04-13-2021, 05:55 AM
I don't know if anyone outside of the Higgins household was yelling at the TV for the Bengals to take Tee when the draft reopened on day 2 last year. I was in genuine shock when the Bengals did it. LOVED the pick and I am thrilled with how he played as a rookie.
A lot of mock drafts had Tee all over the map, but I thought he was the 1st or 2nd best guy, right there with Justin Jefferson, which is who I had hoped would fall.
How good can Tee Higgins be? Wildly good. I think Tee Higgins' game would translate to any offense in the NFL and keep him on the field. He is THAT good. I think he would make for an awesome piece of a WR tandem. He has long speed. I think wayyyyy too much has been made about his 40 time. And the SEP numbers, while I think are interesting, don't tell the entire story. Things need to be taken into consideration with that: Type of offense being run, routes being run, etc.
I'm not sure if Higgins has the quickness or suddenness to be the #1 in the offense the Bengals are running right now, which seems to be a hybrid of LSU's offense mixed with the Rams. It is NOT conventional, but they can do it because if Burrow. Be is why I say that...
In watching film studies of LSU's offense and what the Bengals did last year, specifically, a tremendous amount of the pass plays are run off of quick QB decisions/reads and queues based on declaring the defense and then pulling the trigger on a throw based on where 1 or 2 defensive pieces move in reaction to the routes.
The offense is literally:
- Use motion to force the D to declare man or zone.
- Reset/check into the correct play/configure routes based off of that.
- Watch X or Y positional reaction to route.
- Throw to spot bases on that.
- Rinse & Repeat
^ THIS IS WHY BURROW IS AMAZING. He is so smart that he can just call the offense himself on the fly, completely move the pieces of the offense around, and then reconstruct the plays as desired on literally EVERY SINGLE PLAY. It's as if ZT draws a concept on an etch a sketch and puts the personnel on the field for Joe to work with. Joe draws on the etch a sketch and then, based on how the defense reacts, he can run that exact play, check into a different play with that same look.... or he shakes the thing up, erases it, and redraws the right play... all before the play clock expires. This is why you see so many pieces moving ore snap and Burrow moving guys around and talking to them. He is just drawing the play he wants right before our eyes in real time.
Uzomah eluded to this last camp when he talked about Burrow checking the offense into things he didn't know were possible from different formations... in real time on the fly. He literally sounded astounded by how it actually worked in an interview after their first live scrimmage in camp. Until then, he hadn't experienced that.
Due to Burrow being wildly intelligent, quck & confident to make a decisuon, and super accurate, this is why he was (if I recall) the best QB in the league (or top 3 or something) in throws under 20 yards while healthy. This type of offense with Burrow is virtually impossible to just flat out stop without the Bengals or Burrow being the ones to make a mistake: Fumble, sack, missed throw, or a drop. Rarely can teams react fast enough... or just guess... to be able to reliable shut that down. Downside is that not just any QB can run that offense. At least not well.
Back to Higgins: There is a role for him in THAT type of scheme, but he is never going to be the featured guy. Looking at LSUs roster makeup, it's easy to see what role a long striding, longer player would have and what role the quicker short space guys would have.
- Boyd will always do extremely will in this type of offense due to short space quickness, smarts, and hands. He has the Justin Jefferson role. I see them as similar players.
- Higgins would be the Terrace Marshall role in the routes, which are longer stretch routes, outlets, etc. If you watch the tape breakdowns explaining the offense and how it works you can kind of see how the different pieces and player types fit. They are interchangeable, yet kind of specific to each skill set.
- The Bengals do not have a guy on the roster to reliably take medium range passes and turn them into long passes by making the first defender miss or hitting a really quick slant through traffic and bursting through for a long gain while blocks are happening all around them - out running people in/through traffic. That is NOT Tee Higgins' game. That is NOT Tyler Boyd's game... although both are good with the ball in their hands.
I think they asked AJ Green to do that job last year and he HATED it. Nor did he have the burst or soeed for it any more. A lot of short/medium pass and run to space. Lap & Hoard discussed that on the Bengals Booth podcast. AJ Green hated that role in that system, was bored, felt like it wasn't for him and kind of half assed it a bit (paraphrasing, but pretty close to that).
BTW, the offensive line not giving much time really had to be tough with this. However, Joe processes so quickly, this all worked ok. But, with a little time, could be wildly productive.
I don't see Higgins talent being wasted at all in this offense. He is going to catch a lot of balls for a lot of yards and get into the end zone, but he is going to do that by beating up on opposing teams who choose to roll off to another guy who the opposing DC deems more dangerous or who choose to take away another player 1st post snap after the above offense is executed.
Personally, I find offenses like that really fun to watch. Tee Higgins is a tough kid and I think his physicality and willingness to help the team in that way are grossly underrated.
