Paul Dehner did a peice about Yoshi, Brown, and their new wide receiver coach Drew Lieberman for the Athletic.

Full Article: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5588373/2024/06/26/bengals-andrei-iosivas-chase-brown/

Quote:They were relentless.

And rough around the edges.

“I got really lucky,” Lieberman said. “It was mostly them. It was their coachability, their willingness to commit to this. They are the most on-point, dedicated, nice, incredible kids. Not to mention, neither of them knew a goddamn thing, so I had no bad habits to break.”

Lieberman laughs at the side-by-side video now. The differences in speed, stride length, hands and breaks looked almost comical.

“The main thing is the technique of it, just running full stride,” Brown said. “Route running is an art. You see a lot of guys, the top-tier guys make it look easy, but there is a lot that goes into it, full stride, break points, hip shifts. There’s a ton of things that break down a good route runner.”

Quote:“The whole first month of February all we did was work on being ball stoppers,” Lieberman said. “Chase became confident catching the ball. When he first came to me, every time he would catch the ball, his head would snap back first, he would flinch away from the ball. There’s no consistency with the way you shoot your hands, you are just praying you catch it.”

What followed were days upon days of catching through lunges, squats, on one leg, laying down and constantly simulating every contortion, break type and adverse condition for a catch. They rebuilt the basics.

Spending hours on the field with a receiver coach repeating these specific motions isn’t possible with the limited practice time allowed in the NFL. Every rep is valuable for learning scheme and functionality with the offense. You can talk it and emphasize it, but development can often fall by the wayside in the NFL churn.

Truly dedicating to the repetition of catching for somebody who never really did so is the gap in the market Lieberman preys upon.

“Make him fearless, make him confident, keep his head steady,” Lieberman said. “Then create consistent catching mechanics once you stabilize everything. As soon as the ball started slowing down, the game started slowing down. Chase looked like a running back when I started with him, like an uncoordinated route runner. Now this guy looks like a starting slot receiver in the NFL.”

ESPN posted an article this morning highlighting someone from every NFL team's minicamp.
https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/40380139/nfl-surprise-standout-players-otas-spring-minicamps

For the Bengals, that player is...Dax Hill!

Quote:Hill entered the offseason in a precarious spot. The 2022 first-round pick was the starting free safety last season in an experiment that didn't pan out. Hill was moved to outside cornerback, where he appears to be taking charge in a position battle with DJ Turner, a second-round pick from 2023 who started 12 games. Hill has taken the move in stride and was disruptive in 7-on-7 drills during the team's mandatory minicamp. He's shaping up to remain a useful player for the Bengals as they enter training camp. -- Ben Baby

Browns here.

We move back to the Defensive side of the LOS and talk CB. We lost our CB#1 but have been preparing for it. So where your got CTB/ DJ/Mike/CB4

IMPORTANT: This poll in this thread allows you to vote twice. Once for where you rank our CBs and once for who you think will have the better stats at the end of the year (Dax Hill or Josh Nelson)

