Since the draft is a little less than 4 weeks away, it is time for some draft analysis. To start, we will take a look into the Bengals rich and illustrious draft history. After a monumental 4 year hiatus, the Bengals have returned to their rightful position as having a top 10 pick in the draft. Why is a 4 year span of not drafting in the top 10 monumental? Well, since Mike Brown has taken control of the Bengals, the team has drafted in the top 10 in 11 of 19 years. That means Mike Brown has steered the organization to the bottom third of the league 60% of his time as owner. He has led the team to a top 10 record just once, the 2005 playoff season that is beginning to look more and more like fluke year in the Mike Brown blueprint.
Being back in the top 10 has pushed us here at Whodeyfans to look into the Bengals past picks made in the first 10 picks of the draft. One may be surprised to find there actually have been successes; Carson Palmer, Anthony Munoz, and first Bengals draft pick Bob Johnson. But success is not what Mike Brown is all about, so we are going to rank the top 10 worst draft picks made with a top 10 pick in Bengals history. This series will lead right up until draft day. To begin, here is number 10 in the Bengals history of worst top 10 draft choices:

10. Greg Cook, QB, University of Cincinnati, 5th Overall Pick in 1969

The story of Greg Cook adds credence to the belief by many Bengals fans that the franchise is cursed. Cook threw for 3,300 yards and 25 TDs during his senior season as a Bearcat in 1968. He still holds 3 of the top 5 Bearcat records for passing yards in a single game including the top spot, a 554 yard performance against Ohio University. Cook’s career at UC prompted Bengals owner Paul Brown to use the 5th overall pick in the draft on the possible franchise QB in 1969, the second year of the Bengals. At 6-4, 220 pounds, with a rocket arm, Cook would still be considered the prototype QB in 2008, let alone 40 years ago.
Cook began his career as the starting QB on opening day for the second year franchise and quickly established himself as a quality pro QB. The Bengals won their first 3 games that season against the Dolphins (3-10-1), Chargers (8-6) and Chiefs (11-3), the Chiefs being the eventual AFL champions that season. However, during the Chiefs game, Cook injured his throwing shoulder while begin tackled. He was forced to miss the next three weeks which were all Bengals losses (Ironically, Cook’s backup that season was Sam Wyche, future Bengals Super Bowl coach who would be pushed out of town by Mike Brown). Cook returned to the lineup to lead the Bengals against the Oakland Raiders and served the Raiders their only loss that season until the AFL championship game. Once Cook’s rookie season was over, he had surgery to repair his injured shoulder. During surgery it was revealed that he had a torn rotator cuff and partially torn bicep. Due to sports medicine technology at the time, subsequent surgeries proved futile in repairing Cook’s shoulder, and his career was effectively over. His career stats for the Bengals:
Games---ATT--COMP----Yards---TD----INT----Rating
12---------200-----107------1,865----15-----11------87.6
That rookie season, Cook led the league in Passer Rating (88.3), yards per attempt (9.3), and yards per completion (17.5). His yards per completion of 17.5 has not been surpassed to this day. He played in one game after that rookie campaign, and that was during a comeback attempt 4 years later.
While probably being a great draft pick, Cook only played in 12 games as a professional football player. Being a victim of circumstance serves as enough to land him the #10 spot as a Bengals failed top 10 draft pick.

Check in periodically as we count down to the worst Bengals draft pick in history leading up to the 2008 NFL draft.


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In an article by Chick Ludwig in the Dayton Daily News, he suggests settling all family business.

Chad Johnson? Traded to the Eagles for Lito Decorian Sheppard and a second-round draft pick.

T.J. Houshmandzadeh? He will play out the final year of his contract in 2008 and walk in free agency.

Stacy Andrews, after patiently nursing him along as a project and trying for two years to get him signed out into the future, his continued refusal means he walks too.

Knowing David Pollack's love for football, we do not feel it is our duty or obligation to deny him that opportunity. But it won't happen with us. It shall happen with another team.

Now breathe in the fresh air flowing through the locker room.

Sound good? Who does Carson throw to now, Chris Henry and Ben Utecht? Who plays tackle when Willie and Levi go down again? To me it sounds good provided the Bengals were stacked with talent behind these guys. Or if they didn't have glaring weaknesses on the defensive line or linebacker position that need draft help today. It would feel good to have a team full of pro-Cincinnati guys, but it also would feel good to win.

