They are probably similar in their draft analysis as well.

Yeah this will be tough for me too.  Let’s all just try to get through this together.  Actually this is kind of a bittersweet time for me.  The Reds are off to a great start.  Offensively shredding, which is bailing out the inconsistent pitching.  But there is enough to be optimistic about, and just enjoy getting out in front to start the season.  So life is good right?  Well yes….but….this is normally the time of year that I start to get really excited about the NFL Draft and the upcoming spring camps.

Hope springs eternal.  I can always get excited about the Bengals this time of year, where there is always that hope that they fluke their way past bumbling management and powerless, apathetic coaching.  Right?  You get a look at the exciting talent coming in that might be useful for about two, if the fans are lucky three, years before the contract is up, or the player has become Bengalized.  If you need an example of what I’m talking about look no further than current quarterback/pink elephant in Mike Brown’s office, Carson Palmer.  A former company man turned trade-demander with a drastic measure in place to ensure he won’t ever play here again….man.

Tough to blame him though.  Seriously, as much as it hurts to get dumped by the prom queen, it might be better in the long run.  While Palmer did give Cincinnati some good years, and I have no doubt that he always gave you everything he had and tried to make the best out of a great many situations he was given here.  The reality is that he knows that he is about to be 33 and has no real shot at ever winning with this organization.  I think what hurts the most is that this is a staunch reminder that things really haven’t changed, they are more the same than ever.  Palmer is slapping the blindfold from everyone’s eyes.  Those good years spoiled a starving Cincinnati fan base.   The promise of even better things to come was there finally, but after questionable bad drafts filled with more risks that didn’t pan out than did and talent that has regressed in ability it clears that 2005 was either a fluke or the blind squirrel finding the nut.  Good luck Palmer, although I doubt as to how successful you will ever be again due to the beating that this awful offensive line allowed you to go through the last three years.

It is best for both sides to part ways.  Give Palmer a chance to win somewhere else, because it won’t be here.  This offense is in year two of another rebuilding year and Palmer doesn’t have the time to go through more rebuilding.  The Bengals signed Owens last year knowing that Palmer’s window was shutting, and it just made them worse.  Plus this will allow the Bengals to start over and have young receivers develop with a young quarterback and hopefully give this team a couple nice years of football before the players are Bengalized.

And then there is this ugly battle going on between the owners and players that’s just nauseating.  As Andy pointed out if you are choosing sides, you should really choose the owners.  I myself choose to hate both side equally.  Shame on you, you selfish bunch of A-holes.  We the fans get to turn on Sports Center, read in the Newspaper and hear on the radio all about every time one of you farts.  We are over indulged with information and I think most people would agree that both sides just come off as greedy turds fighting over how to properly share a billion dollars.  There are other issues on the table, but that is what 80% of the people hear about.  Get it settled, now.  The longer this goes on and the uglier it gets, the harder people are going to be able to relate.  Personally, I think both sides are smart enough to get a deal done before the season actually starts, but for now football is disgusting and just so hard to talk about.

Rant over.

Just a friendly reminder of a "good" Bengals decision.

Whew still with me?  Alright, let’s talk draft.  What will the Bengals disastrously do with the fourth over all pick in the draft?  The decision that the Bengals make can really only go a couple of ways.  They can either make the right call and draft a great player, with promise and a seemingly high ceiling of ability, only to be ruined in three years due to the other 98% of bad decisions.  Or The Bengals can make one of the just previously mentioned bad choices.  See as recent as Andre Smith.  Either way we all know the end result here.

Quarterback.  Assuming Palmer follows through and just retires, or Mike Brown continues to be Mike Brown and refuses to do something smart like listen to trade requests for Palmer.  The quarterback situation will need to be addressed.  Here are the likely candidates:

Guys I’m warm on:

• Blaine Gabbert.  He got better every year and has looked good over all this off-season and looks to be one of the first three quarterbacks taken.    If the Bengals feel the need to draft a quarterback in the first round they could do worse than drafting this guy.  I might be more excited if I knew what a disaster this kid was coming into and can’t help of think about what Tim Couch came into at Cleveland and what happened to a promising talent.  But I wouldn’t completely hate this pick either, I could be persuaded to get behind it.  But ultimately I don’ think he will be available in the draft for our chance to snag him.  He would have to slip past Carolina at 1 and a very quarterback hungry Bills team as well.  If they both take quarterbacks that SHOULD eliminate a first round quarterback selection for the Bengals.

