(09-28-2018, 11:20 AM)thillan Wrote: I know we are probably all a bit tired of arguing about the guy, because at the end of the day we want him to work out. I have been saying that I personally think he can be our Tyreek Hill, so this article gave me some hope from my 2nd favorite Bengals WR ever:

https://bengalswire.usatoday.com/2018/09/28/chad-johnson-sees-tyreek-hill-john-ross/

I'd love to see a little bit, just a little swagger from Chad rub off on Ross.

(09-28-2018, 11:33 AM)bengalfan74 Wrote: I'd love to see a little bit, just a little swagger from Chad rub off on Ross.

Oh absolutely, I loved Chad's competitive fire. 

But I think what's cool about Chad is he didn't even reference himself. He talked about wanting Ross to adopt Steve Smith's mindset! Which would be amazing. Steve was NEVER the most physically gifted guy on the field, but he honestly might've been the best in terms of mindset. He wanted to ruin you.

If he could get Ross to add Steve's mentality to his game.. watch out!

(09-28-2018, 11:37 AM)thillan Wrote: Oh absolutely, I loved Chad's competitive fire. 

But I think what's cool about Chad is he didn't even reference himself. He talked about wanting Ross to adopt Steve Smith's mindset! Which would be amazing. Steve was NEVER the most physically gifted guy on the field, but he honestly might've been the best in terms of mindset. He wanted to ruin you.

If he could get Ross to add Steve's mentality to his game.. watch out!

Interesting point of interest in your article.....the Chiefs use Hill as a return man.  I wonder if putting Ross out there, and if he were to break one, would help get him going?

(09-28-2018, 12:08 PM)Wyche Wrote: Interesting point of interest in your article.....the Chiefs use Hill as a return man.  I wonder if putting Ross out there, and if he were to break one, would help get him going?

I always worry about potential injury on those returns, but I definitely think him breaking one would help. I know he did it in college though.

(09-28-2018, 12:14 PM)thillan Wrote: I always worry about potential injury on those returns, but I definitely think him breaking one would help. I know he did it in college though.

Yep, I do too....but ya gotta get the ball in playamkers' hands as well.  The Chiefs put arguably their best offensive weapon out there to return kicks, and he balls out doing that too.  Maybe the Bengals should consider that with Ross.

I don’t see the Tyreek Hill comparison. They are both fast, but beyond that they are totally different players. Tyreek is a RB at heart and plays with that type of mindset. Ross is lost at this level and doesn’t even resemble a football player at this point. I hope he can become the weapon he was supposed to be, but for now no one is afraid.

(09-26-2018, 03:52 PM)WeezyBengal Wrote: You want to know who Tampa Bay's third option at receiver is? A guy named Adam Humphries. He has 6 catches for 57 yards this year.

Chris Godwin and he's been playing pretty well through the first 3 games. Believe he has a TD in each game.

(09-28-2018, 12:08 PM)Wyche Wrote: Interesting point of interest in your article.....the Chiefs use Hill as a return man.  I wonder if putting Ross out there, and if he were to break one, would help get him going?

We could try that, but I'd expect a lot of "breath holding" every time he fields a kick.

Dalton needs all the weapons he can get around him, especially if they are to win in the playoffs.

The premise of this thread is ridiculous. Every starting player has to be at least 'good' otherwise they get exposed or they get ignored and other get more attention. You could have asked the same question last year like "Why does Bodine have to be good". Our LB's were not 'good' last week and we saw the result.

There are two issue - the starting WR has to be at least good which Ross is not at this time. The second part, as noted by many above, we drafted him at #9 to be a difference maker much like KC, who drafted Mahomes right after Ross, were thinking.

(09-28-2018, 08:56 AM)ochocincos Wrote: You’re right in that as long as the offense is producing, the Bengals don’t NEED Ross to be good. However, it’s my belief that a WR taken 9 overall was not meant to be the 4th/5th option in the passing game. Speedy guys can be found late in the draft to accomplish the same as the usage right now. The Bengals could (and should) have used that pick on another position to better impact the team if they didn’t actually intend to get a lot of production out of Ross (at least by a Year 3/4).

I think though that most people (including myself) expect/prefer first round picks (especially top 10) to be solid immediate contributors, but not all are. Some develop 3-4 years in. And yes, I am one who had (still has) high hopes for Ross and thought he’d be an immediate contributor, but not only was he injured most of last year and the offseason prior, he was trying to learn a Zampese offense then a year later had to learn a Lazor offense.

Hopefully Ross comes on by the end of the year, and if not, hopefully we see him break out at the start of Year 3.


