Pac-Man

The Pac-Man is in the fold boys and girls to the criticism of American media everywhere lauding the deal as a classic Bungle maneuver that will disrupt team chemistry or end in arrest. I can tell you right now that if the Bengals do not win the AFC north it will not be because Adam Jones disrupted team dynamics but instead will be due to the fact that Carson Palmer could not score points. While most describe all of his character concerns, I think the larger issue is if Pacman is an adequate football player anymore. His 2 year deal makes one think the Bengals think that he can be more than a small contributor but his departure from Dallas was more a product of poor football skills than character concerns.

Besides adding much needed depth at the cornerback position, he probably also serves as a hopeful insurance policy in the case that we will be unable to retain Joseph or Hall after their rookie contracts expire. Joseph certainly knows that his talents will demand top dollar in the free agent market and the Bengals have a history of not making those huge deals as was seen with Steinbach and Housh. If Jones plays up to his considerable potential, we have just signed a former number 6 pick in the draft at a bargain price. If he sucks, he has to be able to do as much David Jones.

From the Shipley to the Wall

The Hobgoblin has been slobbering over the latest draft in Bengaldom mostly because of their keen awareness of fashion sense. He states, "All wore suits and ties and the easy air of players from the big time that had sat through it all before but knew how important this day is. Good players can smell competition and they knew they were getting a heavy whiff." I have a whiff of something: it's called a stupid ass crap paragraph that tells us absolutely nothing about the players we drafted. If they showed up in workout gear we would have heard something like "Good players know that there is no time to rest. To be the best, you have to work harder than the rest."

I'm not going to grade the draft because we don't really know anything about these players until 5 years from now so it's not worth the time or the energy. I can say I am happy with the picks and optimistic that a lot of these players can make an impact and add depth to a lot of positions.

So let's get down to some of the well dressed men of 2010.

Jermaine Gresham: Stud. Big athletic dude with great hands and workmanlike disposition. To read more click here. Hobgoblin said that he changed Oklahoma. I think Oklahoma changed him.

Carlos Dunflop: Dunlap's scouting report sounds like Michael Johnson 2.0. He passes the proverbial look test which is like seeing a girl and knowing she's attractive. You just don't know if she's gonna burn you with Chlamydia. What everybody says is that he's an athletic monster and at times looked like the best player on the field but at other times it was difficult to tell if he was trying. The classic description is top 10-15 talent with bottom half motivation. He had 19.5 sacks at Florida in 2 seasons so he obviously can be productive. He added, "My goal is to get a sack against every team I play against that passed on me,” he said. “And I want to compete for NFL Rookie Defensive Player of the Year." Well, guess what Carlos: everybody passed on you at least once so you need to get a sack every game.

Jordan Shipley: Hobgoblin describes Shipley as a poor man's Wes Welker. That means he's short and dynamic and will disappear in the Bratkowski system. Carson Harang will be high and outside with most of his passes. I think his arrival could mean a practice squad destination for Quan Cosby as he can also contribute on special teams.

Brandon Ghee: Ghee is a much needed addition and can hopefully fill the nickel role. He was the fastest corner in the draft and Marvin Lewis described him as Jonathon Joseph-ish. For all of our sakes, I hope this is true. He is a physical corner as is seen when he knocks out CJ Spiller.

So Gresham, So Clean

The first round for the NFL draft is done and the Bengals did something uncharacteristic for the organization and drafted tight end Jermaine Gresham. Gresham has been the consensus best tight end in the draft and by far the most well rounded of the class. When Gresham plays, he has been a stud excelling as one of Sam Bradford's primary targets. He's an athletic beast at 6'6 250 lbs and runs a 4.7. He is a matchup nightmare for linebackers and safeties alike. What he represents is another weapon for Carson Palmer and should provide that big red zone threat the team only had in Chris Henry. Basically, Carson is out of excuses and needs to put up or shut up but that's material for another article.

Looking at the draft, the Bengals made the right pick here. I personally was hoping that safety terror Earl Thomas would fall but he was gone and the Mike Brown refrained from his ever ending quest to save lost souls by avoiding Dez Bryant. Gresham needs to come in and start right away.

While it is clear that he was the right pick at the right time, that does not mean it comes without any question marks. He has not played a snap in essentially a year and a half and has been rehabbing a torn ACL. Fortunately, all the medical experts have cleared him and he appears to have not lost any speed after the procedure. That being said, medical questions aren't the only ones that surround Gresham.

