03-10-2022, 11:22 AM
(03-10-2022, 10:49 AM)KillerGoose Wrote: I want to post some data around this because I have seen this message thrown around quite a bit. Cincinnati did not solely operate in a 3-step drop/quick pass offense. It is quite the opposite - Cincinnati was one of the most aggressive teams in pushing the ball down the field. The Bengals ranked 8th in the league in pass attempts that traveled over 25 yards in the air. If you bump that threshold up to 30 yards, they were 5th. So, their aggressiveness in regard to deep passing is evident here, but they did suffer in the intermediate game. Just making this clear, you specifically talk about allowing "deep routes" to come into play when they already are in play.
Offensive line and WR are difficult topics to try to compare due to the impact that one OL has vs one WR. My initial reaction is to say that I don't agree with your idea. I don't think Cincinnati would have been a better team. Even with a top notch OL, counting on Taylor to compete with Boyd's production is far fetched IMO. You mention more running, which isn't really going to help the offense. The bread and butter of this offense is throwing the ball, so you grab an elite OL to enable Burrow, not Mixon. Where improvement in the running game is necessary is in short-yardage situations, which would be the two areas I focus on (pass protection and short yardage production). Otherwise, the running game value is more or less the same unless you have a back like Chubb/Taylor who are averaging over 5.5 yards per pop, due to their own great OLs for sure.
I do understand the contractual argument and how his production didn't live up to his pay, however. I also don't think that Boyd fetches much in a trade, though, so it's tough to really do it. What you get back for him won't be of equal value to what he can produce.
At the end of the season and during the playoffs we were almost exclusively 3 step drop. We led the league in every long pass category, but think about each one... straight go routes. No deep posts, no double moves. We didnt have 30 yard crossing patterns like you see from a D Adams at GB.
Not sure how many times I need to repeat this, I dont care about Boyds production in this forced offense. We do not want to run this dink and dunk offense with the random go route and no running game. We have so much more capability with a better line.
We dont need the WR3 to provide Boyds production with an improved oline as the running game will expand greatly and the ability to run better, longer routes to our primary receivers increase.
Boyd could get us a draft pick and we can use 10M to help secure the very few higher tier guys available. Paying 10M to WR3 while 4 guys on the oline make 9M combined is a joke.
If we used Boyds money to add a million or two to 2-3 guys that ensure an upper level blocker I think it is worth it. I also like the thought of a speedy, dangerous guy getting the ball a few times each game or one we can slide outside and bring Chase in the slot more where he wants to be.
My opinion is that an improved oline totally changes the capabilities of the offense with more focus on the wideouts and RB than the slot.
