(09-21-2021, 10:50 AM)TJ528 Wrote: Racer, Completely agree with you across the board.

However, I'm going to play devils advocate.  

#1 Starting Carmen over XSF - Frank Pollack evidently doesn't believe that Carmen is an upgrade over the veteran which is why he's been riding the pine.  That'd be like us saying last year Billy Price should've been starting at Center because Hopkins sucked.  Everyone said Pollack was this messiah who was going to come in and make this OL average game 1.  We can see that's not the case and probably won't be the case all of 2021. 

#2 Again, Evans a rookie, Pollack is the one who controls the running games and I'm sure has input into what running back is in on blocking downs because he's the one that specializes in blocking.  If Evans was showing in practice he's a better blocker than Perine or Mixon don't you think Pollack would be using him?  

# 3 it's well know that Zac loves the 11 personnel.  Why is he gonna go away from something he knows and feels like he specializes in?  This is his offense and his offense is the 11 personnel to be damned.  He's going to do it his way or no way at all.  They're going to be aggressive this year. Zac said so himself.  

#4 Maybe Zac and Callahan have their eyes closed and think their in the top 10 in offense in the NFL instead of defense? 

Anyway, something needs to change and change quick because if not this season will get away from this team. 

I was looking at the schedule last night and I truly believe this team can lose 6 of their last 7 games on this 2021 schedule. 

Joe Burrow will get hurt bad against the stoolers and will be out weeks. He already talks like he does not want to be in there with this horrible line.

(09-21-2021, 12:18 PM)fortyyearfan Wrote: Joe Burrow will get hurt bad against the stoolers and will be out weeks. He already talks like he does not want to be in there with this horrible line.

Shut up.

(09-21-2021, 08:57 AM)SHRacerX Wrote: 1.) Start Carman over XSF.  XSF has good strength and holds up well in general, but lacks the mobility needed for this scheme.  Carman is a much better athlete.  XSF was dinged up a little as well.  Let Carman practice with the ones and see if he can be an improvement.

2.) Chris Evans.  His coach at Michigan (not Harbaugh) said one of his biggest strengths is blitz pick-up.  Mixon hasn't been used effectively at all in the passing game.  It is time to look at Evans more on third down and obvious passing situations.  This may also help keep Mixon more fresh as I can't help but think one reason he never broke a long run Sunday was the 33 touches week 1.

3.) More 12 personnel.  If you are going to hand the ball off so much on first and second down until you are well behind on the scoreboard, consider running more 12 personnel.  You can still use CJ or Sample as receivers, but you have a better attack for the running game.  

4.) Page 2 of the offensive playbook.  More screens and misdirections, please.  You are very predictable right now based on your formations.  

Just my thoughts to try and show the team that if you aren't getting the job done, you will be replaced by someone that can.

To do NOW. find the following:Either on a practice squad or just out there, a real tightend, at least two O-linemen, a real left tackle,a real multi O-linwmen.Bring in big Willie Anderson and allow him to  help Frank Pollack.Done, and do not go to games and watch this S0-called coach.

(09-21-2021, 12:18 PM)Truck_1_0_1_ Wrote: Heyward is the only starting DL that will play; the rest are PS-esque players.

I wrote in another thread; if truly everyone will be out, whom they think will be out, this would be the BEST game to get Carman in and take his lumps. If he performs well, could give him a huge boost of confidence and may be the starter going forward (as he should be).

And if he gets his ass handed to him and Burrow is flat on his ass all night then I guess his confidence is blown and you've pretty much screwed that kid up for the rest of the year.   

We dont have a RB who can help pick up stuff that Carmen misses.  If we had Gio in the back field I'd feel comfortable with Carmen starting, but with Mixon and Perine and hell even if you put Sample back there I feel like Joe's will get hit hard all day long if/when Carmen misses his block. 

(09-21-2021, 09:08 AM)bengalfan74 Wrote: Agree across the board.

