Right after the Bengals signed Antonio Bryant as a number two receiver, they signed former Titans wide receiver Chris Davis as the number ? receiver.  This puts the total Bengals receiver count at nine; Ochocinco, Bryant, Caldwell, Simpson, Cosby, Purify, Brown, Jones and Davis.   We all know that there won't be nine wide receivers on the roster when the season starts or long before the season starts, so what's the point in signing a nobody?  Competition. 

Ochocinco, Bryant and Caldwell will definitely be on the team when final cuts are made.  After them, I would say that Cosby is the forth most likely receiver to make the team because of his return ability and the fact that he looked pretty good at the end of the season as a receiver.  Next I say Jones just because he is big, fast and he has a 70's porn mustache (it has to count for something right?).  Simpson, Purify, Brown and Davis are left and there is possibly one more wide receiver spot to fill.  So, who gets it?

Who knows?  Freddie Brown is too young to really know if he can be really good or not.  Maurice Purify is a big body guy (6'3" 225 pounds) but is completely unproven.  Jarome Simpson, a former second round pick, has a lot of talent but obviously feels much too comfortable playing on the practice squad than on the team.  Davis bla bla unproven bla bla talented bla bla bla right along the same lines with Simpson, Purify and Brown.  The Bengals signed Davis to motivate Simpson, Purify and Brown (and Davis) to be good enough to make the team and hopefully make a difference.  You can also bet that the Bengals will draft a wide receiver, probably not in the first couple rounds anymore but they'll add at least one more name to the "I desperately want to make the team" list. 

So who gets the last spot?  That will depend on who sees this as an oportunity to outwork the competition and make themselves better.

Set aside the fact that Ben Roethlisberger is currently in the middle of a legal mess where he may or may not have sexually assaulted a girl in a bar in Georgia.  Following some of my favorite sports blogs out there I am intrigued by the numerous first and second hand accounts of Big Ben, the face of the Steelers, being an asshole.  It is no secret that as Bengal fans we don't like anything related to the black and gold. This goes beyond that however. Steeler fans have ridden the Bengals fans for the players unscrupulous behavior for years.  This holier than thou attitude was annoying and frustrating.  You could counter that Hines Ward is the dirtiest player in the NFL. Or that a Steelers running back took a dump in someones laundry, or another wide receiver has as many kids as he has drug infractions.

This Ben Roethlisberger story goes beyond that.  I have crossed paths with many people from up the road at Miami University that told stories of Ben being an asshole while in college. It now appears this followed him in his professional career into Pittsburgh. There is a lot of buzz around a long time sports reporter named John Steigerwald and a blog post he wrote about this topic. In it he explains:

"First of all, none of this surprises me.  Ben is a bad citizen.  He doesn't know how to treat people and he definitely doesn't know how to handle being the quarterback of the Pittsburgh Steelers.  In my more than 30 years of working in the Pittsburgh sports media, I have never had any player come close to generating as many unsolicited questions from fans as Roethlisberger has.  They want to know why he's such a jackass.  And these aren't just Steelers fans who got turned down for an autograph.  It's men and women from all walks of life."

He even details how Ben blew off a make a wish foundation kid at one time. WhoDeyFans reached out to John to ask a couple of questions of our own, below are his answers.

I don't know that there is a more loyal fan base in the NFL than the fans of the Pittsburgh Steelers. However, after the most recent allegations on Ben Roethlisberger I have seen many popular websites filled with the Steelers faithful screaming for his head. In your opinion do you think Ben has worn out his welcome in Pitt or will this pass?
 - I've never had a player generate so many unsolicited  "Why is he such an asshole?" questions.
It's pretty well known around here that he is not a good guy.
A guy who works the Steelers beat every day and is one of the most well respected NFL writers in the country, emailed me before the 2008 season and said "His (Ben's) teammates DESPISE him."  They went on to win the Super Bowl so maybe he's made some friends since then.

With your background with the Steelers (covering them for decades) how do you think the Rooneys feel and how do you think they will react to this mess?
 - This has to make Dan Rooney want to puke. He hates this kind of stuff. This is a guy who goes to Mass every morning.

