1 Joe Burrow look at all 21st  century QB's and the ones that went on to have good careers. In their first start. 9 out of 10 were impressive right out of the gate.
2 AJ Green when he's been healthy which has been a problem last 2 seasons. When he actually plays he puts up impressive numbers 9 out of 10 times.
3 Jonah Williams. We haven't had this quality at LT since Whit left.
4 Trey Hopkins. May be best C we have ever had in my lifetime
5 Zac Taylor I noticed a difference how Taylor was coaching at end of games and even though we lost most of those. I loved the aggressiveness and figure that strategy with game management will produce more W's on down the line compared to Marvin's atrociousness with this on gamedays.

Honorable mention we have much more speed on Defense compared to last season.

(09-07-2020, 12:05 PM)Bengalfan4life27c Wrote: 1 Joe Burrow look at all 21st  century QB's and the ones that went on to have good careers. In their first start. 9 out of 10 were impressive right out of the gate.
2 AJ Green when he's been healthy which has been a problem last 2 seasons. When he actually plays he puts up impressive numbers 9 out of 10 times.
3 Jonah Williams. We haven't had this quality at LT since Whit left.
4 Trey Hopkins. May be best C we have ever had in my lifetime
5 Zac Taylor I noticed a difference how Taylor was coaching at end of games and even though we lost most of those. I loved the aggressiveness and figure that strategy with game management will produce more W's on down the line compared to Marvin's atrociousness with this on gamedays.

Honorable mention we have much more speed on Defense compared to last season.

I disagree with some of your points, but instead of going that direction I will just post my reasons for optimism.

1.  Adding Reader and Bell to defense.
2.  Adding Jonah at LT.
3.  A J Green healthy.
4.  Germain Pratt's steady consistent  improvement over the course of last year and his play in the final four games.
5.  The way our coaches fixed the run game midseason last year.
6.  Joe Burrow

7. improved play by our young group of linebackers. After this draft class gains some experience I hope it becomes a team strength instead of what we've witnessed the last few years.

1.continuity. Most of the coaching staff and scouts return under year 2. Most playoff teams
Have a certain degree of continuity.

2. Improved oline with health and experience.

3. Easier schedule to start sesson.

4. Goodbye Dalton. Hello Burrow.

5. Better tackling through FA acquisitions

6. LB that can actually cover.

Reasons for optimism

1.) The Defense- when talking about the Defense everyone mentions weeks 2-11 from last season and acts like those were the only games that were played. However the unit actually played well in the other 8 games. With the trio of edge rushers that the Bengals have( Hubbard, Dunlap, & Lawson) and adding 3 additional starters in Reader at nose, Bell at Strong Safety, and Alexander at slot DB. ( Also Bynes as a sub package LB) I expect this unit to be close to a top 10 unit this season.

2.) Deepness at the WR position- Yes Green coming back is huge but having depth is much bigger. Adding Thomas & Higgens gives the Bengals two more additional deep threat WRs that they haven't had since 2013

3.) Jonah Williams- he is a franchise LT something we haven't had since Whitworth in 2016.

4.) Burrow- need I say more

5.) Burrow + a good situation- A great QB going into a season with great talent. Should equal big wins for us this season. I would not be surprised if this team is 10-6 or 11-5 this season.

We won’t have the worst fan attendance in the league anymore!

I have tons of reasons for optimism, but if I had to narrow them down to just 5:

1.) Joe Fricking Burrow- Poise, accuracy, mobility, can process information very quickly, and a leader. Basically everything we have needed at QB

2.) Joe Mixon/Improved offensive line: I lumped them together because although the line has taken a lot of (well-deserved) heat, they did find a scheme that worked well the last 8 games rushing the ball with Mixon. Joe's contract is taken care of and we are all hearing how he will be used more as a receiver as well. If he can even pick up where he left off last year, they will be tough. Combine that with Burrow at QB and they could be very, very tough.

3.) Synergy on defense: A force like Reader in the middle makes every player on the line better. Pratt was becoming a really good LB after finally getting his shot to start. He and Bynes are light years above Brown and Vigil of a year ago. Vonn Bell and Alexander also improve their spot from a year ago. Bottom line: There aren't any major weaknesses on defense.

