Just a side note.. The Bears website really went out of it's way to downplay how terrible their #1s played against our #1s.. "just a learning experience" .  Where have we heard that before?  Lemme see... last years offensive line perhaps?  lol
In the immortal words of Marv, a coachable moment.. 

(08-10-2018, 12:32 AM)HuDey Wrote: Just to be different I am going with Jonathan Brown for being the most unkickerish looking kicker that I have ever seen.

He played soccer for UK and then UofL and has that soccer look for sure. 

Did you notice that with the first team offensive line there were NO instances at all of unblocked defenders blazing into the backfield? Price was outstanding tonight.

And yes I found it funny how the Bears media tried to spin how their first string O and D got schooled by our first string. Lest we forget they had the NFL 7th ranked defense last season and we just rolled over it.

The fight the team came out with was impressive to me.

Geno and AJ looked to be in midseason pro bowl form.

Got to go with them two.

Saw a lot to get excited for though and the WR's are definitely one of them.

If Eifert somehow contributes it will be very dangerous group.

Dalton looked like 2015 Dalton. Body language speaks to me in ways i am unable to describe.

But he's back fellas.

Not too many disappointments in the areas that matter most.  The Ross slip pick terrified me until he made that catch and then blurred another 5 yards or so. He'll put it all together.

Getting back to body language, a lot of things just seem different.

Yah yah preseason

I don't care. This team is going to surprise a lot of people.

(08-10-2018, 02:16 AM)Whodey614 Wrote: Hart definitely looked formidable at RT. I'm not going to crown him as a savior but he looked better than I expected. It's disappointing but not shocking that Fisher and Ogbuehi are still garbage. Was hoping at least Fisher could show something. It's only Game 1 but it looks like Pollack isn't a god and he can't turn dirt into gold. We can officially say the 2015 draft class is a total bust outside of the TEs and Shaw.

I still hope that once Westerman gets back to where he was before the food poisoning, he can secure RG. Hopkins wasn't terrible but I'm rooting for Westerman based on what he showed in the last 2 games last year. Redmond didn't stand out but didn't suck either so don't count him out. The team already looks completely different with Glenn and Price out there. Just need the best man to give us average production from RG/T.

I don't know what game you were watching but Redmond blew out there he jumped offsides and couldn't block anyone in pass blocking 

Walton was the worse RB we had out there and the other person out there that made me sick is the LB M. Jefferson they were just plan bad.

Hubert's only going to be arm tackling he better get bigger arms and work on a death grip but man he is so close to making big plays

(08-09-2018, 11:36 PM)Nicomo Cosca Wrote: I’ll pick one player from each side of the ball:

On O it was Auden Tate with a couple great catches and a TD in the 2nd half. I think he made the team tonight.

On D it was Jordan Evans. He seemed to be all over the place.

Mostly positive tonight other than Ross falling down resulting in a pick 6, and Barkley looking awful. Hopefully he lost the backup job cause I don’t see him getting any better the next few games.

Who you got?

In the 1st Quarter of Preseason Game 1, when the starters were in, the O Line looked OK.  The catches by AJ Green.  The catch and touchdown run by Mixon. The catch by Ross.  Touchdown to Boyd.  Some ground yards by Mixon and Bernard. Time to throw for Dalton.  None of that happens without Blocking.  I'll repeat that. None of that happens without Blocking.   

So the Blocking while the starters were in there looked OK.  I only saw one play the D got in on Dalton, and he ran away for a first down. Ross slipped which caused the offense to give up a touchdown, but the defense wasn't giving up points, and the Tackling looked OK.  

That is what football is. Blocking, Tackling, Team Work.  When the starters were in there, I saw improved Blocking, Tackling & Team Work.  Keep it up going forward.  I saw a good team out there when starters were in, but I'm sure the coaches will find a lot of game film to jump on them about in training camp. Probably many things the coaches want to coach up before regular season.

