Higgins. Ross will be cut and Tate may hang on.

(05-16-2020, 06:38 PM)bfine32 Wrote: I'd love to see Tate put on a few pounds and become our move TE

Ask Chase Coffman how easy it is to start learning how to block at the NFL level...

(05-16-2020, 08:26 PM)Joelist Wrote: Higgins. Ross will be cut and Tate may hang on.

Ross will not be cut. We have to pay him either way.

(05-16-2020, 12:56 PM)impactplaya Wrote: Drafting of Tee Higgins makes the WR room alot more
Intresting to say the least
If Higgins can translate to the pro game does he claim that
Spot?
If John Ross can stay healthy does he secure that
Role all year?
Auden Tate isn't brought up too much but
He did really come into his own last year .
He showed the doubters he can play at this
Level despite inaccurate QBs throwing jim
The ball
The 3rd WR spot has been lacking some
Juice since Sanu left
Erickson never flashed much big play ability

That's a big if, but yes.

(05-16-2020, 02:34 PM)phil413 Wrote: With the depth and overall talent, they could go a number of ways regarding snaps.  Part of it will be who has more chemistry with Burrow in Ross vs Higgins.  

Tate will likely be a situational guy, that term should be a positive though.  He will get his time as a fade option near the GL and slot guy with the roster lacking a lengthy field stretching TE.  We can't blame all of his low catch ratio on our QB play on line play though.

Ross still has field stretching speed that you can move around the field.  With his experience and ability to push the coverage back, we have a QB that threads an accurate deep ball and will carve them up short even if they hardly throw to Ross deep.  

Both takes above have different roles for Higgins, they could go either way.  They think enough of him to take him at 33 when other quality was going to be there later.  That shows you that not only is he a future complement to Boyd but he is THE guy of the future.  I could see CD's scenario, though it's a different staff they may move him all around like they did AJ as a rookie.

The "3rd spot" is not as much of a race as the offense and depth as a whole is.  They're bulit to run even more 3 and 4 wide sets, for sure less 2 TE sets.  They're going to rotate guys in and out to extend AJ physically, keep Boyd fresh with all the wear he takes over the middle and use the other 3 and some of Erickson.  I think the snap counts of the 3 we are talking about, but the first two especially will be close.  It also shows they're able to absorb a big injury and not miss much, that says a lot for a team coming off of 2-14

Excellent take. 

I'm not throwing John Ross under the bus. He obviously has talent. His inability to stay healthy remains an issue, but he's getting a new QB to go with a new coaching staff that gave him a new chance least season that he took some advantage of before the injury. I hope Zac and Burrow can breathe new life into his career  It would be great to have 4 or 5 great WRs for Burrow to choose from.

I also have high hopes for Tee Higgins. Having AJ, Boyd, Ross, and Higgins on the field at the same time would be impossible for opposing defenses to cover. Throw Mixon into that mix, and things get even better for us, and worse for opposing Ds. 27 points a game is not out of the question.

If only our Oline can block. That's the biggest question that will ultimately decide ow competitive we can be this season. 

Outside WRs are Green and Higgins. Slot receivers are Boyd and Ross. Tate and Erickson will be the 'fill in' guys if there are injuries.

I can't wait for AJ to come in this year and make everyone eat their words.....

(05-16-2020, 08:26 PM)Joelist Wrote: Ross will be cut and Tate may hang on.

Doubtful Ross is cut. His dead cap number is like 5 mil this year.  We'd save nothing by cutting him.

I'm not the guy's biggest fan, but he's better than anyone else that would at the bottom of the roster and/or WR group.

He'll definitely make the team.

(05-17-2020, 09:31 AM)EatonFan Wrote: Outside WRs are Green and Higgins.  Slot receivers are Boyd and Ross.  Tate and Erickson will be the 'fill in' guys if there are injuries.

Now that Erickson is no longer the best KR/PR on the team his days may be numbered. We could go with younger/cheaper options

(05-17-2020, 12:47 PM)bfine32 Wrote: Now that Erickson is no longer the best KR/PR on the team his days may be numbered. We could go with younger/cheaper options

Yeah.  That last WR spot often depends on ST or another skill set.

I dont think Erickson was ever the best KR/PR on the team, just the most sure-handed. I think his good stats in those areas is more of a reflection of good Simmons' STs units than Erickson's abilities.

(05-16-2020, 09:05 PM)Nicomo Cosca Wrote: Ask Chase Coffman how easy it is to start learning how to block at the NFL level...

I think it was on the first go around on Hard Knocks that Marvin called Chase Coffman "Crash Test Dummy" in a coach's meeting.

(05-16-2020, 02:36 PM)fredtoast Wrote: End of the season?

Boyd and Higgins number 1 and 2.

Green and Ross out with injury.

Tate and Erickson splitting time at #3.

As much as I hate this thought, it actually shows you that the Bengals will be in a much better situation to handle if Green and Ross both deal with injuries again.  The problem, of course, will be no one generates quick separation.  I think Burrow helps to alleviate those concerns, as he navigates the pocket and hopefully, uses the RB as a potential receiver instead of always in as an extra blocker.  

If Michael Thomas shows any kind of ability to get YAC and is able to get downfield blocks then Erickson is good as gone
Great hands is a tremendous asset but that's all Erickson has.
Hes never been a end zone threat

(05-16-2020, 07:16 PM)Bengalitis Wrote: Tee Higgins is WR #3. The Bengals did not sign Ross's option year. Mike brown does not reward underachievers and will not allow him to shine so he can get a huge contract somewhere else. He will be a back up (with limited play) in case someone gets hurt. You'll see.

