Cincinnati Bengals

Frank Victores – USA TODAY Sports The Cincinnati Bengals provide the perfect case study on whether and when to move forward from a young quarterback, and for the same reason creates a complicated NFL team odds analysis. Typically, when a team brings in a quarterback drafted after the first round and starts him pronto, the leash will be rather short — especially compared to someone like a No. 1 overall pick in Sam Bradford. If the quarterback isn’t performing well over the course of two years and and the investment in said quarterback does not saddle the team in any tremendous way, then moving on is far more likely. However, what makes the case with Andy Dalton interesting is that while his play was about as uneven in 2012 than it was in his rookie year, the team keeps winning and making the postseason, before bowing out with a horrific offensive performance against the Houston Texans in the wild-card round. Cincy will enter the 2013 season with some of the same old targets in AJ Green, Jermaine Gresham and Co., but with new rookie faces that could help Dalton mightily. The additions of tight end Tyler Eifert in Round 1 and receiving-capable tailback Gio Bernard in the second round make this offense all that more intriguing, as it already possessed an elite pass-blocking unit. Yet, the Bengals are only getting 8.5 season win total in Vegas and a +200 to win the AFC North title along with middle-of-the-pack 45-to-1 Super Bowl odds. The latter two making perfect sense to me, but the 8.5 following to playoff appearances is certainly an interesting line considering how many wins they pile up each regular season. Disclaimer: The information provided here is merely for the purpose of generating analytical discussion of the NFL. Thomas Emerick is a Senior Writer for RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @ThomasEmerick, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google

Jan 4, 2013; Arlington, TX, USA; Texas A Over the summer, we’ll be doing a series of video breakdowns of each of the Cincinnati Bengals 2013 NFL Draft class. This is our first-take of Texas A&M linebacker Sean Porter, who was drafted in the fourth-round, and will likely be a situational pass-rusher and special team contributor during his rookie year. Porter’s most productive season came in 2011 as a ”joker” linebacker, when he earned first-team All-Big 12 honors after posting 79 tackles, and leading the team with 9.5 sacks and finished second with 17 tackles for loss. In 2012, A&M changed to a 4-3 front, and Porter was able to show he could handle almost any LB position in any defensive scheme. In particular, Porter showed off his superb coverage ability in both man and zone situations. He finished his senior year with 66 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, and 1 interception. I expect Porter to be groomed to take over one of the outside backer spots. If the team decides to move Vontaze Burfict into the middle, I foresee Porter eventually taking over his weakside spot. But if the team is sold on Tez at WLB, and Rey Maualuga at MLB, then perhaps he’ll take over the SLB spot once James Harrison’s contract is up. Want more Bengals news? Like Stripe Hype on Facebook, or grab our RSS feed. Follow @StripeHype Follow @UK_Fans

Thank you for helping support the #FFHelpMadi campaign, as it’s been a tremendous success thus far, and In case you don’t know the story, Ladd Davies is a writer at LateRoundQB.com, and his 3-year-old daughter, Madi, has Type 1 Diabetes, and now we are working to help donate to her cause through their website. To help, Ladd is looking to get a Diabetic Alert Dog (D.A.D.) which would help detect Madi’s blood sugar levels. The dogs’ sense of smell is so sensitive that they can actually alert people when unhealthy levels occur. Click here to read more about Madi’s story and donate. The most common way to help support the cause is by joining one of Jim Day’s #FFHelpMadi leagues. For more info, tweet Jim Day @FantasyTaz about it. Watch Jim Day’s Twitter feed for fun items to bid on including a Demaryius Thomas autographed football and a personally signed copy of Matthew Berry’s new book “Fantasy Life.” Other Twitter Donations Being made: - Ryan McDowell (@RyanMc23) will donate $1 for every new follower he gets this week. - Christian Hardy (@CHardySports) will donate $1 for every new follower he gets this week and $1 for every RT he gets on this tweet. - FakePigskin.com will be donating all Amazon commissions through June 15th to the cause. - John D. Beckler II (@JDBeckler) will be donating $50 for every league that is created. - Matt Rittle (@FFRittle) will be donating $2 for every league that is created. - The FF Ghost (@TheFFGhost) will be donating money made from his fantasy football banners, found here. It costs $10 for one, and $100 for a set of 12. - DynastySportsEmpire.com is donating the full $600 for a #FFHelpMadi league. - FFLockerRoom will be donating $2 for each league that is created and will also be participating in one of them. Want more Bengals news? Like Stripe Hype on Facebook, or grab our RSS feed. Follow @StripeHype Follow @UK_Fans

If you’re looking for a good summer read to pass the time, ESPN did an outstanding article on the coaching tree of former Cincinnati Bengals founder/head coach/owner Paul Brown, and it features some of the great coaches in the history of the NFL. From Bill Belichick, to Sid Gillman, to the NFL’s all-time leader in career wins in Don Shula: Shula, who holds the NFL coaching record of 347 victories, played in a college system that was based on Brown’s teachings. Then, fortuitously, he was signed out of John Carroll University by Brown himself in 1951. “I was brought up on Paul Brown football,” Shula said. “When I was drafted by the Browns, it was just a continuation of the same Paul Brown system.” “My 33 years [as an NFL head coach],” Shula said, “that was pretty much from the Paul Brown playbook.” I really liked this quote form San Diego Chargers Hall of Fame HC Sid Gillman: “I always felt before Paul Brown, coaches just rolled the ball out onto the field.”

