12-11-2021, 10:25 PM
(12-11-2021, 09:49 PM)Tiger Teeth Wrote: Vontaze and Odell. Two dudes that wasted amazing ability and potential HOF status one day. Just...*poof*.
Vontaze drew so much attention that it seemed like he was a big star for a few years. But we really only got ONE great year from him. 2013 league leading 171 tackles, 9 TFL, 5 QB hits, 6 PD, 1 int, Fumble recovery td. And it was no coincidence that our defense ranked 3rd in yards and 5th in points that year. Burfict not only played at an elite level he also made sure that the defense was properly aligned and adjustments made when needed.
That was just his second season and he had not yet missed a single game. He was on track to be one of the truly great players in the league. But he only played 47 more games over six seasons. Never more than 11 in any year.
Not counting the guys on the team right now I think the Bengals have only had 5 real "elite" players over the last decade (Atkins, Whitworth, Green, Eifert, Burfict). We only got ONE really great season from 2 of the 5. I don't believe in curses, but we do have some damn bad luck. It goes all the way back to Icky Woods.
