It's not hard to recall the 2009 NFL Draft. Carson Palmer, ironically remembered for the bloody nose during the preseason, suffered an eventual season-ending elbow injury against the New York Giants. Ryan Fitzpatrick, his replacement, was under constant pressure due to poor pass protection -- a lot of which was Fitzpatrick's own fault for shuffling endlessly in the pocket. Stacy Andrews, who gave up ten quarterback sacks that year, and Levi Jones (adding another six quarterback sacks) were the team's offensive tackles while Andrew Whitworth and his four quarterback sacks allowed played left guard when Jones was actually healthy enough to play.
The Bengals didn't bother bringing Andrews back, who played his final year with the franchise tag, eventually signing a six-year deal worth $38.9 million with the Philadelphia Eagles. Cincinnati released Levi Jones, who would go on to start eight games with the Washington Redskins in 2009 before retiring from the NFL after a series of knee injuries that he couldn't recover from.
During the months leading up to the 2009 NFL Draft, the Cincinnati Bengals were expected to take an offensive tackle. The favorites were down to Baylor's Jason Smith, Alabama's Andre Smith, Mississippi's Michael Oher and Virginia's Eugene Monroe.
All four went in the first round.
Jason Smith was selected second overall by the St. Louis Rams, Andre Smith (6th overall) went to Cincinnati, Eugene Monroe (8th overall) went to Jacksonville and Oher fell to 23rd to Baltimore.
| The following is a breakdown per season according to the grades handed out by Pro Football Focus. | |||||
| Starts | PFF | (2009) | (2010) | (2011) | |
| E.Monroe | 42 | -7.8 | -4.3 | -15.6 | 12.1 |
| M.Oher | 48 | -19.6 | 11.8 | -18.9 | -12.5 |
| A.Smith | 19 | -20.2 | -0.5 | -18.0 | -1.7 |
| J.Smith | 26 | -22.7 | 0.2 | -16.7 | -6.2 |
Andre Smith had a rough beginning, but started coming around in 2011. Michael Oher, whether anyone agrees with the selection process or not, was announced to the 2012 Pro Bowl. Eugene Monroe was a big reason that Maurice Jones-Drew led the league with 1,606 yards rushing.
On the other hand, Jason Smith, the first tackle selected in the 2009 NFL Draft, could be released if he doesn't take a substantial pay cut according to Pro Football Talk.
Per a league source, Smith will face the time-honored take-a-pay-cut-or-take-a-hike ultimatum in the offseason, given that (per NFLPA records) Smith is due to earn a base salary of $10 million in 2012. With only $1 million of it guaranteed, the Rams won’t hesitate to dump Smith, if he won’t dump much of his scheduled pay.
Andre Smith is entering the final year of his contract, which had the final two years voided due to an option that the Bengals decided not to exercise last year, scheduled to earn $1,083,750.
0 recs | 18 comments
U guy kick butt in posting stories threw out the day
Thanks
njbengalstat - January 18, 2012
The bengals.com does a story once every other week
njbengalstat - January 18, 2012
whats bengals.com?
AMAS85 - January 18, 2012
This is a blog, not an official website
Geoff does a great job on Bengals.com. These guys do a great job too on this fan site/blog. They’re two completely different things. Geoff isn’t much of a blogger. He might blog once a week.
whodeycommish14 - January 18, 2012 via mobile
Since I don't live in the area and when I was younger there was no Internet (no Bengal starter jackets at the mall)
I used to get the bengals news letter years ago but it would come 3 weeks late. So it just makes my day talking to bengals fans instead of talking about the jets and giants all day at work. So thanks again. And I think u guys do a great job
njbengalstat - January 18, 2012
I hear ya brother.
When I discovered this site, my eyes lit up. I was like, “Wow…. This is incredible.” I was like a kid in a candy store hahaha.
whodeycommish14 - January 18, 2012 via mobile
hah
Geoff is an idiot. The grammar in the fan posts here is better than his. He generally uses some form of punctuation other than a comma about once every 75 or 80 words. I used to call him and the Bengals.com site “the salt in the wound that is being a Bengals fan”
indesignkat - January 18, 2012
ahhh sounds like yoda lol
AMAS85 - January 18, 2012
So that makes him an "idiot"?
I like Geoff’s writing. Yeah he goofs up on his punctuation from time-to-time, but he’s a smart guy and has only himself to edit. Probably needs to do a better job of that, but I don’t sit there and beat the hell out of the computer because he put the word “too” twice (or something like that). People get mad because he doesn’t do enough constructive criticism, but that’s not his job. He’s not a beat writer, nor is he a panel leader. His job is to run the website and write columns.
whodeycommish14 - January 18, 2012 via mobile
Maybe I am wrong, but I recall:
That the Bengals did want Stacy Andrews back, and they were dealing with him, when he double-dealed on them and signed the Philadelphia Eagles to play along side his brother Shawn. Stacy is on IR now with the Giants, while Shawn is still with the Eagles…
pemci - January 18, 2012
Plus; I think
Marvin was pretty pi$$ed at Stacy Andrews for not being upfront and dealing with the team instead of saying that he wanted to be with the Bengals, while behind the scenes working to get with the Eagles and his brother…
pemci - January 18, 2012
Man they can have him he sucked so bad the eagles cut him a year later
and his brother was out of the league for a while if i recall..
all that money wasted.
Bengalsfan024 - January 18, 2012
I think Andre is getting better
He might not be the best on the list but he has a chance to get there. When they didn’t pick up his option it seemed like the light went on in his head. He’s lost some weight to help with his bad foot and with Collins breathing down his neck he finally found some motivation. It takes some longer than others to mature.
Bigcatdaddy - January 18, 2012 via Android app
Great point...
A good example is Justin Smith – now playing for the 49ers. He was a beast when he was here, and I remember being so upset when they traded him cause he seemed like one of thre few guys defensively working his tail off on every snap! Now he’s in a nice zone.
But I guess Defensive linemen and Offensive lineman are very different.
Law1951 - January 18, 2012
I wanted Monroe
Either Monroe or Raji, then take a tackle in the second which would have been Britton, but no rey m. Oh war could have been
JoseOle - January 18, 2012 via iPhone app
Local (St.L market) thinking is move J Smith to guard
at an average guard salary or just move on without him.
IllinoisBengal - January 18, 2012
If he's cut, the bengals can sign him to be a backup guard.
DTFCPDX - January 19, 2012
Interesting note about Andre Smith...
Entering the final year of his contract, he better play well, and better than 2011 or he could be on the street – but fast!!! Guy’s been nothing but a "work-in-progress’ since we drafted him! If he wasn’t hurt, he was overweight and slow. A sure sign will be if we draft a lineman to replace him in the first round!
Law1951 - January 18, 2012
You must Login with your SB Nation account and be a member of Cincy Jungle to post a comment.