The Tempo of the offense was faster. Much faster than Zampese or Hue Jackson or even Jay Gruden. Often they were right back up there snapping the ball before TV cameras were ready, which is shades of Sam Wyche Hurry Up. Several times the TV camera didn't show most of the play because the Bengals lined back up so fast and ran another play. I like that. Keep the D from changing their players sets. Catch them off guard. I didn't see any of that turtle slow putting tackles out with receiver and then waiting as they shift back to O Line, that Hue used and Zampese kept. I'm hoping that garbage is gone with more of a focus on just Blocking and with a faster paced offense. The offense was running those plays Sam Wyche fast last night. Good. speed it up because I thought Bengals offense was too slow last few years. The quick NFL defenses are too fast for that slow stuff. The NFL is twice as fast as college, so I'm all for Bengals being one of the faster teams in NFL. We went to Super Bowls with fast tempo teams. Slow doesn't cut it in the NFL. Marvin Lewis on a quick interview before game mentioned speeding things up tonight. They did. Maybe Lazor will be laser fast, shades of Sam Wyche. Catch the D with wrong players on the field. That big pass to Ross was a play the TV camera missed the snap because Bengals line-up and snapped fast. Good, catch everybody off guard, I like it.

I don't want to sound like I am complaining, because we have been on the other side of the fence many times: We make excuses why our #1s looked like crap and our backups beat their backups. Complete opposite tonight.

The good: Starting offense made one mistake (Ross fell down). They were carving up the Bears. Dalton, Green, Mixon, Ross (less the one mistake...the deep ball thrown over his other shoulder is an easy 6 points...he made a nice adjustment and almost had it), Boyd, and the starting offensive line. They all looked very good. Ditto the starting defense. Keivare Russell looked nice as a backup CB and that was something we needed to see. Auden Tate is as advertised. But can we please practice the damn jump ball not being out of bounds? Billy Price is my new favorite Bengal. With a pocket, and these weapons, Dalton will be amazing in 2018.

Now, where I don't want to sound like a complainer: Guys we were hoping to get a taste of and see a spark of talent that seemingly did nothing: Malik Jefferson (horrible angle on long run that Wilson caught). All the backup defensive linemen...did next to nothing. All backup LBs...Bell made a nice play on a tipped ball but it should have been caught cleanly. Redmond was a mystery: He was a beast in run blocking, was the only guy of that group that didn't get shoved back, but had a false start and a bad whiff in pass pro (at least he stayed with it). Westerman, coming off an illness where he lost 12 pounds, didn't look like the guy of a year ago. He still has time to get his strength back, but I was disappointed. Mark Walton didn't look as good as Tra Carson...I will always wonder about that pick, as I think there was still some talent at OT on the board.

One last comment: Do you think Fat Randy keeps his locker the hell away from the other kicker? That kid looks like a RB! I guess he turned down a scholarship to play soccer at Louisville, which has a really good soccer team, to play football.

I thought pretty much the whole O and D looked pretty solid. I was disappointed Jackson got beat on the first play of the game and just a decent throw may have been 6. At the least should have been a big gain for them. I thought our O showed more then the D. Thats mostly just because I think the Bears O sucks.

I was very happy to see Price have a mistake-free game. Should go a long way for his confidence and making sure that the snap issue is perfectly cleaned up long before the season opener.

A couple things I forgot:

CJ Uzomah had three catches for 32 yards, including a nice 19 yarder. That is exactly what we need to see from our #2 TE (#3 when Eifert is in the game) and I thought he and Kroft blocked well.

And how about my guy Fej? He was our leading rusher with that 49 yard fake punt. I love it! Put it out there, and give teams something else to worry about. Fej was FLYING!

As nervous as I get with Boyd and Ross returning kicks, I started to wonder if Fej ever returned kicks?

