Question of the Day: Should Cincinnati Sign An Old Bengals Offensive Lineman
by Josh Kirkendall on Aug 11, 2010 4:00 PM EDT
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PrintFile this one under idle speculation with a twist of fun. But it's also a Question of the Day, so take it weely, weely seriously.
Remember way back in the old days. Way back when. A long time ago. Roughly, five years ago to be exact. While the Bengals were thoroughly entertaining joyous fans with a circus-like offense, giving guys like Carson Palmer, Chad Johnson, Rudi Johnson, T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Chris Henry and even Kelley Washington tons of credit -- I have to resist the squirrel. Must. Resist. The. Squirrel -- the best unit on that offense was the team's offensive line. Willie Anderson was finally earning Pro Bowls and Levi Jones was named as an alternate, being one of the league's better left tackles. Hands down, the standard for centers in this city is Rich Braham. Bobbie Williams has received two contracts since then and Eric Steinbach was the most versatile offensive linemen, starting at left tackle, guard and even center, that we've seen in the past 20 years.
Fast forward. Our center Kyle Cook is good, if for anything, helping us ditch The Distraction, Eric Ghiaciuc. Williams is older. Andrew Whitworth, a rookie in 2006 starting 12 games, is the team's best offensive lineman. They rotate the left guard between two quality players in Nate Livings and Evan Mathis while right tackle hasn't been the same since Willie left for Baltimore.
Now, you have to keep in mind that I've know that this has come up each year for a few seasons now. But every year there's a hint of speculation from that team in Northern Ohio that Eric Steinbach could be on the outs, mostly for his contract. However, according to Marla Ridenour of the Akron Beacon Journal, the Browns could make a decision on Steinbach because of his contract.
Left guard Eric Steinbach's massive contract also looms, especially if the new front office decides his deal (which calls for base salaries of $5.75 million, $6.25 million, $6 million and $6.25 million in 2010-2013) is a luxury the team can't afford.
According to RotoWorld, Steinbach "graded out poorly across the board in '09 and was given a hint when the Browns worked him with the second team in OTAs. We haven't heard of Steinbach running as a backup in camp, but the team did add to the guard position this offseason."
Your Question of the Day: If Steinbach is released by Cleveland, would you sign him?
In the meantime, here's the Squirrel.
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Big Willie! Big Willie! Big Willie!
I think Willie’s work ethnic and leadership is exactly the kind of role model Andre Smith needs right now.. He has been keeping in shape and has openly said he wants to return to the NFL..
While I loved Big Willie, (his was the first jersey I owned) He is done. He would no longer be an asset to the Bengals. We have to rely on Roland and Collins until Andre Smith becomes a pro or is fired and replaced.
As for Steinbach,he would be a great readdition to the team. Although Livings and Mathis have performed admirably last year, I believe LG is the position on the team that could be most upgraded in talent. Steinbach can pass block, pull and knows the offense. He would be a great signing.
Willie could definitely still play as a guard. I bet he could play LG and really shore up that side of the line quite a bit.
As a tackle, even the RT? That’s a bit more questionable. My heart hopes he could, but my head is skeptical.
Willie only played 21 of 32 games his last 2 seasons. Starting in 2006, our yards per carry began to drop, and went below 4.0 to around 3.7. Part of that was Rudi’s inability to break the long run, some was the loss of Braham and Steinbach, but I think some was WIllie starting to slow down.
Big Willie
Has been out of football for awhile now, hard to retrun as an old veteran after that. With that said I still think Big Willie has major potential as a line coach. Never understood, why don’t more retired players go into coaching.
by Greener's eyes on Aug 12, 2010 7:49 PM EDT up reply actions
Hang on a second
While we all know that Steinbach’s talent would be an upgrade over Evan Mathis and Nate Livings, can the Bengals afford him? Especially with all the big contracts up next year?
Can the team with the lowest payroll in the division afford Steinbach?
The answer is yes.
Whether MB decides he wants to dish out the money in an attempt to make a winner is a different matter.
"Before I write I let my mind go blind and let the Lord do His thing. " -Tupac Shakur
"Opportunity is missed by most people because it looks like work." -Thomas Edison
You sound like a spoiled brat
I am no brown defender, but all this whining from people about the lowest payroll is ridiculous. It’s that low because of the types f contracts we give out and the players we bring in. And if you throw in the 12 mil apiece that jjoe and hall are going to get over the next few seasons, it’s not that low.
The question is do we want a lineman who isn’t even good enough to start for the browns?
RIP Slim.
by brandone on Aug 12, 2010 9:33 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
what happened to patience?
by 80%OFTHETIMEIMRIGHTEVERYTIME on Aug 11, 2010 5:05 PM EDT reply actions
Haha!!
Nice.
"I really dig Hannibal. Hannibal had real guts. He rode elephants into Cartilage." - Mike Tyson
either one could help.......
…..I think Willie could still play and I am not counting on Andre Smith for anything, that guy is major dissappointment…Theres also Logan Mankins and Marcus McNeil currently holding out that could help out the Bengals tremendously. Unfortunately a move that bold is beyond anythng Mike Brown is capable of…
by Tyler Pochocinco on Aug 11, 2010 5:08 PM EDT reply actions
one month of hard work for Andre
Is ahead of him. If big Willie wants to play for us this year, I would love to get him a SB RING. He deserves it and it’s better than retiring his number here. I’d have no problem with it.
