(09-28-2020, 03:12 PM)Whatever Wrote: EA gave Ross a 95 in Acceleration and a 93 in Agility.  It seems very odd to give him stats like that when his supposed Next Gen stats don't back it up.

(09-28-2020, 11:10 AM)BengalFanInNJ Wrote: Higgins is going to be good, but man, if he held on to the 40-yard pass in OT instead of letting Robey-Coleman hit his arm and make him drop it, Bengals were in good position to win. He's a rookie and he will learn. Excited about his potential.

Now only if Burrow had more time to throw without getting hit.

(09-28-2020, 10:13 AM)Whatever Wrote: His big 19 yard catch came on a busted coverage where he was left completely undefended. Nobody with any objectivity is giving him a bunch of credit for that play.  

If you're going to have your camp spout off in the media about your usage, you'd better be able to win against man coverage in the end zone.  He had three opportunities and was beaten by his opposite number on every one. He got bailed out on a ticky tack PI on the first one.  

In the red zone, DB's play the slant a lot more aggressively.  You don't want to be throwing a bunch of slants to a WR that doesn't run good routes and doesn't have the physical ability to run a whip route to keep the CB guessing.  

If you're going to beat your chest and scream for the ball, you'd better play a lot better than Tate did Sunday.

(09-28-2020, 12:48 PM)Luvnit2 Wrote: If that would have been Ross drop, he would bet getting tarred and feathered by his haters.

(09-28-2020, 02:40 PM)ochocincos Wrote: What if we solve this Tate vs Ross problem and just make Erickson inactive?

Erickson's primary use right now is PR, of which he's only done 6.
Erickson is 5th in NFL with PR average due to a 22 yard return that put his average up to 11.0, but his career average is 7.7, so he's likely to come back down over the course of the season.
Surely there can be someone else on the roster (Wilson, Phillips, Bernard, Boyd) who could return an average of 2 punts per game?

(09-28-2020, 04:10 PM)rfaulk34 Wrote: No matter how much you hate on him, he will continue to prove you wrong. 

(09-28-2020, 05:10 PM)Whatever Wrote: I wish he would've proved me wrong on Sunday when he was losing 50/50 balls (or are they still 80/20 balls) to the Eagles corners.  That way, we wouldn't still be waiting for Burrow's first win.

If anyone was happy with Tate's play Sunday, they've dropped the bar so low that he can pretty much just walk over it.

(09-28-2020, 03:02 PM)ochocincos Wrote: Ken Zampese?

(09-28-2020, 03:18 PM)Whatever Wrote: So you're totally fine with a guy whining his way into the lineup, then failing to produce?

(09-28-2020, 10:13 AM)Whatever Wrote: His big 19 yard catch came on a busted coverage where he was left completely undefended. Nobody with any objectivity is giving him a bunch of credit for that play.

If you're going to have your camp spout off in the media about your usage, you'd better be able to win against man coverage in the end zone.  He had three opportunities and was beaten by his opposite number on every one. He got bailed out on a ticky tack PI on the first one.  

In the red zone, DB's play the slant a lot more aggressively.  You don't want to be throwing a bunch of slants to a WR that doesn't run good routes and doesn't have the physical ability to run a whip route to keep the CB guessing.  

If you're going to beat your chest and scream for the ball, you'd better play a lot better than Tate did Sunday.

(09-28-2020, 06:29 PM)Nicomo Cosca Wrote: Sure, let’s just completely ignore how good his footwork was on the play to even stay in bounds. Completely objective to do so.

(09-28-2020, 05:57 PM)rfaulk34 Wrote: I don't think that's true at all. 

Both plays had a high degree of difficulty--especially the 2nd one--but he should have kept running on the first one and he would have given himself a better chance. 

I'm not gonna crush a guy with the limited snaps that Tate has. If he doesn't continue to improve, ala John Ross, then he goes on the shit list too. There's just zero reason for him to be there right now. 

(09-28-2020, 07:03 PM)Whatever Wrote: That's a routine toe tap for any NFL caliber WR. He was a foot from the chalk. Seriously, this is case in point.  People flip out for any routine play the guy the makes.  

(09-28-2020, 07:40 PM)Whatever Wrote: Trust me on this, I care more about the Bengals being successful that I do about scoring "I told ya so" points on this board.  Everyone here has had their share of hits and misses.

They were tough catches because he couldn't generate any separation on them.  The defenders had great position on him.  Part of that is his bad route running and part of that is his lack of burst.  

You can't have your camp make "play me or trade me" statements in the media and go out there and be mediocre, especially when the HC is trying his damnedest to get you a TD by calling your number over and over again in the red zone.  I have not idea why Tate has been given a pass on this BS.  

(09-28-2020, 08:07 AM)Rubekahn29 Wrote: Higgins yes. Tate, meh. He looks the part but did he have more than one catch? He doesn't ever bring down redzone catches. I'd honestly rather see Boyd, Higgns, Green, and Thomas out there
Thomas has played great when given the opportunity. He's caught just about everything.

(09-28-2020, 05:10 PM)Whatever Wrote: If anyone was happy with Tate's play Sunday, they've dropped the bar so low that he can pretty much just walk over it.

(09-28-2020, 05:10 PM)Whatever Wrote: I wish he would've proved me wrong on Sunday when he was losing 50/50 balls (or are they still 80/20 balls) to the Eagles corners.  That way, we wouldn't still be waiting for Burrow's first win.

If anyone was happy with Tate's play Sunday, they've dropped the bar so low that he can pretty much just walk over it.

(09-28-2020, 09:21 PM)Nicomo Cosca Wrote: “Flipping out” is quite a stretch. No one is claiming he’s a Pro Bowler, but you refuse to give him ANY credit. And John Ross sure as hell has problems doing the basics and making routine plays...

(09-28-2020, 11:30 PM)bengalfan74 Wrote: If anyone is happy with John Ross's career, they've dropped the bar so low you'd need a backhoe to get over it.

(09-28-2020, 11:39 PM)Whatever Wrote: People on this board have compared Tate to guys like Jerry Rice, Anquan Bolden, and Larry Fitzgerald.  The guy has more hype threads on here than Tee Higgins, who just surpassed Tate's career TD mark in one game.  This very thread was created in part to applaud him for a performance in which he made two routine catches on four targets and lost every 50/50 ball he was involved in, which is supposed to be his strength.  His supporters can't hype him ad nauseam, then say "nobody said he was that good" when his failings are pointed out.  If they didn't think he was that good, they could stop heaping undeserved praise on him for a minute and wouldn't feel the need to come rushing to his defense when he doesn't live up to the lofty standards they set for him.  

Is Ross good?  No.  However, he can find the end zone and our red zone offense has been awful.  Do we need a red zone threat or another possession receiver right now?