Of all the undrafted free agents collected by the Cincinnati Bengals in 2011, the one who's garnered the most attention has been former Kentucky DE DeQuin Evans. Evans "has impressed with his speed rush and exhaustive study habits," wrote Geoff Hobson, site editor at Bengals.com, and Cincinnati Enquirer Bengals beat writer Joe Reedy tapped him as the undrafted rookie with the best chance of making the roster.

All this is even more impressive when you realize that Evans didn't even start playing until 2007. And that his first experience with the game came while he was in juvenile detention in California.

At 15, he was stopped in a stolen car that had been related to gang activity.

His sentence: 16 months in a juvenile detention facility.

He was sent to Camp Kilpatrick in Malibu, where the rehabilitation program included football.

In games where a player from one gang might be opposite or next to a player from a rival gang, things got rough. Fights were common.

The 2006 movie The Gridiron Gang was based on Camp Kilpatrick. After he was released, a cousin pointed him toward football, but Evans spent six months training on his own first before approaching Los Angeles Harbor Junior College. And that work ethic has served him well over the past few weeks.

"He's got a lot of new positions to learn," Coach Marvin Lewis said. "His effort is outstanding. He just has to keep coming and developing, and we'll see what happens. But it won't be because he didn't try at it, whether it be at the linebacker spots or down at the rusher in our substituted defenses or whatever his role is on special teams. He's a good prospect and hopefully he continues to grow and can do some things."

Read the whole thing. Here's hoping he makes it.

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Cincinnati Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis joined Jim Miller and Solomon Wilcots on NFL Radio on Sirius tonight, and among other things didn't hesitate to predict that seventh-round pick Jay Finley would do great things this year.

"Our little runner Jay Finley who we got at the end of the draft I think will make an impact for us...he's a guy who will make a big difference for us this year, gives us what we were looking for and is that kind of change-of-pace guy that has great speed and the ability to catch a football."

I'm sure that's welcome news (not) to Bengals current change-of-pace guy RB Bernard Scott, a three-year veteran that many fans feel has never gotten enough chances -- and has often been poorly utilized when he did get on the field. In 29 games, Scott has 620 yards on 135 carries, and 16 receptions for 121 yards. On the team's first camp depth chart, Scott occupied second chair while Finley was in a scrum for "other." Bernard is also the team's No. 1 kick returner.

However, Scott has also had some injury issues and hasn't been practicing lately due to a hamstring injury. Motivation for him to "rub a little dirt on it?" A hint the hammy injury is worse than thought? Marvin messing with our heads? I don't know, but Marvin bringing up a seventh round pick in between talking about vet free agents, Andy Dalton and A.J. Green certainly got my ear.

The National Football League returns to action (sort of) this weekend when the Cincinnati Bengals and Dallas Cowboys kick off the 2010 preseason in Canton, Ohio, in the annual Hall of Fame Game.

The Bengals last appeared in the Hall of Fame game way back in 1988, when they topped the then-Los Angeles Rams 14-7. In their only other appearance, in 1975, they lost 17-9 to the Washington Redskins (who, for you football trivia buffs out there, are an undefeated 5-0 in Hall of Fame games).

Both those appearances marked the start of championship seasons for Cincinnati. The 1975 Bengals, led by Pro Bowlers QB Ken Anderson and WR Issac Curtis, racked up an 11-3 record before falling 31-28 to Oakland in the division championship game. In 1988, of course, the AFC Champion Bengals were famously slain by the last-minute heroics of QB Joe Montana, who led the San Francisco 49ers to a heartbreaking 20-16 victory in Super Bowl XXIII.

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Confirming what reader firstPick said in the comments of the previous Andre Smith post, the Bengals newly-signed offensive tackle has a fractured foot and will miss time.  Smith hurt his left foot in a non-contact drill, according to Bengals.com.

And the frustrations surrounding this pick continue to mount.

Is it safe to say Smith's rookie season is an official bust yet?  I can't remember this much bad luck associated with one pick.  Oh wait, the name Ki-Jana Carter just flashed in my head.  Is it OK to hope Smith's debacle doesn't reach Carter levels or should I simply keep my mouth shut?

