Welcome to the Jungle.

I hope you are more excited than you showed in your interview

Time for Al Golden to work some magic

I don't think I have ever seen us go into a draft with so many different directions to go in the first round. It may all depend on how the board falls and what trade bait may be out there for us to pick up more picks

Not surprising, but still nice to see.



I love that everyone knows that Burrow is THAT GOOD and that he's one of the league's elites. 

He's even off by himself, saying that it's him and then everyone else!

Once we get him some protection and a defense that can at least slow teams down, we'll start stacking up Super Bowls!

#Bengals RB Zack Moss agreed to a reoworked final year of his contract to get guaranteed money and security in a deal done by his agents Jamal Tooson and Kate Ferrara.

Moss is recovering from a neck injury that cut last season short. Clearly the team is confident in his return. pic.twitter.com/0np3SAv6jH

— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) April 21, 2025

Zac and Duke meet with media this afternoon

Bengals defensive notes Monday:

?CTB on his struggles in ‘24: “I don’t think I played with confidence.” Contract season ahead in ‘25.

?Joseph Ossai notes Al Golden is all about “details” early on. Not a slight at Anarumo. Just something noticeable.

?Jordan Battle dialed in…

— Charlie Clifford (@char_cliff) April 21, 2025

Myles Murphy says he’s down to 13 percent body fat and around 273 pounds.

Excited after initial conversations with Golden & Montgomery. Focused on looking forward. Not back. pic.twitter.com/4tx4qevTPO

— Charlie Clifford (@char_cliff) April 21, 2025

In talking to a few people today, I learned the Bengals plan to fill Mike Hilton's nickel CB role is Josh Newton.

This means they'll keep Dax Hill outside to start.

Hill certainly has the flexibility to go inside, but right now the plan is Newton

— Kelsey Conway (@KelseyLConway) April 21, 2025

Two locker room minutes with Cam Taylor-Britt.

* On expanding his locker room role
* On new defensive coordinator Al Golden
* On why the defense performed better late in season
* On "changing the narrative" of the defense
* On needing an impact from defensive draft picks pic.twitter.com/pjMNlGUdAU

— Joe Danneman (@FOX19Joe) April 21, 2025

"It's a me vs. me season right now."

A locker room minute with former first round pick Myles Murphy as he enters year three with the Bengals. pic.twitter.com/3Fd3ne0kPP

— Joe Danneman (@FOX19Joe) April 21, 2025

Bengals Offseason Workout Schedule
First Day: April 21
Rookie Minicamp: May 9
OTA Offseason Workouts: May 27-29, June 2-4
Mandatory Minicamp: June 10-12

and of course the draft starts Thursday

At some point in my life, I drank soda.  I was caffeine dependent before the era of energy drinks and high-test prescriptions like Adderall and  Provigil were more commonplace as productivity enhancers.  Been awhile, as you can tell.  

I also was lazy and a crappy grocery shopper, therefore I ended up wasting a lot of money in vending machines buying soda.  Sometimes Diet Dew.  Sometimes Diet Coke.  maybe the real deal occasionally.  

One evening, I put the money in as I had a hundred times.  I hit the selection button.  Unlike in previous encounters, the once trusty machine before me failed to reciprocate my generosity.  No caffeine and also no buck 25 to boot.  I was pissed and tired.  

A few hours later, a co-worker came into the break room.  He had to wedge his foot in the door to open it.  Why?  Because he had about 7 bottles of various caffeinated beverages in his arms.  Apparently he had the courage to tip the machine (he was a bigger fella) and facilitate and end to the carbonated constipation.  

Why is this being posted on a Bengals forum?  I'll tell you.  You deserve that much.

The Bengals have approached the defense like a backed up pop machine this offseason.  They didn't put money into a different machine to get the things that never came out of their own.  They just want what they've already paid for in draft capital.  They want the first round DB they drafted in Dax Hill to dislodge itself.  They want the first round DE they blew a pick on in Murphy to come rolling out of the open slot.  They'd also like to get the second rounders like CTB and Turner to follow.  Same with DTs like Jackson and Jenkins.  They just can't stand the idea that they aren't getting those dollar bills and quarters out of the vending machine.  They want to rewrite a story that may have already been told.  

Is Al the gifted co-worker that comes along to punch, kick, or tip the machine?  Will an entire defense worth of NFL talent suddenly roll out?  

I feel like this is a really unusual approach for a team to take.  Normally when a coach is fired, a decent part of the unit they coached goes with them to be replaced by the new coach's guys.  This has been minimal so far.  

Was Lou so far gone that he was sitting there willfully dying of thirst rather than giving the machine a sharp kick in the junk?  No idea.

We are happy to announce AU and Goose as our 2025 HOF inductees.

Both are outstanding long time members and contributors...providing solid, respectful and thoughtful content in multiple forums.

Congrats to both of you. It was earned!

We made the Super Bowl and AFC Championship game and we barely missed the playoffs last year, all with horrible offensive lines.

Burrow killed it behind bad offensive lines, so I've been wanting us to sell out to protect Burrow because we can even outscore teams with a bad defense, but we can't do anything if we can't move the ball and score.

I see sites saying that we need help in the IOL, but some mock drafts have us ignoring the IOL early or all together.

Will Peters be able to coach our guards enough to be serviceable?

Will we draft a guard early?

Will we find any in free agency after cuts start happening?

Is my fear about our guard play justified?

https://www.bengals.com/news/bengals-lbs-coach-mike-hodges-enjoying-ground-floor-of-new-scheme-we-re-creating-our-own-defense-here-the-conversation

This is a great read and I know many will call it a fluff piece, but is it.

My key takeaways:

1. He did not mention Pratt as a running mate rght now with Wilson.
2. He really likes Wilson
3. They are creating a new defense together with Al and the rest of the defensive coaches.
4. He has known ZT for a long time and appreciates his demeanor (not an eleistist) and him letting the defensive and offensive coaches sculpt their schemes.

There is a lot more, but he seems very enthusiastic to be here and brings a lot of expereince with him.