Apparently if you ask five different doctors, they'll give you five different possibilities as to the cause of migraine headaches. While they can agree on the triggers, the variations and degrees of which a migraine occurs, is still a bit of a mystery. To be honest, I don't know. I don't know why or how they occur. For every medical opinion I've received, it's been different, although typically a variation of the opinion before. All I know is that I get them. Sometimes with regularity, sometimes as much as the Bengals make the playoffs. It's random, my triggers are relatively unknown and it's something that I've dealt with all of my life.
Well, I got one yesterday and when I get a migraine, it's over. My depth perception is junk, my senses are overtly sensitive and I start feeling numbness in my arms and on my face. Then, I get a headache. Imagine the worst headache you've ever felt, or something similar to a concussion headache, and that's the full force of the American army drilling mother of all bombs into your forehead. Boom. Boom. Boom, like the beats of a hot dance club with Midwestern charm.
With that migraine on Tuesday, it forced me to play catch-up at work all day on Wednesday. Update this page. Install that patch. Clean three systems in which users blindly surf the internet as if viruses, trojans and malware are things only found in Tolkien's greatest works. Come to think of it, isn't all of Tolkien's works great? The answer is yes; no discussion allowed.
Therefore, I couldn't react to the news. Levi Jones being cut is huge. The Bengals signing Roy Williams, while not huge, is another example of the Bengals upgrading, upgrading, upgrading. So now that I've made up my work at work, I have things to make up here on CincyJungle.
+ Bengals release Levi Jones. It's not surprising that the Bengals released Jones. But that shouldn't downgrade the enormity of the release. Why is this huge, when we've expected it? Two reasons. It's turning over your roster for the future and it completes one of the most bumbling decisions in the Bengals front office. Let me take you to a time when this blog was still finding its place on the internet during one of my Four Question sessions on July 1, 2006:
This off-season, only Bobbie Williams has received a contract extension. Willie Anderson doesn't expect to return because of the assumption the team will give big deals to Levi Jones and Eric Steinbach. Rich Braham, the most underrated lineman on this team, isn't in the same group partly due to his age.
There is a rumor (unconfirmed and not really credible, so take it for what it is) that Jones will sign a 7-year, $57 million deal.
To me, Steinbach and Jones are priority; not just for the line, but the entire team.
On July 25, 2006, the Bengals agreed to an extension with Levi Jones worth $40 million through 2011. On August 31, 2006, Willie Anderson and the Bengals agreed to a five-year extension worth $32 million. Eric Steinbach was entering the final year of his rookie contract. Steinbach at the time was priority. We needed to keep him for his enormous pulling ability on the legendary "Power O", his versatility and overall ability. Steinbach was deemed the team's top priority off-season signing in 2007. However, once negotiations were breaking down, it seemed that the team started releasing information against Steinbach that questioned his ability to block bigger defensive tackles. Right. Instead, our 2003 second-round draft pick bolted in-state for Cleveland when the Browns offered Steinbach a seven-year $49.5 million deal.
Originally it was believed that once the Bengals signed Anderson and Jones to long-term deals, there was no way Steinbach would return. It was similiar to the feeling that the Bengals wouldn't re-sign T.J. Houshmandzadeh this off-season. When we learned Steinbach's cost, the sting of losing him went away. However, the irony in all this is that the Bengals now have neither of the three offensive linemen. Losing Steinbach originally while watching Jones and Willie depreciate was, in my opinion, one of the biggest front office blunders during the Marvin Lewis era -- not that it's Lewis' choice, just referencing a timeframe.
Now the Cincinnati Bengals have possibly two rookies, one second-year player playing alongside veteran guards Bobbie Williams and Andre Whitworth on the offensive line. There's going to be some growing pains, but we're in a far better position now by setting foundations and planning for the future then we ever have.
With this summer, is there time to blog? The lineup of summer blockbusters is lengthy. You have X-Men Origins, Terminator: Salvation, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, G.I. Joe, Star Trek, Harry Potter (yes, I like Harry Potter, big whoop). Which one are you looking forward to the most?
+ Bengals sign Roy Williams. Where's the downside of the Roy Williams signing? He'll be 29 years old by the regular season. He's a former first-round draft pick (2002), a five-time Pro Bowl player (2003-2007) and a former first-team All-Pro (2003). He'll smack you at the line of scrimmage, has a good head on his shoulders and will fill in for our group of young safeties with veteran anchorship. Where's the downside?
"There were a couple of teams offering considerable more money, but Roy liked the fit in Cincinnati," Jordan Woy said. "It's a good fit for both sides really. Roy obviously has a great relationship with (defensive coordinator) Mike Zimmer and he's excelled in that defense and the Bengals are happy to get a guy like that for their defense."
He. Wants. To. Be. Here. We can talk about him not being as good as he was in Dallas. Fine. Make the argument. Most of us realize that if he hasn't lost a step, then the Dallas Cowboys wouldn't have accommodated his request to be released. What's the downside? Look at the Bengals roster of safeties.
- Chinedum Ndukwe
- Chris Crocker
- Marvin White
- Roy Williams
- Corey Lynch
- Kyries Hebert
That's not a bad lineup heading into training camp. Where's the downside?
+ Cost is a bitch. And that bitch is named... Who Dey Revolution published a piece that says the Bengals are charging five times the going rate compared to other Big East teams playing in the stadiums of the NFL counterparts. Also in the piece, it also claims, by way of a booster at UC, that the University of Cincinnati offered to pay for an indoor practice facility in full, at Paul Brown stadium, for both teams to share, while giving the Bearcats a significant reduced deal to play in Paul Brown stadium.
My first thought, like theirs and probably yours, is wow. Are we really surprised? Wow. If you're the Bengals why don't you find a way to make this happen? Unite with the Cincinnati Bearcats to create a great single-city weekend football party region that works together. In this story, a source from a UC booster, it really makes the Bengals look evil. And maybe they do kick kittens, sells drugs to children, or what not. I don't know. But that also got me thinking about it. Is it really that bad as the UC booster is making out? Is this single booster positioning himself with anti-Bengals (or Mike Brown) tirades? Who can say. All in all, the booster and WDR struck first. Your move, Mikey.
You guys know me; I tend to shy away from this stuff and leave it to sites like WDR for commentary. Still, it makes you wonder, why can't both sides to find a way to strike a deal where the Bearcats play at Paul Brown stadium and both clubs have an indoor practice facility. Win. Win.