Bengals 2010 Roster…Write it Down.

Well, second semester of school has just ended, so over the past 48 hours I’ve had nothing better to do than watch highlight videos of the Bengals’s draft picks and prognosticate about what the roster is going to look like next season.  Anyway, here are my predictions…only a couple of surprises here and there…and of course, this is not counting any possible free agent acquisitions later in the off-season, so the actual final roster could differ just a bit.

Offense (25 players):

QB:  Carson Palmer, J.T. O’Sullivan, Jordan Palmer

RB:  Cedric Benson, Bernard Scott, Brian Leonard

FB:  Fui Vakapuna

WR:  Chad Ochocinco, Antonio Bryant, Jordan Shipley, Andre Caldwell, Jerome Simpson, Dezmond Briscoe

TE:  Jermaine Gresham, Chase Coffman, Daniel Coats

LT:  Andrew Whitworth, Anthony Collins

LG:  Evan Mathis, Nate Livings

C:  Kyle Cook, Dan Santucci

RG:  Bobbie Williams

RT:  Andre Smith, Dennis Roland

Defense (25):

LE:  Antwan Odom, Jonathan Fanene, Carlos Dunlap

RE:  Robert Geathers, Michael Johnson

LDT:  Tank Johnson, Geno Atkins

RDT:  Domata Peko, Pat Sims

SLB:  Rey Maualuga, Rashad Jeanty

MLB:  Dhani Jones, Abdul Hodge

WLB:  Keith Rivers, Brandon Johnson, Roddrick Muckelroy

CB:  Leon Hall, Johnathan Joseph, Morgan Trent, Brandon Ghee, David Jones

FS:  Chris Crocker, Bryan Evans

SS:  Roy Williams, Chinedum Ndukwe

Special Teams (3):

K:  Mike Nugent

P:  Kevin Huber

LS:  Clark Harris

For those keeping track at home, the hardest position to predict on offense was definitely wide receiver.  The additions of Jordan Shipley and Dezmond Briscoe through the draft certainly shook things up.  There are essentially four locks at wide receiver as I see it:  Ochocinco, Bryant, Shipley, and Caldwell.  This means that guys like Matt Jones, Dezmond Briscoe, Quan Cosby, and Jerome Simpson will be fighting it out for the last two spots.  I give the edge to Dezmond Briscoe because the Bengals had him rated very highly going into the draft and I don’t think he would last very long on the practice squad.  Also, I’m giving a spot to Jerome Simpson, whose unreached potential outweighs Matt Jones’s wasted potential.  Also, I think Quan Cosby may be a goner because his former Texas teammate is essentially the same player (slot receiver, kick returner), only more talented.

Predicting some of the positions on defense was even harder because of the immense level of talent on that side of the ball, forcing the team to cut some quality players.  The biggest mystery on defense may be at safety.  There are 3 locks:  Roy Williams, Chris Crocker, and Chinedum Ndukwe.  This means, assuming that the Bengals carry 7 linebackers (as I have predicted), they will only have room for 4 safeties.  So, you will see guys like Tom Nelson and Kyries Hebert battling it out with some of the undrafted free agents (and possibly another team’s training camp cut).  I personally went with the surprise here and picked Bryan Evans, one of the undrafted free agents.  Not only is Bryan young, he also used to play corner back, so he has a lot of speed and pretty good cover skills.  Mike Zimmer has already said that the Bengals don’t play a strict cover 2 scheme and that he wants his free safety to be able to play more like another corner back, so Evans seems to fit this bill pretty well…at least better than Nelson and Hebert.

 

On Second Thought…Vote for Jamarcus Russell

After viewing Vote4Jamarcus.com, I’ve been convinced that Jamarcus Russell is the most deserving of a trip to Hawaii for the Pro Bowl.  His impressive stats of 2 touchdowns, 8 interceptions, 5 lost fumbles, a 46.3 completion percentage, and an overall QB rating of 47.2 (Ryan Leaf’s career QB rating was 50.0) speak for themselves.  Give Raiders fans something to finally cheer for and vote for Jamarcus.

 

And Your NFL’s Leading Rusher is…

Cedric Benson

The former Texas Longhorns and Chicago Bears running back who was arrested twice on DUI charges and subsequently released from Chicago is now the NFL’s leading rusher as a member of the Cincinnati Bengals.  He currently has 720 rushing yards, 38 more than second place Adrian Peterson.  He is also leading the league in yards per game with 102.9; the only running back to have eclipsed this 100 yard mark.  Benson is currently on pace for 1,646 rushing yards for the season.

Do him and yourself a favor by voting him into the 2009 Pro Bowl.

Who Dey.

