The Cincinnati Bengals Play a Neat Sport

I guess for nostalgia purposes, I will have some sort of new material posted after tonight's painfully boring match between the Bengals of Ohio and the Lions of Michigan. Besides simply watching football, there isn't too much to be excited about this preseason. I mean, Carson is (a.) an established star, and (b.) not scaring the bejesus out of us with every dropback. So he's covered. What sucks the most, probably, is the injuries--although just nagging--to Tab Perry, Bennie Brazell and Antonio Chatman. I'd like to see them battle it out for the role of part-time No. 3 WR while Chris Henry is serving time. (Note: I'd be shocked if Tab Perry isn't the guy, you know, assuming he didn't purchase Bo Jackson's hip on ebay.) The way I see it, there's only one reason to be excited this preseason, but I'll get to that in a second. Anyway, here's what I'm looking for in tonight's contest...

1. Kenny Irons (the aforementioned reason to be excited) proving that he was not only worth a second round pick, but worth significant playing time this season. I've always felt that every NFL team should spend a mid-round draft pick (or higher) on a RB every few years; it's always good to have a fresh set of legs standing by. Hell, just look at Jacksonville last season--they drafted Maurice Jones-Drew when they already had a productive Fred Taylor and a rising Greg Jones in the fold. You never know when one RB will breakdown and another will emerge. Rudi/Dillon anyone?

2. I'm looking for Ahmad Brooks to provide a few Odell-like "Holy Shit" moments. I know he's a freak, but he hasn't blown me away. Yet.

3. I want to watch Domata Peko become the best DL on the team. Around May, I told Dave Lapham that I thought Peko was a future Pro Bowler but he wasn't feeling it. He thought he was going to be a nice player, but didn't hold Peko in the same regard as I did. For once, I think I'm smarter than Lap. We'll see.

4. I can't wait to find out that Jeff Rowe is approximately 70 trillion times shittier than Troy Smith, a guy the Bengals passed on 38 times in the draft. I hate myself. I hate Jeff Rowe even more.

5. I am counting the seconds until I find out that Chinedum Ndukwe is veeeeeeeeery average. At best. In fact, I don't want to hear another word about this guy until he shows me something on the field (as opposed to in the paper, which is the only place he's been showing me anything). Look, every year there's a practice hall-of-famer that fades away, and before his first professional game, this guy is my pick to do just that. Think about it: how many Notre Dame games have you watched in the last three years? Twenty? Thirty? And how many times did this guy ever stand out in your mind? That's what I thought. Ndukwe is just another guy. Well, unless he's awesome, in which case we'll act like I never said anything about him.

That's all for now, peoples. Actually, I gots something for you's to check out...

Here's a link to a Bengals.com Message Board thread I started last week after my podcast titled "Weiners-Odell-Griffey." Obviously, the topic of converstaion over there was the talk about Odell's troubles and just how overrated Landon Johnson is. It's decently solid chatter. Enjoy

-Brad
8/9/07