The backup derby for Andy Dalton officially began this week in the first week of OTAs and since we're talking about a No. 2 quarterback, the numbers don't necessarily compute.

The Bengals have their seventh of 10 draft picks under contract after signing defensive end Margus Hunt. The deal is expected to have a cap number of $667,473 this season and a total value of $3,671,102 over four years. Hunt (6-8, 277), was the 51st pick overall. A native of Estonia, he joined SMU’s football ...

Dec 24, 2012; Honolulu, HI, USA; Southern Methodist Mustangs defender Margus Hunt (92) holds the MVP trophy at the end of the Hawaii Bowl at Aloha Stadium. Southern Methodist defeated Fresno State 43-10. Mandatory Credit: Marco Garcia-USA TODAY Sports We announce the signing of 2nd-round draft pick, DE @margus_hunt. He is the 7th of 10 #Bengals picks to sign on the dotted line. — Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) May 22, 2013 Hunt is projected to a be rotational defensive end this year, and will likely earn a starting role in 2014 when Carlos Dunlap and Michael Johnson will both be free agents, and at least one of the will likely be gone. Hunt’s deal is worth $3.671 million, including $1.049 million bonus. With his signing, that leaves Notre Dame TE Tyler Eifert, North Carolina running back Giovani Bernard and Georgia SS Shawn Williams as the only unsigned draft picks. Scouting Report/Player Notes via NFLMocks.com Margus Hunt is one of the more freakish athletes in the entire 2013 NFL Draft, regardless of position. If you could put LeBron James in the Scouting Combine, he’d put up similar measurables to Margus Hunt, and I’m not stretching much there. Hunt backed up his height/weight/speed combo at SMU by blocking a ridiculous number of kicks and punts, as well as racking up eight sacks and 11.5 tackles for loss as a senior. Hunt came to the US from Estonia, where he was a track and field star before trading the discus for a pair of cleats. I think Hunt has the chance to be a dominant defensive end in the NFL if he gets in with some good coaching. The major knock on him is that he is still pretty raw, and will turn 25 years old as a rookie. Want more Bengals news? Like Stripe Hype on Facebook, or grab our RSS feed. Follow @StripeHype Follow @UK_Fans

The Bengals have signed defensive end Margus Hunt of Southern Methodist, one of their two second-round selections in the 2013 NFL Draft.

Feb 3, 2013; New Orleans, LA, USA; Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice (27) is tackled by San Francisco 49ers strong safety Donte Whitner (31) in the second quarter in Super Bowl XLVII at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports Police say the Maryland home of Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice was burglarized over the weekend. A reported $2,000 and two guns were stolen. Fortunately, Rice and his family were not in the house at the time of the robbery: My family and I are fine, which is the most important thing. This is an unfortunate incident that I am dealing with through the proper channels. Baltimore County police spokeswoman Cathleen Batton says that the burglary happened between 8:30 p.m. Friday and 12:50 a.m. Saturday at the home in Reisterstown, MD, and that the burglary was caught on camera. Vic Carucci of ClevelandBrowns.com shares his thoughts on the quarterback situation in Cleveland, and whether its a competition or a controversy. And if you were wondering who’s favored by oddsmakers to win the AFC North, Boavada gives a light edge to the Baltimore Ravens: Per the folks at Bovada, the AFC North over/under win totals — Steelers 9; Bengals 8.5; Ravens 8.5; Browns 6 — Joe Reedy (@joereedy) May 22, 2013 Want more Bengals news? Like Stripe Hype on Facebook, or grab our RSS feed. Follow @StripeHype Follow @UK_Fans

May 10, 2013; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton watches from the tunnel during the Bengals rookie minicamp at Paul Brown Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports Like it or not, the general view of Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton is that of an “average” quarterback when compared to the other 32 starting NFL QBs. NFL.com ranks Dalton as just the 9th-best QB under the age of  25, mostly because of his inability hit the deep-ball consistently, as well as his late-season struggles in the Bengals’ biggest games of the season: The Bengals’ offense didn’t score a touchdown in the two biggest games of the season, at Pittsburgh in Week 16 and in the playoff loss to the Houston Texans. Dalton averaged just 5.58 yards per attempt in his last six starts. (For comparison, Blaine Gabbert and Jimmy Clausen were the only two players to have a lower YPA over a full season since 2010.) There are many reasons why Dalton struggled for much of his second season, but it mostly comes back to his inability to hit vertical passes. Dalton infamously doesn’t have a great arm, but his accuracy and timing seem more important here. On most of his deep throws, he doesn’t give his receivers a chance. Dalton was able to finally make the big play to beat Pittsburgh in Week 16 to clinch a playoff berth, but only after his defense surrendered a mere 10 points and got a late interception to set Dalton up in a very manageable position to lead his team to victory.