UPDATE: Watson could be signed back.
Bengals could sign Kenny Watson back after Sunday's game against the Cowboys, writes Geoff Hobson. "With head coach Marvin Lewis saying Friday that he thought Watson could get ready for next week's game against the Jets that may mean Watson is back soon."

In a very surprising move Saturday afternoon, the Bengals decided to part ways with backup running back Kenny Watson, opening a roster spot for wide receiver Chris Henry. Henry's activation was expected... using Watson's spot wasn't.

The move is especially surprising considering the team's lack of depth at running back. After Perry felt soreness in his hamstring Monday morning, the team kept his reps limited until Friday's practice. DeDe Dorsey was placed on Injured Reserve after the loss to the Browns. Later, the Bengals signed Cedric Benson in response to the shortage at running back. Then, on Saturday afternoon the Bengals cut Kenny Watson; now we're back to two active running backs on the 53-man roster.

1. Chris Perry
2. Cedric Benson

James Johnson still sits on the team's practice squad, and in order for him to join the 53-man roster, the Bengals will have to open a spot on the roster.

Watson joined Cincinnati in 2003, playing in 60 games with the Bengals, rushing for 1,094 yards on 236 carries and eight rushing touchdowns. His career-year came in 2007, relieving the oft-injured Rudi Johnson, rushing for 763 yards and scoring seven touchdowns -- he picked up 40 first downs on 178 carries. In four seasons in which he wasn't hurt and actually rushed the ball, his season yards-per-rush average were 6.2, 5.5, 4.3 and 4.6 respectively.

UPDATE: Dave agrees that releasing Watson is a bad move. However, NFL.com says that Watson was released because our RB position is crowded. LOL. I suppose two IS a crowd.

Phase one completed, comes phase two -- waiver wire acquisitions.

The Bengals picked up offensive guard, Frank Davis from the Detroit Lions and defensive tackle Orien Harris from the New Orleans Saints.

The Bengals terminated the contract of Michael Myers and placed Dan Santucci on Injured Reserve to make room.

From a Bengals press released (via Curnutte's blog):

-- Acquired G Frank Davis on waivers from Detroit. (Davis 6-3, 325; South Florida) is a third-year NFL player. He played in 11 games with three starts in 2006, after making the Lions roster as a college free agent. He was on the Reserve/Injured list last season, due to a knee injury suffered in preseason, but he came back this year to play in all four Lions preseason games, with two starts at LG.

-- Acquired DT Orien Harris on waivers from New Orleans. (Harris 6-3, 300; Miami-Fla.) played in all four Saints preseason games and led the team with 20 tackles, including a sack. He has two prior seasons in the NFL, but does not yet have an accrued year toward free agency, and is classified a first-year player. He entered the NFL in 2006 as a fourth-round draft choice of Pittsburgh and played in two games for Cleveland after being signed off the Steelers practice squad. Last season, he was on Buffalo’s practice squad before being signed to the Saints roster, where he was inactive for two games.

Along with Carl-Johan Bjork, the Bengals announced five players signed to the team's practice squad -- they're allowed a maximum of nine with Bjork's exemption.

Dan Howell, LB
James Johnson, RB
Nate Livings, Guard
Maurice Purify, WR
Mario Urrutia, WR

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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).

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.

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.

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.

Generally, when training camp begins through an early segment of the regular season, the defense has a natural advantage. It takes time for the offense to gel, to get their timing, and to generally learn the playbook. The defensive playbook is generally simple compared to the offense, and relies on gap control, responsibility and instinct. So it's not really a surprise if the defense outshines the offense early, like the defense winning 44-27 against the offense during Friday night's intra-squad scrimmage.

I said in the comments of another post that perhaps the team's best off-season acquisition is the team's defensive coordinator, Mike Zimmer. Not because of the scheme, or the talent. Rather he's installing a mentality of a toughness and aggressiveness we haven't seen in here in a long time. Zimmer said of Friday's scrimmage: “I thought they did what I asked them. I said if you make a mistake make it full speed. Play hard. And we've been stressing all week, tackling. We surrounded the ball real well and played physical. I thought we did a decent job of stopping the run.”

