Positive Talk and Moving Forward...where to go next?

[HoosierCat]

Hard to see where Boling fits at center with Cook, Robinson and that kid on the PS already in the mix. IMO Clint ends up where he ought to be, backup guard.

At LT don't forget Hawkinson. By all accounts they are high on him.

[HoosierCat]

Hobs takes a look at the injury situation.

/>http://www.bengals.com/news/article-1/Pains-and-gains-as-Bengals-monitor-comebacks/67bf37cf-9193-44cd-9e34-136e35bf5c4b

Bottom line, everyone but Hall and Atkins should be back in time for camp. Whether Geno and Leon are ready in September or end up on PUP remains to be seen.

Between Atkins' injury, Peko getting up there and Devon Still looking bust-ish, DT may be higher on the draft priority list than anyone would have believed five months ago.

[kingwilly]

Hard to see where Boling fits at center with Cook, Robinson and that kid on the PS already in the mix. IMO Clint ends up where he ought to be, backup guard.

At LT don't forget Hawkinson. By all accounts they are high on him.

If you had to choose, Collins or MJ, I'd rather have Collins. There is far more depth ready to absorb his loss.

LT is maybe the second most critical position on offense, I don't see the logic of letting what's proven to be an excellent player walk, and be replaced by a wholly raw and unproven guy. Not worth the risk.

A rookie DE is far less likely to get someone killed.

Quick extra about Alexander. I am incensed that they've stashed Collins, unable to figure out how to put the best possible combo out there earlier. All these LGs...

[HoosierCat]

LT is maybe the second most critical position on offense, I don't see the logic of letting what's proven to be an excellent player walk, and be replaced by a wholly raw and unproven guy.

Neither do I, but you DO know what team we follow, right? "Logic" has never been one of their strong points.

[kingwilly]

Hobs takes a look at the injury situation.

/>http://www.bengals.com/news/article-1/Pains-and-gains-as-Bengals-monitor-comebacks/67bf37cf-9193-44cd-9e34-136e35bf5c4b

Bottom line, everyone but Hall and Atkins should be back in time for camp. Whether Geno and Leon are ready in September or end up on PUP remains to be seen.

Between Atkins' injury, Peko getting up there and Devon Still looking bust-ish, DT may be higher on the draft priority list than anyone would have believed five months ago.

I don't see Still being a bust, but his injuries have been troubling. DT still will be a need. Funny, was thinking about Frostee, and that Gilberry is what they wanted Frostee to become. Glad he's here.

Any good FA DTs gonna be available?

[kingwilly]

LT is maybe the second most critical position on offense, I don't see the logic of letting what's proven to be an excellent player walk, and be replaced by a wholly raw and unproven guy.

Neither do I, but you DO know what team we follow, right? "Logic" has never been one of their strong points.

Of course I agree. Yep.

However, if Hue is OC, I'm guessing his vocal style will make some overall changes. I can't imagine a scenario where Hue let's Collins out the door.

[skyline]

LT is maybe the second most critical position on offense, I don't see the logic of letting what's proven to be an excellent player walk, and be replaced by a wholly raw and unproven guy.

Neither do I, but you DO know what team we follow, right? "Logic" has never been one of their strong points.

Of course I agree. Yep.

However, if Hue is OC, I'm guessing his vocal style will make some overall changes. I can't imagine a scenario where Hue let's Collins out the door.

Seriously guys?

After the past 3 years, you don't see this team as logical? I guess we've been watching different teams. The Bengals have been on a clear path for 3 years now and it's been fun to watch.

[ShulaSteakhouse]

I don't see them moving on from cook. When Alexandee and Marvin love a guy they don't move on from them much. We thought Livings was awful, and they just kept playing him, so not sure what there plan is.

Cook has another year left on his over-priced contract right? That's why he stays - front office.

[HoosierCat]

Two years.

[Sea Ray]

I don't see them moving on from cook. When Alexandee and Marvin love a guy they don't move on from them much. We thought Livings was awful, and they just kept playing him, so not sure what there plan is.

Cook has another year left on his over-priced contract right? That's why he stays - front office.

All the more reason to cut him: save that money

[princeton]

Hard to see where Boling fits at center with Cook, Robinson and that kid on the PS already in the mix. IMO Clint ends up where he ought to be, backup guard.

