Clint Boling to Play Both Guard Positions in Game Against the Jets on Sunday

According to the Mothership's Geoff Hobson, Bengals fourth-round pick Clint Boling will be playing both left and right guard against the Jets on Sunday night. This doesn't come as much of a surprise, as the interior offensive line is where most of the pressure on rookie quarterback Andy Dalton came from during Friday's 34-3 loss to the Lions.

The starters for that game were Nate Livings at left guard, Kyle Cook at center and Bobbie Williams at right guard. Andrew Whitworth and Andre Smith starting at the tackle positions. 

Dalton's first pass in an NFL game, a long pass down the sidelines to A.J. Green, was intercepted largely because Dalton wasn't able to step into his pass. He was forced to throw the ball off his back foot because of pressure up the middle.

When it comes to where Boling will play, Hobson says it's going to be decided on the flip of a coin.

Offensive line coach Paul Alexander says he'll flip a coin to determine if rookie Clint Boling is going to replace left guard Nate Livings or right guard Bobbie Williams as early as the game's second drive so "I can see what he does against the (starters)." He'll also play the other guard later in the game....

It's interesting that this news comes after Alexander publicly defended Nate Livings after his poor performance against the Lions saying, "other guys make mistakes and it's not Nate's fault. I don't buy it. Nate is having a good camp."

This is welcome news for Bengals fans who are unhappy with the team's offensive line (everybody). The Bengals are going to be starting a rookie quarterback and the last thing they should do is have an offensive line that can't protect him, especially if there are linemen on the bench that would do a better job. Hopefully Boling will do a better job at pass protection than one of the two guards that currently top the depth chart.

Boling has also gotten work at center, backing up Kyle Cook.