• Christian Ponder.  He intrigues me, but only in the second round.  He should scare me a little bit….will the ghost of Chad Pennington haunt him this early in his career?  It’s not like the Bengals have a top-notch training and doctor staff either, so yeah this is a very real concern.  But the smarts and accuracy might be worth a roll of the dice in the second round.

• Colin Kaepernick.  I really like this kid, but he comes from a weird Nevada offense and we have already seen the Bengals struggle time and time again with projects.  Would they be able to teach him a pro offense?  Would they show the fore-site to include some plays that would help him and try to play to his strengths or try to force a square peg in a round hole like they typically do?  Doubtful, which is why as excited as I am about the potential for this kid, I ultimately know that he probably needs better coaching than the Bengals have to offer.  Plus I think that he is not polished enough to take at 4 over all and I don’t think he will be there in the second round when the Bengals draft again.  The Bengals would have to make a trade on draft day in order to make it happen, losing valuable picks that they really can’t afford to give up.  Plus, the Bengals don’t like trading up to get a player.

Guys I hate that the Bengals have shown interest in:

And with their first pick in the 2011 NFL Draft the Cincinnati Bengals select....

• Cam Newton.  Seriously?  Did they learn nothing from Akili Smith?  Is Mike Brown’s memory that short?  Newton is a mistake, he’s not Michael Vick.  That is what makes Vick so special (on the football field, I personally find him a disgusting human being) there is only one of him.  I don’t know that Newton is smart enough, motivated enough or possesses the intangibles that allow someone like Tom Brady to be the quarterback he is.  Cam Newton doesn’t feel like a leader, and Cincinnati needs that.  He might be gifted athletically, but he is not what the Bengals need.

• Jake Locker.  Who is Brady Quinn?  Final answer.  Seriously does anyone else get that feeling from Locker?  Please stay away from picking Locker, this guy has more question marks than the Riddler’s suit.

• Ryan Mallet.  Sadly I really think that if the Bengals do have to settle for another position in the first round this will be their pick in the second round.  I think this kid is a mental case and much like Newton doesn’t posses the mental maturity you want in a NFL quarterback.  Cannon for an arm, but what was it that Crash Davis says in Bull Durham?  “Come on, Rook. Show us that million-dollar arm, ’cause I got a good idea about that five-cent head of yours.”  Yeah that pretty much sums up Ryan Mallet.  I would stay away even though he should be available in the second round, but the Bengals will love all the baggage like prior drug related arrests he will bring to the table.

Wide receivers.  Chad Whateverhisnameis is 200 years old and clearly not the guy he was 5 years ago.  He must still be respected, but he isn’t the deep threat he once was and no longer needs the double coverage on every play.  Plus there will be no familiarity with whatever rookie the Bengals are going to bring into the franchise.  Chad is even less likely to be mentally engaged enough to care about this season.  There are some options at receiver after Chad, but none that are screaming to be studs to be counted on every game.  The Bengals might consider drafting a couple of guys at number 4, although the Bengals have almost never taken a receiver that high in the draft.

Guys I like:

• A.J. Green.  A great receiver and an immense talent.  Might be a good idea to take someone like this and then draft a quarterback in the second round and start off fresh with two guys who can grow into each other.  Just an idea.  Green is a talent that you might not come across every year, and while I’m only luke-warm on most of the quarterbacks, I love what this kid has to offer.  But as I mentioned, the Bengals rarely if ever look at receivers this early.  Mike Brown is the anti-Jerry Jones.  He hates shiny toys.  He prefers to shop in the bargain aisle and get cans with dents to save a couple bucks.

This is why the Bengals SHOULD draft Julio. Look at how he sells out to block for his running back.

• Julio Jones.  Another kid that I really like and would not hate the Bengals for drafting even as high as number 4.  It might be a little bit of a reach, but this kid is a great receiver, he is also a very good and aggressive blocker that is invaluable in the AFC North division.  Just ask Pittsburgh how valuable Hines Ward is to them.  Look at Hines career with the Steelers, wouldn’t you kill for that kind of consistent production plus a great blocker to help with the running game?  It would be a smart pick, which all but rules it out.

• Jonathan Baldwin.  Great size and decent speed.  If the Bengals go quarterback in the first round this would be a nice gift in the second round if he was still there.  Obviously not worth drafting at number 4, but a worthy consideration in round 2.

Other guys the Bengals will consider:

• Leonard Hankerson.  A kid of average size that had a great Senior Bowl that Marvin Lewis got to witness first hand.  He has huge hands apparently which will cause the Bengals to be enticed to reach for him in the second round if he is available ala Jerome Simpson.   At least Hankerson has Division I experience.

