On Jonah:

"You don't have to go far to see how character can help our team. Bringing him in here makes a difference for us that way at left tackle. He's what you want when it comes to character," Turner says. "Will he be a great player? We project he'll be a heck of a player or we wouldn't have brought him in here in the first round. If you watch how he performs and how dedicated he is and how smart he is. All the pieces fit."

On XSF:

"First of all, you watch the tape and he's a finisher," Turner says. "He's in great condition. He plays as well in the fourth quarter as he does in the first quarter. The tape tells you the kind of toughness and character you want. You spend time with him and he's a soft-spoken guy, but you can just feel it from him. A presence. This is a guy that wants to be a great player and he wants to be a part of everything Coach Taylor is putting together."

On Jordan and Redmond:

"Mike is an enormous human being. Love the size, love the ability. He has tremendous intangibles, tremendous work ethic and look at how much he played. Total of 667 snaps, 14 at right guard, 15 as an extra tackle and the rest at left guard. I said to Mike in the offseason, 'We're obviously planning for you. We brought you in here to play.' He got banged up halfway through but played well down the stretch.'

"Redmond is the obvious veteran prototype, having a mean streak, playing with an edge. They have the power, they like the contact. I love the wide bodies. That's why we drafted Mike. It's why Redmond is still here. It's why Xavier is here right now. It's very important to have that power, to be able to run the ball in there and stop the twist game (inside) in drop-back pass."

On Adeniji:

"When I got on the plane, I had already watched tape of him, loved him and when they handed the roster to me he was on our team and I was very happy," says Turner of Kansas tackle Hakeem Adeniji. "When we landed, I found out they put him on the other team and I wasn't very happy. He was the best tackle in that game and separated himself from everyone there. No question."

"Talk about character and toughness," Turner says. "When I talked to him at the Senior Bowl, he was no BS. He never hesitated answering a question. A lot of guys, you can see the script in their heads. He's no phony. All about playing ball. You can tell he was raised right. He'll make an impact here. I can feel it."

On how they're preparing:

"The majority of what we're doing right now is watching the tape and installing. The same thing we'd be doing in the building. The great plus compared to last year is you have videos of most of these players playing last season. When you go into the tape to install plays, Mike Jordan is watching himself. Trey Hopkins is watching himself; Bobby Hart is watching himself. When you're the guy on the tape, you're a little more interested. You can critique them as you go through the different techniques and watch that human being right there do the exact thing you're trying to coach or not what you're trying to coach and straighten him out."

"I feel confident with the character we have upfront, no matter how it unfolds, we'll be as ready as possible," says Turner from the basement. "Will we be better in the fourth game than the first game? Yes, we will. Like every other team. The question is will we be more prepared than the other teams we're playing."

https://www.bengals.com/news/bengals-o-line-overhaul-looks-to-finish

Great stuff, man if some of these guys come around this entire team will be so much better.

Didn't know MJ was banged up mid season last year, this makes me feel better about him for future.

I like what Turner says here about all the guys especially Adeniji and the Senior Bowl. Think this guy can be a steal.

So Jordan sucked the first half of the season, got banged up midway through the season, and then played better?

So first day of training camp we should injure him.

(05-13-2020, 02:46 PM)Nate (formerly eliminate08) Wrote: Great stuff, man if some of these guys come around this entire team will be so much better.

Didn't know MJ was banged up mid season last year, this makes me feel better about him for future.

I like what Turner says here about all the guys especially Adeniji and the Senior Bowl. Think this guy can be a steal.

Barring injuries, it looks like Jonah-Jordan-Hopkins-XSF-Hart as the starters, with Johnson, Adeniji, Price and Redmond off the bench. This group has potential to be much better this year if Jonah is what they expect, Jordan can continue to improve, and XSF can build on what he did in Dallas.

I know a lot of people think Johnson could be the starter at RT, but Turner really loves him some Bobby Hart. I also think they're gonna find a way to get Adeniji snaps at multiple spots as the season goes on. 

(05-13-2020, 03:09 PM)Bengalholic Wrote: Barring injuries, it looks like Jonah-Jordan-Hopkins-XSF-Hart as the starters, with Johnson, Adeniji, Price and Redmond off the bench. This group has potential to be much better this year if Jonah is what they expect, Jordan continues to improve and XSF can pick up where he left off in Dallas.

