Tight End Sean Mulcahy got hurt yesterday in practiced and they had to take him off the field on a stretcher. He was taken to the trauma unit at the University of Kentucky in Lexington. Today it was reported that he has movement in all of his extremities and he was joking with nurses. Hopefully he will be fine.

Antonio Chatman will be out about a week with a strained hamstring.

Carson Palmer says he’s ready to go and feels good. As good as he is, he still says he needs to work on “everything”. I’m expecting a good year from him.

There has been a lot of talk about Bennie Brazell. Apparently, he’s catching everything thrown to him. Let’s hope that continues.

Safety Marvin White has signed a four year deal with the Bengals and was at practice yesterday morning. He practiced as part of the secondary and also as a gunner on punt coverage.

The big news is that cornerback Leon Hall has signed a five year deal. He was able to make it in time to practice with the team last night.

So now all draft picks have been signed. Marvin White missed one practice and Leon Hall missed two so that’s not too bad. Hopefully they can all pick things up quickly and be ready to contribute this season.

We are having a roundtable for the AFC North. You can check out the other sites in the division to see the answers for those teams also. Here are my answers for the Bengals:

BENGALS
1. What did the Bengals do this off-season to improve?  

First of all, there was less drama this off-season and the Bengals drafted good character guys for a change. The guys they drafted add to their depth and a few should contribute immediately. Leon Hall was a very nice pick and should help the team for years to come. Kenny Irons could give Rudi Johnson some extra rest and could eventually take over the starting job (probably not this season but within the next year or two). Ed Hartwell was a big signing for them and as long as he’s healthy, he could be a great addition to the defense. Most of the off-season work was done on the defensive side and that’s where they needed it. Johnathan Joseph could be a star in the making if he could improve his hands and hold on to those interceptions.
2. What key players did the Bengals lose that you wish they kept? 

Eric Steinbach will be missed on the O-line but the Bengals do have some players to take his place. Steinbach didn’t help himself by getting in trouble with the law and the team may not have been able to afford him anyway. But if they could have found a way to do it, he obviously would have made the offensive line better.  Sam Adams would have helped on defense but his age and salary might have just been too much. Now, the Bengals will need some guys to step up and take his place. I was also a little sad to see Kelley Washington go. He never really panned out and I had high hopes for him and wish that he could have made it here. He was also a good player for me on my Madden team.
3. Going in to the season, what do you see as the Bengals biggest weakness? 

I’m sure this will be a shocker to anyone that watched a Bengals game last year but the biggest weakness will be the defense. They did add some pieces and there is potential for them to play much better than last year but we’ll have to wait and see if it actually happens. There’s no one particular part of the defense that needs to get better than the others, it has to get better as a whole.  

They’ll also be hurt by Chris Henry’s suspension. Several wide receivers are battling to get that 3^rd receiver spot behind
Chad and TJ. Unless someone steps up, they could have some rough patches until Henry can come back.
4. Going in to the season, what do you see as the Bengals biggest strength? 

Definitely the offense. There is a lot of talent and they can sure put points on the board. And if the defense doesn’t improve, they may have to put up even more. Carson Palmer should be fully healthy and the offensive line should improve as they get used to playing together. If healthy, Kenny Irons should help at running back.
5. How do you see the Bengals at the end of the season?  Contenders, Pretenders or Cellar Dwellers? 

I see them as contenders, especially if the defense improves. There were too many games last year where they lost right at the end of the game so if a small handful of plays had happened differently last year, the Bengals could have had 2 or 3 more wins. Granted, 8-8 is better than they were doing a few years ago but fans expect more now. I think at the very worst, they go 8-8 again but they have the talent to get more towards 13 wins.  They can be a dangerous team that could make some noise in the playoffs. Losing Odell Thurman to a suspension hurts the defense though. Thanks again Commish.
6. What game(s) are you looking forward to the most this season?  Why? 

I’m looking forward to Week 1 against the Ravens. This game could set the tone for the whole season. It would obviously be nice to start the season off with a win against a division rival but I think a win would greatly help the confidence of the team. The Bengals have the Seahawks in Week 3 and the Patriots in Week 4 so they need to make sure they start the year off right. If they can take 3 or more of the first 4 games, it could be a really nice season.

The NFL rejected Thurman’s application for reinstatement and he is not eligible to apply again until after the season. I’ll admit, I’m a bit shocked by this. I thought he had done what he needed to do to get back in the league and he already sat out all of last year.

I can only imagine that he did something that we don’t know about or the commish is just punishing the Bengals for having too many players in trouble. I know he’s trying to crack down on troublemakers and I’m all for that but I just think this one is excessive.

He’ll certainly be missed this year as he would have helped on defense. But unless Thurman did something we don’t know about, I think this is garbage. Sure, the Bengals have brought this on themselves by getting into too much trouble but this just seems to screw the Bengals. Thanks Commissioner. Maybe he’s just on a power trip right now. Hopefully Thurman will appeal and have better luck there.

I’d like to know what everyone thinks about this so please post a comment.

Running back Kenny Irons has signed a four year deal with the Bengals. He should arrive at camp today.

A deal is reportedly almost finished with fourth-round safety Marvin White so hopefully he’ll be in camp soon also.

Leon Hall’s agent is optimistic that a deal will be finished soon. It would be great to get all of the draft picks in camp to get them ready to contribute.

Epic Carnival has a funny article today about the Bengals signing Lindsay Lohan to a contract. Although it doesn’t really make the Bengals look good (they’ve done the damage to themselves), it’s still funny.

http://www.epiccarnival.com/2007/07/lohan-set-to-join-bengals-with-record.html

CINCINNATI - Following her arrest for driving under the influence and in possession of several grams of cocaine, Cincinnati Bengals coach Marvin Lewis has offered refuge to troubled starlet Lindsay Lohan on his 53-person NFL roster, signing Lohan to a 7-year, $53 million deal.“Her ability to blow a 0.12 two weeks out of rehab shows some great potential,” said Bengals Director of Football Operations Jim Lippincott. “We’re taking a less conventional approach to scouting. After all our success turning high-profile athletes into criminals, we’re going to try to turn high-profile criminals into athletes. It makes sense on paper.”

“The timing is right for Lindsay to make a move to the NFL,” mother Dina Lohan said. “I don’t know that she could run or jump or throw, or even get shoulderpads over her ample bosoms, but she definitely has the rap sheet for it.”After taking office, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell swore to clean up the negative stigma around the NFL, immediately suspending Adam “Pacman” Jones and Terry “Tank” Johnson. However, in light of more arrests and the indictment of Atlanta Falcons superstar Michael Vick for dog fighting, Goodell has opted to begin looking the other way for indiscretions, including considering allowing the return of Jones to his team’s training camp. Given the Commissioner’s softened stance, Lippincott believes the path is clear for a star of Lohan’s magnitude.