FoxSports take on the Bengals

[jjakq27]

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/team?statsId=4

The only positions to rule out in the draft's first round are quarterback and cornerback. QB Carson Palmer showed steady improvement throughout the season, especially with his ability to move the club quickly downfield with his cannon arm. Veteran CBs Tory James and Deltha O'Neal are solid starters, and Keiwan Ratliff is a physical presence with terrific ball-hawking skills. Terrell Roberts, Greg Brooks and Reggie Myles provide good depth. A trade involving veteran backup QB Jon Kitna shouldn't be ruled out. Although Kitna offers stability with his veteran leadership, the team would welcome the chance to add a pick in the draft's top three rounds by swapping Kitna or trading down from the 17th spot. . . .

Keep an eye on OT Stacy Andrews. He's raw but loaded with talent.

He's a better pass blocker than a run blocker, which is unusual for a young lineman. He has a natural feel for pass protection because of his quick feet and outstanding strength. He'll be given every opportunity to be the top sub for LT Levi Jones and RT Willie Anderson. . . .

PK Shayne Graham's field-goal accuracy is a plus, but the depth of his kickoffs is a problem. He plans to work hard in the offseason to improve the height, depth and direction of his kickoffs. Look for the club to sign a kickoff specialist to heighten the competition in case Graham can't improve in that area.

Hard truth:The team won't end a 14-year playoff drought until the 26th-ranked run defense improves and a dominant pass rusher emerges. More beef is needed in the middle of the defensive line to stuff the run, and more consistent pressure on the quarterback must be generated off the edge. Adding a tackle and end in free agency and the draft are moves that must be made to stop drives, create turnovers and put the offense in better position to score.

Draft buzz:The No. 1 priority is upgrading the defensive line, but the club needs a hard-hitting strong safety to help get the run stopped and generate more turnovers in the secondary. Wisconsin DT Anttaj Hawthorne and Georgia SS Thomas Davis would be perfect fits with the 17th pick. Hawthorne is a tough run-stopper who can penetrate the backfield, and Davis is a physical athlete with great range. Wide receiver and center are areas that also need upgrading. Adding an explosive receiver such as Oklahoma's Mark Clayton to complement Pro Bowler Chad Johnson would give Palmer another weapon to further ignite an already potent passing game. C Rich Braham is an outstanding player, but he's slowing down at age 34 and a replacement needs to be groomed. LSU's Ben Wilkerson, Oklahoma's Vince Carter or North Carolina's Jason Brown would be welcome additions because they could play right away.

[turningpoint]

i agree pretty much, but would like to see an mentioning of traing up to get mike williams...

[skyline]

i agree pretty much, but would like to see an mentioning of traing up to get mike williams...

Not sure how we could pull that one off.

I agree with the article for the most part.

[Tiger Stripes]

suprised they didnt mention madieu... but good article anyways.

[turningpoint]

i agree pretty much, but would like to see an mentioning of traing up to get mike williams...

Not sure how we could pull that one off.

I agree with the article for the most part.

it won't unless our 2nd round pcik and like kitna are good enough to get us to 7, but i won;t see Marvin giving up the 2nd rounder.

[walshfan]

Thomas Davis doesnt have the speed Marvin is looking for at safety. Mike Williams will be gone before the team picks and marvin isnt going to give up a high draft pick to get him..Kitna to the teams ahead of us?? Who? noone thats who..

Id take Hawthorne or Marcus Spears in the first round provided they are on the board.. Spears has the total package of size, speed and pass rushing abilities. Hell another 15 lbs on the boy and he'd make a quick DT but DE is where he's effective and suited for.. Marvelous athlete imo..

second round is a no brainer imo... Chris Spencer C Ole Miss will be picked then.

He's doesnt have any of the negative intangables all the other centers may possess i.e Wilkinson's multiple injuries to back and knees, Carter size, Brown's technique and propensity to get fat and slow.. Spencer may be the hidden gem in the draft for the Bengals.. He'll be a future all-pro candidate and the O-Line will be awesome...

[DontPushMe]

C Rich Braham is an outstanding player

i like the article, except ^^^... hes not really an outstanding player, hes average/solid, never been anything more tho

[joseph]

