LAX Shooting: What's the real problem here.

I just really looked into the LAX shooting, and attack on TSA airport employee. Not by any means I'm I justifying this guys actions, never is it okay to be the taker of anybody's life. What America lacks though is seeing the BIG picture, or the wider spectrum of these nation rocking moments. So an additions to trying to put this guy away for longest time possible, or pursuing death penalty, (which I'm not a fan of) in addition to that, American officials need to look at the act of these TSA employees. I have been through airports enough, even recently, and the way some of these employees treat people IS NOT okay. The disrespect, the aggressive approach, the attitude, the tone in language and order is inappropriate. people who come thru airports everyday are HUMAN BEINGS, they should be treated as such, not like a threat to be the next terrorist or idiot that's trying to do something to harm the next person. Military, Public Servants, World figures, people from all stretches of life come thru airports, not just criminals or potential criminals so why must we all be treated in such way. That's part of America though, when you think about it. America enjoy focusing the blame on a certain group, or group of people, that they categorized, and take the blame of the real problem, there molded and trained "federal employees" and unfortunately you get events happening like this one. So sad, but so is this place we call America.

Reds Will Shop Phillips This Winter

Earlier this week, Reds beat writer John Fay reported that there were several indications in place that the Reds will try to trade second baseman Brandon Phillips this offseason. One of the major reasons is that Phillips upset Reds CEO Bob Castellini with his "slap in the face" comments about his contract.

And there's now this, via USA Today's Bob Nightengale:

The #Reds decided a month ago that they will shop Brandon Phillips this winter w all intents to trade him

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) October 18, 2013
Phillips, 32, made the All-Star team for the third time in the past four years this season. He hit .261/.310/.396 (92 OPS+) with 24 doubles, 18 homers and 103 RBI.

The latter figure in the above stat line is why he's unbelievably overrated in many circles. Phillips was hitting behind the top two on-base percentage guys in the National League for the majority of the season, and for most of the season posted a highly-unsustainable batting average with runners in scoring position. In a different lineup position on a different team, Phillips posts a sub-par season with the bat. Look at his measly four RBI in September, for example.

Phillips was seventh in OPS among NL second baseman and sixth in WAR. With a low OBP and a slugging percentage below .400, nearly all Phillips value was derived from his glove and from his luck with RBI -- which was bound to run out and, again, did in the last month.

And while he's a useful defender, there are still four years and $50 million left on his contract.

Keeping in mind that and his penchant to annoy, his declining skill set and hefty price tag, the guess is the Reds are hard pressed to find a buyer without having to eat a large portion of his remainder salary, so we will see how bad they really want to rid themselves of him.

Dusty Take The Hook For His Staff

 

It all came to a head in one conversation, a conversation about a coach, and sources say Dusty Baker wasn't about to let a coach take the blame for what went down with the Reds this year.

Reds general manager Walt Jocketty in a year-end hash-out session about the team's dissatisfying season told Baker he was intending to fire hitting coach Brook Jacoby, according to a person familiar with the situation. And that was all Baker had to hear.

Baker wasn't the one who brought in Jacoby, but he also knew it wasn't Jacoby's fault. So Baker took the bold step that quite likely led to Jocketty ousting him as Reds manager.

Reds fire Baker
Bounced after playoff exit
"If you want to fire someone, fire me,'' Baker told Jocketty.

Baker may have been worn out by all the recent negativity regarding the Reds' unsatisfying season, anyway. Rare has someone been criticized so much for guiding an imperfect team to a 90-win season, but Baker became a target. He was a target of some fans, of many sabremetricians. And ultimately, he was a target of Jocketty.

The conversation ended right there with Baker's invitation to dismiss him a few days before Jocketty actually took him up on the invite. The two are not close, and people close to the situation say their relationship was "distant" or even "strained." But Baker couldn't have been sure Jocketty would take him up on his offer.

But he did. Thursday, a few days later (note: this is a correction of the earlier version of this story where the Jacoby conversation took place Wednesday), Baker was called in. And Jocketty fired him. So there went Baker's Reds career, blown up trying to protect a coach under attack.

