Bengals Banter: Collusion, A.J. Green And History Of Something Greater

Mark A.J. Green down as another young leader of a team that's firmly developed a good balance between young foundation players and role-emphasized veterans. His expectations of himself and the team for the upcoming 2012 season:

"I feel like I just want to be that leader that I know I can be," Green said. "I really don't lead by (being) vocal, I lead by example. I always want to be the first one in a drill and doing everything to the best of my ability. Some of the young guys can actually come along and watch what I do.

+ The American Football League awarded the Bengals a professional football team on May 23, 1967 as the league prepared for The Merger that would eventually take place in 1970.

+ The NFL Players Association filed a collusion lawsuit against the NFL on Wednesday, accusing owners of setting a salary cap despite not having the authority to set one during the uncapped year in 2010. However Judge David Doty may throw out the case due to a provision on the current CBA, signed by both sides, that would prohibits these claims. NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said to the player's claims:

"The filing of these claims is prohibited by the collective bargaining agreement and separately by an agreement signed by the players' attorneys last August. The claims have absolutely no merit and we fully expect them to be dismissed. On multiple occasions, the players and their representatives specifically dismissed all claims, known or unknown, whether pending or not, regarding alleged violations of the 2006 CBA and the related settlement agreement. We continue to look forward to focusing on the future of the game rather than grievances of a prior era that have already been resolved."

Labor peace was one a dream.

+ The Cincinnati Bengals and their sixth-pick from the 2012 NFL draft Dan Herron agreed to terms on Wednesday, leaving three unsigned players from that draft class.

+ ESPN ran a SportsCenter special Tuesday night that provided a summary, rundown and prediction of the AFC North.

+ Bengals cornerback Terence Newman is trying to prove to everyone, fans included, that his recent decline isn't so much age as it was bad habits.

"I feel like I'm 26-and-a-half. I feel like I can still run. I feel like I'm still quick. I just have to refine some things. I got in a couple of bad habits over the last couple of years."

+ We ran a flashback posting from Joe Goodberry's original assessment of Andy Dalton during last year's pre-draft process.