Cincinnati Bengals

Jul 27, 2012; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator Jay Gruden watches drills during training camp at Paul Brown Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Frank Victores-USA TODAY Sports Offensive Coordinator Jay Gruden isn’t wasting time in implementing more formations in his offense, and Andy Dalton loved the various formations they used in just the first day of practice: Dalton raved about how much the Bengals installed in their offense for the first practice, reflecting the experience of a group heading into the third season under offensive coordinator Jay Gruden. Green said he had never lined up in so many different spots during a practice and tight end Orson Charles looked to be playing some offset fullback. With Chris Pressley still recovering from a season-ending knee injury, expect to see a lot of Charles at fullback, despite being drafted as one of the top TE prospects out of Georgia in 2012. Joe Reedy was also impressed with the offense, noting how well Dalton was throwing the deep ball: Two plays of the day and both came on deep routes — Andy Dalton connected with A.J. Green on the first throw of the session and later Marvin Jones beat Taylor Mays and Adam “Pacman” Jones in double coverage to haul it in. Said Dalton on what changes he has been making on the deep ball during workouts: “I think it’s quickening up the drop or throwing the ball a little higher on different throws and things like that. With the time that we’ve had with the phase before this one getting into OTAs we’ve put in some work and I definitely see an improvement.”  In the much-anticipated debut of the new starting linebacker group, James Harrison lined up at SAM, Vontaze Burfict was at WIL, and we’re saddened to report that Rey Maualuga was in the middle. This isn’t a knock on Rey as much as it is being critical of the coaching staff, who continue to stick a square peg in a round hole in putting Rey in the middle, when he performed much better on the outside. Hopefull at some point, they’ll let Burfict have a shot in the middle while playing Maualuga on the outside, where he played his first two NFL seasons at. With several offensive lineman out with various ailments, the rookies got plenty of reps.  Head Coach Marvin Lewis said Andre Smith’s absence was not related to conditioning issues and that it was other matters that he was taking care of. Mohamed Sanu, who is recovering from surgery to heal a broken foot he suffered in Week 13 last year, was said to be running well in drills, and looks like he’s close to 100%. Leon Hall is battling a thumb injury, but could return in time to practice during one of the last few OTA sessions. Keep up with all of the latest OTA updates here at Stripe Hype, as we’ll keep you posted as news comes down the pipe. Want more Bengals news? Like Stripe Hype on Facebook, or grab our RSS feed. Follow @StripeHype Follow @UK_Fans

Now the ESPN sports network will have approximately 400 less people to talk about Tim Tebow, all New York sports (especially Jets and Yankees) and the Lakers. I feel bad for those poor suckers who got the pink slip, but business is business I guess. Interesting couple of excerpts below from a few employees that got the axe. ESPN has been gobbling up all kinds of other networks, so have to cut some costs to still hit that margin. http://deadspin.com/source-espn-laying-off-hundreds-509043249 Now the ESPN sports network will have approximately 400 less people to talk about Tim Tebow, all New York sports (especially Jets and Yankees) and the Lakers. I feel bad for those poor suckers who got the pink slip, but business is business I guess. Interesting couple of excerpts below from a few employees that got the axe. ESPN has been gobbling up all kinds of other networks, so have to cut some costs to still hit that margin. http://deadspin.com/source-espn-laying-off-hundreds-509043249

– Two plays of the day and both came on deep routes — Andy Dalton connected with A.J. Green on the first throw of the session and later Marvin Jones beat Taylor Mays and Adam “Pacman” Jones in double coverage to haul it in. Said Dalton on what changes he has been making on the ...

Feb 3, 2013; New Orleans, LA, USA; Baltimore Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti holds out the Vince Lombardi Trophy after defeating the San Francisco 49ersin Super Bowl XLVII at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports The San Francisco/Santa Clara area will have the honor of hosting the Super Bowl’s 50th anniversary game for Super Bowl L (or 50 numerically).  The news was announced today live on the NFL Network at the NFL Spring Meeting. Santa Clara is constructing a brand new, $1 billion stadium to host the San Francisco 49ers and Super Bowl L will be a banner moment for the new stadium. The 50th anniversary game is expected to be one of the biggest in NFL history. San Francisco area hasn’t hosted a Super Bowl since 1985 when Stanford Stadium was the home for the big game which matched up San Francisco and the Miami Dolphins, and it was Miami who San Fran beat-out for the rights to host Super Bowl L. Also announced was that Houston will host Super Bowl LI (51). Miami also lost out on that bid. The Dolphins were recently denied public money for a stadium upgrade, and Dolphins owner Stephen Ross contends $350 million in stadium improvements are badly needed, but he doesn’t want to pay for them by himself. Had they gotten the upgrades, they would likely be hosting one of the two Super Bowls they missed on today. Want more Bengals news? Like Stripe Hype on Facebook, or grab our RSS feed. Follow @StripeHype Follow @UK_Fans

