I think a key element to the Bengals success on
offense this year will be the health of the TEs.

we are aware of how defenses how to play the Bengals
when Eifert is on the field.
it really keeps the defense from tilting the field toward AJ or Tyler.
when Tyler Eifert is healthy....Andy Dalton can move the sticks
as well as any QB.

Now you throw in CJ Uzomah who in Eiferts absense
has quietly improved year to year.
hes only 26 yrs old. his,best days are ahead.
Uzomah is,really gotten better at taking hard shots over the
middle and securing the ball.
his hands in general have become a strength in his game.

this is the 1st year actually that we get to see both their talents
become a integral part of the offense.

Drew Sample has the advantage of being able to learn and watch
behind these 2 plus hes already becoming a fast learner
and a playbook poindexter.

with ZT using play action and boots I expect our TEs
to be real solid contributors to the success of Dalton.

This has been the subject of some conjecture as the Rams were not known for using their TEs as much as receiving threats as they did as blockers. It has been theorized that the Bengals have much more talent than the Rams at TE and will likely be using them much more. That, as well as the drafting of Sample in Rd 2, signals a real dedication to the rushing attack.

When you consider where the Ram's offense was before McVay, one can help but be excited because I think ZT is taking over an offense with a much more experienced QB and more talent across the board. TEs being a big part of that mix. The rushing attack has me really excited as well. The drafting of two young stud RBs to mix in with Mixon (ba dum bum, teeesh!) and Gio combined with the emphasis on the offensive line has me thinking of long-sustained drives that wears down the opposition and gives the defense time to rest and remain fresh.

I have said it before: the two points in his career when Andy had (what I consider to be) a really good OC (Gruden and Hue), he went to the playoffs every time. I see a similar forecast for this year.

I suspect Brian Callahan is drooling at the thought of running this offense if everyone stays healthy. Green and Boyd, Eifert, Uzomah and Sample at tight end, Mixon, Bernard and a stable of young talented back behind them. With our shiny new Left Tackle and a major beef upgrade on the line, Dalton has to be excited as well. By week 6 I say this team has shocked the league.

I am as big of a homer as anyone on this board, but I don't really expect anything from Eifert this year.

When he was healthy he was on of only 3 or 4 truly elite players (Green, Atkins, Whitworth) we have had in recent years, and his presence changed the offense. But for whatever reason his body just can not withstand the NFL.

(06-21-2019, 08:42 AM)fredtoast Wrote: I am as big of a homer as anyone on this board, but I don't really expect anything from Eifert this year.

When he was healthy he was on of only 3 or 4 truly elite players (Green, Atkins, Whitworth) we have had in recent years, and his presence changed the offense.  But for whatever reason his body just can not withstand the NFL.

He was healthy last year. Not one player in the NFL would have survived that play without a broken leg....

(06-21-2019, 08:36 AM)Sled21 Wrote: I suspect Brian Callahan is drooling at the thought of running this offense if everyone stays healthy. Green and Boyd, Eifert, Uzomah and Sample at tight end, Mixon, Bernard and a stable of young talented back behind them. With our shiny new Left Tackle and a major beef upgrade on the line, Dalton has to be excited as well. By week 6 I say this team has shocked the league.

Hard to say.  Another coach that's never done it in the NFL.

Translation from talent on paper and utilizing it properly are two different things.

I'm not going to be a downer but I'm not getting overly excited until it plays out on the field.

(06-21-2019, 08:42 AM)fredtoast Wrote: I am as big of a homer as anyone on this board, but I don't really expect anything from Eifert this year.

When he was healthy he was on of only 3 or 4 truly elite players (Green, Atkins, Whitworth) we have had in recent years, and his presence changed the offense. But for whatever reason his body just can not withstand the NFL.

2 people's weight on an arm and a lineman's weight on an ankle, not even a robot would be able to withstand, probably.

(06-20-2019, 12:26 PM)impactplaya Wrote: I think a key element to the Bengals success on
offense this year will be the health of the TEs.

we are aware of how defenses how to play the Bengals
when Eifert is on the field.
it really keeps the defense  from tilting the field toward AJ or Tyler.
when Tyler Eifert is healthy....Andy Dalton can move the sticks
as well as any QB.