Living in Cincinnati I have crossed paths with many people that know, have known, Ben.  The common theme is that he may be an asshole.  Is this something that has been known and was dismissed? Has it been reported in Pitt? Is it just coming to light now due to the most recent allegations?
 - The fans are turning on him in big numbers but they'll forget about it the first time he pulls off another one of his 4th quarter comebacks. If he's in prison, that's a much different story. His image has taken a huge hit but not enough to get huge numbers of fans to demand his release. At least not yet.

As Bengal fans, we know about our players getting into trouble.  However, I am surprised by the reaction online to these allegations.  What is the difference with this situation?
 - Imagine this happening to Ken Anderson or Carson Palmer and you'll understand why it's different. He's the face of the franchise.

It is refreshing to have someone from the mainstream media tell it like it is. John is releasing a book soon called 'Just Watch the Game'.  You can find an excerpt of the book on his site http://www.justwatchthegame.com.

I tell it like it is.

Four years and 28 million dollars was the price the Bengals were willing to pay for a wide receiver and Antonio Bryant bit.  He's young, he's fast, he's good and he has the potential to be a great compliment for Chad Ochocinco.  He was widely regarded as the best wide receiver on free agency and there is no doubt in my mind that he is a major step up from Coles.

I am glad to see that the Bengals decided not to go with a one year deal for an older vet (even though if I said there was no part of me that wanted TO to be a Bengal this year I'd be lying) and opt for a  younger guy and a multi-year deal.  That shows me that Mike Brown and the front office are looking towards the future and not just putting a band aid on a bullet wound.  I think that Bryant has #1 receiver tallent and he should open up things for Ochocinco and Carson and make their jobs much easier next season.  I can see Ochocinco as the #1, Bryant as the #2, Caldwell as the #3 and Matt Jones as occassional help when needed (if he makes the team/stays out of trouble).  Already the Bengals passing game looks better.

For me, this changes the draft outlook for the Bengals.  Before the Bryant signing, I was convinced the Bengals would find a Coles replacement in the draft but now that is obviously not the case.  I think it is very possible for the Bengals to draft a defensive lineman or safety in the first round and maybe a tight end in the second or vise versa.  Either way, this is two years in a row that Mike Brown has impressed me with the moves that the Bengals have made in the offseason.  My unadulterated rage is fading away and being replaced by feelings of euforia and hope.  Is Mike just easing me into a false sense of security that he will bring crashing down on me when he drafts Ryan Leafs little brother (I think his name is Isuckmorethanryan Leaf) in the first round?..... I don't think so.  For the first time that I can remember, I am thinking that Mike Brown is starting to get it.

         Actually no, Jules..... not anymore he doensn't.... not anymore

In other news, the Bengals re-sign Daniel Coats..... WHAT THE F*CK MIKE!?!

According to Pro-Football talk, according to Jocklife, according to some dude name Maurice the Bengals have signed Antonio Bryant.

What does this mean?  The Bengals have a younger wide reciever who is proven and is a deep threat.  The Bengals have upgraded the position from Coles plain and simple.

I still think the Bengals should make an attempt to sign TO.  I would love to have all 3, but I am more than happy that some progress was made.

WhoDay

Update:

Bengals say they are close to a deal, but Chad starts tweeting his congrats.

After proving that he can live up to his bad-ass name last year, the Bengals signed Tank Johnson to a 4 year deal.  In the 13 games that Tank started, he racked up 29 tackles and 2 sacks and played the leadership role for a defense that was ass-blastingly good last season.  This was an excellent move to maintain the Bengals high level of defense required to compete every year for the AFC North championship. 

Who Dey.

Terrell Owens is the other receiver who is coming to town tomorrow. This is the big bodied wide out that can create mis-match problems for the opposing defense.  Yes, I know he is older, I know he has issues, I also know the dude can flat out play football.  He is 36 years old, and 6'3'' and 224lbs.  There has only been a few times in his career that he has not gained over 1000yds in a season.

