Bengals' Antwaan Odom already hurt

[boozehound]

It is the first day of training camp and the Bengals prized offseason acquisition is already hurt. The diagnosis is 'sprained foot' and they are optimistic. I have heard that before though. Either that team has the worst luck in the NFL, or the worst training and medical staff.

[Jumpy]

when I was reading up on this, I came across a blog from Ludwig, I think, that said C. Trent Rosecrantz stepped in a hole in the ground and sprained his ankle. One of the fans at camp yelled out "don't let the team staff treat that." I laughed for a long time after that.

[Stonebreaker]

Damn gophers. We need to get that dude from Caddyshack on the job.

[Lloyd Christmas]

Damn gophers. We need to get that dude from Caddyshack on the job.

Carl Spackler

[Kahns Krazy]

The start of another training camp brings out those who just can't wait to rip the Bengals.

Here are some headlines from around the league:

Burress remains unable to practice due to ankle injury

Dallas Cowboys cornerback Terence Newman missed practice Monday afternoon because of a strained groin sustained in the morning workout.

Despite unusual training regimine, Polamalu injured again

Bironas expected to miss practice time after strained groin

Ngata hurts leg, adding to list of Ravens injuries


The Bengals are by no means alone in the early training camp injury area. Xavier has a long history of unfortunate injuries in a game with less contact and fewer players. I never hear anyone blaming the coaching and medical staff.

What of the positive news that Rudi Johnson is reportedly in the best shape of his career? That the Bengals and Chad agreed to address their issues after the season?

I'm a big Bengals fan, and I admit it. I just don't understand why there is such a large part of the population that seems to delight in the Bengals' misfortunes.

I also don't understand why the Bengals drew so much hatred during the 'lost years', but the Reds, who are really giving the Bengals a run for their money in terms of long-term suckness, don't seem to draw the same heat.

Everyone is certainly entitled to their opinion, and I'm not too Pollyannish not to know that the Bengals need to do something different. It's just an interesting phenomenon.

[Juice]

I'm a big Bengals fan, and I admit it. I just don't understand why there is such a large part of the population that seems to delight in the Bengals' misfortunes.

I also don't understand why the Bengals drew so much hatred during the 'lost years', but the Reds, who are really giving the Bengals a run for their money in terms of long-term suckness, don't seem to draw the same heat.

Because the NFL is set up so everyone can be good every so often. The Bengals have been consistently crappy and at their best they are only medicore.

Baseball does not have a salary cap and therefore is harder to compete on a year to year basis. Yes, small market teams do compete every year and I think the Reds are just now realizing that and copying the model that those teams use. Although is has taken them a shade under a decade to figure it out.

The Reds front office (Castellinni, not the Lindner years) is also trying to be competitive and it will take another year or two.

Those are my reasons for disliking the Bengals while still showing support for the Reds.

[PM Thor]

I don't dislike the Bengals. I'm just jaded to the point of seeing everything associated with that team pessimistically. Hell, it seems like the women at the games have even gotten uglier....

[pickledpigsfeet]

Bironas expected to miss practice time after strained groin



I actually went to high school with him and knew him fairly well. In fact, I was the kicker before he was. Anyway, he's always hurt in preseason. They just don't want him wearing out his leg so they bring someone else in to take some of the kicks.

[boozehound]

I don't care about the other players in the league that are injured, I care about the Bengals players that are injured. It seems that every year we have a glut of injuries in training camp that take key players (or people that we hoped would be key players) out for the beginning of the season. I just hope that this 'foot sprain' isn't like Willie's foot injury last year. We finally went out and spent some money on a DE in free agency, and I would like to see him play. I don't really see how that is 'bashing the Bengals'. I think that I am completely within my rights as a fan to be frustrated to see Odom hurt so early. I also don't think it is unreasonable to wonder about the training and medical staff based on the extreme amount of injuries in the past few seasons.

As for Rudi, wasn't Rudi supposedly in the best shape of his life last year too? I love Rudi, and I would love to see him have a great year, but I am not going to get too excited yet.

The fact that Chad is going to play is crucial. I don't like his attitude, but we need him on the field, particularly with Chris Henry gone.

It may still be a very good season. I was simply commenting on the fact that our star FA got hurt in the first practice of training camp.

[Juice]

I also like how Jeremi Johnson is too fat to participate right now. Awesome.