I feel Evans gives you more of a chance at chunk plays and we need chunks. 

And yes they've got to get more creative than just using the same 20 plays over and over.

Last year I wrote Zac Taylor a letter about Jonah Williams and I said he would not hold up against the Defense in our division and not to start him.Instead he got mad and said he would be much improved.Laughable for sure,this guy is going to get Burrow killed.He is not  a good player in the nfl.He got beat all day sunday.Look at the tightend he drafted,he is awlful and can not block at all. The stoolers will win by three scores. And Burrow will not finish the game,he needs to completely heal this season.Draft another head coach.

They will struggle to beat the Jags.

(09-21-2021, 01:03 PM)fortyyearfan Wrote: Last year I wrote Zac Taylor a letter about Jonah Williams and I said he would not hold up against the Defense in our division and not to start him.Instead he got mad and said he would be much improved.Laughable for sure,this guy is going to get Burrow killed.He is not  a good player in the nfl.He got beat all day sunday.Look at the tightend he drafted,he is awlful and can not block at all. The stoolers will win by three scores. And Burrow will not finish the game,he needs to completely heal this season.Draft another head coach.

They will struggle to beat the Jags.

Is Jonah's only sack allowed the one vs the Bears because if so then I would say that sack shouldn't even count against him. Spain got beat so bad it allowed Jonah's guy which I think was Quinn to get in right behind him while Spain and his guy blocked him from coming inside. He has to prove he can stay healthy and we'll have to judge him after the season if he does.

(09-21-2021, 01:03 PM)fortyyearfan Wrote: Last year I wrote Zac Taylor a letter about Jonah Williams and I said he would not hold up against the Defense in our division and not to start him.Instead he got mad and said he would be much improved.Laughable for sure,this guy is going to get Burrow killed.He is not  a good player in the nfl.He got beat all day sunday.Look at the tightend he drafted,he is awlful and can not block at all. The stoolers will win by three scores. And Burrow will not finish the game,he needs to completely heal this season.Draft another head coach.

They will struggle to beat the Jags.

There's a wide bar at the bottom of your keyboard that puts spaces after periods and commas. Won't fix the drivel you're spouting, but it'll make it easier to read.

(09-21-2021, 12:52 PM)TJ528 Wrote: And if he gets his ass handed to him and Burrow is flat on his ass all night then I guess his confidence is blown and you've pretty much screwed that kid up for the rest of the year.   

We dont have a RB who can help pick up stuff that Carmen misses.  If we had Gio in the back field I'd feel comfortable with Carmen starting, but with Mixon and Perine and hell even if you put Sample back there I feel like Joe's will get hit hard all day long if/when Carmen misses his block. 

Well it's really a moot point, right, because XFS is injured and Carman is next man up.

(09-21-2021, 01:23 PM)Sled21 Wrote: Well it's really a moot point, right, because XFS is injured and Carman is next man up.

All we can do is hope that Burrow doesn't get slaughtered on Sunday, if the blocking is anything like it was Sunday. 

Also, if Joe Burrow can't move around in the pocket, and on Sunday it appeared he couldn't move at all, that doesn't set up for a positive day either. 

I think the main objective going into this game should be to get out of it with Burrow still healthy.  Max protect, whatever you gotta do but keep Burrow upright and protected even if takes away some of your weapons. 

(09-21-2021, 01:25 PM)TJ528 Wrote: All we can do is hope that Burrow doesn't get slaughtered on Sunday, if the blocking is anything like it was Sunday. 

Also, if Joe Burrow can't move around in the pocket, and on Sunday it appeared he couldn't move at all, that doesn't set up for a positive day either. 

I think the main objective going into this game should be to get out of it with Burrow still healthy.  Max protect, whatever you gotta do but keep Burrow upright and protected even if takes away some of your weapons. 

I really think you are giving their line too much credit considering how many of them are out.