Carson Palmer went 6-10 for 51 yards passing recording a 21-yard touchdown pass to Antonio Chatman. Leon Hall was covering. Chris Perry recorded 50 yards total (9-33 rushing, 3-17 receiving). Rudi Johnson, DeDe Dorsey and Kenny Watson all sat. Jerome Simpson caught a 43-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Fitzpatrick after sprinting down the sideline outpacing Deltha O'Neal.

"I'm just here to play my best," Brandon Johnson said. Johnson continues to shine closing the window for Keith Rivers to make the starting lineup while David Dunn plays his little games. Michael Myers recorded two sacks on Ryan Fitzpatrick and cornerback Simeon Castille sacked Jordan Palmer while Corey Lynch recorded a pick against young Palmer in the end zone. Jordan did score a touchdown pass to rookie tight end Matt Sherry on a ten-yard pass.

If you watched the highlights on Bengals.com, you got a good dose of Marvin White. It seemed he did a fine job filling gaps, killing cutback lanes, on nearly every rush. The defense held the offense to 48 total yards rushing on 23 attempts.

Overall, the coaches and players were satisfied with the progress they've made this off-season. Units and players from all positions -- except for running backs who were down three players -- made good plays. Defensively, the unit is heeding Mike Zimmer's attitude, especially the defensive line that held the offensive line allowing Brandon Johnson to roam; though five defensive linemen had at least one tackle.

Around the Web.

T.J. Houshmandzadeh may take it easy, or even take off, next week "with a nagging hamstring".

Players Brandon Johnson, Antonio Chatman, Jerome Simpson, Michael Myers, Simeon Castille and Corey Lynch all shined when the big stars were out.

Brandon Johnson is taking full advantage of a River-less camp.

Second-year Jets cornerback, Darrelle Revis (who would have been drafted by the Bengals if he was available and Leon Hall was drafted earlier), says that Chad Johnson was the toughest for him to cover.

The Ravens are dealing with a rash of injuries during camp. But Rexx argues it's not Harbaugh's tougher camp that's the reason. After a February domestic battery incident, Ravens cornerback Fabian Washington will be suspended for the season opener against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Observations from the Steelers; the receivers could be their best group in 30 years, Big Ben is getting better, Mendenhall is "showing promise" while Moore is team's third-down back (as of now).

The Browns did an interesting concept (and I'm not sure if they've done it before). On Friday night, the Browns held their intra-squad scrimmage in Cleveland Browns Stadium; the money you pay to get in goes directly to charity. The crowd was big and the hot dogs were $1.

We've been reading plenty of positive reviews with players that are stepping up in roles where starters are either hurt, missing, or simply struggling (to keep their weight down).

Important Dates:

August 26: Deadline to get roster down to a maximum of 75 players.
August 30: Deadline to get roster down to a maximum of 53 players.

Brandon Johnson. Keith Rivers' agent isn't near the Bengals camp, or Cincinnati, or anywhere in Kentucky, one beat writer writes. His holdout appears to be stalled, either because of ridiculous demands or waiting on Derrick Harvey to sign with the Jaguars. The man designated as the team's backup WILL, Brandon Johnson, has taken the spot and even impressed the team's starting quarterback. "I'm excited to see him," Palmer said. "He's made some unbelievable plays on defense." Rivers time to make camp and keep the starting job that was given to him for kickoff weekend, is running desperately thin. If his holdout misses any chunk of the pre-season games, then I would expect that Rivers 2008 season may be as a backup until he has the chance to out-perform Brandon.

Daniel Coats. During Oklahoma drills, Daniel Coats "hammered" Dhani Jones. As Jeremi Johnson's participation during camp is reduced to conditioning to lose the weight he gains every off-season, it opened the door for Coats to become the team's starting fullback. Jeremi is still listed as the team's starting fullback on the team's website, but Coats is quickly giving the team confidence that he can take the role. You have to wonder, not only will Coats be the team's starting fullback, but will Jeremi Johnson even survive the first round of cuts?

