Ellis, and if not Ellis, then Rivers
If I am the Bengals with the No. 9 overall pick Saturday in the NFL draft, I take Southern Cal defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis if he is there.
If Ellis is gone, most likely to Kansas City, then I take Ellis' Southern Cal teammate, linebacker Keith Rivers. Rivers excels in run defense and is solid in pass coverage. He can play all three linebacker positions.
Second round: More defense.
Third round: Wide receiver.
posted by Mark at 1:54 PM
19 Comments:
at 4/24/2008 2:29 PM 
Unknown said...
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at 4/24/2008 2:38 PM 
Jason said...
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at 4/24/2008 2:49 PM 
WhoDeyNYC said...
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at 4/24/2008 2:51 PM 
Anonymous said...
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at 4/24/2008 2:56 PM 
BDC said...
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at 4/24/2008 2:56 PM 
rjemerick said...
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at 4/24/2008 2:58 PM 
Unknown said...
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at 4/24/2008 3:09 PM 
BtotheU said...
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at 4/24/2008 3:12 PM 
Matt Gorrasi, Cincinnati OH said...
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at 4/24/2008 4:26 PM 
Popcan said...
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at 4/24/2008 4:46 PM 
Scott Stolze said...
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at 4/24/2008 7:47 PM 
firefly118 said...
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at 4/24/2008 9:50 PM 
label said...
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at 4/24/2008 10:19 PM 
mentalmidget said...
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at 4/24/2008 10:31 PM 
Bearcat Ben said...
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at 4/24/2008 11:35 PM 
Unknown said...
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at 4/25/2008 12:26 AM 
JerBear said...
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at 4/25/2008 9:27 AM 
Anonymous said...
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at 4/25/2008 1:02 PM 
firefly118 said...
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Post a Comment*Amen Mark,
Thats the way I see it as well. We have enough expensive linemen (even though I am on the side of the more linemen the better), and we have a strong returning cast on the offensive side of the ball.
Take Defense till the cows come home.
Of course Ellis, hes the obvious pick, but Rivers? Not to knock on him but wouldn't that give us 8 LB's? Granted there are some question marks, but i think we have a lot bigger needs than LB to take one at no.9.
TRADE UP for Ellis, if not trade down if at all possible or... trade Chad for picks like KC just got for Jared Allen!!!!
I agree with everything you say except that our biggest threat to not getting Ellis is the Saints trading up to get him. I think now that the Chiefs have traded Allen, they will take an OT or DE (Gholston or C. Long).
Mark there is no way we are going to get either one of those two top notch players if we sit still at 9. KC and New Orleans want and need D-lineman. KC is in front of us and NO will trade up to get Ellis if KC doesn't take him. New England desperately needs a young athletic LB and I see them taking Rivers at 7. The Bengals can't be the same old Bengals on saturday. They need to be aggressive and get the guy they want. I view getting a Clady(or any other offensive player) at the 9th spot a disappointment. We need a defensive play maker, end of discussion.
Amen.
jI agree with you Mark. You have to address the defense early and often. If not Ellis then help soldify our linebackers. The reason we would draft OL and RB is because of health issues, remember this is a team that had 3 active linebackers during the New England game. No where is health more of an issue.
Ellis then Lofton or Adibi
Rivers then Balmer or Pat Sims
I would like a reciever, running back, and O Lineman (late, develop him) at some point in the draft too.
How about trading up to Kansas city spot to get Ellis?
Unless McKelvin is still there. As a returner, you have to consider that only the QB and RB are guaranteed to get more touches than a dual KR/PR.
But DT HAS to be addressed in either round 1 or 2. I'd like to see them draft a heavy DT in both rounds...Ellis and Pat Sims!
Thanks Mark that was real insightful - NOT!!! I could have posted that. How lame. But if your intent was just to have someone post to the blog then you have succeded.
I agree Mark. However, I would not be upset if they addressed that interior Offensive Line in the second round either.
To me, the Bengals "must" come away with Sedrick Ellis with their first pick. If they do not, Day 1 of the draft is a failure. Let me put it this way, they have to at least do everything they can to get him. The Falcons and Chiefs -- or at least one -- are itching to trade down, and rest assured, a likely trade partner will be a team that wants to move up to get Ellis. If the Bengals sit idly by, and stick with their typical "passive" approach to things, and watch a team move up to grab that guy, I will be sick. Think about it, there is no position they need filled more right now than a penetrating, high motor interior D-lineman, who by the way has good character. Ellis is it! They have Geathers and Odom at end, and while LB is "not proven" -- trust me, I am as shaky on this group as anyone -- at least they have numbers there, and 'potential' to be better with Thurman back, Brooks hopefully healthy, Jeanty hopefully healthy, etc., etc. The secondary is young, but is on the upswing. They need a DT...they NEED S. Ellis!! Anything less, a failure. Especially if they sit tight, and watch someone else trade up to grab him. Some guys are worth just making the move...just get it done, Bengals. Ellis, or bust!!
