Over at CBS, Mike Freeman joins the parade of columnists examining the foibles and failures of the NFL's most forlorn franchise, our own beloved Cincinnati Bengals. Of all the recent efforts, Freeman's stands out to me because instead of writing jokes or penning a polemic, he adopts a just-the-facts approach that minimizes the editorializing and -- most importantly -- does some actual reporting on Bengals players and their thoughts on the state and prospects of the team.

What he found was this:

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Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator Jay Gruden continues to bang the drum for rookie Andy Dalton to start. With the caveat that head coach Marvin Lewis will have the final say, Gruden says that were it up to him, the preseason depth chart at QB would be set.

"I think we'll see when it opens up if we get with another veteran or if it's the three we have," Gruden said. "... If I had to say right now - but Coach Lewis will have more say than I will - we have to get Andy ready. If he can't handle it, we have to get Jordan ready. If Jordan can't handle it, then we have to get Dan ready."

There's nothing new about Gruden's enthusiasm for Dalton, but what caught my attention was the idea that if The Great Red Hope isn't ready, plan B is Jordan Palmer.

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With his size (6-6, 220), there are some rumors going around that Matt Jones might be playing tight end when the Bengals kick off the 2010/11 season.  While he's not known as a blocker, if Jones decides to give a damn, he has the talent to be a Ben Utecht/Jay Novacek-style of tight end.

The question is, is Jones motivated enough to be effective in that area? 

The reason I ask is because when that not-very-flattering report about Jones' workout for the Bengals broke, PFT speculated Bengals coaches were trying to motivate Jones by criticizing him to Yahoo Sports.  Of course, they also said, "It's more likely that the sources are fighting back against a move orchestrated by owner/G.M. Mike Brown."

Whatever the case, it's up to Jones to decide whether or not he wants to be a contributing member of this team, be it at receiver or tight end.  Considering the amount of talent in the upcoming NFL Draft at both tight end and receiver, I'm hoping the Bengals wouldn't suffer an unmotivated Jones for very long.

On the other hand, perhaps Jones can channel such fine folks like Dhani Jones, Cedric Benson and Tank Johnson and use the Bengals to revitalize his career.  It's all up to him.

I’m confused, Bengals fans. All the talking heads think that the 21^st pick in the 2010 NFL Draft is going to be a tight end. Particularly, I’ve seen ESPN, Draft Countdown, and Chad Reuter talk about Oklahoma product Jermaine Gresham. We’ve talked about it at length here at CincyJungle. But this is not entirely about the draft, this is about the identity of the football team we’ve grown to love. Given, the talking heads have not accurately projected a Bengals first round pick in recent memory, but it’s the off-season and since some people here seem to think that a new toy for the passing game is the way to go, it’s worth talking about. But, why would we draft a tight end (or as some others suggest, a receiver) in the first round of the NFL draft if we’re such a run-heavy team?

We already signed Matt Jones, whose combination of size and speed automatically makes him a candidate for the #2 receiver spot. We drafted a tight end in the third round last year. You might also remember that Andre Caldwell and Jerome Simpson were drafted two years back. Chad Ochocinco is still a Pro Bowl wide receiver. Since we’re a run-oriented offense, isn’t that enough?

A few days ago, James Walker asked the question: "Is the AFC North outdated?" In this blogpost, Walker rightfully asserts that the passing game is king in the NFL. The rules are trending toward protecting quarterbacks and wide receivers; it’s easier to complete a pass today in the NFL than it was even two years ago. The entire NFL playoffs this year featured only two (three if you count Baltimore) teams that like to run the ball and play defense. Only one of them, by the grace of god, made it to the conference championship round, and they were thoroughly dispatched by the 2^nd (or maybe 3^rd) best team in the NFL, the pass-happy Indianapolis Colts. There is an argument to be made that the best teams in the NFL this year were: New Orleans, Minnesota, Indianapolis, Arizona, Green Bay, Dallas, Baltimore, New England, Philadelphia, New York Jets, and Cincinnati, in that order. Baltimore proved highly capable of passing the ball, and unlike Cincinnati, their running back is always a threat to score. In response to James Walker, I would say:  it’s more like the Bengals are outdated. At least Pittsburgh and Baltimore are adapting and learning to throw the damn ball.