As always, the competition:
ARZ: SEAN MURPHYBUNTING/GARRETT WILLIAMS/ ELIJAH JONES/MAX MELTON
ATL: AJ TERRELL/ CLARK PHILLIPS/ ANTONIO HAMILTON/ MIKE HUGHES
BAL: MARLON HUMPHREY/ BRANDON STEPHENS/ NATE WIGGINS/ ATHUR MAULET
BUF: RASUL DOUGLAS/ CHRISTIAN BENFORD/ KAAIR ELAM/ TARON JOHNSON
CAR: DANE JACKSON/ JAYCEE HORN/ TROY HILL/ D’SHAWN JAMISON
CHI: JAYLON JOHNSON/ TYRIQUE STEVENSON/ TERELL SMITH/ KYLER GORDON
CLV: DENZEL WARD/ MARTIN EMERSON/ GREG NEWSOME/ JUSTIN HARDEE
DAL: DARON BLAND/ TREVON DIGGS/ NAHSLON WRIGHT/ JOUDAN LEWIS
DEN: LEVI WALLACE/ PAT SURTAIN/ JAQUAN MCMILLAN/ DAMARRI MATHIS
DET: CARLTON DAVIS/ TERRION ARNOLD/ ENNIS RAKESTRAW/ AMIL ROBERTSON
GBP: JAIRE ALEXANDER/ ERIC STOKES/ KEISEAN NIXON/ CARRINGTON VALENTINE
HOU: DEREK STINGLEY JR/ JEFF OKUDAH/ CJ HENDERSON/ KAMARI LASSITER
IND: JUJU BRENTS/ KENNY MOORE/ JAYLON JONES/ JAYLIN SIMPSON
JAX: RONALD DARBY/ TYSON CAMPBELL/ DARNELL SAVAGE/ MONTARIC BROWN
KCC: TRENT MCDUFFIE/ JAYLEN WATSON/ JOSH WILLIAMS/ NIC JONES
LAC: ASSANTE SAMUEL/ KRISTIN FULTON/ JASIR TAYLOR/ CAM HART
LAR: TREDAVIOUS WHITE/ DARIOUS WILLIAMS/ COBIE DURANT/ QUENTIN LAKE
LVR: JACK JONES/ NATE HOBBS/ JAK BENNETT/ BRANDON FACYSON
MIA: KENDALL FULLER/ JALEN RAMSEY/ KADER KOHOU/ NIK NEEDHAM
MIN: BYRON MURPHY/ AKAYLEB EVANS/ MEKHI BLACKMON/ SHAR GRIFFIN
NEP: JONATHAN JONES/ CHRISTIAN GONZALEZ/ MARCUS JONES/ SHAUN WADE
NOS: MARSHAON LATTIMORE/ KOOLAID MCKINSTRY/ PAUL ADEBO/ ALONTAE TAYLOR
NYG: CORDALE FLOTT/ DEONTE BANKS/ AARON ROBINSON/ DRU PHILLIPS
NYJ: SAUCE GARDNER/ DJ REED/ MICHAEL CARTER/ QWAN STIGGERS
PHI: QUINYON MITCHELL/ DARIUS SLAY/ JAMES BRADBERRY/ AVONTE MADDOX
PIT: JOEY PORTER/ DONTE JACKSON/ CAMERON SUTTON/ JOSIAH SCOTT
SEA: DEVON WITHERSPOON/ RIQ WOOLEN/ TRE BRAOWN/ MICHAEL JACKSON
SFF: CHARVIOUS WARD/ DORE LENOIR/ RENARDO GREEN/ ISSAC YIADOM
TBB: JAMEL DEAN/ ZYON MCCOLLUM/ JOSH HAYES/ CHRISTIAN IZIEN
TEN: CHIDOBE AWUZIE/ LJARIUS SNEED/ ROGER MCCREARY/ TRE AVERY
WAS: EMMANUEL FORBERS/ BEN STJUSTE/ MIKE SAINRISTILL/ MICHAEL DAVIS

TOP FA’s: XAVIEN HOWARD/ JC JACKSON/ ADOREE JACKSON/ STEPHON GILMORE

I think the Bengals are going to obliterate and innovate on what the "slot receiver" is this year.

I don't think they are going to have one dedicated "slot receiver". They will mix and match personnel. You will see Chase, Geiseki, Yoshi, Chase Brown, Burton, and even maybe Higgins all line up in that slot position.

I think this will be an innovation that many other teams in the NFL start copying as teams continue to try and take WRs out of the game with cover 2 and cloud coverage.

I'm excited about the possibilities. The Bengals finally have the personnel to dictate the concept.

Can you imagine the Bengals if this team is laying on the blocks.

Before 1988, nobody was really talking Bengals that summer. I told friends they still had Munoz and Montoya and if they block teams up and down the field, watch out for The Bengals in 1988. The Bengals have the talent to move those trenches up and down the field in 2024. Some NFL reporters have said The Bengals have built a San Francisco 49ers type O Line. I hope so. You look at every Super Bowl film, and you will see the best O Line won. A great O Line would let Burrow get the ball to Chase, Higgins, and a running game.

