On Tuesday, I asked the former Georgia Tech standout if he had gained any weight.

“A little bit,” said Johnson.

“How much?” I asked.

“A little bit,” he repeated.

“Are you closer to 270 or 280?” I persisted.

“I’m not saying,” Michael said with a grin.  “It’s over what was listed on the roster last year and we’re going to try to keep it there the whole year.”

While his actual weight remains a mystery for now, it’s obvious that the former high school valedictorian has worked hard in the off-season to add bulk to his lean 6’7” frame.

“He has gotten heavier and really worked hard in the off-season trying to gain weight, maintain weight, and maintain strength,” said defensive line coach Jay Hayes.  “That’s something that he’s really worked on and you can see it.”

“It will help me hold up,” said Johnson.  “We play in one of the most physical divisions in the NFL and anytime you can add body armor it can’t do anything but help.  That’s how I look at it – I’m putting more armor on.”

Did the added “armor” result from lifting weights or a change in diet?

“A little bit of both, but I’d say mostly diet,” said Johnson.  “It’s a matter of learning how to eat the right stuff at the right time.  I’ve never been a bad eater.  I’m a naturally lean guy and I have a feeling that it’s going to help me when I’m done playing, but right now, I need to keep the weight on.  I’m just trying to eat right, lift, and do the right stuff.”

Johnson is coming off of his best NFL season as he finished third on the team in sacks (6), third in tackles-for-loss (8), and fourth in QB pressures (11).  One of his goals for 2012 is to maintain his level of play over the course of the entire season.

“Just be more consistent throughout the whole year and go from there,” Michael told me.  “I’m going to continue to do what they ask me to do and just improve each day, each week, each year.  If I keep doing that, I’ll be alright.”

“He had a couple of nuisance injuries and it’s tough to play a whole season without anything bothering you,” said Coach Hayes.  “That’s why he’s been working so hard to add the weight and add the strength.  He’s doing everything that he can to be sure that he’s prepared.  That’s what we want.”

“I’m still not where I want to be,” said Johnson.  “I’m sure that I’m never going to be comfortable with whatever I do, but I’m going to continue to keep working.  As a professional athlete, you have to be your toughest critic and I feel like I am.  Each year, I’m going to critique myself and try to become better at the stuff that I’m not good at.  That’s my goal – to find stuff that needs to be improved upon and get it done.”

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But what do I know?

Seeking an expert opinion, I asked A.J. Green for his initial impressions of the third round draft pick out of Rutgers.

“Man, that guy is smooth,” said Green.  “He works the middle really well.  A lot of people have questioned his speed, but the guy has ‘football speed.’  It’s just like myself.  A lot of people say that he didn’t run the fastest, but you see him on the field and he’s fluid in-and-out of his breaks, he catches everything with his hands, and he attacks the ball.  He’s going to be a special one.”

I guess my impression was accurate.

In the Bengals first practice of the three-week OTA period, Sanu caught a long touchdown pass from Zac Robinson and several intermediate throws from Andy Dalton.

“I felt good out there,” Sanu told me.  “I’m just trying to do my job because that’s what you have to do to be successful in this league.  I’m going to learn as much as I can and do my job to the best of my abilities.  It’s all about understanding and knowing where you fit in.”

“I’m excited,” said quarterback Andy Dalton.  “He’s definitely showing some good things out there, and once he gets a good feel for everything, I think he’s going to be a good player for us.  He has a bigger body and he has some shiftiness to him.  And he does a good job of coming back to the ball.”

Sanu lined-up in a variety of spots, and appears to have the ability to contribute both wide and in the slot.

“They have me inside and outside, so I’m going to do whatever they want me to do and try to help the team out as much as I can,” said Sanu.  “I definitely think that that’s one of my strengths.  I think I can use that to my advantage and be productive inside and outside.”

“You can tell that he’s done some of the things that we’re asking him to do before,” said Dalton.  “He’s a friendly target out there.”

“I’m asking (Dalton) a lot of questions and making sure that we’re on the same page,” said Sanu.  “I’m trying to learn from him because he’s been here for a year, he’s done it, and he knows the offense like the back of his hand.

“Football is football.  You have to learn the system and there are differences, but most of the systems are similar.  You just have to learn your assignment and figure out where you fit in.”

And the word appears to be spreading that Sanu could be a perfect fit Cincinnati.

“(Sanu) is already off to an impressive start, easily standing out at last weekend’s Bengals rookie minicamp, drawing both praise and a prediction of early contributions from head coach Marvin Lewis,” wrote Don Banks from SI.com.  “Cincinnati has a decent history of rookie impact from receivers, getting that monster debut season from first-rounder A.J. Green last year (65 catches for 1,057 yards and seven touchdowns), and a seven-touchdown showing from third-rounder Chris Henry in 2005.  Sanu is an ideal complement to Green’s outside speed and vertical game, and he’ll work the inside and underneath routes with both precision and determination, pulling down plenty of catches in a crowd or despite solid coverage.  NFL scouts worried about his ability to separate this spring, but come September, Sanu will be putting plenty of distance between himself and most of the league’s other rookie receivers.”

