(06-22-2022, 03:58 PM)fredtoast Wrote: Nixon is dead but spellcheck lives.

That’s funny. Fred… truly.

I think, with the upgraded offensive line, we’ll see more of the playbook. If you don’t need your RB to always hang back to chip & release, they can actually do more with whatever RB is back there. What I want to see, is better efficiency. I wanna see those 3-5 yard checkdowns taken past first down markers. I wanna see those 3-4 yard gains be 4+ consistently. I wanna see short yardage situations converted more consistently.

(06-22-2022, 11:16 PM)The D.O.Z. Wrote: I think, with the upgraded offensive line, we’ll see more of the playbook. If you don’t need your RB to always hang back to chip & release, they can actually do more with whatever RB is back there. What I want to see, is better efficiency. I wanna see those 3-5 yard checkdowns taken past first down markers. I wanna see those 3-4 yard gains be 4+ consistently. I wanna see short yardage situations converted more consistently.

The podcast with Callahan and Taylor with Jay Morrison and Paul Dehner was awesome talking about great plays designed but were awful because of poor protection.

Actually it is very rare to find a RB who is a better receiver than a WR. So I am fine with not designing plays to throw to our RBs. Really all I need them to do is be able to do is pass block and release to catch a check down if they have to.

BTW one of the simplest plays in foot ball that you see a lot in college is clearing all the coverage out of the flat on one side and throwing a swing pass to RB. But for years we have gotten our RBs blown up on swing passes. I don't really have any numbers to back it up, but it seems like that simple play never works for us.

Taylor's quote about that it being a pull from Chase or Higgins seems a little inconsistent with the "Burrow attacks the field all over where the matchup dictates it and doesn't force it to certain guys" narrative.

If Mixon was the best option on 3rd down, he would take it. He has the highest catch % by far (yes, they are shorter routes) but it must STILL be a glaring weakness in blitz pickup. I just think Taylor isn't calling Joe out for that publicly.

(06-22-2022, 01:33 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: I think that any time you can get the ball to Mixon, and the first player able to touch him is a secondary defender, the chances for an explosive play go up.

Absolutely.  And it is a high % play...

(06-23-2022, 07:59 AM)SHRacerX Wrote: Taylor's quote about that it being a pull from Chase or Higgins seems a little inconsistent with the "Burrow attacks the field all over where the matchup dictates it and doesn't force it to certain guys" narrative.

If Mixon was the best option on 3rd down, he would take it. He has the highest catch % by far (yes, they are shorter routes) but it must STILL be a glaring weakness in blitz pickup. I just think Taylor isn't calling Joe out for that publicly.

There’s no debating Mixon is the better runner. Which is why he plays almost all first and second down. There’s no debating that he can’t be overworked. If it’s third and medium to long it’s unlikely they have him as one of the primary targets. They are trying to use him efficiently.

Mixon played 697 snaps in the regular season alone, the highest of his career.
He had the 3rd most rushing attempts.

The team has to find a way to share touches among the RBs so he doesn't get overloaded.
Maybe this means more opportunities for Chris Evans, who only played 95 snaps in the regular season last year but looked solid.
They are both about the same size (6'1", 220 lbs vs 5'11", 219 lbs) and both are good receivers, so they might be able to be more interchangeable this season.

(06-23-2022, 12:25 PM)ochocincos Wrote: Mixon played 697 snaps in the regular season alone, the highest of his career.
He had the 3rd most rushing attempts.

The team has to find a way to share touches among the RBs so he doesn't get overloaded.
Maybe this means more opportunities for Chris Evans, who only played 95 snaps in the regular season last year but looked solid.
They are both about the same size (6'1", 220 lbs vs 5'11", 219 lbs) and both are good receivers, so they might be able to be more interchangeable this season.

Agreed, and I also vehemently agree with Fred's first post of this thread on pg 1 about him getting some help on early downs.   It seems many of our discussions seem to circle back to the OL but it really affected so much, including this topic and the rb usage.  It drove me nuts at times seeing Mixon thrashed against the rocks for 2 downs and then see Perine brought in for 3rd down.   I pretty much understand the reasoning, but it was frustrating.  The reality is that we were an exciting, albeit flawed team last season, and I'm excited to see how things come together after this offseason of trying to address those flaws. 

(06-23-2022, 12:25 PM)ochocincos Wrote: Mixon played 697 snaps in the regular season alone, the highest of his career.
He had the 3rd most rushing attempts.

The team has to find a way to share touches among the RBs so he doesn't get overloaded.
Maybe this means more opportunities for Chris Evans, who only played 95 snaps in the regular season last year but looked solid.
They are both about the same size (6'1", 220 lbs vs 5'11", 219 lbs) and both are good receivers, so they might be able to be more interchangeable this season.