 

Daunte Culpepper Sets Guinness World Record…in Madden

Courtesy of IGN:

 June 26, 2008 – With drives rivaled only by his avatar, former Madden NFL cover boy Daunte Culpepper persevered and established a new Guinness World Record for “Highest Score in the Two-Minute Drill on Madden NFL 2002″ with a staggering 14,500 points. Playing the same game that featured him on the cover, Culpepper played as himself with the Minnesota Vikings and made some serious connections to then-teammate Randy Moss. He earned the record at EA’s 20th Anniversary Premiere Party for Madden NFL 09, and if unbeaten, will be included in the Guinness World Records: Gamer’s Edition 2009, scheduled for release next February.

Now it’s been a while since I’ve played Madden 2002, about 6 years actually…but from what I can remember 14,500 points is quite a lot.  I never knew Culpepper was such a big gamer, but it does explain a lot, like why he’s still currently a free agent.  Maybe he’s planning to make his return to ESPN through Madden Nation instead of the NFL.

 

Quiet Strength

This is a book that I had been meaning to talk about for a while but haven’t had the chance up until now.  I picked it up on a whim in a bookstore while I was in the Cincinnati Airport.  I had an 8+ hour flight to Morocco ahead of me and figured I could use something to read.  It may seem a bit strange that I would pick this book as I’m a hardcore Cincinnati Bengals fan and Tony Dungy is the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts, but something about it just happened to catch my eye.  It was most likely the tag-line: “The Principles, Practices, & Priorities of a Winning Life.”  Obviously Dungy has had a winning life; he’s a successful Super Bowl winning head coach…he must have gotten something right along the way.

But maybe the most appealing thing to me was the title of the book: “Quiet Strength.”  It would also prove to be one of the biggest themes I took away from Dungy’s memoir.  This title appealed to me first because it was uncommon: you don’t often hear about someone being “quietly strong,” but it also drew my attention because it touched me personally.  I am in no way the loudest or most verbose person you will ever meet and I sometimes get a lot of criticism for being too shy or not talking enough.  So it was encouraging to see a book by a very successful individual that focused on being both quiet AND strong.  Now that’s a concept.

This was definitely one of the most interesting books I have ever read; and certainly the best autobiography.  One of my major surprises was how grounded the book was on faith and Christianity.  Usually I don’t like to get caught up in those sorts of things; I like to confine my faith to my own personal thinking….but the way Dungy intertwined his religion with the events in his life was very compelling.  It was also amazing the amount of struggle he experienced and how he was able to calmly deal with it; from the opportunities denied to him in high school and college for being black to not being able to cut it as a player in the NFL to being fired as a head coach in Tampa Bay to the suicide of his son.  With all of these occurrences, it would seem like he would break down at some point, but he never does.  He always carries the mottoes of “Stick to what we believe in” and “Do what we do.”  He never lets a disappointment deter him from his plans and the way he lives his life.  This, along with “doing the common things uncommonly well” is his basic formula for success.

However, despite the success, Dungy remains a humble man.  He also does not define success in the way that most might.  His definition of success comes from a much more spiritual perspective: “God’s definition of success is really one of significance-the significant difference our lives can make in the lives of others. The significance doesn’t show up in won-loss records, long resumes, or the trophies gathering dust on our mantels. It’s found in the hearts and lives of those we’ve come across who are in some way better because of the way we lived.”  Even if you’re not a religious person, I think there’s something you can take away from that thinking.  Our definitions of success are often too selfish and material-based.  We shouldn’t call ourselves successful because we became millionaires, we should call ourselves successful based on the impact we’ve left on the world around us.

Those are just a few things I took away from the book; there are many other things that I could not even remember to mention.  I would definitely recommend reading this book; I guarantee it will have an impact on your life or your thinking in some way.  I know it did on mine.

 

 

Gamble and Win Money for Free!

I’m sure many of you have already heard about this site.  But I’m sure many more have not…I hadn’t until last semester of college.  Anyway, this is a site where you can gamble on sports events (anything from the NFL to European soccer) and win real money.  The great thing is that you don’t have to spend anything to do it!  The site automatically gives you 10 cents to start out and if your balance ever falls below that value the site will give you another 10 cents for free.

10 cents may not seem like a lot to bet with, but if you’re willing to just glance at an advertisement or two, CentSports will increase your winnings by up to 100%.  If you win a few bets, you’ll be up to $5 and up in no time.  I haven’t been doing this too terribly long, but I have already cashed out with $20 once.  The all-time highest balance on the site is $1026.44 and people have already cashed out with over to $400!  That’s a lot of money, considering that it’s absolutely free!

