ROOKIE MINICAMP NOTES

[Bengals1181]

[color=#393939][size=6][b] Back to basics[/b][/size]

Posted 17 minutes ago[/color]

This weekend's Bengals rookie minicamp is going to be as basic as the simplest of fundamentals the coaches are going to push the 40 or so campers through five practices in a span of 48 hours at Paul Brown Stadium.

From the post-practice snack to the handling of their most celebrated participant in undrafted Arizona State middle linebacker Vontaze Burfict.

"This is their first introduction to us -- offense, defense, special teams and how to practice," said head coach Marvin Lewis, looking forward to his first field action of his 10th season.

"First of all the nuance, verbiage and techniques. How to prepare and study. How to watch tape and highlight and then how to practice like an NFL player, how to stay up on your feet, bend your knees and play behind your pads. The weight room, new diet and nutrition. All the things to get them in tune to how we do things."

The 6-3, 250-pound Burfict is one of the club's 15 college free agents that are going to be joined by the 10 draft picks headed by first-round picks cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick and right guard Kevin Zeitler.

Also in camp is a group of tryout players featuring former University of Cincinnati and Carolina quarterback Tony Pike. Rounding out the roster are first-year players in Armon Binns and Vidal Hazelton, a pair of wide receivers, as well as defensive end DeQuin Evans, middle linebacker Micah Johnson, right tackle Matt O'Donnell, kicker Thomas Weber, and fullback James Develin.

All eyes are on Burfict after a poor junior season and NFL Scouting Combine was compounded by his admission he had smoked marijuana but had stopped. His 16 personal foul penalties also raised a host of red flags as well as yellow ones, but after meeting with him following his campus workout back in March, Lewis is willing to take a shot.

Lewis is even more encouraged after spending two hours with Burfict last week when he was in Arizona for his daughter's wedding.

"He took the opportunity to find my phone number because I don't know that I gave it to him," Lewis said after he attended the campus workout. "To call me, to write me a letter, to do some other things (impressed me). He got my phone number and called me and said, 'I hope I get an opportunity.' I said, 'I hope you do, too.' Whatever reason, I struck a chord with him and maybe that's what he needs. He's got a lot of story. I don't have to believe any of it. It doesn't matter one way or another to me now. What he does now from this point forward is going to determine whether or not he can be an NFL player."

But Lewis made it clear Burfict has a long way to go to have a chance at making this roster. He and his coaches aren't enamored with Burfict's lack of fundamentals and they're going to start by trying to turn him into a "knee bender" instead of his present state as a "waist bender."

"He can be a good football player," Lewis said. "Learn to bend his knees, play behind his pads, strike people within the whistles and life is good. There is no downside to it. I'm excited."

The camp is also as basic when it comes to finding players in the tryouts. The team's emphasis on speed won't be more glaring when the Bengals trot out three undrafted guys that have been clocked at one time or another under 4.4 seconds in the 40-yard dash: Connecticut wide receiver Kashif Moore, New Mexico State wide receiver Taveon Rogers, and Western Kentucky cornerback Derrius Brooks. Plus, fifth-rounder Marvin Jones, a wide receiver from California, clocked a 4.46 at the combine.

"That's what I'm always talking to the guys about. Let's go get guys with speed. Let's go get guys with athleticism that we can hopefully coach and can develop," Lewis said. "Whether they're the 50th guy on the roster or on the practice squad, that gives us a chance to continue to get better with guys that develop physically or mentally or whatever it may be. But it's hard to be very successful in the NFL or very long if you can't run.

Lewis goes back to 2006 when one of the players that was plucked out of a rookie camp tryout, Kentucky wide receiver Glenn Holt, ended up becoming the team's No. 2 all-time kick returner during the next three seasons.

"When I looked down at the end of the day and saw the guys that were undrafted, I wanted the guy with the fastest time," Lewis said. "Maybe he didn’t produce as much at the University of Kentucky, but he was helpful around here for a few seasons because he could run and he wasn't scared. He'd go in there and block when he had to, and he could return kicks. Had he not fumbled a kick he might have stayed a little longer."



