Going from Eric Ghiaciuc to Kyle Cook at Center was one of the biggest reasons that the Bengals rushing offense vastly improved. Actually, we would feel alright calling it the "change" of the offseason last year in the starting lineup. Cook's play was so improved that the Bengals offensive line generally improved in some of the major categories.
| 2008 | 2009 | |
| Yards Rushing | 1,520 | 2,056 |
| Avg. Yards/Rush | 3.6 | 4.1 |
| Sacks Allowed | 51 | 29 |
I won't go so far as to say Cook is the main reason. But he's apart of the offensive line that went from disastrous to pretty effective within several months.
On Wednesday, Kyle Cook reportedly signed his one-year tender as an Exclusive-Rights free agent. Center is a position with stability, unlike the Ghiaciuc regime where he was often stood up and drove backwards in a division with hoss nose tackles. Cook will likely be the team's starter with fourth-round NFL Draft pick Jonathan Luigs sitting as the team's backup.