As a team, what weaknesses do you see on our team?

Obviously, the line is a huge question mark with Fisher struggling at right tackle, but let's hope he can finally put it together with being fully healthy and with Pollack's coaching, and Hart will hopefully push him.  Glenn appears to be an upgrade at left tackle and is even glorified by some experts as one of the top ten left tackles in the league.  Price can hopefully anchor the line and be the leader and strongpoint on the line that we've been missing since Braham.  Guard is still a question mark and should be a good competition with Redmond, Westerman, Boling, and Hopkins.

The line could be, and (at the moment) appears to be, a weaknesses, but Pollack could turn it into a strength or at least a serviceable squad.  

We obviously have AJ and Ross could be coming into his own, and LaFell is also average but, outside of those three, depth could be a concern at receiver.

Safety could be seen as a weakness, but I'm hoping that Bates brings some excitement into the secondary and is a force at one safety spot for us.

Is backer a weakness?  We have Burfict and Jefferson, but will our third backer be good enough?  Can Preston Brown get it done?  Is Vigil improving enough?  Rey?

I left off Marvin and I'm hoping that it finally clicks for him this year and that the assistant coaches help mask his weaknesses and that he listens to them.  He didn't have coaches good enough to be strong enough minds to have an influence on him, but I'm hoping that they play a part in game planning and clock management this year.

Do you agree with my weaknesses?  What weaknesses do you see?

My money is on Head Coach and owner winning the poll.

But to answer the question: RG, I was hoping we would have gotten a dude there

I left off tight end because, even if Eifert gets hurt again, I think Kroft and Uzomah could get the job done if we used them properly. I think we might need to use two tight end sets due to lack of depth at receiver.

I think we need to use our defensive ends in a rotation because I think they might struggle if they were out there every play own every series but I think they could be a strong group if we keep them fresh.

(05-05-2018, 07:28 PM)BFritz21 Wrote: We have Burfict and Jefferson, but will our third backer be good enough?   Can Preston Brown get it done? 

Jefferson is a huge question mark.

Preston Brown has proven he can lead the leagu in tackles.

The team has done a great job of adding players to address the areas of weakness. The real big question mark is, will the staff be able to implement a new plan of attack and effectively convey it to the players on the field.

As you can likely tell, I voted "other".

Lber and right side of offensive line.

Our season is over if Andy gets injured, but that's been the case for a long time even before Andy ..Barkley isn't winning anything and I'm not real sold on anyone else yet..although it would be kind of cool if Woodside were forced to start and came out guns a blazing and lit the league on fire.. It's been ages since that happened..
Small school, 7th rounder.. Super Bowl dynasty here we come!

Coverage LB, oline, WR2, TE

I have a love hate relationship with Dalton. Until he proves he can put the team in position to win in the playoffs i have to go QB. He has put up some real stinkers in the playoffs. Do i think he can get us a ring? Yes. But as Marvin would say. I see better than i hear. And what i have seen makes me have serious doubts.

A close second is OL. Our starting tackles have serious medical issues and our C is coming off of surgery and his first ever as far as i know major injury. Hopefully they are all 100% and play like we hope. Until then i am going to consider it an issue.

Right Tackle and, potentially, Right Guard are the main issues we have on this team now.

We are lacking a true starting NT as well.

I like our depth and talent at every other position.

Other: Specifically, some combination of a weak right side of the o line, Mike Brown, Marvin Lewis, uncertainty at WR behind AJ, thin at LB until Burfict comes back from the annual sabbatical, questions at safety, no good complement to Geno at DT, and a terrible backup at QB.

Overalls I think we better. But:

1 Health - When healthy, Glenn is great...but he's played in half of the games over the past 2 years. Eifert is similar in how he misses games. Burfict is suspended or injured a lot too. Ifs any of those guys go down, it be trouble.

2 LB - Brown helps a lot. But Burfict's availability is always a question. The other guys are unproven. I'm not ready to count on a rookie as a quality starter either.

3 OLine - Price should be a major upgrade to Bodine, but Elflein as a rookie 1st Round Center was worse than Bodine last year.

4 Coaching - Lazor took over last year early and we still had the last ranked offense in the NFL. He's kind of overrated. Pollack is being counted on as the savior and he might be, but he inherited 3 All Pro lineman in Dallas.

5 DT - Can Billings, Glasgow, or some other DT step up?

(05-05-2018, 11:10 PM)t3r3e3 Wrote: Other:  Specifically, some combination of a weak right side of the o line, Mike Brown, Marvin Lewis, uncertainty at WR behind AJ, thin at LB until Burfict comes back from the annual sabbatical, questions at safety, no good complement to Geno at DT, and a terrible backup at QB.

I feel ya on everything but safety. I think we're ok there. But most of the position groups have questions marks.

