INDIANAPOLIS — The Cincinnati Bengals have been scrutinized more than any other franchise in the NFL for the way the organization conducts business. From contract negotiations to draft day blunders the list goes on.

Just when fans think the team has turned the corner, the Bengals miss that bend in the road and continue driving towards another losing season. 4-11-1 brings up painful memories.

What will it take for the Benagls to reach the next plateau? What changes have to be made to get this team winning again? I'll give you one. For starters team owners may want to give head coach Marvin Lewis a bit more control. He has a clue on how to get the job done unlike some others.

I had the chance to sit in on Lewis' interview with local reporters at the NFL Scouting Combine on Friday as he answered questions about the team. For me, I was pleasantly surprised at what I heard. I couldn't help but get caught up in what the coach was preaching.

"I think when you're drafting any player you want to have something that he can do right away as a rookie and be can be successful at," Lewis said. "For me, that's the most important thing. It's up to us as coaches and as an organization to project a player. You have to be able to provide the niche for that guy to be successful when he comes in to do something.

"I don't care what it is, whether it's carrying the water bottles out on the field. He has to be able to do something he's comfortable doing when he was on his campus. The other stuff he knows is going to be learned over time."

Lewis said there are certain things when you watch players on tape that make you say, 'Wow, that guy can do that'. The coach's philosophy is to provide players with an opportunity to perform at a high-level once he enters the pros." "You pick players for a certain reason," he said. "There was something that stood out in your mind on what they were doing on their college tape and you have to provide them with that avenue to get them in there."

Lewis seeks perfection from everyone. Water boy included.

Senior Bowl helpful

"It gives you a little head start on things and a little better feel," the coach said. "I know how 40 some odd guys are going to compete and work. I have a little better feel for how the other guys are going to work because I watched them practice.

"Being around our team I had a better idea of how they function as young men than I would have if I had someone else tell me about it. I had the chance to maybe observe them a little more. I watched the interaction with the coaches and families, which is important as you go down the line."

Coach Lewis said that coaching the Senior Bowl was a small head start for the Bengals, but the Combine is where the real evaluations begin.

Many fans are lobbying for the Bengals to select the best available offensive tackle with the sixth overall pick in the draft, but it is believed that the team will be looking for a true impact player with the pick either on offense or defense.

The one name that has surfaced over the weekend in association with the Bengals draft pick is Georgia running back Knowshon Moreno. According to one NFL scout, Moreno would not only bolster the Bengals running game but also the passing game should they lose one or two of their receivers. He called the running back electrifying and a game-breaker.

Moreno ran some slow 40-times at the Combine, but the fact that he added 10-pounds of muscle to his frame since Georgia's last game could have played a large part in the poor performance.

As for the team picking an offensive tackle with the first pick, I wouldn't bet on it.

When asked about this year's crop of offensive linemen Lewis didn't seem overly impressed with the pool of talent.

"I have not seen all the prospects, but the total group is probably a pretty good group," he said. "I don't know that there's the standout, a franchise guy type player, but maybe I'm wrong. Generally guys go up and down, but I think in the total group this is a particularly good group."

Unappreciated in Cincy

I think it's funny how Lewis is so well respected around the league for his body of work in the NFL, but seems to receive little or no respect in Cincinnati.

Nearly every new NFL coach, Jim Schwartz (Lions), Rex Ryan (Ravens), that stepped up to the podium at the Combine paid homage to Lewis for impacting their lives not only as coaches but as human beings.

I think it is time for the Bengals organization to recognize what they have in their head coach and let the man run the ship. The window of opportunity could be closing for this team and they are in need of a quick turn around.

What's that saying? You don't know a good thing until it's gone.