Minicamp

[HoosierCat]

Per Reedy, no Moobs. Lewis will address @ presser, per Hobs.

I'll address it right now: Dumb. Ass.

(seems to be a common theme lately, unfortunately)

[COB]

I think Skin Zeppelin has his nose out of joint over his contract negotiation. It took too long, he didn't get what he wanted, he didn't get offers from other teams. He's moping, and all he can do to express his mopiness is to not show up to OTA's. His fat ass better be in shape when he shows up for camp or I'll personally hire the DI from Full Metal Jacket to "I'll PT you all until you f**king die!"

[HoosierCat]

I think Skin Zeppelin has his nose out of joint over his contract negotiation. It took too long, he didn't get what he wanted, he didn't get offers from other teams. He's moping, and all he can do to express his mopiness is to not show up to OTA's. His fat ass better be in shape when he shows up for camp or I'll personally hire the DI from Full Metal Jacket to "I'll PT you all until you f**king die!"

Yeah, I have the same suspicions. If he's going to pull a Housh then he better go all the way and show up ready to play like TJ did, too.

Per Lewis in the presser, he is not expected at all for the minicamp. It's my understanding he will get fined for missing it since it's mandatory.

ETA: per espn, missing the OTAs (which means he loses his workout bonus) and the minicamp will cost Smith $166,150 in fines and lost bonus cash.

/>http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/9366445/cincinnati-bengals-fine-andre-smith-missing-minicamp

[TJJackson]

....and the underperformance (non performance?) begins once again for the Flesh Zeppelin, right after he gets his money

Right now, the heads of 31 NFL GMs are nodding up and down, to the thought of "yep, yep, I knew it, I was right"

I am glad Marvin is fining him to the max

Get serious or get out, FZ

Seriously

[volcom69]

I dont understand whats he so pissed about, his deal? If he is so pissed then why did he sign it in the first place. Sometimes i just dont understand things anymore.

[kevnz]

Marvin didn't seem pissed about it. Maybe he has something legit going on? Dunno, it's costing him money, so if it's about not getting as much money as he wanted it seems beyond dumb.

[HoosierCat]

Day one notes:

/>http://www.bengals.com/news/article-1/Mnicamp-notes-Lewis-on-Smith-Harrison-impresses-Jones-on-the-field-/7824833c-f8d1-4134-937b-0b02f14108f7

Lewis doesn't sound particularly impressed by whatever Smith's reasons are.

[COB]

No, that's basically criticism in Marvin-speak. Smith just has something else he'd rather be doing right now. On the other hand, Harrison is obviously really impressing the coaches with the variety of things he is doing. Funny because I thought of him as pretty limited, but that's apparently not the case.

[combatbengal]

Everybody bashed me when I said it was a bad idea to resign Smith. Now look..... No show for personal reasons. How long does it take to get through personal reasons? It's been weeks. Missed OTA's and now missing mini camp. Still glad we resighned him?

[TJJackson]

Not everyone, combat

I wanted him re-signed, yes, but with little or no guaranteed money, for exactly this reason.....I wanted to make sure he'd have to actually show up and do stuff to earn his cash

Now here we are.....we're not seen him since he took his signing bonus check to the bank

ridiculous

[HoosierCat]

Camp notes from Hensley:

Quarterback Andy Dalton has really worked on getting rid of the ball quicker. He put the ball in the right spots, but he wasn't helped out by his receivers. I counted six drops in the two-hour practice: Mohamed Sanu (two), Tyler Eifert, Dane Sanzenbacher, Daniel Herron and Jermaine Gresham. Dalton's best pass of the day traveled about 50 yards in the air to -- surprise -- A.J. Green. His worst showing was getting the ball knocked down twice at the line of scrimmage when the defense had an all-out blitz.

