02-17-2018, 11:46 AM
(02-17-2018, 10:25 AM)Fan_in_Kettering Wrote: ...and you may well be correct! I’m anxious to see what Frank Pollack can do with Russell Bodine. If he is indeed “straight garbage” we’ll soon find out. I’ll just posit this for thought: I’ve never seen an offensive lineman who Paul Alexander couldn’t remove their innate ability.
Totally disagree about PA. He needed to be gone, but give credit where it is due.
He developed a lot of excellent to great o-linemen in his time here, some of the greatest in the team's history. Willie, Levi, Steinbach, Whitworth, Smith, Zeitler, Boling, etc all came about under PA. The 05 line was among the best in the league, and the group was pretty good in the early years of the Dalton era as well.
I get that he screwed up in a major way on talent eval over the last 4 years. The Bodine pick was a huge mistake that they may (inexplicably) choose to continue to pay for. The Fisher/Ogbuehi draft was a nail in the coffin. IMO he tried to get cute and go away from they traditional Bengal OT prototype, i.e. the powerful, massive player that general stocked the spot for the last 2 decades with relative to great success. He was probably trying to evolve to fit a more passing-oriented NFL, but he botched it big time by picking soft players. This was a fireable offense that cost him his credibility even with the sometimes illogically loyal family.
Also, I hope and pray that I never find out what Pollack can do with Bodine. Let him suck it up on someone else's line. He's had his chance here. Replacement-level player if there ever was one. There's no way to sugar coat or excuse his return. He and Ogbuehi should both be purged as they bring nothing tangible to help the offense. Since it's the Bengals and there's no chance they cut both sunken costs, I'll be happy to just see the one with the expired contract let go. Baby steps.
