texbengal Posted January 23, 2012 Report Share Posted January 23, 2012 [quote name='Jason' timestamp='1327320730' post='1091464'] Wow tex and own, bitter much? Not surprising from own really. Sorry though I meant to post this in the championship game thread. [/quote] Not bitter at all - Pats are my second favorite team. Just thought it a bit self-serving and was trying to have some fun with it. Have a great day! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldcat Posted January 23, 2012 Report Share Posted January 23, 2012 [quote name='scharm' timestamp='1327072348' post='1090799'] I think the pro shop jumped the gun on the annoucement. Either that or the bengals are tired of getting screwed by the pro bowl process and they have decided to have their own pro bowl. [/quote] its to force the NFL's hand - they wouldn't want our Pro Shop to look stupid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CTBengalsFan Posted January 23, 2012 Report Share Posted January 23, 2012 [quote name='Hackettj22' timestamp='1327022394' post='1090702'] [url="http://proshop.bengals.com/store/BJW7477%21REEB/Dalton+Pro+Bowl+Tee"]http://proshop.benga...on+Pro+Bowl+Tee[/url] [/quote] That shirt is ugly as hell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sois Posted January 23, 2012 Report Share Posted January 23, 2012 They should at least have used the fist pump picture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JC Posted January 23, 2012 Report Share Posted January 23, 2012 A little OT, but the Bengals pro-shop site looks like it was designed by a 6th grader. That thing is awful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texbengal Posted January 23, 2012 Report Share Posted January 23, 2012 [quote name='CTBengalsFan' timestamp='1327338002' post='1091526'] That shirt is ugly as hell [/quote] Check the "reduced" section of the site in a few weeks. That will definitely be there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cricket Posted January 23, 2012 Report Share Posted January 23, 2012 [quote name='Jamie_B' timestamp='1327280324' post='1091355'] Had Hall not gotten hurt it very well could have been 5, imo. [/quote] ...or zero. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mt-bengal Posted January 23, 2012 Report Share Posted January 23, 2012 This is GREAT news I won a trip to the Pro Bowl this year threw work so it's awesome that I will be able to cheer for 4 Bengals instead of one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dabengals12 Posted January 23, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2012 Haha Jason. I predicted the exact score... AND that cundiff would miss a 32 yd fg... And... Someone would post close predictions after the games. Hindsight is 20/20 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Posted January 23, 2012 Report Share Posted January 23, 2012 [quote name='dabengals12' timestamp='1327356342' post='1091602'] Haha Jason. I predicted the exact score... AND that cundiff would miss a 32 yd fg... And... Someone would post close predictions after the games. Hindsight is 20/20 [/quote] Wasn't hindsight. PM me your email address and I will forward you the actual email. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bengals1181 Posted January 24, 2012 Report Share Posted January 24, 2012 posted prior to the announcement, obviously. [url="https://twitter.com/#!/GeoffHobsonCin"]GeoffHobsonCin[/url] [color=#999999][size=3]Geoff Hobson[/size][/color] [color=#999999][size=2] [/size][/color] [font=Arial,] When Dalton becomes official, [url="https://twitter.com/#!/search?q=%23Bengals"][s][b]#[/b][/s][b][b]Bengals[/b][/b][/url] [b]have first rookie WR-QB in Pro Bowl in history[/b][/font] [url="https://twitter.com/#!/GeoffHobsonCin/status/161228204093358080"]22 Jan [/url][size=2][url="https://twitter.com/#"][b]Favorite[/b][/url] [url="https://twitter.com/#"][b]Retweet[/b][/url] [url="https://twitter.com/#"][b]Reply[/b][/url][/size] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldschooler Posted January 24, 2012 Report Share Posted January 24, 2012 [url="http://www.bengals.com/media-lounge/videos/NFL-Network-Best-of-AJ-Green-12312/dc484f45-4979-479f-ad1b-3658db95a581#?id=dc484f45-4979-479f-ad1b-3658db95a581"][img]http://prod.static.bengals.clubs.nfl.com/assets/images/imported/NFLVideo/2012/01-January/09000d5d82643b5f_video_player_cp--nfl_thumb_105_70.jpg[/img][/url] [url="http://www.bengals.com/media-lounge/videos/NFL-Network-Best-of-AJ-Green-12312/dc484f45-4979-479f-ad1b-3658db95a581#?id=dc484f45-4979-479f-ad1b-3658db95a581&channelName=Recent"]NFL Network: Best of A.J. Green (1/23/12)[/url] (2:05) Posted 01/23/12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldschooler Posted January 25, 2012 Report Share Posted January 25, 2012 [size=6][b]Guest friends[/b][/size] By GEOFF HOBSON Posted 4 hours ago WEST OAHU, HAWAII _ Bengals tight end Jermaine Gresham arrived at his first Pro Bowl much like he did for preschool back in Ardmore, Okla. He walked in with Tommie Fitzgerald. “I don’t remember when we first met it was so long ago, but we’ve known each other since we were little,” Fitzgerald is saying Tuesday afternoon with the classic lei around his neck while thinking of some sort of liquid in a pineapple. “There’s a group of about 10 of us that that are still close,” Fitzgerald says. “But I was the only one available.” When Gresham found out he made the Pro Bowl Sunday evening, he did what he always does when he goes over to Fitzgerald’s house. He just walked in. Except this time he was “smiling like crazy,” Fitzgerald says. And, inviting him to Hawaii. “I’m taking the semester off,’ says Fitzgerald, close to his criminal justice degree