At center, the Bengals should

[BengalRugby]

Lots of opinions about what the Bengals should do for tge center position. Keep Cook, roll with Robinson, draft a back up, etc..


I like Robinson as the starter with Cook as a back up. Robinson showed good strength, playing well, and seemed to improve overall line play down the stretch. Plus he is young and will only get better, stronger, over the next few seasons.

[McC]

Originally Posted by BengalRugby

Lots of opinions about what the Bengals should do for tghe center position. Keep Cook, roll with Robinson, draft a back up, etc..


I like Robinson as the starter with Cook as a back up. Robinson showed good strength, playing well, and seemed to improve overall line play down the stretch. Plus he is young and will only get better, stronger, over the next few seasons.

Send Cook down the road, sign or draft a C with starter ability or at least starter potential, let the new guy and Robinson fight it out, with the loser being the backup. If the loser can also play G, even better.

Just don't trust Cook because I don't think that better than the bum he replaced is good enough.

[tlotharw]

The line was playing lights out both running the ball and pass blocking with Robinson playing full-time, and then they worked Cook in and it all went to pieces.

[Bull Durham]

Originally Posted by tlotharw

The line was playing lights out both running the ball and pass blocking with Robinson playing full-time, and then they worked Cook in and it all went to pieces.

Wow. Talk about an over-simplification...

Whoever plays the best should win the job.

[bradfritz21]

Originally Posted by BengalRugby

Lots of opinions about what the Bengals should do for tge center position. Keep Cook, roll with Robinson, draft a back up, etc..


I like Robinson as the starter with Cook as a back up. Robinson showed good strength, playing well, and seemed to improve overall line play down the stretch. Plus he is young and will only get better, stronger, over the next few seasons.

The line suffered when Cook returned at the end of the season, so I have no faith in him right now.

Robinson did ok, but I definitely think competition breeds excellence, so I'd bring in someone else to compete with him and let the best player play.

I don't see any free agents that are worth a damn, so, unless someone gets cut, I'd definitely draft someone.

Barret Jones from Alabama looks like the guy that we need and I think that he'd do great solidifying our line. He's talented and versatile. He has some trouble with speed guys but that's not really going to matter too much at center because there's not a lot of speed nose tackles and he'll have help on either side of him. The speed concern was more for if he plays tackle and is out in space.

[ICKYSHUFFLE]

Originally Posted by BengalRugby

Lots of opinions about what the Bengals should do for tge center position. Keep Cook, roll with Robinson, draft a back up, etc..


I like Robinson as the starter with Cook as a back up. Robinson showed good strength, playing well, and seemed to improve overall line play down the stretch. Plus he is young and will only get better, stronger, over the next few seasons.

I went with let them battle it out. TR flashed somewhat with the little time he had starting and Cook looked like crap after coming back.
I'd bet TR beats Cook out for the spot in Training Camp and we get a midrounder/player for cook.

[Speedy Thomas 17]

Look, the coaches wanted to win that playoff game more than anybody who posts on this board. So they liked Cook over Robinson, and we all saw how that worked out.

Center is the 3rd most critical position on the O line -- maybe the 2nd. I think that gets magnified in our division with every opponent running a 3-4. We need a guy who can at least hold his own.

So -- Barrett Jones at 2A, or Travis Frederick at 2B.

[kevin]

I'm always for competition in Julys camps.....I don't like them to be holiday camps or a day at the beach......the harder this team practices, the better they are through the season.....So of course I'm for Cook and Robinson fighting for the job in camp.....Since we have needs at WR, SS, LB, RB and maybe other positions depending who we lose in free agency, possibly may need CB help....then I don't see center as a top priority at this time.....I would like to see all the O Linemen back and healthy, we didn't have that in 2012 and it would be a huge plus in 2013 to have all 5 starters healthy....but if Smith goes to another team in free agency, then Right Tackle becomes a need area this off season. ...Certainly not center.

[Go Cards]

Draft Frederick and let Robinson and he battle it out.

Or whoever the scouting department likes best. Have complete faith in how we have been evaluating and drafting as of late.

Can never have enough good O-lineman imo.

Did not like how Cook played upon returning and have been critical of him for it.

But he did return in the thick of it against some darn good defensive teams.

But still think it is time to refresh the position and inject youth.

[wildcats forever]

I liked the results we got when Robinson was playing and BJGE was tallying up the yardage. That's what I want to see more of every week, and whatever we need to do to get to that point is what needs to be done. Use Robinson as a base point and bring in competition to upgrade from there, whether it's free agency , the draft, or both. Just improve!

[kevin]

Originally Posted by Go Cards

Draft Frederick and let Robinson and he battle it out.

Or whoever the scouting department likes best. Have complete faith in how we have been evaluating and drafting as of late.