“I’m telling you – a lot of the older guys here compare him to T.J. Houshmandzadeh.,” said Green.  “He can stretch the field and I think he’s really going to help us out this year.”

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But here’s the catch:  They say that the odd team out is Pittsburgh.

(Watch the predictions here)

On Tuesday night, ESPN aired a one hour special on the AFC North that ended with the analysts making their predictions for the division standings.  Polian picks the Bengals to finish first, while Wiley and Edwards pick Cincinnati to finish second behind Baltimore.  All three analysts have the Steelers finishing third.

“I believe that the Bengals – because they’ve had such a great off-season – will win the division,” said Polian.  “I think the Ravens will be a close second and be reckoned with in the playoffs.  I think the Steelers had too much change.”

“Baltimore will win the division,” said Wiley.  “We saw that this team was one play away from being in the Super Bowl.  Then the Cincinnati Bengals…9-7 last year and they improved.  They’ll have the same record as the Steelers, but they’ll win the tie-breaker.  I’ll go with that because it sounds like heresy to say that the Steelers are third in their division.”

Host Trey Wingo raised the possibility of the Bengals taking a step backward in 2012 if Andy Dalton and A.J. Green have sophomore slumps, but none of the analysts expect that to happen.

“I don’t expect either one of these players to have a sophomore slump,” said Wiley.

“There won’t be a sophomore slump with Green because he can run past the slump,” said Polian.  “He’s got the speed and no one can cover him.  Speed kills, and he will kill his sophomore slump by catching long passes.”

At this time last year, the Bengals were widely expected to be among the worst teams in the NFL, but they made a five-game improvement from 4-12 to 9-7 to make the playoffs.  A big goal this year will be to perform better within the AFC North after going 0-4 vs. the Ravens and Steelers last year.

“If I know Marvin,” said Edwards, “he’s preaching this in this OTA period:  ‘Men, we were 2-4 in our division, first of all.  We didn’t really beat winning teams.  That’s what we have to improve on if we want to be the team to win this division.’  So I think Marvin Lewis is going to say, ‘We did a good job and got into the playoffs at 9-7, but men, here’s the reality of it – let’s not live off of our success.’”

“This is a young team that got an awful lot better in this off-season,” said Polian.  “An awful lot better.  I think they had the best off-season in the National Football League.”

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Adam Jones

This is how much talent Adam Jones has:

Think of all the headlines he has generated down through the years. From being the sixth pick in the draft in 2005 to being suspended for the 2007 season, to his comebacks with the Cowboys and Bengals, to his two neck surgeries the past two years.

And now he slides under the radar for the first time in his career and he’s still big news as the Bengals open their voluntary on-field sessions.

With starting cornerbacks Leon Hall (Achilles) and Nate Clements (abdomen) on the side rehabbing, Jones got plenty of work Tuesday in the first workout. After an offseason he signed a low-profile one-year deal while the Bengals went out and signed two more veteran corners in Terence Newman and Jason Allen, Jones quietly talked about what he hoped to accomplish in his third season as a Bengal at age 28.

He knows he’s no longer Pacman Jones in more ways than one.

“I don’t want to be known as just (a) talent right now. I want to make sure I’m covering everything else,” Jones said. “Of course I have great talent but right now I’m working on my head, being a lot smarter and just play the defense. I feel comfortable with the defense and I’m playing a little bit faster.

“If you want to be a good player or a great player in this league you can’t just rely on talent. In the past I have done that. Now I’m just getting better every day, staying in my playbook, trying to understand what the offense is trying to do against different defensive calls.”

When he signed here two years ago just in time for the OTAs, defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer insisted Jones reign in that enormous talent and fire and play within the defense. Jones indicated Tuesday it has been sinking in.

“There’s a time and a place for everything,” he said. “I know my role on this team. I’m going to sit back and keep my mouth shut and let my play speak for itself.”

Maybe no play spoke louder about what he can do with the ball in his hands than last year on Oct. 30 in Seattle, when he got his hands on it for the first time in 13 months. He took a punt 63 yards for the club’s longest return in eight years and would have scored if he didn’t pull up with a hamstring/groin injury that took him out of the next two games and lingered.

The play signified both what Jones can do and what he hasn’t been able to do because of injuries and why he thinks if he can stay healthy he’s still a very good starting corner.

“Of course I would have been able to turn the corner on that one. I couldn’t do it with the injuries, torn hammy and torn groin. I had to choke it down,” he said.

He admits last year was tough as he started for Hall in the last seven games while he battled rust and his body. But Jones says this is the best he’s felt in years. He’s put on some bulk and it’s the first time since ’06 he’s heading into a season without a layoff or injury.

“This is the best I felt since ’06,” he said. “Body weight, strength, I’ve gained five or six pounds to 187. I feel good, man.”

Combine that with the talent that just never goes away and his huge competitive streak and Jones is going to make it all very interesting. While he returned only one more punt last year (for four yards), wide receiver Brandon Tate set the team’s single-season record for punt return yards and attempts.

