Remember when Left Guard was a concern. Seems our veteran linemen like Kappa and Karras are projecting Volson to become a top 5 guard. The kid is improving each and every game. Pollack says he is "very coachable." It was good watching him lead the way for one of Perine's touchdowns yesterday. I think we hit on a gem.

(11-21-2022, 01:42 PM)Sled21 Wrote: Remember when Left Guard was a concern. Seems our veteran linemen like Kappa and Karras are projecting Volson to become a top 5 guard. The kid is improving each and every game. Pollack says he is "very coachable." It was good watching him lead the way for one of Perine's touchdowns yesterday. I think we hit on a gem.

He's still a work in progress, but unlike Carman, the progress is actual and noticeable...pretty much every week. The thing I like about Volson is that when he makes mistakes or gets beaten, he seemingly doesn't let it affect him. He's just keeps grinding, trying to be better the next play, the next series, the next game. That's about as much as you can ask for...hard work, continued improvement and and soaking up the coaching and input from teammates.

(11-21-2022, 01:42 PM)Sled21 Wrote: Remember when Left Guard was a concern. Seems our veteran linemen like Kappa and Karras are projecting Volson to become a top 5 guard. The kid is improving each and every game. Pollack says he is "very coachable." It was good watching him lead the way for one of Perine's touchdowns yesterday. I think we hit on a gem.

A very pleasant surprise. 

Him and Jonah missed that stunt to get Burrow sacked but at first glance it looked like the DT might have held him which stopped him from kicking in to stop the stunting DE. Overall he seemed to have a solid game very happy with his progress. Also it looked like he has put on some bulk during the season maybe its just my eyes tricking me.

While an FCS school, NDSU is NOT a small school in terms of ability and program.

They'd be a 6-6 bowl team every year if the were in the G5.

Cappa came from a small school, not Volson.

I'm not gonna lie, the first few games of the season I was concerned. But now he seems to be getting it figured out. He's not mistake free for sure, but improving quite well it seems. I'm feeling much better about him being our starting LG moving down the road.

I haven't been hearing his name much.... which is a good thing when it comes to the O-Line.

I do remember loving how enthusiastic he was to be drafted by the Bengals on draft night.

Going off other people's observations, he's pretty much a beast run blocking and getting better at pass pro.

I loved his hustle to get downfield and block for Perine on the 1st TD. He pretty much made that play happen.

(11-21-2022, 01:53 PM)Bengalholic Wrote: He's still a work in progress, but unlike Carman, the progress is actual and noticeable...pretty much every week. The thing I like about Volson is that when he makes mistakes or gets beaten, he seemingly doesn't let it affect him. He's just keeps grinding, trying to be better the next play, the next series, the next game. That's about as much as you can ask for...hard work, continued improvement and and soaking up the coaching and input from teammates.

and lets be real...95% of linemen in the NFL get beat at least once by a Cam Heyward or TJ Watt

He had a bad game on the whole yesterday, but that blocking on that screen was absolutely masterful.

The silver lining is that the only 2 games where he's looked absolutely deplorable, are against Heyward. Everyone else, he's been ok.

(11-21-2022, 02:02 PM)bengalfan74 Wrote: I'm not gonna lie, the first few games of the season I was concerned. But now he seems to be getting it figured out. He's not mistake free for sure, but improving quite well it seems. I'm feeling much better about him being our starting LG moving down the road.

Hopefully by next year, we'll see him shoving Heyward down the road..

On the real side of things, his overall development is going really well.  He's one of those guys that you can just tell is a workaholic and has a strong desire to be a master of his craft.

(11-21-2022, 02:22 PM)Nicomo Cosca Wrote: I loved his hustle to get downfield and block for Perine on the 1st TD. He pretty much made that play happen.

He was moving pretty good on that play, given one of his knocks was lack of athleticism. 

(11-21-2022, 03:35 PM)TheFan Wrote: He was moving pretty good on that play, given one of his knocks was lack of athleticism. 

If he's going north to south, he'll move well; it was on lateral, side-to-side movement that he isn't athletic and that still rings true, as he continually struggles with stunts and twists.

I also don't recall him being asked to pull very much (if at all), which adds further credence to that assessment..

His strength is his strength, which is why he rarely gets blown back and can move guys if he's driving downfield.

(11-21-2022, 01:53 PM)Bengalholic Wrote: He's still a work in progress, but unlike Carman, the progress is actual and noticeable...pretty much every week. The thing I like about Volson is that when he makes mistakes or gets beaten, he seemingly doesn't let it affect him. He's just keeps grinding, trying to be better the next play, the next series, the next game. That's about as much as you can ask for...hard work, continued improvement and and soaking up the coaching and input from teammates.

Is Carman still on the team? What a bust... Maybe we should just draft middle round Olineman...

Volson has ramped up faster than I expected, but he's still not what I would consider a good starter.
He definitely still has some inconsistencies, but he also shows reps sometimes that are good.
I do think he would be performing better if Jonah was doing better next to him, and vice versa.

Part of me does wonder if Max Scharping would be (a bit) better option though at least this season.
Comparing Scharping's 2021 to Volson 2022...

Scharping 2021 w/ HOU:
offensive snaps - 689
sacks allowed - 2
hits allowed - 4
total pressures allowed - 19
penalties - 3

Volson 2022:
offensive snaps - 682
sacks allowed - 4
hits allowed - 8
total pressures allowed - 23
penalties - 4

With all that said, I do fully expect Volson to continue in the starter role and do expect him to continue improving. I would have Scharping on standby though if Volson happens to struggle for a good chunk later this year for any reason, especially if the Bengals do get to the playoffs.

(11-21-2022, 02:22 PM)Nicomo Cosca Wrote: I loved his hustle to get downfield and block for Perine on the 1st TD. He pretty much made that play happen.

I was off my couch cheering that particular play. Karras had a real nice block right off the snap and all you see is Volson flash by him, already midway through the second level when he makes HIS blocks. It was a thing of beauty, watching the big fella get vertical so quickly and spring a huge play!

(11-21-2022, 04:14 PM)ochocincos Wrote: Volson has ramped up faster than I expected, but he's still not what I would consider a good starter.
He definitely still has some inconsistencies, but he also shows reps sometimes that are good.
I do think he would be performing better if Jonah was doing better next to him, and vice versa.

Part of me does wonder if Max Scharping would be (a bit) better option though at least this season.
Comparing Scharping's 2021 to Volson 2022...

Scharping 2021 w/ HOU:
offensive snaps - 689
sacks allowed - 2
hits allowed - 4
total pressures allowed - 19
penalties - 3

Volson 2022:
offensive snaps - 682
sacks allowed - 4
hits allowed - 8
total pressures allowed - 23
penalties - 4

With all that said, I do fully expect Volson to continue in the starter role and do expect him to continue improving. I would have Scharping on standby though if Volson happens to struggle for a good chunk later this year for any reason, especially if the Bengals do get to the playoffs.

Is that really an Apples to Apples comparison?  You're using stats from Scharping's 3rd season as a pro versus Volson's raw rookie numbers.

Volson has certainly struggled but he has been significantly better than I anticipated. Overall, I am happy with how he is trending.