After taking the brunt of the criticism for Cincinnati's disappointing 8-8 season in 2006, the Bengals defense lost two notable linebackers as training camp was about to open.  The announcement that David Pollack's neck injury would keep Cincinnati's No. 1 draft pick in 2005 out for the season wasn't a shock. But NFL commissioner Roger Goodell's decision not to reinstate Odell Thurman was.  Thurman was Cincinnati's leading tackler in 2005, and now he will miss a second consecutive season because of his substance-abuse suspension. Also gone is linebacker Brian Simmons, a nine-year veteran who signed with New Orleans.  That leaves Cincinnati's linebacking duties in the hands of a group that's largely young and lightly tested, and has had to battle adversity.

How that unit performs likely will be the key either to regaining the edge Cincinnati had while leading the NFL in takeaways in 2005, or to resembling the 2006 club that ranked 30th in total defense.  "You coach who you have, and these are the guys I have," Cincinnati linebackers coach Ricky Hunley says. "It would be no different if we still had those guys and one of them got injured. All my guys know that they're one play away from being the guy." 

The most seasoned linebacker is free agent acquisition Edgerton Hartwell, who's in his seventh season. He was Baltimore's second most productive tackler in 2003-04, but then made only 11 starts the last two years with Atlanta, because of injuries.  "Our group is a young bunch of hungry guys who are ready to go out there and hit somebody," Hartwell says. "They're all willing to learn." Hartwell will vie for the weakside spot with fourth-year player Landon Johnson, the Bengals' leading tackler last year. Hunley says Johnson had one of the best offseason programs, and that he has added muscle after working with a nutritionist.

The most intriguing of the group is Ahmad Brooks, who will take over the middle linebacker spot once manned by Thurman.  In 2004, Brooks looked like a future first-round pick after making some All-American teams as a sophomore at Virginia.  But injuries limited Brooks to six games in 2005 and then he was dismissed from the Cavaliers. That forced Brooks into the NFL's supplemental draft, where he was selected in the third round. 

With the Bengals having numerous arrests and off-field incidents the last two seasons, his selection drew some criticism.  "With the things the Cincinnati Bengals have been going through, I guess people put that red target on me, as being another one of them," Brooks says.  Hunley says Brooks, 23, is coming of age quickly.  "We've really been pleased with how hard he worked in the offseason, and how he's matured in the classroom," Hunley says. "We know he has all the physical traits."

At strongside linebacker, the Bengals will have two converted defensive ends, Rashad Jeanty and Eric Henderson.  Jeanty was a fortuitous pickup last year who filled in after Pollack suffered a severe neck injury in the second game. He had spent the previous three seasons in the CFL with Edmonton.  "I think it brings a little more attitude," Jeanty says of having two former pass rushers in Cincinnati's linebacking corps. "There's a little more size, a little more aggressiveness."  Brooks calls Henderson "a hitting machine" who "brings a different game to linebacker, getting right in the offense's backfield, exploding the play." Like Brooks, Henderson also had setbacks after a fast start in college.  At Georgia Tech, Henderson had 11 sacks as a sophomore in 2003, then was limited by injuries the next two seasons. Last year, he was on Cincinnati's practice squad.  Henderson says making the switch from defensive end has been made easier by being able to hear how Jeanty made the same conversion.  "It's good to have someone who can relate to what I'm doing," Henderson says. "You have to have a lot of respect for him, coming from Canada. He's a guy who kept grinding until he reached his goal."

USAToday.com

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/football/nfl/bengals/2007-07-30-untested-linebackers_N.htm