Bengals tidbits

[BB73]

I would appreciate it if you would make this letter available to Jeremy Schapp, as I have always respected his work and his ethics, and strongly believe he would have appreciated knowing the other side before participating in the segment.

Although Leonard Levine (Rucker's attorney) has "always respected" the work and ethics of Jeremy Schaap, he was unable to spell his name correctly when referencing him twice in the letter.

[sandgk]

Well methomps, spelling errors aside, I for one applaud Rucker's attorney for taking ESPN to task. Whatever one thinks of Frostee's character, the approach taken in putting that segment together is something which we are (sadly) all too familiar with. Selective packaging of innuendo, rumor, coupled with twisting of statements and one-side fits all "reporting" is what passes for journalism at ESPN.
When ESPN tells us the scores or runs a game they are in their element. When they attempt to don the mantle of "Sports Journalist" it is all too often the case that they end up out of their depth, looking throughly unprofessional and frequently unfair.

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

8/13/06

BENGALS
Wright ready to step in, start mixing it up
Backup gets start with Palmer out

Sunday, August 13, 2006

Bill Rabinowitz
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

<!--PHOTOS--><TABLE class=phototableright align=right border=0><!-- begin large ad code --><TBODY><TR><TD><TABLE align=center><TBODY><TR><TD align=middle></IMG> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>


GEORGETOWN, Ky. — Anthony Wright isn’t the quarterback Cincinnati Bengals fans crave to see tonight in the preseason opener in Paul Brown Stadium against the Washington Redskins.
They want Carson Palmer. But that won’t happen. Palmer and his surgically reconstructed left knee won’t play until at least the Bengals’ next home preseason game, Aug. 28.
Though tonight’s game loses the marquee value it would have had with Palmer, Wright’s performance isn’t just window dressing.
Wright could well be Cincinnati’s starter for the season opener at Kansas City. The Bengals remain optimistic that Palmer will be ready by then, but at this point it’s just conjecture. Even Palmer says as much.
"I felt I was going to play Sept. 10 on Jan. 10," Palmer said Friday after the final training-camp practice. "I’m going to keep that goal in mind. I expect to play. Whether it happens or not is still up in the air."
Wright needs to establish himself as a viable backup, starting tonight.
"I’m just happy to have shown them that I could start," Wright said. "I need to go out there and play well and start forming a chemistry with those guys."
Wright has been a starter before with Dallas and Baltimore. In neither place did he have the supporting cast he does in Cincinnati.
"There are some good weapons, guys who are explosive and can make things happen," Wright said. "I was just talking with Carson earlier that with the guys we have, it’s a lot easier to go 80 yards than it is with a lot of other teams. We can go 80 in five plays. Some places it might take 12."
Right tackle Willie Anderson said it’s important for Wright to play within himself and not try to prove too much.
"He’s a leader," Anderson said. "Guys immediately were attracted to him because you could tell his spirit and competitiveness."
Coach Marvin Lewis indicated that Wright and the starters would play most or all of the first quarter. Doug Johnson will quarterback the second team, and undrafted rookie Erik Meyer will play after that.
Lewis said he wants crisp play with no turnovers or careless penalties.
"There’s going to be a jittery giddiness to us because we haven’t played guys with different-colored helmets on yet," he said. "Hopefully, our young guys will be able to handle that stepped-up intensity."
This will be the first game in Paul Brown Stadium since the playoff loss to Pittsburgh. Palmer’s injury and the off-field misadventures by several players have clouded the optimism the 2005 team generated. The Bengals are eager to rekindle that excitement.
NBC will televise the game, and recent Hall of Fame inductee John Madden was at practice Friday.
Palmer said Madden told him the Bengals-Denver Broncos Monday Night Football game he worked in Cincinnati in 2004 was as electric a crowd as he’d ever seen.
"I said, ‘Get ready, it’s going to be the same atmosphere,’ " Palmer said. "It’s going to feel like a playoff game ... that’s just the way Bengals fans are."
brabinowitz@dispatch.com

