

TO done for the year...

/>http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/12/19/terrell-owens-season-is-over/

[TJJackson]

One loon out, one to go