The article was for the most part fairly precise. 1 priority is the defensive line. I think Langston Moore is a solid player. He's quick off the snap, can hold up at the point of attack, and plays with a lot of emotion. J.T. imo really just didn't get the job done though and shouldn't be starting next year. I don't know if it's due more to a lack of strength or him focusing too much on making a play on the ball, but he didn't look very strong to me at the point of attack. He also showed little burst on the snap and was very rarely capable to beat o-line off the snap. Mathis Askew had a ruff go of it his first year. He did show some potential. Appears to physically overpowering at times. Also showed weakness in his ability to keep o-line man from locking onto him, and redirecting him out of the play. I guess that's probably why they harp on him for playing too high, because it exposes too much of a target for o-linemen to lock onto. Either way though it would be pretty risky handing the starting job to him. Tony Williams is gone. It's a shame he got injured, but his play beforehand was lack luster at best. I can still picture that clip of him walking behind the play while an opposing players was like 5yds away trying to score a touchdown. That's not good... At DE Justin Smith is a good player. Still kind of a one trick pony on pass rushing. Tackles often just sit on the speed rush. He going to have to work on an inside move to get tackles to start playing him honestly if he's going to be an elite pass rusher though. Maybe a quick step to the speed rush and come back inside and under the tackle with one hell of a stiff punch move above his inside elbow or maybe work on a spin move. Plus the Bengals should give him more assingments to crash inside on some plays and give containment to OLB to better help set up his pass rush. Justin is a good player though, and is still developing with the potential to be great...elite player. Powell was a solid player and valuable backup. Clemons....I guess the best I could say about him is that he was in large part un-noticiable. In fact I really can't rember too much of anything about his season. That's not meant really in a good or bad way. He is a DE though, and that's usually a position where there's lots of oppurtunities to get noticed. Bob Geathers was definately a pleasant suprise. He showed tremendous football instincts. Seemed to be a natural pass rusher who had good feel for how to get o-linemen off balance. Needs to work on the run. Definately showed a lot of football awareness though and with dedication to getting stronger and refining technique appears to posses a high ceiling. So in all you have two good players (Moore and Smith) who should be starting. You have two young players (Geathers and Askew) who have a lot of potential, but probably aren't ready to be counted on to be fulltime starters. One or both though with a solid offseason could come into training camp next year and win a starting job even if the Bengals were to draft or sign a DL at their respective spots. Then you have a group of solid players who are valuable backups.

[BengalszoneBilly]

Hard truth:The team won't end a 14-year playoff drought until the 26th-ranked run defense improves and a dominant pass rusher emerges. More beef is needed in the middle of the defensive line to stuff the run, and more consistent pressure on the quarterback must be generated off the edge. Adding a tackle and end in free agency and the draft are moves that must be made to stop drives, create turnovers and put the offense in better position to score.

IMHO, from this undeniably true line, how can we NOT draft defensive line first and foremost is beyond me! Anyone who thinks otherwise must be okay with not making the playoffs...again...and again...and again! Well I'm not.

turningpoint Posted on Jan 31 2005, 10:19 AM

  i agree pretty much, but would like to see an mentioning of trading up to get mike williams...

I like the first part of this idea. I would prefer the object of it would be a big, solid DT. Until the defense improves against the run, we ain't goin' anywhere. Nothing is more frustrating than having a killer offense that can't get their hands on the freakin' ball!!

C'mon Marv! You're an acknowleged defensive mind! Draft like it for once!

[TubThumper]

The article was for the most part fairly precise. 1 priority is the defensive line. I think Langston Moore is a solid player. He's quick off the snap, can hold up at the point of attack, and plays with a lot of emotion. J.T. imo really just didn't get the job done though and shouldn't be starting next year. I don't know if it's due more to a lack of strength or him focusing too much on making a play on the ball, but he didn't look very strong to me at the point of attack. He also showed little burst on the snap and was very rarely capable to beat o-line off the snap. Mathis Askew had a ruff go of it his first year. He did show some potential. Appears to physically overpowering at times. Also showed weakness in his ability to keep o-line man from locking onto him, and redirecting him out of the play. I guess that's probably why they harp on him for playing too high, because it exposes too much of a target for o-linemen to lock onto. Either way though it would be pretty risky handing the starting job to him. Tony Williams is gone. It's a shame he got injured, but his play beforehand was lack luster at best. I can still picture that clip of him walking behind the play while an opposing players was like 5yds away trying to score a touchdown. That's not good... At DE Justin Smith is a good player. Still kind of a one trick pony on pass rushing. Tackles often just sit on the speed rush. He going to have to work on an inside move to get tackles to start playing him honestly if he's going to be an elite pass rusher though. Maybe a quick step to the speed rush and come back inside and under the tackle with one hell of a stiff punch move above his inside elbow or maybe work on a spin move. Plus the Bengals should give him more assingments to crash inside on some plays and give containment to OLB to better help set up his pass rush. Justin is a good player though, and is still developing with the potential to be great...elite player. Powell was a solid player and valuable backup. Clemons....I guess the best I could say about him is that he was in large part un-noticiable. In fact I really can't rember too much of anything about his season. That's not meant really in a good or bad way. He is a DE though, and that's usually a position where there's lots of oppurtunities to get noticed. Bob Geathers was definately a pleasant suprise. He showed tremendous football instincts. Seemed to be a natural pass rusher who had good feel for how to get o-linemen off balance. Needs to work on the run. Definately showed a lot of football awareness though and with dedication to getting stronger and refining technique appears to posses a high ceiling. So in all you have two good players (Moore and Smith) who should be starting. You have two young players (Geathers and Askew) who have a lot of potential, but probably aren't ready to be counted on to be fulltime starters. One or both though with a solid offseason could come into training camp next year and win a starting job even if the Bengals were to draft or sign a DL at their respective spots. Then you have a group of solid players who are valuable backups.

I agree with just about all of this. Moore's made a good case for himself - I'd like to see what happens next pre-season. It's a little past time for Smith to develop more technique to go with his physical ability and emotion, but he is a good player. I don't want to see him crashing inside more though. The Bengals have had perpetual problems with losing contain, and I've seen that happen with Smith heading inside with nobody holding things down outside a few times this season.