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There are rumors that the Bengals are interested in Shaun Alexander.  They are already deep at the running back position, so if they do sign Shaun Alexander the risk would not be high or bad. If he can regain his MVP form, then it would be a good pickup for Cincy and it could come at a bargain price.

To view more news and rumors  around the league check out our sections at progridironfootball.com

One of the guys trying out for the Bengals this weekend. Meet Alabama State grad, Jay Peck, RB, 5-11, 202, 4.6 40.

via farm4.static.flickr.com

12/21/07 - 2007 All-SWAC First-Team, SWAC OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: RB Jay Peck, Alabama State, 5-11 200 Sr., Columbus, Ohio, was selected All-Southwestern Athletic Conference First Team for the 2007 college football season. Peck was arguably the conference's top individual play this season. He led the league in rushes, rushing yards and 100 yard rushing games. The senior from Columbus, Ohio - who has already graduated with a degree in marketing - finished his career with 2,399 rushing yards, behind only Brad Baxter (3,732) and Rico White (3,470). "Jay has been named 1st team All-SWAC in back to back seasons, and not a lot of guys can say that," Barlow said. "He is not only a great football player, he's a great guy. "Jay just gets it", Barlow continued. "When we sat down as a staff and said what kind of characteristics we wanted in our players, we wrote them all down and then realized we were describing Jay Peck." - Alabama State Football

On film , the kid's got real good hands out of the backfield. Not breakaway speed but good field vision, utilizes his blockers well, and is not afraid of getting hit.

Keith Rivers was the quiet man within the USC Linebacker corps. He follows in the great USC linebacker tradition made famous by guys like Junior Seau, Willie McGinest and Chris Claiborne.

From WeAreSC :

In 2007 Rivers started for his third season at weakside linebacker as a senior in 2007 and turned in an All-American season. Overall in 2007 while starting 12 games (he missed the Arizona State game with a sprained left ankle suffered at California), he had 78 tackles (second on USC), including 5 for losses of 15 yards, plus 4 deflections, a team-high 3 fumble recoveries and 1 forced fumble.

He was 1 of 10 semifinalists for the 2007 Butkus Award and 1 of 17 quarterfinalists for the Lott Trophy, as well as an SI.com All-American first team, Pro Football Weekly All-American first team, Walter Camp All-American second team, Phil Steele's All-American third team and Collegefootballnews.com All-American honorable mention pick. Rivers was named to the 2007 All-Pac-10 first team (for the second year in a row), ESPN.com All-Pac-10 first team, Collegefootballnews.com All-Pac-10 first team and Phil Steele's All-Pac-10 first team. He was a USC team captain. He won USC's Co-Lifter of the Year Award.

He was a Senior Bowl invitee. He was named to the 2007 Playboy Pre-Season All-American team. He had arthroscopic surgery on his left ankle to remove bone spurs following 2007 spring practice.

Rivers' ability to play a variety of positions proved invaluable earlier in his career. In addition to excelling at weak-side linebacker, he was often used as a defensive end in pass rushing situations during his first two seasons with the Trojans.

Rivers is an excellent athlete that has great speed with a burst to close. He iquick and agile, has terrific range and makes plays sideline-to-sideline. Does a fantastic job in pursuit, motor runs non-stop and he is really activeand is great in coverage. A big hitter who can lay the lumber but also agile enough to be decent pass rusher and blitzer He is aggressive and plays with an attitude, so don’t let the calm demeanor fool you. He works through the trash and traffic well with good instincts and recognition.

He could stand to add some weight and he needs to get stronger. He is more of a finesse player and is not overly physical. He to work on shedding blockers. He is not stout and can be run at, he sometimes goes for the knockout rather than wrapping up.

You are getting a hard working stud of a linebaker. A outstanding all-around linebacker who shouldn't ever have to leave the field.
He is of solid character, he doesn't cause trouble and he is a quiet leader.

He will be able to play with the big boys. You will be pleased with is performance.