I know a lot of people think Johnson could be the starter at RT, but Turner really loves him some Bobby Hart. I also think they're gonna find a way to get Adeniji snaps at multiple spots as the season goes on. 

XSF played much better at LG and Jordan is versatile. I could see them being switched from what you have here but yeah.

I think that is going to be the players starting unless we bring in Warford or one of those backups really impress.

1.  The comments about Xavier being in great condition and playing as well in the 4th quarter as the first leads me to believe Turner had a problem with the condition of some of our O-linemen last year.

2.  No matter what we think at this time things can change.  At this time last year no one was claiming Hopkins would be our starting Center.  I like Jordan's potential as much as anyone, but I have to see him come in and play well before just giving him a starting position.  The fact that the coaching staff made adjustments last year based on how the guys played in training camp makes me feel they will give everyone a chance to win a starting spot.

Eh, I’m not a big fan of coaches/scouts claiming they just “feel” something about a player. Maybe if you’re an all time great that has a track record of developing guys into probowlers/hofers, but otherwise I’d rather you trust technique and production.

Redmond’s career has been nothing but injuries and penalties, yet we keep hearing how tough he looks or his mean streak. Now Turner just “feels it” from him.

To me it’s a pretty simple checklist:
1) Be available
2) Execute assignments
3) No penalties
4) Put guys on their backs

All this other stuff about character, toughness, mean streak doesn’t matter to me unless it’s affecting those 4 things.

(05-13-2020, 02:35 PM)Bengalholic Wrote: On Jonah:

"You don't have to go far to see how character can help our team. Bringing him in here makes a difference for us that way at left tackle. He's what you want when it comes to character," Turner says. "Will he be a great player? We project he'll be a heck of a player or we wouldn't have brought him in here in the first round. If you watch how he performs and how dedicated he is and how smart he is. All the pieces fit."

On XSF:

"First of all, you watch the tape and he's a finisher," Turner says. "He's in great condition. He plays as well in the fourth quarter as he does in the first quarter. The tape tells you the kind of toughness and character you want. You spend time with him and he's a soft-spoken guy, but you can just feel it from him. A presence. This is a guy that wants to be a great player and he wants to be a part of everything Coach Taylor is putting together."

On Jordan and Redmond:

"Mike is an enormous human being. Love the size, love the ability. He has tremendous intangibles, tremendous work ethic and look at how much he played. Total of 667 snaps, 14 at right guard, 15 as an extra tackle and the rest at left guard. I said to Mike in the offseason, 'We're obviously planning for you. We brought you in here to play.' He got banged up halfway through but played well down the stretch.'

"Redmond is the obvious veteran prototype, having a mean streak, playing with an edge. They have the power, they like the contact. I love the wide bodies. That's why we drafted Mike. It's why Redmond is still here. It's why Xavier is here right now. It's very important to have that power, to be able to run the ball in there and stop the twist game (inside) in drop-back pass."

On Adeniji:

"When I got on the plane, I had already watched tape of him, loved him and when they handed the roster to me he was on our team and I was very happy," says Turner of Kansas tackle Hakeem Adeniji. "When we landed, I found out they put him on the other team and I wasn't very happy. He was the best tackle in that game and separated himself from everyone there. No question."

"Talk about character and toughness," Turner says. "When I talked to him at the Senior Bowl, he was no BS. He never hesitated answering a question. A lot of guys, you can see the script in their heads. He's no phony. All about playing ball. You can tell he was raised right. He'll make an impact here. I can feel it."

On how they're preparing:

"The majority of what we're doing right now is watching the tape and installing. The same thing we'd be doing in the building. The great plus compared to last year is you have videos of most of these players playing last season. When you go into the tape to install plays, Mike Jordan is watching himself. Trey Hopkins is watching himself; Bobby Hart is watching himself. When you're the guy on the tape, you're a little more interested. You can critique them as you go through the different techniques and watch that human being right there do the exact thing you're trying to coach or not what you're trying to coach and straighten him out."

"I feel confident with the character we have upfront, no matter how it unfolds, we'll be as ready as possible," says Turner from the basement. "Will we be better in the fourth game than the first game? Yes, we will. Like every other team. The question is will we be more prepared than the other teams we're playing."

https://www.bengals.com/news/bengals-o-line-overhaul-looks-to-finish

Hmm.. 2 guys not mentioned are Johnson and Price. Is it accidental or a message?