There's a wonder whether Baker sensed something was up and was testing Jocketty. But Baker, who didn't dispute the conversation, says no, that wasn't it.

"I wasn't testing anyone,'' Baker said. "I was just doing what I thought was right."

"Sometimes  it gets to the point where you're always blaming the teacher (meaning Jacoby). Sometimes it's the pupils,'' Baker said.

The Reds may say it was a "mutual" call to part ways, but there it is. That's how it happened.

They may even tell someone Baker wants to take a year off. And maybe that's a story. But there's no doubt Baker wants to manage, and will consider any and all opportunities. So that year off may turn out to be a few months off, or weeks.

"My son is already picking out teams,'' Baker said.

You remember the son, the cute little boy saved by J.T. Snow in the postseason. he's grown up to be a player. Today, Baker said, he was crying for the first time since Baker had a hospital stay a year ago.

The game's been good to the Bakers. Though, today is not good.

"It hurts. It hurts big-time," Baker said. "It's a double whammy being swept out of the playoffs, and two days later this."

It wasn't all about one conversation, of course. Baker quite likely started to sense that maybe his time was up in Cincinnati. Maybe that's why he said what he said.

"The last couple weeks, I've been getting a rash of hate mail, racial mail,'' he said. "Maybe it is time to go."

"This is really ugly," he said. "There are all sorts of references to Barack Obama. So now I know where they are coming from. I don't know, maybe people are mad at him, so they don't like the idea of blacks in authority."

Baker gave the go-ahead for what went down. But there's no question the support was slipping.

"I pissed somebody off, I guess," he said.

The funny thing is, Baker only wanted a one-year deal a year ago. The team insisted on giving him two.

So if he doesn't get a job immediately he is covered. No matter how it's couched, they are on the hook to pay him.

Someone else should want him. The man wins. He may not have won over the sabermetric crowd, but he wins games.

The Reds, with a top heavy lineup, and a lefty heavy one, still won 90 games. They won without Johnny Cueto, Sean Marshall, Ryan Ludwick and others who were hurt. The front office kept saying that rather than acquiring players, they were waiting for players to return.

Eventually, they did return. But they weren't quite the same. And it wasn't enough.

"I think we overachieved," Baker said.

Baker didn't agree when Jocketty fired pitching coach Dick Pole previously. And like many managers and GMs, there were disagreements over how many coaches would be Baker hires and how many would be front office guys. Baker's guys were Chris Speier, who's been in the crosshairs of management a couple times, and Juan Lopez. Baker sensed that the coaches were less and less his guys.

Things just weren't comfortable between Baker and Jocketty. So Jocketty quite likely was looking for the opening to make the change.

And Baker gave it to him.

The Reds may couch Baker's firing as something that was done by "mutual agreement" but it's clear Jocketty was no supporter.

Reds people surely weren't happy to lose to the rival Pirates and be eliminated in that one-game winner-take-all playoff. But this wasn't all about one game.

Had Baker let Jacoby be fired, he'd more than likely still be Reds manager.

This was far from the first disagreement, though.

There were many disagreements about player acquisitions. And there were disagreements over coaches. But this was the final disagreement.

Baker stood up for what he thought was right. And now he is gone.

Baker has his detractors. Fans were upset because they heard how great the Reds were supposed to be this year, and saw the team go out with barely a whimper.

The sabermetric crowd isn't a fan of Baker's. They kept mentioning how Baker doesn't use on-base percentage to his favor.

There was a drumbeat of negativity. Always the drumbeat.

Jocketty had some ammunition to do what folks on the inside believed he wanted to do. But he probably didn't have the go-ahead -- until Baker gave it to him, that is.

The reality, though, is that the Reds' eventually unsatisfying season isn't Baker's fault. While many baseball people would agree that there are better strategic in-game managers, he won 90 games and made the playoffs again with Jocketty's flawed team.