[url="http://www.bengals.com/news/article-1/Back-to-basics/b313bd62-48a2-4222-a0aa-f2782cc6f578"]http://www.bengals.c...aa-f2782cc6f578[/url]

[NASTYNATI]

“@SI_PeterKing: RT @ProFootballTalk: Marvin Lewis says Vontaze Burfict wants to change his image ... In other news, I want to lose 30 pounds.”


Lol

[oldschooler]

[quote name='NASTYNATI' timestamp='1336675448' post='1130020']
"@SI_PeterKing: RT @ProFootballTalk: Marvin Lewis says Vontaze Burfict wants to change his image ... In other news, I want to lose 30 pounds."


Lol
[/quote]


I know how Peter King could lose 30 pounds of ugly fat real quick.

Cut off his head.

[oldschooler]

[b] [size=6]Marvin Lewis says Vontaze Burfict wants to change his image[/size][/b]

Posted by Michael David Smith on May 10, 2012, 1:48 PM EDT


Few players in this year’s NFL draft class were as closely scrutinized as Arizona State’s [url="http://www.rotoworld.com/player/nfl/7435/vontaze-burfict"]Vontaze Burfict[/url], and all that scrutiny ended up with all 32 teams deciding to pass. But Burfict signed as an undrafted free agent with the Bengals, and his new coach thinks Burfict can change the perceptions of him.

Bengals coach Marvin Lewis told [url="https://twitter.com/#!/joereedy"]Joe Reedy of the [i]Cincinnati Enquirer[/i][/url] that Burfict was motivated to get into better shape after his disastrous Scouting Combine and Pro Day performances, and getting in better shape will take Burfict a long way.

“We will continue to get him in shape,” Lewis said. “He’s a better conditioned athlete now than he was at the Combine and at ASU in March. If he continues to go down that path, he seems bright enough to learn. He seems willing to want change this image people have of him.”

Burfict has said he’s excited about the opportunity to play for Lewis, and Lewis was impressed when Burfict made a point of reaching out to him.

“It was just the fact he took the opportunity to find my phone number because I don’t know that I gave it to him,” Lewis said. “To call me, to write me a letter, to do some other things. He got my phone number and called me and said, ‘I hope I get an opportunity.’ I said, ‘I hope you do, too.’”

Now Burfict has his opportunity, and Lewis sounds optimistic that Burfict will make the most of it.





http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/05/10/marvin-lewis-says-vontaze-burfict-wants-to-change-his-image/

[Lewdog]

Just as long as Burfict doesn't change his name to Odell Thruman.

[oldschooler]

[b][size=6]Lewis on rookie minicamp, Burfict and receivers[/size][/b]

05/10/12 at 2:25pm
• Written by jreedy

With rookie minicamp slated to begin on Friday, head coach Marvin Lewis sat down with Bengals.com’s Geoff Hobson and I to discuss this weekend along with a couple of other non-rookie minicamp matters.

Lewis said that this weekend’s rookie minicamp is more like an orientation for players and that the calendar has been set up well where most of the rookies can remain here and participate in the last week of Phase II of the offseason program. Phase III, otherwise known as the OTAs begins on May 22.

Besides the draft picks, one of the storylines for this weekend will be Arizona State linebacker Vontaze Burfict, who was signed as an undrafted free agent. During last season, Burfict went from a guy who could have been drafted in the first two rounds to undrafted.

Lewis compared Burfict’s situation to Ahmad Brooks but noted that Brooks played better at Virginia but had more off-field issues.


Vontaze Burfict will line up at middle linebacker during the Bengals rookie minicamp this weekend. US Presswire photo

“There’s no down side. What’s the down side?” Lewis said. “The positives are: Get in shape. You weren’t in shape your last season at Arizona State. Get rid of the selfishness in your play. Learn how to bend your knees. Let us coach you and let’s see if you are what people thought you could have been. Because I have no idea who you are. And so you’re starting from scratch here.”

After Arizona State’s pro day, Burfict sought Lewis out by calling him and writing him a letter. When Lewis was in Arizona last week for his daughter’s wedding, he met with Burfict for a couple hours to go through the playbook and what he needed to do this weekend.

