A FEW MO' THINGS, 4/26/12
I don't think Holly Madison will be there, but Lance and I will....
We're on from the Hofbrauhaus in Newport tomorrow from 3:00 until 6:00, talking about the draft and giving away prizes including tickets to see your favorite hometown baseball team. We'll have guests and they'll have beer and food specials. You need to be there.
Lotta NFL Draft on the radio show today....including ESPN.com's Jamison Hensley at 3:40, SI's Peter King at 4:04, John Thornton at 4:40, and Dave Lapham at 5:04.
With the idea being for the Bengals to win big in 2012 and take advantage of what might be a wider open window in the AFC North, the idea for tonight specifically is to get players who can make an immediate impact. Tonight can't be about two or three year projects. Tonight (and tomorrow for that matter) needs to be about guys who can fill important roles and fill them now.
The Bengals have a lot of needs, but no wide, gaping holes. But the biggest void they have to fill is at wideout. They've lost two, added none in free agency, and while they have names with some potential on the current depth chart, AJ Green needs a running mate.
I recognize the need for interior offensive line help and the importance of a corner can't be understated, but those areas have been addressed. They need a wideout.
Yes, they drafted one in round one last year. And yes, drafting one will amplify the criticism (often unfair) about the Bengals' infatuation with shiny toys and not the tools to do the dirty work. But this team has been on a quest for wideouts for years, initially to compliments Chad and TJ, then to replace one, then to replace both. They've tried the lower rounds of the draft and they've tried free agency, and for the most part they've come up empty.
They can't afford to come up empty this year. If Michael Floyd is there, they should take him. Same for the other wideouts just below him on the consensus draft boards. Andy Dalton has to take a step forward this season. The team owes it to him to give him all the necessary tools that allow him to do that. They've addressed the offensive line, and should continue to in this draft. Same with the backfield. The area they've yet to touch is their wide receiver corps.
I'm not sure they can afford to wait another day.
And they need a corner. If I ran an NFL team, I would draft a corner early every year. The league is more pass-oriented every year, putting a premium on guys who can cover and adding to the importance of having quality corners lower on the depth chart. Third corner is no longer a throwaway position.
This draft, according to the nerds who write about it, seems deep at that position. I'm intrigued by Stephon Gilmore because of his size and because I have a coworker who went to South Carolina who talks about him incessantly. I'd take any of the cornerbacks near the top of the charts at that position because of the premium put on the position, and because the players they've signed in free agency seem more like good insurance policies than premiere players.
This is an almost Bengals-proof draft, with the team having so many needs - among them are the offensive line, running back, pass rusher, linebacker, corner, wideout, and safety - that whatever they do tonight will have at least some justification. But given what the team has already done, what they already have, and what the Bengals goals for 2012 are, their first round choices would be best spent on impact players at wide receiver and cornerback.
-I interrupt the football to bring you the two worst people on Earth.
-Back to football....I sure am gonna miss making fun of the Pro Bowl.
-Really good game last night in the rain at GABP....
*Bronson battling without his best stuff
*The continued dominance of the bullpen.
*Scott Rolen looking like the old (and by that I mean young) Scott Rolen.
*Joey Votto smacking one of the hardest hit doubles I've ever seen.
*Bruce Bochy electing to pitch to Joey Votto, for reasons I can't explain.
*Aroldis Chapman hitting a guy with a 98 mph fastball. The ball hitting skin could be heard in my seats down the right field line.
Suddenly, the Reds have won five of six and panic has turned to calm. Unless the Reds lose today.
More later, including a radio show. Enjoy the spoons....
