Bengals tidbits

[sandgk]

Originally Posted by Padraig

...a report on Joey Harrington, but I was more interested in the indirect info on Carson Palmer than anything...

From FFMastermind.com
A source "close to QB Joey Harrington" told the Miami Herald that Harrington prefers an offer of a two year deal from Miami to a one year deal from the Bengals. "He just seemed a little more comfortable with the situation in Miami...both teams have starters recovering from knee injuries (but) The feeling is that (Culpepper's) injury is more serious, and Culpepper being new, that could give Harrington more of a chance to play."


Not exactly medical "insider" info on the status of Palmer's recovery, but I'll take anything at this point to help confirm reports that he's expected to be ready for the season.

Interesting contrast with this on Scout

ALLEN PARK - Joey Harrington starting at Ford Field on Thanksgiving Day would not be an unusual development except this time, he could be wearing the opponents uniform.
Sources close to Harrington's agent David Dunn say that the two sides have reached agreement in principle on a compensation package that have Harrington sign a two-year deal with Miami.
However, Miami has not offered what the Lions are looking for in terms of compensation for the former third overall pick in the draft. The Dolphins do not have either a 5th or a 6th round pick and are balking at sending Detroit anything higher and is trying to convince Detroit to take two 7th round picks.
Detroit, for its part, wants a first day draft pick as compensation, but Harrington, who can refuse to renegotiate his contract if he doesn't get the team of his preference, likes Miami (who wouldn't) over Cincinnati, who is also offering a two-year deal.
Cincinnati, though is believed to be dangling a 5th-round pick to Detroit in exchange for Harrington. Harrington believes that his chances of seeing the field are better in Miami under Saban and behind severely injured quarterback Daunte Culpepper (knee) than they are in Cincinnati behind another Dunn client, Carson Palmer. Detroit says they are in no hurry to get a deal done but the reality of the situation is they'd love to have whatever picks they can get for Harrington and him out of town by draft day on April 29th.

So in this version the breaking point is not the lack of a 2-year deal from Cincy (they are offering one), it is simply Harrington's preference to get a better shot at seeing the field early.

Or to put it another way, Harrington has yet to resign himself to the back-up role his talents would presently command in Cincinnati, and will surely command in Miami once Culpepper regains full health.

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Cincy

4/4/06

Martin back in Bengals' picture

Rams QB an alternative if Harrington winds up with the Dolphins

BY MARK CURNUTTE | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

<!--ARTICLE BODY TEXT-->The Bengals talked again Monday with the agent for Jamie Martin, and the former Rams' backup/part-time starter could be the fourth quarterback the Bengals take to training camp.

If a deal could be reached, Martin would join Craig Krenzel and Doug Johnson in the battle for two roster spots behind Carson Palmer.

With the Dolphins favored to engineer a trade with the Lions and sign Joey Harrington, the Bengals again are turning toward Martin.

If Harrington is gone, we'll move forward with it," said Tom Mills, Martin's agent. "The contract would still need to be negotiated, and there are some material issues. Jamie would just as well not play as play for the minimum."

Palmer's rehab from reconstructive surgery to his left knee is going well, but questions remain whether he can be ready for the first month of the season.

The Bengals are in a tough spot. They have more than $30 million invested in Palmer this year alone, and they are trying to sign a fourth quarterback who possibly could be the opening-day starter.

On Monday, the first day of the team's offseason strength and conditioning program, Johnson and Krenzel both said their goal was to be the starter in September if Palmer is unable to play.

If the Bengals sign Martin, any two of the three besides Palmer could be on the 53-man roster to start the season.

Johnson, who arrived Sunday night, previously had spent three days in Cincinnati with quarterbacks coach Ken Zampese.

"Kind of got my feet wet a little," Johnson said. "I'm trying to settle in and be ready for training camp and be where we need to be."

Krenzel started five games as a rookie with the Bears in 2004.

"That's my goal," he said, when asked if he could be the first-game starter. "I want to be prepared and be good enough to do that."

[Padraig]

Bengals re-sign OG Scott Kooistra to a 1 year contract according to AP reports.