[Jumpy]

Check the rest of my posts re: the Bengals. I am as big a fan as anyone on this board. Iv'e spent more money than I would care to know supporting them through many years of season tickets. That doesn't mean that I'm not allowed to laugh at a joke that really was funny. Hell, it was a Bengals fan that yelled that out.

And yes, I agree with booze, every year it seems as if we have more than our fair share of devastating injuries to very important players. It also doesn't help that Marvin and the training staff routinely understate the severity of injuries to the media. What starts as a bruised bone in Richie Braham's knee ends up a debilitating injury that causes him to retire. Same with Willie, same with Perry, Ahmad Brooks, you name them. the list of underestimated injuries is long. they really bring it on themselves.

[boozehound]

I also like how Jeremi Johnson is too fat to participate right now. Awesome.

I think that he did the same thing last year. I would be surprised if he is not cut before the season starts. Marving has hinted to the media that Jeremi needs to be very worried about his job security.

[Juice]

A Bengals writer, I forget which one, said that Jeremi weighs easily over 300 pounds. I dont know if he has ever shown up that heavy. I hope we cut him. He is lazy and overpaid.

[xu2006]

Damn gophers. We need to get that dude from Caddyshack on the job.

Carl Spackler:

So I jump ship in Hong Kong and make my way over to Tibet, and I get on as a looper at a course over in the Himalayas... So, I tell them I'm a pro jock, and who do you think they give me? The Dalai Lama, himself. Twelfth son of the Lama. The flowing robes, the grace, bald... striking.

So, I'm on the first tee with him. I give him the driver. He hauls off and whacks one -- big hitter, the Lama -- long, into a ten-thousand foot crevice, right at the base of this glacier. And do you know what the Lama says? "Gunga galunga...gunga -- gunga galunga."

So we finish the eighteenth and he's gonna stiff me. And I say, "Hey, Lama, hey, how about a little something, you know, for the effort, you know." And he says, "Oh, uh, there won't be any money, but when you die, on your deathbed, you will receive total consiousness."

So I got that goin' for me, which is nice.

[boozehound]

A Bengals writer, I forget which one, said that Jeremi weighs easily over 300 pounds. I dont know if he has ever shown up that heavy. I hope we cut him. He is lazy and overpaid.

This is definitely the fattest he has shown up. I think we should cut him too. I would rather have a TE/H-back kind of blocker instead of wasting a roster spot on a TE. However with Rudi's running style some kind of lead blocker is important. Hopefully Dan Coats can fill the void. I understand that the coaching staff is looking at him potentially splitting time as a TE and a fullback. That would definitely add some versatility. He isn't a great pass catching TE, but he isn't horrible either.

It will be interesting to see what we can get out of the TE position this year.

[Kahns Krazy]

We finally went out and spent some money on a DE in free agency, and I would like to see him play. I don't really see how that is 'bashing the Bengals'. I think that I am completely within my rights as a fan to be frustrated to see Odom hurt so early. I also don't think it is unreasonable to wonder about the training and medical staff based on the extreme amount of injuries in the past few seasons.
.

I guess I don't know enough about the injuries that other teams suffer, but I really don't think the Bengals are far enough out of line with other teams to suggest that they have the "worst" medical and training staff. That's what I consider bashing. As near as I know, so far this year, we have 1, and I have no way of knowing if it was the medical or training staff's fault.

The other high-profile injuries the Bengals have suffered in previous years that I can think of off the top of my head likewise do not suggest to me a problem with the training and medical staff. There certainly is speculation about Willie's foot, but Willie is also a huge man that has played a full career of football already.

I certainly think it's within your rights as a fan, or even as a non-fan, to bash away. I was more making some observations about different levels of criticisms that different teams draw.

[Kahns Krazy]

I actually went to high school with him and knew him fairly well. In fact, I was the kicker before he was. Anyway, he's always hurt in preseason. They just don't want him wearing out his leg so they bring someone else in to take some of the kicks.

While I don't doubt that this happens (Half of the New England team is on the PUP list, and I think most expect that Chad is fully healthy), here's what they are saying about Bironas:


Tennessee All-Pro placekicker Rob Bironas strained a groin muscle Monday during a special teams drill. Bironas said he felt a little pull as he was kicking off, and trainers chose to be cautious and check out the injury. Bironas is coming off his first All-Pro and Pro Bowl season, making 35 of 39 field-goals and scoring 133 points. "The trainers say I'll be fine, so take it one day at a time," Bironas said. "When they say I'm ready to go, I'm ready to go. Make sure we get it right before the season starts." (Updated 07/29/2008)

Sounds like he actually injured himself in practice.

