John Ross appears to be a full participant in practice which of course means he has passed all his COVID testing

AJ not practicing

Ross needs the reps. AJ probably won't do much until game time, and that's perfectly fine with me. He's caught enough balls from Burrow that they should have it down, and AJ doesn't need the reps. Give them to the other receivers.

(08-23-2020, 11:33 AM)Sled21 Wrote: Ross needs the reps. AJ probably won't do much until game time, and that's perfectly fine with me. He's caught enough balls from Burrow that they should have it down, and AJ doesn't need the reps. Give them to the other receivers.

Lmao I think you underestimate how important practice is. He and Burrow haven’t figured it out in a couple passes. Listen to Burrow talk about how important practice is some time. It’s why he is so good, he needs those reps with his guys.

(08-23-2020, 11:42 AM)GreenCornBengal Wrote: Lmao I think you underestimate how important practice is. He and Burrow haven’t figured it out in a couple passes. Listen to Burrow talk about how important practice is some time. It’s why he is so good, he needs those reps with his guys.

Burrow just needs to know Greens speed. AJ knows the playbook and the routes, I guarantee that. My point though, is not that practice is not important, it is that the other guys need the reps more, and Taylor is not wanting to expose AJ to risk prior to the season and lose him again on some freak incident.

(08-23-2020, 12:04 PM)Sled21 Wrote: Burrow just needs to know Greens speed. AJ knows the playbook and the routes, I guarantee that. My point though, is not that practice is not important, it is that the other guys need the reps more, and Taylor is not wanting to expose AJ to risk prior to the season and lose him again on some freak incident.

not just speed but as importantly his catch ability radius.  How high can he catch, how far can he reach, how low can he go, etc  There is a time in every game, regardless of QB, that the WR has to catch a bad pass or one deliberate thrown higher than the defense can defend.  Joe needs to know what he can get away with for each receiver

Good news on Ross. I have high hopes for him this season.

AJ Green is an afterthought to me at this point. If he plays, great. I'm expecting to have 4 games of amazing spot duty play before he is done for the year again. I'm far more interested in Burrow's ability to elevate Tate, Thomas, Ross, Higgins, Boyd, Sample, Mixon, and others. The Bengals will have to move on from Green at some point in Burrow's career.

At this point, to me, a glimpse into the future is more exciting than clinging on to tattered remnants of the past.

(08-23-2020, 12:04 PM)Sled21 Wrote: Burrow just needs to know Greens speed. AJ knows the playbook and the routes, I guarantee that. My point though, is not that practice is not important, it is that the other guys need the reps more, and Taylor is not wanting to expose AJ to risk prior to the season and lose him again on some freak incident.

You are correct, AJ is going to be in the right spot and will know the playbook. I think the difference is hitting him in stride vs a catch and tackle. Hitting AJ in stride is one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen when Andy was able to do it *tears up*

Agreed though, I’d rather get a few games out of him then lose him in a meaningless scrimmage.

AJ hasn't partipated in a real practice in almost two years. His last time in pads was all the way back in late 2018.

He's spent no time fully practicing in a Zac Taylor system. He's spent no time fully practing with Joe Burrow either.

This is, at the very least, just a little bit concerning. I don't care how well he knows the playbook, he really needs some reps. Timing is important, and it's being lost right now.

The comment that was made after he held out of the end of practice on day 1 was that it was just "precautionary". It was implied that it was no big deal. I initially thought he'd probably be back the next day, or the day after. Turns out, he misses the entire week.

With no preseason games scrimages like the one on Friday are kind of a big deal. Surely if the injury wasn't anything to worry about he'd at least play a bit in that, right? Well, no. He wasn't out there. Now it's Sunday, and he's still not out there.

This isn't good.

(08-23-2020, 01:17 PM)Wes Mantooth Wrote: AJ hasn't partipated in a real practice in almost two years. His last time in pads was all the way back in late 2018.

He's spent no time fully practicing in a Zac Taylor system. He's spent no time fully practing with Joe Burrow either.

This is, at the very least, just a little bit concerning. I don't care how well he knows the playbook, he really needs some reps. Timing is important, and it's being lost right now.

