With three preseason games in the books, I wanted to take the time to review each position (in some cases, units) as we prepare this week to play the meaningless of meaningless of preseason games, as well as upcoming roster cuts. While I'm not trying to predict the roster -- and definitely not projecting depth chart -- I didn't include every player in some scenarios, but included more than what the team is expected to take (mostly because I'm just not sure who they take, or the play is pretty even between the competition).

Quarterback - Even though Palmer has been assaulted on nearly every play (it seems), he hasn't been sharp -- likely a result of being assaulted. Twice against the Saints, Palmer nearly threw interceptions because 1) the ball was overthrown and 2) the pass was too near the middle of the field intended for a receiver sprinting down the sidelines. With the assault by the opposing pass rush, Palmer is becoming too aware of what's going on around the pocket rather than what's going on downfield. Once protection flaws are worked out, and communication issues resolved, we're confident that Palmer will be Palmer and give the Bengals their best chance to win each week.

Backup quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick has been one of the few successful offensive players, completing 70% of his passes, with a 6.8 pass-per-attempt average and a 101.3 passer rating (all team highs). His 44 yards rushing is third on the team behind Chris Perry and Kenny Watson. Fitzpatrick's performance proves he'll be a coveted unrestricted free agent next season as a "veteran" quarterback that so many teams need.

1. Carson Palmer
2. Ryan Fitzpatrick
3. Jeff Rowe

Running Back - While it's exciting to see Chris Perry back to full strength, we've been missing our primary feature back, Rudi Johnson due to another hamstring injury -- this time to the other leg. However, along with their troubles protecting their quarterbacks, the offensive line has struggled rush blocking for Perry -- mostly Eric Ghiaciuc. Since the first game, Perry's yards-per-attempt has fallen from 3.8 to 3.4. Watson's 4.7 yards-per-attempt is encouraging, but a majority of his attempts have come against second team defenses, with only one attempt the entire game against the Saints.

I think the Bengals keep Dorsey over James Johnson. Though neither have done much this preseason, Dorsey is a more explosive back while James Johnson is eligible for the team's practice squad. If the Bengals haven't cut Jeremi by now, they won't.

1. Rudi Johnson
2. Chris Perry
3. Kenny Watson
4. DeDe Dorsey
5. Jeremi Johnson

Wide Receiver - Talk about depressing. With Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh nursing and rehabbing injuries ("supposedly", if you believe in conspiracies), the Bengals have been searching for that evasive receiver we hoped would step up. Jerome Simpson's 144 yards receiving is far above Chatman's 63 yards among the yardage leaders at wide receiver. However, passes are being dropped and receivers are not separating from defensive backs, forcing Palmer to hold onto the ball longer. One has to appreciate this bit of irony. If Chad Johnson was traded, then this unit has absolutely no hope going into the season, even though the team signed Chris Henry to help.

I think Andre Caldwell's injury hurts him big. While he's not on the field battling for a spot, the Bengals would be more inclined to keep Holt for experience and versatility on special teams. Caldwell is another player eligible for the practice squad. This is all based on the assumption when Henry returns, not when the season starts. When Henry is reinstated after the fourth game, the Bengals will need to decide whether to keep Holt or Caldwell -- and it's doubtful, no matter what other writers suggest, that the Bengals will let Henry go.

1. Chad Johnson
2. T.J. Houshmandzadeh
3. Antonio Chatman
4. Jerome Simpson
5. Glenn Holt
6. Andre Caldwell

Tight End - Stable as stable comes. Ben Utecht, another glowing offensive player this preseason, leads the team with 10 receptions, second with 108 yards receiving and only one of two players with a receiving touchdown through three games. Reggie Kelly is the league's best tight end blocker, taking a lot of reps in the backfield. If the Bengals keep four tight ends (which includes long snapper Brad St. Louis), then Daniel Coats makes the team.

1. Reggie Kelly
2. Ben Utecht
3. Daniel Coats
4. Brad St. Louis

Offensive Line - We've talked about their struggles, and fantasized of a Jurassic Line. Still, the running game hasn't really taken off and the quarterbacks are struggling to focus downfield rather than the pass rush -- Bengals quarterbacks have been sacked 10 times, and knocked down three times as much. I'm not sure the Bengals will keep a second center, depending on Bobbie Williams to play that role. On the other hand, you could easily replace Nate Livings with Dan Santucci with limited fall in production. Something of note: Kyle Cook took some first-team snaps against the Saints in the third quarter.

