I want him to be Jeremi, can he block? 'cause Mixon can't.

(12-06-2023, 01:58 PM)Bengalitis Wrote: I want him to be Jeremi, can he block? 'cause Mixon can't.

Mixon has been an acceptable blocker this season, not sure if drafting a RB inspired or scared him, but he has been somewhat better.

(12-06-2023, 02:11 PM)casear2727 Wrote: Mixon has been an acceptable blocker this season, not sure if drafting a RB inspired or scared him, but he has been somewhat better.

Yep, Mixon, for whatever reasons? Has been much better in pass pro much of the time this season. And too be fair Mixon is top shelf in ball security. And a good receiver.

It's his running the ball vs. most teams where he fails...too much.

I’m more encouraged by Brown after the Jacksonville game.Would like to see him more involved going forward.After being out a few games,and very limited action so far this season,he should be healthier going into the latter part of the season.

(12-06-2023, 02:51 PM)bengalfan74 Wrote: Yep, Mixon, for whatever reasons? Has been much better in pass pro much of the time this season. And too be fair Mixon is top shelf in ball security. And a good receiver.

It's his running the ball vs. most teams where he fails...too much.

Yeah, this is spot on. Mixon is absurdly good at ball security and he is a really talented receiver. You can put him out wide and find interesting ways to get him the ball. However, he isn't very good as a runner once he has the ball, whether it is a designed run play or after the catch. He lacks the speed, quickness and strength to consistently make people miss and break tackles. He is typically going down on first contact.

I would be fine seeing Mixon in a committee, but I tend to get agitated with him being the guy because he really isn't good enough to hold that role.

(12-06-2023, 01:13 PM)Synric Wrote: Karras gets pancaked Volson and Wilcox miss blocks. Orland Brown just destroys his guy which he did the entire game had 3 or 4 pancakes and Chase Brown is explosive.

Chase Brown for a big gain pic.twitter.com/ePYiRlIpBE

— Matt (@CoachMinich) December 6, 2023

Edit: The block from Brown and the jet motion by Ja'Marr Chase moves the LB just enough to open up the play even though Volson didn't get to the block.

Thanks for the vids Synric. Some good blocking in them at times and some head scratchers but it does look a lot better.

Some of those blocks by Sample, Cappa, Karras and especially Orlando on the big run were impressive. Makes me feel good about
the future of this OL while we add hopefully a new OL coach and some more players at RT and maybe even LG if Volson doesn't get
much better.

(12-06-2023, 01:13 PM)Synric Wrote: Karras gets pancaked Volson and Wilcox miss blocks. Orland Brown just destroys his guy which he did the entire game had 3 or 4 pancakes and Chase Brown is explosive.

Chase Brown for a big gain pic.twitter.com/ePYiRlIpBE

— Matt (@CoachMinich) December 6, 2023

Edit: The block from Brown and the jet motion by Ja'Marr Chase moves the LB just enough to open up the play even though Volson didn't get to the block.

Karras does not get pancaked, he fights his man to a standstill and neither goes to the ground. Cappa gets knocked on his butt, but he's blocking laterally nad has no leverage. Volson has no one to block, the player went so wide he took his own self out of the play.

(12-06-2023, 06:00 PM)Sled21 Wrote: Karras does not get pancaked, he fights his man to a standstill and neither goes to the ground. Cappa gets knocked on his butt, but he's blocking laterally nad has no leverage. Volson has no one to block, the player went so wide he took his own self out of the play.

Tee did some good downfield blocking on that big run as well. But yeah, Karras wasn't pancaked, he stayed up. Cappa got to the next
level against Olukwin there and like you said had no leverage. It was Orlando Brown who just took his guy down that started that big 
run by Chase Brown. Good stuff.

Hope to see more of this against the Colts next game and more Chase Brown please.

(12-05-2023, 02:56 PM)jj22 Wrote: Zac just needs to let go of his outdated workhorse RB philosophy. It took to week 12 to get somewhat of a look at Chase Brown, and we should have saw more from him over the course of the year. We'd really know what we had in him by now going into 2024.

Well he had been injured for a stretch. But all this talk of Browning should've started the 1st few games. Maybe the real take is we should've gotten Brown and some of the other RBs involved earlier. Although week 1 we did get a few carries to other guys.

(12-06-2023, 06:00 PM)Sled21 Wrote: Karras does not get pancaked, he fights his man to a standstill and neither goes to the ground. Cappa gets knocked on his butt, but he's blocking laterally nad has no leverage. Volson has no one to block, the player went so wide he took his own self out of the play.

I thought the oline did great on that play.  Volson was supposed to combo the NG, and quickly saw that Ted had the guy and then went to the next level.  Volson had a ways to go chasing the LB and was enough of a barrier that defender could not get a hit on Brown.  Brown's rapid acceleration is a huge help to the linemen as they don't need to sustain blocks very long.

(12-06-2023, 01:58 PM)Bengalitis Wrote: I want him to be Jeremi, can he block? 'cause Mixon can't.

Way back at the time of the draft, I found a source that said Chase Brown was the 2nd best pass blocking RB selected. They gave some stats and apparently he blocked quite a bit and quite well at Illinois. 

Edit; I found the source: https://www.cincyjungle.com/2023/5/5/23711342/chase-brown-pass-blocking-grades-illinois-bengals-draft-2023

I agree, I feel Brown could be that guy if given enough attempts. Mixon seemed sharper Monday as well with the 2 RB scheme. Keeps them both fresh and the D guessing. Brown has the speed and quickness Mixon doesn't have. Use Mixon as the power back and he has been better blocking this year. He has very good hands catching dump off passes.