Even if you’re not a sports fan, I would consider trying it.  It only takes a couple minutes a day to make a bet and even if you know absolutely nothing about sports, you probably still have a better chance of winning than I do!  My only advice would be not to bet on the Cincinnati Reds!  And if you refer any of your friends to the site, you will receive 5% of what they win…that adds up quickly, so if you know any sports addicts, now’s the time to cash in!

Click here to start winning money!

 

Chad Changes Tune; Admits To Acting “Psycho”

The Chad Johnson off-season soap opera has finally come to a close…at least for now. Chad just had arthroscopic surgery on his right ankle, a procedure that only figures to keep him out of action for 2-3 weeks and back in time for the start of training camp. However, the biggest news has been the comments he has made in the past few days, backing off his earlier trade demands and seemingly trying to make amends with Cincinnati.

He began by saying that his trades were not about money, although he “could use a little extra for gas.” He explained that his tirades were more about him venting after a 7-9 season and about the lack of improvement the Bengals have made on defense, “Yeah it was the losing it got on my nerves.” Johnson said the Bengals “have done things for me that have never really been done before. Like tearing me up (his contract) with four years left and re-doing me the first time. I’ve also done well by them, also.” “We have a bigger issue here. Money will take care of itself,” said Johnson, who has a contract here through 2011. “If I go out and continue to be way above here, then it’s going to have to happen.”

So Chad’s complaints really weren’t about the money? Really? I’ve been saying since day 1 that money wasn’t the problem, but the recent losing and amount of blame put on Chad for it was. Turns out I was right after all.

For the first time Chad also attempted to shoulder some of the blame, saying “I wasn’t right. I wasn’t technical enough. Nowhere near as sound as I have been. For what a (multi) Pro Bowl veteran should be,” he said. “I was very inconsistent.” He goes on to say “I played very poorly,” and “Even if I do mess up, I should be able to make a play. But I couldn’t with the screwups I was making.” A very different attitude than what we’ve been used to seeing out of Chad.

Finally, Chad did his best to win back the fans of Cincinnati, reiterating, “I love you Cincinnati.” “I love them. I hope they understand it’s just business,” Johnson said. “I felt in that three-month period the best thing for me was to get out of Cincinnati. I was just going through some things and I thought it was the best move for me. Obviously not. I’m still here.” CJ even had a few kind things to say about Bengals owner Mike Brown (which is a huge feet even for the most devout Bengals fans), “I did everything under the sun to get out of here,” he said. “I acted psycho. I posed my case. I talked with my owner, who loves me dearly. He must. Those offers were unheard of. And he still said no. Really, I’m not that good.”

The Chad Johnson from these comments is certainly a much different, much more humble guy than we’ve seen over the past few months, or even over the past few years. Has Chad finally seen the light and now trying to become a team player or is he just conceding defeat in his efforts to get out of Cincinnati? Honestly, it doesn’t really matter. What does matter is the fact that Chad will be playing for the Bengals this season and he will continue to be the player who had led the NFL in receiving yards over the past 5-year span. Now, if the defense can finally put it together under new coordinator Mike Zimmer, Chad’s final prediction may just come to fruition: “We’re going to be in Tampa.”

 

Chad Saga Continues in Cincinnati

If you’re even a remote follower of the NFL, you’ve heard all about the fuss regarding Chad Johnson and his conflicts with the Cincinnati Bengals.  Why is Chad so upset?  Nobody really knows.  Not even Chad.  In the beginning he said he was fed up with having to shoulder so much blame for the Bengals losing because of his outlandish antics, but more recently he has been quoted as saying “it’s about the money.”  Now, unless Chad is broke (which is a very real possibility considering he hasn’t payed over $20,000 in taxes to the city of Cincinnati), I find it very unlikely that this whole fiasco is about the money.  People around the NFL, even the Bengals themselves had become fed up with his one-man show and being the little kid at heart, if Chad can’t play, Chad is gonna cry.

As we edge closer to training camp, new details have been added to the saga.  ProFootballTalk.com reports that Chad intends to attend the mandatory minicamp that starts on June 12 rather than have to pay the daily fines that being a no-show would incur.  PFT goes on to say that, while Chad plans to report, as they hear it, he intends to “not doing anything” besides simply report.  Of course, you have to question the credibility of a source such as the rumor mill that is PFT, but I think there is at least some truth to this story.  There’s no way Chad skips training camp; frankly I don’t think that he can financially afford to.  Now his motivation is the true x-factor.  Will he pull a Terrell Owens and refuse to do anything or will he pull a Randy Moss in Oakland and play out the season, half-assing every route and alligator-arming every ball across the middle.  I say neither.  Chad’s ego is simply too large to allow him to quit.  He may not be thinking about the team when he’s playing this season, but he will do everything he can to get his stats.  He’s a self-proclaimed future Hall-of-Famer and Hall of Fame guys can’t afford to take a season off.