08-18-2016, 02:48 PM
Mo Egger - What I'll Be Watching For
*No more injuries. I know, I know. You're tired of hearing about who's hurt, and who isn't going to play. The carnage so far has been brutal, even if I think it's still survivable, but there are still three games left, and guys who matter will be playing in two of them. The Bengals emerged from last week's practice tilt with not many guys needing medical attention. Let's hope that repeats itself tonight.
*Will Clarke. The second preseason game usually has two themes: Which players can prove that last week's strong showing wasn't a fluke, and which ones deserve a mulligan based on week one. Will Clarke falls under the category of players who need to show that his 2016 debut was worth paying attention to. Against Minnesota, he was disruptive against both the run and the pass, and he played like a man hellbent on not just securing a roster spot, but being a part of the rotation on the D-line.
This is where I'm supposed to mention Margus Hunt, and talk about how he deserves a mulligan for last week. But I'm tired of talking about Margus Hunt. Margus in the Big 12 expansion topic of defensive ends. I hear a lot about him, but I never see anything. When I do, I'll talk about him.
*Alex Erickson. Game one was The Alex Erickson Game. He caught a TD pass. He had a punt return for a score. He got some airtime on the third-best sports-talk radio show in the city. Thing is, a lot of other guys who play his positions showed well last Friday. He'll still always be a longshot to make the team, but as much as we talked about him last week, we'll jabber about him even more if he does more good things tonight.
*Jake Fisher. He's moving from left tackle last week to right tackle this week, which some have made out to sound like Jake is going from being the guy who vacuums out the airplane to the guy who flies it. Still, he'll have to man Cedric Ogbuehi's spot for a while, he's very inexperienced, and man, I just love watching tackle play in the preseason.
*Nick Vigil. In game one, he may not have stood out by making a whole bunch of big plays, but he didn't stand out by making mistakes either. He did, though, lead the team in tackles, and got favorable reviews from people who go back and watch preseason games closely. Linebacker is a fluid spot on this team, and Vigil can help stabilize it with an even better performance than last week, this week.*CJ Uzomah. I spent months listening to others tell me how impressive this dude was in OTAs and in training camp. I listened to the big talk about how this guy was ready to seize opportunity with tight ends higher than him on the depth chart out of commission. Then against the Vikings, I'm not sure he even played.
I'd like to see him play tonight.
*Mike Nugent. There's something about a missed kick in a preseason game that bugs me. I'd like to forget about Mike's 48-yard miss last week tonight, and I'd like to see him boot ever kickoff to the one yard line, because kicking the ball into the end zone, with touchbacks now being brought out to the 25, is dumb.
Read more: http://espn1530.iheart.com/onair/mo-egger-9170/the-bengals-play-a-preseason-game-15022218/#ixzz4Hhtnczu3
*No more injuries. I know, I know. You're tired of hearing about who's hurt, and who isn't going to play. The carnage so far has been brutal, even if I think it's still survivable, but there are still three games left, and guys who matter will be playing in two of them. The Bengals emerged from last week's practice tilt with not many guys needing medical attention. Let's hope that repeats itself tonight.
*Will Clarke. The second preseason game usually has two themes: Which players can prove that last week's strong showing wasn't a fluke, and which ones deserve a mulligan based on week one. Will Clarke falls under the category of players who need to show that his 2016 debut was worth paying attention to. Against Minnesota, he was disruptive against both the run and the pass, and he played like a man hellbent on not just securing a roster spot, but being a part of the rotation on the D-line.
This is where I'm supposed to mention Margus Hunt, and talk about how he deserves a mulligan for last week. But I'm tired of talking about Margus Hunt. Margus in the Big 12 expansion topic of defensive ends. I hear a lot about him, but I never see anything. When I do, I'll talk about him.
*Alex Erickson. Game one was The Alex Erickson Game. He caught a TD pass. He had a punt return for a score. He got some airtime on the third-best sports-talk radio show in the city. Thing is, a lot of other guys who play his positions showed well last Friday. He'll still always be a longshot to make the team, but as much as we talked about him last week, we'll jabber about him even more if he does more good things tonight.
*Jake Fisher. He's moving from left tackle last week to right tackle this week, which some have made out to sound like Jake is going from being the guy who vacuums out the airplane to the guy who flies it. Still, he'll have to man Cedric Ogbuehi's spot for a while, he's very inexperienced, and man, I just love watching tackle play in the preseason.
*Nick Vigil. In game one, he may not have stood out by making a whole bunch of big plays, but he didn't stand out by making mistakes either. He did, though, lead the team in tackles, and got favorable reviews from people who go back and watch preseason games closely. Linebacker is a fluid spot on this team, and Vigil can help stabilize it with an even better performance than last week, this week.*CJ Uzomah. I spent months listening to others tell me how impressive this dude was in OTAs and in training camp. I listened to the big talk about how this guy was ready to seize opportunity with tight ends higher than him on the depth chart out of commission. Then against the Vikings, I'm not sure he even played.
I'd like to see him play tonight.
*Mike Nugent. There's something about a missed kick in a preseason game that bugs me. I'd like to forget about Mike's 48-yard miss last week tonight, and I'd like to see him boot ever kickoff to the one yard line, because kicking the ball into the end zone, with touchbacks now being brought out to the 25, is dumb.
Read more: http://espn1530.iheart.com/onair/mo-egger-9170/the-bengals-play-a-preseason-game-15022218/#ixzz4Hhtnczu3