Coach Marvin Lewis said he was going to keep Rey Maualuga at middle linebacker and that hasn't changed. Vontaze Burfict, who led the team in tackles last season, is still running at outside linebacker. It was strange to see former Steelers linebacker James Harrison wearing the striped helmet. His switch to the 4-3 defense has been a big topic in town, but he seemed comfortable in the defense and didn't hesitate in reacting to the play. Harrison did drop back into coverage more than I was expecting.

Don't rule out George Iloka from the competition for the starting strong safety spot. A fifth-round pick from a year ago, Iloka is going to get a chance to win that job. Many assumed the Bengals would either go with Taylor Mays, rookie third-round pick Shawn Williams or Jeromy Miles. Iloka stands 6-foot-4, so he brings some length to that position.

You only have to watch Tuesday's practice to see why the Bengals used a first-round pick on a tight end. Gresham wasn't on the same page with Dalton all day. They even had a talk after one play where there was an obvious miscommunication. After Gresham dropped a pass over the middle, Dalton went to Eifert on the next play and the No. 21 overall pick caught it. Eifert passes the eyeball test. He is a massive target, and the Bengals haven't even put pads on.

Some other few notes: Cornerback Adam Jones, who pleaded not guilty to an assault charge earlier in the day, fielded punts at practice. Jones, who previously injured his calf, didn't participate in team drills ... Rookie sixth-round pick Cobi Hamilton can run. He got behind the defense two times, but backup Josh Johnson overthrew him. ... Sanu made a nice catch in traffic before letting two other passes go through his hands ... Without their starting offensive tackles (Andrew Whitworth is recovering from a knee scope and Andre Smith is absent), the Bengals went with Anthony Collins at left tackle and Dennis Roland on the right side.

[HaydenM]

I dont understand whats he so pissed about, his deal? If he is so pissed then why did he sign it in the first place. Sometimes i just dont understand things anymore.

What is really difficult to understand is how ridiculous so-called "fans" can just make up s**t and assume Andre is pissed about something.

Where do you people get this s**t from?

Can't take the stupidity any more. Adios.

[HaydenM]

Everybody bashed me when I said it was a bad idea to resign Smith. Now look..... No show for personal reasons. How long does it take to get through personal reasons? It's been weeks. Missed OTA's and now missing mini camp. Still glad we resighned him?

Absolutely. As is every other intelligent Bengal fan.

You're being a gay drama queen.

[volcom69]

I dont understand whats he so pissed about, his deal? If he is so pissed then why did he sign it in the first place. Sometimes i just dont understand things anymore.

What is really difficult to understand is how ridiculous so-called "fans" can just make up s**t and assume Andre is pissed about something.

Where do you people get this s**t from?

Can't take the stupidity any more. Adios.

Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah ok bye

[combatbengal]

Everybody bashed me when I said it was a bad idea to resign Smith. Now look..... No show for personal reasons. How long does it take to get through personal reasons? It's been weeks. Missed OTA's and now missing mini camp. Still glad we resighned him?

Absolutely. As is every other intelligent Bengal fan.

You're being a gay drama queen.

I got your Drama Queen. We'll see how you feel when the season starts.

[Earendil]

Everybody bashed me when I said it was a bad idea to resign Smith. Now look..... No show for personal reasons. How long does it take to get through personal reasons? It's been weeks. Missed OTA's and now missing mini camp. Still glad we resighned him?

Absolutely. As is every other intelligent Bengal fan.

You're being a gay drama queen.

Seriously? Stop acting like you are 12 and try making a point sometime.

[Stripes]

Everybody bashed me when I said it was a bad idea to resign Smith. Now look..... No show for personal reasons. How long does it take to get through personal reasons? It's been weeks. Missed OTA's and now missing mini camp. Still glad we resighned him?

Absolutely. As is every other intelligent Bengal fan.

You're being a gay drama queen.

"Intelligent" people don't use "gay" as an insult. I can only hope the banhammer crushed your tailbone before you made your dramatic exit.

That said, I am not making assumptions about what is keeping Andre out of minicamp. Marvin's comments make it sound like it's less than a great excuse, but that doesn't mean it's relevant to his contract. Who knows.