[buckeyefool]

Originally Posted by Padraig

Bengals re-sign OG Scott Kooistra to a 1 year contract according to AP reports.

I'm assuming with the signing of Adams, once they get a qb that will be the end of their FA moves and they will focus on the draft and also re-signing all of the OL.

[buckeyefool]

Lewis, fans sell Adams By GEOFF HOBSON
April 4, 2006

Posted: 12:45 p.m.
<TABLE width=225 align=right bgColor=#f54b1e><TBODY><TR><TD><TABLE width=35 align=left><TBODY><TR><TD></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>VIDEO (4/4/06):
Adams press conference.
>>>Play video </TD></TR><TR><TD> </TD></TR><TR><TD><TABLE width=35 align=left><TBODY><TR><TD></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>VIDEO (4/4/06):
Adams up close.
>>>Play video </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Sam Adams, the newest Bengal, is a rising, young entrepreneur who owns two health clubs and an Arena2 football team in Seattle. It won’t be very long before he owns Cincinnati, too.

After going around the room at Paul Brown Stadium and introducing himself individually to each of the media members Tuesday, Adams revealed he’s now a hard core member of Bengaldom and the community is a major reason he wanted to play here.

“The fans are awesome. They're great on the web site, yes I do read the message board,” said Adams, help convinced of the town’s commitment by former teammate Jon Kitna. “The fans love the Bengals. The town’s on fire about the Bengals, even when they weren’t winning a lot of games. To have an opportunity to be part of a special situation like that is something I look forward to doing.”

The 6-4, 340-pound Adams showed up with his immense defensive tackle presence of three Pro Bowls, two Super Bowl appearances, and countless of double-teams. He didn’t have his Ravens’ Super Bowl ring because, “I’m going to get one here.”

Adams, 32, made it clear he is here because of “the community, some players on the team and Marvin (Lewis).” He has been drinking the Marv-ade for years. After all, it was with Lewis whom Adams won that Super Bowl five years ago.

Here are a few snippets of Sam Un-plugged from his introductory news conference, as well as his first appearance on Bengals.com on video.

On Lewis: “Any time I had issues wherever, I called Marvin. Because I trust him. Whenever you join that fraternity together with someone, there’s a bond. When you win a championship, you go through a lot of things. The great teams focus, the poor teams fold. You have to have some special characteristics and Marvin has that.

“You have to drink the Kool-Aid. That’s why I’m here. He told me he wanted me here for the off-season workouts. We’re a family together, we’re going to work together, and we’re going to win a championship together. He speaks the truth. He’s a winner. He’s going to be up front with you. If you don’t do that, he’s going to hold you accountable. In a lot of places, you don’t get that.”

On defense: Talk about defense, you have to be very nasty. You have to be able to punish someone and physically make them quit in order to be a great defensive player. . . We can do illegal things out there on the football field. You want to be nasty and dominant. That’s what we’re looking to do here. We want to be a dominant defense. We want you to understand when you come here to play Cincinnati, or have us on the schedule, it’s going to be a long day, so you better bring your lunch pail and hard hat and we’ll get after it.”

On the fans: The last two times I’ve been here (in ’04 and ’05 with the Bills), the fans have been tremendous with the team. The city is beautiful. A guy I spent time with and like wholeheartedly, Jon Kitna, when you have a guy like that who (loves) the city and the support you get from the community, it’s awesome here.
“My goal is not to get back to the Pro Bowl. I want to be the best player I can possibly be and bring that championship and go on that wonderful parade in downtown Cincinnati. It’s my dream. We're going to work to get it.”<SCRIPT> <!-- var FiltersEnabled = 1 // if your not going to use transitions or filters in any of the tips set this to 0 applyCssFilter() var link_text=[]; //--> </SCRIPT>

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Cincy

4/5/06

Adams ready to 'create havoc'