Jonah has one sack and one pressure allowed all season. Spain has no sacks and 2 pressures. Hopkins has 2 sacks and something like 5 pressures. XSF has a sack and some pressures (the pressures count varies according to the source), Reiff has a pressure. 5 sacks plus the majority of the pressures are on backs and TEs.

So if the backs and TEs were doing their jobs and yes if Burrow was actually moving in the pocket this picture would look a lot different. And ESPECIALLY if Taylor would design better plays (like no empty backfields) and use max protect if necessary to take more deep shots to let your receivers make plays.

(09-21-2021, 12:13 PM)TJ528 Wrote:  There's a reason Gio played EVERY 3rd down.

Please stop making stuff up.  This is embarrassing.  Mixon played plenty of third downs last year.  The RB rotation was often for a full series instead of just on third downs.


Last year in the first 6 games when Mixon was healthy he had more combined carries and targets (12) on third down than Gio did (10).  And Gio had twice as many targets + carries on first and second down (22) than he did on third down.

That being said, it is true that Gio came in on some third downs to replace Mixon.  But that is what happens on almost every team in the NFL.  

(09-21-2021, 01:28 PM)Joelist Wrote: Jonah has one sack and one pressure allowed all season. Spain has no sacks and 2 pressures. Hopkins has 2 sacks and something like 5 pressures. XSF has a sack and some pressures (the pressures count varies according to the source), Reiff has a pressure. 5 sacks plus the majority of the pressures are on backs and TEs.

So if the backs and TEs were doing their jobs and yes if Burrow was actually moving in the pocket this picture would look a lot different. And ESPECIALLY if Taylor would design better plays (like no empty backfields) and use max protect if necessary to take more deep shots to let your receivers make plays.

Now there you go making sense and taking the wind out of the "if we only had a tackle" spin....

(09-21-2021, 01:28 PM)Joelist Wrote: Jonah has one sack and one pressure allowed all season. Spain has no sacks and 2 pressures. Hopkins has 2 sacks and something like 5 pressures. XSF has a sack and some pressures (the pressures count varies according to the source), Reiff has a pressure. 5 sacks plus the majority of the pressures are on backs and TEs.

So if the backs and TEs were doing their jobs and yes if Burrow was actually moving in the pocket this picture would look a lot different. And ESPECIALLY if Taylor would design better plays (like no empty backfields) and use max protect if necessary to take more deep shots to let your receivers make plays.

The problem is that most of these fans don't care about what is actually happening.  Instead they have spent an entire offseason crying about how the Bengals "ignored" the O-line and "did nothing" to fix it, and they don't care about anything other than trying to prove they were correct.

(09-21-2021, 10:50 AM)TJ528 Wrote: Racer, Completely agree with you across the board.

However, I'm going to play devils advocate.  

#1 Starting Carmen over XSF - Frank Pollack evidently doesn't believe that Carmen is an upgrade over the veteran which is why he's been riding the pine.  That'd be like us saying last year Billy Price should've been starting at Center because Hopkins sucked.  Everyone said Pollack was this messiah who was going to come in and make this OL average game 1.  We can see that's not the case and probably won't be the case all of 2021. 

I think that likely had more to do with conditioning.  Carman didn't impress anyone with the shape he showed up in for the first OTAs.  Since then, Carman has been seen putting in a lot of extra work after practices and his conditioning is apparently much improved.  XSF can't keep the job if he can't execute the job.

#2 Again, Evans a rookie, Pollack is the one who controls the running games and I'm sure has input into what running back is in on blocking downs because he's the one that specializes in blocking.  If Evans was showing in practice he's a better blocker than Perine or Mixon don't you think Pollack would be using him?  

I think Evans deserves the shot.  Not every third down, but a rotation.  You saw it on one pass in the preseason and his lone reception last Sunday.  Mixon is simply not the receiving threat of Evans, and if Mixon isn't getting the job done as a blocker, why is he on the field?

