It's July, the slowest month of the year for the NFL, and it's driving you nuts. You need a fix. A hit. Anything NFL to pull you through the dog days. FanHouse is here to help with an in-depth look at each division that should have you plenty prepared for training camp. We're calling it the Summer Scramble, and today we look at the AFC North's looming position battles.
Training camps are underway, the NFL season is a month off, and to get you ready for 2008, FanHouse previews all 32 teams, "heat index" style. We'll rate each club in 10 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.
Quarterback: If there is one constant on this team, it is Carson Palmer. Sure, Palmer didn't have his best season a year ago, but his off seasons are better than many QBs best years. In reality, other things factored into his poor season (injuries to the line, injury to Rudi Johnson, receivers pouting). The only issue here is what happens in Cincinnati if Palmer gets hurt. They have no one groomed to come in. Ryan Fitzpatrick and Jeff Rowe are in their second seasons with the team and Carson's brother, Jordan, is fighting for a spot. Heat Index: 8
Running backs: Injuries have hurt this unit in the past couple of years. Workhorse Rudi Johnson finally hit a wall; Kenny Irons blew out his knee in his first preseason game; Chris Perry has never been able to stay on the field. Well, Rudi and Perry are healthy again, with 2007 surprises Kenny Watson and DeDe Dorsey around to give the offense a different dynamic. Cincy needs this unit to get back to form to allow the entire offense to explode. Heat Index: 4
Receivers:Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh are one of the best receiving combos in the NFL. T.J. tied for the lead in receptions; Chad was third in receiving yards. However, this could be the last season either is in Cincinnati. Johnson's issues with the team are well documented. T.J. is in his final contracted season. Chris Henry is finally gone and there are several guys trying to step into that #3 spot. Rookie Jerome Simpson will get a strong look, as will Andre Caldwell and Antonio Chatman. Chatman is the only one with experience and could get the nod. Heat Index: 8
The linebacker position in Cincinnati has been quite the adventure:
Odell Thurman played well in his rookie season of 2005 ... but has sat out the last two seasons for violating the league's substance abuse policy. David Pollack broke his neck in his second game of his second season and was forced to retire. A.J. Nicholson's career didn't last too long after off-field issues. Ahmad Brooks has barely seen the field due to injuries.
This was a team that had to bring Dhani Jones off the scrap heap ... and he turned into one of their best defensive players. At one point last year, the Bengals couldn't field a linebacking corps at all. Keith Rivers will be a big, big help there.
There have been rumblings that the Bengals could move to the 3-4 defense and Rivers would be a great fit if they do. He has the ability to rush the passer as well as cover backs and tight ends. Right now, the Bengals will have Brooks and Jones seemingly as starters with Thurman, Rashad Jeanty and Eric Henderson as other options.
Brian Simmons is getting up there a bit age wise, and I think we're seeing that this season. He's been banged up one way or another all year, and it looks like he'll be out again this Sunday.
He was downgraded to doubtful this weekend, and with Rashad Jeanty likely coming back I doubt he'll play this Sunday. Lewis confirmed today that Jeanty would play, but wouldn't say if he'd be starting. Although the question of starting strikes me as being one of semantics, since I would think Jeanty will be on the field quite a bit, starting or not. The Bengals aren't exactly deep at linebacker right now.
The only other injury news today was the return of Jonathan Joseph to practice, which is good to hear. He's having a solid year so far, and I continue to hope that he'll be taking Tory James' job sooner rather than later.
Injury news for the Bengals seems to get better and better every week, and that has continued this week save for a small bump or two.
Linebacker Rashad Jeanty has been out for weeks now with a foot problem, but he's finally been upgraded to probable. He's been practicing this week, so I would think he'll definitely be seeing some game action this weekend. I liked what I saw out of Jeanty at the beginning of the year, so I'm glad he'll be returning. The Bengals can definitely use the depth at linebacker.
Number two quarterback Anthony Wright is also healthy again, after missing time following appendix surgery. This is good news, because I'm not exactly comfortable with Doug Johnson running the offense in the event of a Carson Palmer injury. I'd definitely rather see Wright in there.
Jonathan Joseph is one small bit of bad news. He hasn't been practicing because of an ankle injury, but the Bengals do have him listed as probably which is good. The sooner this guy starts, the better. I've seen enough of Tory James playing full time.
It's amazing how much an unexpected win can lift the weight off of your shoulders. I was certain that the Bengals would have problems with Carolina on Sunday, but I didn't give the Bengals enough credit.
Quick thoughts:
The offensive line was terrific. Julius Peppers was completely shut down after the first quarter, and Carson Palmer had time to throw most of the game. The first quarter was rough, but adjustments were apparently made because Carolina didn't get any push after that.
At some point people are going to have to start respecting the Bengals defense. Steve Smith had a nice day (8 catches for 126 yards), but the Bengals contained everything else about the Panthers offense just fine. It was especially nice to see Carolina held to just 60 yards rushing. The three sacks all came at opportune times as well.
Ahmad Brooks is a player. He needs to stay in the middle when Brian Simmons comes back. I'd like to eventually see Simmons and Jeanty on the outside with Brooks in the middle and Landon Johnson rotating in for relief. That's a solid linebacking crew I think.
Caleb Miller is impressing me. He was pretty terrible last season (outside of special teams) so it would be huge to continue getting good play from him.