from Central Oklahoma. “It was short notice...It’s already been quite a scene.” Tuesday was get-here day for most of the Pro Bowlers, especially the Bengals’ contingent that is here as the guest of Ravens kicker Billy Cundiff with plans as hurried as his miss Sunday night that put New England in the Super Bowl. It may have been hurried and a post-it-note rush, but there was still a chance to soak in what this week is all about before the so-called practices began Wednesday morning . It is first-time Pro Bowler Geno Atkins (and these 21st century Baby Bengals compared to the ’68 edition are all first-timers) checking into the J.W. Marriott Ihilani Resort and Spa and bumping into fellow AFC defensive tackle Richard Seymour, a guy that went to his first Pro Bowl when Atkins was in junior high. “G.A.,” Seymour says to him. “A youngin’.” It is wide receiver A.J. Green, the Bengals’ first rookie Pro Bowler since Cris Collinsworth was 22 years old, posing for a picture with girlfriend Miranda Brooke, the striking R and B singer that could put them on a magazine cover. It is former Bengals defensive tackle Justin Smith arriving at the front desk with his luggage, a case of Bud Light, and his arms still freshly scraped from last Sunday’s overtime death struggle his 49ers lost to the Giants in the NFC title game, and handing out beers to old friends from Cincinnati. “You guys had a great year,” Smith says. It is NFL Network on Tuesday night coordinating a joint interview with the two rookie quarterbacks in this game that are expected to finish 1-2 in the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year vote. The Panthers’ Cam Newton and the Bengals’ Andy Dalton on Wednesday’s Total Access at 7 p.m. It is Dalton, Newton, and Drew Brees signing balls in a sort of NFL Declaration of Independence there-at-the-creation moment. The first rookie quarterback to start all 16 games for a playoff team (Dalton) and the first rookie to throw for more than 4,000 yards (Newton) teaming with Brees, the first quarterback to break Dan Marino’s hallowed passing yards record in a season. It is Smith a few hours later being introduced to Gresham, his Bengals’ first-round soul mate nine seasons apart. “I like your style,” Gresham says. As usual, Gresham isn’t saying much. He’s cautious, but not reserved. He’s an observer, not a commentator. As he and Fitzgerald dine by the pool, Gresham is able to identify the players walking to and fro with his encyclopedic recall of the Madden video game. Texans defensive coordinator Wade Phillips is sitting at the next table and shakes Gresham’s hand. Earlier in the day Phillips was talking about how the Wild Card Game against the Bengals three weeks ago pitted his great young defensive players against the Bengals’ great young offensive players. “Yes he is,” said Phillips when someone said here was one of those offensive players. But that didn’t stop him from doing what he’s been doing since grade school. Raiding the French fries on Fitzgerald’s plate. “He’s never changed,” Fitzgerald says. “He’s a real humble person. Money hasn’t changed him.” Fitzgerald’s longest trips before Tuesday were to Canada and Florida. But he’d left plenty of times in his mind. “We all have the same interest, the same mindset,” Fitzgerald says of the close-knit group back home. “It was basically getting out of Ardmore.” Those plans are already in motion. After he gets his degree, Fitzgerald is set to move to Dallas an hour away. But first there is Wednesday morning. “I’m on the beach at 7:30,” Fitzgerald tells Gresham. “Yoga class. “It’s going to be very interesting,” he says of this last-minute trip. The Baby Bengals are just starting to find out how much. http://www.bengals.com/news/article-1/Guest-friends/9306a491-cb36-4a4b-9f1a-8e1f9d53b6b1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scharm Posted January 25, 2012 Report Share Posted January 25, 2012 One year I wish the NFL would have kept the plan to have the Superbowl host city also host the Pro Bowl. Would have been sweet to ride up to Indy to watch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldschooler Posted January 25, 2012 Report Share Posted January 25, 2012 [url="https://twitter.com/#!/GeoffHobsonCin"]GeoffHobsonCin[/url]Geoff Hobson [url="https://twitter.com/#!/search?q=%23bengals"][s]#[/s][b]bengals[/b][/url] dalton says he ll play last and go 2nd half [url="https://twitter.com/#!/GeoffHobsonCin/status/162283787043078144"]4 minutes ago[/url] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldschooler Posted January 26, 2012 Report Share Posted January 26, 2012 [b] [size=6]Notes: Dalton gets ready for Pro Bowl second half[/size][/b] By GEOFF HOBSON Posted 47 minutes ago WEST OAHU, HAWAII _ The first rookie quarterback in NFL history to start all 16 games would be wielding the clipboard as the third quarterback in his last game of the year if there were a clipboard in the Pro Bowl (7 p.m.-Cincinnati’s Channel 5) on Sunday . And the Bengals [url="http://www.bengals.com/team/roster/andy-dalton/9378c4ed-938c-434c-929d-4d45fe252101/"]Andy Dalton[img]http://www.bengals.com/assets/nflimg/icon-article-link.gif[/img][/url] won’t mind a bit. Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger gets the start with his two Super Bowl rings and San Diego’s Philip Rivers is next with his perennial all-star nods. “I’m going to sit back and watch the first half,” Dalton said. “I haven’t done that in awhile.” He won’t appear until somewhere in the second half. And that’s the way AFC coach Gary Kubiak lined up Wednesday morning’s pad-less, helmet-less snoozer that set just the right tempo for Pro Bowl week. On the intensity level it registered slightly below a car wash and a hair above brunch. “It’s not as intense as you would think,” admitted Dalton after the workout, but he still plans intently on picking the brains of the guys playing ahead of him. “Just to see how they do things.” [b]SLANTS AND SCREENS:[/b] The NFC went a little longer and harder Wednesday when Packers coach Mike McCarthy put them in helmets and shorts. No sweat for 49ers defensive tackle Justin Smith. The former Bengals’ workout fiend said he got a run in before the 8:30 a.m. bus to practice. Then a couple of hours later he admitted, "Just kidding."... The two most popular receivers in the AFC’s leisurely 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills were tight ends [url="http://www.bengals.com/team/roster/jermaine-gresham/66ed6d24-c4c8-45c3-83d8-438594e91723/"]Jermaine Gresham[img]http://www.bengals.com/assets/nflimg/icon-article-link.gif[/img][/url] of Cincinnati and Antonio Gates of San Diego… Rivers hit Gresham on an out, Roethlisberger hit him on a deep cross over the middle, and Dalton nearly hit him deep down the seam but barely overthrew him… Gresham figured Bengals equipment managers Jeff Brickner and Adam Knollman had no shot of getting his stuff to him in time for Wednesday’s practice since he didn’t find out until Sunday he had made the team. But as came on the field Wednesday he flashed a thumbs up… Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald is delighted Bengals wide receiver [url="http://www.bengals.com/team/roster/aj-green/d1e7b054-2722-4a10-9dad-687267489bd5/"]A.J. Green[img]http://www.bengals.com/assets/nflimg/icon-article-link.gif[/img][/url] wants to work out with him. But it won’t be in Arizona. So now we’ll see how much Green wants to do it. “I’m going back to Minnesota this offseason,” Fitzgerald said… http://www.bengals.com/news/article-1/Notes-Dalton-gets-ready-for-Pro-Bowl-second-half/13eb1d67-15e9-4b69-932d-79cfe3ffd35f Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldschooler Posted January 26, 2012 Report Share Posted January 26, 2012 [size=6][b]Picking Pro Bowl brains[/b][/size] By GEOFF HOBSON Posted 7 hours ago WEST OAHU, HAWAII — Let it be known that The Quarterback Pro Bowl couldn’t get off the ground Wednesday until an AFC assistant coach had to yell into the end zone to break up an NFL Network interview with the first rookie quarterback-receiver combo from the same team in this game’s history. “Green and Dalton. We’re starting right now,” he said. “Right now.” And this game is feeling like a new start for the Bengals. Even though the 31-10 Wild Card loss to the Texans 18 days ago is as fresh as the Texans coaching staff working the four Bengals Pro Bowlers, with cornerback Johnathan Joseph stalking A.J. Green again and Houston center Chris Myers snapping the ball to Dalton. “For the four of us just to be around these guys that have been to a lot of Pro Bowls, it’s great,” Dalton said. “It gives us exposure; it gives us something to build off for the future.” At 24, Dalton is the oldest of the Bengals Pro Bowlers, the leader of a nucleus that is slowly but surely finding out about the good things. Fourth-quarter comebacks. A winning road record. A playoff run. Meet and greets here Over The Water with the game’s best players. They’ve never had to fight the battle of recognition that Willie Anderson and Rich Braham fought for them. How far have the Bengals come in a year? Let Dalton tell you, since this is a year to the week of Carson Palmer’s Mobile Manifesto at the Senior Bowl with the trade-me or trade-me demand that triggered what now seems like a time travel fantasy. “A year ago I was in Mobile, Alabama trying to impress scouts and a year later I’m sitting here in Hawaii at the Pro Bowl. I just feel blessed to be where I am,” Dalton said. How far have Dalton and the Bengals come? A year after he was trying to impress the scouts, an impressed Philip Rivers, a four-time Pro Bowler, is checking out Dalton this week as the Chargers quarterback rounds out a position group that includes starter Ben Roethlisberger of Pittsburgh. “I enjoy being around quarterbacks in general,” Rivers said. “I kind of like to find out what makes them tick. I like to watch guys and see what you can learn from them.” This is Rivers’s first look at Dalton after being impressed with him on TV. So he’s watching the intangibles. “I think he’s going to be a great player; to me you can tell by just his presence,” Rivers said. “Just watching him on tape. It wasn’t too big for him right away, obviously. He’s got a great presence. It’s going to be fun to be around him this week. No, he doesn’t say a lot. But he exudes a great confidence. He’s a good-looking guy from the standpoint he’s a big strong guy that can throw it.” Dalton is also looking to pick brains. And why not? The Baby Bengals are getting the Hall of Fame treatment this week. Defensive tackle Geno Atkins is getting moved around up front by Richard Seymour and tight end Jermaine Gresham is alternating snaps with Antonio Gates, two Canton locks. Green is with a young receiver group trying to find its niche, including Roethlisberger’s duo of Mike Wallace and Antonio Brown, and Miami’s Brandon Marshall. But look at quarterback. For the AFC, Roethlisberger is a Canton lock. (Sorry kids, three AFC titles in a span of five seasons with an incredible passer rating and won-loss record) and for the NFC the Saints’ Drew Brees and Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers are on track, and Cam Newton is coming off a Hall of Fame rookie season. “Find out how he makes everyone miss,” joked Dalton when asked what he’s trying to take from Big Ben. “But all these guys are good guys. Everybody