Over a week ago I wrote about my impression of blogs and why the mainstream media hates us so much. Heck, I was bored of Mock Drafts, no Chad Johnson news showed up, so what the heck. In long, they don't compare at all. They truly are separate mediums. But I also contend that blogs are growing exponentially popular because of the void left from an absent minded mainstream media that chooses their representation of news. I also pointed out that blogs are not news, they are op/ed sites that provide their own commentary. That distinction, by now, should be understood. And if it's not, then that's the fault of the reader.

The mainstream media is pissed about it. As is Buzz Bissinger on HBO's Costas NOW ambushing of Deadspin's Will Leitch. This is a blurb recorded and posted by Awful Announcing by way of Deadspin (hat tip to several Sports Blog Nation members).

I guess in the end the problem truly is understanding. If the MSM truly understood what Blogs are, who they represent, etc.. then they'd just let it go and let us do what we do best. Put them out of business. I kid, I kid.

Since our coaches feel good about our RB’s? Hopefully it means we go back to the clock eating ground cruncher’s of 2005. The good thing about clock eating is our Defense hits the turf a lot fresher throughout the game. Allowing those fast guy to remain fast and the D-line hogs more time for swill.

About RB's, I’m still waitng for the Pete Johnson clone to arrive.
The days of a P Johnson and L Kinnebrew with a James Brooks type were always fun to guess who would get the ball in a run play. I can remember Kinnebrew's thighs were so big he could hardly walk onto the field, but when it was time to run they seemed to disappear. Where did all the Big Fast RB Monsters go?

In this draft I was not a Keith Rivers fan. But now I see the fit and love the whole draft. Cant wait for those 5 thru 7 pix’s to show up in G-town camp.

If this guy Stays Clean I would be willing to wager a Skyline 5way that he will be the best DT we've seen play for the Bengals in 20 years.

A good friend of mine in Fresno has seen Shirley play in every game. What little, he has played!!

Says he can Pile Drive O-linemen right off their feet. Amazing power to break through double team blocking. And he does it so fast, for a man his size. Thighs/Calves are HUGH!  Refered to him as a young Sam Adams!

My fingers are crossed!

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From Bryant-Jon Anteola at the Fresno Bee (Thursday):

'A chance. That's all Jason Shirley wants. A chance to get selected this weekend during the NFL draft.

A chance to keep playing.

But the former Fresno State football player knows he severely hurt those chances in October when he was charged with three misdemeanors, including driving under the influence.

The incident led to Shirley's third suspension of the season, and essentially ended his senior year.

"I know NFL teams frown upon those types of incidents," Shirley said. "It's always a big deal when you did something like I got involved in.

"They don't want guys who get in trouble. I just tell them: 'It was a mistake; it's unfortunate. I've moved on, and I've learned from it.' "

Most mock drafts project Shirley as a late-round selection or a free-agent signee.

At 6 feet, 5 inches and 329 pounds, and capable of running a 40-yard dash in 5.02 seconds, Shirley is one of the biggest and fastest defensive tackles in the draft.

He ranks 22nd overall at his position, according to NFLDraftScout.com, which cites his size and potential as positives but his stamina, off-the-field issues and maturity level as negatives.

Shirley said life hasn't been the same after his senior season was limited to three games because of the suspensions.

Shirley was suspended the first two games for conduct detrimental to the team. Stripped of his starting role, he returned to play three games and contributed immediately as the Bulldogs' primary run stopper.

He was suspended a second time after he was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving. Police say he crashed a car into an apartment complex on Oct. 8. Shirley was charged with three misdemeanors: driving under the influence, driving with a blood-alcohol content of .08% or higher, and hit and run.

Shirley appealed the suspension and provided medical documents that detailed a concussion he received days before the car crash. He soon was back on the team.

But a few days after he was reinstated, Shirley was charged with driving with a suspended license and expired registration. He was suspended again, this time for the remainder of the season.

