07-03-2016, 06:35 PM
(07-03-2016, 05:15 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: Nate, as much as I am stoked about what Billings could be over the course of his career, let's not forget that he isn't a perfect prospect. He still has some technique issues to work out in his game.
If you remember, his scouting report stated that he tended to rely too much on forward lean, was prone to overextending and ending up on the ground. He needs work on backfield awareness, patience, and has limited lateral range. When you combine that with the fact that the Bengals don't generally give rookies a whole lot of downs, to begin with, I think that it will be later in the season before Billings can be expected to make any sort of significant contribution.
Edit: I'm not trying to be a ballbuster, just trying to keep things in the realm of realism. Geno Atkins is a bonafide Superstar, after that we have average and unknown. Hard for me to rate that as an "Elite" unit.
Yeah, i get a lot of those critiques on Billings to a point except the limited lateral range. Dude chases down fast
RB's going to the edge. That was to me one of the most impressive things i saw about the man at Baylor. He is
extremely athletic for a DT. People also said he was too short, Atkins is shorter than Billings.
I truly believe that by midseason Billings will show too much in limited snaps to keep on the bench.
I believe he will start after 8 games, that is how good i think he could be as a rookie.
If given the chance he is already better than Peko in every aspect IMHO.
I understand why you don't rate the unit elite at this point. I am presuming a lot here.