DT gives Bengals needed run-stopper

BY MARK CURNUTTE | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER
<!--ARTICLE BODY TEXT-->The eighth overall selection in the NFL draft in 1994, Sam Adams still needed a couple of years to learn how to play defensive tackle in the pros.
"I wanted to make plays," the newest Bengal said Tuesday. "My job is to create havoc and tear up anything and everything in my path to the football."
Adams, a 12-year veteran and three-time Pro Bowl player, is one of the league's consummate defensive tackles. He's a run-stuffing specialist, something the Bengals have sorely needed for some time.
Adams signed a three-year contract worth an estimated $7.5 million on Monday afternoon and went right to work to make good on his goal.
"I'm here to win a championship," Adams said.
Adams wanted to play again for Bengals coach Marvin Lewis and defensive coordinator Chuck Bresnahan, both of whom he played for in the past in Baltimore and Oakland.
"They don't need me," Adams said of the Bengals. "I'm another bullet in Marvin's gun."
Adams will anchor a defensive tackle rotation that includes John Thornton, Bryan Robinson and Shaun Smith. Adams, tipping the scale somewhere in the neighborhood of 340 pounds, is the biggest and has the best résumé at clogging the middle.
The Bengals were 20th against the run in 2005.
"First and foremost, as a defensive tackle, I'm here to stop the run," Adams said. "You have to earn your right to rush the passer."
Mild-mannered and well spoken off the field, Adams undergoes a transformation in uniform. He was a Pro Bowl alternate in 2005 for the Buffalo Bills, who released him.
"You have to be willing to punish somebody and make them want to quit," he said. "You want to be nasty and dominating. We want you to understand when you have Cincinnati on your schedule (that) you better bring your lunch pail and understand it's going to be a long day."
Adams said he still has enough "gas in the tank" to be effective. "My health is pretty good," he said.
He had an easy exchange with reporters at a news conference Tuesday morning.
"A defensive tackle has to occupy two blockers by penetrating," he said in reference to a question about how his presence would help Bengals middle linebacker Odell Thurman. "He's going to make my job easier. I'm going to make his job easier.
"Every man has to do his job."
Wide receiver Chad Johnson, a three-time Pro Bowl player, called Adams the type of free agent the Bengals could not attract six or seven years ago.
"It shows how much we've come around," Johnson said.
Adams' signing, coupled with the signing of safety Dexter Jackson and the return of free safety Madieu Williams, should help the defense. Linebacker David Pollack, the Bengals' first-round pick in 2005, also should have a full training camp after missing it last year because of a contract holdout.
Adams and the Bills played in Cincinnati and defeated the Bengals in each of the previous two seasons. But he came away impressed with the crowd at Paul Brown Stadium.
"The fans have been tremendous for their team," he said. "The city is beautiful."
Adams relied on the recommendation of former Seahawks teammate Jon Kitna and offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski.
"The support you get ... the community is awesome," Adams said. "They said it is a young, exciting team. I want to be with Marvin."
Adams talked with the Bengals as a free agent in 2002 and 2003.
"I did want to come here a couple of years ago," he said. "But the numbers weren't right, and we decided to go our separate ways."
In 2006, after his release by the Bills, Adams had a message for agent Angelo Wright: "Just get it close enough. Just get me close enough that I won't look like a complete idiot. I needed to get here."
His desire to be a Bengal is matched only by the Bengals' need for a player with his skills.
E-mail mcurnutte@enquirer.com
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Adams speaks out<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=6 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=storytext bgColor=#eeeeee>Sam Adams had a lot to say Tuesday when he met with the Cincinnati media for the first time after signing a three-year contract with the Bengals:

On his durability, having played 12 seasons in the NFL: "I had (energy) last year. (The Bills) didn't want me to use it."

On Bengals coach Marvin Lewis: "I've always stayed in touch with him. I trust him. I trust Marvin. You have to drink the Kool-Aid. He told me he wanted me here. He's a winner. He speaks the truth. If you don't do that, he will hold you accountable."

On a defense's goal: "If you can take one thing (the run or pass) away from an offense, you give yourself a lot better chance to win. It's all about doing all the little things right."

On Lewis and defensive coordinator Chuck Bresnahan: "Those guys are masterminds. They are great at adapting (to an offense). They are chameleons, able to adapt to their surroundings."
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