Shirley said he became depressed, embarrassed and confused. The structure of football always had helped him manage his time, forced him to stay disciplined with his grades, and most importantly, gave him a sense of belonging and camaraderie.

When around his teammates, Shirley often pulled little pranks, like the time he sprayed a water bottle all over fullback Reynard Camp.

"Do you ever stop playing?" Camp yelled at his teammate.

Without football, Shirley was distant and kept to himself.

During his suspension, Shirley didn't watch another Fresno State game until the Bulldogs' Humanitarian Bowl victory.

"Watching them play was like putting salt on the wound," said Shirley, his eyes filling with tears. "I was proud of my former teammates. They showed a lot of heart. I just wish I could have been a part of it."

Shirley said he snapped out of his funk when he began playing football again in two senior all-star games: the Hula Bowl and the Texas vs. The Nation Bowl.

"I felt good to be back in pads, be back around the guys," he said.

Shirley took this semester off from school to prepare for the draft. He performed well last month at Fresno State's Pro Day, where NFL hopefuls run drills in front of scouts.

Among Shirley's more impressive marks were his 40-yard time, vertical jump (35 inches) and broad jump (9 feet, 10 inches). In comparison, USC's Sedrick Ellis, considered the second-best defensive tackle available, ran the 40 in 5.26, had a vertical jump of 26-1/2 and a broad jump of 8-7.

Still, ESPN NFL draft expert Mel Kiper called Shirley an enigma.

And then there are Shirley's court issues.

Shirley appeared before a Fresno County Superior Court judge Wednesday for his DUI case, with his lawyer ready to go to trial. But the prosecutor from the District Attorney's Office asked for a delay, and the trial start was pushed to May 21.

Shirley's lawyer, Charles McGill, said a handful of NFL teams have called his office to find out details of Shirley's case. McGill said he couldn't recall how many teams or which specific teams called, except for the Cincinnati Bengals.

"I have a good feeling that Jason's going to get drafted," said McGill, who is representing Shirley in his legal case, but is not his sports agent.

Shirley said he plans to watch the draft from his parents' home in Fontana.

"Life is good," Shirley said. "I feel blessed. I'm excited. I'm a little nervous about this weekend. I'm not depressed anymore.

"I'm just ready to move on with everything, get back to playing football."'

I'm ready to give this guy a shot because he could really wreak havoc at the point of attack and lord knows we need that.

I admit it, I hate NFL draft grades. They make little sense to me and too many times they changed base on surprises and busts. It's just something to chat about. HOWEVER, let's do it anyway.

Keith Rivers was a good pick. We need to solidify LB with a good core guy. It would have been nice to have Ellis, but the Saints trading ahead of us -- which we expected all month leading up to the draft -- killed that. And we don't know if the Bengals tried or not. The Saints only lost a third round pick and got a fifth round pick back. So the cost wasn't too high.

I just don't know about Jerome Simpson. Is he stretch? I've never seen him play. Maybe he'll be another Antonio Chatman. Maybe he'll be another Chris Henry (then it would have been worth it). We just don't know.

Anyway, what's your overall day one thoughts?

http://www.nfl.com/news/story?template=with-video&id=09000d5d807f7f6b

Look, I'm not crazy about the way he has handled his business. But, I feel like he is starting to really shed some light on the whole situation. In this story, he's echoing Carson. What have I said all along? Mike Brown is the problem. We all know that.

I'm not on Chad's side, but, I agree with him on this. Chad has never said he wants more money. He justs wants out of Cincy. I want him to stay. But, he's right as long as the Browns are running things, the Bengals will never step up. For example, take the draft. The Bengals have all these extra picks, have they done anything with them?

We needed a DT, the entire world knew the Saints were going to trade up to get Ellis. What did the Bengals do? Let the Saints have him. I'm not saying they didn't try. But, why are other teams able to get the things the Bengals can't do, done? Shaun Rogers, Dwayne Robertson...

As a Bengals fan, I feel so helpless... kinda like Chad.