Rudi Johnson took a physical and worked out Monday with the Lions. Sean writes that the Lions "aren't necessarily close to signing him." If the Lions sign Rudi, then they'd likely let Tatum Bell go.

Before Deltha O'Neal signed with the Patriots, the St. Louis Rams tried to get in the mix.

Letting go of Willie Anderson, Rudi Johnson and Deltha O'Neal saves the Bengals $9.7 million against the cap. No word on what, if anything, they'll use that for. This was performance related, my ass. That's a lot of coin.

As per usual of James Walker's AFC North Mailbag, he answers one Bengals reader asking about the league reducing Chris Henry's four-game suspension.

There's a chance that Ahmad Brooks could be successful in San Francisco with Mike Singletary being Brooks' position coach. Good luck to him. While he was here, he was a disappointment of physical-beastly proportions.

Great piece on local product, Josh Betts, getting signed with the Indianapolis Colts practice squad.

Ludwig takes it to the Bengals franchise, saying while they have incredible talent, there's just no heart with this franchise. I can't argue against his point.

AROUND THE SPORTS BLOG NATION

Let me say this. Behind the Steel Curtain is run by quality Steelers fans that are good thoughtful thinkers, and aren't mindless bashers of the Bengals. Actually, I've commented there several times and never felt the need to go into mindless trash talking (never much been a fan of it). Anyway, Blitzburgh writes a good impression of the Bengals -- basically questioning our internal struggles. Will the Steelers look to add Willie Anderson? Perhaps the Browns?

The Browns finalized their practice squad.

We visited with Canal Street Chronicles before preseason game #3 to talk about the game. Right now, while Gustav threatens the Gulf Coast, Saintsational was forced into evacuation and documents it.

AROUND LOCAL COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Fellow Mason High School alum, Brandon Yingling will replace UC Bearcats place kicker, Jake Rogers this weekend against Oklahoma, after he missed two PATs against East Kentucky. Yingling replaced Rogers last Thursday and made all four PAT attempts.

Oklahoma isn't taking any team in the Big East lightly. Oklahoma offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson says: "The Big East isn’t taking a back seat to anybody as we saw last year right in front of our faces and on national TV."

Wilson was an assistant coach for nine seasons with Miami University (imagine that), playing against the Bearcats for nine seasons.

Jaamal Berry, one of the top running backs in the nation, has committed to the Ohio State Buckeyes.

And Berry claims, after speaking with him, that Beanie Wells is all right. "He said he's going to be OK, I asked him how he was doing, and he seemed cool with it. He wasn't down or anything. He was like, 'No problem.'"

A certain former Bengals super-potential-star, found a home, and a teammate to another former Bengals linebacker. The San Francisco 49ers acquired Brooks on Sunday, writes Niners Nation.

If you're wondering who Brooks' teammate is, it's Takeo Spikes.

Bering Sea Bengal's assessment is that releasing Willie Anderson and Rudi Johnson was for health reasons. Marvin Lewis said as much. I disagree with this, which C Trent points out saying "Anderson practiced more this preseason than he has in the past."

The team needed reasons to cut both players that helped them save money under the cap, as well as a few millions in the pocket; since neither were projected starters, the Bengals didn't want to pay them as much. In truth, it's a reasonable business decision; but so is putting together a successful product with parts that help you to those ends.

However, it's difficult to find anyone write that the Bengals are a better team after Anderson's release; though mostly everyone does a good job pointing out that he's not young, has suffered injuries in recent seasons, and is a bit costly. Of which, two out of three actually apply to this season.

In the case of our running backs, releasing Rudi Johnson doesn't hurt the team with Chris Perry coming on and Kenny Watson proving his worth last season. On the other hand, I don't see releasing Anderson, promoting Scott Kooistra and Todd Collins as the team's primary backup tackles, as something that makes the team better. I see it as hurting the team's depth. However, Kyle Cook got a roster spot, so maybe I don't know what I'm talking about.

Paul Daugherty is arguing the business side of things, saying that "when your time is up, you better be moving toward the door, so you don't get shoved that way."

Fans react.

Scott Priestile concludes the same way most others are after cutting Anderson, Rudi Johnson and veteran Deltha O'Neal, "While Lewis's logic is questionable, the team's direction is indisputable. The Bengals are younger, cheaper and healthier today than they were last week."

