Let’s be as clear as the four homers Scooter Gennett blasted out of Great American Ball Park the other night.
The Bengals rookies have yet to play hard ball. At the end of business Wednesday they had practiced nine times without pads. When you’re an NFL lineman in either trench, that’s a little like getting ready to face Chris Sale’s trap-door slider in beer league softball.
“Underwear football,” is the derisive name Bengals iconic nose tackle Tim Krumrie gave the spring workouts long ago.
But let’s also be as clear as Gennett’s Muppet Babies nickname. Some around Paul Brown Stadium think fourth-round pick Carl Lawson just may be the most natural edge pass rusher to come through Bengaldom in a couple of decades.