09-24-2022, 10:07 AM
Seems like the interior, which has been a huge problem since 2016, might be approaching the point of being shored up. This is big. Pressure from the edges killed them last week, but pressure up the gut is a quarterback's worst nightmare and it was a major factor in the Super Bowl.
I don't think Jonah has ever approached elite, but he's never been egregiously bad as he was last week, either. Perhaps the game was an outlier or more likely a result of playing a team with an elite-level and highly versatile chess piece like Parsons. Most teams don't have that kind of player. They can put guys in that role, but the talent level isn't the same.
I'm cautiously optimistic about the line. Any line takes time to become cohesive, but the talent seems to be there for the most part. Unfortunately, we have to be concerned about whether or not Burrow will still be himself mentally or physically be the time the group can consistently play well.
Side note: Why can other teams scheme around elite players like Watt and Parsons (at least to some extent), yet the Bengals seem pretend they're just another guy on the field? There seemed to be no plan to neutralize those 2 in either game, and they feasted in a major way. You have to at least try to take out the guy that you know can hurt you. If that means other guys on the defense beat you, then so be it. This team has been taken to the woodshed in three straight games by 3 elite defensive players that they had literally no answer for. Good players are going to eat, but there needs to be a more effective game plan to limit that from being the case on a weekly basis.
I don't think Jonah has ever approached elite, but he's never been egregiously bad as he was last week, either. Perhaps the game was an outlier or more likely a result of playing a team with an elite-level and highly versatile chess piece like Parsons. Most teams don't have that kind of player. They can put guys in that role, but the talent level isn't the same.
I'm cautiously optimistic about the line. Any line takes time to become cohesive, but the talent seems to be there for the most part. Unfortunately, we have to be concerned about whether or not Burrow will still be himself mentally or physically be the time the group can consistently play well.
Side note: Why can other teams scheme around elite players like Watt and Parsons (at least to some extent), yet the Bengals seem pretend they're just another guy on the field? There seemed to be no plan to neutralize those 2 in either game, and they feasted in a major way. You have to at least try to take out the guy that you know can hurt you. If that means other guys on the defense beat you, then so be it. This team has been taken to the woodshed in three straight games by 3 elite defensive players that they had literally no answer for. Good players are going to eat, but there needs to be a more effective game plan to limit that from being the case on a weekly basis.