But are they better? Nearly everything I've read consciously avoids answering that question using the same talking points that Priestile has. The Bengals are younger. So what? Some of the league's best players are "older". They're definitely cheaper, but aren't magically healthier this season. Just look at our wide receivers and safeties. Are they "healthy"?

Chick Ludwig wasn't impressed with Lewis during the press conference that announced the cuts. "Some coaches would’ve began their news conferences with filibusters full of praise in tribute to their fallen warriors. Not Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis. I had to “pry” some praise for Willie Anderson out of him. Is Marvin callous or compassionate? Judge for yourself."

Anyway, enough about all that.

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A player the Bengals deemed a project, with tons of potential ruined by injuries, was Eric Henderson. Going from defensive end to linebacker, to hybrid pass rushing DE/LB, seemed like a hell of a proposition. While with Georgia Tech, Henderson recorded 25 career sacks, and 59.5 tackles for loss. A three-time all-ACC player, Henderson finished his college career with 176 tackles, seven forced fumbles and eight pass breakups. Against Auburn in 2003, Henderson recorded three sacks and four tackles for losses.

Unlike Anderson's history of healthy problems, Henderson has struggled to even make the field. Releasing him doesn't hurt the team's depth (the difference in argument between Henderson and Anderson).

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Releasing Ahmad Brooks, to me, isn't that big of a deal -- in terms of the team's production this season. Let's be honest with Brooks; he was all potential with beastly physical attributes. Instead, his release is the team's most recent draft pick failure; used as a third-round pick in the 2007 NFL draft (he was a 2006 supplemental draft pick). After suffering an injury early in 2007, Brooks' impression with the team and coaching staff dimmed, especially from this offseason through training camp. It would have been neat to see his potential fulfilled, but that's not the case. Instead his potential will likely attach to another team.

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A funny musing. In the past week, Chad Johnson became Chad Ocho Cinco. Rudi Johnson was released and James Johnson was waived. That leaves Brandon Johnson and Jeremi Johnson as the remaining Johnsons on this team.

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By now, you're made the connection. Two Auburn players were released Saturday. In truth, that makes three after the Bengals let Kenny Irons go. Pat Sims is the last Auburn player on the team, and Lewis says of Sims: "Pat’s not been able to work. We’re probably still a couple weeks away from seeing him, and making a determination on him."

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Matt Bowen discusses the cover 4 scheme.

Andrew Brandt talks about one of the toughest days of the year for coaches, and players hoping to catch on with a team.

Bleacher Report says the Bengals are in an absolute mess (now that we dumped Anderson, we should be better now).

The Los Angeles Times predicts the Bengals will finish third in the AFC North -- not that we care what the LA Times predicts.

In Cincinnati, Marvin Lewis is on his third defensive coordinator. Can Mike Zimmer draw up the right schemes to start putting heat on opposing quarterbacks, who were sacked a league-low 22 times last season? A lot of that depends on the reliability of cornerbacks Johnathan Joseph and Leon Hall. The Bengals expect a lot from the two first-round picks.

Pro Trade argues that no NFL team will claim Rudi Johnson. I seriously doubt that. Some teams are liberal enough to give a player a look, no matter how degraded they appear to be.

Maurice Purify is not a free agent, as this article presents. By rule, a player with less than four accrued seasons is put on the waiver -- more than that, they are simply released making them an unrestricted free agent. Purify was waived, allowing 31 other teams to claim him, and sign him to their club. If he's not claimed, then the Bengals can (and likely will), sign the former Nebraska receiver to the practice squad.

We were wondering during Thursday Night's preseason game how the Bengals running back roster would look kickoff weekend. Curnutte believes the Bengals will dump Rudi Johnson and keep Chris Perry, Kenny Watson and DeDe Dorsey on the roster, placing James Johnson on the practice squad after his performance against the Colts.

James Johnson's ran eight times for 54 yards against the Colts with a 42-yard play midway through the fourth quarter. Without that 42-yard run, Johnson rushes seven times for 12 yards. DeDe Dorsey had a nice night rushing for 4.2 yards-per-carry (38 yards, nine attempts), including a six-yard touchdown run on the first play of the fourth quarter. Kenny Watson had the worst night among running backs (well, other than Rudi Johnson of course) with a 1.6 yards-per-carry average (10 yards, six rushes). In the game, the Bengals rushed for 171 yards on 38 attempts (4.5 average).