I honestly didn't think Evans was that big, surprised me if those numbers are true. Mixon looks way bigger than Evans.

(06-23-2022, 04:55 PM)Nate (formerly eliminate08) Wrote: I honestly didn't think Evans was that big, surprised me if those numbers are true. Mixon looks way bigger than Evans.

Pro-Football-Reference has Evans listed at 219, but Bengals.com has him listed at 211.
Not sure if PFR has his weight from last year and Bengals.com has it from this offseason or what.

(06-23-2022, 06:03 PM)ochocincos Wrote: Pro-Football-Reference has Evans listed at 219, but Bengals.com has him listed at 211.
Not sure if PFR has his weight from last year and Bengals.com has it from this offseason or what.

Cool, I also thought Mixon was closer to around 228 pounds. I remember seeing that weight with him before.

Mixon looks closer to 230 than to 220 to me.

(06-22-2022, 03:58 PM)fredtoast Wrote: Nixon is dead but spellcheck lives.

A bumper sticker I saw recently said     Spellcheck can go to he'll.

(06-23-2022, 06:14 PM)BengalRed Wrote: A bumper sticker I saw recently said     Spellcheck can go to he'll.

Made me laugh. 

(06-23-2022, 12:31 AM)fredtoast Wrote: Actually it is very rare to find a RB who is a better receiver than a WR. So I am fine with not designing plays to throw to our RBs. Really all I need them to do is be able to do is pass block and release to catch a check down if they have to.

BTW one of the simplest plays in foot ball that you see a lot in college is clearing all the coverage out of the flat on one side and throwing a swing pass to RB. But for years we have gotten our RBs blown up on swing passes. I don't really have any numbers to back it up, but it seems like that simple play never works for us.

I think Giovanni Bernard concurs with your second paragraph.

(06-23-2022, 12:01 PM)Soonerpeace Wrote: There’s no debating Mixon is the better runner. Which is why he plays almost all first and second down. There’s no debating that he can’t be overworked. If it’s third and medium to long it’s unlikely they have him as one of the primary targets. They are trying to use him efficiently.

When you say "effectively", I think "less predictably".  I always hated how he NEVER played a third down (seemingly) when Gio was still here.  You could see the frustration when Mixon would come off the field.  He was in the flow of the game and beginning to roll and, here comes, off the field.

I wanted to see more Mixon on third down and more Gio on first and second downs with some inside runs.  Teams can type-cast what you are going to do with certain personnel when you never deviate from the "script".  


FWIW, I think it has gotten better, but I would still like to see RBs alternate DRIVES, not snaps or certain play selections. 

(06-24-2022, 07:11 AM)SHRacerX Wrote: When you say "effectively", I think "less predictably".  I always hated how he NEVER played a third down (seemingly) when Gio was still here.  You could see the frustration when Mixon would come off the field.  He was in the flow of the game and beginning to roll and, here comes, off the field.

I wanted to see more Mixon on third down and more Gio on first and second downs with some inside runs.  Teams can type-cast what you are going to do with certain personnel when you never deviate from the "script".  


FWIW, I think it has gotten better, but I would still like to see RBs alternate DRIVES, not snaps or certain play selections. 

Actually I said “efficiently “ not effectively. He’s more likely to get the ball on first or second down. They watch his snaps religiously. Evans ….again I’ve said this… as a rookie and the protection issues they couldn’t use him much. They’ve got to spell Mixon. Running the ball on third down unlikely. Perine simply as far as they were concerned was better in pass pro. He showed he’s pretty good in the passing game with that great TD vs I think KC in the first game at the end of the half. Perine also in short yardage doesn’t give up on the play as easily. I realize a lot on here don’t like Perine in short yardage but I think it’s got a lot more to do with the OL in short yardage period. When you are putting a team together there’s lots of consideration. Perine is on every special team.

Here is something you all should remember.

Zac Taylor was with the Rams in '18 when they rode Todd Gurley so hard that he broke down at the end of the season.  A lot of people felt that if Gurley had been healthy for the Super Bowl the Rams might have won.

So I believe Zac will be very mindful of Mixon's work load.  We need him to be healthy for 20-21 games instead of just 17 regular season games.

(06-23-2022, 06:12 PM)Nate (formerly eliminate08) Wrote: Mixon looks closer to 230 than to 220 to me.

I agree.  If Mixon really is 6'1" then I believe he weighs a good bit more than 220.

(06-24-2022, 11:18 AM)fredtoast Wrote: Here is something you all should remember.

Zac Taylor was with the Rams in '18 when they rode Todd Gurley so hard that he broke down at the end of the season.  A lot of people felt that if Gurley had been healthy for the Super Bowl the Rams might have won.

So I believe Zac will be very mindful of Mixon's work load.  We need him to be healthy for 20-21 games instead of just 17 regular season games.

I know for fact they are extremely mindful of his health and work load.