Bengals Bytes (2/4): Advice from a Super Bowl kicker

Super advice
Bengals all-time leading scorer Jim Breech, who quite conveniently called out Memphis kicker Jake Elliott’s name to the fans gathered at Paul Brown Stadium when the Bengals announced their fifth-round pick back in April, called his number again this week. He figured that Elliott, the Eagles rookie kicker in Sunday’s Super Bowl (6:30 p.m.-Cincinnati’s Channel 5), had about as much time on his hands as he did in Miami nearly 30 years ago during the week leading up to the Bengals’ appearance in Super Bowl XXIII.

TDBH: Blake fires longest pass in Pro Bowl history
Bengals quarterback Jeff Blake completes his improbable year-and-a-half ride from the waiver wire to Waikiki when he starts today’s Pro Bowl for the AFC and not John Elway or Dan Marino or Jim Kelly. And in that first drive he immediately gives the AFC a 7-0 lead when he hits Steelers wide receiver Yancey Thigpen for the longest pass in Pro Bowl history on a 93-yard touchdown pass. Blake, cut by the Jets before the last season and picked up by the Bengals only when the backup doesn’t take a pay cut, suddenly becomes the future with a signature long ball when both QBs in front of him _ David Klingler and Donald Hollas _ get hurt within two snaps of each other in the seventh game of 1994.

T.O. becomes latest Bengal in Hall
On Saturday night wide receiver Terrell Owens became the third Pro Football Hall of Famer to play at least a season with the Bengals and the first in this century when the powerhouse class of 2018 was introduced. Owens, the eccentric wide receiver who played his last season in Cincinnati when he was the Bengals’ leading receiver in 2010, joined left tackle Anthony Munoz (1998) and wide receiver Charlie Joiner (1996) as former Bengals in the Hall. Munoz played all 12 seasons in Cincinnati during a career he’s still regarded as the game’s best left tackle and the Bengals were Joiner’s middle stop in a four-year stint during the mid-1970s on the way to his glory in San Diego under Air Coryell.

AFC North Bytes

Ravens GM Ozzie Newsome to Step Down After Next Season
Baltimore Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti announced Friday that general manager Ozzie Newsome will step down following the 2018 season. Bisciotti also announced that assistant general manager Eric DeCosta will replace Newsome. The 61-year-old Newsome has been the Ravens' GM since 2002.

Ray Lewis enters Hall as 'greatest leader in team sports history'
When Ray Lewis' name came up at the Pro Football Hall of Fame selection committee meeting Saturday, there really wasn't much to say. Scott Garceau, the Baltimore media representative, delivered his five-minute presentation highlighting Lewis' career. When it came to discussing Lewis' candidacy, there were no arguments. Actually, there was no discussion at all.

Damon Amendolara: The Best Option For The Browns At QB Is Josh Rosen
Host of The DA Show on CBS Sports Radio, Damon Amendolara joined Ken Carman and Anthony Lima to talk Super Bowl LII. D.A. talked about the fight between to Houston radio stations that he had a front row seat to yesterday, of the Eagles have what it takes to knock off the Patriots and what he thinks the Browns should do at QB.

Random Bytes

NFL MVP 2017-18: Award Winner, Voting Results and Twitter Reaction
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was named the 2017 NFL MVP at Saturday night's NFL Honors in Minneapolis. Brady—who beat out Los Angeles Rams running back Todd Gurley and Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz for the honor—has now captured three MVPs (2007, 2010, 2017).

For Once, Pro Football Hall of Fame Voters Got It Right
Hall of Fame voting is one of the more thankless jobs in sports. Sure, it's an honor to be selected as one of the caretakers of a game's celebration of greatness (or so I've heard), but the only time fans want to know who the voters are is when they're angry about a snub of one of their favorite players.

Jimmy Garoppolo moving closer toward 49ers deal
The lucrative, multi-year contract would mark the completion of a whirlwind process that began when he was surprisingly traded from the Patriots to San Francisco before eventually embarking on a stunning five-game win streak. The Niners wanted him as their franchise quarterback and his play warranted the investment that's coming.