is just trying to help everybody else. … A lot of it here, too, is down time and relaxing.” Which is why everybody is wondering why Roethlisberger is here at all. His ankle injury had limited him to all the mobility of a step-ladder in the dying moments of his own Wild Card loss to Denver 17 days ago. Indeed, after Wednesday’s practice Roethlisberger shrugged and wondered ever so briefly about the sanity of playing this week and Dalton just may see more time than a No. 3. “The coaches know,” Roethlisberger said. “It’s not one of those games where I’m going to have to scramble away from people. Hopefully it’s quick and out.” Roethlisberger said he came for a variety of reasons. The honor. The presence of his two receivers. And the honeymoon he didn’t have time to take just before training camp. “It was an excuse for me to bring the wife out,” Roethlisberger said and that’s something else he’s got in common with the newlywed Dalton. He sees a rivalry cropping up as two AFC North quarterbacks in the death-grip of a division decided by defense and turnovers. “From the first time we played them, I was a big supporter of his," Roethlisberger said. “We’ll have a lot of battles for a long time.” Roethlisberger is going to be checking out Dalton, too, even though this is nothing close to the NFL this week. It’s a very expensive game of flag football. "I can kind of get (an) up close and personal look at what kind of quarterback and person he is,” Roethlisberger said. “First and foremost, he’s a good person. A great guy, easy to be around. I’ll watch him throw, but it’s kind of tough. You see the speed of everything (this week). He’s a good quarterback. He deserves to be here.” And he is. Here at this Quarterback Pro Bowl, in the strange position of being No. 3 and not having anything of urgency to quarterback. “I don’t know what we’re going to do today,” Dalton said after practice. "Probably the beach. That’s where my wife is probably going to be.” Jordan Dalton is also looking forward to doing some hiking. Someone suggested Diamond Head, but wondered if it is too steep. Nothing that the Bengals and her husband didn’t climb to make it here a year later. http://www.bengals.com/news/article-1/Picking-Pro-Bowl-brains/5ce394ef-a1bc-4269-aaae-3ef617c9e7fe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldschooler Posted January 26, 2012 Report Share Posted January 26, 2012 [list] [*] [url="http://www.bengals.com/media-lounge/videos/NFL-Network-Perfect-Cincy-Combo-12512/dc2542c0-5a8a-40cb-89d9-8824c804ce81"][img]http://prod.static.bengals.clubs.nfl.com/assets/images/imported/NFLVideo/2012/01-January/09000d5d826541d3_video_player_cp--nfl_thumb_105_70.jpg[/img][/url] [*] [b][url="http://www.bengals.com/media-lounge/videos/NFL-Network-Perfect-Cincy-Combo-12512/dc2542c0-5a8a-40cb-89d9-8824c804ce81"]NFL Network: Perfect Cincy Combo (1/25/12)[/url][/b] [*] (2:28)Posted 8 hours ago [/list][list] [*] Views: 397 [/list] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldschooler Posted January 27, 2012 Report Share Posted January 27, 2012 [size=6][b]Dalton caps off practice[/b][/size] By GEOFF HOBSON Posted 9 hours ago Andy Dalton hands off to Denver running back Willis McGahee during Thursday's AFC Pro Bowl practice. HONOLULU - For the second time this season the Bengals got a good deal in a trade involving a quarterback. Except this time Thursday morning at the first Pro Bowl practice ever at a military installation, the quarterback himself pulled the trade. Drawing chants of “Andy, Andy” from a throng of autograph seekers following the AFC’s practice at Hickam Air Force Base, Dalton swapped his AFC visor for a camouflage ballcap at the request of Sgt. First Class Lachelle Johnson. “But you have to sign it, too,” Dalton told her. Done. A native of Louisville, Ky., Johnson was pretty excited for a veteran who has served stints in Kuwait, Mogadishu and Bosnia twice. “I’m from the Midwest. I’m a fan. I’m a fan today,” she said. When asked if she’d get in trouble for giving up her hat stamped with her name across the back, one of her friends said, “Probably.” It has to be hard to find a first for a 23-year military veteran, but she admitted she had never done this. “It’s the first time I ever signed a hat for somebody that makes money then the whole United States Army,” she said. Actually, that guy was standing next to Dalton a few minutes earlier chatting up the Bengals rookie during special teams. Ravens middle linebacker Ray Lewis, in his 13th season, was just checking in as the elder statesman. “He was just asking how things were going and he said, ‘Congrats,’ ” Dalton said. “Just having an old conversation. It’s nice to have him on our side.” http://www.bengals.com/news/article-1/Dalton-caps-off-practice/10851703-e269-49b4-b1d7-8cbb51d67dcb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldschooler Posted January 27, 2012 Report Share Posted January 27, 2012 [size=6][b]Swan song?