1. Levi Jones
2. Andrew Whitworth
3. Eric Ghiaciuc
4. Bobbie Williams
5. Stacy Andrews
6. Willie Anderson
7. Nate Livings
8. Scott Kooistra
9. Anthony Collins
10. Dan Santucci

Defensive Line - Domata Peko has impressed me this preseason against the rush. He's working the line, challenging double teams and finding ways to stuff gaps at the point of attack. Other than that, I think this unit is just down right dreadful. Fanene and Rucker appear like average ends with limited upside, while John Thornton and Jason Shirley have made a library seem like a Metallica concert. Pat Sims, before his injury, impressed me with his aggressiveness and motor-style play. Hopefully we get him back when the season starts. While Angelo Craig has made plays, I've labeled him a practice squad player until either Rucker or Fanene (even though he signed an extension this offseason) are let go. I see no scenario in the world in which Eric Henderson makes this squad -- nor did I see any scenario that the Bengals sign Chris Henry.

1. Antwan Odom (DE)
2. Robert Geathers (DE)
3. Johnathan Fanene (DE)
4. Frostee Rucker (DE)
5. John Thornton
6. Domata Peko
7. Jason Shirley
8. Pat Sims
9. Michael Myers -- I'm adding Myers here for two reasons. The team could be concerned about Shirley's upcoming court case and keeping Myers adds an insurance policy in case Pat Sims' rehabs slowly.

Linebacker - I'm actually more impressed with this unit than I thought I would be before training camp. At WILL, Keith Rivers and Brandon Johnson have combined for 28 tackles and a sack -- Rivers accounts for 17 tackles and that sack. Corey Mays has been solid at backup middle linebacker and Darryl Blackstock's two sacks leads the team. The thing I would be most concerned about is Dhani Jones' nine total tackles through three games. Ahmad Brooks had some first-team snaps at defense when Blackstock suffered a cramp against the Saints. Also expect Carl-Johan Bjork to make the team as he's exempt from the 53-man roster.

1. Dhani Jones
2. Keith Rivers
3. Darryl Blackstock
4. Rashad Jeanty
5. Corey Mays
6. Brandon Johnson
7. Jim Maxwell
8. Ahmad Brooks
9. Anthony Hoke (?)

Secondary - For the most part, I think our starting cornerbacks have done a decent job working on an island. For the plays that you see them get beat, either a dump-truck named Calvin Johnson used his super-size advantage, or the quarterback found a hole in zone coverage. I don't like the play of our safeties -- Dexter Jackson is Dexter Jackson and Marvin White still struggles keeping the receiver in front preventing long plays. White is a hitter though, and his efforts to make sure-tackles have improved greatly since the first game.

David Jones scares the hell out of me, and I don't see much of an improvement with Castille. O'Neal has accepted his role, and done well, as the team's third cornerback giving the Bengals good depth at the position.

1. Leon Hall (CB)
2. Johnathan Joseph (CB)
3. Deltha O'Neal (CB)
4. David Jones (CB)
5. Simeon Castille (CB)
6. Dexter Jackson (S)
7. Marvin White (S)
8. Chinedum Ndukwe (S)
9. Corey Lynch (S)
10. Herana-Daze Jones (S) -- mostly for his special teams work.

Anyway, those are my impressions at this point. If you have more, or want to adjust my impressions because I always miss at least one player (or two) when I do these things, it's all yours.

It would seem that the Bengals.com depth chart is either a bit behind, or evident that Keith Rivers will get limited work on the first-team defense. As of Saturday afternoon, the site lists Brandon Johnson and Jim Maxwell ahead of Keith Rivers as the team's WILL linebacker. Rivers got work with the first team this week in practice, making us believe that Rivers, at least, moved up to the second WILL linebacker. And truthfully, we're wondering if the team is going to move Brandon Johnson to the SAM while Rivers starts at WILL this Sunday against the Lions.