The Reds are too top heavy. No team relied on four guys like the Reds. Joey Votto, Jay Bruce, Shin-Soo Choo and Brandon Phillips provided a greater percentage of the Reds' offense than any foursome in baseball, and it's not even close. The bottom half of the Reds' lineup was a virtual black hole. That's on Jocketty, not Baker.

The Reds are too left-handed. Three of those players -- all but Phillips -- are left-handed. This made the Reds especially susceptible to lefty pitchers. The Pirates started Francisco Liriano in the one-game playoff game, and the Reds were pretty much dead meat once Liriano's slider was working the way it was.

The Reds don't have enough leaders. Scott Rolen was one. Jonny Gomes was another. Rolen retired, but they needed to replace him. That isn't on Baker.

Jocketty isn't as high profile or as much a magnet for criticism as Baker. But he didn't exactly have a perfect season, either.

Perhaps a crack in the relationship showed in the postgame session when Baker mentioned that Marlon Byrd really helped the Pirates. Perhaps he was just stating fact. Byrd did hurt the Reds a few times since Pittsburgh got him at mid-year.

That was on Jocketty. The Reds could have used a righty hitter like Byrd, but even if they figured there wouldn't be room in the starting lineup once Ryan Ludwick returned (and why think that? Byrd was having a great year), they needed at least to claim Byrd to make sure the Pirates didn't get him.

Byrd only made $700,000 this year, and the Mets wouldn't have given him away, anyway, so a claim on Byrd would have served only as a block. But the Reds, who were in position to block Pittsburgh at the time by virtue of a slightly worse record, passed.

"The Reds were asleep at the switch," is the way one competing GM put the decision not to claim Byrd.

Jocketty has always had the luxury of a good, experienced manager. He had one in LaRussa in St. Louis, and he had Baker. LaRussa and Baker had their own rivalry for the Bay Area, then Cards-Cubs matchup, so maybe Baker and Jocketty had to overcome that.

Jocketty is very close to LaRussa, but he hasn't hinted to anyone he wants to come back to manage. If Jocketty could talk him into it, that would be a coup.

Anyway, the Byrd mistake was barely mentioned throughout the season, while the sabremetric crowd kept harping on Baker's lineups. It's easy to see how all the negativity eventually got to Reds owner Bob Castellini, who looked so upset in the box at the finale some started to wonder who might pay.

It was going to be Jacoby.

Until Baker stood up for him.

Castellini was really the one who hired Baker, as he was blown away in the interview. Wayne Krivsky, who himself was unceremoniously dumped after two years in favor of Castellini's old Cardinals associate Jocketty, was the GM at the time. But after the interview with Baker, Castellini made up his mind.

So Dusty became a high-paid manager in a small market. And he became a lightning rod for a team with out-sized expectations.

The team was just starting to win when Krivsky was fired after almost no time on the job, but the team took off with Baker at the helm. Baker has a terrific winning record, and it would be folly to assume he had nothing to do with its renewed success.

Baker wins a lot. He has won 1,653 games and lost 1,487. He has won three Manager of the Year awards. He hasn't quite won the big one, though, and that's haunted him. And it's given fodder to his detractors.

The Reds lost a big one to the Pirates in the wild-card playoff. The PNC Park crowd was big in the game. But Liriano -- the lefty -- was too tough for the Reds' lefty-heavy lineup.

Afterward, Jocketty was asked by the Cincinnati Enquirer whether there were any "questions" about Bakers's standing. He said, "I don't think so. He's signed for another year."

That was the tipoff. What they meant was that he wasn't sure he'd be able to get rid of him since Castellini still had $3.5-million he'd have to eat and still was thought to support Baker.

And he probably wouldn't have had Baker let Jacoby go without a fight.

But Jocketty got what he wanted, there's little doubt about that.

No word yet on who's taking over, but assuming LaRussa sticks to his word that he's retired, two internal candidates -- pitching coach Bryan Price and Triple-A manager Jim Riggleman -- are names sure to surface.

Someone publicly speculated on Joe Morgan's name. And we hope that's a joke.