(05-05-2018, 10:08 PM)grampahol Wrote: Our season is over if Andy gets injured, but that's been the case for a long time even before Andy ..Barkley isn't winning anything and I'm not real sold on anyone else yet..although it would be kind of cool if Woodside were forced to start and came out guns a blazing and lit the league on fire.. It's been ages since that happened..
Small school,  7th rounder.. Super Bowl dynasty here we come!

would be a cool story.  I'll I want is ONE DAMN SUPER BOWL. JUST ONE. . . Ive read the articles on the bengals website and Hobsons Choice for years and every offseason I keep hoping.  .  . 

But answer to the poll. Oline. We added Glenn and drafted Price, but I'll believe it when I see it. I want to see Andy with time in the pocket, a solid running game, and wins.

Other. Coaching, toughness, leadership all ongoing issues with this team.

Not to be a downer, but what exactly is the Bengals' proven strength outside of WR1?

There are questions across the board with this team.

(05-05-2018, 08:10 PM)fredtoast Wrote: Jefferson is a huge question mark.

Preston Brown has proven he can lead the leagu in tackles.

True. I wasn't high on Jefferson. Too be honest, the first tape I saw on him was so bad that I didn't look at any others. After the draft, I've looked at more. He shows flashes. He's very physically gifted, and he plays hard. He does give effort. Let's hope for the best. He did get progressively better at Texas. We'll see.

Brown's a solid guy. He wanted to play at home. I think that's cool. I really hope he has a good year.

Overall, our LBs are always ????  Especially Burfict. Dude's an enigma. 

(05-06-2018, 01:31 AM)Lionel Hutz Wrote: Other. Coaching, toughness, leadership all ongoing issues with this team.

This would probably be the most accurate answer, with tons of history to back it up.  I tried to give a "non-coaching" or "non-culture" answer, so I went with "backer".

I don't see the offensive line as a weakness today.   Should there be an injury to someone like Price, or if neither Ced, Fish, or Hart can be decent at RT, but overall I like what was done here.  Westerman could possibly play center in a pinch, but they will likely keep TJ Johnson for that backup role.  I also strongly believe as evidenced by an in-season adjustment to the line a year ago and the dramatic results with a couple inexperienced players at Guard (and a Guard at LT) that we will see huge improvements in this department.  

WR has talent, but (as I am sure a certain red-handed individual will point out) they are not NFL-proven talent.  Ross, Core, and Malone simply must stay healthy, minimize mistakes in the preseason, and make the most of ANY snaps they get.  Dalton will need to trust them before he ever looks in their direction.  This group will also play substantially better with improved line play.  If the defense only has to defend a 15 yard segment, their job becomes much easier.  Dalton needs time to beat them down the field, and I have said a thousand times (this makes 1001) that when Dalton is kept clean, he is a surgeon and will pick teams apart.

For me, the uncertainty of Burfict, the depth outside of Brown and Burfict, the inexperience of Jefferson, and the inconsistent Vigil all spell big trouble in the LB corps.  I was sure the Bengals would pick up a veteran here, and they still might, but maybe they believe that the rookie Jefferson will make an impact and that Vigil will show more consistently what he has flashed at times.  

Although the RB we got in the fourth looks promising, for a third RB with Brian Hill on the team already, I would have much rather used that pick on Shaq Griffin, a speed merchant that flies all over the field and can cover in nickel.  Maybe Vigil proves he earned the spot at Nickel.  Maybe Jefferson shines right away.  Maybe Jordan Evans shows he has the football IQ to go with his amazing athleticism.  Yeah, and to quote one Wayne Campell:  "Yeah, and monkeys might fly out of my butt". 

I see LB as the biggest question mark and to make matters worse, we don't know how much better if any the DT position will be outside of Geno.  Just like an offensive line and RBs, the LBs need a good front four to be successful.  

(05-06-2018, 03:12 AM)Shady Wrote: True. I wasn't high on Jefferson. Too be honest, the first tape I saw on him was so bad that I didn't look at any others. After the draft, I've looked at more. He shows flashes. He's very physically gifted, and he plays hard. He does give effort. Let's hope for the best. He did get progressively better at Texas. We'll see.

Brown's a solid guy. He wanted to play at home. I think that's cool. I really hope he has a good year.

Overall, our LBs are always ????  Especially Burfict. Dude's an enigma. 

With you 100%.  I see Jefferson as Evans 2.0:  A great athlete without the instincts.  I hope I am wrong, but next to the 4th round (third string) RB in place of what could have been Shaq Griffin, I was most disappointed in this pick.  

Brown was a great signing, but he is only on a one-year deal.  Still very happy he is here.  

Burfict made a play in the preseason last year against Washington where he closed on a ball, made the pick, kept his feet in bounds and sprinted (easily outran everyone) to the end zone for a 60 yard pick six.  I remember as I watched the play thinking "who the hell was that?"  I was sure it was a safety, or WJIII but none of our safeties make plays like that and WJIII was on the other side of the field.  When I saw 55 as he jumped in to the stands (hilarious, albeit dangerous), I just sat there and watched it over and over again (Direct TV rewind is awesome).  There might have been 3-4 LBs in the history of the game make that play.  Then, as you eluded to, other times he looks like he was out on an all-night bender.