There's plenty of positions on this roster that are far from certain. There's a good chance that Jonathan Luigs has a leg up at center; there's also a chance that it's open competition -- best man wins. Will Michael Johnson be an outside linebacker, or a defensive end? Will he come in during passing defense packages and rush the quarterback? What about the three-man race at fullback? Then there's backup running back, a starting lineup on the offensive line, return men, and even long snapper. Yes, long snapper. Competition, competition, competition.
Since we brought up the trend of ESPN's blog named "AFC North Teams Not Named Bengals Blog," there was a piece wondering if the Steelers repeat, observations, read mailbag and a question about Lawrence Timmons replacing the recently departed Larry Foote. So it got me to thinking. Let's rename the "AFC North Teams Not Named Bengals Blog" to "We really only care about the Steelers, so that's all we're going to discuss" blog. Hey, we're just calling it like we see it.
Defensive coaches are smiling about Michael Johnson.
Fullback Chris Pressley has had a lot of obstacles in his life to get to this point.
Joe Reedy wraps up his observations of minicamp.
You can tell Chick Ludwig is getting pumped with "the infusion of talent in 2009" will give the Bengals "more flexibility on third-down passing situations — ahhh, the nickel defense — than they’ve had in a long, long time."
Tight End Darius Hill on being asked to stick around after the final practice on Sunday.
"I figured it was good news, but I didn't want to jump ahead of myself," he said. "I definitely felt a weight lifted off my shoulders when he told me he wanted to sign me."
Would you go after Simeon Rice? Between 2001 and 2005, Rice averaged 13.5 sacks. In the two seasons afterwards (2006, 2007), Rich recorded three sacks in 16 games and missed the 2008 season.