I would have thought this about the previous regime.  Keep the guy's chances down to sign him for less.  I am not so sure now.  I think these coaches will get every ounce of production they can out of Ross and if he gets a better contract elsewhere after the season (very likely), then the Bengals will get a solid compensatory pick.

The question of "by year's end" makes me think of next year's roster, and I could see it as follows:

AJ Green is extended long-term and will retire a Bengal.  No matter how much many of us don't think this makes good business sense, I think the Bengals really want this to happen.  Maybe a great year with Burrow gives the Bengals a better chance of signing him.

Ross will be gone.

Higgins will take over Ross's #2 position.

Boyd will remain in the slot, although we will likely see Green take more and more snaps from the slot moving forward.   I think Boyd will benefit more than anyone having the outside weapons to draw coverage and free up the middle of the field.  Burrow has great vision for the middle of the field and will attack it at will.  I'm sure a healthy Eifert could have done the same.  But Boyd is going to be the Jefferson for Burrow in this offense.  

Despite all that explosive potential, I am STILL most excited about the RBs becoming more involved in the passing game.  I would say I don't want to get my hopes up, but it is too late for that.  The RBs are probably licking their chops at the potential and it is that high %, low-risk play the offense has been missing for some time.  Heck, the last time I remember using a RB as a receiver that well was Chris Perry in 2005.  He had something like 55 receptions and was a real benefactor of the outside weapons on that offense.  

(05-16-2020, 02:36 PM)fredtoast Wrote: End of the season?

Boyd and Higgins number 1 and 2.

Green and Ross out with injury.

Tate and Erickson splitting time at #3.

Good news is using this logic means Big Ben is also gone so we have a shot at beating the Steelers this year. Maybe JuJu too.

(05-17-2020, 12:19 PM)Wes Mantooth Wrote: Doubtful Ross is cut. His dead cap number is like 5 mil this year.  We'd save nothing by cutting him.

I'm not the guy's biggest fan, but he's better than anyone else that would at the bottom of the roster and/or WR group.

He'll definitely make the team.

I suspect the cut will be after the season. And these Bengals may not be as shy about dead money as they used to be. Ross has speed but as far as actually playing the WR position he is awful. He finally figured out how to run crossing patterns at the back of the end zone but is rubbish at the rest. 

(05-16-2020, 02:05 PM)Crazyjdawg Wrote: I think AJ Green is our starting X, Ross is our starting Z and Boyd is our starting Slot to begin the season.

As far as Higgins goes, he has the vertical threat and size to play X and he has the toughness and catching ability to go over the middle in the slot or the Z, if you use the Z over the middle a lot in your concepts.

I am not sure how often he'll be played at the Z position because starting off the line of scrimmage means he will have to go further to get to his spot. It may not be by much, but every inch counts and I'm not certain he has the speed and acceleration required to be a Z. You could play him there if you treat him like a second X (where you throw him more 1 on 1 "get it" passes rather than precise route passes) especially since the Z often avoids the press, due to not being on the LOS. That could help Higgins early on, as he learns how to deal with the press. He may not have the elite acceleration to play Z, but he still has the size and catch radius so it'd probably be fine.

So I think Higgins will basically be the back up at each position, and will sub in throughout the formation.

Tate is a back up that could see some play due to injuries, but I don't think he beats out any of the top 4 for a spot when all are healthy.

having another losing season in 2020 is not what I want to see.enough with losing,must pull it out this year and at least go 9-6 and get a wild card.I believe the ravens will win this division hands down barring injury.Our afc,n is just insanely tough, I mean all 4 teams made big improvements and NO ONE wants to play any of us outside this division and that is a fact.

(05-16-2020, 09:05 PM)Nicomo Cosca Wrote: Ask Chase Coffman how easy it is to start learning how to block at the NFL level...

There's plenty of tight ends in today's age that are, by older standards, atrocious blockers. There quite a few that are rarely if ever asked to really take on that role.

Aaron Hernandez never blocked.  Gronk would block when needed, but it certainly wasn't something that was his strong suit.  Jimmy Graham wasn't paid to block, and was rarely asked to.  Zach Ertz isn't a blocking much either.

If you look at the college game very few guys come into the league with any real blocking ability.  With the spread being run so much they're simply not asked to.  The "dual-threat" tight end is prospect is pretty rare now, as athletes are valued above all else.

The two Ravens right ends, Andrews and Hurst, were bascially huge receivers when they cam into the league. Neither could block. The guy the Rams drafted when Zach Taylor was there relatively high is Gerald Everett, another guy with little blocking ability.

Most of these guys are being used as matchup nightmares.  Too big and strong for DB's and too fast for LB's.  That's the role of the modern tight end.  If they can block a bit then great, but I think most are just taught enough to basically just get by.  They're not lining up in a 3pt stance 75% of the time and being asked to hold the edge.

And really, if you want a blocking tight end then you can use different guys at the position and rotate them.

I'm not saying I think moving Tate to TE is necessarily a great idea, but I  don't a lack of blocking ability would be what would prevent it.  Chase Coffman was drafted 11 years ago, and Mike and Marvin were even dated then in their approach to the position.  Blocking at the position is something not near as valued or needed as it used to be.

(05-17-2020, 12:19 PM)Wes Mantooth Wrote: Doubtful Ross is cut. His dead cap number is like 5 mil this year.  We'd save nothing by cutting him.

I'm not the guy's biggest fan, but he's better than anyone else that would at the bottom of the roster and/or WR group.

He'll definitely make the team.

Maybe since we know we save nothing by cutting Ross, fans can root for him having a great year versus rooting for him to have a bad year since they don't like him.

Just a thought, it would be nice to root for success of every Bengal player in 2020, it has never happened due to over sized Bengal fan egos who want to say, see I told you player XYZ uscked.