It would be foolish by the team to leave Rivers out of the starting lineup when the reality is that he'll likely start the season as the team's first-team WILL. At the same time, it would be foolish not to reward Brandon Johnson for his hard work and high-value performances in practice and scrimmages by benching him in favor of Rivers and Darryl Blackstock -- the second SAM behind an injured Rashad Jeanty.

It should be noted that Brandon Johnson has never played SAM backer, but Mike Zimmer sees potential. "It limits some things you can do with your fronts, but it improves some other things. It improves our speed, our coverage ability. He should be OK (rushing off the edge)."

In truth, Brandon Johnson is behind the eight-ball, but in a good way. Dhani Jones will be the team's starting linebacker. Keith Rivers, being a hellva talented first-round linebacker, will most likely start at WILL. So you figure that Johnson will backup Rivers at WILL -- or perhaps challenge Corey Mays as the second MLB during 3-4 formations.

The SAM position can be somewhat of a toss-up. Rashad Jeanty is injured and will likely be out for a couple more weeks; though he figures to get the starting spot at SAM. Ahmad Brooks has fallen to the third-man on the charts, still learning the position. If Brandon Johnson performs well at SAM the remainder of training camp (if the team even entertains the notion), while Jeanty will be out for a couple of weeks, Johnson has a chance to become the team's starting SAM for the entire season.

In one sense, it's all in his hands (stepping up and performing as SAM). In another, it's totally out of his hands (team chooses to make him a backup rather than competing for the starting spot).

Either way, it's a nice problem to have after last season.

Let's see, what am I looking for this season? Actually, a lot. I am looking forward to seeing how Rudi Johnson and Chris Perry rebound. I'm looking forward to seeing Chad Johnson pipe down, celebrate a few touchdowns and watch T.J. Houshmandzadeh throw his body away for a cheap two-yard reception on third-and-one. Carson Palmer and every god-like thing associated. I'm looking forward to seeing Stacy Andrews -- who obviously now believes he can have a long successful NFL career and grow as such. I'm looking forward to Pat Sims and Jason Shirley (well, more like praying that we'll see him), our backup wide receivers, the tremendous upside in the secondary and our offense FINALLY incorporating the tight end -- eeee-fect-ively.

Finally, I'm also looking forward to Keith Rivers and Angelo Craig (the only two linebackers drafted during the NFL draft -- any year -- on this roster). And no, I'm not including Brooks; though the argument could be made. I'm specifically speaking about the NFL draft, not the Supplemental. But if you want to include him, you're more than welcome.

Odell Thurman, David Pollack, Caleb Miller, Landon Johnson, A.J. Nicholson, Khalid Abdullah... are all gone. In fact, only the two linebackers drafted, on this team, right now, are Keith Rivers and UC's Angelo Craig.

Daryl Blackstock (signed UFA, 2008)
Ahmad Brooks (supplemental draft, 2006)
Anthony Hoke (signed CFA, 2008)
Dan Howell (signed CFA, 2008)
Rashad Jeanty (signed FA, 2006)
Brandon Johnson (signed FA, 2008)
Dhani Jones (signed FA, 2007)
Jim Maxwell (signed FA, 2007)
Corey Mays (waiver, 2007)

That's all I have to say, really. Just something to munch on. A side note, Rivers now has a Yard Barker blog.

With Keith Rivers, and the obvious return of Odell Thurman, the Bengals linebacker corp. was starting to get crowded. It was unlikely that the Bengals would take all 13 linebackers (including unsigned Keith Rivers and Angelo Craig) into training camp. On Thursday, they waived Anthony Schlegel and Roy Manning -- two linebackers that I didn't think stood a chance at winning a roster spot. Manning signed a one-year deal in mid-March. Curnutte writes that the Bengals will be taking 10 linebackers into training camp assuming they get Rivers signed. In reality, the Bengals could have 11 with Angelo Craig -- who could just as easily be a "tweener" (played DE and OLB in college), but it's more likely Craig will be a defensive end rather than a linebacker simply due to the amount of linebackers on roster.

1. Ahmad Brooks
2. Rashad Jeanty
3. Dhani Jones
4. Keith Rivers (unsigned)
5. Odell Thurman
6. Eric Henderson
7. Daryl Blackstock
8. Brandon Johnson
9. Corey Mays
10. Jim Maxwell