I hope Chad Johnson feels good about the offense and his role in it, because he was huge on Sunday. He didn't have as many catches or yards as Steve Smith, but I think Chad outplayed him. Everything about the catch on 4th and 1 was incredible, from the playcall to the great play action to the circus catch from Chad. That's why Chad is one of the best offensive players in the game, because he's capable of coming through when it's all on the line. And I mean all, if the Bengals lose on Sunday the season really would have been slipping away. Instead the Bengals are tied for first, two games up on the Steelers, and holding the tiebreaker right now against the Ravens.
Huge win, it's impossible to overstate how big this one was. WHO-DEY!
Things are so bad right now that even the players I expected to come back this week are slow in healing.
Both Dexter Jackson and Rashad Jeanty were expected to return this Sunday against Carolina, but neither practiced yesterday, and both were listed as questionable on the first injury report of the week. The status report doesn't worry me as much as the not practicing, because Marvin Lewis is loathe to tip his hand when it comes to injuries. I have no doubt that if injury reports weren't mandatory that Marvin wouldn't release anything at all.
The Bengals desperately need Dexter Jackson back to help with stopping the run, and Jeanty would certainly be helpful since the linebacking corps has gotten thin. I'm not sure if Brian Simmons will be back this weekend, but even if he is the linebacker position still isn't deep.
Cincinnati's had some rotten luck in the past month, hopefully it'll even out soon.
The more I read about Rashad Jeanty, the more I want to root for him to do well. His story is really an amazing one.
This article says that Jeanty was the 14th best prospect in the country, before blowing his scholarship at the University of Central Florida.
Most players would have fallen off the map at that point, especially coming from a home life where there was little money and a lot of hardship. But Jeanty brushed himself off, and went to the CFL at the age of 20, where he was the youngest player in the league. He won two Grey Cup titles there in three seasons, before signing with the Bengals this past offseason. He had this to say about signing:
"Talking to a lot of veteran guys up in Canada last year," reflected Jeanty, "the biggest thing they all said was don't sign unless they give you a big signing bonus. It was all about the money. That was kind of my focus going in, that unless they offer me at least decent money, I'm not going to take the opportunity.
"But once the time came, my feeling toward all the money stuff just changed. I just wanted the opportunity to prove to myself that I can play in this league."
That's really a remarkable attitude coming from a guy that needed money for his family so badly that he went to the CFL. He definitely sounds like he has his head on straight:
"The main thing," Jeanty said Wednesday, toying with his tender left foot as he talked, "is that I appreciate my opportunities more than most players. I had an opportunity to get a free education and I blew it.
"I could say that there were family situations, but at the end of the day it would be an excuse in my eyes. There's a thousand people in college who have family situations. I could have fought through it, but I didn't take it seriously at all. So the biggest thing for me is the opportunity at hand. Just seize the moment."
On a team where guys like Chris Henry and Odell Thurman are determined to blow their immense talent, it's really tough not to pull for a guy like Jeanty. Hopefully he'll come up with a monster year and help everyone forget about Odell.
The first injury report of the week was released today, and I was waiting for it to see how guys have healed up through the bye week.
Here's what we're looking at for Sunday:
Dexter Jackson and Rashad Jeanty are both questionable and neither player has practiced.
Sam Adams and Levi Jones are both probable, but neither practiced on Wednesday.
Rich Braham and Tab Perry are both still on crutches, and more won't be known about these two for at least another couple of weeks.
Something I find a little weird is that I haven't heard a thing about Chris Perry. He's eligible to come off of injured reserve, but I haven't seen one item about him in any of the newspapers or on the official Bengals website. It'd definitely give the offense a boost to get him back healthy.
For borderline guys like Jeanty and Jackson I hope they'll take all the time they need to heal. Tampa Bay, like any NFL team, is certainly good enough to pull off an upset on their home field, but realistically they're a team that the Bengals should be able to beat, even with some key players on the sidelines. I doubt that Dexter or Rashad would be enough to make a difference either way this Sunday, so it might be good for them to just sit out another week.
The Bengals signed linebacker Andre Frazier today.
It was just one of a flurry of moves. Odell Thurman was suspended for a year and two players were put on IR (A.J. Nicholson and Frostee Rucker), ending their seasons.
Frazier played for the Steelers last season, seeing a lot of time on special teams. The Bengals need him because, unbelievably, their linebacking corps is getting a little thing. Rashad Jeanty is banged up and possibly out for Sunday, and Brian Simmons' knee has been bothering him all season.
Andre is a player the Bengals apparently had their eye on out of college, but were unable to sign. He played for the University of Cincinnati, so it's nice to see a local kid coming home. I hope he won't see the field too much on defense, but I imagine he'll be playing a lot on special teams. Frazier has his own website, so check that out if you want to learn more about the newest Bengal.
Training camps are underway, the NFL season is a month off, and to get you ready for 2008, FanHouse previews all 32 teams, "heat index" style. We'll rate each club in 10 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.
The linebacker position in Cincinnati has been quite the adventure:
Brian Simmons is getting up there a bit age wise, and I think we're seeing that this season. He's been banged up one way or another all year, and it looks like he'll be out again this Sunday.
Injury news for the Bengals seems to get better and better every week, and that has continued this week save for a small bump or two.
It's amazing how much an unexpected win can lift the weight off of your shoulders. I was certain that the Bengals would have problems with Carolina on Sunday, but I didn't give the Bengals enough credit.
Things are so bad right now that even the players I expected to come back this week are slow in healing.
The more I read about Rashad Jeanty, the more I want to root for him to do well. His story is really an amazing one.
The first injury report of the week was released today, and I was waiting for it to see how guys have healed up through the bye week.
The Bengals signed linebacker Andre Frazier today.