This brings me back to the draft, free agency, and the future. The lack of Bengals coaching staff changes does not inspire hope that the offense will learn how to throw the ball in 2009. Football Outsiders pointed out in a recent article that when the Bengals tried to learn to pass, the team "totally lost its ability to stretch the field, and in a league that prizes throwing the ball downfield more than ever, that's not a long-term growth strategy." I’m inclined to agree, and this is my primary cause for concern for the future. "Palmer was sacked only 29 times, but the team totally reined in its five- and seven-step drop-back packages. By season's end, the Bengals were more conservative than Barry Goldwater. If the team is to build on its 2009 rebound, it must upgrade personnel on the flanks, get some speed in the lineup, and return to within shouting distance of its old, high-flying self."

If the Bengals draft a pass-catching TE (he probably won’t get out of training camp) or a Wide Receiver, they’re shooting themselves in the foot one way or another. Yes, the Bengals need to learn how to pass the ball again. Yes, the Bengals need to add new players in order to accomplish that goal. But a few problems stand in the way. Receivers drafted in the first (or two) round rarely work out (see Peter Warrick, Matt Jones, Charles Rogers, Mike Williams, Jerome Simpson… the list goes on). There are no surefire receivers in this year’s draft class that I’m convinced will be solid, consistent contributors in the NFL outside of Mardy Gilyard, and that’s just a homerism. The second problem is that if the play-calling is the same or even similar, new weapons like Gilyard or Gresham won’t even have the chance to develop. Furthermore, without an offensive lineman that knows how to create a pocket, defensive backs will be able to sit on quick routes because their pass rush will reach Carson before anything more elaborate has a chance to develop.

This begs the question, what should the Bengals do? From this fan’s point of view, the future is kind of bleak. Even if we add the tools we need, assuming they are a good fit with team and smart enough to learn an NFL playbook, will the coaches adjust the way they need to? What if the coaches adjust and the players don’t work out?

The Bengals have to build the offense from the offensive line outward. Right now, a couple of pass-blocking offensive guards would go a long way in giving Bob "The Devil" Bratkowski a little more freedom in calling long-developing pass plays. It would also make a 1^st round TE like Gresham make a little more sense. The Bengals face a conundrum. First round pass catchers rarely develop into NFL stars because their projections are far too often derived from physical tools that don’t always translate to success. The offensive line is not correctly built to allow a great receiver to flourish in the first place. The coaches are adamant about running the football too much with a power back that’s just too slow to hit a home run.

To fix these problems, the front office absolutely must spend draft picks or money on interior offensive linemen (and/or a left tackle that would allow Whitworth to move inside) that can give Carson and his receivers more time to get open. A tight end might add some flexibility to the passing game, but it certainly won’t open up the whole offense. When the offensive line is shored up, we can add some glue-handed receiving talent (Gilyard, please, Mr. Brown). Attention should also be devoted to the defensive line and safety position—another problem, hopefully we get all those third round compensatory picks we were talking about.

When the prime time football schedule was released months ago, it was easy to expect not to see the Bengals a part of it.  With the season they had last year, why should NBC, ESPN and the NFL Network reward a team with only 4 wins  by putting them on the schedule?  Oh, wait; the Browns got 2 games on prime time this year with just 4 wins from last season.  Oh, well.  I wonder if ESPN and the NFL Network wish they could flex their schedule.

This season has been far different from last season.  The Bengals have already won more games this season, which is not yet half over, then they did all of last year.  Plus, those wins put them in the middle of the AFC North Division title race with the defending Super Bowl Chumps, I mean Champs Pittsburgh Steelers.  The majority of those wins have had the kind of ending the networks love; close, hotly contested with a last minute scoring drive to win the game.  This was all unexpected from a team that was unable to score points or keep the opposition from doing so.