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Cincy

8/13/06

Lights, cameras, Bengals
Analysis: Team takes field with future in solid shape

ANALYSIS BY MARK CURNUTTE | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

<!--ARTICLE BODY TEXT-->Mercifully for the Bengals, they finally will play a football game tonight.
Even a preseason game should create enough news and interest to help further distance the organization from its series of offseason, off-the-field problems.
If Bengals fans are upset that four players were arrested since June, they aren't showing anger the way it matters most - with their wallets. The game at Paul Brown Stadium against the Redskins is a sellout, a rarity in the preseason. Cincinnati is a franchise that went 11 years without selling out all of its regular-season games until 2004.
There's no question the off-field problems already have affected the Bengals. Middle linebacker Odell Thurman will miss the first four games, and maybe more, because of a league substance-abuse suspension. No. 3 wide receiver Chris Henry - who almost single-handedly has made the Bengals the NFL's Bad Boys with four arrests from December through June - could miss time if convicted in court or suspended by the NFL.
The unfortunate ripple of the player arrests is how they distract from what the organization has accomplished and how it has changed.
The Bengals are drafting well and, like AFC North division competitors, smartly signing their home-grown players to long-term contracts that keep them in Cincinnati through their primes.
The Bengals have made some sharp trades. They're no longer wasting money chasing and hoping for quick-fix free agents. And once known in coaching circles for paying their head coaches, coordinators and assistant coaches poorly, the Bengals have become a coaching destination and one of the most stable staffs in the NFL.
PLAYERS
On July 26, the Bengals announced they had signed left tackle Levi Jones - the club's first-round draft pick in 2002 - to a contract extension that keeps him in Cincinnati through 2012.
Since March 2005, when the Bengals re-signed tailback Rudi Johnson and wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh, the Bengals have signed seven starters on what was the league's fourth-ranked offense in 2005.
Besides Jones, Johnson and Houshmandzadeh, the Bengals have signed wide receiver Chad Johnson, fullback Jeremi Johnson, quarterback Carson Palmer and right guard Bobbie Williams to deals that keep them with the team through at least 2008.
Of course, the Bengals still face a challenging situation regarding 11th-year right tackle Willie Anderson and fourth-year left guard Eric Steinbach, whose contracts will expire after the 2006 season. But unlike Bengals days of old (the 1990s), the Bengals - as the Steelers do masterfully - are grooming young potential replacements in the likes of Stacy Andrews and Andrew Whitworth. There is a plan in place.
The Bengals clearly have three years remaining in the current talent-pool window to make a serious run at a Super Bowl title.
On defense, Pro Bowl cornerback Deltha O'Neal is signed through 2007. Recent defensive draft picks such as David Pollack, Thurman, Johnathan Joseph, Frostee Rucker and Domata Peko are signed for several seasons.
Of course, the Bengals also are looking at major contributors on defense who will need new deals to stay, such as end Justin Smith (2006 is his last season) and secondary players Keiwan Ratliff and Madieu Williams (2007). Starting linebacker Landon Johnson can be a restricted free agent after this coming season.
COACHES
Also in the offseason, the Bengals gave head coach Marvin Lewis another raise and extended his contract through 2010.
Lewis' entire staff returns unchanged from 2005 and is under contract through 2007.
Some position coaches, such as quarterbacks coach Ken Zampese and defensive backs coach Kevin Coyle, are NFL coordinators-in-waiting, but competitive salaries are making them and others more likely to stay with Lewis.
TRADES, FREE AGENTS
Nowadays, free agents are complementary pieces, not fixes. Gone are the days when the Bengals threw big money at defensive linemen such as Tom Barndt and Vaughn Booker.
Sam Adams is a proven veteran, who was a Pro Bowl alternate last season with the Bills.
Strong safety Dexter Jackson is a former Super Bowl MVP and part of an excellent defense in Tampa Bay. He just turned 29.
And though trades are rare in the NFL, the Bengals pulled off a pair of outstanding ones in recent years. Before the 2004 draft, they traded malcontent tailback Corey Dillon to New England for a second-round pick that become Madieu Williams - pound for pound the best player on the Bengals' defense. In April 2004, the Bengals traded down with Denver and received O'Neal and another fourth-round pick in exchange. O'Neal has 14 interceptions in 27 games.
SUMMARY
The Bengals stand at the edge of the 2006 season, and if Palmer were coming off his breakout season healthy, the Bengals would be the trendy pick to represent the AFC in Miami in February.
As it is, some national writers and broadcasters still see the Bengals as a sleeper to go to the Super Bowl.
E-mail mcurnutte@enquirer.com
<!-- BEGIN: Article Tools -->

[sandgk]

Well - at half-time, which is double my official cut-off for relevancy in the 1st pre-season game, the following has transpired.

A - Portis down out of the game early. Hopefully, that is just a precautionary measure. Without Portis the 'Skins look significantly less dynamic with 1's vs 1's.
B - Ball hawking by the Bengal D early spoiling the 1st sharp looking Skins drive. Portis was hurt on the return.
C - Bengals looked pathetic on first drive and damned ineffectual despite the good field position after the INT.
D - Against all odds the Bengals have scored a TD, a safety, a field goal and an extra point before half-time, one more way to score and I'll have the Perfecta at Riverdowns.
E - In the 2nd quarter (officially garbage time in your 1st pre-season bout) the 'Skins net a field goal.

The absence of Palmer is clearly evident. He was interviewed to get feedback on his likely return date. Talks of wanting to feel confident of being able to take a couple of low hits.