“Oh yeah. I really want that punt return job,” Jones said. “I want that job. I want both jobs, but I really want that job, too. The coaches pretty much know I want to be back there on punt return. We’re all competing. We have a long time before summer gets here. I’m just going to try to get better and better.”

No matter what happens, it will be a headline. That’s how much talent there is.

“I think it’s good that when we went out for the first huddle he was in there,” said quarterback Andy Dalton.  “Up front it’s all about getting a feel for everybody.”

But Zeitler didn’t put much stock into being part of the starting lineup in the first full-squad practice of his NFL career.

“It’s cool to be up there getting some reps, but I have a long way to go,” Zeitler told me.  “If they did put me with the first unit – great.  If they didn’t, I would have just tried to work my way up.  I just try to do my job and try to get better.”

The Bengals drafted the former Wisconsin standout with the 27^th overall pick in this year’s draft with the expectation that he would compete for a starting spot as a rookie.  As a result, Zeitler drew plenty of attention from teammates and coaches when practices began on Tuesday.

“He did pretty good for a rookie, but that’s a loaded comment,” said offensive line coach Paul Alexander.  “He obviously is going to be a good player but has a lot to learn.”

“He’s trying to do all the right things.” said Dalton.  “He doesn’t want to mess up right now and once he gets it all down and gets into the groove, I think he’s going to be just fine.”

“This was his first time working with the first unit as a whole and he’s doing a tremendous job,” said right tackle Andre Smith.

“It’s a starting point and I know that I can only get better,” said Zeitler.

The Bengals will hold 10 practices over three weeks during OTAs, giving Zeitler an opportunity to learn the playbook while growing comfortable with the other members of the offensive line.

“Every play that we run here, we basically had the same thing at Wisconsin – the only difference is terminology,” said Zeitler.  “It’s just good to work on communication with the other offensive lineman and work on seeing different looks and different blitzes.  I wish we could have had these in college.  A couple of practices during the summer would have been nice.”

“Every day, me and him are going to get better together,” said Smith.  “There are growing pains because we all do things a certain way and have to adapt to each other.”

And while it’s hard to draw too many conclusions based on one limited-contact practice, Zeitler is off to a good start.

“He is as smart a young guy as I’ve ever been around,” said Alexander.  “He scores A-plus in effort and toughness and he’s going to be fine.”

“He’s really powerful and he’s smart too,” said Smith.  “He is going to be a tremendous offensive lineman I think.”

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But even though the injury could shift the balance of power in their division, Bengals running back Bernard Scott was in no mood to celebrate when he heard the news.

“That sucks,” said Scott.  “You don’t want to see anybody go down like that in the off-season.  That’s the nature of the game, but you don’t want anything bad to happen to anybody even though we go against him twice a year.”

While Suggs vows to be back on the field by November, Scott is simply hoping to be on the field more often.

Last year, Scott typically replaced Cedric Benson on the Bengals’ third offensive possession of each half and Cedric finished the season with 161 more carries than Bernard (273 to 112).  After electing not to re-sign the 29-year-old Benson in the off-season, the Bengals inked 26-year-old BenJarvus Green-Ellis to a reported 3-year, $9 million contract in March.  Green-Ellis shared carries in New England – without complaint – with Stevan Ridley and Danny Woodhead, and Scott is hoping that the Bengals adopt a similar approach.

“I’ve been hearing that we’re going to use a ‘running back by committee’ so that’s exciting,” Scott told me.  “That’s going to help us last longer and give other people a chance to touch the ball.  We all have the same goal – just to get the ‘W’ so that’s all that matters.

“Going into my exit meeting (last year), Coach Lewis told me they were going to bring in running backs.  They have to make it a competition so you know that they are always going to bring in somebody.  It makes you work harder to compete for the job.”

The former sixth round draft pick out of Abilene Christian has rushed for exactly 1,000 yards in his first three seasons in the NFL and finished last season with a career-high 380 yards.  Bernard appears confident that he can make a bigger contribution in 2012.

“I feel like my opportunity is going to come,” said Scott.  “If I come into camp in shape and prepared to handle my business, I think that I’m going to get more opportunities.”

Baltimore will begin the season without Suggs.  Pittsburgh released aging stars Hines Ward, James Farrior, and Aaron Smith and is hampered by serious salary cap issues.  Are the youthful Bengals capable of topping the Ravens and Steelers and winning the AFC North for the second time in four years?

“I think we have one of the best quarterbacks and receivers in the game,” Bernard told me.  “We have a lot of young, hungry guys on our team and everybody has a lot that they want to prove.  We’re confident but we’re still hungry because we still have a lot to prove.  I’m looking for big things this year, so we’ll see what happens.”

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“I think Armon made great strides,” said Lewis.  “Our offensive coaches at the end of the year wanted me to put him in the game.  They wanted to not only dress him but, ‘Can we start him?’  There’s another player that we identified last year as a good prospect.  We’re not afraid to play young players if the guy can do it.”