The Hobgoblin and Bratkowski will have you believe that he played in a pro style offense. I think that's because he hails from Oklahoma which is a big school they think runs traditional plays. They failed to realize that the Sooners run a spread that featured Bradford typically in the gun locking on to a primary receiver and delivering it. Sure, he had his hand on the ground more than Chase Coffman but he was standing up more than they'd lead on.

In fact, the Hobgoblin actually says that the staff is hoping that Gresham/Coffman is a younger version of Kelly/Utecht. You have got to be kidding me! That is quite frankly laughable. Kelly's best year was 31 catches and Utecht was never the pass catcher he was billed as. Utecht recorded more albums than he caught balls.

If Brat can develop a decent scheme, Gresham should open the passing game considerably. What we can all hope for is that he abuses linebackers and safeties opening Chad up for some single coverage and the production of red zone touchdowns rather than field goals.

Rey Rey Brings the Pain

With the draft rapidly approaching, let's take a look back at one of the highly touted and drafted players of the past year: Rey Maualuga. Rey was one of the most physically intimidating linebackers of the draft with his long Samoan hair and tatoos coupled with a tenacious style on the field which earned him the title of the nation's best linebacker. Like so many other awards in college, it did not carry much weight when evaluating players for the professional level and he fell from the first round watching his college teammates Brian Cushing and Clay Matthews and rival James Laurinaitis all get drafted before him where the Bengals were waiting with open arms in the second round.

Marvin Lewis and Mike Zimmer believed they had found the perfect hammer for Zim's aggressive defensive style. A neck stinger kept him out of some early training camp time but it did not prevent him from getting on the field early. Having played the Mike his entire life he had to transition to the strong side as Dhani Jones anchored the middle and served as primary signal caller. But as Lippincott's shorts already alluded to earlier, football players are interchangeable or to go with cliches "a football player is a football player." Add to that the "I am getting no respect" chip on the shoulder and that all equates to a highly motivated football player.

Despite his plummet to the second round, expectations were high for the youngster who was touted to be a game changing player. He logged 63 tackles, 1 sack, and 3 forced fumbles. His forced fumble in the Packers game was crucial to the team getting the win. While he made some big plays, he also would get caught out of position to frequently and missed some tackles. A prevailing idea surrounding Rey coming out was that Matthews and Cushing covered up a lot of his deficiencies at SC. His high octane style some criticized as out of control and while he got the publicity, his teammates made the superior plays. Matthews registered 51 tackles, 1 forced fumble, and 10 sacks on his season while Brian Cushing was a dominant force racking up 134 tackles, 2 forced fumbles, 4 interceptions, and 5 sacks. Clearly, Maualuga had less impact plays than his pals from SC but that does not mean that he wasn't just as valuable.


His energy was unparalleled and he blitzed with fury. His high motor often got him to make plays at and around the line of scrimmage. His tenacity also sometimes had him out of position. He needs to improve on technique coming off the edge but his whole life up until now he had been shooting gaps in the middle. He lacks elite top end speed and sometimes struggled in covering the RB out of the backfield. All in all, his performance was that fitting of a productive 2nd round draft pick. He had his shortcomings but was stout in the run game. At the same time, he was not nearly as impressive as the men that broadcast the games would have you think failing to dominate games like his counterpart Cushing.

He needs to continue to improve and increase impact plays to be the player the Bengals desperately need. One can only hope that he recovers completely from his broken ankle without sequelae. Other media types will also play the bullshit character angle since his DUI but I'm not buying into that. He was involved in drunken altercations at SC, grinded on an unsuspecting Erin Andrews, and now has his most recent DUI when he was driving some teenage girls. None of that really impacts his ability to play football unless it results in a suspension and ultimately he's a young guy that was probably in the wrong place at wrong time.

All of you probably have friends you would classify as a meathead. Someone who inevitably acts like a brutish moron when drunk. I think it's safe to assume that Rey has a large meathead quotient and when he gets wasted he probably wants to arm wrestle and puff out his chest a bit. He's made some bad decisions and I am sure he has learned from them. What we all can only hope for is that he learned more from his mistakes on the field. With the schedule for the upcoming season set, the team needs a big year from Rey Rey.

I have the need. The need. . . For Tweed.

Faulkner has Sound and the Fury.

The Strokes have Is This It.

Scorsese has Goodfellas.

And I have this Draft Needs article.

(That link you just clicked on is just a link to the current blog you are already reading. I'm referring to this very article.)

Now, it's tough for me to discuss the idea of "drafting for need" all that rationally. It is a concept that I think of regularly, discuss frequently, and despise openly.

First of all, let me extend an olive branch to all of those lovely folks who spend a lot of time discussing what the Bengals "need" on draft day. I was once just like you. I read Kiper and McShay and every dubious mock draft website that follows the "need" path so closely.