[/b][/size] By GEOFF HOBSON Posted 6 hours ago HONOLULU — The Diva Receiver appears to be as extinct as CDs and BlackBerrys. And didn’t they just show up, too? The species just didn’t flock to Cincinnati. Once upon a time, oh, maybe two years ago (an eternity in a world atwitter), the Pro Bowl was a greenhouse for those roses with thorns. No more. A.J. Green, the first Bengals rookie to make the Pro Bowl in 30 years, is just another in a line of throwback receivers that are rebelling against the me-me generation led by their Maharishi, six-time Pro Bowler Larry Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald used to be the lone nut at this all-star game. A low-profile guy with high-profile numbers. This week there is not only Green, polite but perfunctory with the media, but also first-time AFC receivers Mike Wallace and Antonio Brown, blue-collar guys from the Steelers that have conspired to post Twitter pics together for their most outrageous acts of the week. (Unless you want to include Green’s kayak trip on Wednesday.) Fitzgerald’s NFC roster includes Packers two-timer Greg Jennings, whose magazine cover shot had him among about 312 of quarterback Aaron Rodgers’s receivers. Yes, Carolina's Steve Smith has been known to have his moods and Miami's Brandon Marshall is battling some issues. But Johnson (Calvin) and Johnson (Andre), not here this week, have provided the same kind of Green-like relief. “They don't let everything that surrounds them get in the way,” Fitzgerald said here this week. “They focus on the task. That’s what I like about them. All those guys are real class guys.” Fitzgerald really likes Green and not just because they are both two-guard tall with a game that resembles more post play that post routes at times. “That’s a good dude right there; I enjoyed seeing his maturation down at Georgia,” Fitzgerald said. “I went down and watched him play when I was down there. I’m a huge fan of the game. But that was the thing I liked about him. He’s humble. These guys are humble guys.” Raiders defensive tackle Richard Seymour, who has been coming to this game since 2002, has seen them all. He played with one in New England, Randy Moss, and he’s not ready to wrap up the eras in a neat little package. But he can’t help admire Green. Both played at Georgia and are from South Carolina. “I think guys are different; every guy has his own personality,” Seymour said. “But I do admire the way that Fitzgerald and A.J. and Andre Johnson carry themselves because you’re not bigger than the game. At the end of the day, it’s the kind of man you are off the field. We’re fortunate to play this game, but it’s only a small window. You never want to burn bridges,” Like Fitzgerald and Green, Jennings is the anti-diva. You can put a full circle around him. He was the one player the league brought out for its Pro Bowl news conference on Tuesday, smooth and thoughtful. He’s not ready to say the generation has rebelled against its elders. But, he sees a difference, too. “The quiet assassins; there’s no need to say anything,” Jennings said. “They’re definitely doing it the right way. When you look back over the years, the Cris Carters, the Jerry Rices, those types of guys, they took care of business in-house. They might have had some qualms, they might have wanted the ball every time and you knew it. But they never criticized, never made it public in the media.” And there were chances in Green Bay, except that diva turned out to be the quarterback in Jennings’s first two seasons of ’06 and ’07. “I was very fortunate; it’s a unique group,” he said. “Very unselfish and they understand it’s going to be all day, and sometimes it’s not.” Jennings espouses the Marvin Lewis Creed when talking about this thing. The lower the profile the better it is because there’s no reason to get the defense riled up. “For a receiver, you don’t want to draw any added and unnecessary attention to yourself,” Jennings said. “It's obvious guys on the other side of the ball are going to play well. You’re not going to always have the best day every single time you step out there on the gridiron. They’re going to contest every single ball. You don’t want to enhance that microscope that’s already on you.” Jennings had his own microscope trained on guys like Green and he likes what he sees. “From Day One when I first saw him in preseason,” Jennings said, “he was still raw, but during the course of the season you just were glad to see a player that got better and better as the weeks progressed. He’ll be a very talented and special player and he kept his mouth closed and you don’t really hear much about him. But you could see his body of work.” Wallace could fit in that category, too. “I like to be low-profile; I just go about my business,” Wallace said. “A.J. is a real good guy, cool guy. Everybody knows he’s a great player. He’s a young Randy Moss.” No, he’s not. But we know what you mean. http://www.bengals.com/news/article-1/Swan-song/7ee53037-e854-4fc3-a829-e05a20b67f10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldschooler Posted January 28, 2012 Report Share Posted January 28, 2012 [size=6][b]Notes: Whit here in spirit; Dalton looking to his guys; A D-Lineman's Wish[/b][/size] By GEOFF HOBSON Posted 1 hour ago HONOLULU — There is a missing link at the Pro Bowl for the Bengals and there are two more guys out here that you can add to the list of people that think left tackle Andrew Whitworth should be on the team. And one of them made it instead of Whitworth, Cleveland’s left tackle Joe Thomas. Also here are the Jets’ D’Brickashaw Ferguson and Denver's Ryan Clady despite stats that would suggest otherwise. “I’m not sure why he doesn’t get voted in; he’s one of those guys that’s deserving every year,” Thomas said. “You look at the tackles in the AFC and we’re very strong. It’s a question every year who is going to get in. I think Andrew deserves to be here.” But at 6-7, 311 pounds, that doesn’t mean Thomas emulates the 6-7, 335-pound Whitworth. “I watch him and respect him, but I wouldn’t try to do the things that he does because he’s so much bigger than I am,” Thomas said. “He wipes them out. I can’t do the things he does because of how big he is. He’s a great athlete, but we’ve got two different kinds of technique.” The other guy, San Francisco's Justin Smith, played a few snaps against Whitworth earlier this season. “He’s big as hell and you can’t teach big as