(05-08-2023, 08:11 AM)SHRacerX Wrote: I know the heading looks different, but this was the link to a 4 minute interview with Joseph Ossai.

I remember after "the play" where he grabbed Mahomes arm and tried to pull him back (and Mahomes flopped and flailed his arms with an acting manuever that had the likes of rothlisburger and Brady applauding) and getting flagged for what ended up being the penalty that would give the Chiefs a shot to win it. He stood there in front of the cameras with tears in his eyes. The guy just played his best NFL game at the biggest moment, but only that play would be remembered.

I immediately got online and ordered an Ossai Jersey. I wore it out the night of the draft party. You would be amazed how many people came up to me, not to insult me (or Ossai) but to praise the guy and how they all hoped he had support from the team, etc.

This interview, talking so much about "the prize" and so little about personal glory, has me loving this guy that much more.

https://www.si.com/nfl/bengals/allbengals-insiders-plus/look-tyler-boyd-jamarr-chase-tee-higgins-vacation-with-damar-hamlin?fbclid=IwAR0Kx2bEagulyqdFcECExpydE03IOCLMukWZquXoQjTIS3Oxq7__iqARQIk

(05-08-2023, 08:21 AM)Soonerpeace Wrote: If you look closely at the play it looks like Mahomes fell and Ossai had a hold of him. Still a penalty but looked more like they both just went down.

(05-08-2023, 08:45 AM)SHRacerX Wrote: Mahomes was leaning so much, he was going down anyways.  When Ossai touched his arm and tried to pull him back to keep the clock running, it turned Mahomes slightly and made his flop look like he landed harder on his back.  

Regardless, I am of the school of thought that this was one play in many that contributed to that loss.  I think they will be back, better and more determined.  

(05-08-2023, 08:58 AM)Soonerpeace Wrote: The punt return didn’t help.

If Ossai doesn’t cause a personal foul KC is still a long field goal away and 9 seconds. LOL after being 3-1 vs KC our board members adoration of KC and particularly their formula of everything is funny. They barely beat us.

(05-08-2023, 04:38 PM)SHRacerX Wrote: And I will say with a great degree of confidence that if Collins was out there instead of Adeniji, even with the other injuries, the Bengals win and probably win it all.  

(05-08-2023, 05:18 PM)Soonerpeace Wrote: Seriously? They can draft better. They can maneuver Free Agency better. Andy coaches better he’s won 2 SB. Oh wait Reid/Mahomes 1-3 vs Zac/Joe. Sneaked a win off a personal foul with 9 seconds left. According to some they act like they are 3-1 instead of 1-3. LOL  Would have liked to play them with 3 OL out.

(05-08-2023, 06:06 PM)NUGDUKWE Wrote: Well they draft oline better or have recently. I would give they're front office the edge over ours. As far as our records against one another i didn't and don't want to put too much stock into. Primarily because it was more to do with the defense and now we've lost a good chunk of the secondary. Who knows what the next match ups are going to look like.

(05-08-2023, 06:45 PM)Soonerpeace Wrote: Well they hit gold with their draft of Humphrey and Smith in 2021. We’ll see about their OL this coming year. They’ve got a real issue at RT. Donovan Smith had a 58.1 PFF rating 12 penalties 6 sacks in 2022. One of the most penalized tackles. They drafted Wayna Morris from Oklahoma he’s tons worse than Carman. Jawaan Taylor has not played LT before.

Our offense has come up just fine against KC and Buffalo. We’ve been great the second half. The offense was #7 in scoring the defense #5 in points allowed. You don’t want to put too much stock in a 3-1 record?

(05-08-2023, 07:41 PM)NUGDUKWE Wrote: Yeah they will have some question marks on the oline and that is a good point. I agree our offense has been fine against the Chiefs but I'd still say we don't win any of those games if our defense doesn't play as well as they did specifically in the 2nd half of some of those games. I don't put much stock in the 3-1 record because it's in the past now. The NFL changes fast and we just lost half of our secondary. There's a chance we can be just as good or maybe better. But I think the more likely bet at least this year would be that we will be worse on the back end. 

(05-08-2023, 07:41 PM)NUGDUKWE Wrote: Yeah they will have some question marks on the oline and that is a good point. I agree our offense has been fine against the Chiefs but I'd still say we don't win any of those games if our defense doesn't play as well as they did specifically in the 2nd half of some of those games. I don't put much stock in the 3-1 record because it's in the past now. The NFL changes fast and we just lost half of our secondary. There's a chance we can be just as good or maybe better. But I think the more likely bet at least this year would be that we will be worse on the back end. 

(05-08-2023, 08:26 PM)Soonerpeace Wrote: I agree about the back end. It’s a less than ideal situation. But let’s look at the positives. The OL I think is much improved. They did help us win 10 in a row. Orlando a definite upgrade. Volson has to take a nice jump after a rookie season. Karras and Cappa better chemistry. Hopefully the competition at RT spawns solid play.

I think another positive is Joe Burrow and a maturation process. He’ll be ready for the deep cover 2. I’m excited about our depth. If the OL finally arrives it’s gonna be tough to beat us.

(05-08-2023, 08:34 PM)Soonerpeace Wrote: Just ran onto this: PFF most improved position groups

Most Improved
CINCINNATI BENGALS‘ DEFENSIVE BACKFIELD

The Bengals lost both starting safeties in free agency, and while they have some talent at cornerback, it was arguably the weakest position on their defense.

DJ Turner could start for them in year one, and his speed is a major asset in a league getting faster by the day. Along with being a burner, he knows how to prevent receptions, forcing 14 incompletions and allowing just 46.5% of the passes thrown into his coverage to be caught last season.

Jordan Battle is just a good football player. He’s not a special athlete, but his skills and smarts on the field make him a candidate to start as a rookie if needed too. He played 800-plus snaps and earned a PFF grade of 80.0 or better in each of the past three seasons.

(05-08-2023, 08:36 PM)NUGDUKWE Wrote: Yes I think right now on paper our oline is better. I do worry about depth and wish we could've found a way to draft OL in the upper half of the draft. I think Volson ended up getting the job done last year and I hope he continues to improve. I saw something on Twitter where players at age 25 don't typically show a ton of improvement. But he hasn't turned 25 yet and he was only a rookie so maybe that doesn't quite apply to him.

A good point on Burrow and hopefully he gets a full off season and training camp under his belt this year. If he and the team can come into the season with a little head of steam than we may be able to keep pace with the top of the AFC for the top seed going thru the season. I think not only the AFC but specifically the AFC north is going to be really tough this year.

(05-08-2023, 08:45 AM)SHRacerX Wrote: Mahomes was leaning so much, he was going down anyways.  When Ossai touched his arm and tried to pull him back to keep the clock running, it turned Mahomes slightly and made his flop look like he landed harder on his back.  

Regardless, I am of the school of thought that this was one play in many that contributed to that loss.  I think they will be back, better and more determined.