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Yes, we have always felt the same way about Ross, wanted the guy prior to the Draft. Have really high hopes for the
guy but there is no bias from each of us in favor of him. If he doesn't start doing something i will call him out. Just
hoping he turns it around and finally silences some of the haters. I will never be a Ross hater i think, i just want him
to prove everyone wrong who called him fine china and that he has no brains.

He has had two different OC's his first two years, hopefully Lazor starts using him correctly to his strengths and he
gets comfortable out there.

(09-28-2018, 11:20 AM)thillan Wrote: I know we are probably all a bit tired of arguing about the guy, because at the end of the day we want him to work out. I have been saying that I personally think he can be our Tyreek Hill, so this article gave me some hope from my 2nd favorite Bengals WR ever:

https://bengalswire.usatoday.com/2018/09/28/chad-johnson-sees-tyreek-hill-john-ross/

I gave Chad crap a lot over the years cause of his TD celebrations and diva like attitude at times but the man is all
heart and i really like him. Love that he said that about Ross getting the Steve Smith mentality, but that guy was
mighty mouse. He would take on anyone. Not sure if that is Ross at all, he can just make players look silly at times
like we saw in Preseason.

(09-28-2018, 12:59 PM)Nate (formerly eliminate08) Wrote: Yes, we have always felt the same way about Ross, wanted the guy prior to the Draft. Have really high hopes for the
guy but there is no bias from each of us in favor of him. If he doesn't start doing something i will call him out. Just
hoping he turns it around and finally silences some of the haters. I will never be a Ross hater i think, i just want him
to prove everyone wrong who called him fine china and that he has no brains.

He has had two different OC's his first two years, hopefully Lazor starts using him correctly to his strengths and he
gets comfortable out there.


I gave Chad crap a lot over the years cause of his TD celebrations and diva like attitude at times but the man is all
heart and i really like him. Love that he said that about Ross getting the Steve Smith mentality, but that guy was
mighty mouse. He would take on anyone. Not sure if that is Ross at all, he can just make players look silly at times
like we saw in Preseason.

Remember too that Chad was said to have a struggle learning the playbook (at least in NE).

Speaking of Chad, in his first 12 games, he had only 329 yards and 1 TD. In Housh’s first 12 games, he had 228 yards and 0 TDs. They went on to have some pretty amazing years in stripes.
John Ross has only played 6 games, so I think people need to pump the breaks. Give him the rest of the year to see how he comes along.


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(09-28-2018, 12:37 PM)HuDey Wrote: I don’t see the Tyreek Hill comparison. They are both fast, but beyond that they are totally different players. Tyreek is a RB at heart and plays with that type of mindset. Ross is lost at this level and doesn’t even resemble a football player at this point. I hope he can become the weapon he was supposed to be, but for now no one is afraid.

I tend to have the same view of Ross' persona.   He just does not seem to have the wanna, the aggressiveness, the swag or the mental toughness to be a star.   I don't really expect to see him develop that.  It's not unheard of but extremely unlikely.

But do other teams fear him.   Yes.   I think that's one of the reasons Boyd is doing so well this year.  Aside from Tyler's improved attitude and professionalism, I think he's getting more room to operate that results in part by the presence of Ross with his potential to take it to the house on any given down.

Boyd is right.   Ross needs to stop worrying about stuff and get out there and start playing football.   And I wouldn't let him field a punt or kickoff until he gets some form of confidence.

(09-28-2018, 01:46 PM)ochocincos Wrote: Remember too that Chad was said to have a struggle learning the playbook (at least in NE).

Speaking of Chad, in his first 12 games, he had only 329 yards and 1 TD. In Housh’s first 12 games, he had 228 yards and 0 TDs. They went on to have some pretty amazing years in stripes.
John Ross has only played 6 games, so I think people need to pump the breaks. Give him the rest of the year to see how he comes along.


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Yeah, not every WR is AJ Green or Julio Jones that is for sure. But Ross's draft status is something some will always
talk about here. Wasn't Chad a 2nd round pick and Housh a 7th rounder? But we do need to have patience with a
young, raw, talented guy like Ross no question.

I guess i am just sick of hearing people trash Ross and want him to step it up and prove them all wrong.

Pronto, but hey, i need patience as well with this. Should have a great chance for his breakout game this weekend.

(09-28-2018, 02:56 PM)3wt Wrote: I tend to have the same view of Ross' persona.   He just does not seem to have the wanna, the aggressiveness, the swag or the mental toughness to be a star.   I don't really expect to see him develop that.  It's not unheard of but extremely unlikely.

But do other teams fear him.   Yes.   I think that's one of the reasons Boyd is doing so well this year.  Aside from Tyler's improved attitude and professionalism, I think he's getting more room to operate that results in part by the presence of Ross with his potential to take it to the house on any given down.

