Cincinnati Bengals Links and Notes: Monday 8/24

This was a pretty uneventful weekend for the Bengals. Marlon Lucky and David Richmond were waived. Carson Palmer continues to rehabilitate his sprained left ankle, missing practice on Saturday and doing some light tossing on a side field on Sunday. Marvin Lewis said that if it was the regular season, Carson would have played last Thursday against the Patriots.

• This morning, ESPN insider noted that the rival Baltimore Ravens could employ the 4-3 more frequently this year due to the departure of Bart Scott. Haloi Ngata and Kelly Gregg side-by-side will occupy at least all 3 interior linemen, leaving the OTs, TE and/or HB to deal with a combination of Trevor Pryce, Terrel Suggs, and whatever linebacker(s) happen to be blitzing on that particular down. Watch for Paul Alexander headaches.
  

Other Bengals news from around the net this weekend:

• As we've all heard by now, Alvin Keels was in Cincinnati all weekend and nothing good happened. The Enquirer's Joe Reedy was the first to report that no progress was made after a 4 hour meeting on Sunday. Keels later tweeted on the topic, as noted by Kirkendall last night. I don't know if this situation could get any more frustrating for Bengals fans. There are just so many people to blame!
• Meanwhile, Anthony Collins has been admirable filling in for Smith, unproven rookie, and the local media has taken notice. Sam Blackburn for the Zanesville Times Reporter thinks Collins is doing an adequate job protecting Palmer. Carson is currently out with a sprained ankle. Is Collins the answer?
• Our buddy John Thornton tweeted that Jeremi Johnson is "super talented but let his weight slip. Will Bengals keep him?" Good question John. We're carrying 3 serviceable fullbacks. Who should make the team?
  
• Spinmaster Geoff Hobson optimistically writes that the success of the Bengals defense this year rests on the shoulders of now-veteran cornerbacks Johnathan Joseph and Leon Hall. Paraphrasing Hobson, who paraphrased Mike Zimmer: Domata Peko is awesome, Rey Maualuga performed well when called upon to Blitz, and Chris Crocker and Roy Williams are good influences on the secondary. The defense will be playing with a chip on its collective shoulder this year, hopefully resulting in further improvements.
  

"I think guys want to prove to people wrong it's a fluke they finished 12th in the league (in defense)," [Jonathan Joseph] said. "I think the guys have that in their head."

• In other injury news, Joe Reedy and random fantasy spots website report that Jonathan Luigs (undisclosed) and Antwan Odom (achilles strain) missed practice today.
• Joe Kay of the Associated Press reported that Jordan Palmer is helping NFL players develop iPhone apps. Palmer's business is called Rock Software Inc., and he's focusing on developing another new way for fans to access their favorite athletes. The applications will essentially be portals to content provided by the player, such as Twitter feeds, or in Chad Ochocinco's (and Jerome Simpson and Andre Caldwell if they so please) case, ustream video feeds.

"I'm a big advocate of the iPhone," Jordan Palmer said. "I'm all about it. I'm always reading about it and pushing its capabilities and seeing what's coming out next. We looked at the business and what's going on with the applications and the growth. The growth is through the roof.

"We found a niche, and we're trying to take it over."

• Stripe Hype compares the 2009 Bengals to the 2008 Bengals through 2 preseason games. It looks like we're doing better this season, but David cautions that this can be attributed to scrubby backups being scrubby backups. I know it's preseason, but do you think we're better thsi year?
  
• Last and perhaps least the Bengals signed Wake Forest rookie kicker Sam Swank to play while Shayne Graham nurses his groin. Swank was signed and released by Philadelphia as a CFA. As Kirkendall said yesterday, Swank is known for his big leg, which beat out several other tryouts Sunday. I personally wouldn't mind a kickoff specialist if it didn't count as a roster spot. What if he's better than Shayne Graham?
  

"I think kickoffs were my best asset out there," Swank said of the workout. "The stadium atmosphere was great. Everyone had a good day. You just wanted to know if your name was going to be called and mine was. ... It's a great opportunity for me. I'll definitely make the most of it and try to have some fun."