To get rid of Baker because he isn't as familiar with stats as one might like and replace him with Morgan, who showed he doesn't know about new stats in his previous job, doesn't sound like something Jocketty would want to do. Plus, Morgan has no experience managing. He'd just be Baker lite. (Though that isn't fair to Baker because Baker is a warm person who deals exceptionally well with others.)

Barry Larkin, a Reds icon and Hall of Fame player, is a  name that makes some sense. He has what it takes to eventually become a good manager, and he'd be an immediate hit with fans.

Price and Riggleman are good names, as well. Price is about the most respected pitching coach in the game, and Riggleman is a fine manager who was a big part of the Nationals turnaround.

Either would make a fine choice. So might Larkin.

But Dusty didn't have to go. He refused to fire anyone on his current staff, so the whole staff had to go.

Week 2 Steelers @ Bengals Preview

There not much that needed to be reviewed from last weeks games. As the Bengals single handilydid everything a football team could do to lose a football game. Everything from missed assignments, to dumb mental mistakes, also some turnovers sprinkled in there. No way with those three things are you going to win any football game, especially when you play a NFC power in the Chicago Bears. As for the Steelers, I think it's safe to say their football season pretty much ended last week. They lost one of the anchors, and vet of their Defense, also they best offensive of lineman off a line that wasn't great to start with. They played against a Tennessee Titans football team that's not great but getting better slowly but surely. Titans pretty much dominated the Steelers holding them to just 2 points all the way til the last 90 seconds of the game, with better performance on offense this game would've easily been a bigger margin then the 16-9 in which the Titans won with. Although the Steelers season look hopeless, they still must go out and play and complete the schedule. This week they take the trip to Cincinnati and play the Bengals in a Monday Night Football game, that I'm sure the league wish they could flex.

Steelers
I don't see how they can win this game at all, or even make it a game for that matter but have to sit her and come up with the Blueprint.

* Run Game:

Even though the Steelers backfield is not healthy, nor the offensive front, they MUST find a way to establish an effective run game. They couldn't even establish one first down via the run game last week. Only managing 32 yards on 15 team carries. That won't be good this week, they have to do better to keep the Bengals D honest, and take some pressure off Ben.

* Offensive Line:

This Offensive Line must step up and play better. Everybody know they're not at full strength, but that's no excuse, they must play better. Allowing 5 sack to the Titans can easily be double by this Bengals D that have the best front in the game. They are the vital piece to any success this Team will have.

* Super Ben:

Big Ben must transformed to super Ben if the Steelers going to have a chance to win, with no run game at all it's time to see what type of QB Ben is, should he be with the Elite as many will say, or is he just a system QB who legacy should be based off the Defenses he had playing on his team.... Time to show us Ben.

*DDDDDEFENSE:

Even though this D, is not one of the caliber we used to seeing in Pittsburgh, they are still the strength of this team, and they must show it. This unit have to find a way to slow down an offense that honestly stopped themselves last week against a better D then what the Steelers are.

Bengals
I think we all witnessed what happen last week, as the Cincinnati Bengals went to Chicago and lost to the Cincinnati Bengals. Although they are big favors in this game they can't come out and take this team for granted, I think they going to be pissed off, and fired up come Monday night, and show the prime time viewers they deserve all the hype they getting.

*Mentality Check:

As poorly as they actually played on the field it was mental mistake that really seal their fate last week. Two personal foul penalties at the end of each half of this football game, one that lead to that 3 point difference that was the game, and one that denied the offense an opportunity at the end of the game. Biggest play of the game, a guy missing an assignment didn't help.

*Defense Eat:

This Defense must feast on this battered Offensive. I'm sure Zim and his crew is salavating right now, they must show what everybody call them one the best D in the league

*Smash Mouth:
  

The Bengals approach need to be to break this D down in between the tackles. Pound away at these guy, hit them right in the heart of there unit and open up the pass that way. Although this team is having a hard time with health and confidence, the strength is the secondary and their secondary still consist of all-pro, pro bowlers back there. Don't be surprised if you see more running then expected, RUN THE BALL.