It didn’t take long for those words to get passed along to the former UC Bearcat.

“It felt good to know that the coaches had confidence in me – especially the head coach – and that the work that I was putting in at practice was paying off,” said Binns.  “It makes me feel good to know that the coaches here believe in me and think that I can help this team win games.”

He’s about to get his chance to prove them right.

After losing Jerome Simpson and Andre Caldwell as free agents, the Bengals have an opening for a #2 wide receiver opposite A.J. Green.  Binns will be one of several candidates battling for the spot, including recent third round draft pick Mohamed Sanu out of Rutgers, and fifth rounder Marvin Jones out of Cal.

“There’s an open spot out there and you just have to go out there and compete and go get a job,” Binns told me.  “I’m very eager.  I sat back for a year and got to learn and watch everybody.  It was kind of like a redshirt year for me and I’m just ready to get back out there and play the game again.”

“I got to sit back and watch how the NFL game goes and how to be a pro.  I watched how NFL corners are playing and how defenses are so much more advanced and sophisticated.”

Binns continued to study after the season, but the subject wasn’t just football.  Armon, who majored in criminal justice at UC with a minor in sociology, returned to the classroom in the off-season and will go through graduation ceremonies on June 8^th

“It’s huge,” said Binns with a grin.  “I’ve been in Cincinnati for so long and to come away with a degree is going to mean the world to me and my mom.  I was a student-athlete again so it’s all good.”

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Photo courtesy of ggriggscpa.com

Whitworth, recently ranked 82^nd on the Pro Football Focus list of the Top 101 players in the NFL, is one of several avid golfers in the Bengals locker room.

“Oh man., I love the game and play every single day after our workouts,” Andrew told me.  “I play about four or five days a week.  I’m about a nine handicap I would guess.

“I actually played a little bit in college for about two years and then I stopped until last year.  Since January or February of last year, I’ve played a few times a week.”

Whitworth recently joined Hyde Park Country Club but plays a variety of Cincinnati-area courses with his Bengals teammates.

So who are the best golfers on the team?

“I would probably say Zac Robinson…Leon Hall…Kevin Huber,” said Whitworth.  “I hear that Terence Newman is good, but I haven’t played with him yet.  Oh, Clint Boling – he’s a good one.  We have some guys that like to play.  We have a group of about four or five of us that play every day.”

On the surface, football and golf would not appear to have much in common, but Whitworth says the challenge of blocking guys like Terrell Suggs and James Harrison is similar to hitting a little white ball.

“The violence and physicality are different, but in some ways, being a left tackle and facing elite pass rushers all comes down to your technique,” said Whitworth.  “Offensive linemen have to be able to play with the exact same technique 70 to 80 times in a game.  A golf swing is the same – you have to be able to make your body do exactly what you want it to do over and over again.

“For me to be able to kick out of a stance and be in the exact position that I want to be in is the number one key to blocking elite pass rushers.  It’s no different than standing on the tee box and trying to hit the most accurate drive that I can when the pressure is on.”

Whitworth estimates that his best drives exceed 310 yards (Bengals.com editor Geoff Hobson says he can attest to it), but the 7^th-year pro out of LSU says he does not try to “grip it and rip it.”

“People expect to see me swing violently at a golf ball, but I value learning the proper techniques of the swing,” said Whitworth.  “I worked with the pro at Maketewah (Country Club) last Thursday and he laughed and told me it’s the best swing he’s ever seen from a 6-foot-7 guy in his life.”

You can see for yourself at the 1:10 mark of this video

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On Wednesday, the Bengals announced that Pike is among the unsigned players who will attend the team’s May 11-13 minicamp on a tryout basis.  After spending the 2010 season as a backup with the Carolina Panthers, the 26-year-old quarterback missed all of last year after having elbow surgery.

“I’ve been back in Cincinnati rehabbing for a long time and the Bengals reached out to my agent with some questions about my health and when I was going to get back to 100%,” said Pike.  “After that, it was just a matter of me getting healthy and the timing being right for the mini-camp.  It’s an unbelievable opportunity.  Growing up in Cincinnati and being a Bengals fan, it’s been a life-long dream to be a Bengal.  For them to give me that opportunity to come into mini-camp and see what I can do means a lot.”

After leading the UC Bearcats to a perfect regular season and trip to the Sugar Bowl as a senior, Pike was selected by Carolina in the 6^th round of the 2010 draft.  Tony appeared in one regular season game as a rookie, going 6-for-12 for 47 yards in a loss to New Orleans.

But last July, Pike needed surgery to fix a nerve injury in his right elbow.  When the first procedure didn’t correct the problem, the former Bearcat had a more extensive operation eight weeks ago.

“On the second surgery, they cut the muscle in my forearm and they tucked the nerve underneath the muscle,” said Pike.  “Then they sewed the muscle back together to protect that nerve from moving around.  It was a more painful procedure, but with my history at UC, it’s nothing that I haven’t been through before.  The end result was a lot better than the first procedure, so I’m really happy.