James Johnson. Every article and reference to Rudi Johnson, isn't just positive, rather it's impressive. His bulk has returned, as well his leg power, yet he's quicker now. Chris Perry is wooing the crowd with his athleticism, drawing reviews that Perry's multi-faceted role has returned fully. Kenny Watson enabled the Bengals to have some success on the ground last season and adds incredibly to the team's depth while DeDe Dorsey turned some impressive rushes last season. Since Dorsey has missed time, and Rudi Johnson taking time off as a benefit of being a veteran (and to keep his legs fresh), James Johnson shows up. With great vision, and hands out of the backfield, Palmer compared the Kansas State free agent to Warrick Dunn. Dorsey will return next week, and will stuff the running back position more, but I'm not sure Dorsey will have another shot at making the squad; not after hearing the impression people are having with James Johnson.

A quick note: When the season ended last year, we had no idea what this team would look like at running back. We thought Rudi Johnson was done, that Chris Perry was too injury-prone, that Kenny Watson wasn't an ideal feature back and DeDe Dorsey being an inexperienced back with limited playing time. Yet, we're better off now than we were this time last year and the only difference is that the Bengals may have struck gold with a college free agent.

Marcus Maxwell. From all reports, no player has risen above the rest to claim that number three wide receiver spot that's being waged between six prospect players. Since Chris Henry was released, the unknown with Chad Johnson's off-season, the year after this one for T.J. Houshmandzadeh, the Bengals needed to develop a new core of receivers beyond 2009. And thus far, they're doing just that. Jerome Simpson and Andre Caldwell figure to be the team's future, while guys like Mario Urrutia and Glenn Holt fill in as critical components. But then there's Marcus Maxwell, a seventh-round draft pick out of Oregon. Wide receiver picked in the seventh-round from a school inside the state of Oregon? Hummm. Working extremely hard over the off-season, Maxwell has been labeled as the Bengals secret weapon. Maxwell is 6'3", 210 pounds out of a small California town named Hercules. Yea, he's making the squad.

Frostee Rucker. If there's a player that's playing with the attitude of "last chance", then it has to be Rucker (you could define that with Jeremi Johnson too, but I really believe that his chance has already left him). When Antwan Odom suffered an injury during the team's first day of training camp, the position became a fight. Even though Odom's timeline is still indefinite, he'll return in time for kickoff weekend, it's expected. In the meantime, Rucker's door for opportunity widened and he knows that now is his time to step-up.

Geoff Hobson's Friday night scrimmage primer -- Chris Perry is happy, James Johnson has explosiveness, Daniel Coats is nervous, and Brandon Johnson is stepping up.

Great story on David Jones.

The Bengals are making another push to sign T.J. Houshmandzadeh beyond 2008.

Q & A with Ben Utecht.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell will be in Cincinnati's camp Saturday morning.

The spot for the #3 quarterback is heating up. "(This weekend is) very critical. With Jeff and I getting maybe six reps a day, if I do six right and he does six right, that's not enough to tell who's the better player."

Chick Ludwig on Chinedum Ndukwe: "...Ndukwe is among the tone-setters on defense. He has adopted coordinator Mike Zimmer's physical style."

Our old boy, Chris "Slim" Henry has been suspended for the season's first four games. That's not his biggest worry though; he's still unemployed.

Another our old boy, Kevin Kaesviharn is fighting or a starting job with the New Orleans Saints.

Still no change on the Derrick Harvey front meaning that signing Keith Rivers still isn't close.

DeDe Dorsey claims that he'll miss one week of training camp, feeling roughly at 90%. Dorsey, who had flashes of talent last season, was hurt at the end of last season and suffered another injury during minicamps. Durability could turn out to be an issue.

