Together again

[fuji869]

Should be an emotional reunion between former Redskins Gus Frerotte and Michael Westbrook in Cincinnati. Maybe they can make new memories in Cincy like the Sunday Night Game when Gus Knocked himself out of the game :gus: and Michael slammed his helmet on the field getting an 15 yard unsportsman like penalty taking the Skins out of FG Range in OT. :doh:

[Brave]

The difference being, Mike and Gus made those sad memories here whilst in the fight for a playoff birth. In Cincy they will likely be making memories in an attempt to stay out of the cellar.

[bulldog]

when you get to Cincy as a free agent veteran, you know that you have exhausted all other attempts to land a starting job somewhere else.

that is just the plain truth. A lot of free agents dance with the Bengals in the early stages of free agency but few if any ever end up signing there.

the mix on that team in terms of personalities is a poor one. Westbrook, Warrick, Cory Dillon. Yes, they have talent and Dillon has proven to be a productive player but overall LeBeau has few character guys on this team and that's why they will continue to disappoint.

in the NFL a LOT of guys have talent. that isn't enough to win. you need coaching and the right MIX of talent and hard work.

you can see some other talented players like Takeo Spikes already prepping themselves to depart the Bengals when their contracts end.

they aren't interested in signing up for another tour of duty there

to me the only way for the Bengals to resurrect themselves is to get a high profile GM who can set a foundation and then spend some money on scouting and on the players.

good luck waiting for that. :laugh:

[Qcard]

WR 82 Michael Westbrook 85 Chad Johnson 84 T.J. Houshmandzadeh/ 15 Darcey Levy

LT 73 Richmond Webb 76 Levi Jones 65 John Jackson/ 61 John Grabowski

LG 72 Matt O'Dwyer 79 Scott Rehberg 66 Thatcher Szalay

C 74 Rich Braham 62 Brock Gutierrez 64 Ray Redziniak

RG 63 Mike Goff 77 Victor Leyva

RT 71 Willie Anderson 75 Jamain Stephens 60 Justin Bland

TE 88 Sean Brewer 89 Matt Schobel 30 Nick Williams/ 43 Kirk McMullen

WR 80 Peter Warrick 81 Ron Dugans 83 Danny Farmer/ 12 Kwazeon Leverette

QB 3 Jon Kitna 12 Gus Frerotte 11 Akili Smith/ 4 Scott Covington

RB 28 Corey Dillon 36 Brandon Bennett 29 Curtis Keaton/ 32 Rudi Johnson

FB 41 Lorenzo Neal 30 Nick Williams 35 Jason Murray/ 38 Harold Jackson

Or maybe with this Offense (starters and quality depth in bold) Michael Westbrook might revitalize his career. The Bengals had a top 10 defense last year, the Jaguars and Titans have left the division; Other than Pittsburgh the Ravens and Browns defenses is nothing to be really scared of in the division, couple that the 4th easiest schedule in the NFL in 2002, the Bengals could easily surprise many.

They were a 6-10 team last year and won their last 2 games against play-off bound Steelers in OT and at Tennesse. Jon Kitna had very impressive performances down the stretch.

Look out. Westbrook might have the last laugh. It actually reminds me of a Wr named Jimmy Smith who was oft-injured whilst with the DallasCowboys.

[bulldog]

let's break this down:

1. Webb is 35 years old. O'Dwyer is 34 years old. Both players were released for cap reasons, a euphemism for 'they were making too much while their performances were declining'.

2. Levi Jones is a flat rookie. Rarely do rookie linemen make a splash and most NFL people thought Jones was a reach where he was taken. Remember that the Bucs thought they had the next Orlando Pace/Chris Samuels instant pro in Kenyatta Walker last season and found out Walker needed time. There aren't too many Boselli, Pace, Samuels type rookies that come in and start.

3. I like Willie Anderson at RT. He may be their best lineman despite getting overshadowed pub wise by Webb and O'Dwyer.

4. Tight End? Brewer and Schobel have exactly how many NFL catches? Tony McGee left town in the offseason. While I think McGee has been an underachiever in the NFL, I think there is a greater chance he will be productive in Dallas than that either of these younger players are going to have that great an impact in 2002.

5. Wide receivers. What I see here are a group of 'maybes'. Westbrook has one solid season in seven in the NFL. Johnson and Warrick are raw and yet to show any consistency. And people are criticizing Rod Gardner for posting 46 catches for 741 yards and 4 td's as a rookie in Washington? :laugh: Dugans I always thought was brought in to be a 'buddy' for Warrick and ease his transition to a city he said before the draft he didn't want to go to.

Interestingly, Westbrook noted a couple of years ago that Frerotte didn't look to him enough and favored Henry Ellard and Leslie Shepherd, so what does that portend for their reunion here in 2002?

6. Quarterback. Kitna and Frerotte. Frerotte's history is he has 2 or 3 solid games a season when asked to start or come on in relief and then loses confidence and starts to throw interceptions or gets injured as he did in Washington in '98 and in Denver in '01. Kitna? Holmgren thought he couldn't win consistently with Jon as his starter. Kitna garnered little interest in free agency and came to the Bengals because they were the only team to offer him a chance to compete for a job. When you look at Kitna in 2001 you would have to say that overall his performance was not enough to warrant a return as the definite starter. Evidently, LeBeau made the same determination and hence the arrival of Frerotte.

7. Good backfield. Dillion is a consistent 1,200 yard plus back and Neal is probably the most underrated fullback in the league. Why he has bounced around is a mystery to me. The Bengals have to hope again for a 300 carry season out of a healthy Cory because the qb and wr spots are uncertain at best and I don't see a superior offensive coordinator or head coach with knowledge of how to put together an offense on staff.

The Bengals will release Darnay Scott and that is not a bad move fo the team as he has indicated he doesn't want to stay in Cincinnati and no team needs that kind of disruption.

My question is, once again with so much money left unspent under the cap, how come the Bengals have not been more aggressive?

To me the only way to get a Spikes to resign would be to show him that the team was really going to step up and make the investment in the team and front office.

Gus Frerotte and Michael Westbrook, two ex-Redskins whom I have seen up close and personal many times, doesn't rank as the kind of offseason activity at the skill positions to get my juices flowing any :laugh:

QCard, you guys in Dallas knew the Skins were getting a pig in a poke in Deion Sanders, who by 2000 was a gimpy grayed version o his old self..................you noticed the slip in his play in '98 and '99 and the injuries...............

Well, I have that same old feeling about our ex-Norv Skins.

[@DCGoldPants]

I like their Uni's though. :laugh:

[Brave]

Oh Bufford! You serious!? Uhhhggh!

Assuming we're talking abut Cincy here, I could live with the helmets but the uniform (jersey, pants) itself is attrocious IMHO. Once again, beauty being in the eyes of the beholder I guess.

[TennesseeCarl]

I realize the Bengals have been the whipping boys of the league for a long time and they have one of the less astute owners, but they've been drafting pretty well for a couple of seasons. There's some decent talent on the team (how can you draft in the Top Five year in, year out and not have?).

I'll take Takeo Spikes, Justin Smith, Chad Johnson and a few other guys on that roster. Gus is better than he was with us, but he's not the answer.

I could see them making a run for 8-8 though.

[Golgo-13]

You KNOW things are gettting slow when you start breaking down the Cincinatti Bengals. That's about as interesting as reading the new tax code.