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I know a lot if people here love Hopkins but the guy is not a starter. He is the perfect guy for a backup swing type situation. Even last year he was average but looked good next to tye screen doors that were on the field. I know some will jump on and say "well his pff passing blocking put him is the top _____ spot in the league even though his run blocking was _____. Well one good and one bad equals average. We know this guy sucks bad this year so let's go get a center or roll with Hill and let him develop. I know i know. It will get Burrow killed Ray! What is the difference if he keeps getting killed by rollerskates Hopkins or a rookie that may be the long term answer but will have some ups and downs this year. I just can't take his terrible run blocking along with is crappy pass blocking now. He is Bobby Heart of the interior linemen.
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I don't focus enough on the oline but I do know he's been bad this year. I can't really speak about last year but I think it's still recovering from the knee injury and I was worried about that being a problem. I remember it took Geno a blah season before he started to look like himself.
A trade for a center could be a really intriguing prospect if they were able to get the right one. But it's not happening now. Although I did hear the Bengals were in contact about Von Miller which is a little ridiculous. But probably just due diligence.
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Hopkins should have never been counted on to start the season coming off of that injury.
He’s been held out every week in practice so far, and that’s certainly not helping.
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He’s half of what he was coming off injury and is a liability. Again yesterday we got torched up the middle on short yardage situations and he gave up the sack on 4th down.
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He was the best offensive lineman on the team just a year ago.
I like to look at precedent. The Chiefs had a pair of tackles not long ago who were considered to be one of the best tandems in the NFL in Schwartz and Fisher. They decided that they could replace those two guys without attenuating their offense. The Bills recently had both Quinten Spain and Wyatt Teller on their roster at some point or other. Spain is currently one of the best pass blocking guards in the league this year, while Teller is being discussed as a likely pro-bowler for the Browns.
Sometimes it's really hard to know when to cut bait or when to hold onto a guy. Good OL is hard to find. I don't see why Hopkins can't bounce back from his injury given enough time.
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Hopkins looked like the best of the bunch hanging with a group of ugly girls last year in middle school. Unfortunately, Hopkins is now hanging out with some more average looking girls and it’s much more clear how ugly Hopkins really is.
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I would assume it’s his knee still, but they should have probably had a better plan if Hill isn’t considered ready.
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(11-01-2021, 10:11 PM)Bilbo Saggins Wrote: He was the best offensive lineman on the team just a year ago.
I like to look at precedent. The Chiefs had a pair of tackles not long ago who were considered to be one of the best tandems in the NFL in Schwartz and Fisher. They decided that they could replace those two guys without attenuating their offense. The Bills recently had both Quinten Spain and Wyatt Teller on their roster at some point or other. Spain is currently one of the best pass blocking guards in the league this year, while Teller is being discussed as a likely pro-bowler for the Browns.
Sometimes it's really hard to know when to cut bait or when to hold onto a guy. Good OL is hard to find. I don't see why Hopkins can't bounce back from his injury given enough time.
Jonah Williams was in the games he played, but definitely 2nd-best.
Note that Wyatt Teller is set to hit FA next year unless he gets a deal done with the Browns or is tagged, so he could be an option if you want to upgrade RG.
There are a couple FA C's that I'd take to upgrade Hopkins - Kelce and Ben Jones.
Other than that, I really like Linderbaum (C, Iowa) if the Bengals pick in the 15-20 range.
He's PFF's highest-rated ever C prospect, passing Frank Ragnow (who is a beast).
If the Bengals were willing and able to re-sign Spain and Reiff (or get Morgan Moses), sign Teller, and draft Linderbaum, this OL could be about the best in the league.
I'm fine waiting to see how Carman does by season's end though before dropping the money on Teller.
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The interior of the offensive line has been really bad this year, especially Hopkins.
If the Bengals were to make a trade, I really think this is the part of the team they should be looking to upgrade.
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(11-02-2021, 11:00 AM)WeezyBengal Wrote: The interior of the offensive line has been really bad this year, especially Hopkins.
If the Bengals were to make a trade, I really think this is the part of the team they should be looking to upgrade.
To be precise, C and RG. Spain has been fantastic at LG.
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In related news.... Corey Linsley is currently ranked as PFF's 4th C with a 83.9 grade.
(Also Matt Feiler is currently their 9th rated G, and Rashawn Slater is their 6th rated T.)
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(11-02-2021, 11:13 AM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: In related news.... Corey Linsley is currently ranked as PFF's 4th C with a 83.9 grade.
(Also Matt Feiler is currently their 9th rated G, and Rashawn Slater is their 6th rated T.)
This one doesn’t bother me as much. Not when Chase has been as good as he has. And our OT’s haven’t been an issue. Not doing more at OG is coming back to bite them though. Especially if Carman’s back issues start to linger.
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(11-01-2021, 08:44 PM)WhodeyRay Wrote: I know a lot if people here love Hopkins but the guy is not a starter. He is the perfect guy for a backup swing type situation. Even last year he was average but looked good next to tye screen doors that were on the field. I know some will jump on and say "well his pff passing blocking put him is the top _____ spot in the league even though his run blocking was _____. Well one good and one bad equals average. We know this guy sucks bad this year so let's go get a center or roll with Hill and let him develop. I know i know. It will get Burrow killed Ray! What is the difference if he keeps getting killed by rollerskates Hopkins or a rookie that may be the long term answer but will have some ups and downs this year. I just can't take his terrible run blocking along with is crappy pass blocking now. He is Bobby Heart of the interior linemen.
So whats your solution..
Who on the roster is better..
Or who is an actual trade target that could be aquired to address this?
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