Bengals 2010 pt. I

[bucksfan2]

I'd take him in a heartbeat. I'm not a TO fan by any stretch of the imagination, but the Bengals are already circus anyway, why not go ahead and add another tent in the mix?

Look at his stats. Three of his last four seasons have been 1,000+ yard, double-digit TD seasons. He nearly reached those numbers last year with Ryan Fitzpatrick throwing to him. He's a clown but can you imagine the space he would free up for Chad on the outside and Gresham up the middle? Good golly...

Here is the thing as a 2 or 3 WR he is better than Caldwell and Shipply is just a rookie. TO is no longer a true #1 WR, but he isn't being counted on to be the go to guy. He adds another weapon to the offense and makes the offense much better. I am all for the Bengals signing TO.

[CTA513]

Chad is the #1 WR
Bryant was signed to be the #2 WR
Gresham was drafted to be the #1 TE
TO could be signed to be the #3 WR
Benson and Scott showed what the running game could be like last season


It has the potential to be good on the field, but I also see the potential for things to get ugly on the sidelines once these guys realize they won't be getting the ball as much as they want.

[LoganBuck]

I'd take him in a heartbeat. I'm not a TO fan by any stretch of the imagination, but the Bengals are already circus anyway, why not go ahead and add another tent in the mix?

Look at his stats. Three of his last four seasons have been 1,000+ yard, double-digit TD seasons. He nearly reached those numbers last year with Ryan Fitzpatrick throwing to him. He's a clown but can you imagine the space he would free up for Chad on the outside and Gresham up the middle? Good golly...

I like it just from the matchup headache he would create. Look at this mess on paper

OchoCinco
TO
Bryant
Gresham
Shipley, Caldwell, Coffman in reserve

TO may not be what he once was, but he will still abuse lesser corners. He requires attention. Chad does as well. It would mean lots of two deep zone, and one on one coverage. Jermaine Gresham and Jordan Shipley make this even more scary. Can you imagine the room to operate in the middle of the field?

[Cedric]

I like it just from the matchup headache he would create. Look at this mess on paper

OchoCinco
TO
Bryant
Gresham
Shipley, Caldwell, Coffman in reserve

TO may not be what he once was, but he will still abuse lesser corners. He requires attention. Chad does as well. It would mean lots of two deep zone, and one on one coverage. Jermaine Gresham and Jordan Shipley make this even more scary. Can you imagine the room to operate in the middle of the field?

All that means nothing if the Oline doesn't improve ten fold.

[joshnky]

The only problem I have with it, is that you're going to have to cut another young receiver (likely Briscoe) to make room. Chad and TO are on the down slope of their careers and Bryant will be 30 soon. The average age of your top three receivers will be 32, not good. The cupboard could be bare in one or two years, and injuries could quickly derail this year.

This will also have a negative impact on special teams and the return game, as you'll have to cut a likely special teams contributor.

[Eric_the_Red]

I like it just from the matchup headache he would create. Look at this mess on paper

OchoCinco
TO
Bryant
Gresham
Shipley, Caldwell, Coffman in reserve

But they still only use 1 football when playing. I wonder how quickly the Ochocinco/TO/Palmer lovefest would last when both WRs demand the ball more.

TO is 36, turning 37 this season. His catches have gone down every season in each of the last 4 years. Besides that, you may recall a few locker rooms that he has left burning behind him.

No mo' drama.

[Eric_the_Red]

I'd take him in a heartbeat. I'm not a TO fan by any stretch of the imagination, but the Bengals are already circus anyway, why not go ahead and add another tent in the mix?

Look at his stats. Three of his last four seasons have been 1,000+ yard, double-digit TD seasons. He nearly reached those numbers last year with Ryan Fitzpatrick throwing to him. He's a clown but can you imagine the space he would free up for Chad on the outside and Gresham up the middle? Good golly...

There have been only 3 WR that have had 1,000 yd receiving at age 36 or older, and only Jerry Rice did it after age 37. Never has there been a WR catch 10 or more TD after turning 36.

That is why you don't invite more clowns to circus, especially unproductive clowns.

[Redsfaithful]

I can't wait for football. I think TO picks Cincinnati, it's a bigger chance to further increase his profile. The Rams are going to be terrible again.