Calling him the best tackle at the Senior Bowl is a very telling observation considering we passed on Jones in the 3rd round.

I get the sense that it wasn't a situation where there just happened to be a guy who was higher on their board (Logan Wilson) than Jones in the third round that prevented us from taking him.

This comment makes me think Jones wasn't even close to the top of their board and they wouldn't have considered him even if Logan Wilson wasn't there in the 3rd round.

(05-13-2020, 07:26 PM)Crazyjdawg Wrote: Calling him the best tackle at the Senior Bowl is a very telling observation considering we passed on Jones in the 3rd round.

I get the sense that it wasn't a situation where there just happened to be a guy who was higher on their board (Logan Wilson) than Jones in the third round that prevented us from taking him.

This comment makes me think Jones wasn't even close to the top of their board and they wouldn't have considered him even if Logan Wilson wasn't there in the 3rd round.

Turner called Adeniji the best Tackle but he played exclusively Guard at the Senior Bowl. He did get voted All-Senior Bowl guard along with Jonah Jackson.

(05-13-2020, 07:26 PM)Crazyjdawg Wrote: Calling him the best tackle at the Senior Bowl is a very telling observation considering we passed on Jones in the 3rd round.

I get the sense that it wasn't a situation where there just happened to be a guy who was higher on their board (Logan Wilson) than Jones in the third round that prevented us from taking him.

This comment makes me think Jones wasn't even close to the top of their board and they wouldn't have considered him even if Logan Wilson wasn't there in the 3rd round.

I have no link to verify this but from what I understand, Bengals had a mid-3rd round grade on Jones, but had a higher grade on Logan Wilson which I believe was 2nd round.  

(05-13-2020, 03:08 PM)fredtoast Wrote: So Jordan sucked the first half of the season, got banged up midway through the season, and then played better?

So first day of training camp we should injure him.

Maybe Jonah can give him some pointers.

(05-13-2020, 03:27 PM)fredtoast Wrote: 1.  The comments about Xavier being in great condition and playing as well in the 4th quarter as the first leads me to believe Turner had a problem with the condition of some of our O-linemen last year.

2.  No matter what we think at this time things can change.  At this time last year no one was claiming Hopkins would be our starting Center.  I like Jordan's potential as much as anyone, but I have to see him come in and play well before just giving him a starting position.  The fact that the coaching staff made adjustments last year based on how the guys played in training camp makes me feel they will give everyone a chance to win a starting spot.

I caught that too, and I agree with the ideal that OL needs to be in peak of conditioning.  When I played OL as an adult, I typically gave up 50-80 lbs. to every DT that I faced.  Being pretty strong for my weight helped, but you have to be able to do it 60+ plays per game, or it doesn't really matter when it counts.

(05-13-2020, 08:12 PM)Nately120 Wrote: Maybe Jonah can give him some pointers.

Hip pointers.

As excited as I am, we still need help.

They better practice picking up the blitz because the NFL is allllll about blitzing a new QB just to see if they get burned. The tag line for this training camp better be: KNOW YOUR ASSIGNMENT.

(05-13-2020, 03:27 PM)fredtoast Wrote: 1.  The comments about Xavier being in great condition and playing as well in the 4th quarter as the first leads me to believe Turner had a problem with the condition of some of our O-linemen last year.

What? With as many 3 and outs as we had, I'm surprised any of them broke a sweat.

I feel they are trying to build a run heavy O which I’m happy about. If you can run the ball, it’ll make pass pro easier for these guys.

Turner loves to talk his guys up, let’s hope he can coach em up as well as he talks em up.

(05-14-2020, 02:43 AM)GreenCornBengal Wrote: I feel they are trying to build a run heavy O which I’m happy about. If you can run the ball, it’ll make pass pro easier for these guys.

Turner loves to talk his guys up, let’s hope he can coach em up as well as he talks em up.

I don't know is Zac Taylor is a subscriber to the idea of slogan t-shirts for TC, but if he does?  I would offer the suggestion that it simply be one word  Believe.  

(05-14-2020, 06:56 AM)SunsetBengal Wrote: I don't know is Zac Taylor is a subscriber to the idea of slogan t-shirts for TC, but if he does?  I would offer the suggestion that it simply be one word  Believe.  

Wasn’t that a Marvin thing a few years ago?