“I saw (Cincinnati Reds) Dr. Kremchek here in Cincinnati and he said he does this surgery every year on pitchers here.  He told me it’s something that pitchers come back stronger from and that’s how I feel right now.”

Pike broke his left arm in his junior and senior years at UC, but bounced back quickly to lead the Bearcats to back-to-back Big East Championships.  Tony says that he has completely recovered from his elbow injury and is ready to show the Bengals the powerful arm that tossed 29 touchdown passes and only 6 interceptions in his final college season.

“I feel great,” Pike told me.  “My strength and accuracy are back.  That was the biggest thing with the elbow – the nerve was causing my accuracy to go down a little bit, so with that being back, I feel great about my chance here.

“The frustrating thing about the nerve surgery was that we couldn’t really give teams a timetable for when I would be healthy.  The Bengals rookie mini-camp fell at just about the right time.  I just saw the doctor (Wednesday) to get cleared.  I’ve been throwing a lot and staying in shape.  I’ve actually been going over to Elder a little bit to throw to my brother and some of those receivers.  So, it’s been a long process and a slow process, but it’s all coming together at just the right time.”

Pike might seem like a longshot to make the Bengals roster, but keep in mind that he began the 2008 season as the fifth-string quarterback at UC before becoming the starting QB and leading the team to the Orange Bowl.

All he needed was a chance.

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“I’m not sure that Mike Brown values a guard at 17 or 21,” said Dave Lapham on our draft preview show on 700 WLW.  “I’m not sure that he values a guard at 117 or 121.  I think the guard position is going to be addressed, but I’m not sure that it’s going to be addressed in that first round.”

But while Lap was stunned – and thrilled – when the Bengals traded down in the first round and selected Wisconsin’s Kevin Zeitler with the 27^th overall pick, the current leader of the Bengals offensive line says that he was not surprised when Cincinnati selected a guard in the first round for the first time in franchise history.

“It wasn’t really a shocker to me,” said left tackle Andrew Whitworth.  “From everyone I’ve talked to, the guy is very impressive – as a person and as a player.  Anytime we get a guy in the locker room that is a great person and player, I’m excited about it.”

Zeitler – and fellow first round pick Dre Kirkpatrick – arrived in Cincinnati for an introductory news conference on Friday and met Whitworth shortly after meeting the media as they had dinner together at Jeff Ruby’s Steakhouse.

Whitworth informed Zeitler that he hosts the offensive lineman at an annual mini-camp at his home in Louisiana and said that his new teammate made a good first impression.

“I see a guy who is serious about what he is going to have to do,” said Whitworth.  “He’s not overwhelmed and seems pretty determined.  I like that.  He’s definitely a guy that has a lot of character – that’s the first thing that you realize after a short conversation with him.  I’m excited about his future here and I’m just trying to do whatever I can to help be a part of him being successful.”

Offensive line coach Paul Alexander has made it clear that Zeitler will be a candidate to start at right guard, and Whitworth says he would not be worried about having a rookie start on the offensive line.

“I think it needs to be a realistic expectation for any player that is picked that high,” Whitworth told me.  “That needs to be your goal.  You don’t set the bar low – you set it high.  When I was a rookie, I can remember telling the media whenever they asked me that I was not trying to play like a rookie – I was trying to play like a veteran.  That’s what he has to do – set the bar high and go after it.”

Picking a guard in the first round might have been out of character for the Bengals, but the team is confident that it selected the right one.

“He fills a major need for us,” said offensive coordinator Jay Gruden.  “He’s one of the top guards on the board, in our opinion.  He’s tough, he’s strong, he’s physical, he’s smart — guys like that can only help your football team. It’s not a popular pick sometimes to take an offensive guard, but last time I checked, they play a lot of snaps on Sunday.”

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In the end, the Bengals didn’t get into a bidding war for Jerome Simpson.

Sure, they wanted him back and they had contract talks. But he ended up in Minnesota on a one-year deal and that tells you a lot. The Vikes were more aggressive, more adamant he’d get a shot. The big thing it says is probably the best thing for both sides. He needs a new venue to refresh a career that can still be big. And the Bengals needed to move past a guy that managed to be frustrating in two very different offenses and exhaust a batch of different coaches when it came to execution.

But this is not a bad guy. If anything, his departure mirrors the contradictions of his four-year career. He left Tuesday after serving 15 days in jail on a drug charge and the NFL handed him a three-game suspension and yet he was one of the more active and generous Bengals ever when it came to community endeavors and charitable functions.

Hometown Huddle. Taste of Cincinnati. Bowling for Autism. A Marvin Lewis Community Fund gig. You name it, Simpson was always there smiling and signing.

Dave Butz, his agent, recalled Tuesday the days long before last September when marijuana was delivered to Simpson’s Northern Kentucky home. Butz would get a call from Simpson and more often than not it was about giving rather than taking.