TO was completely drama free in Buffalo of all places last season, I'm not sure why people think he'd cause problems in Cincinnati. I don't think Marvin or Mike Brown for that matter would bring him in unless he fully understood and was ok with his role. TO knows he's not going to be a #1 in Cincinnati.

[WVRed]

I can't wait for football. I think TO picks Cincinnati, it's a bigger chance to further increase his profile. The Rams are going to be terrible again.

TO was completely drama free in Buffalo of all places last season, I'm not sure why people think he'd cause problems in Cincinnati. I don't think Marvin or Mike Brown for that matter would bring him in unless he fully understood and was ok with his role. TO knows he's not going to be a #1 in Cincinnati.

Could you imagine the Rams bringing in TO with Sam Bradford throwing to him? With all the problems he had with Jeff Garcia, Donovan McNabb, and Tony Romo, I'm surprised the Rams are even looking at him, regardless of what he did in Buffalo.

Cincinnati OTOH gives him a loaded offense with the potential if he accepts his role to possibly make a Super Bowl run, assuming the Bengals pass through their gauntlet of a schedule.

[Eric_the_Red]

I'm not seeing this "loaded offense" that everyone else sees this year. Why would it be very different from last year? A rookie WR and rookie TE are added, and a subpar WR was replaced by either a WR with a bad knee or a 37 year old, and suddenly the Bengals have an explosive offense? If the team goes anywhere this year, it will be on the back of the defense.

[Redsfaithful]

You're kind of underplaying the TE they added. That's one of the rare positions where someone can come in and make a difference as a rookie.

People are seeing a much improved offense because they filled the holes they had last year.

[Kingspoint]

I would take T.O. for this season over Caldwell.

[cincrazy]

There have been only 3 WR that have had 1,000 yd receiving at age 36 or older, and only Jerry Rice did it after age 37. Never has there been a WR catch 10 or more TD after turning 36.

That is why you don't invite more clowns to circus, especially unproductive clowns.

I agree with most of what you say, however, I will add that T.O., out of any receiver, could be one to produce past the age of 36.

Jerry Rice thrived at an older age because of his peak physical condition. And say what you want about T.O., but the man couldn't be in any better shape.

Last season, all things considered, he didn't have a terrible year. He was in Buffalo, with Ryan Fitzpatrick throwing him the ball. We saw what happened to Chad under the same scenario. He had one of the worst seasons of his career.

T.O. himself doesn't make this team a Super Bowl team, and for that reason, I don't sign him. The risk outweighs the reward IMO. However, if there's anywhere where T.O MIGHT be a good fit, I'd say it's Cincy.

[Eric_the_Red]

You're kind of underplaying the TE they added. That's one of the rare positions where someone can come in and make a difference as a rookie.

People are seeing a much improved offense because they filled the holes they had last year.

So the team was a rookie TE away from being an offensive powerhouse? Sorry, but I don't see it. Could the team improve a bit offensively? Sure. But I think any improvement will begin and end with the guy under center, regardless of who the WRs are.

[SeeinRed]

The main difference I see on the team this year is Coles as your #2 going into last season compared to Bryant or possibly Owens as your #2 this year. Thats a pretty big difference IMO. It was a huge drop off from Chad to the next reciever. Teams were able to focus on Chad and stop the passing game. IF Bryant is healthy and/or the Bengals have T.O. then some of that focus has to be taken off Chad. They may not be what they once were, but they still have to be defended. The TE also plays a HUGE role in the offense. Bengals TEs were pretty bad last year, in the passing game. Gresham is only a rookie, but he is a definate weapon that can cause match-up headaches. Also having Kelly on the sideline and even on the field is a huge upgrade. Coffman is just icing on the cake if he can be healthy and contribute on the field.

The offense isn't going to be a world burner, but it is good enough to win a lot of games with the defense the Bengals figure to have. All of this depends on health of course, but the Bengals had a good season last year. They went into the off season with definate weaknesses that were addressed. You would be very hard pressed to say the Bengals aren't entering training camp in much better shape that they were in last year. They had a very solid draft IMO. For the first time in a long time it feels as though the Bengals are a competent organization.

Signing T.O. would seem on the surface as a PR nightmare, but digging a little deeper I feel as though it can turn out to be a very strong football move. Its all just conjecture right now though as none of us can see into the future.