Now that John Ross rookie campaign can be filed away in the trash ....what can we expect in 2018 from him?
I heard reports he hid a injury from Lewis....he's in Marvins doghouse
But what I do know is that offense was dead last in ypg in the NFL
And it was 26th in ppg.
Having a player that possesses Ross's speed watch from the sidelines doesn't help a offense that's void of
Field stretchers
I just wonder if Lazor and Lewis Are On THE Same Page IN Regards To Ross.
He needs to be a serious part of the game plan if this team is to challenge for the division again
Throwing to Erickson and LaFell doesn't exactly light up.the scoreboard

Marvin will probably try and trade Ross between now and the start of training camp

(01-03-2018, 12:36 AM)impactplaya Wrote: Now that John Ross rookie campaign can be filed away in the trash ....what can we expect in 2018 from him?
I heard reports he hid a injury from Lewis....he's in Marvins doghouse
But what I do know is that offense was dead last in ypg in the NFL
And it was 26th in ppg.
Having a player that possesses Ross's speed watch from the sidelines doesn't help a offense that's void of
Field stretchers
I just wonder  if Lazor and Lewis Are On THE Same Page IN Regards To Ross.
He needs to be a serious part of the game plan if this team is to challenge for the division again
Throwing to Erickson and LaFell doesn't exactly light up.the scoreboard

Marvin will bury Ross on the bench next year too.   He can't turn back now.

My prediction...

Ross will turn heads with his speed in training camp and will stretch the field so far that he will tumble into the Ohio River and never be heard from again...sounds more exciting than rotting away on Marvins very deep bench.

On the lighter side of things, Marvins hero Ced Peerman will set the world on fire by averaging a whopping 9 yds per kickoff return, earning yet another extension and a "special" clap from Marvin.

My prediction.. During training camp, John Ross will stub his toe and be on IR by Week 1 - You know our crack medical staff

(01-03-2018, 12:36 AM)impactplaya Wrote: Throwing to Erickson and LaFell doesn't exactly light up.the scoreboard

I can't really say I'd bet my life that putting an out of shape rookie who has a suspect grasp of the playbook to go with two bad shoulders and at least one bad knee on the field would have lit the thing up, either.  As much as I don't like Marvin Lewis, I have a bad feeling Ross kept Ross on the bench more than Marvin kept Ross on the bench.

Either way, here's hoping whatever/whomever sunk his 2017 season is fixed by the 2018 one.

Doubt we will ever know the true story behind Ross and his lack of playing time on an offense desperate for help.

Healthy inactive. 

I suspect that there's more to the story than the usual Marvin hates the guy for reasons unknown. Marvin isn't exactly the dumbest guy who ever put on shoes and from all I can see he knows football talent. Perhaps he hid injuries, perhaps he ran his mouth at the wrong time and perhaps he just wasn't quite mature enough to deal with everyday life in the league. This one I'm just going to defer to Marvins judgment and not pretend that he's intentionally letting Ross rot away for no reason other than some imagined vendetta. Marvin stands absolutely nothing to gain by supposedly keeping a 'super star' off the field to keep our offensive prowess at historic lows. If Ross were truly the greatest WR since Jerry Rice as a few fans seem to believe he would be out there every game. I suspect that Ross created his own problems with this team and not the other way around.   2018 will be a new season and if Ross can prove himself worth his draft status he'll play regularly. If not he'll wash out to never to be heard from again. He wouldn't be the first player to wash out whose star snuffed itself out. 

Just hope it's like WJ3.

(01-03-2018, 02:13 AM)grampahol Wrote: I suspect that there's more to the story than the usual Marvin hates the guy for reasons unknown. Marvin isn't exactly the dumbest guy who ever put on shoes and from all I can see he knows football talent. Perhaps he hid injuries, perhaps he ran his mouth at the wrong time and perhaps he just wasn't quite mature enough to deal with everyday life in the league. This one I'm just going to defer to Marvins judgment and not pretend that he's intentionally letting Ross rot away for no reason other than some imagined vendetta. Marvin stands absolutely nothing to gain by supposedly keeping a 'super star' off the field to keep our offensive prowess at historic lows. If Ross were truly the greatest WR since Jerry Rice as a few fans seem to believe he would be out there every game. I suspect that Ross created his own problems with this team and not the other way around.   2018 will be a new season and if Ross can prove himself worth his draft status he'll play regularly. If not he'll wash out to never to be heard from again. He wouldn't be the first player to wash out whose star snuffed itself out. 

Exactly. Whether is was the hidden injury or the lack of understanding of the playbook, every time he saw the ball this year was a disaster. This is on Ross, not Merv...