*PROTECT THIS HOUSE:

It's your home opener and your fans are not happy starting off 0-1, especially beating yourself the way y'all did. The quickest way to lose a football game, is to constantly give the ball to the other team when you have it. The Bengals MUST protect the football, don't allow this team to keep this game close, a lost this week, with this unstable fan base, can be Armageddon.

PREDICTION:
When Monday get here, and the jungle start to rock, what you should expect is a pure domination by the Bengals. Realistically there is no way I can see the Steelers beating the Bengals, but the game still has to be played and as we have seen a week ago, the Bengals can beat the Bengals. They say you never make the same mistake twice, and I don't think they will, I have Cincinnati winning this game 24-6.

John G. Dunn II
jgdunn.blogspot.com

Cincinnati Bengals @ Chicago Bears Preview

Week 1 matches up our Cincinnati Bengals with the Chicago Bears. This is one of the best week 1 match up, and also one of the hardest to evaluate and choose. As a fan, you want your team to beat everybody, as a realest and student/teacher of the game you have to evaluate each team weaknesses and strengths and visualize the game before it happen in order to pick a realistic winner. I would normal watch film on each team using NFL GAME REWIND COACHES FILM, to do my evaluation, but seeing that it's week 1 I don't have much to go off of.

CHICAGO BEARS
This Chicago Bears team is one with a lot of talent, we know the usual suspects that is, Jay Cutler, Brandon Marshall, and Matt Forte. However, coming into this week 1 match-up they have more questions then even these guys can answer.

*The biggest question of them all is how will the Two rookie offensive lineman, Kyle Long and Jordan Mills hold up against the best front in the NFL. Although Long and Mills had good camps, and played well in the preseason, they have never faced the forces they will face come Sunday afternoon

* How ready is Marshall? Brandon Marshall has been nagged by a hip injury. He has missed practically most of the preseason and even worst he hasn't been a full participant in practice lately. There is NO question he's going to play, but how effective can he be?

* Which Jay Cutler will we see? Jay Cutler is, in my opinion, one the most inconsistent QB in the league. He shows signs of elite ability, but also has showed signs of what holds this team back. Which will we see Sunday? His favorite target is not 100% and he's not an idiot he knows what he's facing on the other side of him, will he be poised and pick the weak secondary apart or panic when he see Geno closing in?

*Rookie Coach: Will Marc Trestman be able to handle this football club throughout the duration of this season? He has already been tested by Marshall in his little preseason rant and frustrations, we all know how much of a Hot head Jay Cutler can be, will Trestman be able to handle these guys as they go through what I think will be a tough, up and down season for the Bear.

CINCINNATI BENGALS
The Cincinnati Bengals although I believe have more advantages then these Bears, they have questions of their own.

* #2 Receiver? Who will step up as that #2 guy? This Chicago secondary is really good. Tim Jennings and Charles Tillman are both all-pro DB's Somebody has to step up and take pressure off of Green, so he can try to get some one-on-one coverage and a opportunity to bust the game open.

* Tight Ends- How will the two 1st round draft picks perform? Will they demand respect? Can they control the middle of the field and be the force they are expected to be? They to, like the receivers, can take some pressure off of Green.

* Offensive Tackles- Is Big Whit knee healthy enough to not only play, but take the forces of Briggs and Peppers off the edge? I believe the Bears D will challenge him and Andre Smith who struggles in pass pro.

*Secondary- Can this secondary contain All-pro Brandon Marshall? In my opinion we haven't had a #1 guy in our secondary since Jonathan Joesph, I don't think Leon Hall is that guy that can shut down a teams #1 Wide out. This secondary will be tested, the Bears won't be able to run the football effectively, and we all know the weakness of this D, why wouldn't you test it.

GAME OVERVIEW
When you measure up these two football team based off strength and weaknesses the Bengals are the better football team. On paper, the Bengals are better, but the game has to be played on the field, and I have provided you with things to watch, as you watch the game. All things taking into consideration I see this being a low scoring game, because of the strength of both of these Defensive units. At the end of the day the Bengals D is stronger overall, and I have them coming out on top of this one 17-14.