[HoosierCat]

Gotta love it when a guy calls someone else a drama queen and declares he's done here...after 16 whole posts.

The irony is strong with this one.

[skyline]

He may be a jerk, but I agree that people are making a lot of assumptions here.

Just give it some time before blasting the guy to the moon and assuming the Bengals have thrown their money down the tubes.

[redsbengalsbucks]

skyline: the voice of reason.

[HoosierCat]

Motivational speaker and hobo-blower A. Dibles says beware of the Moobs.

[Sea Ray]

Motivational speaker and hobo-blower A. Dibles says beware of the Moobs.

I guess this writer isn't a stickler for details:

There were still hiccups along the way, too. Smith allowed two sacks against Denver’s aggressive attack in Week 9 and was routinely beaten by Philadelphia’s athletic Brandon Graham on a three-sack night in Week 16. For all the good he did, Smith also allowed more QB hurries in 2012 (25) than any other Bengals lineman

We did not play Philadelphia in the 2nd to last game last year.

I don't know what's up with Andre Smith. When he showed up to sign his contract draft weekend he looked pleased and in shape. Now he's AWOL and no one seems to know why. I think they should handle him like anyone else battling for a job. They should make him win the RT job. Let's hope Marvin agrees

I don't see why he'd get fat and out of shape as this this contract is not guaranteed and included very little bonus money

[ArmyBengal]

Is Marvin or the front office pleased ?? I'm sure they aren't. Hell, even myself, a well known supporter of Big Dre isn't happy.

I think the team's (and my own) unhappiness is different from that of the general fan.

The team wants him there to learn and while being able to acknowledge he is dealing with some things, are handling him fairly.

I see it as more of a disappointment than anything else, but know he will easily win the starting job if it even comes to a battle for the RT spot.

The general fan thinks he's fat and out of shape. They think he's gained 100 lbs. even though he was said to be in great shape when he signed the deal.

They think he's pissed about his contract and think this is his way of trying to stick it to the Bengals.

Disregard the fact there isn't a shred of information pointing to ANY bit of any of that.

The gnashing of teeth is still pointless and the rantings of some columnist with no more inside information than any of us is pointless as well.

Seriously, who beats out Smith when he comes back for camp ??

While I think Collins could fill the position, not he or anyone else on the roster is beating out Smith.

Happy or unhappy as that may make the general fan, that is what's going to happen.

[HoosierCat]

If Moobs is expressing his displeasure over not getting a

he isn't the first player to do so and won't be the last.

If OTOH there is some real personal issue, I doubt it has anything to do with weight or conditioning. More likely its something like not wanting to show up on the injury report as "Andre Smith (anal warts)" or some other embarrassing condition.

[Sea Ray]

Is Marvin or the front office pleased ?? I'm sure they aren't. Hell, even myself, a well known supporter of Big Dre isn't happy.

I think the team's (and my own) unhappiness is different from that of the general fan.

The team wants him there to learn and while being able to acknowledge he is dealing with some things, are handling him fairly.

I see it as more of a disappointment than anything else, but know he will easily win the starting job if it even comes to a battle for the RT spot.

The general fan thinks he's fat and out of shape. They think he's gained 100 lbs. even though he was said to be in great shape when he signed the deal.

They think he's pissed about his contract and think this is his way of trying to stick it to the Bengals.

Disregard the fact there isn't a shred of information pointing to ANY bit of any of that.

The gnashing of teeth is still pointless and the rantings of some columnist with no more inside information than any of us is pointless as well.

Seriously, who beats out Smith when he comes back for camp ??

While I think Collins could fill the position, not he or anyone else on the roster is beating out Smith.

Happy or unhappy as that may make the general fan, that is what's going to happen.

You're assuming when he comes back he'll be in shape and apply himself. If he does that, you're right, no one will beat him out. But if that's not the case then I want him sweating out every practice snap that he may lose his job and maybe even get cut amd miss out on his multimillion dollar payday. I put it all on him