Update:

Smith is expected to miss seven to ten days. Again courtesy of PFT (via NFL.com).

When Andre Smith (finally) signed his rookie contract, many viewed it as a win for the Bengals franchise.  Katie and Mike didn't allow the slotting system to dictate the terms they agreed upon, and the result was a performance-laden contract that doesn't break the Bengals' bank and puts the onus of earning the deal's maximum potential on Smith.  

Because one of the biggest concerns about Smith is his playing weight, that too was addressed in the contract.  According to ProFootballTalk, if Smith weighs in at 350 pounds or more, he'll have half of his pay taken for each game he is over the established limit.  Here are some details:

Per the source, the contract contains a provision that slashes in half Smith's pay for each game in which he weighs in at 350 pounds or higher.

It's technically a de-escalator of his base salary, a device that is permissible as long as Smith's salary exceeds the league minimum for his specific level of experience.  But it's a dramatic and (as far as we can tell) unprecedented move to compel a player to maintain a certain weight.

For those of you thinking Smith, now that he has his money, is going to turn into an out-of-shape bust, take comfort in the fact that he will be punished for doing so.

Here's a Joe Reedy tweet about Andre Smith's first day at practice, courtesy of Paul Alexander. I think we can file this under the "You Don't Say" category.

As Bengals fans, we can only hope his rookie season isn't a bust and Smith will be able to contribute. Watching him dominate at Alabama gives this blogger hope, but it ain't gonna be easy. I'm not applying blame here because there's plenty to go around to both parties. One could say, "Damn them for low balling Smith" or "Damn that Smith for not signing and getting into camp sooner," and frankly, both sentiments are valid.

At the end of the day, however, the Bengals finally signed their first round draft pick. The best we can hope for is that it wasn't too late for the man-child to contribute this season.

Obviously, New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick has a soft spot for wide receivers who possess a little bit of the selfish reputation.  See Moss, Randy and now, Cincinnati's favorite receiver, Chad Ochocinco.  During the Bengals/Patriots game last week, Belichick playfully razzed Ocho about double-covering him the whole game so the Pats wouldn't have to see any of Ocho's touchdown celebrations.  The Boston Herald's Rap Sheet blog has more:

Belichick: "We’re double covering you so you can have the night off."

Ochocinco: "Come on.  Come on."

Belichick: "One double 85, that’s our call, one double 85."

Ochocinco: "No matter where I go?"

Belichick: "Yeah, so you can’t hide."

Ochocinco: "Come on Coach, you serious?  Tell me you are just playing."

Belichick: "We are not going to watch you run in the end zone and watch you spike the ball here.  Have a good one. I’ll talk to you later."

Ochocinco: "Alright. (walking away) Damn."

You'll notice there was no "child, please" response from Chad, leading this blogger to believe his respect level for Belichick is awfully high.

Allow me, with great pleasure, to introduce Ventrell Jenkins, a rookie free agent defensive end just picked up by the Bengals. Now normally, I don't roll out the orange carpet for every free agent signing, especially ones that aren't likely to be around during the regular season. However, Ventrell is an exception. You see, Jenkins is a recent graduate of the University of Kentucky, and if you know anything about me, that's reason enough to celebrate. Besides, take a look at the lead video -- the boy's got some skills. Or at least a flair for dramatic, game-winning, fumble return touchdowns in rare Kentucky bowl appearances.

So far, I haven't seen anything official about the Jenkins signing, although, I don't think UK offensive coordinator Joker Phillips is a liar.  I will say, however, Phillips' well-wishes for Jenkins seemed a little... Well, they seemed a little forced.  "I'm happy for him" doesn't read like someone is overwhelmed by the knowledge they just gained.

Maybe it's just me, however.

Anyway, let's give Ventrell a warm Bengals welcome, and hopefully, the decent pass-rushing skills he showed at Kentucky translate the NFL.  Oh, and the reason I think he might be a roster casualty is Jenkins was recently cut by Buffalo Bills.  Maybe he'll have better success in the AFC North, as opposed to the East.