+ Bengals offensive lineman Andre Smith didn't play so well, according to Joe Reedy. "He was called for two penalties and got beaten off the line regularly." While Smith's inaction during the offseason could bring about some anger that prevented him from recovering on time, I find myself having a hard time blaming Smith too much. You could count the amount of practices he's had on one hand. If he's not confident on the playbook, due to lack of repetitions, it would make sense if he were beaten regularly.
Smith admitted that he didn't play well.
"It didn't go as well as I would have liked," Smith said. "I have a long way to go but I'm just happy to be out there with my teammates, against another opponent."
Still, ultimately, Smith's inaction during the offseason led to this point. So he's also not void of the blame. Two preseason games left.
+ If you live in Dayton, but missed out on the tickets handed out for the Bengals practice at Welcome Stadium this Sunday, then tune in to Fox 45, who will broadcast the entire practice from 3PM to 6PM.
+ Late last week we conducted an interview heading into the game against the Eagles at BirdsFan.com. It's a little late, but it mostly applies to the season.
+ James Walker writes that the first team defense is still struggling to get to the quarterback. While ultimately, he's right, I do think they did better against the Eagles, knocking Kevin Kolb down several times -- just a millisecond late.
+ Former Bengals defensive lineman John Thornton really likes the Bengals defensive line, but advises that Domata Peko has to play a little stronger.