James Johnson, a running back that's known to have impressed coaches and the media, will get a majority of his snaps behind Rudi Johnson, Chris Perry and Kenny Watson. It might not sound like much of a chance, but it's the same boat that Dorsey would be in. And now Dorsey will miss a week of impressing coaches behind James Johnson enjoys a week without competition for that fourth spot on the depth chart.

Marvin Lewis "applauds" rookie running back James Johnson; which is somewhat significant. Injuries are often random events in the NFL (Google, Bengals, linebackers, 2007) and there's a real possibility that DeDe Dorsey could start the season on the PUP opening a spot for another back. From Lewis' impressions, it could be James Johnson that takes the spot. There's a long way to go and Dorsey could just as easily recover; but my gut tells me if James doesn't make the roster, he'll be on the team's practice squad. Lewis was also impressed with cornerback David Jones, linebacker Brandon Johnson and wide receiver Marcus Maxwell (this guy is making the squad).

The Bengals coaching staff is really happy (more like excited) about Rudi Johnson and Chris Perry's health.

The Bengals are still unsure of Chad Johnson's injury, possibly setting up a situation that Johnson sits out during training camp using the mysterious aliment as an excuse so fans don't get on his ass. I'm just assuming all that -- but it did seem that Chad got "back to the flow of things".

I know I shouldn't laugh, but I did.

The Bengals defense, with it's new aggressive "hands on approach" frustrated the offense ironically pleasing offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski so the offense can get used to it now -- that helps in the defensive-strong AFC North.

The Centers behind Eric Ghiaciuc had problems all minicamp dropping snaps. So Bobbie Williams got some snaps under center. Says Curnutte, "Bratkowski and head coach Marvin Lewis stressed Williams potentially would be only a backup center." What we don't get is this: Is Williams "only a backup center" or is Williams the only backup center putting to rest any assumption that he's competing for the starting job? Stacy Andrews took over at right guard placing Willie Anderson back in his old digs.

Marvin Lewis and Chad Johnson tells us that we should vote for Barack Obama. No thanks.

Former Miami University cornerback, Jerrid Gaines, is in an uphill battle to make the roster.

Bleacher Report tells us that if the Bengals don't improve this year, then we should expect Marvin Lewis to be canned. Apparently Bleacher Report doesn't know Mike Brown; it's not because of being cheap, it's because of his loyalty to coaches.

I'm going to try to keep Chad Johnson updates to a minimum (LOL... yea, right!). I wanted to quickly examine a few things that are coming out. First, running backs. Kenny Irons, right now, is in camp, but mainly just stretched with the team. Hobson says that Irons didn't take part in drills.

While no other source is confirming it, Bengals running back DeDe Dorsey was carted off the field this morning. Obviously whatever injury this is, it has to be somewhat concerning if a cart is needed. Before the season finale against Miami, the Bengals put Dorsey on the Injured Reserve list after suffering a high ankle sprain against Cleveland. Depending on this latest, one has to wonder if Dorsey is injury prone.

Chick Ludwig wrote that he believes that Perry is only 80% healthy.

That leaves the Bengals with Rudi Johnson and Kenny Watson, at this moment, as their only healthy backs. Let me be real clear, we don't know yet the extent of Dorsey's injury either. Rookies James Johnson and Bradley Glatthaar round out the team's roster.

Glatthaar's best season came in 2005 with the Cincinnati Bearcats rushing for 620 yards on 139 carries (4.5 y/c) and seven touchdowns. His best 40-time through all workouts was a slow 4.64 -- ran a 4.74 during Pro Day. His best game came against Connecticut with a career-high 123 yard, two touchdowns and a career-long 72-yard attempt.

James Johnson, Kansas State, finished 2007 with 1,106 yards rushing on 174 attempts (6.4) and 12 touchdowns. Johnson earned second-team All-Big 12 honors last season.

If I were a betting man, I'd believe that the Bengals will see if what they have on roster works for them before going out and looking for an available free agent running back.