[Juice]

Here is a good site for Bengal fans like me who have a hard time caring about this team/have a lot of doubt.

http://whodeyrevolution.typepad.com/whodeyrevolution/

There is a post about the Bengals' medical staff.

[Kahns Krazy]

Because the NFL is set up so everyone can be good every so often. The Bengals have been consistently crappy and at their best they are only medicore.

Baseball does not have a salary cap and therefore is harder to compete on a year to year basis. Yes, small market teams do compete every year and I think the Reds are just now realizing that and copying the model that those teams use. Although is has taken them a shade under a decade to figure it out.

The Reds front office (Castellinni, not the Lindner years) is also trying to be competitive and it will take another year or two.

Those are my reasons for disliking the Bengals while still showing support for the Reds.

I'm not sure I buy that argument. In the last 10 championships in each sport, there have been 14 different baseball teams and 15 different football teams with at least one appearance. That's just one measure, but they are pretty similar.

I think some of the difference stems from the type of fan. I think there are more casual Reds fans who enjoy a day at the park, and really don't care if they win or lose. The football fans tend to be a little more intense. Also, every game counts much more in football.

Also, while the Reds are in a serious slump, it will take several more years to really match the record setting suckness of the Bengals.

[boozehound]

I'm not sure I buy that argument. In the last 10 championships in each sport, there have been 14 different baseball teams and 15 different football teams with at least one appearance. That's just one measure, but they are pretty similar.

I think some of the difference stems from the type of fan. I think there are more casual Reds fans who enjoy a day at the park, and really don't care if they win or lose. The football fans tend to be a little more intense. Also, every game counts much more in football.

Also, while the Reds are in a serious slump, it will take several more years to really match the record setting suckness of the Bengals.

I also think that Bengals fans got teased a bit in 2005 when they went to the playoffs. We got a taste of (relative) success. Now that it has been a few years with no playoff appearences (much less a playoff win) and people are getting frustrated with the team. They have definitely had some bad luck with injuries and what-not, but 18 years is a long time to have bad luck for. I think that a lot of Bengals fans rag on the team as a sort of a defense mechanism, so that they don't get let down again. If the team does well people are pumped. If they suck, people aren't as let down, because they didn't have the expectations that they had in 2006.

I know that I will still be cheering for the Bengals this year, and watching the games, but I am not going to let their successes and failures effect my mood.

[BlueGuy]

Yesterday Mike Tirico made a season prediction for the Bengals on his radio show. 4 and 12. I don't know if it will be that bad, but I don't see us winning more than 6.

[Stonebreaker]

The bright side of things.......he's not in jail.

[PM Thor]

Bengals fans are a funny bunch. We have no problem totally slamming on our own team, but when someone else does it? We close ranks. I have no problem pointing out the faults of the Bengals, but if a Stooler fan says it? I WILL GOUGE THEIR EYES OUT.

Heh.

The rum is good tonight.

[D-West & PO-Z]

Go Giants! ;) I kid.

[Jumpy]

Bengals fans are a funny bunch. We have no problem totally slamming on our own team, but when someone else does it? We close ranks. I have no problem pointing out the faults of the Bengals, but if a Stooler fan says it? I WILL GOUGE THEIR EYES OUT.

Heh.

The rum is good tonight.


Good point. It's like a close family. No one picks on a guy worse than his brother, but if someone on the outside tries, it's fists and farts a' flying.

[Kahns Krazy]

Yesterday Mike Tirico made a season prediction for the Bengals on his radio show. 4 and 12. I don't know if it will be that bad, but I don't see us winning more than 6.

I think it's going to be a tough year, but I really think 8-8. Depending on how much the division beats each other up, that might even get us close to the division. If a couple bounces go our way and we wind up 9-7, I really think we could be playoff bound this year. I would be as surprised with 4 and 12 as I would be with 12 and 4. I don't see that. I think the core of the team is cometitors.

That said, we are only 1 or 2 injuries/bad breaks from a 5-11 type season, or worse. With the problems we already have, we could put up a 2-14 year if Palmer isn't under center.

[Juice]

I think it will be a 6-10 season. I am not optimistic at all.

[D-West & PO-Z]

Ya, doesnt the AFC North play both the NFC East and AFC South divisions this year? Thats is a brutal schedule.