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Even though the Bengals play tonight, another local football team kicks off their season tonight. The Cincinnati Bearcats host the Eastern Kentucky Colonels, tonight at 7:30pm at Nippert Stadium. Brian Kelly's first season with the the Bearcats last season finished with a 10-3 record and a 17th ranking in the AP rankings. A total of 12 starters return on offense and defense (six each), including cornerback Mike Mickens who earned the first team all-Big East.

The Enquirer's Bill Koch runs through the Big East, listing the Bearcats fifth behind West Virginia, South Florida, Pittsburgh, and Rutgers. He writes that the "Bearcats enter Brian Kelly's second season as head coach well-equipped on defense with All-America tackle Terrill Byrd and two standout defensive backs in Mike Mickens and DeAngelo Smith. But there are question marks on offense, beginning at quarterback." While Ben Mauk continues his effort to have the NCAA reinstatement him after his eligibility was up, Dustin Grutza will have another opportunity to remain as the team's starting quarterback. Preview tonight's game here.

Naturally, I'm a Buckeyes fan first in the college ranks. But I like seeing the Bearcats succeed; and the start of a Brian Kelly era may be generating a ton of local interest. We'll talk about them throughout the year. For now, let's get on with the Bengals.

There's an increasing belief that Ryan Fitzpatrick might become the team's starting quarterback because of the lack of protection for Carson Palmer. Even though Fitzpatrick will start tonight, having an opportunity to shine, I doubt it means anything more than auditioning for next year's free agency, where he could become the most coveted veteran quarterback available. And yes, I mean veteran by having some NFL game experience -- though it's not a lot.

Through three seasons, Fitzpatrick has started three games (all as a rookie with the Rams) and played in one game in each of the past two seasons (one with the Rams, one with the Bengals), though not attempting a pass. As a starter with the Rams, Fitzpatrick is 0-3, recording only one touchdown and seven interceptions (five in one game against the Vikings). His last pass attempt in a regular season game happened on December 18, 2005.

I've always liked Rudi Johnson -- not for just his play, but he's always been a good guy for the community. However, I think he's doing a disservice to himself by publicly showing pity for himself. "It's already been decided; the game is irrelevant," Johnson said, "The situation has already been presented. The game doesn't really matter."

However, Marvin Lewis denied any trade rumor. James Walker isn't buying it, saying "Lewis also denied interest in Chris Henry and that the team was offered two first-round picks for Chad Johnson. So we know the drill." Apparently, "we" means James himself. Lewis was truthful about Henry, only to have ownership supercede his word. As far as Lewis is concerned with Rudi Johnson, he's probably still telling the truth and ownership is doing their own thing again; which word has it, Lewis was taken aback when he learned of the rumor too.

The Ravens don't expect Ed Reed to play kickoff weekend against the Bengals.

Paul Daugherty asks what football town this is, Bearcats or Bengals? I ask, why does that matter? And I'd say high school football should be weighed in also, for this area.

Carson Palmer is definitely out for Thursday night's game against the Colts.

Sean McClelland argues that Mike Brown undercutting Marvin Lewis means that the head coach's credibility is shot. In truth, I doubt that's totally true. Players unquestionably know what happened, how it went down. They're not stupid and they're likely seeing Lewis as more of a sympathetic figure that has their back -- meaning, they might work harder for him, rather than against him.

T.J. Houshmandzadeh on players coming back form injury: "My body is saying that I’m fine. I knew that but I just had to make sure of it. I felt good. I knew I would but there is always doubt with something like that. I think we’re all getting back in time. Chad will be back, Antwan Odom is getting back, Carson will be back, so I think we’re all coming around pretty good right here now."

Another issue we raised earlier in the week was how Rudi Johnson would react hearing his name apart of a trade-rumor. The issue isn't truly how he feels, rather his role in any locker room distractions or divisions. "They've been trying to get me out of here for years. Since I first got here. That's why nothing surprises me and I'm not worried. Every year. It night not happen. Every year."

Marvin Lewis points out that Rudi Johnson's chance to prove he's still the team's feature back is this Thursday. "He's still working, fighting for a job just like everybody else is, right? That's the way it is. This is his first chance this year. I haven't seen (him), so that's the big thing."