The comment that was made after he held out of the end of practice on day 1 was that it was just "precautionary". It was implied that it was no big deal. I initially thought he'd probably be back the next day, or the day after. Turns out, he misses the entire week.

With no preseason games scrimages like the one on Friday are kind of a big deal. Surely if the injury wasn't anything to worry about he'd at least play a bit in that, right? Well, no. He wasn't out there. Now it's Sunday, and he's still not out there.

This isn't good.

Yep, precautionary with AJ is code words for looming season ending life altering injury.

Idk what happened to the dudes legs but they don’t seem to hold up. Glad we franchised him but at this point unless he has some glorious comeback this is his last year in stripes for sure.

AJ will be lined up and ready to go against the Chargers.

If Burrow, Ross, Green, Mixon, and Boyd are all healthy week 1, I see the Bengals putting up at least 24 points.

Can the defense hold LA (yes, I typed SD first again) to 21 or less? I am betting they will. Just don't be stupid this time, guys, and wear all black at home. Whatever dumbass decided that against SF should have been fired.

It’s time we move on from green.

(08-23-2020, 02:39 PM)THE Bigzoman Wrote: It’s time we move on from green.

Really?  Right now, when he's on the books for close to 18 mil for the year?  

(08-23-2020, 11:29 AM)pally Wrote: John Ross appears to be a full participant in practice which of course means he has passed all his COVID testing

AJ not practicing

Good news on Ross, he needs to be on the field getting reps with Burrow. Man, it is better probably just to rest AJ until the season.

At least if he gets hurt then it isn't in a meaningless scrimmage.

I don't think anyone can argue that AJ has been injury prone lately.

And worse than Ross even.

soft tissue injuries are normal in training camp relax we still have 3 weeks for AJ to fully heal.

(08-23-2020, 12:04 PM)Sled21 Wrote: Burrow just needs to know Greens speed. AJ knows the playbook and the routes, I guarantee that. 

Does he tho? He has not played in ZT's system. Actually, neither of them have. I think Burrow may have more practices in the offense Zac made than AJ. You can see a route on paper, but if you don't practice, you don't zone in. Just sayin he will be sloppy and probably even decrease his value even more. A person can read instructions all day long, but until you have the hands on, that's when I finally get it.

(08-23-2020, 05:39 PM)HarleyDog Wrote: Does he tho? He has not played in ZT's system. Actually, neither of them have. I think Burrow may have more practices in the offense Zac made than AJ. You can see a route on paper, but if you don't practice, you don't zone in. Just sayin he will be sloppy and probably even decrease his value even more. A person can read instructions all day long, but until you have the hands on, that's when I finally get it.

Great point Harley.

Found this quote by Ross on Bengals not picking up his option interesting.

"I wouldn't have picked up my option, either," Ross said. "It guarantees injury if you get hurt. I've been injured every single year. That's not a bad decision by them. And now it's on me to show them why I should be here longer. That's how I look at it."

Hope he can live up to this and prove it!

(08-23-2020, 06:41 PM)GreenCornBengal Wrote: Found this quote by Ross on Bengals not picking up his option interesting.

"I wouldn't have picked up my option, either," Ross said. "It guarantees injury if you get hurt. I've been injured every single year. That's not a bad decision by them. And now it's on me to show them why I should be here longer. That's how I look at it."

Hope he can live up to this and prove it!

That is the thing, I always liked the guy, classy dude.

(08-23-2020, 06:41 PM)GreenCornBengal Wrote: Found this quote by Ross on Bengals not picking up his option interesting.

"I wouldn't have picked up my option, either," Ross said. "It guarantees injury if you get hurt. I've been injured every single year. That's not a bad decision by them. And now it's on me to show them why I should be here longer. That's how I look at it."

Hope he can live up to this and prove it!

I gotta give the dude credit.  It's rare you see honest answers in this league, or in professional sports in general. 

I know he couldn't come out and say it was bs, or he deserved the option, because no one could defend that.  But I'm surprised we weren't hit with the typical "I'm just going to go out and do my best. I'm not worried about anything else."

Kudos to him for owning up to it.  And let's be honest, no player goes out and tries to get hurt.  It's kind of out of their control.  Let's hope he can prove some people wrong this season.