Mark, most everyone, including myself see Jerod Mayo as a better pick than Rivers! But either way, you don't select whom ever, just to make a pick, THAT IS WHY THE BENGALS ARE ALWAYS PICKING THIS HIGH EVERY YEAR.
Charlie Casserly said it best (and he should know), a reach as described in the NFL draft is ignorant. It is only an opinion, and look at all the reaches that became pro bowlers.
SET YOUR PRIORITIES AND GO WITH THEM.
If DT is your need, than get a DT, period! Select Balmer at #9, who cares if "he is a reach" if the guy can tackle and stop the run, he makes us better. If you can get him or another DT you have on your board at #17 or #20, then trade down and still get him.
THE KEY TO DRAFTING FOR YOUR TEAM, IS NOTTTTTTT TAKING THE BEST PLAYER AVAILABLE. That is a losing mentality that must stop.
1st round pick = DT
2nd round pick = OG (Schuening, Oregon St. versatile anchor)
3rd round pick = DE/LB
3rd round pick = OT/OG
4th round pick = WR (Urrutia, Louisville. Big and tough steal of the draft)
5th round pick = RB
6th round pick = ??
7th round pick = ??
Point being, don't take a guy because he is the best player on the list....Take a guy who is the best player at the POSITION OF NEED on the list.
i would have to agree...if they take a dt in round 1 take lb in round 2 or vise versa
This Bengal defense has sucked for years!!! DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS!!! This team needs good solid tacklers who, actually WANT to tackle. This team needs someone who can come in and contribute right now!! Our beloved Bengals NEED to be proactive and do what it takes to get Ellis!! NO OFFENSIVE PLAYER UNTIL DAY 2,,PLEASE!!!
Am I the only one who thinks they should look at center in round two or three.
Why do folks always go to one extreme or the other? If we had a huge hole at safety (v. the lack of depth we have), would you pick one of these miserable safeties at number 9?! And conversely, what if the best player on the board is Matt Ryan - do you take him? Or how about a 3-4 team taking a 4-3 end? Both strategies are flawed.
Drafting is a matter of finding the best fit for your needs, both short- and long-term. There's also a lot of luck involved, and player development is important (unless you look at Adrian Peterson/et. al, rookies need a few years to really be all-pros).
T.J. Houshmandzadeh is a pony-tailed thug - no, wait, that's wrong, he's one of the toughest, hardest-working WR in the game, who knew?! Chris Henry is out of the league because he couldn't leave the bottle and the blunt alone, plain and simple. This wasn't known before drafting him. Conversely, Chad Johnson doesn't drink, but he must be smoking something.
The point is, you choose based on both needs and players, and you hope for the best. Ki-Jana Carter, David Pollack, Chris Perry, Kenny Irons, Ickey Woods (notice the RB theme here?!), Leon Hall, and Johnathan Joseph were all good picks...some worked out, some didn't.
In some ways I could care less who the Bengals pick.
But even though my apathy is strong, I still love the Bengals.
So my question to all the fans who know more about the draft and players than I do, is this Ellis guy a difference maker?
I don't why but I get the feeling he'll just be a guy similar to the other Bengals defensive linemen who just kind of are there, and don't make plays.
Firefly,
Nobody drafts the "best player available" (BPA) at every spot, they usually draft the best player available that fits. In the late rounds, if you are satisfied that your major needs have been plugged, then you can look for "sleepers" and "sliders." When the Bengals took Ndukwe last year in the 7th round, it was because they had him graded as 3rd round talent, and even though they had already drafted Marvin White in the 4th, he was too good to pass up when he was still there at the end of the 7th.
A team like the Chiefs or the Dolphins will probably be more inclined to take the BPA, since they are in a rebuilding phase, and need better players at almost every position. But the Bengals clearly have more needs on defense, so I believe that they have their eyes on the guys that they want to fill those holes.
D-Rod, I don't know who you are talking about, but most of the 3rd of the league draft the BPA. Even when it is not a position of need, and when they do, they justify it by "adding depth". The Bengals have drafted this way for years. Now, I must say, last year was better draft than they have had in a while... as far as Ndukwe??? it was a position of need that had to be filled.
Its like drafting a RB or QB or even LB.... It is not a position of need, don't waste the pick.
HERE IS THE TRUEST STATEMENT I HAVE EVER MADE: The bengals don't have a bad defense, they have a bad defensive line. Our LB and Secondary are fine, it is the lack of pressure up front that knocks everything down.
It is like have a strong well constucted STEEL building that can with stand almost anything, but building it on a foundation of plaster and not concrete.....POINT.... No matter how good that STEEL in the building is, the foundation is going to make that building fall
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