It was announced on April 6 of this year, that the NFL Commissioner, in conjunction with the NFL Players association established the first NFL Player Advisory Council. The six members of the council, selected by the NFLPA, are Donovin Darius (Jacksonville Jaguars safety), Tony Richardson (Minnesota Vikings fullback), Jeff Saturday (Indianapolis Colts center), Takeo Spikes (Philadelphia Eagles linebacker), James Thrash (Washington Redskins wide receiver) and Troy Vincent.

The council will address competition on the field, player safety, medical issues, conduct issues, retired players among other things. One thing the council did was bring back team captains to help establish leadership roles. The Bengals named Carson Palmer (offense) and John Thornton (defense) as team captains.

In roster moves

To met the 75-player deadline, the Bengals waived Stan White (fullback) and Tony Kays (wide receiver) and placed Adam Kieft, David Pollack and Jimmy Verdon on injured reserve.

This is the third time Kieft has found the season-ending injury reserve. In 2005, his rookie season, Kieft tore ligaments in his left knee during the training camp mock game. He was never cleared in 2006 and spent the entire season rehabbing. This year, it's believed that he "re-broke a stress fracture in his left foot" against New Orleans. This man is the epitome of bad karma.

Other stuff

Hobson makes five observations; health at cornerback, the recovering offensive tackles, a good core of defensive tackles, competition at linebacker is tough and picking up guys off waivers.

Mark Curnutte has "Seven Points for Success." No, it's not a Bruce A. Berman infomercial.