While most of the states of Indiana and Illinois are paying close attention to the news generating from South Florida, every one else in the NFL is looking forward to March and the start of free agency. It is just enough excitement to keep NFL fan's attention until the draft in April, especially with the amount of big name players that don't have a contract after this season ends. As of right now, the Bengals have 16.6 million in cap room to play around with this off season, but most of that has to be left over for draft picks and re-signing important guys in house like Reggie Kelly and Kenny Watson. However that should leave enough for one or two key signings to take place in the coming months. Who are possible targets for Coach Lewis? Lets take a look.
Asante Samuel: CB, New England Patriots
-Ball-hawking corner that would fit right in with the Bengal's opportunistic defense.
Lance Briggs: OLB, Chicago Bears
-Pro-Bowl linebacker that pairs with Brian Urlacher to make Chicago's defense one of the most dominant in the league.
Adalius Thomas: OLB, Baltimore Ravens
-Plays and excels at every position on defense. Therefore his presence would be felt in the run game and the pass game. He would fill the vacancy left by David Pollack at strong side linebacker very well.
Daniel Graham: TE, New England Patriots
-Solid receiving tight end that will likely hit the market due to Ben Watson's success and the drafting of David Thomas last year.
Eric Johnson: TE, San Fransisco 49ers
-Another solid tight end that is on his way out of the Bay Area because of up-and-coming Vernon Davis.
Jerramy Stevens: TE, Seattle Seahawks
-He has fallen out of favor in Seattle with his constant drops and lackadaisical play. Could he make a comeback in Cincinnati?
Dwight Freeney: DE, Indianapolis Colts
-I honestly don't see Freeney hitting the free agent market without the Colts making a serious run at him. I wouldn't count on him landing in Cincy even if he does hit the market because of a high price tag even though his freakish speed would do the defense wonders.
Nate Clements: CB, Buffalo Bills
-Young corner with a lot of talent and two Pro Bowl selections. Need I say more?
Wouldn't it be great if all these guy wound up in the queen city in '07? Of course. Is it likely? Not at all. Keep in mind that only one, two, or none of these players end up in stripes next year because the Bengals usually prefer to build through the draft and not pay top dollar for established veterans.
Draft Day Note: If Asante Samuel or Nate Clements is picked up in free agency, the team should try to pick up Amobi Okoye, a 19 year old defensive end from Louisville, in the first round. Right now he is projected to fall in the first 10-20 picks in the draft and the Bengals pick 18th. However, the combine will give him a chance to up his stock even more after an impressive Senior Bowl. I still think getting a dominant corner is top priority though.
A Midwestern Guy's Thoughts on a Midwestern Super Bowl:
I live in Bloomington, Indiana on the IU campus and most of the students here are either Colts fans (Central and Southern Indiana) or Bears fans (Northern Indiana and Chicago Suburbs) so you can image the war of words being fought in the class room and all around campus the past two weeks. Colts fans think Rex Grossman (a Bloomington native) is more a "Gross Man" than the Sexy Rexy he was known as during his high school days. Bears fans can't wait to see Peyton Manning crumble in the big game against their hero, Brian Urlacher, and his defense. With all these predictions, how does a neutral member of campus feel? A lot of people expect a high scoring game from the Colts offense but I think the score will end up being closer to 20-17 or 17-10. It will be a slow boring game because both teams will try to run the ball to control the clock, especially the Bears to keep the vaunted Indy offense off the field. However I think Indy pulls it out in a close one because of Peyton Manning's will. It is finally time for him to display his prowess on the biggest stage of all and he will not let his team or himself down.
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