At LT don't forget Hawkinson. By all accounts they are high on him.

If you had to choose, Collins or MJ, I'd rather have Collins. There is far more depth ready to absorb his loss.

LT is maybe the second most critical position on offense, I don't see the logic of letting what's proven to be an excellent player walk, and be replaced by a wholly raw and unproven guy. Not worth the risk.

A rookie DE is far less likely to get someone killed.

Quick extra about Alexander. I am incensed that they've stashed Collins, unable to figure out how to put the best possible combo out there earlier. All these LGs...

I'm sure that the Bengals will sign Collins and forego drafting a replacement, mostly because they can't count on a top LT falling to them.

But in spite of Hobson's mancrush on Collins, what I see is a guy that got benched in the second half against Ravens, and then failed to show up the next week-- for a playoff game. I think he's a headcase and that this premium position is simply not solved. Hope I'm wrong.

[kingwilly]

I won't beat up Collins for the less than his best performance v SD. The whole offense suck goat balls.

I don't recall exactly why he was benched v Ravens, I thought he got injured. Maybe not.

If that's all you see, then you've ignored how blanked Peppers, Mathis, Allen and several other top DEs. Barely allowed any hurries. That's downright elite in my book.

What if he gets full, first team snaps beginning in OTAs? Gotta think his play will solidify fully.

I think it would be a major and possibly fatal error to let Collins walk, and bring in a Rookie or Hawkinson to start. To me, Whit's move to LG is permanent.

[jjakq27]

I think AC might have rolled an ankle in Baltimore.

I hope they're able to keep him. They're paying Whit tackle money. Doubt they would pay AC that kind of money and/or ask Whit to move over to guard and take a cut. However hiring Hue could be something that might help keep AC here and make Whit more willing to move inside.

[HoosierCat]

Re money, no one on the oline is making top dollar. Whit will make $5.2 million in 2014, Moobs $4.2 million. To put that in perspective, those two amounts together still don't add up to the $9.8 million franchise tag for offensive line. In FA Collins will be lucky to get an offer as good as Andre got. If they want him back I am very confident they can match any offer.

[jjakq27]

I think Collins had a really good year if you consider who he shut out during the year. I don't really remember any talk of him being benched vs Baltimore but I may have missed that discussion.

Based on the performance in SD and our new OC, I would hope they would explore that model going forward. As for Cook, he has stabilized the position (BTW what was our old center's name?) but I think the line played better last year when Robinson was in there when Cook was injured. Dave Lapham thought that Mike Pollak could be one that slides inside and plays center too. So I think that position is an open competition.

As for Whit, I could see MB saying that he signed a deal and is being paid tackle money even though deal was done several years ago when the going rate was much lower. Hopefully both sides will agree that moving Whit to guard is an upgrade and would extend his career.

[jjakq27]

Hopefully Hue will help Andy remain calm and confident when things aren't going well and keep him off of tilt. And AJ has gotten a free pass in all this but he needs to keep his head in the game at times (see first Browns game) and be more physical (see pick vs Minn.).

http://www.nfl.com/n...iii-andy-dalton

"However, when it comes to coaching, he is tough, demanding and relentless in his pursuit of excellence, and this is especially true when it comes to the man playing the most important position on the field."

http://www.bengals.c...c6-5f128ae78039

From TJ Housh.:

"I saw how he worked with Carson and I think he's really going to help Andy," said Houshmandzadeh. "Andy Dalton will get better. He'll have no choice. Andy is a good quarterback. Hue will sit down with him a lot. They'll meet a lot. They'll be joined at the hip. Hue will ask him what he likes and what he doesn't like and start from there.

"I don't know how it was with Jay Gruden, but Andy will be able to go to him about the game plan and say, 'I'm not comfortable with this.' And Hue will say, 'What do you want? What do you want in the first 10 plays? What's your favorite short-yardage play? What's your favorite third-and-six play?'"

"Knowing Hue, he'll challenge A.J. Green to get better. And I think A.J. is the second-best receiver in football. He's unbelievable," Houshmandzadeh said. "He'll challenge A.J. Green to work on what he didn't do well this year. Whatever that may be. A.J. Green will get better. He's going to make A.J. Green practice harder."