03-25-2021, 03:35 PM
Here is my opinion. In free agency I saw improvement at two position, RT and DT. And even though Hendrickson is may not be that much better than Lawson I was terrified by Carl's injury history, so I like that move a lot also.
But those improvements were not enough for a team as bad as the Bengals have been the last couple of years. And as for the draft I don't really count on any rookies other than first round picks to be very good their first season. Obviously there are lots of good NFL players taken after the first round, but they usually need a year to develop or to work on weak spots in their game. I know we have hit on guys like Higgins and Dalton, but those are the exception instead of the general rule.
So that leaves me looking for other reasons for optimism. I try not to count to much on the extraordinary, but instead look at how things usually work in the NFL. For example. . .
1. Most NFL players improve quite a bit from their rookie year. That doesn't mean you can count on guys who barely played as rookies to be solid starters in their second seasons. But for guys who were good enough to see significant playing time as rookies like Tee Higgins (805 snaps), Logan Wilson (343 snaps), Akeem Davis-Gaither (314 snaps), Khalid Kareem (259 snaps), and Hakeem Adeniji (232 snaps) they should improve quite q bit. Some of those guys just got playing time by default, and they need to improve a lot before earning real playing time. But Higgins looks like he could be a star and Logan Wilson could be a very solid starter.
2. Burrow was a rookie also, but i will address him separately. While he suffered from lack of protection he has issues of his own he needs to correct. I have faith that he will. And since QB is the most important position on the team his improvement is the most crucial.
3. I am also hoping we stay more healthy than last year. I know every team has injuries, but we were really hit hard on defense with the loss of Geno, Reader, Waynes, and our CBs in general. LeShaun Sims was supposed to be our #5 CB but he started ten games and played just 36 fewer snaps than Alexander (Who despite missing 3 games played the second most snaps at CB). DT was also ruined by the loss of both Atkins and Reader who combined to play just 378 total snaps on defense.
4. I think our O-line coach will make a big difference. Last year it seemed like our O-line had more problem figuring out who to block than they did getting beaten one-on-one. They really struggled to pick up blitzes and stunts. Coaches can not create talent, but you would think they should have a big impact on correcting problems like who to block.
So we still need to hit a starter in the draft. And in addition to these reasons to feel positive there are also reasons to feel negative. But overall I at least have enough reasons to feel somewhat positive about this upcoming season.
But those improvements were not enough for a team as bad as the Bengals have been the last couple of years. And as for the draft I don't really count on any rookies other than first round picks to be very good their first season. Obviously there are lots of good NFL players taken after the first round, but they usually need a year to develop or to work on weak spots in their game. I know we have hit on guys like Higgins and Dalton, but those are the exception instead of the general rule.
So that leaves me looking for other reasons for optimism. I try not to count to much on the extraordinary, but instead look at how things usually work in the NFL. For example. . .
1. Most NFL players improve quite a bit from their rookie year. That doesn't mean you can count on guys who barely played as rookies to be solid starters in their second seasons. But for guys who were good enough to see significant playing time as rookies like Tee Higgins (805 snaps), Logan Wilson (343 snaps), Akeem Davis-Gaither (314 snaps), Khalid Kareem (259 snaps), and Hakeem Adeniji (232 snaps) they should improve quite q bit. Some of those guys just got playing time by default, and they need to improve a lot before earning real playing time. But Higgins looks like he could be a star and Logan Wilson could be a very solid starter.
2. Burrow was a rookie also, but i will address him separately. While he suffered from lack of protection he has issues of his own he needs to correct. I have faith that he will. And since QB is the most important position on the team his improvement is the most crucial.
3. I am also hoping we stay more healthy than last year. I know every team has injuries, but we were really hit hard on defense with the loss of Geno, Reader, Waynes, and our CBs in general. LeShaun Sims was supposed to be our #5 CB but he started ten games and played just 36 fewer snaps than Alexander (Who despite missing 3 games played the second most snaps at CB). DT was also ruined by the loss of both Atkins and Reader who combined to play just 378 total snaps on defense.
4. I think our O-line coach will make a big difference. Last year it seemed like our O-line had more problem figuring out who to block than they did getting beaten one-on-one. They really struggled to pick up blitzes and stunts. Coaches can not create talent, but you would think they should have a big impact on correcting problems like who to block.
So we still need to hit a starter in the draft. And in addition to these reasons to feel positive there are also reasons to feel negative. But overall I at least have enough reasons to feel somewhat positive about this upcoming season.
