The rise of Dre Kirkpatrick is, for me, one of the most exciting storylines coming into this new season. I'll be the first to admit that I hated that pick 3 years ago. I thought he looked stiff on tape and relied heavily on Mark Barron making plays to atone for his mistakes. As the seasons passed it looked like Dre might become another ill-judged Bengals 1st round draft selection as injuries and inconsistent play de-railed his impact. Then BAM! The end of last season the guy exploded. Making crucial game-changing plays and looking far more solid than in seasons past. This renaissance of sorts seems to be continuing, as this offseason his growing confidence and stellar play shines through, attracting positive attention from those close to the team. It is fair to say there is a buzz about him.

This made me, out of curiosity, look back at the 2012 draft. The more I delved into it the more I realise this, perhaps even more than the 2011 draft, was the moment this team escaped its mundane and underwhelming past.

The players selected that draft were as follows:
1)Dre Kirkpatrick*
2)Kevin Zeitler*
3)Devon Still
4)Mohammed Sanu
5)Brandon Thompson*
6)Orson Charles
7)Shaun Prater
8)Marvin Jones*
9)George Illoka*
10)Dan Herron

I'll start with those players that didn't make it. As a 2nd overall pick, on the field, Still has been a disappointment. Off it of course he has been an inspiration and hero. Which leads to an interesting thought of whether, in reality, this was the real steal of the draft. Orson Charles showed talent but (rightly or wrongly) didn't stick around. Prater too showed a lot of talent but injuries set him back, he has been with the Vikings and now Zim since 2013. Boom Herron didn't show it here but had a great run with the Colts last year and showed that he too was probably a smart pick.

Next lets look at the pick in the 3rd Sanu has been a solid role player, and about as much as you would expect from a 3rd round pick. A good red-zone threat and a multi-talented player (perfect passer).

You'll notice the players asterisked. This is because all these selections came about directly or indirectly from smart moves made by the front office. Hindsight is a wonderful thing and I will use it. Looking at the other corners that went before and after Kirkpatrick (Morris Claibourne, Stephon Gilmore, Janoris Jenkins, Casey Hayward, Trumaine Johnson, Josh Robinson) you could argue Dre has a shot at becoming the best corner of that class. This pick as we know was a result of the Palmer trade, Dre was an Oakland pick. The selection of Zeitler came as a result of a trade down with New England. They took the talented Chandler Jones, but at the time we were in the market for O-line help. Many were horrified when we passed on DeCastro, but in truth Zeitler has probably had the better career thus far. Not only this but in moving down the Bengals aquired an extra 3rd round pick, a pick that would turn into Brandon Thompson. The 5th round was a triumph. Marvin Jones came thanks to traded Chad to the Pats, and Illoka thanks to trading Keith Rivers to the Giants. Both Keith and Chad are now out of the NFL. That year we didn't have a 7th round pick because that was traded with David Jones for Reggie Nelson. Our 7th round pick that year became Jeris Pendleton a DT who has only seen one regular season game with the Colts.

If you look at it, the picks we had that were our own that year all flopped other than Sanu. In 2012 and 2013 the Bengals turned;

David Jones
Keith Rivers
Chad Johnson
Carson Palmer

into

Reggie Nelson
Dre Kirkpatrick
Brandon Thompson
Marvin Jones
Gio Bernard-Part of the Palmer trade, 2nd round in 2013
Cobi Hamilton-Part of the Chad trade, 6th round in 2013

We often give this organisation a lot of stick in the way it deals with personnel and being 'conservative' in FA. However when you stop and think about what it has done, rather quietly, these last few years, you can understand why. It managed with a few moves in 2012 to assemble a core of young players (and Reggie) that have been the foundations to a lot of recent success.

Here is to another successful year!

In this video, it's hard to tell if it's McCarron or Dalton making all the throws, but it looks encouraging if it's at least him on most of them (if not all).

He looks to have good zip on the ball, like he did on his pass to AJ in the game, and he had some nice deep balls, which really encouraged me.