Now you throw in CJ Uzomah who in Eiferts absense
has quietly improved year to year.
hes only 26 yrs old. his,best days are ahead.
Uzomah is,really gotten better at taking hard shots over the
middle and securing the ball.
his hands in general have become a strength in his game.

this is the 1st year actually that we get to see both their talents
become a integral part of the offense.

Drew Sample has the advantage of being able to learn and watch
behind these 2 plus hes already becoming a fast learner
and a playbook poindexter.

with ZT using play action and boots I expect our TEs
to be real solid contributors to the success of Dalton.

I see Eifert as the deciding factor, I think without him (if injured again), they will be good, but with him can be great. I have stated in other threads, we never have had a pure blocking TE on the field with Eifert either. A two TE formation opens up options from maximum protect deep passing, to play action to running the ball out of it. I am excited for this group and agree CJ has gotten better every year as well.

(06-21-2019, 08:56 AM)Luvnit2 Wrote: I see Eifert as the deciding factor, I think without him (if injured again), they will be good, but with him can be great. I have stated in other threads, we never have had a pure blocking TE on the field with Eifert either. A two TE formation opens up options from maximum protect deep passing, to play action to running the ball out of it. I am excited for this group and agree CJ has gotten better every year as well.

Let's just hope they do better than that 3 TE failed play that Joe turned into a gain instead of getting decimated!

Here's to hoping Eifert can pull off a full season

If he does this offense could be a very good one. We'll see

You guys can talk all you want about how every other NFL player would have been injured just like Eifert, but the fact is he has missed 56 games in 6 seasons and only played 230 snaps over the last two seasons.

If he is not fragile then he is cursed. No one has ever missed that much time to start his career and gone on to have any success in this league.

(06-21-2019, 09:38 AM)fredtoast Wrote: You guys can talk all you want about how every other NFL player would have been injured just like Eifert, but the fact is he has missed 56 games in 6 seasons and only played 230 snaps over the last two seasons.

If he is not fragile then he is cursed.  No one has ever missed that much time to start his career and gone on to have any success in this league.

yes hes been on the IR more than we have needed to see.
but guess what. 
that was then this now.
the present.
Eifert is healthy. 
its 2019.
last year is last year. 
Marvin is gone.
theirs a renewed energy and spirit in Bengaldom.
16 games of Eifert on Sunday is only a good thing.
any player can sustain a broken body part

(01-04-2019, 01:01 PM)Nicomo Cosca Wrote: He disappeared a lot this season but that doesn’t mean we should trade him. Put some actual NFL caliber LB’s behind him, and a competent DC and I’ll bet he’ll be much more consistent again.

any given play.
ask Darnay Scott

(06-21-2019, 09:56 AM)impactplaya Wrote: yes hes been on the IR more than we have needed to see.
but guess what. 
that was then this now.
the present.
Eifert is healthy. 
its 2019.
last year is last year. 
Marvin is gone.
theirs a renewed energy and spirit in Bengaldom.
16 games of Eifert on Sunday is only a good thing.
any player can sustain a broken body part



any given play.
ask Darnay Scott

I want a coach that can "play chess" and WIN with ANY chess piece.

week 1: We checkmated you with a rook.
week 2: We checkmated you with a queen.
week 3: We checkmated you with a pawn.
week 4: We checkmated you with a spatula.

and so on.....

(06-21-2019, 08:53 AM)Truck_1_0_1_ Wrote: 2 people's weight on an arm and a lineman's weight on an ankle, not even a robot would be able to withstand, probably.

All good reasons his ankle got mashed, but it doesn't take away the fact that it happened nor the fact that he's been the victim of more than his share of freak injuries over the years. If he stays healthy all season I'll be a bit more than shocked, but if anyone is "due" for at least one healthy season it's Tyler Eifert. Healthy or not you really have to assume he's not gonna be as fleet footed as he was a few seasons ago.. I really don't expect him to be the same threat even if he never gets more than a hangnail all season. I also hope I'm proven completely wrong. That would be a first! 
It almost sounds like some people want to say, "Well yeah he was just injured last year, but he was ONLY run over by 5 steam rollers at the same time, mauled by a grizzly then attacked by a pack of hungry lions then barely survived a horrific plane crash into a mountain! He'll be just fine.."