2013 Cincinnati Bengals Preview

  So here we are about a day away from the 2013 Kickoff of NFL football. I think I speak for most, when I say THANK YOU GOD!!!! Sunday tailgating, frying of the wings and grubbing on the pizza. Cold beers cracking and popping, cheering and jumping slapping hands til the mirrors fall off the wall. Sitting in the stadium with a portion of your fan nation, or as the fan to the opposing team, picking on and smack talking to any fan near with different colors on then you, yeah I will take a handful of months of that!
   So how about them Bengals!?!?!?!?!?!? Well it should be another good one for us, only problem is when you have consecutive years of success, each year expectations become higher and higher and for the Bengals I feel the expectations are higher than they ever been. Problem with having really high expectation, you almost set yourself up for disappointment, the higher the expectation the higher the chance for disappointment. What is realistic expectation for this football team? It's hard, we all know the ultimate goal, but for those of us that can be realistic, we also know that this football team is not the best in the NFL or the AFC for that matter, yes they can play, and compete with every team but can they win? Many writers and experts have the Bengals representing the AFC in the big dance some even have them winning it all, and that's a tall leap for a team who has made back to back playoff appearances, but has failed to win in either appearance.
   2013  bring upon a new year, a team that don't look much different from the last two years, but they are older, more experienced and know how to win. Not to mention the additions that will have an impact on the week to week performance. 10-6 with one the hardest schedules last year, was very impressive and unexpected by most. With a weaken division which is the north, and a slightly easier but still hard schedule, Expectations sit a lot higher for this team. So let me break this football team down as I see it;

                                                         OFFENSE 

Strengths:  When you look at this Offense there is an abundance amount of talent all over the place. Only thing is, talent don't always perform. We all know this offense and team for that matter is whatever A.J. Green is. As long as he remains, arguably the best Wide Receiver in the NFL, this offense will remain one the most dangerous. When you speak about strengths, as far as proven players on this offense, outside of Green the only other consistently proven successful player is Andrew Whitworth, who also quietly carries leadership on this team and in that locker room. Green, and big Whit, Strengths? These two is it.

Weakness: *Just as Green is the heart of this offense, Andy Dalton is the brain, and if that brain don't tell the heart to beat you die, and so will this offense. I only have strengths and weaknesses, i'm not hear to call Andy a weakness, but he has to be better than what he has been in order for this football team to reach it's full potential, I have faith and I believe he will, but we'll just have to see, I really hope he has improved his deep ball accuracy.
*#2 receiver spot, who will play across from Green and how effective will that person be? No one has taken that spot as the #2 guys, there is a couple guys, in Sanu and Jones, that you can put there. What Gruden and Lewis wanted was for some one to take the spot, and I don't think that happen this preseason. The spot will have to be given to a guy, Sanu is charted as the #2 right now.How effective can he be? Nobody knows, we have saw a lot of good in the little bit he gave early last year, before he went out for the year, can he stay health? When teams are not afraid of your #2 guy, it takes away from your #1.
*Jermaine Gresham, this is what I believe is his last chance to be the 1st round pick he was drafted to be. With the addition of Tyler Eifert, another 1st round pick, Gresham have to be the guy to command the middle of the field and demand respect from defenses.
*Last but not least is the offensive of line. Outside of big Whit, everybody else on this line is a question mark, It will be interesting to see if we can get some consistent adequate play out of Boling, and Cook. Andre Smith is probably the biggest question mark on this unit, with his new deal will he play the way he played last year, which was a contract year? Will he even stay healthy enough to play the whole or majority of the season?

                                                               Defense 

Strengths:  *The strongest part of this D is hands down the front line. You have arguably the best interior lineman in Geno "sacks" Atkins, Peko who's a run stuffer next to Atkins, and some of the most athletic ends in the league with Mike Johnson and Carlos Dunlap. Them are just the starters, they have depth there to with Robert "oldman" Gathers who is still a quality force. Wallace Gilberry who's a guy with a rising stock and don't forget the Big, super talented, strong Margus Hunt he just need to get tougher and find some nasty.
*This Linebacker core went from a weakness last year to a strength with the addition of James Harrison. He will have a much different role from what he had in Shitsburgh, but I don't see any reason he won't adjust well. Who can forget about Vontaze Burfict, lead this team in tackles as a rookie and is the leader of this defense in just his second year.