We talk about "needs" because it is easy to discuss. We all watched Cincinnati play 17 games last year. We all have a good sense of what they lacked and what they did supremely well. So, an entire industry is built on the concept that the draft is used to plug those gaps in an otherwise extraordinary team.

However, the concept is, at best, misunderstood. And, at worst, complete bullshit. Now, if the NFL was where baseball was with statistic analysis and sample sizes, I could link us to football reference.com and point you to the article showing how dubious of a draft strategy it is, and how rarely it is actually followed. If I had a mathematics degree instead of a full time job I could go through all of Mel Kiper's grades for the last ten years, and show how they dock teams too heavily for "not addressing needs" and how teams that drafted the best players or the players that best fit their system always end up being the best.

No, instead I have to rely on anecdotal evidence to make this point. But, lets point out a few basic concepts, that individuals miss when discussing need.

1. In the NFL, the players who provide "depth" play almost as often as the "starters". So often websites will indicate that a team is "set" at cornerback if they have 2 stud corners; Or "set" at RB with a great back; Or "set" at DE with two good ends. Instead, lets look at the Bengals defense from last year. On every series, Cincinnati played at least: 5 defensive backs (usually 6); 4 linebackers; 3 DTs; and 3 DE's (usually 4). That is not a starting 11, that is a starting 20. Brandon Johnson, the "4th" linebacker was relied on every bit as much Rey was this year; Pat Sims (3rd DT) played every bit as much as Peko; and Morgan Trent (3/4th CB) was in on nearly every significant 3rd down conversion. Also, let's look at the draft. Michael Johnson, Maulauaga, Morgan Trent, and Bernard Scott were all drafted at positions where there were not holes in the starting lineup, yet they all made a huge impact on the team. Chase Coffmann, Andre Smith - huge need; zero impact.
2. Players' positions are more interchangeable than anyone thinks. A few years ago, the New York Giants, loaded with 2 high priced and highly productive defensive ends -Osi Umeniyora and Michael Strahan - drafted Justin Tuck in the 3rd round of the NFL draft. They were slammed for drafting a player who had nowhere to play on their team. Two years later. Tuck, Strahan, and Osi anchored one of the best pass rushes in NFL history leading their team to a Super Bowl, with Tuck specializing as a pass rusher from the DT spot on 3rd downs. Fact is, a great player is a great player. A tackle prospect can be a great guard, CBs can play safety, a pass rush DE can fill in at LB, a super FB can carry the load at RB. And all of these things can happen, while the starter is still playing.
3. Injuries, injuries, injuries. Schemes. Schemes. Schemes. Injuries will happen. They are freak occurences. Mauluaga, Palmer, Joseph. You never know who it will be. And, while we had two stud corners last year, if either of them would have gone down, the defense would have collapsed because they had no decent cover corners on the bench, and because Crocker, who could have filled in at corner, was hurt too. So, you know those twenty players I mentioned in the first point, who played on every defensive series for Cincinnati. Over the course of the season it will be more like 22 - 28. Schemes change constantly. Cincinnati needed two decent right tackles for their big formation last season. I don't want to see it gone just because they might have a decent tight end in the fold.

So, if we don't need to totally remove the concept of need, we have to at least rethink it. The draft is a valuable tool to fill out the roster, to add players in the later rounds who can beef up a this secondary or offensive line. But, early on. You just have to take the best player available and the best player that fits the system.

Soon to come: Draft Needs, part Deux.

-Lippincott's Shorts.

Recent News

It's been a little slow around Bengaldom lately so I will just give some hits because its the start of baseball season.

1. Bobbie Williams has signed a 2 year deal with the team. Williams has been solid and extraordinarily durable. Let's hope that continues and Andre "The Pancake" Smith and he can maul some d-linemen like they do a grand slam at Denny's.

2. Maualuga got a tattoo on the right side of his body along the rib cage that says "Never regret anything because at one point it's exactly what you wanted." I think his rehab is coming along well too (I can't really back that up).

3. Chad got a 20 point score on DWTS. I think more importantly he is most probably plugging that bombshell he dances with. Golf clap to you Mr. Ocho, you dance MASTERly.

4. Speculation abounds that Dez Bryant is plummeting down draft boards and will probably be dangling like tiger bait for the Bengals at pick 21. Bryant forgot his cleats to a pro day. So if he can't remember his shoes, how is he going to remember the plays.

5. Jason Shirley ruptured his Achilles and will be out for at least 6 months.

That's all I know folks. Do better next time.