One time the call wasn’t even from Simpson. It was from a guy saying he was from near Simpson’s hometown of Reidsville, N.C. and he told Butz that Simpson had told him he’d pay for a scoreboard at a local rec center. When Butz called him, Simpson told him, yes, indeed, it was on the up and up.

And there were the 89 backpacks Simpson bought for a Reidsville school to match his uniform number. And there were the 89 coats he donated to underprivileged children to the community.

“Very generous guy,” Butz said. “And he always has been from Day One.”

Even before last year’s problems, Simpson was a hard guy to figure. He had a running feud with the media that no one could really quite figure because he never played until late in his third season. It seemed to stem from his belief that the media had built him up when he was drafted and then ripped him when he didn’t play. All true and yet all facts of life in the NFL, and that seemed to be a hard transition for him.

And yet, when he did deal with the media he was great. Enthusiastic, pleasant, polite.

It was the same thing on the field. On one play he’d make ESPN. On the next, they couldn’t find him.

It just didn’t work here. It happens.

But he gave back. He just didn’t take on his way through. And how many guys do that?

“I’ve worked with 50, 60 NFL players over the years and he’s at the top of the list when it comes to that,” Butz said.

That’s why you wish guys like that well.

“Some of my teammates call me that as a joke, but most people still just call me Geno,” Atkins said with a grin.

The 24-year-old from Pembroke Pines, FL had two tackles in the AFC’s 59-41 win and raved about the opportunity.

“I got to bring my family to Hawaii and it was a great experience,” Geno told me.  “I learned a lot from the older vets like Richard Seymour, Antonio Smith, and guys like that.”

Atkins earned the trip to Honolulu – and the new nickname – with a spectacular second season in the NFL.  In fact, the website ProFootballFocus.com calls Geno a “Sophomore Superstar” and said that only Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski is coming off of a better season from the 2010 draft class.

“He had a season very comparable to Ndamukong Suh’s 2010, only for some reason he didn’t have the same hype machine working for him,” said Pro Football Focus analyst Sam Monson.  “In 2010, Suh notched 11 sacks, 6 knockdowns and 24 hurries from 547 pass rushing snaps. This season, Atkins posted 8 sacks, 15 knockdowns and 26 hurries from only 475 pass-rushing snaps. Atkins was easily the most effective pass-rushing defensive tackle in the NFL last season, and the surprise to me was that he learned how to use his skills to his advantage in the run game as well.  Rather than waiting and reacting and often getting washed out by bigger linemen, he attacked against the run too, and was far more proactive that way.”

Atkins was a big reason why the Bengals finished seventh in the NFL’s total defense rankings last year.  Defensive lineman Frostee Rucker and Jonathan Fanene left as free agents, and safety Chris Crocker was released, but the nine of the team’s top 11 tacklers are back.

“We lost Frostee and Fanene and they were two key guys for us,” said Atkins.  “But being in this league, you know that it’s ‘Next guy up.’  We brought in two good guys (Jamaal Anderson and Derrick Harvey) that are going to take up the slack there.

“We know the potential that we have, where we can go, and what it takes to get there.  We’re all excited to get back to work and build on that success.”

In addition to his Pro Bowl trip, Atkins went on a 7-day cruise to the Caribbean last winter, but Geno sounded happy to return to Cincinnati last week for the start of the Bengals off-season conditioning program.

“It feels good to come back and see all of your teammates and friends,” said Atkins.  “We know that we’re going to build on something very important and try to get to the next level.”

Wouldn’t “Super Bowler” have a nice ring to it?

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Here’s a look at the Bengals’ four Pro Bowlers that are all under the age of 25.

Andy Dalton:  24-years-old (birthday October 29th)

Geno Atkins:  24-years-old (birthday March 28^th)

Jermaine Gresham:  23-years-old (birthday June 16^th)

A.J. Green:  23-years-old (birthday July 31th)

But that’s not all.

There’s another potential Pro Bowler on the roster that is nearly seven months younger than A.J. Green – defensive end Carlos Dunlap.

Dunlap, who turned 23 on February 28^th, was among the most dominant pass rushers in the NFL last year before injuring his hamstring in week eight at Tennessee.

“Carlos Dunlap was on fire before that hamstring injury,” said ProFootballFocus.com analyst Sam Monson.  “At that point in the season he had racked up only three sacks, but he had 10 QB knockdowns and 24 pressures in only eight games. Essentially before going down with the injury, Dunlap was as devastating a force as there was in the league at rushing the passer.”

“I feel like I need a whole season that was like the way that I started last year,” Dunlap told me this week.  “I’m starting fresh and making sure that I am doing everything that I can to stay healthy.”

Prior to last season during the NFL lockout, Dunlap returned to the University of Florida to take classes toward finishing his degree.  But this off-season, he eschewed the classroom and went to the gym.

“I went down to Pete Bommarito (Performance Systems) where I trained for the combine,” said Dunlap.  “It was continued maintenance on my hamstring and I concentrated on training a little bit harder.  It was unfortunate that I had an injury and I want to make sure that I do everything in my power to prevent that from coming back.  I postponed school and focused on training because this is my job.”