Ironically enough, Ryan Fitzpatrick finished the preseason out-rushing Kenny Watson and DeDe Dorsey.

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The Bengals leading receivers this preseason were two guys not on the roster last season. Jerome Simpson caught the most passes (11) and recorded the most yards (157). Ben Utecht's 10 receptions and 108 yards receiving ranked second in each category. Glenn Holt is the only player to record more than one touchdown reception. In fact, he has two of the team's three total passing touchdowns with Utecht having the other.

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Domata Peko is the only defensive lineman with more than one sack, with one-sack performances coming from Robert Geathers, Michael Myers, Jason Shirley, and Angelo Craig. Darryl Blackstock (2), Keith Rivers, Kyries Herbert, and Dexter Jackson also recorded sacks.

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The preseason question of finding that number three receiver was answered, by signing Chris Henry. However suspended through the first four games, it would appear that Simpson has the edge at that spot; but Chatman could find himself there based on whether the Bengals feel confident that Simpson knows the playbook.

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Kyle Larson punted a whopping 28 times (average seven-per-game) with a pedestrian 41.9 average.

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Even I was pleased with the performance of Ahmad Brooks. But I don't think that the final preseason game against a team that played few, if any, of their starters is that much of a reason to keep him. I still think he's on the chopping block, and I think that if Brooks was good enough, that he wouldn't have fallen so far, so quickly, on the depth chart and been mediocre in the other preseason games. Then again, the Bengals coaching staff loves projects with players that have potential (see Eric Henderson and Stacy Andrews -- who actually worked out).

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Are people actually considering Fitzpatrick the better starting quarterback in Cincinnati?

I really enjoyed Fitzpatrick's performance this preseason. He had the best quarterback play, recording a 104.2 passer rating, no picks and two scores. Along with his 218 yards passing (which is second, behind Jeff Rowe's 228), Fitzpatrick added 79 yards rushing (scrambling). However, we don't need is a scrambling quarterback. What we need is our two Pro Bowl wide receivers back without protection breakdowns that force our quarterbacks to scramble. All of which, I believe, will return by kickoff weekend.

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Along with Keith Rivers, I think Corey Lynch is one of the most impressive defensive rookies. Even though Pat Sims didn't record those key numbers (which is normal for a defensive tackle), I liked his motor with his noticeable intensity. With Shirley coming on against the Colts, I think the Bengals are close to having a solid defensive tackle rotation. Given more experience with the rookies, and the noticeable improvement with Domata Peko, there's a lot to look forward to this group. Once John Thornton leaves after this season, the Bengals could either draft another defensive tackle in the 2009 NFL Draft, or develop Antwon Burton with the practice squad this season.

Secondary-wise, I think this unit is much better than last season -- or the year before that, or the year before that. Johnathan Joseph was an aggressive hitter during the preseason, coming up to the line of scrimmage when the opposing team rushed to his side. He played the island role, along with Leon Hall, as best as we could expect of them. While big-body wide receivers will generally always have their way with most NFL cornerbacks, I didn't think to myself that our young cornerbacks will be problematic.

My biggest concern wasn't the secondary against the rush, nor the play of our starting cornerbacks. It was our safeties against the pass, allowing the opposing wide receiver to stream past them. This didn't happen against the Colts as much as it did in the first preseason games. Still, Corey Lynch and Marvin White are young enough to learn from it and become better as the season wears on. Not to mention Chinedum Ndukwe missed the preseason.

I do believe, however, that our secondary is as deep as it has ever been during the Marvin Lewis era.

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Like many of you, I just don't know what to expect this season. On one hand, this team is talented enough among their starters; everyone returns, the protection schemes improve and the rushing attack is actually meaningful. On the other hand, we could the regular season become an extension of the preseason becoming the worst season during the Marvin Lewis era. Either way, the critical aspect for success on this team will be the offense. An improved defense will be icing on the cake, that could find themselves in the role to win games if the offense sputters.

In the end, your guess is as good as mine.

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.