(01-03-2018, 12:36 AM)impactplaya Wrote: Now that John Ross rookie campaign can be filed away in the trash ....what can we expect in 2018 from him?
I heard reports he hid a injury from Lewis....he's in Marvins doghouse
But what I do know is that offense was dead last in ypg in the NFL
And it was 26th in ppg.
Having a player that possesses Ross's speed watch from the sidelines doesn't help a offense that's void of
Field stretchers
I just wonder  if Lazor and Lewis Are On THE Same Page IN Regards To Ross.
He needs to be a serious part of the game plan if this team is to challenge for the division again
Throwing to Erickson and LaFell doesn't exactly light up.the scoreboard

I'm expecting him to go the route of Ogbuehi, bust all the way.

Speed is one things, but a football player has to be a football player first and foremost and there's no evidence that Ross is one.

In college Ross was a one year wonder, his senior season. He missed his entire junior with injuries. His production in his freshman and sophomore years were almost nothing as a receiver in the weak defensed Pac 12.

His best statistics in college came as a return man and he very might be the best returner on the team, except no one will know because he's steadily injured and therefore unreliable.

Why make him part of the game plan?

We'll draft at least one WR this year.

The Bengals offensive numbers across the boards were crippled by the horrible OL.

Time will tell, but Mike Brown over-reaching for Ross based on little game-tape and raw potential (and possibly against the wishes of people who don't run the team) makes me think he was channeling his inner zombie-era Al Davis during the 1st round of the 2017 draft.

(01-03-2018, 12:36 AM)impactplaya Wrote: Now that John Ross rookie campaign can be filed away in the trash ....what can we expect in 2018 from him?
I heard reports he hid a injury from Lewis....he's in Marvins doghouse
But what I do know is that offense was dead last in ypg in the NFL
And it was 26th in ppg.
Having a player that possesses Ross's speed watch from the sidelines doesn't help a offense that's void of
Field stretchers
I just wonder  if Lazor and Lewis Are On THE Same Page IN Regards To Ross.
He needs to be a serious part of the game plan if this team is to challenge for the division again
Throwing to Erickson and LaFell doesn't exactly light up.the scoreboard

we don't know and that's the problem...our WR corps could be fine or could be awful again.

Not happy with it but I would look at WR again in either the draft or FA.  I'm not as bullish about Ross (or Core) for that matter as some and think it needs addressing.

What I think we can definitely expect in 2018 is lots of Hobspin articles re-iterating (like Og) that this is essentially his rookie year, he looks fast in practice, looks like he's been in the playbook, etc,etc....

(01-03-2018, 12:36 AM)impactplaya Wrote: Now that John Ross rookie campaign can be filed away in the trash ....what can we expect in 2018 from him?
I heard reports he hid a injury from Lewis....he's in Marvins doghouse
But what I do know is that offense was dead last in ypg in the NFL
And it was 26th in ppg.
Having a player that possesses Ross's speed watch from the sidelines doesn't help a offense that's void of
Field stretchers
I just wonder  if Lazor and Lewis Are On THE Same Page IN Regards To Ross.
He needs to be a serious part of the game plan if this team is to challenge for the division again
Throwing to Erickson and LaFell doesn't exactly light up.the scoreboard

Have no idea based on 2017 and that's the big problem. 

The one thing I wanted from Ross was some evidence on an NFL field that he could be the guy - whatever the reason he could not/was not allowed to show that....so right now he could be the next DeSean Jackson or our WR equivalent of Cedric Ogbuehi.

So do we stick with what we have and run the real risk of having a fairly underwhelming WR corps again in 2018 or do we draft a WR high which means other areas neglected??

Marvin said that some things would be changing this time around (Marvin Era 3.0 now?). If that includes cutting a couple underperforming vets to open up cap to sign a quality FA or two while also playing some of the younger guys even more than before (including first round rookies/sophomores), I may just yet have renewed hope.

But until I start seeing that come to fruition, this is probably the least excited and interested I have been since before Marvin was hired.

With Marvin back, you can forget about Ross ever being a factor on this team. That bridge is burned.

(01-03-2018, 11:04 AM)jj22 Wrote: With Marvin back, you can forget about Ross ever being a factor on this team. That bridge is burned.

I agree.  With the stand he made this year, he surely can't turn back on it next year.

(01-03-2018, 11:04 AM)jj22 Wrote: With Marvin back, you can forget about Ross ever being a factor on this team. That bridge is burned.

It's ok, screens to Brandon LaFell work really well. No need for Ross.

(01-03-2018, 11:06 AM)McC Wrote: I agree.  With the stand he made this year, he surely can't turn back on it next year.

I don't really agree with this.  Marv has had players in the dog house before that actually took heed and changed their practice habits and work ethic to become better players and team mates.