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Is this the weekend the Bengals see their first round draft pick hit the field for the first time this season?  Considering what we were told going into the bye week, no doubt many Bengals fans were thinking, "Yes, I'll finally get to see Andre Smith play when the Ravens come to town," however, those thoughts might have been a bit premature.  It's either that or Marvin Lewis just wants to keep everybody on their toes. 

Or he's just practicing his non-committal skills.

Offensive line coach Paul Alexander would not discuss Smith's status. On Wednesday, Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said Smith "would have to be one of the best 45 guys" to suit up.

So yeah, that sounds like an "I'll never tell" if there ever was one. It seems the Bengals staff seems really hesitant to use any of the offensive rookies at their disposal. Granted, Smith's ankle and his weight have been issues, but while every other team in the NFL showcases their new offensive talent, the Bengals take "wait and see" to a totally different level.

Now, if you are a defensive rookie with miles of potential, you'll have every opportunity to play through your mistakes. Unfortunately, that same level of approval seems to be missing for known college stars like Chase Coffman, and now Smith. Of course, the lack of Andre Smith "he's playing" talk might just be gamesmanship on the behalf of the coaches. Or it could very well be Lewis and his staff doesn't want Smith to stop working hard, and they feel any news about playing time could affect Smith's preparation.

Considering how well the Bengals have been running the ball, it's hard to not think how an Andre Smith, a player known as being an incredible run-blocker, might improve that aspect even more.

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This little discovery is... Well, it's disappointing is what it is.  I was perusing around the NFL's online pro shop, seeing if -- God forbid -- the had any of these monstrosities for the Cincinnati Bengals.  Fortunately, that answer is no, but that's about the only good news I saw while I was looking at the Bengals apparel inventory -- especially when I started looking at the jerseys.

For one, Odell Thurman jerseys are still available, albeit at discount.  Mind you, Thurman hasn't played a down for the Bengals since 2005, but yet, you can still rock his jersey if his rookie season meant that much to you.  The awesome jersey hits don't stop there either -- there are jerseys for Rudi Johnson, Housh, and Deltha O'Neal.  In fact, there are as many jerseys for non-Bengals (three) as there are for current Bengals (Carson Palmer, Chad Ochocinco and Rey Maualuga).

Oh, and adding insult to the injury that is the Andre Smith debacle, there's also a jersey for him as well.  Truth be told, I've almost bought it like five or six times already.  I'm not sure how long I'll be able to hold out; and you are damn right that pun was intended.  As for the Bengals.com pro shop, they have a larger selection with players like Leon Hall and Robert Geathers, but they too have jerseys for Thurman and Housh, not to mention David Pollack -- although, I'm a little more supportive of that last one.

I suppose some of this is common knowledge around here, but it would be nice to see NFL.com keep a current inventory of Bengals jerseys as well as the obvious back stock they are trying to get rid of.

Besides, I thought the NFL gave their back stock to third-world countries.

This post might not be what you think it is and it may very well be more suited for the Fan Posts section, but something occurred to me while we've been going back in time, to the beginning of last year's Summer of Favre: I'm glad the Bengals aren't in need of a quarterback, because I don't think I could take it if Brett Favre was somehow interested in playing in Cincinnati.

Now, I'm not going to go into some violent evisceration of Farve, ala Big Daddy Drew -- I'm just not that eloquent with cuss words -- but the fact remains:  Favre's repetitive attention whore/diva act makes me happy the Bengals have Carson Palmer. 

Dude, if you want to play, play.  Just don't have televised conversations with Ed Werder saying how you are "unequivocally" done.

Because of your premature utterances about your career, you've become a laughing stock, and believe me, as fans of the Bengals franchise, we can recognize a laughing stock as well as any fanbase.

Will the Vikings be better than the Bengals if/when Favre signs?  Probably, but I take solace in the fact that Bengals fans won't be sitting there nervously waiting for our quarterback's first four interception game -- one that will surely come at a most inopportune time -- as he predictably returns to the bad habits that help stain an otherwise impressive career.

Now, if the Bengals can just protect Palmer's face for an entire season, he might be able to fulfill some of that endless potential he's so well known for.