• Randall Cobb.  Never heard of him?  A receiver from Kentucky that is a bit undersized will get the Bengals attention, because scouting him was so easy due to only being a couple of hours away.  I doubt this kid will get much attention till maybe late third round or fourth round, but you never know with the Bengals.

• Greg Little.  A kid from North Carolina that has second round talent but also has more red flags than anyone knows what to do with.  Just the type of kid the Bengals look to roll the dice on.  If he is there the Bengals will draft him in the third round despite what they have drafted in the first two rounds.  Mark my words.  This guy screams Mike Brown pick.

The Bengals have other needs, but none that can be answered with the pick that they have.  They have holes on the offensive line, but not at tackle.  And at that high you would have to take a tackle, it’s to early for centers or guards.  Running back will be a need, but again I don’t see an overwhelming need to get one at the four spot, there are none that are that talented.  Same with safety.   It is rare that a safety of any kind would normally go that high anyway, but especially not this year.  Linebacker will have to be addressed as well, but it is not so urgent that it can’t be addressed later, maybe first thing day three?

Some might point to the defensive line as being a spot to consider.   I like what the Bengals have on the defensive line.  I like the tackles, Pat Sims, Geno Adkins, and Domata Peko.  The Bengals could use one more for the rotation, but it is not an overwhelming need, so I think all the Nick Fairley talk is just a smokescreen.  And am I alone in wanting to see what would happen if the Bengals decided to line Michael Johnson and Carlos Dunlap up across from each other?  Geathers and Odom have been wildly unspectacular.   Why not give the kids a chance?  Let them loose, at this point what harm could it do?  Can it be any worse than year after year being at the bottom of the NFL in sacks.  You have to be able to get to the quarterback in the NFL to stand a chance of winning.  Rattle them, make them worry and scramble, force them into errors, help out your corners that are covering the receivers.  It’s so important, which is why it might be time to see what the talented by raw kids can do.

Cornerback might be a need, but I still think that it will be more important to get a receiver or quarterback with that first pick.  Corner might just have to wait until the second half of the draft.  plus I think that the Bengals will make a VERY strong push to bring back Jonathan Joseph, making a corner a luxury pick.  If Joseph comes back you still have Adam Jones and Leon Hall as well as some guys like Ghee and Trent that are young and still developing.  Oh and some how Keiwan Ratliff made it back on this team.  So provided Joseph does come back drafting a corner like Patrick Peterson or Prince Amukamara in the first round would be ridiculous.  Of course saying that almost guarantees it will happen.

Well I hope that was a fun little trip to Never-Never Land for everyone.  The Bengals are unconventional and unpredictable when it comes to drafting talent.  So all this was more than likely an exercise in futility.  But it makes me feel hopeful, if just for a few mere seconds.

My final analysis:

• Trade Palmer.  Trade him and get a second and fifth round pick.  He certainly isn’t worth a first round pick to anyone, even Arizona.  But I think getting a second and fifth isn’t too outlandish at all.

Well, he seems to be able to take a sack like a champion, and thats all you have to be able to do to play quarterback for the Bengals.

• Sign a veteran quarterback.  It would be nice if the Bengals were serious about trading for Kevin Kolb from Philly, but I doubt that will happen.  So at least sign a veteran guy to sit in until whatever rookie you are going to draft is ready to step up.  Current roster quarterbacks Jordan Palmer and Dan LeFevour, are not even temporary answers.

• Now armed with three pick in the first two rounds the Bengals can virtually get whoever they want.  They can take Gabbert if he is there with the fourth pick.  They can draft a receiver either Jones or Green in the first and use one of the second round picks on a quarterback.  Or they could decide that none of the quarterbacks are worth drafting this year and wait till next year when Andrew Luck will be available.  The Bengals have to know that they will have a lottery pick again next year.  Then they are free to use those three picks on and offensive lineman or three, a running back, and receiver is still a need.

• Go to the Golden Corral to celebrate.  Let’s face it Mike Brown had to be a Golden Corral guy, it’s a buffet, more for your money that way.  Plus i’m sure it reminds him of all the player projects he has taken on.  Golden Corral has never given anyone a reason to trust it as a reliable source of food, but they are still in business, so there has to be something to it right?  Golden Corral, the Chris Henry of restaurants.

I hope you all made it through this un-holy football talk.  I promise I will try to keep it to a minimum.