4.) Depth of talent at WR- Ross and Green are difference makers for the offense. They hope open up everything for the likes of Boyd, Tate, and perhaps Higgins. Tate has reportedly shown everyone at camp that he wasn't content to just settle for his performance last year. Working with Anquan Boldin on route running will make this already really good set of hands that much more viable as a weapon. And he is arguably your fourth option at WR.

5.) Drew Sample- Call this one a hunch but ZT wanted character guys that are driven and Sample took this offseason to transform his body and work on his routes. I think he will pair very nicely with Uzomah and might be the biggest surprise on the team.

I agree with all of the reasons for optimism listed so far, and would like to add one more that hasn't been mentioned yet.

Commitment from the front office. We haven't seen an offseason roster overhaul like this, by the Bengals management before. That took some serious courage on their part, to admit what they were doing previously wasn't working, and to boldly step step into openly competing with other teams for prime players on the open market. By extending the Franchise tag to AJ Green and working a lucrative contract extension with Joe Mixon, they've also shown that they're still committed to keeping the best of their own selected and developed players right here at home.

Only one reason for me. It beats being a downer...…..

(09-07-2020, 12:05 PM)Bengalfan4life27c Wrote: 1 Joe Burrow look at all 21st  century QB's and the ones that went on to have good careers. In their first start. 9 out of 10 were impressive right out of the gate.
2 AJ Green when he's been healthy which has been a problem last 2 seasons. When he actually plays he puts up impressive numbers 9 out of 10 times.
3 Jonah Williams. We haven't had this quality at LT since Whit left.
4 Trey Hopkins. May be best C we have ever had in my lifetime
5 Zac Taylor I noticed a difference how Taylor was coaching at end of games and even though we lost most of those. I loved the aggressiveness and figure that strategy with game management will produce more W's on down the line compared to Marvin's atrociousness with this on gamedays.

Honorable mention we have much more speed on Defense compared to last season.

I will add that I love all the Linebackers that Zac and company have brought in the last 2 years...

Pratt, Bynes, Wilson, ADG, Bailey are a good bunch in my mind with Bynes being the vet to help out the young fellas.

All instinctive which is what we were really missing.

Reader, Bell and Alexander should really help on D as well with our tackling. 

If the O-line can play halfway decent and everything is not just thrown all on Burrow's shoulders this could be a great year.

(09-07-2020, 04:18 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: I agree with all of the reasons for optimism listed so far, and would like to add one more that hasn't been mentioned yet.

Commitment from the front office.  We haven't seen an offseason roster overhaul like this, by the Bengals management before.  That took some serious courage on their part, to admit what they were doing previously wasn't working, and to boldly step step into openly competing with other teams for prime players on the open market.  By extending the Franchise tag to AJ Green and working a lucrative contract extension with Joe Mixon, they've also shown that they're still committed to keeping the best of their own selected and developed players right here at home.

SO TRUE BROTHER!!! GREAT POST SUNSET!!!

(09-07-2020, 04:18 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: I agree with all of the reasons for optimism listed so far, and would like to add one more that hasn't been mentioned yet.

Commitment from the front office.  We haven't seen an offseason roster overhaul like this, by the Bengals management before.  That took some serious courage on their part, to admit what they were doing previously wasn't working, and to boldly step step into openly competing with other teams for prime players on the open market.  By extending the Franchise tag to AJ Green and working a lucrative contract extension with Joe Mixon, they've also shown that they're still committed to keeping the best of their own selected and developed players right here at home.

Agree 100% that this is a good sign, but I remember all those old threads where fans said they would be happy if the front office "just tried".  But based on what I am hearing from Reds fans "just trying" doesn't make anyone happy.

I am happy the front office took a dive in free agency, but it is more important that they sign the right guys than the most expensive guys.

(09-07-2020, 09:31 PM)fredtoast Wrote: Agree 100% that this is a good sign, but I remember all those old threads where fans said they would be happy if the front office "just tried".  But based on what I am hearing from Reds fans "just trying" doesn't make anyone happy.

I am happy the front office took a dive in free agency, but it is more important that they sign the right guys than the most expensive guys.

So, which is it?  Are you optimistic that the front office went beyond what we were accustomed to seeing, or trying isn't enough?  Don't ride a fence here, make a definitive call..