So which guy do I want? I can see the upside to both. Bryant stretches the field, he has proven to be a deep threat. Owens also can fill the roll of a deep threat while introducing a size problem for the opposing defense. On paper I think I prefer Bryant.  However, my vote would be for Owens. He is older, but his upside just excites me and his physicality when blocking for the run is something that only improves the Bengals run game.

What should the Bengals do? Sign both. Why not? I think there is opportunity to have these guys in camp for reasonable contracts. Neither one is going to cost you a draft pick and with that kind of depth at wide receiver I think the Bengals can regain a balance on offense and be downright scary.  I know, this is borderline fantasy land, having 3 top wide receivers on one team is a stretch in the NFL.  There are also the ego's to worry about. However, if the cardinals could make it work with the receivers they had, I think the Bengals could be an exciting team to watch with these guys.

Lets just hope one of them signs a deal and the Bengals can focus on improving other areas of their football team.

WhoDey

Free agency opened on Friday and there were some teams that were very busy like the Bears and Ravens and there were some teams who weren't busy at all, like the Bengals..... sort of (UH-OH).    I mentioned in a previous article that I would love to see Brandon Marshal in stripes this year via a first round pick traded to the Broncos but it doensn't look like I'm going to get my wish.  I've heard that the Bengals have been in contact with another wide receiver, though.  A wide receiver that some of you hate, probably with good reason, but he's a wide receiver that possesses an obvious overabundance of skill.... and ego.  Yes, I'm talking about Terrell Owens (DUN-dun-dun).

I'm assuming if you are a faithful WDR reader, you've already chucked your computer out of your window and now you are sitting under your desk, crying and holding you binky whispering to yourself that it isn't true.  For the rest of you, hear me out.  I'm not a huge T.O. fan.  I think the guy is more of a celebrity than a football player and it's no secret that he's burnt every bridge in every city that he's been in, minus Buffalo because I don't think he really cared.  He was run out of San Francisco, he turned the Eagles against each other and he made Tony Romo cry in Dallas.  He's the definition of Diva when it comes to football.  He has his own TV show.  He is 37.  Any football fan has good reason to cringe when they hear his or her favorite team in interested in T.O.  And considering all of this.... I still think it could work.

With all of the downside to T.O., there is still an upside.  That upside is the fact that at 37, he still has more talent in his little finger than a lot of young receivers will ever have in their entire lives.  He is a double move master, he's fast, he can catch if the ball is thrown well, he wants to win and he works hard to get what he wants.  He could be a guy, if just for one season, that takes a lot of attention off of Chad and the Bengals could get him cheap.  Any defense that would play against the Bengals would not be able to ignore or be comfortable with the fact that they have to cover Owens and Ochocinco. 

I'm not starting a "Bring T.O. to Cinci" Campaign.  I'm just asking you to think about it before you start selling your season tickets or rioting in the streets.  It may not be such a terrible thing.  We all noticed what happened in the locker room this past season.  Teams that aren't anchored by solid leadership and guys that have their heads on straight don't get past the death of a coaches wife and the death of a friend without falling apart a little bit.  The Bengals finally have the locker room that Marvin Lewis wants.  Would T.O. ruin that?  I don't know.  I don't think the answer is a definite "yes" though.  Besides, when asked about throwing to T.O., Carson Palmer said "I'd love love to.  His past doens't bother me at all. If any QB can deal with extravagant wars, it's me"

The debate between Steeler fans and Bengal fans about which QB is better continues to be raged in the forums of the internet and sports bars.  In an attempt to distance himself in yet another category from Carson Palmer, Big Ben has once again been accused of sexual assault.  This time by a woman in Georgia.  There are not many details but here is the link to the article at TMZ.

Apparently Ben wanted to join in the free agent malay and decided to "tender" his offer on a lady in Georgia.