The Safety Dance

Over the course of the next few weeks, we here at Andre Smith's Pancakes will discuss some areas of need our beloved Bengals might address through free agency or the upcoming draft. On the heels of strong defensive season garnering a top 5 ranking and essentially giving us all 10 of our wins, one might think the defense is good enough left alone and we need to exclusively attack our offensive woes. The defense however can use some depth and upgrades at several positions. Let's take a look at the safety position.

In 2009, it started out as a position of some relative depth with thumper Roy Williams, Chris Crocker, Chinedum Ndukwe, Tom Nelson, and Kyries Hebert. After injury and an overall suck fest by Hard Knocks darling Tom Nelson, a Pancakes favorite Keiwan Ratliff was brought in for the playoffs to help at safety though he's a more natural corner. The Jets playoff game saw some big scoring plays and breakdowns by the safeties.

What We Know:
Roy Williams is back. After 2 years of fractured forearms, there are legitimate questions about his future durability. I think his poor coverage skills may be a bit overblown and the man can hit like a freight train filling a hole faster than Peter North.

Chris Crocker will be there and is an all around solid player and fiery competitor. He had 51 tackles, 1 forced fumble, and 2 picks last year. He's high energy, plays fast, and seems to have very good awareness in coverage. Not too mention you can always count on him blowing up a receiver or tight end a second before the ball arrives once a game. He'll get there and he will hit you.

Chinny might be my favorite of our existing safeties and had 89 tackles and a pick this year. It seems that he has a tendency to frustrate coaches by relying on instincts too much rather than playing his assignments. He has very solid hands and can also serve as an extra linebacker. He's great playing in the box, is explosive on the blitz, and might be one of the team's most active defenders not too mention its biggest humanitarian.

Kyries Hebert is our Canadian bacon. He sizzles on special teams but gets fried everywhere else.

Tom Nelson looks better in a horse carriage than he does in coverage. He was small, fast, and competed hard. He also had a sack in a preseason game. He made the team because Corey Lynch was busy saving lives and losing his composure in training camp. Nelson proved to be the Adam Rosales of football: a lot of heart but no skill. He couldn't cover Jerome Simpson in practice and couldn't tackle a hungry Jim Lippincott on free donut day.

What Should Happen
Chinny and Crocker are on the team and will get significant playing time. Roy may start but you have to figure that there will be a pretty steady rotation of Chinny, Crocker, Roy. Hopefully, he can stay healthy this year. Hebert will be on the bubble but will probably make the squad for his special teams production. Unfortunately, we need to cut the cord on Tommy Nelson.

The 2010 NFL draft should see us address the lack of depth at safety. As was made clear last year, we need help to weather the inevitable injuries that happen during the grind of the season. Apparent Ed Reed reincarnation Eric Berry from the Vols will be long gone by the time we draft so we won't talk about him. Now, I will admit that my left shoe probably knows about as much about scouting as I do. That being said: my left shoe also knows more than our entire scouting department. Want good information on potential draftees?

Taylor Mays is a 6'3 230 lb beast from USC who runs a 4.4. He is an athletic freak and made the combine his stepchild. He is also Roy Williams Jr. He can support the run better than Hanes supports my crotch but he struggles in coverage and has suspect hands. Since 2006, he has a total of 5 int, 1 forced fumble, and no sacks. That is not a lot of impact plays but I would not complain if he falls to the second round and into our laps.

Earl Thomas is a ballhawking free safety out of Texas. He's only 20 years old and in his 2 years with the Horns (he redshirted) racked up 134 tackles, 5 forced fumbles, and 10 interceptions. He is undersized at 5'10 and 200 lbs runs a 4.41 and plays more physical than his size. The major concern is if he can handle the pounding his physical style demands. Some might convert to a CB. I love his versatility and big play potential.

Chad Jones from LSU is 6'3 220 lbs and runs a 4.59. Word is Jones could have benefited from another season at Baton Rouge. He's a good athlete also playing baseball but needs to improve in consistency and technique. Should be around in the 3rd round.

Nate Allen is 6'1 205 lbs and runs a 4.47. He hails from South Florida. He was a team leader for the Bulls and looks to be a 2nd to 4th round pick.

From what I have read and the little I have seen of these guys (maybe 4 Longhorns games, 2 USC games, and 1  LSU game from the previous year so I am no expert) I would have to say that I would like a guy like Thomas if he's around. Other scouts describe him as a Polamalu style player. We can all agree that we have seen plenty of that long haired freak and he scares the crap out of me. Our defense could use a game changer like him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcOZ6xFxJqg