Burfict will start out at middle linebacker.

Added Lewis: ”I struck a chord with him and maybe that’s what he needs. He’s got a lot of story. I don’t have to believe any of it. It doesn’t matter one way or another to me now. What he does now from this point forward is going to determine whether or not he can be a NFL player. I think he has some ability. When you watch the tape there are a lot of things he didn’t do very well. But he does some things I can’t coach that he can do.

“We will continue to get him in shape. He’s a better conditioned athlete now than he was at the combine and at ASU in March. If he continues to go down that path, he seems bright enough to learn. He seems willing to want change this image people have of him.”

Locally, the biggest interest will be former Reading and UC standout Tony Pike, who is in minicamp on a tryout basis. Two years ago, when Pike was drafted by the Panthers, the Bengals had an interest in him but Carolina did not place him on waivers. Pike had an elbow injury last season and did not play.

“Tony’s got ability and he got in a logjam in Carolina. He had a senior year where he had ups and downs due to injury. And he had some injuries of his own there,” said Lewis of Pike. “Hopefully he’s had an opportunity to get healthy now. We’ll have a chance to look at him and evaluate him through the weekend.”

Pike could have a couple familiar faces to throw to this weekend as former UC receivers and current Bengals Armon Binns and Vidal Hazelton are eligible to participate in the minicamp.

With rumors swirling about the Bengals possibly looking at adding Braylon Edwards to the mix at receiver, Lewis said there was nothing immediate on the horizon. With Edwards still rehabbing his knee in Florida, it is likely there wouldn’t ben any movement until next month anyway.

“We’re pretty full with players and we’ll keep seeing if there are guys who are released who can help us and make us competitive,” Lewis said. “We want to strike the balance with the young players too. I don’t want to fill up our 90 spots with all old players. We’ve got to have some young guys to help supplement the draft picks and so at the end of the day you have an opportunity of guys trending up. We don’t want to have too many guys on the other side of their careers.”

When it comes to veteran receivers, the only one with more than three years of NFL experience at the moment is Brandon Tate, who was used 98 percent of the time as a returner. Lewis has also been extremely pleased about what A.J. Green is doing during the first four weeks of the offseason program.

Said Lewis: “I think Brandon getting here last year and now seeing an opportunity to rise and see his moment, he’s happy about that. I think he’s dedicated himself to that. A.J. has grown immensely in his stature. It’s fun to hear him talk and communicate now. I don’t know, we may have a pretty veteran player even though he is in his second year as far as experience and leadership.”



(Click the link for the entire article)


http://cincinnati.com/blogs/bengals/2012/05/10/lewis-on-rookie-minicamp-receivers-and-burfict/

[texbengal]

[quote name='oldschooler' timestamp='1336676046' post='1130026']
[b][size=6]Lewis on rookie minicamp, Burfict and receivers[/size][/b]

05/10/12 at 2:25pm
• Written by jreedy

With rookie minicamp slated to begin on Friday, head coach Marvin Lewis sat down with Bengals.com’s Geoff Hobson and I to discuss this weekend along with a couple of other non-rookie minicamp matters.

Lewis said that this weekend’s rookie minicamp is more like an orientation for players and that the calendar has been set up well where most of the rookies can remain here and participate in the last week of Phase II of the offseason program. Phase III, otherwise known as the OTAs begins on May 22.

Besides the draft picks, one of the storylines for this weekend will be Arizona State linebacker Vontaze Burfict, who was signed as an undrafted free agent. During last season, Burfict went from a guy who could have been drafted in the first two rounds to undrafted.

Lewis compared Burfict’s situation to Ahmad Brooks but noted that Brooks played better at Virginia but had more off-field issues.


Vontaze Burfict will line up at middle linebacker during the Bengals rookie minicamp this weekend. US Presswire photo

“There’s no down side. What’s the down side?” Lewis said. “The positives are: Get in shape. You weren’t in shape your last season at Arizona State. Get rid of the selfishness in your play. Learn how to bend your knees. Let us coach you and let’s see if you are what people thought you could have been. Because I have no idea who you are. And so you’re starting from scratch here.”