Can never have enough good O-lineman imo.

Did not like how Cook played upon returning and have been critical of him for it.

But he did return in the thick of it against some darn good defensive teams.

But still think it is time to refresh the position and inject youth.

Well, Robinson is your youth. This will only be his second year....Now you don't want two rookies, and thats where Cook as a veteran comes in.....plus we have other draft needs......Cook and Robinson as veteran and youth is just fine, and let them battle it out in training camp. The players consider Cook a very good veteran center, but if the young Robinson can beat him out, well, thats one of the reasons you have training camps. Competition...If Robinson wins out, he will need a veteran like Cook on the sidelines giving him experience tips, something another rookie could never do.

Now if Robinson wins out, it would be the beginning of the end for Cook here in years to come financially, the team won't carry two high paid centers if Robinson reaches starters pay....but in 2013 we can have both since the pay hasn't exploded for the two yet. In those years we may want a rookie as a back-up

[khamla]

We really should draft a new one, probably with the first pick however I know we wont.

[McC]

Originally Posted by kevin

Well, Robinson is your youth. This will only be his second year....Now you don't want two rookies, and thats where Cook as a veteran comes in.....plus we have other draft needs......Cook and Robinson as veteran and youth is just fine, and let them battle it out in training camp. The players consider Cook a very good veteran center, but if the young Robinson can beat him out, well, thats one of the reasons you have training camps. Competition

Robinson definitely deserves his chance. He might very well be the answer. But make him compete with a new guy and let the best man win.

[kevin]

Originally Posted by McC

Robinson definitely deserves his chance. He might very well be the answer. But make him compete with a new guy and let the best man win.

Alot of you fans have written injured Cook off....The players say he is a very good center.....Cook may come back healthy and start every game in 2013.....but I'm all for letting Cook and Robinson compete for the starting job in training camps. Thats the 3rd choice on the list and the one getting the most votes.

[BengalsRocker]

Originally Posted by Go Cards

Draft Frederick and let Robinson and he battle it out.

Or whoever the scouting department likes best. Have complete faith in how we have been evaluating and drafting as of late.

Can never have enough good O-lineman imo.

Did not like how Cook played upon returning and have been critical of him for it.

But he did return in the thick of it against some darn good defensive teams.

But still think it is time to refresh the position and inject youth.

Big shock here... but I agree with you 100%.

Get Frederick and let him compete with the other two though. Whoever is the odd man out should switch line positions and sit as back-up for either positions if injury should occur.

Look if we can get this O-line thing straightened out then bring in an experienced WR and revamp our RB group with BJGE. Our offense should be just fine.

If Dalton struggles after doing all of the above. You look ahead at the QB position. There will be no excuses.

As far as our D goes it all depends on who the Bengals re-sign. We could probably be ranked high again in the league if guys are retained and a few come back from injury.

It's our stinking offense that needs a shot in the ***! Why is that so hard to understand?

When you can't manage to score a TD in 36 drives and your team ranks in the lower percentile of the league... then you need to do something there !!

[kevin]

As nice as it would be to draft a rookie center and have him compete with a second year center and a veteran center....the luxery of having 3 compete for this 1 starting position does seem to be too much of a luxury....considering our needs at other positions......This is a good team, not a great team, no play-off wins yet.....in order to get that much wanted play-off win, we have some positions that must be upgraded.....So I do see drafting a top pick center and having 3 centers fighting for 1 starting spot as a luxury that we can not afford at this time if our goal is indeed a play-off win....more important would be a top WR to take double coverage off of Green. Imagine how hard we would be to defend if we had two WRs like AJ Green. When we had Issac Curtis and added Collinsworth, it was too much for the NFL and we went Super Bowl....If we can get a WR equal to Green to take the double coverage off of Green, WOW, and we must get the double coverage off of Green to win a play-off game...or, if they still double Green, they pay because we have a WR equal to Green wide open. That to me is a more important need.....I would be content with Cook and Robinson at this time.

[fortyyearfan]

Originally Posted by McC

Robinson definitely deserves his chance. He might very well be the answer. But make him compete with a new guy and let the best man win.

Draft the kid from bama. end of story.If we keep what we have and roll with that,dalton will be running for his life again this year.A solid center is the key and the cornerstone to your O-line.Without him, the team will struggle.What we have currently is serviceable, but not great. Teams that move forward in the big games have a stud center.

