With all the “rumors” today about Bengals WR Antonio Bryant getting released by the club, look for a few things to happen.  One would be for the Bengals to come out and strongly deny the rumors because they truly believe that he will be healthy and a part of the 2010 team, or two, look for Antonio to chill until the day of the Patriots game.  The club has recently said that Bryant was getting better, and even Bryant said today that he was getting better.  Then reports surfaced that the Bengals were set to release him.  I didn’t believe those reports, but something has to happen soon.  Fans should know that vested veterans have their full salaries guaranteed only if they are on the opening day roster.  If AB practices or plays in a preseason game and looks halfway decent, the club has the right to release him without owing him future salary because they can then say it was a talent issue.  That happens all over the league, nothing new.  But if AB is released at anytime before the season opener without playing a down, then the club will have to negotiate some kind of injury settlement with AB.  That usually involves the time it will take to rehab the injury.  Ex: if a player has a sprained ankle that will take 6 weeks to heal, he will get 6 weeks pay.  I think that’s the way it goes, if I remember correctly.  I’m getting old!  So I’m sure AB’s agent will now get involved and force the issue either way.  I think that the Bengals organization really want to keep Antonio and they hope this thing can work.  In my opinion, he is their 2nd best WR after Chad.  But if his knee is really screwed up, then it may be time to scratch the experiment.  With 2010 being an uncapped year, the team can just swallow the money they gave him and move on.  Some say to IR him and bring him back next year, that may work, but then the team would be reminded of the failed signing everyday.  Remember, the Bengals choose AB over T.O. back in March and they paid him a bunch of money, nothing mean is going on here, but something has to happen soon to address this issue.

The Bengals are finishing up the preseason with games against the Bills and Colts.  I wouldn’t look for too much from the starters in these games.  The injuries are starting to mount up.  I wondered with the Bengals having five preseason games, which game would be used as the big “3rd” game.  Look like that was last week vs the Eagles.  Now the team will be looking at the play of younger guys to fill out the bottom of the roster with key backups and strong special teams players.  That usually comes from the back seven on defense, and skill players on offense.  Injuries to starters on the DL will make it tough for the team to make roster cuts at that position.  With guys like Rob Geathers, Antwan Odom, and Tank Johnson hurting, I think they will keep 9 DL.  They may have done that anyway, but remember that if players are hurt now, they never really get healthy during the season.  No time to heal.  And the WR position is up in the air.  With older WRs at the top of the depth chart, you can’t just release the young guys or else they will be restocking the position all over again next year.  So my theory of two QBs on the roster seems like a good way to massage final 53.

We have been talking a lot about Carson Palmer here lately, and I found a few comments from Marvin Lewis interesting when he was asked about the backup QB battle….and it made me think of what I’ve been saying about Carson Palmer.  I think as Carson’s supporting cast changed, the offensive philosophy changed, coupled with the elbow injury, his play changed.   He lost most of the guys that he leaned on and trusted when he first got the job in 2004, and then he had to deal with new players and injuries at the same time.  His cast now isn’t as good now as it was a few years ago, but it is definitely better than it was last year or in those 4 games he played in 2008.  So when I say that Carson is a top 5 QB in this league, I base it off of his talent and the things that he can do if guys around him do their jobs.  Now, there are still other QBs that can play well regardless who is around them, guys like Peyton Manning and Big Ben come to mind, those guys get it done year in and year out.  But Peyton has had the same OC since 1998 and Big Ben is big and athletic with a great arm, so he can make average guys look good because of his ability to scramble when things break down and find open WRs.  Either way, it should be a big year for Carson.  He is healthy and he has some new toys to play with in 2010.

Here is the Marvin Lewis quote from Bengals.com…

Q: Have you seen any improvement from your backup QBs (J.T. O’Sullivan and Jordan Palmer)?
ML: I think that both J.T. and Jordan did improve over the short week last week and playing in the game. It’s a lot longer week this week, and the cast around them gets a little more stable, which is good. “In order to play that position you do need a supporting cast that you can count on. Sometimes it’s reflective of you”, but I thought both guys had good weeks last week in the short week and then carried it into the game, and they’ve done a good job this week. We’ve got to keep on. I think they’re getting their arms back, all three of our quarterbacks, after the training camp routine where you’re going two-a-days every other day. I thought on Sunday (at practice in Dayton), we threw the ball as crisply as we have in a long time. That’s what happens as you back off the practices and they get their arms back. They’re a lot crisper. I thought legs were crisper yesterday and that will continue, hopefully, the rest of this week.”

Just so new comers to this site don’t get confused, I’m a fan of QB Carson Palmer.  If you ask 10 people where he ranks as far as NFL QBs go, you would probably get 10 different answers.   People say he hasn’t been the same since his knee injury in the 2006 playoffs, but I say its something different. Carson came back months after that injury and threw for 4,000 yards, so to me its more about his surrounding cast. He went from having Willie, Bobbie, Richie, Steiny, Levi block for him(2004-2006) to having three guys block for him in 2009 that were on the practice squad the previous year. Those players are better now, but they had to learn to how to play last year.  There was also the arm injury in 2008 and lack of WR help in 2009.  Does Carson have to play better?  Yes. Is this a huge year for him? Yes. So I ask you for conversation sake, where would you rank Carson today out of all the QBs in the NFL?  Top 5, top 10, or top 15? I think talent wise, he’s a top 5 QB easily. But overall considering the past few years, I would say 10-15.  If things go right this year, he can climb back up the charts. But remember, this is a different team.   The defense is a top 10 unit and the running game is in the top 10, so he won’t be slinging it around like he did years ago.

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