Player Bias

[*psychdoctor*]

To the OP, a few things...

Firstly, Price was drafted from THE Ohio State University and many (absolutely not all) Bengal fans are Buckeye fans, hence, prejudice to support Price.

Secondly, different expectations for different roles a player has on the team. WR is a skilled set role, OL is a grunt in the trenches. It has been stated by Lap and others that when an OL player's name is called, it is usually due to a mistake or a penalty. OL players are rarely noticed for the "good" plays they make. They tend to be unsung heroes. Conversely, there is a different lens to view skilled set players, especially at QB. Similarly, WR are "expected" to catch the ball and score. Skilled set players are visible heroes or visible failures. Their performance stands-out and is magnified to the average fan. When a WR makes spectacular catches they are somewhat glorified, but when they may spectacular drops, they are vilified. Price and Ross have different roles and different expectations.

Finally, like others have previously stated, Ross was viewed as a bad draft choice from the start due to his injury issues, maybe due to the perception that there were better players available to fit the needs of the team (like you stated in OJ Howard). Price was viewed (at the time) as the BPA at a position of need. Negative first impressions are hard to shake unless the player exceeds expectations. It is safe to conclude that Ross has not succeeded expectations up to this point.

I personally want both Ross and Price to succeed expectations this year.