hell,” Smith said. “Whit’s a hell of a player. He can move, too. I would think he’s a top left tackle in the league.” Smith, who played with Whitworth for two years, compares him to former Bengals right tackle Willie Anderson. Anderson went to four straight Pro Bowls starting in his eighth season. “It’s the same thing with Willie Anderson for all those years,” Smith said. “Once he gets over here, he’ll be here for 10 years.” Sounds familiar. Smith didn’t make it until his ninth season and he’s made the last three. By the way, Thomas says the Bengals have the most underrated defensive line in the league, particularly ends Carlos Dunlap and Michael Johnson. [b]GAME PLAN:[/b] On Friday, Dalton made it pretty clear that he’s going to go to his guys if wide receiver A.J. Green and tight end Jermaine Gresham are on the field when he gets in. And now he’s thinking that may come about the middle of the third quarter. Dalton needs some familiarity because they haven’t done anything even half speed. He doesn’t really know what to expect. He says he’s got no timing with the other receivers. “Not at all. You just hope they run the right depth. Everybody out here is just jogging through it all,” Dalton said. “A good thing is it’s a lot of the terminology we use, so I’ll know what’s going on. I would think if (Green and Gresham) are out there with me, they can expect to get the ball. “It’s been nice to relax. Practices have been short and sweet.” [b]REWARDS TIME:[/b] There was a defensive tackle in a Bengals jersey at the AFC practice Friday and it wasn’t Geno Atkins. Atkins wore his No. 97 AFC gamer for picture day. It was Kevin Carrico of Simon Kenton High School wearing Green’s No. 18. And mom Marge in Jermaine Gresham’s No. 84 and dad Jeff in Dalton’s No. 14. Sister Katie has a Peyton Manning jersey, but she knew she couldn’t wear it. “We had trouble finding Geno’s,” said Jeff, but it’s the only glitch in a trip that has been pretty much golden. When Jeff tweeted Atkins and Green they were going to be at Friday’s practice as part of Kevin’s trip with the Make a Wish program and were hoping to visit, he got responses they would try and they came through in a post-practice session that included autographs from all four. “Kevin had a tough time deciding what he wanted his wish to be,” Marge said. “This tied everything into together. We’re big Bengals fans and this is a vacation. We’ve never been to Hawaii.” The Independence, Ky., family is celebrating Kevin being in remission since September as he fights Hodgkin’s lymphoma. And the plan is to stay in their Waikiki Beach hotel to watch the Super Bowl a week after watching the Fab Four in the Pro Bowl on Sunday. “Finding food with my brother. We go out to eat a lot. There’s great food,” Kevin said of some of the highlights, but there won’t be anything like Friday. “We’re trying to get Ray Lewis’s autograph, too,” Jeff confessed. “He’s really a great player. I was rooting for them to beat the Patriots.” Lewis is no tougher than his son. In order to realize his goal of playing Senior Night at Simon Kenton in the next-to-last-game of the year, Kevin doubled his chemotherapy treatments over a two-week period in August and asked (“insisted," Jeff says) to have a pick line taken out of his shoulder in August instead of October. After a week of practice he was standing on the sidelines at Senior Night with the crowd chanting for him to get into the game. When he did with seven minutes left there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. All this while keeping up his grades in his AP classes that have put him eighth in his class with a 3.99 GPA. “Very proud. Very proud,” Marge said. And the year has now been topped off with the Green autograph. He’s been his favorite since probably the draft. “He’s a rookie and he came in and the team was so much better,” Kevin said. http://www.bengals.com/news/article-1/Notes-Whit-here-in-spirit-Dalton-looking-to-his-guys-A-D-Linemans-Wish/acc2e811-6837-45af-97f0-ca2a67d234a4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bengals1181 Posted January 28, 2012 Report Share Posted January 28, 2012 sounds like you can check out a pro bowl practice with the bengals players on nfl network at 1:30. www.firstrow.tv Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldschooler Posted January 29, 2012 Report Share Posted January 29, 2012 [size=6][b]The Greening of Hawaii[/b][/size] By GEOFF HOBSON Posted 7 hours ago WEST OAHU, Hawaii — The Pro Bowl is for parents, too. Dora and Woodrow Green can’t remember the last time they were on vacation. But their son is making sure they’ll remember this one. They are sitting in a veranda restaurant not far from the pool and a light Hawaiian breeze sometimes brings in a stray bird looking for crumbs. It is 80 degrees but you don’t need the breeze because it is not the same suffocating 80 degrees of South Carolina. A.J. Green, the Bengals rookie receiver Pro Bowling this week, can’t remember their last vacation, either. He thinks they may have gone to Florida for a few days a couple of times. “When A.J. was in high school, all we did was go from football to basketball to football to basketball. All four years. There wasn’t much time to do anything else,” Woodrow says. “He did track a little bit,” Dora says. “But I didn’t let him do that because it was just too much.” A.J. Green’s parents are both 53 and got married not long out of high school. “Almost” high school sweethearts, Woodrow says, and their only child has taken up 23 of their years. The Greens saw some of the most exciting rookie training camp in Bengals history last year because they had come up from their home in Summerville, S.C. to help