THE BROO VIEW with Ken Broo

It's Monday! Don't worry, it's all downhill from here....

Two questions I heard a lot this weekend: what did you think of the Bengals draft and what can be done to fix the Reds Short answer for both questions: Bengals draft, OK. Reds? Not much.

I liked the Bengals first round pick. If you were with me last season for Bengals group therapy or for this show before the games, I consistently said the teams that are successful in the NFL now throw the ball and they consistently throw it to the tight end. San Diego, Antonio Chapman. Indy, Dallas Clark. Dallas, Jason Whittman. Pittsburgh? Heath Miller. Pick any team that wins, they’ve got one. The Bengals finally got one. By all accounts, Jerrmaine Gresham can catch and run and is a big target to work the middle of the field. You don’t have to send an under-sized wide receiver to work that territory anymore against big linebackers. You got yourself a horse. Gresham, good pick.

Second round pick Carlos Dunlap? Don’t like the pick. It’s got nothing really to do with the DUI. Yes I know, the Bengals have had too many of those on their resume. I don’t like the fact that they drafted a guy who has some motivational problems. The rap on Dunlap is that he doesn’t always work hard and takes plays off. You don’t get better with guys who have to be motivated and takes plays off. Now I know he said all the right things when he was in here yesterday for his session with the media. You’d expect that at least. I watched Dunlap play a lot this season. He made some plays. He plays high. I think that’s going to be a problem. I heard Mike Zimmer say Friday night that if motivating Dunlap is necessary, he will. But you expend a lot of coaching energy doing that. And there were plenty of other players available to the Bengals in that second round who didn’t appear to need motivation. I hope I’m wrong. But I’m not buying it yet.

Third round, Jordan Shipley is a nice addition. I saw a lot of his games the past couple of years. I watched him against Oklahoma a couple of years ago. He was one of the best players on the field. Saw the game the Longhorns played against Central Florida this past season. Even though it was an overmatched opponent. Shipley was all over the field. He reminds me a little bit of TJ. He’s not the fastest guy in the world. But he gets open and has good hands. And he runs precise routes. Good clean, crisp cuts. That’s crucial in an offense like the one the bengals operate out of. pp2 Brandon Ghee, the cornrerback out of Wake Forest, the other third round pick I thought was a reach. I didn’t see a lot of Wake’s games this year. I know he played for an excellent coach and a good system down there. But when you’re a starting cornerback in a conference like the ACC and you have only one career interception, that’s a problem for me. The Bengals defense is at its best when it takes the ball away. That’s how it helps the team win. If Ghee is a guy they’re looking at to eventually replace one of their two starting corners, they’ve got a lot of coaching up to do.

Anything after round three is a crap shoot. The Bengals have had their share of guys drafted late who’ve been solid players. Bernard Scott in round six last year. Jonathan Fanene in round seventh in ‘05. TJ in round seven back in 2007. But by and large, after round three, you’re hoping. And I have to laugh when I hear some ot the talking heads on the cable channels grading drafts. You can’t grade a draft the day after it’s completed. They don’t, you dont’ and I don’t know how any of this is going to play out for any other these picks. But I thought on the whole, the Bengals draft was OK.

The Reds? I think Dusty Baker and Walt Jocketty, and probably Bob Castellini have some serious decisions to make. And I hope they turn out better than the one big decision they made this week. Because moving up Bronson Arroyo to start a day early to give Johnny Cueto an extra day’s rest was a disaster. Arroyo gives the Reds their best chance to rest the bullpen. He may be a ‘500’ pitcher, but he eats inings. Except when the Reds did what they did this week. If Arroyo pitches better in the daytime than at night, then why move him from a daytime start to a nighttime start? Makes no sense. And Cueto didn’t benefit from it. There are serious issues with both Cueto and Aaron Harang.

You know what I’d do? I’d put Harang in the bullpen. If the Cubs can do it with Carlos Zambrano, this team can do it with Harang. For whatever reason, he refuses to pitch inside and because of that, too many pitches are left over the plate. Long relief, 7th inning work, set up anything that will give him a different look at the game. It may help him become an effective pitcher in the rotation again.

Someone whose opinion I trust worked in the Reds front office when Cueto was drafted. He was projected as a bullpen guy. It makes sense now, given how many pitches it takes him to complete five innings. Saturday was actually good by his standards: six inings 88 pitches. I think it might be time for Cueto to take a trip to Louisville. He needs to relearn how to pitch ahead in the count, not get swept up in trying to strike every batter out. He needs some quality time with Louisville pitching coach, Ted Power.

I don’t know a whole lot about Bryan Price. I just know he had some success in Arizona and Seattle before that. I’m sure he knows what he’s doing. But a different voice, particularly one who is a very good tactical teacher like Power may be the best course for Cueto. So even though this team can’t hit consistently I’d start with pitching. Cueto goes to Louisville for awhile and Harang goes to the pen.

That opens up two spots in the rotation. I think you’ve got three candidates. One option is Micah Owings. The other two are in Lousiville. Sam Lecure is 2-0 with an earned run average of 2.08. Opposing hitters are hitting .222 off him. Matt Maloney is 3-0 with an ERA of 2.16 and the other guys are hitting .242 off him. I think there are options right now, before this thing gets completely out of hand.As we said last week, this is looking a lot like last year. Before it morphs into it, it’s time to be proactive.

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