Is the team better now compared to last year?

[*ochocincos*]

(05-03-2023, 10:43 AM)KillerGoose Wrote: Overall, I'd say a push or slightly worse. I think the OL will end up being an upgrade, but how much depends on what happens at RT. RB room is a slight downgrade as Perine was a very dependable RB. TE is a push but there are some health concerns. I think CB and S are clear downgrades. We lost both guys in the back-end, Chido is coming off of a torn achilles which are notorious for sapping athleticism. Apple is gone, who was very dependable. There is a lot of young talent in the DB room and the potential is high, but I don't think we are going to see that pay off immediately.

A lot of unknowns with the current team. However, if I was forced to pick who would win in a best of 7/5/whatever series, I would say 2022 wins.

Is TE a push though with Irv Smith instead of Hurst?
Smith's career YPC is 9.4, Hurst's is 9.7. Hurst's was even higher (10.4) prior to coming to Bengals.
Irv Smith isn't really any better than Hurst athletically, tested about the same in most drills, if not worse, back when they were coming into the league in 2018 (Hurst) and 2019 (Smith).
But Smith is also 2 inches shorter and 20 lbs lighter than Hurst now (back when they were both entering the league, Hurst was 8 lbs heavier).

I don't honestly see Irv Smith being even a push when compared to Hurst.
Feels like a downgrade to me.