Dunlap finished with 4.5 sacks in 12 games last year after setting a Bengals rookie record with 9.5 in 2010.  In 2012, Carlos want to lead the NFL in sacks.

“That’s always been a childhood dream,” said Dunlap.  “As a competitor, you want to be the best at whatever you do.  I’m labeled as a pass rusher and I want to change that too.  I want to be known as an all-around defensive end, but I do want to lead the league in sacks and be ranked up there with the elite pass rushers.”

That’s not his only lofty goal.  Dunlap wants to join fellow 2010 draft pick Geno Atkins at the Pro Bowl.

“Carlos congratulated me before I went and said, ‘This year, I’m going to go with you.’” said Atkins.  “I’m rooting for him.”

“I’m jealous – I ain’t gonna lie, I’m jealous man,” said Dunlap.  “Geno earned it.  He had a great year and I don’t know why he wasn’t voted on to the first or second team (Atkins went as a first alternate because New England’s Vince Wilfork made the Super Bowl) .  But Geno is a Pro Bowler – they’re not going to say how he went.

“That’s a goal as well – to get there with Geno.  I’ve been telling Geno the whole off-season that we have to get there together this year.”

I’d love to hear from you at Dan.Hoard@Bengals.nfl.net

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“I went up to the Dallas/Ft. Worth area and threw the ball around with Andy (Dalton) a couple of times,” said wide receiver Jordan Shipley.  “It felt really good and I went back-to-back days which was big for me.  I wanted to see if I could do it two days in a row.”

Since Andre Caldwell signed with Denver as a free agent and Jerome Simpson remains unsigned (there is no name plate above his locker, but it hasn’t been given away yet), the Bengals are missing two of their leading receivers from last season.  The team is obviously hoping that Shipley can make a speedy recovery from the torn ACL and MCL that he suffered in week two last year against the Broncos.

“He’s done well,” said quarterback Andy Dalton.  “Unfortunately, he had the ACL and all of that stuff, but he’s put in the work and you can see it.  He’s running around really well, so I’m excited for him to get back out there working with us.”

“I’m planning on doing all of the workouts with the guys,” said Shipley.  “I’m excited about the opportunity to get back.  I think – if anything – I come back from those injuries stronger than I was before.  I’m just looking forward to getting out there and playing around a little bit.”

Shipley also tore an ACL in his knee as a freshman at Texas and missed the 2004 and 2005 seasons, before setting the school’s all-time record for career receptions.  Jordan says he expects to be 100% for the start of training camp.

“This time has been a little bit tougher because I had a little more going on,” said Shipley.  “Trying to balance a little more scar tissue and trying to get it loosened up, but I think it’s doing fine.”

While a healthy return by Shipley would give the Bengals a skilled slot receiver, they do not have an obvious outside threat to pair with A.J. Green.  Marvin Lewis says there are candidates to fill the spot on the current roster including Brandon Tate and Armon Binns, but it is a position the Bengals appear likely to address in the draft.

“I think we have a lot of guys here that were pushing for playing time last year,” said Dalton.  “But I think if we can get another one that would be great.  We feel like we have a lot of weapons now, but if we can add another skill guy that would really help us out.”

Regardless of how the Bengals address the opening at wide receiver, the offense should benefit from having a normal off-season that is not interrupted by a lockout.

“It’s going to be big,” said Dalton.  “We’re going to start over – back to square one – and make sure we have all the ins-and-outs.  It comes down to our comfort level.  Now I’m not learning a new offense in my second year, so I feel really comfortable and excited to get out there.”

“Obviously, we kind of know the offense already, but we’ll be so much farther ahead this year I think,” said Shipley.  “Last year, we had a new quarterback and with the season that he had, I think we’re going to have a lot more confidence.”

And while Shipley hopes to play a major role, he’s been cautioned to take things slowly.

“I was informed today that I’m still in the rehab process, so it just depends on what they want me to do,” said Shipley.  “I expected them to say that, but I think they just wanted me to understand that I don’t need to do too much.”

**********

One of the most interesting experiences of Andy Dalton’s off-season was representing the Bengals when the NFL unveiled its new Nike uniforms at a gala celebration in New York.

If you look closely at the group photo of all 32 uniforms, you’ll see Dalton in the upper right-hand corner.

“I was standing on a little ledge and (the photographer) was like, ‘Step more to the left,’ and I said, ‘I’m going to fall off this thing if I go any more to the left.’” said Dalton.  “It was just an honor.  There were guys that have been in the league for a long time and have played very well and gone to a bunch of Pro Bowl, so it was just an honor to be there with all of them.

“It was pretty cool.  Nike was all for it and said it was one of the biggest openings for a company.  It was a cool experience and I’m glad I got to be a part of it.”

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If the Bengals are indeed in the market for a wide receiver in next month’s draft at No. 17 or No. 21, they look to have another first-round option after Baylor’s Kendall Wright  ran a 4.3-second 40-yard dash at his pro workout Wednesday in Waco, Texas.