One has to wonder if Rudi doesn't play, or records a poor performance, he could be gone either by trade or simply releasing him. Personally, I would think that it wouldn't be a good idea. We need the position filled with the fear of injury to, at least, two backs have suffered injury -- not including Johnson. And I'm not of the opinion that James Johnson is much of an improvement over Rudi. Next year, who knows? But I believe the Bengals will dip into the draft pool for at least one power-back. But that's next year.

Either way, he knows that this is a business and this happens.

A quick site update: We will be conducting another Bengals Banter -- a back-and-forth with other Bengals bloggers on a variety of topics. This is where you come in. We need topics. Email me (joshkirkendall [at] gmail [dot] com) a one-line sentence on something you believe. If it's good enough, we'll throw that into the topic repository (big word = over-zealous writer).

Onto today's links...

Many of the players that have missed much of preseason are returning to practice this week, preparing for opening weekend. Those players include T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Rudi Johnson, Rashad Jeanty, and Antwan Odom. Pat Sims and Andre Caldwell are still sitting.

Johnson's response after the ESPN Report that the Bengals are shopping him: "I haven’t heard anything."

Ludwig writes his five problems the Bengals are facing: The health of Rudi, Palmer, and T.J., the offensive line, the running back, the defensive line and the secondary.

Ludwig also writes his projected 53-man roster. I disagree that Daniel Coats replaces Jeremi Johnson.

Houshmandzadeh on the question whether he's sandbagging his injury or not: "I don't care what people think about that. If I was a rookie, would I have come back and practiced? Yeah and I would have got hurt again."

Bengals have 5-1 odds of having the next player arrested in the NFL. Too bad they didn't include those odds when dozens and dozens of players were arrested since the last Bengals player was.

There's a worry that if Chad takes another hit, he could be lost for the season. The way we view is that if he has surgery now, he's lost for the season anyway.

Canal Street Chronicles breaks down Saturday's game from the Saints perspective -- First Half | Second Half

Chad Johnson is committed to playing the opener against the Baltimore Ravens, partially torn labrum or not. Already deciding to get the season-ending procedure after the season, Johnson was convinced of players that had similar injuries, yet successful seasons when they put the procedure off until the end of the season. "I need surgery, but there's still nothing wrong with me. I'm not going to have (surgery). For what? I've got a season to play."

Thus my head-scratching continues. Supposedly some believe that signing Chris Henry was in response to Chad Johnson's injury. I still don't view that a realistic possibility considering that 25% of Henry's season is aimed at serving his suspension. Furthermore, if Johnson is going to play, then that degrades the argument. Unless you're talking about an insurance policy -- which is an awfully lame excuse for destroying whatever perceptions were that Marvin Lewis was in control of the locker room. Sure, Brown is the owner and can do whatever he wants. Furthermore, Lewis was never titled as the General Manager -- but that was the kind of role we were originally led to believe.

On the bright side, T.J. Houshmandzadeh said during Saturday night's game that he'll work this week and see how his hamstring feels -- maybe even playing a series or two against the Colts Thursday night.

I've been late to the party today because of that pesky real-life work stuff that tends to get in the way.

By now you've heard the story. ESPN reports that the Bengals are shopping Rudi Johnson for a starting wide receiver. The truth is, the Bengals are diluting themselves regarding Johnson's value on the market, and actually thinking they'll get a good starting receiver in return -- and actually expecting that they can trade Rudi's untradeable $3.2 million?

Furthermore, with the publicity of this report, Rudi Johnson now feels out of the loop -- or even disrespected. There's going to be more to this story, but the two things that popped in my mind when I heard this were the team's delusion of Rudi's value, and the likelihood that Rudi Johnson now feels unwanted and could be yet another distraction -- though, in truth, that would be against the persona we know of him.

Rudi Johnson for Anquan Boldin, Ludwig ponders. Actually getting that trade to go, straight up, would be impressive. However, Boldin's demand for a trade is his contract, and it's unlikely the Bengals would hand him an extension -- unless they see Boldin as Houshmandzadeh's replacement.

I've also heard that Marvin Lewis wasn't aware of this.

