Last preseason Mixon averaged 1.8 YPC (13 rushes for 24 yards). He went on to league the conference in rushing yards.

I distinctly remembered this being a talking point last pre-season as well. Since nobody seemed to remember, I actually took the time to look it up and the stats bear it out. Just something to keep in mind if you're starting to get nervous about the running game.

Oh, and Gio averaged 3.1 YPC... but most of that came on one long run of 11 yards. Throw that out and he averaged a meager 2.1 YPC last preseason.

Well our passing game looks pretty good...should we be worried it's going to have the inverse effect?

(08-25-2019, 02:24 AM)Nately120 Wrote: Well our passing game looks pretty good...should we be worried it's going to have the inverse effect?

Oh, have the boards moved past complaining about that Josh Malone overthrow against KC finally? Glad to hear we've decided the passing game is fine, I was worried there for a bit...

And while I get that you're just being a smart ass, Andy's preseason numbers were pretty similar to what he posted in the regular season last year, so no.

I'm not worried in the least. I'll just assume the worse and be happy with anything better than the worst.

Mixon is terrific not worried about him at all, he will probably be key'd on by most defenses the Bengals line up against. He will be the main reason the Bengals win alot of close games.

I just came on here to make a similar thread. I think the focus has been giving the receivers not named Boyd chances to make plays and see what OL lineup holds up the best in pass protection. The running game will be fine come the regular season. There are most likely some plays they want to keep in their bag.

We also have to keep in mind that we had Frank Pollack as the OL coach last year who is known for getting the most out of the running game. Jim Turner is considered to be a big downgrade at the position. He had a pretty good running game at Texas A&M. I don't have the numbers in front of me but YPC, when he was the Dolphins OL coach, wasn't promising from what I remember. It remains to be seen what he can do this time in the NFL.

(08-25-2019, 01:31 AM)NKURyan Wrote: Last preseason Mixon averaged 1.8 YPC (13 rushes for 24 yards). He went on to league the conference in rushing yards.

Last year in preseason our RBs averaged 77 yards and 3.0 per carry (not counting QB scrambles and a 50 yd run on fake punt).

This year they are averaging 41 yards and 2.5 per carry.

I am still concerned.

I am not concerned...I heard Lap say they have basically run the same 3 formations and although he would like to see the line get more push, none of the backs have Joe Mixon's vision. I want to see Jet sweeps, screens, and the occasional deep shot to keep the opposing defense running side to side and covering every inch of the field. Then gash them with Mixon.

And how long before someone points out that Anderson looks like he should start over Gio? Wow...his first game back after a torn ACL? Some guys wouldn't have got him in two-hand touch.

what was our record last year

(08-25-2019, 12:10 PM)fredtoast Wrote: Last year in preseason our RBs averaged 77 yards and 3.0 per carry (not counting QB scrambles and a 50 yd run on fake punt).

This year they are averaging 41 yards and 2.5 per carry.

I am still concerned.

So because a bunch of our scrubs ran the ball decently against a bunch of other teams scrubs last preseason to prop up our rushing average means that the point is invalidated?

And if our 4th and 5th string running backs go out there and start against Indy on Thursday playing nobody on defense and raise our preseason YPC to 3.0 you'll all the sudden feel better?

A guy who averaged 1.8 YPC last pre-season led the conference in rushing yards. The fact that the Bengals 3rd/4th/5th/6th are averaging 2.5 ypc this preseason means little to nothing.

(08-25-2019, 12:46 PM)NKURyan Wrote: So because a bunch of our scrubs ran the ball decently against a bunch of other teams scrubs last preseason to prop up our rushing average means that the point is invalidated?

No.  The fact that our O-line this year can't run block indicates that our rushing game will suffer.

(08-25-2019, 01:31 AM)NKURyan Wrote: Last preseason Mixon averaged 1.8 YPC (13 rushes for 24 yards). He went on to league the conference in rushing yards.

I distinctly remembered this being a talking point last pre-season as well. Since nobody seemed to remember, I actually took the time to look it up and the stats bear it out. Just something to keep in mind if you're starting to get nervous about the running game.

Yeah, we won't really know until the regular season how good our run blocking is...

So vanilla in the Preseason teams know when you are wanting to run it.

(08-25-2019, 12:54 PM)fredtoast Wrote: No.  The fact that our O-line this year can't run block indicates that our rushing game will suffer.

They couldn't run block last pre-season either against guys who weren't buried on the other teams depth chart either, and in the end it didn't matter because Mixon ran all over the place when it did.

I know I don't have to post here, yet I'm gonna say it...

What does it matter?

Pre-season tells nothing but who makes the final roster and some practice to knock the rust off the vets.

People didn't like the blocking last season even with Mixon's numbers.

Nothing in respects to added/retained personnel gets anyone thrilled going into this season either.

(08-25-2019, 04:50 PM)BengalsRocker Wrote: I know I don't have to post here, yet I'm gonna say it...

What does it matter?

Pre-season tells nothing but who makes the final roster and some practice to knock the rust off the vets.

People didn't like the blocking last season even with Mixon's numbers.

Nothing in respects to added/retained personnel gets anyone thrilled going into this season either.

The last time we looked really bad in the Preseason we went to the Playoffs and should of beat the Steelers.

(08-25-2019, 05:33 PM)Nate (formerly eliminate08) Wrote: The last time we looked really bad in the Preseason we went to the Playoffs and should of beat the Steelers.

Exactly.

This offensive line doesn't even look that good on paper.

Then you take a guy like Cordy Glenn who should be serviceable at the least and we can't hardly keep him healthy or playing at his advertised level.

We still see people posting "if we could get him to play like he did in Buffalo".

That was almost 3 years ago.  He played in 6 games his last season for the Bills.

Price not beating anyone out on the line is very troublesome.

Trey Hopkins should be a lifer backup in the league but he's getting the nod at Center.

So yeah.  Some people are worried about the o-line again as a whole.

You better hope to all that is holy that Mixon doesn't go down.

He is the real story of a successful running game.

All you have to do is search the internet and you'll see what I'm talking about.

(08-25-2019, 04:50 PM)BengalsRocker Wrote: I know I don't have to post here, yet I'm gonna say it...

What does it matter?

Pre-season tells nothing but who makes the final roster and some practice to knock the rust off the vets.

That's pretty much exactly my point - it doesn't matter. Yet we've got plenty of people saying the Bengals rushing game is already doomed because they're only averaging 2.5 YPC this pre-season.

The point is, if Joe Mixon can struggle in the pre-season behind a bad offensive line, but then still goes on to find success playing behind that same bad offensive line, maybe we should take a bit of a deep breathe here. That's all I'm saying. I expect Mixon to have success this season no matter how poorly the Bengals are running the ball this pre-season.

As far as a potential Mixon injury is concerned, obviously that'd be a huge blow. I would point out that Gio was more than serviceable as a starter behind that same bad offensive line last year, though (two games over 4.5 YPC). So even that might not be a complete death knell.