(08-09-2018, 11:58 PM)Shady Wrote: To mix it up, I thought Bobby Hart played a good game. After watching OG and Fischer, I understand why Hart is starting. THey blow chunks. Hart looked pretty good. My only concern is with Trey Hopkins and the RG spot in general. No one really stood out, but the 1st quarter is the only one I watched 3 times. Once for fun. Once to watch the Oline. And once to watch the front 6/7. Brown looks like the real deal, as does Evans. Vigil had a good game, too. Our Dline is very good. Hubbard impressed me alot. He had alot of ALMOST plays.

Yeah, didn't watch OG much (no need, done with him).  Fischer I figured I'd give another chance due to his condition last year.  But he just looks very weak, very slender for a tackle.  I realize tackles are supposed to be athletic but they also need to be able to hold their ground.  He needs to put on some muscle - heck, even his arms are under impressive for a professional football player.

Between OG and Fischer they should probably just cut bait and sign some last cut OL from other teams.  Seriously, no way they'd be any worse!

Considering this was the Bengals 1st pre-season game and the Bears 2nd, I was elated with how our 1's steamrolled their 1s. AJ and Boyd look good, Malone is really bringing it and looked great. Erickson is his usual reliable self. And good grief, just throw it into a crowd and let Tate grab it. His hands are golden.
I was happy to see Marvin go right back at Ross after he fell and caused the interception. Sitting him would have been a huge mistake with his confidence. Ross came up with an up and down, but good game. The more he plays, the more confident he will become.
I thought Westerman looked good..... so I may be in disagreement with most on that one.
Jordan Evans shows like a starting linebacker should...… fast and strong. Vigil, no longer on a bum ankle, looked fast and solid.
Hubbard was constantly "almost" getting to the QB, but it was almost like he is overpursuing… he will be a beast when he gets it.
Fej….. what can you say, love the guy!!!
Andy looks great. Driskell looked ok. The other guy blows chunks. I really think they need to give the kid (name escapes me right now) from UCF a look at QB and maybe kill two stones with one roster spot.
Kevarie Russel is a good CB, and could start for us without much drop off should the need arise.
Kermit is fun to watch.
Redmon can't pass protect.
Og is going to continue to screw this football team until the day they get rid of him. Fisher didn't show much better....

The whole team seemed to have a different attitude this year, which is refreshing. If they keep it up, I see huge things on the horizon.

I wanted our 1st teams DL and OL, they did so great start. Price looked very good and no snap issues...awesome

Green looked like AJ of old and not 2017 Green
AD was throwing darts
The receiving corps looked great, they got separation and showed great route running skills, Tate showed he wins jump balls, welcome to the 53 man roster Mr. Tate.
Mixon looked best I have seen him and Gio ran with an attitude, Walton did not but I would like to see him behind a line that can run block versus being hit in backfield like happened last night with second and third team OL


Dennard made plays and Geno and Carlos and Lawson all looked great


I feel a lot better now about 2018
Do we have a kicking battle brewing? Brown has the stronger leg on kick offs, he proved that last night. But can he out kick him with field goals and PAT's, time will tell but could be very interesting.

(08-10-2018, 10:57 AM)Luvnit2 Wrote: I feel a lot better now about 2018
Do we have a kicking battle brewing? Brown has the stronger leg on kick offs, he proved that last night. But can he out kick him with field goals and PAT's, time will tell but could be very interesting.

Fat Randy's leg is plenty strong for kick offs, he proved it last night when he drill one out of the end zone. But if you noticed, that's not the game anymore..... giving them the 25. On the kick he dropped just inside the end zone, we stopped them inside the 20. THAT's the game now......

Definitely like the new up tempo offense. This coordinator even in a fairly vanilla preseason game, seems to understand how to set your play makers up in space. We saw the rewards in the Mixon TD. In all the years I've seen the Bengals line up an RB wide, that is the very first time I can remember they actually made him the #1 target, hell, first time I can remember they even THREW to him.

We finally saw what Ross is all about, Good God, that plant, pivot, accelerate was just ....wow. I don't think I've seen that kind of play since John Jefferson. Ross is gonna have some ridiculous YAC this year, turning curls and slants into big gains. Also, Tate proved as advertised, if he gets his hand on the ball, he's gonna catch it. All his catches were not gimmees tonight, he will win a most of his contested catches.