After eight years on the shelves and having sold some 70 million units, Microsoft’s Xbox 360 is finally getting a successor today. The Xbox One was revealed today, and here are some of the highlights of today’s event: *It responds to voice commands and will be tied to a specific user’s voice and its commands will be “conversational.” *It’s called the Xbox One, and will boast 8 gigabytes of system memory, a 500 GB hard drive, a Blu-Ray drive and USB 3.0 and HDMI connections. *It will have “snapmode,” which allows players to open multiple screens in Windows-like tiles. One example shown was watching a basketball game and using voice commands to bring up your fantasy league in a sidebar. It’s what Microsoft calls “interactive TV.” *The controller has 40 design innovations, many of them used to enhance ergonomics and control precision, such as a newly shaped D-pad, and is more of a series of “tweaks” to the current controller. *It can recognize your heartbeat while you’re working out, much like the current Kinect system does *My personal favorite: 343 Industries head Bonnie Ross announced that Steven Spielberg will be the executive producer of an original “Halo” live-action television series: For me, the ‘Halo’ universe is an amazing opportunity for the intersection” of “mythmaking and technology. *A new Madden, NBA Live, UFC and FIFA will be coming out for it, and a video shows how EA Sports’ games will look and play on Xbox One. You can see the reflection of the defensive line in the faceguard of Washington Redskins’ quarterback Robert Griffin, advanced physics in the players’ every movement, from how the running back chips an oncoming defender, to how RGIII holds a defender off while diving into the endzone. EA Sports studio head Andrew Wilson: All four will be revolutionary and Fundamentally change the way you play. *Microsoft’s Don Mattrick talks with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to discuss NFL-focused apps, such as integrating fantasy football with games. *Mattrick concludes by introducing Call of Duty: Ghosts, noting Xbox will continue the exclusive downloadable content deal with Call of Duty and Activision. And that’s a wrap for the Xbox One reveal. Microsoft will have more updates and details and an incredible lineup of games at E3 in 19 days. Want more Bengals news? Like Stripe Hype on Facebook, or grab our RSS feed. Follow @StripeHype Follow @UK_Fans

Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton made sure Tuesday on the first rep of the wide receivers vs. the cornerbacks in the first voluntary practice of the spring that he set the tone. With two-time Pro Bo...

David Richard-USA TODAY Sports The organized training activities for the Cincinnati Bengals begin Wednesday. It will be Cincinnati’s first legitimate look at their offseason acquisitions, including outside pass rusher James Harrison. Unfortunately, cornerback Leon Hall will not be able to participate for the time being after he tore a ligament in his thumb. The 28-year-old suffered the injury while he was lifting weights. The good news is it does not appear to be too serious as Hall should be able to take part in the OTAs at some point in the next couple weeks. With that being said, it is certainly something the Bengals must keep an eye on, as Hall is the top cornerback on the team. The seven-year veteran missed all of OTAs last year while he still recovered from his serious Achilles injury. Hall suffered the injury on November 13, 2011 against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Fans do not need to worry, as the torn ligament in his thumb is nowhere near as threatening as the strained Achilles. Hall is considered one of the more underrated cornerbacks in the NFL. Cincinnati will only go as far as their defense will take them in 2013, especially since they play in the very competitive AFC North. If Hall is healthy, the defense will be able to handle themselves when they are pushed to the brink. However, if he is unable to contribute on a consistent basis then the defense could struggle against talented teams with multiple weapons. Obviously, it does not all fall on Hall’s shoulders. Defensive backs Adam Jones and Dre Kirkpatrick must make some noise in the secondary as well. Hall posted 38 combined tackles, 11 passes defended, two interceptions for 61 yards and one defensive touchdown in 14 games last season. Michael Terrill is a Senior Writer for Rant Sports. Follow him on Twitter @MichaelTerrill, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.