A play that stood out to me is the one (around 1:30) where it's twins to one side with Eifert lined up at the opposite tight end and he ran a corner route, which worked perfectly because the safety was lined up inside and a backer sure as hell can't cover him one-on-one. I thought there was another one just like it, but I think that's an awesome weapon for us this year because it's very hard to cover with a tight end like Eifert. Even if they could cover it, that means taking a safety away from doubling AJ or loading the box, so we're golden either way.

I hope we see more plays like that and maybe even some with a tight end opposite him doing the same thing.

So I'm finally watching the first preseason game, and I can't help but notice that the digits for the 50 yard line are yellow.  Anyone know what the hell that's all about?

http://days.to/until/nfl-season

http://www.si.com/nfl/2015/08/13/all-overrated-team-andy-dalton-byron-Maxwell

Andy, Michael Johnson, and Peko are all on the list. Surprised that Hall wasn't on there because of his price tag and the fact he is not starting.
 

Jim Owczarski EDT August 18, 2015

Today we wonder if Paul Guenther is as creative as Hue Jackson when it comes to his personnel, Beyond the Stripes returns this week for a special preseason show featuring AJ McCarron and I put a challenge to Raekwon of the Wu-Tang Clan.


This is the time of year where coaches (and fans) are looking for the next hidden gem, the guy who no one expects to set the football world on fire to strike a match in training camp and the preseason.

Perhaps that player is Chris Carter.

We've been writing and tweeting about him here and there, noticing No. 49 with his hand in the dirt and pass rushing around big Andrew Whitworth and Andre Smith. And there he was on Friday, earning first-team reps on the defensive line.


"I knew going into the game that that was going to be the situation, we had kind of been working at it all week and the week prior to that, too," Carter said."They said it was a position that I earned so I went out there to try to show some things. It's exciting to be able to get out there with all the first team guys and for everything to run smoothly, for us just to be cohesive out there and work as a unit and get off the field quickly every time."

It's somewhat surprising, considering that he was signed at the end of last season to help out with an injury-depleted linebacking corps.


But maybe it shouldn't be.


This is why the Steelers drafted him in the fifth round out of Fresno State in 2011.


Full article Good read from Jim, and once again, he gives the board some link love. Thanks Jim!

Coley Harvey, ESPN Staff Writer

CINCINNATI -- Just before one of the six plays Andy Dalton ran Friday night, his offensive coordinator gave him a play he hated.

So he had the coach change it.

"A lot of people say that's a negative," Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator Hue Jackson said Monday. "That's a positive to me. That's where you want your quarterback to be. That's the kind of relationship that you want to have with him where he can feel comfortable and say, 'Not that one.'"

Beyond viewing Dalton's veto ability as a positive, Jackson also sees it as a sign the fifth-year veteran is continuing to grow in his system and take complete ownership of the team and offense.

"This is his offense," Jackson said. "We create a lot of synergy among our players and our group by giving them that kind of trust and that kind of responsibility.

"Andy showed where he is [Friday]. He's growing in a lot of different ways, which is really good."

Full article

Seems like right around this time the past few years the Bengals have announced a contract extension for one of their big name players (Atkins, Tez).  As we all know, there are a lot of guys on the last year of their current deal.  Who do you think will be the first to get an extension?

I'm hopeful that they get the deal with A.J. Green wrapped up soon, although it wouldn't surprise me if Iloka or Kirkpatrick signed first.  

He was in with the 2nd and 3rd stringers and did nothing from what I saw.
He was constantly being thrown back and pushed out of plays.

I feel for the guy...but honestly I'd rather keep Hardison and the Williams at this point than Keep Still.

If he has practice squad eligibility I say keep him there.

But do I think he makes the 53 no...

I voted significantly less. These boards are actually better than the old ones once the user base catches up and seemingly have admins who care about the users' opinions (but at least the Bengals were able to successfully copy the Ravens or Steelers or whatever in not having a relevant message board). I only wish it would stop tripping my Avast Antivirus (any suggestions?). [face_denny]