Very encouraged by our new OTs. Glenn came as billed, and Hart definitely distanced himself from the competition. Fisher was just horrid, OG was marginal against scrubs. I'm all for giving Perkins the second team reps just to see if he can match those 2 with a lower salary. I was also underwhelmed by our backup guards on the scrubs. Westerman was just meh, Redmond was even less.

One of the reservations we had about Bates is that he is pure centerfielder, all cover/no tackle. He should tonight that ain't true, made 2 very hard, sure tackles tonight. Plus he didn't look lost in the scheme as well...

Same can't be said for Malik Jefferson, he has nowhere to go but up. Same for Phillips in coverage. Those are 2 in their first action so I won't get down on them too hard for now.

Nick Vigil looked like the guy we drafted in his short time on field. Filled a hole and made a sure tackle, which wasn't what we saw often last year. His physique also looks more sturdy this year.

Price wan't perfect, he got thown aside in one pass rush, He definitely is worthy pulling center, sealing a defender on an end run. Jeffro would only get in our runners way when he pulled. All the snaps were perfect though, one worry out the door.

(08-10-2018, 10:41 AM)Daddy-O Wrote: Yeah, didn't watch OG much (no need, done with him).  Fischer I figured I'd give another chance due to his condition last year.  But he just looks very weak, very slender for a tackle.  I realize tackles are supposed to be athletic but they also need to be able to hold their ground.  He needs to put on some muscle - heck, even his arms are under impressive for a professional football player.

Between OG and Fischer they should probably just cut bait and sign some last cut OL from other teams.  Seriously, no way they'd be any worse!

I was concerned about Fisher's strength.  He wasn't a strong T by NFL standards to begin with, then couldn't lift for long stretches due to his heart and shoulder issues.  This looks like a throwaway "get back in football shape" year for him.

(08-10-2018, 11:00 AM)Sled21 Wrote: Fat Randy's leg is plenty strong for kick offs, he proved it last night when he drill one out of the end zone. But if you noticed, that's not the game anymore..... giving them the 25. On the kick he dropped just inside the end zone, we stopped them inside the 20. THAT's the game now......

Is that the game now? But for clarity, it was 5 yards deep, look at it again, the announcer even said 5 yards deep.

I think with the new rules of no running start for the kick team, short kicks could end up in the end zone. It will take them longer to get down field since no running start.

All I was saying is many say all positions should have legit competition like we ad last year with Elliott and Bullock, if so may the best man win.

(08-10-2018, 11:09 AM)Luvnit2 Wrote: Is that the game now? But for clarity, it was 5 yards deep, look at it again, the announce even said 5 yards deep.

I think with the new rules of no running start for the kick team, short kicks could end up in the end zone. It will take them longer to get down field since no running start.

All I was saying is many say al positions should have legit competition like we ad last year with Elliott and Bullock, if so may the best man win.

5 yds. deep into the end zone is just inside the end zone, to me anyway, compared with driving it out the back or in the back where teams won't bring it out. Much better chance to stop them short instead of just giving them the 25. 
As for competition, I'm all for it and always have been. That's why, even though I really liked Elliott, when Randy won the job in competition I was fine with it.

(08-10-2018, 11:23 AM)Sled21 Wrote: 5 yds. deep into the end zone is just inside the end zone, to me anyway, compared with driving it out the back or in the back where teams won't bring it out. Much better chance to stop them short instead of just giving them the 25. 
As for competition, I'm all for it and always have been. That's why, even though I really liked Elliott, when Randy won the job in competition I was fine with it.

End zone is 10 yards deep so 5 yards is in the middle of the end zone, not just in the end zone.

On the kicker, just trying to see if those who felt the competition against Elliott who was a 5th round pick feel Brown and Randy should also be legit competition. Sorry, I was not saying yo felt no competition was the easy to go.