After Arizona State’s pro day, Burfict sought Lewis out by calling him and writing him a letter. When Lewis was in Arizona last week for his daughter’s wedding, he met with Burfict for a couple hours to go through the playbook and what he needed to do this weekend.

Burfict will start out at middle linebacker.

Added Lewis: ”I struck a chord with him and maybe that’s what he needs. He’s got a lot of story. I don’t have to believe any of it. It doesn’t matter one way or another to me now. What he does now from this point forward is going to determine whether or not he can be a NFL player. I think he has some ability. When you watch the tape there are a lot of things he didn’t do very well. But he does some things I can’t coach that he can do.

“We will continue to get him in shape. He’s a better conditioned athlete now than he was at the combine and at ASU in March. If he continues to go down that path, he seems bright enough to learn. He seems willing to want change this image people have of him.”

Locally, the biggest interest will be former Reading and UC standout Tony Pike, who is in minicamp on a tryout basis. Two years ago, when Pike was drafted by the Panthers, the Bengals had an interest in him but Carolina did not place him on waivers. Pike had an elbow injury last season and did not play.

“Tony’s got ability and he got in a logjam in Carolina. He had a senior year where he had ups and downs due to injury. And he had some injuries of his own there,” said Lewis of Pike. “Hopefully he’s had an opportunity to get healthy now. We’ll have a chance to look at him and evaluate him through the weekend.”

Pike could have a couple familiar faces to throw to this weekend as former UC receivers and current Bengals Armon Binns and Vidal Hazelton are eligible to participate in the minicamp.

With rumors swirling about the Bengals possibly looking at adding Braylon Edwards to the mix at receiver, Lewis said there was nothing immediate on the horizon. With Edwards still rehabbing his knee in Florida, it is likely there wouldn’t ben any movement until next month anyway.

“We’re pretty full with players and we’ll keep seeing if there are guys who are released who can help us and make us competitive,” Lewis said. “We want to strike the balance with the young players too. I don’t want to fill up our 90 spots with all old players. We’ve got to have some young guys to help supplement the draft picks and so at the end of the day you have an opportunity of guys trending up. We don’t want to have too many guys on the other side of their careers.”

When it comes to veteran receivers, the only one with more than three years of NFL experience at the moment is Brandon Tate, who was used 98 percent of the time as a returner. Lewis has also been extremely pleased about what A.J. Green is doing during the first four weeks of the offseason program.

Said Lewis: “I think Brandon getting here last year and now seeing an opportunity to rise and see his moment, he’s happy about that. I think he’s dedicated himself to that. A.J. has grown immensely in his stature. It’s fun to hear him talk and communicate now. I don’t know, we may have a pretty veteran player even though he is in his second year as far as experience and leadership.”



(Click the link for the entire article)


[url="http://cincinnati.com/blogs/bengals/2012/05/10/lewis-on-rookie-minicamp-receivers-and-burfict/"]http://cincinnati.co...rs-and-burfict/[/url]
[/quote]

Great to read about AJ's maturity. As good a WR as Chad was, he was never a leader, other than leading by example with how hard he went in practice. Very impressive that the WR corps are all 26 or younger, too - and (Lee being an exception) the same goes for 3 of the 4 TEs.

With BJGE/Scott, Gresham, and Dalton and Green coming into their own as NFL players and leaders, I'm really excited about what's to come with this young offense.

[happyrid]

[quote name='texbengal' timestamp='1336678730' post='1130031']
Great to read about AJ's maturity. As good a WR as Chad was, he was never a leader, other than leading by example with how hard he went in practice. Very impressive that the WR corps are all 26 or younger, too - and (Lee being an exception) the same goes for 3 of the 4 TEs.

With BJGE/Scott, Gresham, and Dalton and Green coming into their own as NFL players and leaders, I'm really excited about what's to come with this young offense.
[/quote]

That little snippet about AJ was my major takeaway from the article also. Pretty cool that Marvin's saying its his offense now and that he is taking that leadership role.