With three preseason games in the books, I wanted to take the time to review each position (in some cases, units) as we prepare this week to play the meaningless of meaningless of preseason games, as well as upcoming roster cuts. While I'm not trying to predict the roster -- and definitely not projecting depth chart -- I didn't include every player in some scenarios, but included more than what the team is expected to take (mostly because I'm just not sure who they take, or the play is pretty even between the competition).

Quarterback - Even though Palmer has been assaulted on nearly every play (it seems), he hasn't been sharp -- likely a result of being assaulted. Twice against the Saints, Palmer nearly threw interceptions because 1) the ball was overthrown and 2) the pass was too near the middle of the field intended for a receiver sprinting down the sidelines. With the assault by the opposing pass rush, Palmer is becoming too aware of what's going on around the pocket rather than what's going on downfield. Once protection flaws are worked out, and communication issues resolved, we're confident that Palmer will be Palmer and give the Bengals their best chance to win each week.

Backup quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick has been one of the few successful offensive players, completing 70% of his passes, with a 6.8 pass-per-attempt average and a 101.3 passer rating (all team highs). His 44 yards rushing is third on the team behind Chris Perry and Kenny Watson. Fitzpatrick's performance proves he'll be a coveted unrestricted free agent next season as a "veteran" quarterback that so many teams need.

1. Carson Palmer
2. Ryan Fitzpatrick
3. Jeff Rowe

Running Back - While it's exciting to see Chris Perry back to full strength, we've been missing our primary feature back, Rudi Johnson due to another hamstring injury -- this time to the other leg. However, along with their troubles protecting their quarterbacks, the offensive line has struggled rush blocking for Perry -- mostly Eric Ghiaciuc. Since the first game, Perry's yards-per-attempt has fallen from 3.8 to 3.4. Watson's 4.7 yards-per-attempt is encouraging, but a majority of his attempts have come against second team defenses, with only one attempt the entire game against the Saints.

I think the Bengals keep Dorsey over James Johnson. Though neither have done much this preseason, Dorsey is a more explosive back while James Johnson is eligible for the team's practice squad. If the Bengals haven't cut Jeremi by now, they won't.

1. Rudi Johnson
2. Chris Perry
3. Kenny Watson
4. DeDe Dorsey
5. Jeremi Johnson

Wide Receiver - Talk about depressing. With Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh nursing and rehabbing injuries ("supposedly", if you believe in conspiracies), the Bengals have been searching for that evasive receiver we hoped would step up. Jerome Simpson's 144 yards receiving is far above Chatman's 63 yards among the yardage leaders at wide receiver. However, passes are being dropped and receivers are not separating from defensive backs, forcing Palmer to hold onto the ball longer. One has to appreciate this bit of irony. If Chad Johnson was traded, then this unit has absolutely no hope going into the season, even though the team signed Chris Henry to help.

I think Andre Caldwell's injury hurts him big. While he's not on the field battling for a spot, the Bengals would be more inclined to keep Holt for experience and versatility on special teams. Caldwell is another player eligible for the practice squad. This is all based on the assumption when Henry returns, not when the season starts. When Henry is reinstated after the fourth game, the Bengals will need to decide whether to keep Holt or Caldwell -- and it's doubtful, no matter what other writers suggest, that the Bengals will let Henry go.

1. Chad Johnson
2. T.J. Houshmandzadeh
3. Antonio Chatman
4. Jerome Simpson
5. Glenn Holt
6. Andre Caldwell

Tight End - Stable as stable comes. Ben Utecht, another glowing offensive player this preseason, leads the team with 10 receptions, second with 108 yards receiving and only one of two players with a receiving touchdown through three games. Reggie Kelly is the league's best tight end blocker, taking a lot of reps in the backfield. If the Bengals keep four tight ends (which includes long snapper Brad St. Louis), then Daniel Coats makes the team.

1. Reggie Kelly
2. Ben Utecht
3. Daniel Coats
4. Brad St. Louis

Offensive Line - We've talked about their struggles, and fantasized of a Jurassic Line. Still, the running game hasn't really taken off and the quarterbacks are struggling to focus downfield rather than the pass rush -- Bengals quarterbacks have been sacked 10 times, and knocked down three times as much. I'm not sure the Bengals will keep a second center, depending on Bobbie Williams to play that role. On the other hand, you could easily replace Nate Livings with Dan Santucci with limited fall in production. Something of note: Kyle Cook took some first-team snaps against the Saints in the third quarter.