(06-20-2019, 12:26 PM)impactplaya Wrote: I think a key element to the Bengals success on
offense this year will be the health of the TEs.

we are aware of how defenses how to play the Bengals
when Eifert is on the field.
it really keeps the defense  from tilting the field toward AJ or Tyler.
when Tyler Eifert is healthy....Andy Dalton can move the sticks
as well as any QB.

Now you throw in CJ Uzomah who in Eiferts absense
has quietly improved year to year.
hes only 26 yrs old. his,best days are ahead.
Uzomah is,really gotten better at taking hard shots over the
middle and securing the ball.
his hands in general have become a strength in his game.

this is the 1st year actually that we get to see both their talents
become a integral part of the offense.

Drew Sample has the advantage of being able to learn and watch
behind these 2 plus hes already becoming a fast learner
and a playbook poindexter.

with ZT using play action and boots I expect our TEs
to be real solid contributors to the success of Dalton.

I'm not expecting the TE to be as much of a featured pass catcher as it was under Gruden, Hue, and Lazor.
If you look back at the offenses that Taylor was a part of in MIA and LA, no single TE had 400+ yards.
However, I do agree that the health of the TE will be important, but it will be primarily to help block with the occasional play action pass to the TE.

I'm just trying to set proper expectations in case people think one of the TEs is going to get 700+ yards, which I don't believe one will.
I think the top 3 offensive threats will be Green, Mixon, and Boyd with the TEs, Bernard, and John Ross competing for the 4th and 5th spots.

(06-21-2019, 10:00 AM)Bengalitis Wrote: I want a coach that can "play chess" and WIN with ANY chess piece.

week 1: We checkmated you with a rook.
week 2: We checkmated you with a queen.
week 3: We checkmated you with a pawn.
week 4: We checkmated you with a spatula.

and so on.....

I remember Jay Gruden trying to "play chess" back when he was the OC. 3rd and 1 or 2 and trying to throw a 15+ yard pass to AJ Green down the sideline and it going incomplete.

I'd much prefer a coach that knows the strengths of the team and caters to those strengths. No need to get cute.

(06-21-2019, 11:40 AM)ochocincos Wrote: If you look back at the offenses that Taylor was a part of in MIA and LA, no single TE had 400+ yards.

If Taylor had had a player like a healthy Eifert then there would have been one.  Eifert was not just a good combo of size and speed.  He could get in and out of cuts like a WR.  A healthy Eifert puts up good numbers under any smart OC.

In Bill Belichick's 19 seasons as Pats head coach he only had one RB with more than 300 touches, but when he had that one RB (Corey Dillon) he got 360 touches in the regular season and 75 more in 3 post season games.

The problem isn't the TEs . It's the defense's ability to get off the field. This offense is playoff caliber if they remain healthy. Basically this offense was the top team in the division before the injury train wreck. If the defense doesn't step up we will be a last place team. The players from last year need to step up and improve and the new players need to push last years starters. ZT was hired as a offensive mind but the key is defense. Marvin failed miserably at his specialty, defense.

(06-21-2019, 11:57 AM)fredtoast Wrote: If Taylor had had a player like a healthy Eifert then there would have been one.  Eifert was not just a good combo of size and speed.  He could get in and out of cuts like a WR.  A healthy Eifert puts up good numbers under any smart OC.

In Bill Belichick's 19 seasons as Pats head coach he only had one RB with more than 300 touches, but when he had that one RB (Corey Dillon) he got 360 touches in the regular season and 75 more in 3 post season games.

I don't fully believe that.
In 2015, the Dolphins had Cameron Jordan, who had 917 yards and 7 TDs just two years prior.
He only put up 386-3 in 2015 while not missing a game all that year.

You might be right but that's more optimism that it will happen rather than past trends.

(06-21-2019, 09:38 AM)fredtoast Wrote: You guys can talk all you want about how every other NFL player would have been injured just like Eifert, but the fact is he has missed 56 games in 6 seasons and only played 230 snaps over the last two seasons.

If he is not fragile then he is cursed.  No one has ever missed that much time to start his career and gone on to have any success in this league.

At a certain point, all of the injuries will impact his actual physical ability...if they already haven't.

Last year, the threat of him catching the ball seemed to be greater than the impact of him actually catching the ball.