# 3 it's well know that Zac loves the 11 personnel.  Why is he gonna go away from something he knows and feels like he specializes in?  This is his offense and his offense is the 11 personnel to be damned.  He's going to do it his way or no way at all.  They're going to be aggressive this year. Zac said so himself.  

To use an old Marvinism, I see better than I hear.  Talk is cheap.  Their 11 personnel isn't a wise choice for a team that wants to run it on first and second down.  
#4 Maybe Zac and Callahan have their eyes closed and think their in the top 10 in offense in the NFL instead of defense? 

Anyway, something needs to change and change quick because if not this season will get away from this team. 

I was looking at the schedule last night and I truly believe this team can lose 6 of their last 7 games on this 2021 schedule. 

The sad thing is they have the defense to keep them in almost any game.  Right now, the offense, which is loaded with young talent, isn't doing theirs.  

(09-21-2021, 12:38 PM)fortyyearfan Wrote: To do NOW. find the following:Either on a practice squad or just out there, a real tightend, at least two O-linemen, a real left tackle,a real multi O-linwmen.Bring in big Willie Anderson and allow him to  help Frank Pollack.Done, and do not go to games and watch this S0-called coach.

Sorry, bud, but there is no way bringing in 5 new offensive lineman that haven't practiced with the team could be anywhere near the group already on the field.  

This is a bit of an overreaction, and I get it....that game made me grind my teeth.  

They need to be more aggressive in the offensive game plan and force defenses to cover every inch of the field.  Stress them wide, stress them deep, hammer them in the middle.  Giving a defense a 5 yard swatch of turf to defend is beyond stupid, and gutless.

If they can pull off the upset at pitt, where the pig is already polishing up his drama queen tiara, they will be back on track to 3-1 at the quarter pole and that is what is needed to contend.  

(09-22-2021, 08:50 AM)SHRacerX Wrote: Good thing the Bengals didn't listen to him with respect to a guy like Whitworth, who had massive struggles when he first moved to OT, and he was 28 when he first became the starter at LT. 

Overreaction weeks suck when they are dealing with an ugly loss.  

When you only get 1 or 2 positive weeks a season it wears on you.

(09-22-2021, 08:31 AM)SHRacerX Wrote: The sad thing is they have the defense to keep them in almost any game.  Right now, the offense, which is loaded with young talent, isn't doing theirs.  

# 3 it's well know that Zac loves the 11 personnel.  Why is he gonna go away from something he knows and feels like he specializes in?  This is his offense and his offense is the 11 personnel to be damned.  He's going to do it his way or no way at all.  They're going to be aggressive this year. Zac said so himself.  


To use an old Marvinism, I see better than I hear.  Talk is cheap.  Their 11 personnel isn't a wise choice for a team that wants to run it on first and second down.  


Problem is the last 2 years Zac nor Lou have had the personnel to run their systems, and they still ran the systems anyway.  They didn't try and use any other scheme that might work better.   I just know I've heard that Zac runs the 11 personnel and it's something he knows works and will continue using it because it's proven to be successful with the right personnel. This team does not have the right personnel IMO.  


As far as the defense keeping them in games your right.  This is all on Zac and his offense right now.  I do believe they'll be 2-2 after the first 4 games.  However, after those first 4 warm up games the schedule starts getting a lot harder and really quickly.  So it's not doing the Bengals any favors. 

(09-22-2021, 08:50 AM)SHRacerX Wrote: Good thing the Bengals didn't listen to him with respect to a guy like Whitworth, who had massive struggles when he first moved to OT, and he was 28 when he first became the starter at LT. 

Overreaction weeks suck when they are dealing with an ugly loss.  

That guy was even bashing Jonah after a week one win. In which Jonah played a flawless game. He’s either trolling or clueless.

It’s just not a good idea to start any of these rookies against this Steelers defense.Carman included.They would have a feast day.Remember,about half of those sacks given up the past two games weren’t on the OL.Running backs and Tight Ends were also responsible for either missed assignments,or just flat out bad play.