Will a roster overhaul do any good?
By "Shawn Cortez"

Off-Season 2105 (Cincinnati, OH) - When the Bengals traded away long time star and fan favorite, Dale Sappington, most consider that a sign that they were throwing the towel in and starting a rebuild. That, however, was not the case. In all actuality it was quite the opposite.

'I never rebuild. It's a word that I don't like too much. I don't think that it's needed. You can keep a good team on the field while you build up your talent level. I never see the reason to have a down year like we did last year. That was a travesty, and I won't do that to our fans again.'

Sappington left town on good terms and a host of new faces trotted in. Among them was QB Roman Romberg from GB. Roman was picked up via waivers when GB was forced to let him go due to some cap issues.

'He will certainly help our team. I think his veteran leadership will be priceless to the team. He has been there before and that is exactly the kind of guy we need on our team right now.'

T Antoine Reed came over from Chicago just one year after the Bengals had made him a hefty offer. The Bengals attempted to lure Reed away from the Bears last year, but Chicago wasn't willing to part with him. Cincinnati traded away a future third round pick for his services this year.

Reed may not have a whole lot left in the tank, but with the move to the I Formation this year the Bengals needed to beef up their offensive line.

Defense may be an issue this year, but with the move to the 3-4 and the signing of two free agent LB's the Bengals feel they have enough to be in the upper half of the league.

On the DL the Bengals may not look like we have seen them in the past. Gone are the days of the speed burners and in are the days of the strong brutes with quickness and agility.

'Agost showed everyone that you don't have to be the fastest guy to get to the QB. He had 20 sacks a few years ago, and we have several other guys on this line that could pan out just like he did. Determination, strength and quickness will work wonders for a lineman.'

LB had a serious upgrade during the offesason. The Bengals signed Barry Everett and Steve Walker in free agency and added Garfield Stanton via trade, which gives them three solid LB to fill out the 3-4 defense that is being implemented this year.

Overall the Bengals brought in 13 new faces while trading away two.

Traded Away:
DL Dale Sappington
OL Dick Newman

Picked Up:
WR Ethan McClurg
T Antoine Reed
K Anthony Reynolds
DT Gregg Davenport
DT Edmondo Tuggle
LB Garfield Stanton
LB Barry Everett
LB Steve Walker
QB Roman Romberg
FB Don Marshall
FB Brad Doll
S David Wells
CB Sean Daluiso

The roster looks very different, but will the record?