mental pressures, fragile injuries, changing jersey number, mentored by TJ, paid well by Mike, coached by Marvin & co., coached by Zac & co. , rookie year, vet year...    finally had a great game vs Seatle, but so did Erickson last season, Erickson he had a monster game, big deal.

...... still the same o' ROSS.

Thank you Bengals for not singing him on his 5th year option.  2020 is the year of TEE HIGGINGS.

Yeah or Tee Hee to quote Monty Python there. As really you play well you get a fifth year or a new deal.

(05-31-2020, 10:40 PM)Joelist Wrote: Let's see what happens the next time Ross is out there and has to run a specific route - will he actually run it? Or play the ball properly in. the air - will he? His issue is not "confidence" it is him not playing the WR position correctly in the technical sense. This even extends to the numerous drops - he does not engage with the ball correctly.

Oh, and yes it is him. If the cause were different these issues would be endemic across the WR corps but they aren't. Our other receivers may lack speed or other different elements here and there but in general they run routes more or less correctly and play the ball properly in the air (especially Green, Boyd and Tate).

Yet, despite all his faults, he still has scored a TD every five touches.  In the NFL.  He has made some great grabs, and he has had some bad drops.  I hope, like the RBs as receivers, the coaches look at other ways to get the ball to Ross.  Screens and slants...maybe the occasional end-around...or even fake an end-around to him.  I'm sure it would draw some attention.  

(06-01-2020, 09:50 AM)SHRacerX Wrote: Yet, despite all his faults, he still has scored a TD every five touches.  In the NFL.  He has made some great grabs, and he has had some bad drops.  I hope, like the RBs as receivers, the coaches look at other ways to get the ball to Ross.  Screens and slants...maybe the occasional end-around...or even fake an end-around to him.  I'm sure it would draw some attention.  

I think Ross with the ball in space is a risky prospect.  The guy can catch a TD, so I say target him when he has a 100% clear path to the endzone or if he's already in the endzone.  Don't get me wrong Ross is entertaining, but I don't think the team is going to want to deal with the risks of stuff like Ross carrying the ball in space or returning punts and so on.

I'm not rooting against Ross so much as wondering why he's immune to the yearly trend where we get all fired up about the new/rookie WRs and lament that there are under-performing veteran players in front of them.  I guess we haven't seen enough of him to write him off as a ho-hum vet who is going to hurt Tee's development.  

(05-31-2020, 10:51 PM)Nate (formerly eliminate08) Wrote: And his YPC leads the team by far, ole John Ross.

Yes he has a lot to learn still and he has been a slow learner but he has untapped potential that cannot be taught.

You mean like running wrong routes, falling down and dropping balls at a high rate.. yep he has alot to learn.. potential means you ain't done crap.. that fits Ross coming into 4th year.

Now entering the ring...........
at 5'11".....
from Long Beach, California..............
the perennial red shirt rookie.....
the fast piece of glass......
John "Confidence" Ross!!!!!!!

If lockering beside AJ Green and Tyler Boyd did not magically instill confidence in Ross, then I doubt Burrow will either. Ross has quit looking to others to fix what is broken inside him.

We seem to have a lot of experts on this board in the matters of sports psychology, and what it takes to succeed in the NFL. Who knew.

(06-02-2020, 10:16 AM)Nicomo Cosca Wrote: We seem to have a lot of experts on this board in the matters of sports psychology, and what it takes to succeed in the NFL. Who knew.

I'm just hoping Ross sucks really bad and costs us a game or two, just so some people on here will be happy and they can say, "I told you so"...

(06-01-2020, 04:53 PM)Nately120 Wrote: I think Ross with the ball in space is a risky prospect.  The guy can catch a TD, so I say target him when he has a 100% clear path to the endzone or if he's already in the endzone.  Don't get me wrong Ross is entertaining, but I don't think the team is going to want to deal with the risks of stuff like Ross carrying the ball in space or returning punts and so on.

I'm not rooting against Ross so much as wondering why he's immune to the yearly trend where we get all fired up about the new/rookie WRs and lament that there are under-performing veteran players in front of them.  I guess we haven't seen enough of him to write him off as a ho-hum vet who is going to hurt Tee's development.  

I think most of us assume Higgins will be the #3 WR before the end of the year either by his play or injuries in front of him.

Also, with Covid wiping out rookie and minicamps, we haven't had the off-season fluff stories about the yearly 7th rounder/CFA WR looking like the second coming of Jerry Rice. 

I'm really hoping with a second year with the same OC and HC along with the addition of Joe Burrow that Ross can put his confidence issues behind him and take a big step forward.

It's unfortunate that we didn't hear about any confidence issues leading up to the draft, but maybe this is a byproduct of Marvin's coaching style not resonating with Ross.

With that said, I'm not sure how much the coaches/staff ask questions around, "How would you react to..." when looking at potential draft picks/FAs, but perhaps they should ask these types of questions (more) if they aren't doing it (much) up to this point.

Six years from now, the league will still be waiting for John Ross to work through his confidence issues.

(06-02-2020, 12:59 PM)Big Boss Wrote: Six years from now, the league will still be waiting for John Ross to work through his confidence issues.

If Ross doesn't take the next step in production within the next 1-2 years, he won't be in the league 6 years from now.

(06-02-2020, 11:03 AM)sandwedge Wrote: I'm just hoping Ross sucks really bad and costs us a game or two, just so some people on here will be happy and they can say, "I told you so"...

We were 2-14 last year and he had an impact in week 1 only...what else do we need?

(06-02-2020, 11:03 AM)sandwedge Wrote: I'm just hoping Ross sucks really bad and costs us a game or two, just so some people on here will be happy and they can say, "I told you so"...

I'm hoping he has a monster year and I'll gladly say I was wrong about him. So far, he hasn't.

The potential is still there. I'd love to see him break out, but by this point they would probably still let him walk.


I'd say there's little confidence in him at this point.

(06-02-2020, 10:16 AM)Nicomo Cosca Wrote: We seem to have a lot of experts on this board in the matters of sports psychology, and what it takes to succeed in the NFL. Who knew.

I've coached  football for 15 years just not at NFL level but it's not that hard to know as you move up each level of the game your mental game becomes as important as physical since the physical difference between players becomes less and less.

The Ross situation is interesting to me. If he finally stays healthy, finally finds his confidence and has a great year he will be a free agent next year. So what to do with him then? Toss money at him, tag him or let him walk? I think it will depend on how Tee Higgins performs as well. Ross is on the clock in my opinion. So it will be interesting to see what he does in his final contract year as a Bengal.

(06-02-2020, 05:12 PM)George Cantstandya Wrote: The Ross situation is interesting to me.  If he finally stays healthy, finally finds his confidence and has a great year he will be a free agent next year.   So what to do with him then?   Toss money at him, tag him or let him walk?   I think it will depend on how Tee Higgins performs as well.   Ross is on the clock in my opinion.  So it will be interesting to see what he does in his final contract year as a Bengal.

We should get Ross, Laquon Treadwell, Corey Coleman, and Kevin White in our WR room because one of them has to "finally get it" this year...right?  Holy crap...what if all 4 of them get healthy and find their confidence, look out!


But in all seriousness, I hope Ross proves me wrong (and not just wrong for one game), but I stopped holding my breath after week 3 last year. As for Ross compared to the rest of the WR room, if he botches a route on Burrow or is careless with the ball I can him becoming quite unpopular and being seen as a pointless roadblock to Tee's development.

Only Marvin Lewis would play a crappy vet over a promising rookie, right?

I'm just going to go out on a limb and say John Ross will be the recipient of the first Game Day Joe Burrow Death Stare.....