Good morning everyone! I hope your week is going smoothly up to this point. If not think of it this way, the week is halfway over now and it's smooth sailing from here on out (hopefully).
With the end of the lockout finally in sight, it's now time to speculate as to what the Bengals will do. What players are they going to retain? Are they going to trade for anyone? What free agents will they sign?
Personally I think they need to re-sign Johnathan Joseph and Brandon Johnson. Both of those players are impact players and have been major contributors on the field.
As for the quarterback situation, I don't know if I'm comfortable with Andy Dalton starting immediately. I know for certain that I'm not sold on Jordan Palmer being the starter regardless of what he's done during the lockout. I think the Bengals ought to sign a veteran quarterback to a one-year deal, two years at most. Someone like Tavaris Jackson or Bruce Gradkowski. Heck maybe the Bengals could take a flyer on Matt Leinart. What's the worse that could happen with any of those options at quarterback? 0-16? Well technically yes, but we all know the Bengals aren't going to the playoffs this year.
As for running back, well I would prefer the Bengals bring back Cedric Benson despite his recent legal woes. We know what he's capable of, so why not bring him back? It's not like there are many other options available via trade or free agency.
As for Chad Ochocinco, I would probably keep him around. Let's face it, would you rather have him on the Bengals where he could help mentor A.J. Green and company for one year, or would you rather deal him to another team for whatever you can get, or would you release him? I personally would go with the first option.
As the lockout comes to a close, teams will be able to make player transactions. And for the Bengals, depending on what direction they decide to head in, this offseason (what little is left of it) could be like a catastrophic twister that leaves the team in shambles, or it could be one where the Bengals come up with a sensible plan for the team to build towards. Only time will tell.
Alright here is a look at what you may have missed or overlooked from Tuesday.
- The Cincinnati Bengals ranked as the sixth toughest major league sports team to support. Does that really surprise anyone considering Mike Brown is the owner?
- If the Bengals re-sign Johnathan Joseph on Monday then expect them to begin negotiations with Leon Hall on Tuesday. Could the Bengals actually re-sign both Joseph and Hall? What kind of mad world would we be living in if Mike Brown actually decided to open up his wallet to retain two of the Bengals top defensive players.
- The Bengals ranked high in defense against three-wide formations.
- Andrew Whitworth is impressed with Jordan Palmer and Rey Maualuga's leadership. Well it's about time that someone else steps up.
- The Bengals are the best in the league at something. I'll give you one hint. It has nothing to do with football. Let the guessing and speculation begin!
- Dave Long of the Dayton Daily News, took a shot at Bengals color commentator Dave Lapham.