1. Levi Jones
2. Andrew Whitworth
3. Eric Ghiaciuc
4. Bobbie Williams
5. Stacy Andrews
6. Willie Anderson
7. Nate Livings
8. Scott Kooistra
9. Anthony Collins
10. Dan Santucci

Defensive Line - Domata Peko has impressed me this preseason against the rush. He's working the line, challenging double teams and finding ways to stuff gaps at the point of attack. Other than that, I think this unit is just down right dreadful. Fanene and Rucker appear like average ends with limited upside, while John Thornton and Jason Shirley have made a library seem like a Metallica concert. Pat Sims, before his injury, impressed me with his aggressiveness and motor-style play. Hopefully we get him back when the season starts. While Angelo Craig has made plays, I've labeled him a practice squad player until either Rucker or Fanene (even though he signed an extension this offseason) are let go. I see no scenario in the world in which Eric Henderson makes this squad -- nor did I see any scenario that the Bengals sign Chris Henry.

1. Antwan Odom (DE)
2. Robert Geathers (DE)
3. Johnathan Fanene (DE)
4. Frostee Rucker (DE)
5. John Thornton
6. Domata Peko
7. Jason Shirley
8. Pat Sims
9. Michael Myers -- I'm adding Myers here for two reasons. The team could be concerned about Shirley's upcoming court case and keeping Myers adds an insurance policy in case Pat Sims' rehabs slowly.

Linebacker - I'm actually more impressed with this unit than I thought I would be before training camp. At WILL, Keith Rivers and Brandon Johnson have combined for 28 tackles and a sack -- Rivers accounts for 17 tackles and that sack. Corey Mays has been solid at backup middle linebacker and Darryl Blackstock's two sacks leads the team. The thing I would be most concerned about is Dhani Jones' nine total tackles through three games. Ahmad Brooks had some first-team snaps at defense when Blackstock suffered a cramp against the Saints. Also expect Carl-Johan Bjork to make the team as he's exempt from the 53-man roster.

1. Dhani Jones
2. Keith Rivers
3. Darryl Blackstock
4. Rashad Jeanty
5. Corey Mays
6. Brandon Johnson
7. Jim Maxwell
8. Ahmad Brooks
9. Anthony Hoke (?)

Secondary - For the most part, I think our starting cornerbacks have done a decent job working on an island. For the plays that you see them get beat, either a dump-truck named Calvin Johnson used his super-size advantage, or the quarterback found a hole in zone coverage. I don't like the play of our safeties -- Dexter Jackson is Dexter Jackson and Marvin White still struggles keeping the receiver in front preventing long plays. White is a hitter though, and his efforts to make sure-tackles have improved greatly since the first game.

David Jones scares the hell out of me, and I don't see much of an improvement with Castille. O'Neal has accepted his role, and done well, as the team's third cornerback giving the Bengals good depth at the position.

1. Leon Hall (CB)
2. Johnathan Joseph (CB)
3. Deltha O'Neal (CB)
4. David Jones (CB)
5. Simeon Castille (CB)
6. Dexter Jackson (S)
7. Marvin White (S)
8. Chinedum Ndukwe (S)
9. Corey Lynch (S)
10. Herana-Daze Jones (S) -- mostly for his special teams work.

Anyway, those are my impressions at this point. If you have more, or want to adjust my impressions because I always miss at least one player (or two) when I do these things, it's all yours.

When Roger Goodell visited the Bengals training camp earlier in the month, he made it clear that he thinks preseason "is not up to NFL standards and that we should address that." He said the league is "stuck" on 20-game schedule, and talked about floating the idea of changing the current ratio of preseason and regular season games. Instead of a 16-game regular season with four preseason games, he floated the idea of having a 17-game regular season with three preseason games, or even an 18-2 scenario.

