Lots Of Current Issues

[DUKE]

There are lots of things going on with the team currently. Some of them are concerning, and some are promising.

Warrick: He's apparently ready to start testing the knee more. It has been reported that he will play this Friday versus the Colts. This is a bit promising, but I'll continue to be worried about this injury until I see him effectively perform on the field a few times without setback. Regardless, it's very nice to hear that he's ready to play. The offense is much more intriguing with a healthy Warrick on the field.

Linebacker: Brian Simmons suffered a knee injury that requires orthroscopic surgery. The team is getting this done immediately and according to Simmons, he could be back by the first game of the season. This isn't good news at all. He has looked like the most solid of our defense this preseason, and appears more comfortable at WLB. With the lack of depth at this position, Caleb Miller needs to be ready when called upon. So far he has looked good in preseason...He's made some bad reads, but has been able to make up for his mistakes with speed and athletic ability. His size is of concern, but Marvin seems to obviosly like small, fast linebackers. Speaking of small, fast linebackers, rookie Landen Johnson is ready to begin practice. There have been rumors of Kevin Mitchell coming in to possibly provide some depth and experience at this position. I am very much in favor of this..He's probably the best available LB out there right now..He has played under Marvin before. Another surfacing name is Riall Johnson. He was just cut by the Broncos; I'll pass.

Punter: Rookie Kyle Larson is looking a bit better. He has nice upside, but his slow start naturally leaves some concern.

DLine: The stats have been pretty meager this preseason. Imediately after his release, Hugh Douglas created a slight buzz, but he apparently has agreed to terms with his former team the Eagles. I would have liked to see us bring him in and see if he could help the line..Perhaps he's not the dominate force he once was, but I don't think we're in a position here to have too high of standards when filling spots here. I honestly don't think we wanted to spend the money to ensure him to play here. We had to place 4 players on the IR, and our cap flexibility suffers.

Coverage Team: This team will have to win some close games. If our coverage on special teams resembles the performance against Atlanta, we will come out on the short end of these close games.

Corner: Deltha, get healthy now. Tory James was our best Corner last season, covering opponents #1 WR's on a bad leg. He's supposed to be healthy this year and is getting burnt like Artrell Hawkins out there. You would think that opponents would pick on Rookie Madieu Williams, but they seem to want to throw on Tory, and have exposed him badly. Williams is playing very well at this position, especially considering he was a safety. So far, he looks like the best pick that we made in this year's draft.

I suppose we could go on a little deeper, but I'm getting ridiculously tired

[Flux]

Warrick - he needs to get his ass healthy. Even though im a huge fan of giving K. Washington the #2 spot, Warrick is someone the Bengals definitely need in there. With a very young QB, having a guy you can go to short who you know will make the catch is essential. Hopefully he will be good to go for this preseason game.

Simmons - that really sucks. I actually didnt even know about this until now. Having surgery this close to the season is never good. I really doubt he would be 100% by game 1 (sucks twice b/c i had him in an IDP league as well....maybe Ill pick up Webster to make sure I get a bengal)

Caleb Miller - Like you said he looks a little lost at sometimes out there but can definitely make up for some mistakes w/ his speed. He does look small out there, and that concerns me if we are going against a power rusher, which we will several times this year.

Larson - I think he will do alright at punter, wasnt he the favorite before the other Kyle went down? He's looked decent from what ive seen and he just needs to make sure he doesnt make mistakes

Dline - I was hoping to grab Douglas, if the price was right. Just having a name in there at this point would give us some help. Too bad he doesnt even appear to be an option. Speaking of JAX Dlinemen, anyone know what the deal on Brackens is? Im assuming he was cut b/c he was due a roster bonus or some guaranteed money or something, and they werent sure he was healthy enough to play in week 1 or something. Brackens when healthy is a hell of a player (even after all those knee problems) and I wouldnt mind seeing him in a Bengals uniform. Although his salary would be more than Douglas' which seems unlikely for us to get him

Corners - Wasn't Deltha supposedly healthy enough to play in the Pats game? Im hoping he was and hopefully he should be good to go 100% by game 1. We really need him in there. James has looked like crap this preseason. They really have been picking on him a ton and Im actually hoping Madieu gets the spot across from Deltha (btw, how cool would it be if our 2 corners names were Deltha and Madieu? - yeah im tired this AM)


Just to add to your nice writeup

K. Washington - anyone know how seroius his injuries are? Is he supposed to be back for the next preseason game?

Patrick Johnson - he's out for the year w/ a broken right hand. This actually sucks considering Warrick is still a question mark as far as his injury is concerned and Washington is hurting a bit. After our top 3 we have what now? TJ, and M. Mann? Another injury could be devastating


Just some side notes in general. I think the bengals are going to have a very up and down season, and our play is going to immulate what we have seen this preseason. We have the ability and potential be beat the snot out of the defending super bowl champs, but will also just implode some weeks. This season will more than likely be completely frustrating at times, and wonderful at others. But this is what you would expect out of a very young team that is rebuilding still. Hopefully we will have more good weeks then bad, and the season will be a success and Im sure Marvin will make sure that the bad days dont happen too often