Side Note: I would LOVE to see a big time TE in this type of offense. I still think a light will come on for Sample, who at times has flashed. But I wouldn't be upset with a true TE who can black AND catch the football, make a move, and turn up field.
A lot of mock drafts had Tee all over the map, but I thought he was the 1st or 2nd best guy, right there with Justin Jefferson, which is who I had hoped would fall.
How good can Tee Higgins be? Wildly good. I think Tee Higgins' game would translate to any offense in the NFL and keep him on the field. He is THAT good. I think he would make for an awesome piece of a WR tandem. He has long speed. I think wayyyyy too much has been made about his 40 time. And the SEP numbers, while I think are interesting, don't tell the entire story. Things need to be taken into consideration with that: Type of offense being run, routes being run, etc.
I'm not sure if Higgins has the quickness or suddenness to be the #1 in the offense the Bengals are running right now, which seems to be a hybrid of LSU's offense mixed with the Rams. It is NOT conventional, but they can do it because if Burrow. Be is why I say that...
In watching film studies of LSU's offense and what the Bengals did last year, specifically, a tremendous amount of the pass plays are run off of quick QB decisions/reads and queues based on declaring the defense and then pulling the trigger on a throw based on where 1 or 2 defensive pieces move in reaction to the routes.
The offense is literally:
- Use motion to force the D to declare man or zone.
- Reset/check into the correct play/configure routes based off of that.
- Watch X or Y positional reaction to route.
- Throw to spot bases on that.
- Rinse & Repeat
^ THIS IS WHY BURROW IS AMAZING. He is so smart that he can just call the offense himself on the fly, completely move the pieces of the offense around, and then reconstruct the plays as desired on literally EVERY SINGLE PLAY. It's as if ZT draws a concept on an etch a sketch and puts the personnel on the field for Joe to work with. Joe draws on the etch a sketch and then, based on how the defense reacts, he can run that exact play, check into a different play with that same look.... or he shakes the thing up, erases it, and redraws the right play... all before the play clock expires. This is why you see so many pieces moving ore snap and Burrow moving guys around and talking to them. He is just drawing the play he wants right before our eyes in real time.
Uzomah eluded to this last camp when he talked about Burrow checking the offense into things he didn't know were possible from different formations... in real time on the fly. He literally sounded astounded by how it actually worked in an interview after their first live scrimmage in camp. Until then, he hadn't experienced that.
Due to Burrow being wildly intelligent, quck & confident to make a decisuon, and super accurate, this is why he was (if I recall) the best QB in the league (or top 3 or something) in throws under 20 yards while healthy. This type of offense with Burrow is virtually impossible to just flat out stop without the Bengals or Burrow being the ones to make a mistake: Fumble, sack, missed throw, or a drop. Rarely can teams react fast enough... or just guess... to be able to reliable shut that down. Downside is that not just any QB can run that offense. At least not well.
Back to Higgins: There is a role for him in THAT type of scheme, but he is never going to be the featured guy. Looking at LSUs roster makeup, it's easy to see what role a long striding, longer player would have and what role the quicker short space guys would have.
- Boyd will always do extremely will in this type of offense due to short space quickness, smarts, and hands. He has the Justin Jefferson role. I see them as similar players.
- Higgins would be the Terrace Marshall role in the routes, which are longer stretch routes, outlets, etc. If you watch the tape breakdowns explaining the offense and how it works you can kind of see how the different pieces and player types fit. They are interchangeable, yet kind of specific to each skill set.
- The Bengals do not have a guy on the roster to reliably take medium range passes and turn them into long passes by making the first defender miss or hitting a really quick slant through traffic and bursting through for a long gain while blocks are happening all around them - out running people in/through traffic. That is NOT Tee Higgins' game. That is NOT Tyler Boyd's game... although both are good with the ball in their hands.
I think they asked AJ Green to do that job last year and he HATED it. Nor did he have the burst or soeed for it any more. A lot of short/medium pass and run to space. Lap & Hoard discussed that on the Bengals Booth podcast. AJ Green hated that role in that system, was bored, felt like it wasn't for him and kind of half assed it a bit (paraphrasing, but pretty close to that).
BTW, the offensive line not giving much time really had to be tough with this. However, Joe processes so quickly, this all worked ok. But, with a little time, could be wildly productive.
I don't see Higgins talent being wasted at all in this offense. He is going to catch a lot of balls for a lot of yards and get into the end zone, but he is going to do that by beating up on opposing teams who choose to roll off to another guy who the opposing DC deems more dangerous or who choose to take away another player 1st post snap after the above offense is executed.
Personally, I find offenses like that really fun to watch. Tee Higgins is a tough kid and I think his physicality and willingness to help the team in that way are grossly underrated.
Side Note: I would LOVE to see a big time TE in this type of offense. I still think a light will come on for Sample, who at times has flashed. But I wouldn't be upset with a true TE who can black AND catch the football, make a move, and turn up field.