Offensively, the Bengals are clearly struggling. Much of it has to do with an offensive line that struggled pass blocking. But other factors include the lack of a consistent running game (while Palmer was in), T.J. Houshmandzadeh being out and Chad Johnson not really apart of the passing offenses game plan (plus injury); overall spirit and attitude seemed low. Nothing has come together for this first-team offense. Ryan Fitzpatrick improvised in the pocket, while Kenny Watson loved the Jurassic Line's potential run blocking -- note, Dave Lapham and Anthony Munoz love the Jurassic Line. Once Watson and Chris Perry were removed from the game, the Bengals offense skydived without a parachute. It also doesn't help the Bengals when the offense goes three and out three times in the second half as well as failing to convert a goal-line rush attempt with the team's smallest running back.

Defensively, I saw more good than bad. Twenty seven points wasn't allowed by the first team -- 17 of the Lions 27 points came in the fourth quarter. I thought the cornerbacks were average, but I attached that to a bigger and tougher Calvin Johnson -- who was Kitna's only receiver while he was in the first two series'. I thought the secondary as a whole, was average. Not terribly bad, but for the love of god, they have room to improve.

I believe that Deltha O'Neal, aside two first down receptions allowed, moved himself to the team's third cornerback -- if he's not, I'm writing a letter to someone. David Jones isn't the type of cornerback that can sit on an island. Darryl Blackstock and Brandon Johnson are two of the most underrated free agent acquisitions. Ahmad Brooks isn't just in danger of being cut, but he's so far behind other linebackers on the team that if he's not cut, I'll be surprised. He makes no impression during the game, even against third team offensive players. Dhani Jones is playing better than last season. One thing that impressed me about Keith Rivers is that when the play goes away from him, he stays home, watching cutback lanes; he's not over-pursuing. He's the team's perfect WILL linebacker. The Bengals front four puts zero pressure on the quarterback, allowing the passer to sit in the pocket comfortably (numb). Even hall of fame cornerbacks can't defend an NFL wide receiver for seven-plus seconds.

With all that said, the Bengals first-team defense gets a passing grade from me. I'm not expecting shutout football, nor every drive to end in three-and-outs. I expect the other team to score -- they're also professional football teams. However, just to point out that our first-team defense wasn't all that bad, take a look at the breakdown by half:

	First Half	Second Half	Game
First Downs Allowed	6	10	16
Total Yards Allowed	166	209	375
Passing Yards Allowed	138	125	263
Rushing Yards Allowed	28	84	112

In fact, if you take out the touchdown given up to Jon Kitna and Calvin Johnson on the Lion's second drive, the Bengals defense forced the Lions into four drives with five plays or less, all ending in punt.

Drive	Plays	Yards	Result
1	4	43	Punt
2	2	36	Touchdown
3	3	7	Punt
4	10	28	Missed FG
5	5	22	Punt
6	5	21	Punt

It wasn't until the Bengals brought in their second and third-team that the struggles began. The game's final three possessions for the Lions ended with a field goal and two touchdowns.

Offensively, the Bengals were disgusting. Palmer throws a pick, Shayne Graham misses a field goal (actually, a block) and the Bengals punt twice before Ryan Fitzgerald takes the Bengals 99 yards on 13 plays for the team's lone touchdown.

Concluding... what I'm going to offer you is something to think on. The Bengals defense is improving. While they're not instantaneously blowing people away, the first team did much better against the Lions than the Packers. And if we got that effort in the first half, all of last season, we'd be pumped. With two games left to work, I believe the Bengals defense will be vastly improved over last year -- if not the best of the Marvin Lewis era.

As for the offense, well, they have a lot of work to do -- like the offensive line getting comfortable and receivers stepping up.

5 - Sacks allowed by the Bengals offensive line.
2 to 1 - Pass to run ratio by the Bengals offense (48 passes, 21 rushes)... note, five pass calls actually ended in sack.
13 - Number of different receivers by the Bengals offense.
33 - Yards returned by one Antonio Chatman punt return -- thanks to DeAngelo Craig.
114 - Yards receiving by rookie receiver, Jerome Simpson.

Chad Johnson says "I'll be back in a week." However, Marvin Lewis has already declared Johnson out next week against the Saints. Either way, it doesn't appear that he'll miss any regular season time healing from a shoulder strain.

Marvin Lewis on Jerome Simpson: "Every time we turn on the lights, he comes through and makes some good plays." Palmer had a different take, but felt Simpson is improving. Palmer says that Simpson has a "long way to go before he can come into a game and you can count on him."