BUT, as much as I lay into Andre, the kid just needs a fire under his ass to play. He has ALL EYES ON HIM right now. . "He’s being monitored hourly.". God I love that quite. I’ve known players like him and he needs the attention because he’s still a kid.
2010 - The Year of the Tiger.
sure, I would sign Stienbach
for the right price, let him compete at LG. Mangini likes big beefey run blocking guards, thats why Eric has fallen out of favor over there
www.fantasydaddy.com
Two things:
1.) Rimington was a better Center than Braham, if memory serves. Braham is a close second though.
2.) If Steinbach is available, grab him. One of the worst decisions that this team made was to not re-sign him. LG is not a stable position right now, and having him back, even three years later, would be great.
by Anthony Cosenza on Aug 11, 2010 5:34 PM EDT reply actions
Rimington was a better Center than Braham, if memory serves. Braham is a close second though.
+1. I loved it when he was here. For my money he was as good as Anthony Munoz. I really admired Tim Krumrie too.
"Shiny. Let's be bad guys."
by KentuckianaBrowncoat on Aug 11, 2010 9:05 PM EDT up reply actions
Rimington was basically a bust
he started for basically four seasons and when Kozerski came along they went to the Super Bowl.
by occams_tiger_teeth on Aug 12, 2010 11:36 PM EDT up reply actions
If Steinbach would entertain taking less money to come here
than he could fetch elsewhere, then this is within the realm of possibility. It’s 100% guaranteed that Mikey is through spending for a while with Hall and J.Joe coming up. Is Steinbach a guy who would do that?
Also, it’s not unheard of for a star QB (read: 100+ mil ones named Carson?) to renegotiate his deal to add wiggle room under the cap. You’d think he would jump all over it to stay off his backside this year.
by Bengals NFL Champs on Aug 11, 2010 5:39 PM EDT reply actions
Stienbach
Well with him grading out low across the board, maybe he,s not the player he once was. Offensive Linemen take a beating, and possibly he is on the downward slide. If Steinbach was still a great O linemen, I don,t see why Cleveland would let him go, they worked that deal out four years ago. I say NO to Steinbach.
by James Schmid the great on Aug 11, 2010 6:23 PM EDT reply actions
Two things here...
First, I agree that if Steinbach graded out low across the board, the thought that he’s lost a step is a possibility.
On the other hand, as you mentioned, Cleveland worked that deal 4 years ago… before they hired Holmgrem. Mike might not like the deal or see Steinbach being worth the price. Perhaps that is why they are not so enthusiastic about him now.
In either case, further investigation would definitely be in our best interest.
Marcus McNeill
If you really want to improve the line, pick up all that hoarded payroll and head out to SD, where disgruntled Chargers Pro Bowl LT Marcus McNeill is holding out for big money. The Chargers hit him with the highest restricted FA tag, so they would want 1st and 3rd round picks minimum, and we’d have to give McNeill a franchise-caliber deal, but haul him in at LT, put Whit back at LG where he’s much better than at LT, and suddenly the left side is a rock. Then if we can just get Fatso on the field, we should be good (I know, easier said than done).
If you want him on the field then,
Just put an extra large pizza with all the toppings, on the 50… It’s that easy. But if you want him to play, well that’s a different challenge within itself.
What a extra large turd. I can’t believe we drafted him.
Yeah really...
Use the Waterboy treatment…visualize (the pizza), and ATTACK!!
"I really dig Hannibal. Hannibal had real guts. He rode elephants into Cartilage." - Mike Tyson
What's that tyson quote from
that’s frickin’ hilarious
by Bengals NFL Champs on Aug 11, 2010 8:10 PM EDT up reply actions
What are the chances of this happening?
Hmmmm…. forward thinking by Mike Brown. Having to dig deep in the pockets by Mike Brown. Mike Brown is Mike Brown. Not going to happen. But it would be an amazing move if they did it.
2010 - The Year of the Tiger.
If Steinbach is available...
The Bengals should make every possible effort to sign him. Losing him was a tremendous blow to the offensive line that they’ve yet to recover from. I understand the money he was offered by Cleveland was just insane, and the Bengals couldn’t really match that without losing other key players, but Steinbach is better than every o-lineman on the Bengals roster right now and he can play any spot on the line. That said, the perfect place for him in Cincy is at LG.
"graded out poorly across the board in 2009..."
Hey! Orlando Pace is also available too! Maybe we can get them both. Then we’d set to win the SuperBowl … in 2004.
But not today. If he were truly better than any o-line we have would Cleveland work him with the second string, pick up another guard, and consider cutting him?
Cleveland loaded with that much more talent than us?
Joe Thomas is single-handedly better than a few of our lineman put together. That helps.
by Craig Conrad on Aug 11, 2010 10:55 PM EDT up reply actions
Don't Forget Alex Mack
He almost fell to us but I’m glad we got Rey in the early second round instead. Between Mack and Thomas they have a tackle and center better than anything we have. Maybe better than anyone in the division.
Yeah, good point there.
I’ll be interested to see how Alex Mack holds up, though. That was one of the things we were all talking about leading into last year’s draft, Mack plays kind of small for the AFCN.
by Craig Conrad on Aug 12, 2010 12:13 PM EDT up reply actions
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