May 10, 2013; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cincinnati Bengals fifth round draft pick guard Tanner Hawkinson works out during the Bengals rookie minicamp at Paul Brown Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports The 2013 NFL season is 3 months away, but the OTA phase of the offseason is already over for Andrew Whitworth, who won’t be doing any football-related activities anytime soon after offseason surgery on his knee to remove scar tissue. The procedure is minor, and won’t put his streak of 67 straight starts in jeopardy. Andre Smith is also No Andre Smith; Whit Boling Robinson Roland rehab— Geoff Hobson (@GeoffHobsonCin) May 21, 2013 ">reportedly out for an undisclosed reason, and with their absences, the Bengals will be working in several rookies and getting them better acclimated into the NFL: With left tackle Andrew Whitworth recovering from knee surgery until training camp, fifth-rounder Tanner Hawkinson figures to get time at left tackle and left guard. Seventh-rounder Reid Fragel also figures to play left as well as right tackle as the rookies take on veteran Anthony Collins in the Whitworth-Smith backup derby. Whitworth got off to a slow start in 2012, and it was thought he was suffering from some kind of injury, but he fought through the pain to have one of the best seasons of his 7-year NFL career, and earned his first Pro Bowl berth as an alternate. With Smith however, one has to assume this has to do with his conditioning, as there have been a lot of speculation this offseason that Smith is currently overweight, which is what really hurt the market for his servcies when he was a free agent. Want more Bengals news? Like Stripe Hype on Facebook, or grab our RSS feed. Follow @StripeHype Follow @UK_Fans

Jan 5, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Leon Hall (29) reacts after returning an interception for a touchdown against the Houston Texans during the second quarter of the AFC Wild Card playoff game at Reliant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports The Cincinnati Bengals will be without a pair of offensive starters when the team kicks off OTA practices today, according to Geoff Hobson. Their top cornerback Leon Hall suffered a torn thumb ligament earlier this month while weight-lifting, but he’s optimistic he’ll be able to return before the completion of this year’s OTA practices, which end June 13th. Trevor Robinson, who started most of the 2012 season at center and is expected to battle Kyle Cook for the starting gig will also miss most of this dealing with a pectoral issue. While its certainly not ideal to have  two key players miss OTAs, this is still one of the healthiest offseason the Bengals have had during the Marvin Lewis era. Last year, the team was dealing with Hall’s recovery from a torn Achilles tendon. And then there were the two prior offseasons and Andre Smith‘s various foot injuries that held him out of most of the offseason workouts. Want more Bengals news? Like Stripe Hype on Facebook, or grab our RSS feed. Follow @StripeHype Follow @UK_Fans

Jul 27, 2012; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer coaches during training camp at Paul Brown Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Frank Victores-USA TODAY Sports With OTAs set to open today, the Cincinnati Bengals will be hitting the practice field for 10 workouts over the next three weeks. This will be the first time this year’s draft class has an oppurtunity to workwith their veteran teammates, while the vets are finally able to work off some of the rust as they practice on a football field for the first time in 5 months. Former NFL safety Solomon Wilcots helped get the Bengals to Super Bowl XXIII as the team’s starting free safety, and he’s happy to see them he finally have a good offseason in which they re-sign all of their key free agents: I love the offseason they had. We can see the Bengals as an organization doing as good a job developing their roster as any team in the league. I think the money was used wisely. They brought back significant players they could have lost. Michael Johnson.Andre Smith was very critical in getting him back at the right price and right value. In the draft, I thought they went really deep in getting some really good players. They got some players that can play now and some players they can develop for the future that can be really great players in this league. Bengals defensive end Michael Johnson is looking to go “one-and-done” and cash in on his big 2012 season in which he amassed a career-high 11.5 sacks, which ultimately earned him a $11.175 million contract in 2013. Instead, he’s focused on working to improve and help his team win ballgames: “I’m going to do the same thing I did last year,” he said of his career 11.5-sack season. “Just go out and work hard and that stuff will take care of itself. Work hard week in and week out and if this team wins, everything will be straight.” “I was ready to come back last month,” he said of the start of offseason workouts. “It was really a challenge for me to stay focused. It was real hard to study. I wanted to be back with them.” Linebackers coach Paul Guenther knows it will take a lot of work to incorporate newly-acquired James Harrison into a 4-3 defense after he spent his entire career in Pittsburgh’s vaunted 3-4 system under Dick Lebeau. But Guenther has seen enough of Harrison’s abilities to know he will find a way to fit the former NFL Defensive MVP into the Bengals defense: “We all feel good about how he rushes the passer, obviously,” . “He’s done the same coverage stuff that he did in Pittsburgh that he’ll do here. Just a little difference in terminology and sight lines.” Harrison didn’t put on a show in Tuesday’s news conference. He is that serious about it all. Since he arrived Monday, Guenther says Harrison has been one of the first guys in the building in the morning because he gets his workout and treatment out of the way before heading upstairs to spend at least an hour with him one-on-one going over the defense as they prep for field work in the afternoon. “He just has to get used to how we want it done, not how he did it before; that’s the main difference,” Guenther said. “You try to assimilate the system with his terminology until he fully gets ours. ‘This equals that,’ until he can really grasp it.” Want more Bengals news? Like Stripe Hype on Facebook, or grab our RSS feed. Follow @StripeHype Follow @UK_Fans