Wright fell over the side last month at the scouting combine when he ran 4.61 seconds, which mystified teams because it didn’t match how fast he played on tape.

Now Wright seems all right. NFL Network’s Mike Mayock said on the air he’d be stunned now if Wright fell out of the top 20 and ESPN’s Todd McShay said on the ESPN Chicago blog that the 40 “helps you kind of solidify the fact he’s one of the top two or three receivers in the draft.”

NFL.com’s Gil Brandt observed on his blog after he watched Wright catch balls from Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III, “Everybody ‘oohed and ahhed’ at some (of) the catches that Kendall Wright made. The thing about him is, you can’t throw the ball over his head on deep routes. But he’s a very, very athletic guy who’s very strong.”

The Bears are apparently all over Wright and there were tweets Wednesday saying he won’t get past Chicago at No. 19. In the Bengals.com Media Mock Draft held this past weekend, the Bears took Notre Dame wide receiver Michael Floyd and Wright was still on the board for the Bengals.

Speaking of receivers, former Bengal Andre Caldwell also helped his stock Wednesday when he became the first receiver recruited to Hall of Famer Peyton Manning’s stable in Denver with a two-year deal. Caldwell was never really right last season after a groin injury in training camp and the additions of slot receivers Jordan Shipley, Andrew Hawkins and Ryan Whalen made him expendable.

He’s a relliable and smart player, a good route-runner and a  good blocker. He  caught 124 balls in four years, but will always be remembered for two he caught within 21 days from Carson Palmer; TDs in the last minute to beat Pittsburgh and Baltimore to help the ’09 AFC North sweep possible. And Caldwell’s five-yard TD catch with 10:52 left in Tennessee last year brought the Bengals from behind in the win that ended up putting them in the playoffs.

That didn’t take long, did it?

One day after the Bengals returned from the NFL Scouting Combine, a report surfaced in the National Football Authority citing an NFL executive saying Cincinnati and the Cardinals are in talks for a first-round trade that would allow the Bengals to draft Alabama running back Trent Richardson with Arizona’s No. 13 pick.

But ProFootballTalk.com’s Mike Florio offered Wednesday that with offensive coordinator Jay Gruden saying he likes a back-by-committee he rules out the Bengals using a first-round pick for Richardson on what they see as a rotational position.

On Wednesday afternoon there were no indications that the Bengals brass was involved in any trade talks with any teams. And while the executive told NFA the Bengals think very highly of Richardson, the club is still in the process of setting its board following the combine.

Given that the Bengals have traded up once in the first round in their history and it blew up with the ACL injury to running back Ki-Jana Carter, it’s hard to see them doing it again for a guy that plays the same position. They could draft Richardson with one of their own picks at No. 17 or No. 21, but that would go against their grain, too. They’ve only taken a running back four times in the first round: Archie Griffin in 1976, Charles Alexander in 1979, Carter in 1995 and Chris Perry in 2004.

If they did trade up this year, it would most likely happen on Draft Day and it would be for a cornerback, but history says no.

Just think. There are still 56 days until they make those picks and it’s started already.

As the smoke cleared from the NFL Scouting Combine’s final workout Tuesday, the Bengals may have two more cornerbacks added to their list of players for consideration at No. 17 or 21.

Central Florida’s Josh Robinson, projected early in the process as a third-rounder by some, lit up his 40-yard dash time in Indianapolis with 4.33 seconds and South Carolina’s Stephon Gilmore ran 4.40 in a bid to break out of his late-first, early-second box. But Nebraska’s Alfonzo Dennard didn’t help himself with a 4.55.

LSU’s Morris Claiborne (4.50) and Alabama’s Dre Kirkpatrick (4.51) solidified themselves as the draft’s two top corners that probably won’t be there when the Bengals pick. But one AFC scout says the times offered by Robinson and Gilmore now give the league four possible first-round corners.

The knocks on the 5-10, 195-pound Robinson are that he’s got a small frame and didn’t go against a lot of big-time competition at Central Florida. But the pluses are he played well against Bengals Pro Bowl receiver A.J. Green as a sophomore and he can also return punts.

“I think he gets another look now,” the scout said. “Now you have to go back and look at his game tape and look at him at his pro day. And Gilmore helped himself in a big way. It’s the same thing. This will get them more scrutiny. Gilmore has got really good size.”

Good enough at 6-0, 190 pounds that Gilmore is being talked about eventually moving to safety, but the fast 40 time figures to keep his first-round corner hopes alive. North Alabama’s Janoris Jenkins looks to be in his own class. Tuesday’s 4.46 reaffirmed his physical gifts, but his off-field problems could take him out of first-round consideration.

“Jenkins is the classic gamble,” the scout said. “High risk, high reward.”

Alabama’s Mark Barron didn’t run Tuesday, but he’s the lock No. 1 safety. Notre Dame’s Harrison Smith tore off a 4.57 and the scout says, “That will put him in the discussion in the first round.” But in all probability he won’t grade high enough for the Bengals to take a safety that’s not Barron in the first round.