Then again, we aren't winning much now.

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With the initial surge of free agent spending throughout the NFL coming to an end, it’s time to assess some of the moves made. For this installment we will focus on the AFC North rival Cleveland Browns. Many pundits are heaping praise upon the Browns for their aggressive moves and claim the Browns have made themselves a contender. But as has been proven, time and time again in the NFL, teams cannot be built through free agency. Teams can add a few pieces to the puzzle, but loads of free agent money is often a waste, just look to the Washington Redskins as an example. Here is a list of the Browns major acquisitions and signings:
QB Derek Anderson, 3 years, $26million, $14million guaranteed
RB Jamal Lewis, 3 years, $17million, $7million guaranteed
WR Donte Stallworth, 7 years, $35million, $10million guaranteed
DL Corey Williams, 6 year, $38million, $16.3million guaranteed
DL Shaun Rogers, 6 year, $42million, $20million guaranteed
People are clearly being wowed by name recognition, but the Browns moves do not exactly point to a newly made contender. Before free agency began, the Browns had a few areas of solid ground on which to build a team, namely: A strong offensive line, Braylon Edwards, Kamerion Wimbley, D’Qwell Jackson, and Leigh Bodden. Many other good players appear on the roster, but they cannot be counted on for continual contributions.
On the offensive side, Kellen Winslow is a top level receiving TE, but his injury problems are well documented and he has had offseason knee surgery every year of his NFL career. As for keeping Jamal Lewis, his NFL career appeared to be in its twilight as Baltimore allowed him to leave believing Jamal no longer had it. The Browns signed the then 28 year old RB to a one year “prove yourself” contract. Lewis came out and proved he still had some energy left in the tank. Now that he is a year older, has taken 300 more tackles, and has $7million in guaranteed money in the bank, can the Browns count on Lewis to lead the offense? Derek Anderson had a strong, pro bowl, season. But his contract proves that even the Browns top brass is not sold on Anderson. If you had a franchise QB, would lock him up for only 3 years? Anderson’s contract pays him more than Brady Quinn, so he will enter the year without competition, but from there it is open season. And the Browns have clear reason to believe that Anderson is not the answer. They benefited from one of the easiest schedules in the NFL to go 10-6, but this year the schedule is much more difficult. With the easy schedule, Anderson came out on fire as most teams believed he was just a stop gap between Charlie Frye and Brady Quinn. Once teams realized Anderson had talent, they began to come after him and Anderson struggled down the stretch. Here are his numbers for the last 7 games of last season:

