PRE-SEASON REASONS

I understand that fans are not necessarily enamored with pre-season but if you're a coach you certainly love it. There is no other way to evaluate rookies, emerging players and if you have new coordinators, new schemes. For fans we know the excitement of new football season is tempered by the fact your favorite players will probably make a mere cameo in pre-season game one. Obviously they already know what is expected of them and secondly it reduces the potential for injury I would summarize.

So as the Cincinnati Bengals prepare to meet the New York Giants tonight at Paul Brown Stadium there are lots of things for you to set your sights on. Veteran Andrew Whitworth is down 40 pounds and looks like he added 5 years to his career. Former Green Bay Packer A. J. Hawk will see his first action as a Bengal and certainly will be welcomed as a native of Southwest Ohio and Ohio State. I will be curious to see the defensive backfield players like Dre Kirkpatrick who continues to stake his claim as a starter and Darqueze Dennard try to justify his value as a number one pick.

The Bengals also drafted one of the most exciting players from the college ranks and he should not only add excitement and energy that the fans love but the yardage and field position the coaches care about. If you love and play video games the name Super Mario is an appropriate one for Mario Alford who joins a long list of West Virginia players who have donned the stripes including one Adam Jones who has been Mr. Electric and now coupled with Super Mario will make it hard for a special teams coach to sleep at night.

As you can see these story lines and so many more are why pre-season is worth the watch. Keep it in perspective because sooner than later the starters will be front and center and the the season will be in play. Who knows; tonight may be the start of a love affair with a new fan favorite. Super Mario seems to be the obvious one but in the midwest the hard working guy usually gets the nod and a spot on the roster. That's the way I see it sitting in The Box Seat. I'm Wayne Box Miller.