[BengalsRocker]

Originally Posted by kevin

As nice as it would be to draft a rookie center and have him compete with a second year center and a veteran center....the luxery of having 3 compete for this 1 starting position does seem to be too much of a luxury....considering our needs at other positions......This is a good team, not a great team, no play-off wins yet.....in order to get that much wanted play-off win, we have some positions that must be upgraded.....So I do see drafting a top pick center and having 3 centers fighting for 1 starting spot as a luxury that we can not afford at this time if our goal is indeed a play-off win....more important would be a top WR to take double coverage off of Green. Imagine how hard we would be to defend if we had two WRs like AJ Green. When we had Issac Curtis and added Collinsworth, it was too much for the NFL and we went Super Bowl....If we can get a WR equal to Green to take the double coverage off of Green, WOW, and we must get the double coverage off of Green to win a play-off game...or, if they still double Green, they pay because we have a WR equal to Green wide open. That to me is a more important need.....I would be content with Cook and Robinson at this time.

Why not both? Just asking. Our O-line is nowhere near good. If people would stop padding the stats and you'll see they just don't compete with good teams.

All you have to do is watch how our D line got neutralized against the Texans. THEY have a good O-line.

For some reason there are posters on here who seem to think it was perhaps because our D line needs more pressure(do they think our D line was overrated?)... and not that a good O-line can counter a good D-line and keep your QB from lying on his back.

In answer to your question about having 3 guys compete for Center? It's not just the center position that they'd be fighting for. Konz who was drafted from Wisconsin last year already started at the G position for the Falcons.

Just because we draft a center doesn't mean that's where he'll land this upcoming season. You only hope the reason he's not... is that the guys you have are good enough and that he can play/start somewhere else to help.

[Millz]

If there is a very solid to a very good veteran center to sign in free agency, then that is my first choice as that would free up a draft pick.

Otherwise if one isnt available or goes elsewhere, draft a center in the 1st or 2nd round, as I hope 3 of our first 4 picks this year are offense (since the offense is the weak link of this team).

And last but not least if neither of those scenarios pan out, let Robinson and Cook battle it out to be starter, in which case the starter is announced early on in pre-season hopefully.

[McC]

Originally Posted by fortyyearfan

Draft the kid from bama. end of story.If we keep what we have and roll with that,dalton will be running for his life again this year.A solid center is the key and the cornerstone to your O-line.Without him, the team will struggle.What we have currently is serviceable, but not great. Teams that move forward in the big games have a stud center.

Great minds think alike.

[McC]

Originally Posted by kevin

Alot of you fans have written injured Cook off....The players say he is a very good center.....Cook may come back healthy and start every game in 2013.....but I'm all for letting Cook and Robinson compete for the starting job in training camps. Thats the 3rd choice on the list and the one getting the most votes.

Never really heard the players say that, but that doesn't they don't. I just don't believe adequate is enough at such a crucial position.

[Stewee28]

Realistically speaking, the Bengals will not draft a Center with a high pick when they have Cook coming back off an injury and Robinson coming back after playing very well when he got adjusted to starting.

Bengals will not carry 3 centers. Let Robinson and Cook duke it out in Training Camp. We have bigger issues to take care of in the draft.

[kevin]

In 1981, The Fans...the wonderful fans wanted our injured QB to be benched after the 1st game and for us to play The Turk all season....Turk Schonert...Thats what the fans wanted.....The fans even booed the injured QB as he left the field in the 1st game....all week long on WLW the fans called in for playing The Turk.

...but that injured QB came back and Coach Gregg played him and not fan favorite, The Turk......

Coach Gregg was right and the fans were completely wrong.....Ken Anderson was MVP that year and took Bengals to the Super Bowl.

So I've long since stopped putting alot of weight into who the fan favorites are. It's always the newest flavor of ice cream. I remember Ocho kicked a 3 yard extra point once and suddenly the fans wanted him trying from 50 yards out all the time..... Fans.

Until Cook got injured, I don't remember much talk about getting rid of him by the fans. The experience Robinson got though may pay off....let them compete for the starting spot.

[bengalmaniac]

I chose option 2, Robinson starting with Cook as back up.

I felt Robinson played pretty well and considering he was an undrafted free agent, his improvement should be huge! Imagine the jump in his physical and mental game from year 1 to 2. And then again from year 2 to 3! I believe that most rookies improve in their first few of years as they get acclimated to the NFL game so Robinson's ceiling should be sky high. Of course he could have already hit his ceiling but I am hoping he hasn't and will continue to improve and be the dominant center this team needs.

[eliminate08]

Originally Posted by BengalRugby

Lots of opinions about what the Bengals should do for tge center position. Keep Cook, roll with Robinson, draft a back up, etc..


I like Robinson as the starter with Cook as a back up. Robinson showed good strength, playing well, and seemed to improve overall line play down the stretch. Plus he is young and will only get better, stronger, over the next few seasons.

Yep, Robinson should be the starter with Cook backing him up.

Played great for a rookie last season and should only get better.

It was when we brought Cook back that we struggled Offensively and that is no coincidence.

Robinson needs to bulk up a bit in the offseason and he should be our future at Center. Guy could be great.