I was thinking that I should do more in-depth analysis research as well as dissect the Bengals

Jeremy Lin!!

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In a recent foxsports.com article, Patriots owner Robert Kraft describes that he went to an NHL game between the New York Rangers and Boston Bruins and was so impressed with the viewing experience that he approached NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, asking if the NFL could borrow some of the NHL's ideas to encourage the average NFL fan to become more excited and involved.

The league's response, not surprisingly, wasn't an embracing and enthusiastic one. One of the league's brass replied:

"The fan bases actually interact with their teams in a very different way," said Grubman, who has discussed the topic extensively with Kraft’s son and Patriots president Jonathan Kraft. "There are music elements and other things that relate to football that are popular entertainment, but we’re not looking to (other leagues) as a role model. They may be going in another direction of things that other people may enjoy. We’re going football and connectivity."

Admittedly, I haven't been to many hockey game in my liftetime (just not a Cyclones guy), but I can guarantee that the viewing experience at an NHL game is far better than any NFL game I've been to.

At Paul Brown Stadium, Bengals fans have become accustomed to a few cheerleaders before and during the game, but little else of note. It surprises me that the outdated animated tiger intro is still played before the game, and the players only run out to some smoke and small fireworks. Fans can watch highlights from around the league during halftime (because the league mandates that all stadiums must show some NFL RedZone coverage), but these aren't on HD display screens, nor are the screens very big in terms of league standards. I'm there to watch my Bengals, and that's about it.

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With just over two months until the NFL draft it's time for every expert, fan, and critic to speculate as to which player each team will select. In just about every mock draft that we've seen so far, "experts" have the Bengals selecting either a cornerback, offensive lineman, or a running back. It's usually some combination of those three positions.

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Going into the draft, everybody has their favorite prospects. Some people are high on talent, some are high on speed, and others are high on previous success--whatever the criteria, there's one name you desperately hope to hear the Bengals call on April 26th. The NFL Scouting Combine may not heavily influence that common fan's evaluation of prospects, but it does bear slightly more significance to the 32 NFL front offices. Earlier today, Cincy Jungle's own Mike Fightmaster discussed the importance of the NFL Combine and the impact it has on certain players' draft stock. Whether or not the Combine is that important is debatable, but pre-combine player rankings carry significance regardless.

Mike Mayock of NFL Network recently posted his top five players at each position heading into the Combine. For the positions most important to the Bengals--guard, cornerback, and running back--Mayock provides no shock at the No. 1 spots, but has quite a few interesting choices at No. 2 through No. 5. The rankings are as follows:

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For those of you who don't know, the new CBA has changed the way the franchise tag works. Josh broke it down like a high-priced lawyer in an earlier post, but basically what he meant is for the team to use the exclusive free agent tender on a player, they need to drop a sweaty wad of cash in that player's hand.

There are 27 Bengals free agents, 20 of which are unrestricted, heading into the offseason and the team will undoubtedly try to re-sign some of them. Some of the players that they will try to re-sign will include Mike Nugent, Reggie Nelson, Manny Lawson, Pat Sims and a few more.

It's doubtful, at least to me, that the team uses the franchise tag on any of these guys, but just in case, let's look at what they would have to spend on certain players.

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On Monday February 20 teams will be allowed to slap the unwelcome franchise tag on players with the idea that it allows team to keep their best players from entering free agency. The deadline for teams to use their franchise tag will be March 5, roughly eight days before free agency kicks off on March 13. That being said here's the rules in regards to the Franchise Tag per the new Collective Bargaining Agreement (we highlighted some of the key points).

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Last month when Mel Kiper Jr. released his first mock draft of the NFL draft season, he projected Cincinnati selecting Nebraska cornerback Alfonzo Dennard and University of Miami running back Lamar Miller. Makes sense. Cedric Benson is leaving (for the love of God), so the team needs a running back -- despite my complete objection of using a first round selection for a running back. Yet the true caveat is that a running back is only as good as his offensive line and if they're not very good, then it won't matter who the team selects. That running back simply won't be effective.

Cornerback is an absolute given. Not only is there a chance that Leon Hall's rehabilitation could lead into the regular season after suffering a season-ending Achilles injury, there's absolutely no depth on this roster. And even if the Bengals successfully convinced cornerback Stanford Routt to bring his slight-above-average talents (though valuable due to the lack of overall demand) to Cincinnati, the Bengals are hardly finished rebuilding their secondary. In today's NFL you need three good cornerbacks to counter the multiple wide receiver formations.

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