Weakness:  *Rey Mauluga is a question mark for the Defense. You just don't know what your going to get from Rey, will we see the Rey we saw in the first couple years that was hungry, all over the field and looking like a household name? That's what the coaching staff is hoping for since they moved him back to that spot he shined in. Going by what he has done lately, whiffing on tackles, blowing assignments, and shying away from contact, will only find him a seat on the bench as the depth is quickly catching up to him. With all the talent in front and on the side of Rey I think he has no choice but be successful, what scares me more then his failure, is what's behind Rey and the rest the D.......
*The weakest part of the Defense has to be the secondary. Reggie Nelson has been a consistent success, and I guess you can say Leon Hall as well, even though I don't think he's the guy who will shut down opponents #1, but outside them two everybody else gives me concern. Adam Jones is at a point in his career where he can't play every day, which is why he's charted as the #3/nickle corner, Dre Kirkpatrick hasn't been the guy we expect since being took in the 1st round, he still struggling to get Zimms D in his head, so he won't see much field, Newman has a lot of miles on his body, no longer an every down guy and Ghee is strictly on this team in my opinion for special teams. Another guy that I don't really understand why he still here, is Taylor Mays. I guess Coach Lewis love this guy so much he can't cut him loose, or maybe it his locker room presences??? I don't know, what I do know is he'll be strictly a special teams guy, even though he's on the Depth Chart in front of Rookie Shawn Williams. Williams had a disappointing summer, I expected more out of him, and he was just non existent the last four week, I think he'll develop as the season goes on, not enough to take the starting spot of George Iloka. I really love this Iloka guy, he's the guy to watch in the secondary, first time starter, he's mighty aggressive and have no problem sticking his nose in the mix in the run game, but he's weak in coverage, definitely the best guy out of the 3 and deserve the starting job.
    So there it is, this is the 2013 Cincinnati Bengals. Offensively, as you can see there are a lot more weaknesses then strengths, for the sake of this offense these guys are young, and they have a lot of room for improvement and the last 2 years they have found a way to put together back to back playoff appearances, but in 2013 appearance won't be enough! The team will only go as far as the defense decide it will go. Yes the best player on the team is on the offensive side of the ball, but this unit is the Cincinnati Bengals, and if this team is going to make a push in the AFC and in the playoffs it's going to be the D that's going to be the driven force! I have this team finishing 12-4, a top seed and yes winning they first playoff game, but falling one came short of the Super Bowl, which is a successful season for the Bengals........ WHO DEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! See you at PBS

                                                                                                                              John G. Dunn

Thing To Take Away From Week 1 Preseason Win

 I think I speak for about 75% of America when I say, FOOTBALL IS BACK!!! It always a happy time of year when the boys of fall is back in between the lines. From things such as fantasy, tailgating, cheering for your team and hating others team, this time of year gives us such of high that make time fly. As they say times flies when your having fun. For many fans, even though their happy football is back, the preseason can be a really big tease. I used to be the same way, until I got in the coaching business, then I learned there is a certain way you have to watch preseason. You can't watch preseason as a fan, you have to watch it as an observer and evaluate the players play, to give credit and critique guys and you will know the move of your team as if you was sitting in coaches meetings.

This past Thursday the Bengals gave us a lot to observe, as they blew out the Atlanta Falcons. Mostly good not a lot of bad, but in preseason teams don't really worry about winning or losing, the preseason is used to fill out the roster, see your rookies in game action, and put players in situations where you think they can be used. This not, by any means, me saying as Bengals fans you shouldn't be happy, ecstatic, satisfied, and excited for your football team, cause you should. I'm just saying when you watch Hard Knocks tonight don't expect it all to be praise and good words. As I watched and did my observing I can tell you what you might here in meetings;

I think the brightest spot had to be that Bengals defense. Coach Zimmer has to be a happy guy, even though I can promise he won't show it, he has to be very pleased with how his Defense played and not just the starters, even the 2's and 3's. All around the D was, what he expected very dominant stingy, and aggressive.  