Pat Sims "left the locker room on crutches with a sprained foot and turf toe, respectively."

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.

While "Pragmatic Bengals Fan" broke down the upcoming game against the Packers, he wondered about the hamstrings of T.J. Houshmandzadeh and Rudi Johnson -- players likely out Monday night. I haven't referenced Rudi Johnson's hammy much, but I admit, when I heard he tweaked his hamstring, I cringed. Is this truly a "minor injury" as the team is making us believe, or is this just a product of Rudi Johnson's degradation we saw the past two seasons -- incurring injury after losing weight to gain quickness, acceleration and speed. The one positive is that his "minor" hamstring injury is to his right leg, rather than his left which kept him out (and back) much of last season.

Whether Jonathan Fanene practiced on the first-team defense over Frostee Rucker because Rucker isn't getting it done, or the team just wants to see more of Fanene, who can say. Luckily, Antwan Odom aims to be ready by kickoff weekend.

Chad Johnson might miss the pre-season opener against the Green Bay Packers. If that's the case, and honestly it might not be a bad idea, then you have to figure that Marcus Maxwell and Antonio Chatman would get the start with Jerome Simpson and Andre Caldwell likely rotating in for some first-team snaps before taking a majority of the snaps with the second team and some with the third. (is that the longest run-on sentence you've ever seen, or what?)

Chatman is "trying to prove something to the Bengals because" he's been hurt. Bratkowski is still concerned about the receivers as a whole.

"I can't ever remember this many balls being dropped at a training camp down here," said Bratkowski, the Bengals offensive coordinator, after watching Friday's practice fittingly end on rookie receiver Jerome Simpson's drop. "Right now we're searching for those guys. Nobody has stepped up. Too many mental errors. Too many technique errors."

Former Bengal Matthias Askew will receive $500,000 from the city of Cincinnati after a settlement was reached after Askew claimed unlawful arrest and excessive force in 2006. If you remember, Askew was almost immediately released from the team during a period in which several Bengals embarrassed the hell out of the franchise.

Mike Zimmer on Carson Palmer and the Bengals receivers compared to Atlanta last year: "It was an eye-opener for me, especially coming from Atlanta. Watching those guys trying to throw and catch the ball compared to watching these guys throw and catch the ball is like night and day. It's not even close."

Did James Walker take a page out of CincyJungle.com?

Special Teams coach Darren Simmons is working with James Johnson on returning punts -- the leading candidate for returning punts is Deltha O'Neal, for now. O'Neal has two career punt returns for touchdown and a career 10.0 yards-per-return average. In his Bengals career, O'Neal has returned eight punts (eight more called for fair catch), for 43 yards.

MVN says the Bengals will finish 6-10 because of their defense.

Reggie Kelly on the off-season acquisition of Ben Utecht:

"It hasn't changed anything to me, it's just opened up the opportunity for the tight ends to get more passes down the field," Kelly said. "He's going to do a tremendous job of catching balls, he and Carson (Palmer) have an amazing chemistry. You're going to see big things out of the tight end position, especially out of Ben Utecht."

Chinedum Ndukwe returns to camp on crutches.

Rashad Jeanty's mysterious injury could force him out until the final pre-season game. Jeanty hasn't always been a healthy cat, missing the first five games of 2007 with a leg injury, then missing another due to a knee bruise late in the season. He also missed the CFL playoffs and the Grey Cup game because of a hand injury in 2005.

Ahmad Brooks knows now that he could be fighting for a roster spot.

Chris breaks down the 24-20 loss the Browns suffered to the Jets, claiming the Browns actually had the advantage when the starters were in. He points out that the Browns defense is short on depth and he worries about the Steelers which reminds me (and all of you) that no one outside of the Bengals fan base is taking this 2008 Bengals team seriously. Oh, how everyone will be surprised.

One of the biggest question marks going into this season is the Steelers offensive line. BTSC points out that they looked solid in their 16-10 win Friday night over in-state rivals, the Philadelphia Eagles.

Finally, I had to admit that the opening ceremonies for the 2008 Olympics were impressive. I can't really explain it, but the choreography for those boxes that moved up and down with, what appears to be, over a hundred people, was both trippy and neat.