TEAM---COMP--ATT---COMP%---YARDS--TD--INT---RATING
@BAL----24-------38------63.2-------274-------0-----1--------73.8
HOU-----24-------35------68.6-------253-------2-----1--------96.5
@ARI----21--------41------51.2-------304-------2-----2--------71.6
@NYJ----16--------29------55.2-------185-------2-----1--------83.3
BUF------9---------24-------37.5-------137-------0-----0--------57.1
@CIN----29--------48------60.4-------251-------2-----4--------53.4
SF--------11--------20--------55.0-------152-------1-----1--------75.4
TOT----134------235------57.0------1556-----9---10-------72.2
Against 6 bad defenses and Baltimore, Anderson had a 72.2 passer rating down the stretch and gave Cleveland’s playoff hopes away with an embarrassing performance against the Bengals. Not exactly 8 year contract material.
But the most laughable signing of all is the Donte Stallworth move, 7 years, $35million, $10million guaranteed. How Drew Rosenhaus convinced the Browns to sign that deal should be studied by NASA. Stallworth’s average season throughout his career is:
Catches----Yards----Avg.----TD
46---------702------15.1----5.2
Playing for good teams recently has put Stallworth on TV more often causing people to believe that he is playing better now than earlier in his career. But that is just not true. Stallworth’s best year came in 2005 with the Saints when he had 945 yards and 7 TDs. In the past 2 seasons, playing for two pass happy offenses in the Eagles and the record shattering Patriots of last season, Stallworth has averaged:
Catches----Yards----Avg.----TD
42---------711------16.9----4.0
Basically no improvement, and should Stallworth expect his numbers to improve with Derek Anderson over playing with McNabb and Brady? Probably not. Even more embarrassing for the Browns is Stallworth's contract with the Patriots. Coming off a 725 yard, 5TD season with the Eagles, New England signed Stallworth to a 6 year, $33million deal, but with only $3.6million in year one guaranteed. After the $3.6million dollar year, the Pats decided Stallworth was not worth the money and ended the contract. So after being cut by the Pats, being a year older, and having a lesser year of 697 yards and 3TDs, the Browns swoop in and upgrade his contract to $35million with $10million guaranteed. While Stallworth is an upgrade over Joe Jurevicius, Smokey Joe is playing on a 4 year $10million contract. And for reference, Wes Welker is playing on a 5 year $18.1million deal. This is bad news for the Bengals though, because TJ is renegotiating his contract as we speak. I am sure that TJ’s agent is using the joke of Stallworth’s deal as the basement for a new contract.
On the defensive side, the Browns made a solid move in trading a 2nd round pick for Corey Williams. Williams has been a consistent and solid performer for the Packers. However, Williams played as a 1 gap tackle in the Packer 4-3 defense. Moving to the 3-4 in Cleveland, Williams will be playing a 2 gap tackle or nose. This move may or may not affect Williams, but that is a legitimate question for a guy who could get 30 tackles and 5 sacks per year as a penetrating tackle. Everyone in Bengal land knows about the Shaun Rogers deal, and for Rogers the Browns have set themselves up for failure. Rogers is a 29 year old man that weighs 350 pounds and has been battling weight, injury and attitude problems throughout his career. As a player, if motivated, Rogers could be a beast. The only way the Browns can justify that deal is if Rogers is a dominant force in the AFC North for years. Anything less would be a bust because the Browns have committed $42million, a 3rd round draft pick, and perhaps the biggest defensive thorn in the Bengals side in Leigh Bodden. Bodden has a mullet, so you know he is a dangerous man with speed. If Rogers eats his way to Ted Washington, the Browns will have a monumental misfire.
As a result of their recent moves, the Browns have given up their first 3 picks in the draft and committed $67million in guaranteed money to players not offering guaranteed results. Perhaps the Browns see that every team in the AFC North is on the way down and that these moves could put them over the top. They may very well win the weakened AFC North with a 9-7 record, but that is it, they are not a contender for anything more. Counting on 7 or 8 high priced players with shaky records and performance to all play at their career bests does not make a contender.
And is that worth sacrificing young talent and future growth through the draft? We will see, but the Browns will not pick until around the 125th spot in the draft(The full draft order for all rounds will be released later this month). They should be able to kill the time waiting for their pick by watching Shaun Rogers shut down multiple Golden Corrals in the Greater Cleveland area.