It's very possible Bengals may have one of their best O Lines ever this season. If so, watch out NFL, here comes our Bengals. We've seen bad O Lines, and you can throw the playbook in the garbage with no blocking. However with blocking, the X's and O's of the playbook work if the big guys are laying on the blocks and pushing defenses backwards. One year that stands out to me was Bill Parcells Giants in play-offs knocking defenses backwards every snap. I said nobody is going to beat that, and nobody did. So if Bengals have great blocking it will dominate, the Bengals defense won't even have to be on the field much. The best defense is a good offense

GO BENGALS

This story comes from the Last Word On Sports, and I suppose they likely do one of these articles for every team. I chose to post this one, not just because it's on the Bengals (duh?) but because it goes hand in hand with what many of us have been talking about throughout OTAs and Minicamp. They chose Murphy, Iosivas, and yes, the much maligned Cordell Volson as the Bengals breakout season candidates, and I couldn't agree more.

What say you? Did they get it wrong, leave anyone out?

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/3-breakout-candidates-for-the-cincinnati-bengals/ar-BB1onQI1?ocid=msedgntp&pc=U531&cvid=58dc94d97fec4a939a5f7a20fa800385&ei=14

Quote:The Cincinnati Bengals are currently in vacation mode with training camp a little over a month away. This doesn’t mean the coaches and front office aren’t hard at work evaluating players they think can help them get back to the top of the AFC North. The orange and black kept all 10 of their 2024 draft picks so competition will be at an all-time high to make this year’s squad. Let’s examine three breakout candidates that can help the Bengals return to the postseason for the third time in four seasons.

3 Breakout Candidates for the Cincinnati Bengals

Myles Murphy
The Bengals’ EDGE is an intriguing 6’5″, 275-pound player who ramped up his production as the season progressed. Murphy played in all 17 games and his long arms, bend, and initial push seemed to be his calling cards en route to three sacks and 10 solo tackles in his first season in stripes. This is a solid start, and Murphy still has some untapped potential that defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo will build on. The hope is he will move from being a rotational piece to a starter. The Bengals won’t be afraid to kick him inside the defensive line to get a more favorable matchup if the situation dictates it this season. Murphy has also transformed his physique this offseason and has been a standout performer in workouts thus far. He is still only 22 years old and his fantastic RAS score should give Bengals fans hope about his future along the defensive line.

Andrei Iosivas
Another player who has shined thus far in early sessions is second-year player Andrei Iosivas. The connection between quarterback Joe Burrow and Iosivas in the red zone last season was beautiful to watch. The former Princeton product is looking to become a more well-rounded wide receiver and that’s exactly what he’s on pace to do. Coaches have been raving about his progress with an updated playbook under the watchful eye of the new offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher. With Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins not participating in on-air throws, Iosivas has taken full advantage of his reps and looked like the best receiver on the field. The Bengals hope he continues to excel throughout training camp to help make their offense even more dynamic in the regular season.

Cordell Volson
Possibly a surprise pick in the breakout player category is the much-maligned Cordell Volson. The third-year left guard is occasionally noted as the weak link on the Bengals offensive line. The biggest feather in Volson’s cap is how durable he’s been. He’s started 36 consecutive games (including postseason) to begin his career and is the only player on the team to line up for every offensive snap in the 2022 regular season, ’22 postseason, and ’23 regular season.

Volson was starting to find his footing in the last half of 2023 and was playing some excellent football.


With the recent additions of Trent Brown and Amarius Mims, Volson will stay motivated to continue his torrid play that bookended his 2023. If he does, Burrow will have the best offensive line he’s had since he arrived in 2020 and that might mean bad news for the rest of the NFL

https://x.com/nflmedia/status/1802748566219432280?s=46&t=KykfZ347urC7n4SwKapNFg


Covering our run all the way to the SB excited for this.

We got 'im:

https://x.com/RapSheet/status/1802004657796989096

So he'll report to TC

EDIT* fixed the title to reflect the tag, not long-term.

https://youtu.be/55pyq-UYcfk?si=sPsL6Gx0TCkQXpta

I laughed somebody asked him about I think Trent Brown at guard or a jumbo package. He said who he thought were large people in the past are small now LOL. Pretty Funny.