The Pro Football Talk guys say that negotiations between Keith Rivers and the Cincinnati Bengals are close. Apparently it has something to do with ingenuity -- which means the report isn't very likely, knowing the Brown family. Hobson, on the other hand, sees no evidence of that and reminds us that what they're saying is merely "speculation".

Ahmad Brooks is failing at the high expectations given to him after the depth chart placed him third behind Rashad Jeanty and Darryl Blackstock. He was even "chased" off of the kickoff team and replaced by Tyler Whaley. Other notables on the depth chart include (which doesn't mean any changes were made):

• Jeff Rowe over Jordan Palmer as the third QB.
• Kenny Watson is over Chris Perry as the backup running back while DeDe Dorsey is ahead James Johnson for the fourth spot.
• Daniel Coats is the first fullback; Jeremi Johnson is fourth.
• Brandon Johnson is the starting WILL backed up by Jim Maxwell and then Keith Rivers.
• Punt returning duties have Deltha O'Neal, Antonio Chatman and T.J. Houshmandzadeh -- all experienced returners.
• Glenn Holt and Andre Caldwell are the leading kickoff return candidates.

Executive Vice President, Katie Blackburn on Keith Rivers: "I keep saying he'll be here any second. I was optimistic two weeks ago."

Five questions with Chinedum Ndukwe.

Chad Johnson is back, but he's being worked in slow.

Kenny Irons was waived off injured reserve, completely severing his ties with the Cincinnati Bengals. Irons is entitled to $275,000 (rather than his salary $370,000 due this year).

Andrew Whitworth is taking snaps at center preparing for "emergency situation". It has nothing to do with Eric Ghiaciuc sporting a mohawk haircut.

The Bengals Monday Night pre-season opener will kickoff this Monday against the Green Bay Packers. Who/what do you expect to get the most coverage?

Willie Anderson on taking days off. "It's great to go home and sleep in your own bed, but you end up getting back here and realizing how sore you are."

When Bobbie Williams takes snaps at center, Paul Alexander calls it "the Jurassic Line". Also in that story, Chick Ludwig writes that Frostee Rucker was pulled after jumping offsides twice -- replaced by Jonathan Fanene.

The Ravens won't have their starting offensive tackles, a wideout and Willis McGahee when they take the field for their first pre-season game Thursday night. Terrell Suggs hasn't been seen for the entire camp.

Pending his approval, the Reds and White Sox agreed on a Ken Griffey Jr. trade.

Sedrick Ellis' contract is worth up to $49 million with $32-33 million in base salaries. However, Derrick Harvey isn't close, ESPN writes, quoting Jack Del Rio:

"He's falling behind, there's no question," Del Rio said, according to the newspaper. "It's unfortunate he's not here. There were some deals in front of us that were outrageous in my opinion. [That] makes it difficult to have him here. We have a belief in where we're gonna go and we still have a belief on where it's gonna go, and right now we're not in agreement. At some point, you lose so much that you don't become as valuable. We're not there yet, but it's time to get into camp."

Big Cat Country is concerned that a prolonged holdout may happen between the Jaguars and Derrick Harvey. That doesn't bode well if Rivers and his agent are still trying to figure out their number based on the slot ahead of them.

Ahmad Brooks likes the anonymity of being the strong-side outside linebacker as opposed to last season when he was the team's middle linebacker with high expectations. "Yeah, I feel pretty good not being asked so many questions."

James Walker sits down with Marvin White and asks five questions.

Five things to know about the Cincinnati Bengals.

“I’m a lot bigger than the rest of the receivers and I use that to the best of my ability." Mario Urrutia hoping to make a big impact.

T.J. Houshmandzadeh is "solid as hell".

Robert Geathers absence Wednesday night was unexplained and Chad Johnson "showed no signs of a limp".

Bobbie Williams is still getting work in as the team's backup center.

There's a lot (and I mean a lot) of glowing reviews over Rudi Johnson who spent this off-season rebuilding his leg strength and maintaining a diet to be leaner. "He ate all the stuff you'd hide in your napkin as a kid." Eric Lindsey writes that Rudi "looks bigger, stronger and just as fast."

Steelers' rookie wide receiver Limas Sneed had a set back in Wednesday's practice.

Browns' return man, Joshua Cribbs, has been lining up at quarterback in shotgun formation, rolling out and even passing.