I think the brightest spots on the D this past week had to be George IIoka at Safety. I think he was a guy the Defensive coaching staff had a close eye on, as he was playing with the first time, and let me say he had a great showing. He was all over the field, watch the game he was on every tackle it seem, always around the ball, and had no fear of coming up in putting his nose in the run offense. I think if the season started next week he has to be the Starting strong safety, he's everything Coach Lewis want in a strong safety, big, strong, aggressive guy, the same type of guy coach Lewis have been waiting for Taylor Mays to become. Mays, had the typical Mays type game Thursday and with Williams being the rookie, and Miles having a good game (2nd on team in tackles) and also being the better special teams guy, if Mays don't step it up I think this could be the year that Mays is released, he has been nothing but disappointment since he got here, and I think he is definitely running out of time and opportunity. Another guy that I think stood out on Defense was J.K. Schaffer. He also played extremely well in Atlanta Leading the team in tackles with 6, he also seem to always be able to be around the ball when he was on the field. In my opinion this linebacker core is the weakness of the D, and a guy like J.K. Schaffer could make this team and be a quality back up, playing the same role that Dan Skuta played. It just week one though so keep your eyes on these two guys, let's see if they can keep it up.  

On the other side of the ball, the back up guys wow'd me with their performance, putting up 34 points was definitely not expected. 

I think the undisputed bright spot of the offense had to be, no not Dane Sanzenbacher, but Josh Johnson the back up Quarterback. Yes, I'm calling it, after just one preseason game, Josh Johnson is your #2 quarterback. What more must he do? He made Thursday look like a game of pick up football, he picked the Falcons D apart not just in the air but also on the ground, leading the team in both categories. I think the only thing that will stop him from winning the back up job, is injury. The guy in the backfield with him for most the time Giovanni Benard on the other hand, can back up BJGE, but I think he can only be used on a third down basis. It's just week 1, which is good cause we get more time to see the Rookie, but one thing he clearly showed this past week is that he can't run between the tackles. If he ever expect to be the featured back  he must learn how to be productive running in between the tackles, it still early and he's just a rookie, so he has the time to learn and get better at, however anybody who expected him to be the starting back this year, I doubt that's gone be happening this year. He'll get his share of plays, but if he can't show in the next 3 weeks a better ability to run between the tackles, his plays will strictly be on a third down basis. 

Dane Sanzenbacher played out of his mind, if the coaching staff eyes wasn't open before, they definitely are now. I though when they signed Dane, they bring him in to strictly be a body for camp and eventually practice squad player. The best chance I though he had making this team was as a special teams guy, and no not a returner. Like the staff, he opened my eyes, and I'm sure he opened yours as well.

With Hawkins going down, everybody was wonder who would step up, nobody expected it to be this guy. However, he was the one and he has made himself a true contender to make this roster and gain a role on this team where he can be productive. With his performance Thursday, he has put a lot of pressure on this whole receiving staff except Green, Jones, and Sanu. I think his performance does the most damage to Hawkins. Receiver is the deepest position in Bengals camp as far as #'s go, I think there will be at least 3 cut come Sept, they may even cut 4 and Hawkins can possibly one them guys. I know nothing you may want to believe it, but if Dane keep this up, and Hawk stay out for an extended period of time he can and will be cut. Also with Dane being a threat as a returner, Ben Tate should be concerned too.

Preseason week 1 is in the books, and it is what it is, just week 1. As it may not be of an importance for you, for all the guys named above, every week counts, and every day is part of a job interview, especially gamedays. Keep an eye on these guys, as you watch Hard Knocks tonight, see how these coaches evaluate these guys, one thing for sure, competition has heated up in Bengals camp, and competition is never a bad thing, as a coach it makes the job a lot more difficult, but that a problem any coach would love to have. Bengals are 1-0 and only get a lot more interesting and complex when it come to evaluating these guys in these positions.

John G.Dunn II

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