I don't mind dissolving a preseason game or two -- though as a Bengals fan, it seems we'll need seven preseason games to be ready for kickoff weekend. Limiting preseason games, however, won't limit the injuries from the first to third preseason games -- look at the injuries that occurred in that span. And most teams limit their starters and high-ranking back ups in the fourth game anyway. Reducing the preseason is fine, but I don't think it's that big of a deal, nor will it magically prevent injuries.

Other than obvious financial advantages, I also don't think going to seventeen games is a very good idea.

First off, every single player would have to have their contracts reworked. Most, if not all contracts, are designed to pay a player in a 16-game season. If the league started a 17-game schedule today, they'd work that seventeenth game for free. That might not sound like a big deal to us, but the players and the NFLPA will assure everyone that will not risk players careers, on any given play, for free (though that's a big reason, from the player's perspective, to reduce preseason games).

Secondly, a 16-game season wears on a player's body. There isn't a starting NFL player out there that isn't suffering from some injury (at least an "ache") by the time the season is over. Adding more games with players hurt through the grueling 16-game season, could risk a depreciated product late in the season. And for those teams going through the playoffs, adding a regular season game would mean they could play a 21-game season -- not that the players playing that 21st game care.

Thirdly, NFL teams are unlike most businesses; the money that they make is distributed among their competition during the regular season. The preseason is the only way teams can make, and keep, their own money because revenue sharing does not apply. Business is business and if you were an owner of a business, you'd want to keep all of your earnings. Think of it like the government milking your earnings in the form of taxes.

Fourthly (that's my word), like increasing games before (from 12 to 14 and 14 to 16), we'll see more records fall because we're diluting the schedule. Records are basically meaningless in football games, but hold historical and emotional significance to the media, fans and the player (and their teammates) that set/break the record. Any record is able to be broken when you increase the number of games. But the NFL is more about the entertainment dollar today than it is the historical significance of the players that made this league great.

Finally, the NFL schedule uses a simple formula that's fair for all teams. Six games against your division, four games against another division within your conference, four games against a division in the other conference, and two games against other in-conference teams, not against the division you're set to play, based on the standings the respective team finished. For example, the Bengals play six games in the AFC North, four games in the NFC East, four games in the AFC South, and games against the Chiefs and Jets (teams that finished in the same position in the standings as the Bengals in the AFC West and East). The eight games scheduled against other divisions is rotational.

If the league added a seventeenth game, where does that 17th game come from? Would they play with the idea of adding a third game against a league rival? Perhaps the 17th game would be a fifth game against an opposing conference on a rotational basis that's not scheduled as the original four based on where they finished in the standings the season before? No matter. Long story short, the league would have to find a formula that agrees with the one that exists now.

It's not that I don't want to see more meaningful football games. I just see too many hurdles to really think it's worth it. The league is doing it simply to make a good chunk of change, likely after a renegotiating television contracts to include that 17th game. However, the league pays smarter people than I to come up with good solutions, I'm sure of it.

If the latest poll is any indication, there's a deep divide between Bengals fans. You have the people that concerned with what they've seen in the preseason, but realize that preseason is preseason -- a period in which teams are still implementing schemes, offenses are still working on their timing and communication (see offensive line), and defenses are playing game-speed, still working on their Mike Zimmer aggressiveness. Then you have those that have zero hope for this season, based on what they've seen through the first three games of the preseason.

In the poll, 40% view this season already as a miserable failure. However, 46% of you haven't change your opinion that the preseason is meaningless, though you're justifiably concerned. Another 12% really don't care what happens right now.

However, the more interesting (and a justified position) is that no one, not a single person, thought that the coaches could fix whatever problems this team is dealing with.

The first roster cut down day is tomorrow (Tuesday, the 26th). The Bengals have 76 players on their roster and will need to cut one to hit the maximum. The big roster cut down day is August 30th (Saturday), where we'll learn the team's active 53-man roster.

Prag is liking the progression of our defense, but points out that there's a lot more work to do.

Palmer is questionable against Indianapolis after suffering a broken bone in his nose. He'll be ready by kickoff weekend.

Chick Ludwig writes that Armageddon will start against the Ravens.

Clyde Logan handed his #15 to Chris Henry and picked up #12.

William Rhoden of the New York Times examines the Bengals signing Chris Henry.