Brandon Marshall is good.  He's 25 (still young) and he can run, catch, run after he catches, get open and score touchdowns.  Those are the main criteria for being a good wide receiver.  Now that the Laveranues Coles experiment has officially gone tits up (AKA he was released), the Bengals have a #1 receiver, Chad, and a #3 receiver, Caldwell but no #2.  I don't think anybody really knows where Matt Jones fits in the equation or if Simpson will ever make it on the field.  I do know two things, though, and one of those things is that the Bengals are hurting in the wide receiver department.  The other thing is that Brandon Marshall is better than any wide receiver entering this years draft by a long shot and he would absolutely be worth a 1st round pick.  He may not be the deep threat that the Bengals could use right now but he would only help the recently anemic passing game in so many ways. 

There are some questions to ask about Marshall though.  Obviously the guy's a diva and he's probably a pain in the ass and the last thing you would want is a new guy to come in and piss all over the good vibe fire that the Bengals seemed to be roasting their swell feelings marshmallows over last season.  However, if you watch the dude play, you gotta think that the juice would be worth the squeeze.  An NFL record with 21 catches in the game against the Colts last season?  Did you see it?  Holy Crap!  And that was with this guy chucking the ball to him.

Insert your own eye spacing joke here _______________

Imagine what he could do opposite Chad and with Carson throwing to him.

Here's the thing though, I want a kajillioin dollars, a private jet and a harem of bond/playboy girls.  It's not going to happen and I don't think the Brandon Marshal thing is going to happen either.  A guy can still dream though.

Side note: If we find out soon that Brandon Marshall will be gracing Cincinnati with his presence, I'll settle for the harem of bond/playboy girls

You can pick one of the following three options:  A. I either natually look like this B. I just smelled something terrible or C. I just got done watching the NFL Combine FOR YOU!  Well the answer is C.  That's right, I risked life and limb just so I could report back to you about who looked good and who looked not so good when it comes to the positions that the Bengals may be interested in drafting high.  You owe me.  I take payment in cash, food and ladie's phone numbers.  Here's what I saw:

Wide Receivers:

It is widely thought that the Bengals are in desperate need of a deep threat receiver who can stretch the field and give Chad and Carson more room to work.  The fastest of the receivers was Clemson's Ford Jacoby who ran an astonishing 4.28 40.  If you're not sure what a 4.28 40 means, it means that Jacoby is very Chris Johnsonish.  If you don't know who Chris Johnson is, go back to where you were before you stumbled upon this site.  While a 4.28 40 is very impressive, it isn't everything... see Under Argo vs. The Signing of Darius Heyward-Bey.  Jacoby would have to prove that he can run routes and, you know, catch a ball and not just run really fast in a straight line if he wants to be worthy of a first round pick....... AL DAVIS!!!

Other top performing wide receivers were Golden Tate from Notre Dame, Arrelious Benn from Illinois and Mardy Gilyard from Cincinnti.

While some see a wide receiver drafted in the first round, others look in their crystal ball and see the Bengals drafting a tight end.  While I tend to agree with the wide receiver argument, the tight end argument has some legs.  After all, players at the tight end position really showcased their ability to block well, catch every ball thrown to them and when they caught the ball, they certainly didn't fumble it.  So..... wait, what?....... oh...... they did the exact opposite of that?  Oh.  Man, I really need to stop drinking so heavily before the games.  Anyway, I guess our tight ends sucked last year and even though veteran and locker room leader Reggie Kelly could make a come back this year, it's unsure if he'll ever be the same after rupturing his achilles.  Besides, he was never really a pass catching threat anyway and who the hell knows what's going to happen to Chase Coffman.  At one point in the season, I thought he was dead.  The top tight end was Dorin Dickerson from Pitt.  He ran a 4.40 and put up some impressive numbers throughout the other drills including bench press where he lifted a baby elephant 24 times.  However, like Ford Jacoby, the combine only says so much.  Players would need to prove that they can do everything on the field, no just run fast and lift up large zoo babies.

Weeee!

This is where an extensive scouting department comes in handy........ shit.

Other top tight ends were Jermaine Gresham from Oklahoma, Jimmy Graham from Miami (FL) and Clay Harbor from Missouri State. 

Who really knows what's going to happen.  I sure as hell don't and I'd be willing to bet that the Bengals front office isn't really sure quite yet either.