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It’s time to give the Bengals a little credit. We were harsh in our initial assessment of the Bengals free agent efforts, especially Moriarty who is a miserable human being. But after analyzing the coming and going of players in free agency, the Bengals have not done a bad job so far. First, the Bengals decided to let Justin Smith and Madieu Williams leave. Whether the decision was made by shrewd personnel judgment or just plain being cheap, the Bengals were correct on both counts. Smith signed a 6 year contract for $45million dollars to join the 49ers. The deal equates to $7.5million per year which is more than the $7million per year deal that the Bengals did no match for Eric Steinbach last season. As Bengal fans know, Justin Smith is not worth more than Eric Steinbach. So unless the 49ers see a way to use Justin Smith that the Bengals missed, this is a bad deal on their part. Madieu, meanwhile, signed for 6 years and $34million which is an average of $5.6million. The franchise tag number for a safety this year is $4.4million. So the Vikings essentially paid a non-Pro Bowl safety to a contract with an annual average greater than the franchise tag; another bad move. The Bengals will miss Madieu’s presence on the field, in the locker room, and in the community, but they won’t miss him to the tune of $5.6million per year.
On to the trade debacles. Media outlets, including Bengals.com, announced that the Bengals had agreed to two trades, both of which fell through. Both added to the perception that the Bengals are inept and still the laughing stock of the league. However, after further examination, the Bengals did the best they could under the circumstances. It’s obvious the Bengals are desperate for an impact fatboy, and Rogers and Robertson were being shopped for trades. The Bengals made a run at both, but were shut down for different reasons. In the Rogers case, the Lions were trying to avoid paying Rogers a $1million bonus by trading him away before the bonus came due. The deal with the Bengals was not consummated in time so the Lions were on the hook for the money. The Bengals offered to reimburse the Lions for the bonus, which is illegal, and why the league stopped the trade. The Bengals and Lions then asked Rogers to restructure his contract and delay the bonus so that the Bengals could pay him directly, and Rogers refused. Then the Browns stepped in with an offer and Rogers agreed to restructure his contract to join the Browns. For Robertson, he has 2 years and $18million left on his current contract with the Jets. Like the Lions, the Jets are trying to trade Robertson to get away from his contract. The Jets, however, have let it be known that if they can’t trade Robertson, they will cut him from the team. So the Bengals tried to renegotiate a contract extension with Robertson before completing the trade, to which Robertson said no. Robertson would rather take his chances on the open market after being cut than deal exclusively with the Bengals. So the Bengals may still get Robertson in free agency and without having to trade for him. In the end though, both cases show that the Bengals have yet to shake their reputation as a cheap and poorly run franchise. Many players, given the choice, would still choose to play for teams other than the Bengals, unless the Bengals are willing to offer substantially more money.
Signaling a shift towards the positive though, the Bengals were able to sign free agent defensive end Antwan Odom to a 5 year $29.5million contract. The Bengals may have overpaid a little bit, but Odom is a strong free agent signing. For $1.6million less than Justin Smith per season, the Bengals get a younger, more athletic, and better pass rushing defensive end. While Odom may not have the ‘motor’ of Justin Smith, defensive ends do not earn their money with a motor and downfield tackles. Defensive ends are paid to wreak havoc in the opposing team’s backfield, which Justin Smith could not do, and Odom can. The Bengals can also use more of a rotation with the defensive ends to keep Geathers and Odom fresh to use their athleticism in the 4th quarter. Opposing teams playing from behind will have a horrible time dealing with Geathers and Odom.
The Bengals work is not done yet. Even with the strong signing of Odom, they still need help at all 3 level of the defense. To improve the defense, a starter still needs to be added before the Bengals go to the draft, and as said before, Robertson is still an option. There are also many useful free agents still on the blocks for the Bengals to sign for added depth:
DT:
Jimmy Kennedy, CHI
LB:
Clark Haggans, PIT
Boss Bailey, DET
Remember Landon Johnson?
S:
Marlon McCree, SD
Eugene Wilson, NE

Add a starter, a few low end free agents, and the belief that the Bengals will get 10 draft picks to play with, and the team is in good shape. As of right now, the Bengals offseason grade would be a C. But if they can add Robertson or trade for or draft Glenn Dorsey/Sedrick Ellis, add depth with a free agent or two, the Bengals could move into B+ territory. With a B+ effort, we could actually say the Bengals improved their defense in the offseason.


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Paul Daugherty said it best today, about the Bengals signing of Antwan Odom. It’s not often that Daugherty gets it right, so let’s at least send him some link juice when he does. What he says is right: Odom might not be as big a name as the two D-Lineman that the Bengals lost out on, but he doesn’t carry the same red flags either.

The funny thing is, the Bengals signing Odom is really a failure on their part. They swung and missed at two guys and got their third choice. Is it me, or was Odom the best choice? Considering the player and the money—and what Justin Smith got in S.F.—I’m pretty happy with this.

There’s a story telling device called the impressive failure—best represented by the Indiana Jones movies. Indy keeps trying to achieve his goals, and keeps finding himself on the losing end of situations and in worse and worse situations. But simply through his dogged determinedness and a little luck, he still seems to win out in the end. He’s a little beat up, but he’s come out on top.

Maybe that’s why we get a kick out of the Bengals. For all of their failings, they keep going, and one of these days they’re going to come out on top. Hopefully.


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Antwan Odom (by several published reports) is a Cincinnati Bengal. The press will gather at Paul Brown around 10am for him to make his first appearance as a Bengal.

I think this is a good signing. I am surprised Scrooge Brown would make a play for a 4 year NFL starter who had 8 sacks last year. It is a big deal for a big player. If you look at it like a trade for Justin Smith then I think we have definitely upgraded our D-Line.


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It appears we spoke to soon on the Shaun Rogers trade. It looks like the Cincinnati deal fell through and now Rogers will be a Brown.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/football/nfl/02/29/rogers.trade.ap/index.html


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