Boyd is right.   Ross needs to stop worrying about stuff and get out there and start playing football.   And I wouldn't let him field a punt or kickoff until he gets some form of confidence.

I don't think Ross has developed the Pro football mentality yet, that is all.

He has a football body just as much as Tyreek Hill does. Ross is a buff dude.

Don't understand anyone saying Ross doesn't even resemble a football player at this point. Not true IMO.

I agree with everything you said after that for sure 3wt. But sometimes players need to develop that Pro football mentality.

Took awhile for Chad and Housh as Ocho shown in the direct quote above yours.

(09-26-2018, 03:52 PM)WeezyBengal Wrote: I mean seriously, why does he need to be good for this offense and team in general to be good?

This offense has plenty of weapons without him. AJ Green, Tyler Boyd, Tyler Eiffert (who is healthy and is starting to play really well), Joe Mixon, Gio.

Any team would salivate to have those options. Any production from John Ross is icing on the cake as far as im concerned. Can you even name any other teams third option at wide receiver or does any team get production out of their third receiver like we expect Ross to get?

The top 5 offenses in the league are:

Tampa Bay
Pittsburgh
LA Rams
New Orleans
LA Chargers

Name the third option at wide receiver for those teams. Ill wait...

You want to know who Tampa Bay's third option at receiver is? A guy named Adam Humphries. He has 6 catches for 57 yards this year.

You can't tell me that our offensive skill players: AJ Green, Tyler Boyd, Tyler Eiffert, and Joe Mixon are that much worse (or worse at all) than Tampa Bays: Mike Evans, Deshean Jackson, OJ Howard, Peyton Barber.  

My point is is that this team isn't going to be a good team based on John Ross' production. They don't need him to be good. They need other parts of their team to be good (linebackers, offensive line, defense in general) to be a good team overall.

We all need to stop bitching about Ross because at the end of the day it doesn't matter. Let's start bitching about some parts of the team that are actually going to make a difference between the Bengals winning and losing.

Tampa's 3rd WR is either Godwin or DeSean Jackson
Pitt:  Hunter/Washington
LAR:  Cooper Kupp
New Orleans:  Meredith
Chargers:  Mike Williams

All of those options are superior to Ross's lack of production.  

Best example of a team that has ample talent at third WR is the rams. They illustrate how potent an offense is with rip off the top speed at all 3 spots. Defenses shit themselves if they cannot pressure QB with lisp(Goff)...Ross is a let down in today’s football as WR position should not take this long to acclimate with technology they are provided to get better with. Oh well swing and a miss so we move on.


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im not going to write off Ross.....not yet.
but he has to start MAKING PLAYS ON THE FIELD.
hes a glorified decoy right now.
whats ironic is that in the preseason he was making 20 yd plus
plays.he was showing signs of that ability that made worth taking #9
hes a had a year to figure on how to be a pro.
hes not being asked to be the "x" WR in the offense. hes not being defended by a lockdown CB.
call me crazy but I would not be surprised if hes not progressing by the end of the year
hes moved in the off season.
you either get it or you dont.
Brandon Cooks got traded. Josh Gordon got traded. both incredibly talented WRs
John Ross can be traded too if he not progressing

With Ross current problems with poor hands, incredibly bad route running and recognition skills he scares defenses not a bit. Why would he? If he can't catch he is no threat. Plus after his latest efforts if I were a QB I would refuse to target him, as he is a turnover waiting to happen.

Bench him or make him the returner and put Erickson in his spot, as at least Erickson is capable of catching the ball.

(09-28-2018, 07:15 PM)Nate (formerly eliminate08) Wrote: I don't think Ross has developed the Pro football mentality yet, that is all.

He has a football body just as much as Tyreek Hill does. Ross is a buff dude.

Don't understand anyone saying Ross doesn't even resemble a football player at this point. Not true IMO.

I agree with everything you said after that for sure 3wt. But sometimes players need to develop that Pro football mentality.

Took awhile for Chad and Housh as Ocho shown in the direct quote above yours.

It's all about the football mentality. That's like 90% of the game. How many times have we seen a guy, with lessor physical traits, just be a damn good football player. Physical traits don't make the football player, it's the approach to the game and understanding it and the love of contact. Yeah, you've gotta be big enough and fast enough, but if the guy doesn't know where he's going and isn't 100% certain about that, then someone else is going to beat him there no matter how much faster he is.

Take Burfict for example. There has to be 90 LBs out there who can beat him in the 40, but he'll beat most of them to where the balls going to be.

I hope Ross does well. I really, really do. But until he actually does it in games that count he's going to be the guy who isn't doing it. Only he can change that. Every game counts for a lot. Every drive counts for a lot. So Ross is going to have to gain the coaches confidence to see the field much. We can't throw to him to get him going when we are behind and he's f'n it up.