I like that Marvin thinks bringing in a vet WR wouldn't change that, but I wouldn't want to take the risk. I like the way things are with AJ leading the way and hungry young guys like Sanu, Jones, Shipley, Binns, etc. all who seem to be high character guys also.

[Bengals1181]

[quote name='happyrid' timestamp='1336678999' post='1130032']
That little snippet about AJ was my major takeaway from the article also. Pretty cool that Marvin's saying its his offense now and that he is taking that leadership role.

I like that Marvin thinks bringing in a vet WR wouldn't change that, but I wouldn't want to take the risk. I like the way things are with AJ leading the way and hungry young guys like Sanu, Jones, Shipley, Binns, etc. all who seem to be high character guys also.
[/quote]

I actually didn't like that part, mainly because it's Dalton's team, not AJ's, and that's what Marvin should be saying.

[scharm]

It's AJ's offense. He's the clear franchise player in the skill group. I'd go as far to say Whit is higher on the pecking order than Dalton. That's not a knock on Dalton.

[happyrid]

[quote name='Bengals1181' timestamp='1336680736' post='1130035']
I actually didn't like that part, mainly because it's Dalton's team, not AJ's, and that's what Marvin should be saying.
[/quote]

I get what you're saying and I do think Andy also has a leadership role. But it can work in many different ways. Hines Ward was considered more of a leader in Pitt than Ben for a long time and they won a Super Bowl. There are other examples as well. I just think AJ has a presence to him and I think he really carries himself well as a professional, so I like seeing him step up and take the lead of the WR core at least.

But I agree though that we need Andy to step up and join that elite club of QBs and those guys are all the leaders of their offense.

[happyrid]

[quote name='scharm' timestamp='1336682554' post='1130036']
It's AJ's offense. He's the clear franchise player in the skill group. I'd go as far to say Whit is higher on the pecking order than Dalton. That's not a knock on Dalton.
[/quote]

I think there's a natural tendency for the offense to follow the lead of its best player. With all due respect to Andy, that's AJ. Unlike Chad, I think he can and will be a positive guy to have in that leadership role.

[oldschooler]

[size=6][b]Bengals WRs not so green with Green[/b][/size]

Posted 39 minutes ago

Geoff Hobson Editor Bengals.com


The state of the Bengals on the eve of rookie minicamp is jam-packed with 89 players, one below the roster limit, and it sounds like they're content to let the kids show them what they've got.

With apparently no discussions about or with Braylon Edwards in the recent past and Jacoby Jones secured in Baltimore, the veteran receiver warning has gone from a watch to the snooze button as head coach Marvin Lewis raves about the emergence of Pro Bowl rookie A.J. Green as the leader of the corps.

"It's his offensive football team and he has come back with that attitude," Lewis said. "It's a no-nonsense attitude and you could tell he's in incredible condition."

Jones had been offered to clubs before and after the draft, but the Bengals may have decided they already have a 24-year-old version of Jones in Brandon Tate. And with a report that their backup WILL linebacker for the past several seasons, Brandon Johnson, has visited the Steelers, they don't appear to be in that derby right now even though they didn't draft one.

"We're pretty full with players and keep seeing if there are guys who are released who can help us and make us competitive but we want to strike the balance of the young players, too," Lewis said. "I don't want to fill up our 90 spots with all old players. We've got to have some young guys to help supplement the draft picks and so at the end of the day you have an opportunity of guys trending up. We don't want to have too many guys on the other side of their careers."

Which sounds like good news for the team's current backup WILL, second-year Vincent Rey, but that's the kind of position the Bengals could attack as late as the last cuts of training camp. There could be a bevy of moves after the camp if some of the rookie free agents don't hold up and some of the tryout guys impress.

With the 29-year-old Edwards rehabbing a knee, his presence on the market conjures up memories of 2010. The Bengals signed a free-agent receiver with a knee problem (Antonio Bryant) and another with baggage (Terrell Owens) and it blew up. They went 4-12 while cutting promising rookie receiver Dez Briscoe and icing 2008 second-rounder Jerome Simpson one more year. Still, Edwards is a big, tall guy in the Bengals mold.