A.J. get settled, and they would drive him back and forth to camp as if this were still a Summerville High two-a-day. Then they spent nearly a month over the holidays and Woodrow’s birthday at A.J.'s Northern Kentucky apartment. They were able to see the last three home games and smooth over that first Christmas away from home. Now, this. They are on vacation, so when the waiter asked Woodrow if he wanted fries or a potato that was part of a Hawaiian plant with his tuna sandwich, he went local. “Best vacation we’ve ever had,” Woodrow says. “We got in Wednesday night and we’re going back Monday. I love everything about it. The hotel. The food.” “Every day," Dora says when asked if they’ve walked the beach. She doesn’t have to be back to work at Wal-Mart until a week from Monday and she says she’s way too young to stop working now as a claiming clerk. “Been there 25 years March 25,” she says. When the Greens go home, it will be to their house that sits on about 132 acres in Summerville, S.C. that have been in the Green family forever and their homes are scattered across the property. On one side of Woodrow and Dora’s home is his brother’s family and on the other side is his first cousin’s. He and his brother both run a local bar that’s been right there for three generations in the family. “Country bar,” Woodrow says. “We’ve got a couple of pool tables, beer and wine mostly. A lot of customers sit at the bar and watch sports. I’ve got a couple of TVs in there.” A.J. Green gets his long slender frame, pleasant manner and short sentences from Dora. He gets the daily grind work ethic from Woodrow. The parents of one of the greatest athletes to ever come out of South Carolina never played a sport at Summerville High School. Although, Dora did play some volleyball in a league and played centerfield in softball for 10 years. Woodrow played with his friends and relatives in the neighborhood. “I tell A.J. he gets it from me; we’re just joking,” Woodrow says. “He laughs and says, ‘But Daddy, you never played.’ ” Up until three years ago, Woodrow was a supervisor at a concrete company until he was laid off. He had been there since 1997, staring as heavy equipment operator. Back in ’97 when he arrived, he was coming from a steel plant that had shut down, eliminating his job as a furnace operator. That time, he was out of work only three weeks. This time, he had a chance to go back, but there are games to see and, plus, there is the bar to keep running. But he’s looking a little restless these days and he’s thinking about the boat A.J. bought him for Christmas. Woodrow is an avid fisherman and goes out nearly every day. Now that he’s got the 16-footer, he’s no longer fishing off the banks. “My friend and I go out and we catch all kinds,” Woodrow says. “Catfish. Mudfish. Crappie. Bass.” He still hasn’t put a name on the boat. But Dora gave him a great idea and they’ll get it on there when they get back. “Who Dey.” He may try to get in some fishing this trip. A.J. and his girlfriend Miranda Brooke are getting into the water sports. Woodrow got in a kayak for the first time in his life and they plan to jet ski over at Waikiki Beach. But mostly the parents are enjoying the beach and the sights and sticking around the hotel hasn’t been bad either. “It’s better than I ever could have dreamed it,” Dora says. The Pro Bowl is for parents, too. http://www.bengals.com/news/article-1/The-Greening-of-Hawaii/f599822f-6fa3-40e2-8a09-fae91e10ae83 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-Dub Posted January 29, 2012 Report Share Posted January 29, 2012 [quote]A.J. and his girlfriend Miranda Brooke are getting into the water sports.[/quote] I really don't think that's any of our business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldschooler Posted January 29, 2012 Report Share Posted January 29, 2012 [size=6][b]Pro Bowl Dad[/b][/size] By GEOFF HOBSON Posted 5 hours ago WEST OHAHU, Hawaii _ At age 47 Gene Atkins has discovered this week at the Pro Bowl that not only is no man an island, but no island makes a man. He can thank the namesake for that. “I think it’s great to come over here...It’s a paid vacation,” said the father of Geno as he waited for the family to come down to the hotel pool for a lunch-time swim Saturday. “But it doesn’t stamp how well you can play. “Just coming over and seeing these guys, I didn’t miss that much.” Still, Atkins The Elder admits he has come full circle on the Big Island. After playing 143 games for the Saints and Dolphins in the ‘80s and ‘90s and after what he considers Pro Bowl snubs from 1990-92 when he was the hammer of those dominating New Orleans defenses, he officially became a fan at Saturday morning’s AFC practice at Aloha Stadium that set up Sunday’s Pro Bowl (7 p.m.-Cincinnati’s Channel 5) featuring four Bengals. As if to close the circle he bumped into his first special teams coach in the hotel lobby, Joe Marciano, Sunday’s AFC special teams coach from the Texans’’ staff. “When I heard those words, my son going to the Pro Bowl...I’m a fan now instead of being a former player,” he said. “I’ve got my cameras and I filled up my bags. It’s the first time I’ve done that (with Geno). I’ve done that with my younger sons. When they’re playing, I’m a cheerleader.” The Pro Bowl may have eluded Gene, but this week it also validated his strategy for Geno all those years ago. He still had the aches and pains of 10 NFL seasons when he steered Geno to every sport but football. Soccer. Basketball. Baseball. If he ended up playing, he would at least be schooled fundamentally with versatility. “Football is a dangerous game. I held off until he was in high school,” Gene Atkins said. “I had people tell me, ‘What are you doing? He’s too far behind.’ But I told them if you have the love of the game and the desire to do it, it doesn’t matter. “When he called and told me he wanted to play football, I laughed. I told him, ‘You don’t even know how to put on the pads.’ He told me, ‘My coaches will show me.’ After he said that I told him if he’s going to do it, do it right.” The rest is history.” It is also Gene’s story as well as Geno’s. He made certain he sat in the stands and didn’t go on the field Saturday as he helped Geno’s brothers, 13-year-old Jared and nine-year-old Jason (the guy with the 97 Atkins Bengals jersey), get pictures of their favorites. Jared is all over Ravens middle linebacker Ray Lewis and Panthers quarterback Cam Newton, but as of Saturday they were still waiting to get autographs. Atkins, a feared hitter who was the James Harrison of his day, is more cuddly these days. “He’s a nice person. He’s not mean,” Jared said. “He’s always respected the game and I love my dad.” Jared and Jason may have to wait to get those autographs. Although the 5-11 Atkins looks like he’s right around his playing weight of 200 pounds and could take a few nickel snaps with only a few gray hairs sticking out of light beard, he doesn’t want to flex those muscles. “I’m not looking to walk around here as a former player,” Atkins said. “And I like that. I don’t have to walk around with a game face or be like ‘Mean Gene.’ I’m Dad Gene. “Sometimes the NFL swallows you up,” he said. “Thinking you’re a superstar and some guys have been out of the league 20-30 years. I don’t want that. I try to tell all my kids to be humble. Things change every day.” That’s probably why he got a kick out of meeting rookie quarterback Andy Dalton, the one teammate he’s seen over here. “He seems like a laid back, country guy with his hat on,” Atkins said. “He’s not walking and talking like some quarterbacks with their heads up there. He doesn’t have that…swagger…where it’s ‘you can’t touch me.’ Just walking normally by himself. Just being relaxed. That’s what it’s all about.” Gene Atkins doesn’t have to be a Pro Bowl veteran to know what is in store Sunday. All he had to do was watch Saturday’s so-called workout. “That was a practice?” Atkins laughed. “That was a warmup walk-through. What it is is a dress rehearsal to put on a show for the fans. No one is going to hit anyone. The running backs aren’t going to run hard and try to truck somebody. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t know what’s going to happen. But everybody realizes everybody has a life and a career. They won’t try to make a name for themselves.” Which is what Sandra Atkins has been trying to tell her oldest all week. In between excursions with his four younger brothers and sisters, Geno has been treating this like a real game. “He’s got a massage at noon today. He’s sticking to his pre-game routine even though it’s not a real game,’ Sandra Atkins said. “He told me, “I think the NFC is practicing.’” Sandra, operations manager for the Seminole Tribe of Florida, is using her engineering degree to see and do as much as possible since arriving Wednesday. “We’ve done everything at the hotel and we were a little isolated so we rented a vehicle,” she said. “We drove into Waikiki yesterday and went to the beach and (Geno) saw how crowded it was. We’re going snorkeling today and tonight we’re going on a dinner cruise. Then I think we will have done everything possible.” Geno and his girlfriend have been with them pretty much the whole time because this is a nice family moment. The boys live with Gene in Atlanta and the girls with Sandra in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. “The kids come first,’ Gene said. “Everything else is second.” Still, it is Sandra Atkins that states the most eloquent case for Gene Atkins, would-be-Pro Bowler. “We knew we were battling with the San Francisco 49ers and Ronnie Lott was the safety of the decade,” she said. “We were in New Orleans, a small market where it’s hard to get yourself known. He was just as hard-hitting and his numbers were there. He just never got the votes.” She said Geno was disappointed with the first alternate finish even though he was the NFL co-leader in sacks by a tackle and she found herself giving the same words of encouragement she gave her husband 20 years before. “’You play in Cincinnati, a small market, you’re not on TV,’” she said. “I never would have seen him play in Florida if I didn’t have Direct TV. They weren’t on any national games. Half my friends haven’t seen him play. You can have the numbers every year and still never go because it’s a popularity contest.” Which is probably one of the reasons Gene isn’t all that interested in glad-handing. He’s letting Jason and Justin be in awe. He’s only asked for one player’s autograph since he went to the NFL. “Lawrence Taylor,’ said Atkins of the Giants Hall-of-Fame linebacker. “He had a dislocated shoulder and still had 2.5 or three sacks against us. After the game I went to the trainer to get a pen and piece of paper and went and got it.” Sandra is in the same boat with Jason and Jared. “Wow, this really is the cream of the crop. I walked in and saw the guy from the Falcons,” she said of tight end Tony Gonzalez. “I can see why fans think they know them from TV, but they really don’t.” Gene Atkins knows this after three Pro Bowl snubs. “It means more to me now because it involves my son. Because I want him to achieve whatever he can,” he said. http://www.bengals.com/news/article-1/Pro-Bowl-Dad/931b4c7f-aafa-41cb-aa46-ef8a30847ed5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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