(12-05-2023, 05:54 PM)casear2727 Wrote: Again, same type of runner, same size and speed, Chase did it vs better competition in college.  He can be our Pacheco, a young hard running RB, it is an odd thing to debate. 

I don’t know that Chase did it against better competition. I think the Big 10 east is a lot stronger than the west.

(12-07-2023, 04:50 AM)michaelsean Wrote: I don’t know that Chase did it against better competition. I think the Big 10 east is a lot stronger than the west.

I totally forgot that Rutgers were in the Big 10.  It only happened 10 years ago....  Im a dumb SEC guy.

Excerpts from Paul Dehner on the screen game and Joe Mixon, theleonardleap’s favorite player


CICINNATI — There’s an old football phrase that Bengals center Ted Karras likes to use when talking about screen passes.
“Screens are either a s—house or a castle play,” he said. “There’s no in between.”

“It’s really been something I think has come along for us this year,” Callahan said. “We’ve had positive gains, efficient plays on our screens.”

Mixon broke a 39-yarder against the Steelers and a 28-yarder against the Jaguars, two of his three longest gains of the season (along with a designed catch-and-run against the Ravens in Week 2).
The bottom line is finding explosive plays on the ground has proved elusive for Mixon in recent years. He’s rarely broken tackles and the electric jump cuts of his younger days have given way to punishing, hard-charging plods for what the Bengals hope will be efficient yardage.
Yet, in recent weeks, Mixon’s found himself again breaking tackles in open space thanks to the screen game. He was tracked for five broken tackles on receptions against Jacksonville. Eleven of his 34 missed tackles forced have come catching the ball and the majority of those on screens, according to Pro Football Focus. (and Zac this summer on Solomon Wilcots podcast talked about how punishing Joe is in the screen game)

The Bengals ran 23 screens to Mixon over the past three seasons combined and just one over the first six games of this year (it gained 6 yards in the opener). At the bye, however, Taylor, Callahan and Pollack decided to lean back into them and see what happened.

The Mixon screen proved a real weapon and part of the game plan more than any other point in their tenure.

Joe Mixon on screen passes
STAT LAST 3 YEARS LAST 6 WEEKS
Receptions-Targets 19-23 11-11
Yards/target 6.6 11.8
10+ % 32% 45%
First-down % 17% 45%
Success % 48% 83%
Yards 152 130
Yards/game 4.1 21.7

“Sometimes, screens are a little bit of luck,” Taylor said.

In New England, Karras said you would be docked for a missed assignment if you did not cut block on a screen. Without that weapon, lumbering offensive linemen trying to track down corners and safeties in space has been a challenge, making it even more remarkable how they have posted an 83 percent success rate on Mixon’s screens.

They’ve provided a significant weapon for where the Bengals are at now, more reliant on easy throws for the quarterback, slowing the pass rush and non–rushing methods for finding Mixon space.

Zac Taylor the highest winning % in the NFL Playoffs of all current coaches. Joe Burrow” Zac in my opinion is the best head coach in the league and that gives me a lot of confidence."
Zac Taylor led the Bengals to their first playoff win since 1990, ending the longest active drought in the four major North American sports, en route to an appearance in Super Bowl LVI, the first since 1988.

(12-06-2023, 10:00 PM)casear2727 Wrote: I thought the oline did great on that play.  Volson was supposed to combo the NG, and quickly saw that Ted had the guy and then went to the next level.  Volson had a ways to go chasing the LB and was enough of a barrier that defender could not get a hit on Brown.  Brown's rapid acceleration is a huge help to the linemen as they don't need to sustain blocks very long.

So true, with that rapid acceleration it really helps out the OL because like you said, they don't have to hold blocks long at all.

(12-06-2023, 10:16 PM)Nepa Wrote: Way back at the time of the draft, I found a source that said Chase Brown was the 2nd best pass blocking RB selected. They gave some stats and apparently he blocked quite a bit and quite well at Illinois. 

Edit; I found the source: https://www.cincyjungle.com/2023/5/5/23711342/chase-brown-pass-blocking-grades-illinois-bengals-draft-2023

Yes, I saw that back then and that on top of just plain watching him at Illinois made me want Chase Brown, we need pass
protection from our RB more than about any team with how pass heavy we have been.

Saw that Chase Brown blocked more than any other RB in that class, most snaps.

Liked what he showed. By committee with Mixon might give us some life in the run game hopefully.

(12-07-2023, 02:41 PM)Nate (formerly eliminate08) Wrote: So true, with that rapid acceleration it really helps out the OL because like you said, they don't have to hold blocks long at all.


Yes, I saw that back then and that on top of just plain watching him at Illinois made me want Chase Brown, we need pass
protection from our RB more than about any team with how pass heavy we have been.

Saw that Chase Brown blocked more than any other RB in that class, most snaps.

I think Taylor and Callahan have just decided none of the RB's are really good enough pass blockers and are just going to use Sample from here on. He's a beast in pass pro.

(12-08-2023, 10:51 AM)Sled21 Wrote: I think Taylor and Callahan have just decided none of the RB's are really good enough pass blockers and are just going to use Sample from here on. He's a beast in pass pro.

I’m sure they’ve decided that and although they probably give up explosive plays screen wise they make up for it elsewhere.

(12-08-2023, 10:51 AM)Sled21 Wrote: I think Taylor and Callahan have just decided none of the RB's are really good enough pass blockers and are just going to use Sample from here on. He's a beast in pass pro.

I mean Sample does have 50 to 70 lbs on most pass protecting running backs.