In an interview with Bengals.com and The Cincinnati Enquirer breaking down the general state of the team earlier this week, Lewis sounded confident about his current receiver crop even though Tate has yet to catch a ball as a Bengal and the club's most experienced and healthy guys are the pair coming off their rookie seasons in Green and Andrew Hawkins.

One of the dates to add a veteran would seem to be May 22, the first day of the voluntary practices.

"We've got two experienced NFL receivers basically -- A.J. and Tate. I think Brandon getting here last year and now seeing an opportunity to rise and see his moment, he's happy about that," Lewis said. "I think he's dedicated himself to that. A.J. has grown immensely in his stature. It's fun to hear him talk and communicate now. I don't know, we may have a pretty veteran player even though he is in his second year as far as experience and leadership.

"There's never a line he's not first in. No one goes before him in anything. He accepts his role as being one of the best players on this team and he takes it seriously. We may not need another guy."

With a question alluding to the T.O.-inflicted damage of locker-room chemistry and passing-game consistency, Lewis said an injection of a veteran receiver wouldn't hamper what Green has going on.

"No one affects A.J. just like no one affects a Ray Lewis," Lewis said. "A.J. has those kinds of qualities that are pretty special. That's what I'm observing. He's a guy that is always going to be ahead of the pack no matter who you put ahead of the pack. Without being obnoxious or standoffish."

Plus, Lewis just thinks the locker room is strong enough to withstand pretty much anyone coming in here.

"I don't think anyone lets anyone rock the boat," he said, alluding to his two de facto captains. "(Andrew) Whitworth and (Domata) Peko, they're not letting anyone do it."

Lewis has also noticed a change in Green's tag-team partner, Pro Bowl rookie quarterback Andy Dalton. With coaches being allowed to work with players on the field for the past two weeks, some things are obvious.

"He led a team, which is more," Lewis said. "Going to the playoffs is a great accomplishment but he led a team. He was in a situation that had some tension built into it. Outside tension."

Now the only tension seems to be roster competition, like such hot spots as cornerback. Even before first-round pick Dre Kirkpatrick arrives this weekend, four first-round corners have been working out in the persons of starter Nate Clements, backup Adam Jones, and free-agent arrivals Terence Newman and Jason Allen.

Another first-rounder, Leon Hall has been rehabbing his torn Achilles and has stepped up his football drills on the field. He won't appear in team stuff until training camp at the earliest, but Lewis says Hall, wide receiver Jordan Shipley (ACL), and defensive tackle Pat Sims (ankle) look good.

Running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis, fresh from his Super Bowl run with New England, has also received nice opening reviews for his quickness.

"Despite the extra two weeks away our guys have come back in pretty good working order and shape for the most part," Lewis said of the new, streamlined schedule. "Coaches have taken advantage of days on the field with the players. Both coordinators have been pleased.

"I've been pleased with watching this week thus far. Impressed with our guys that we have added -- Bennie, Terence, (left guard Travelle) Wharton and Jason Allen. They've been impressive so far."





http://www.bengals.com/news/article-1/Bengals-WRs-not-so-green-with-Green-/0442fbf2-2844-4f3f-b656-80b23caee8c2

[scharm]

[quote name='happyrid' timestamp='1336682702' post='1130038']
I think there's a natural tendency for the offense to follow the lead of its best player. With all due respect to Andy, that's AJ. Unlike Chad, I think he can and will be a positive guy to have in that leadership role.
[/quote]

It seemed like whenever they needed a big play AJ was there. I think alot of the offense is going to go as long as AJ goes.

[coup000]

Wow, these articles have me pumped up for the season. Going to be a long 4 months

[scharm]

[quote name='NASTYNATI' timestamp='1336675448' post='1130020']
"@SI_PeterKing: RT @ProFootballTalk: Marvin Lewis says Vontaze Burfict wants to change his image ... In other news, I want to lose 30 pounds."


Lol
[/quote]

Don't these media hounds have any filter? Burfict as I understand it is a problem on the field rather than off. He's a young adult that already paid the price by having to go undrafted. Nothing is going to get handed to the guy. What's the point of King throwing around jabs via twitter?

[scharm]

[quote name='coup000' timestamp='1336683134' post='1130042']
Wow, these articles have me pumped up for the season. Going to be a long 4 months
[/quote]

It always is, but the roster on paper has so many battles. Glad it's going to be downtown.

[happyrid]

[quote name='coup000' timestamp='1336683134' post='1130042']
Wow, these articles have me pumped up for the season. Going to be a long 4 months
[/quote]

No doubt. I'm really looking forward to training camp as well, especially with it being in downtown Cincy this year. That's only about 3 months away.

It's usually the rookies who I'm most excited about seeing and that's true this year as well, but there's just more of them. Even some of the later round guys like Orson Charles and Marvin Jones are guys I'm looking forward to focusing on. Plus some of the guys who basically redshirted last year like Moch and Binns. And a few intriguing undrafted guys, led by Burfict. Should be a preseason where even the 4th quarters will be fun to watch.

[|Lucid|]

[quote name='Bengals1181' timestamp='1336680736' post='1130035']
I actually didn't like that part, mainly because it's Dalton's team, not AJ's, and that's what Marvin should be saying.
[/quote]

I don't know if he exactly meant it in that way.. I think he meant it more in the way he meant it when he was yelling at the guys in hard knocks "This is [i]your[/i] football team, FIX IT!".... I think he just means AJ is coming into his own as a pro, and taking responsibility for the team and it's direction, as opposed to being a green rook who is just trying to fit in and going with the flow.

[cazzer]

Aj has the pure talent but i think Dalton will be more of a leader for the offence. It looks like marv is talking more about the receiving group but who knows...
I remember watching an inside the huddle where AJ and Dalton were prominently featured and Dalton was telling a confused AJ where to go on a couple plays....Although thats not the only part of leadership, preperation is important!

[texbengal]

[quote name='cazzer' timestamp='1336684598' post='1130056']
Aj has the pure talent but i think Dalton will be more of a leader for the offence. It looks like marv is talking more about the receiving group but who knows...
I remember watching an inside the huddle where AJ and Dalton were prominently featured and Dalton was telling a confused AJ where to go on a couple plays....Although thats not the only part of leadership, preperation is important!
[/quote]

Your take is how I took it as well re: AJ and Dalton. Good news is, they seem to respect each other and what each brings to the table, and both are focused on winning games, not accolades.

[The PatternMaster]

[quote name='scharm' timestamp='1336683362' post='1130043']
Don't these media hounds have any filter? Burfict as I understand it is a problem on the field rather than off. He's a young adult that already paid the price by having to go undrafted. Nothing is going to get handed to the guy. What's the point of King throwing around jabs via twitter?
[/quote]

The difference btwn Burfict and King is that Burfict will work hard to rehab his image while King will just eat more food and drink citrusy beers.

King is the most annoying "journalist" in sports media, which is saying alot considering the industry is filled with bitter douchebags. KissingSuzyKobler.com does a great job exposing how moronic King is every week with this MMQB articles.

[Bengals1181]

[quote name='Lucid' timestamp='1336684167' post='1130051']
I don't know if he exactly meant it in that way.. I think he meant it more in the way he meant it when he was yelling at the guys in hard knocks "This is [i]your[/i] football team, FIX IT!".... I think he just means AJ is coming into his own as a pro, and taking responsibility for the team and it's direction, as opposed to being a green rook who is just trying to fit in and going with the flow.
[/quote]

that's a very interesting way to look at it, thanks.

[|High School Harry|]

[quote name='oldschooler' timestamp='1336675669' post='1130022']
I know how Peter King could lose 30 pounds of ugly fat real quick.

Cut off his head.
[/quote]

He would have to pull it out of his ass first.

[cincity]

[quote name='scharm' timestamp='1336683439' post='1130045']
It always is, but the roster on paper has so many battles. Glad it's going to be downtown.
[/quote]

And I'm glad that I'm moving to Louisville KY for a year! I get to go and watch as much Bengals football as possible