08-31-2016, 11:02 AM
(08-31-2016, 09:47 AM)CageTheBengal Wrote: It's cool to see a Bengals fan all the way in Aussie.
With the loss of Marvin Jones and Sanu at wide receiver the Bengals are going to need some guys to step up and catch the ball. Brandon LaFell was the veteran free agent pickup from the Patriots. Coming off of a down year were he was slowed by a foot injury he's looking to rebound. Sadly we haven't seen much of him yet because he has a hand injury but he made his first game appearance last Sunday so that's encouraging.
I'm more excited about the rookies though. Tyler Boyd was our 2nd round pick. He did it all at Pittsburgh where he played college ball and it sounds like he was pretty much there whole offense. Everything we've seen from him so far has been as good as we can hope for and I think it's safe to say we're all excited about him. Personally I think he's gonna be a lot better then Sanu or Jones but it's just way too early to tell until the real action begins.
Cody Core and Alex Erickson are the other two rookie receivers we brought in. Core is a 6th round pick and doesn't look the part. He looks like he could've been drafted a few rounds higher and Erickson went totally undrafted. Both look like they have serious potential.
On the offensive line watch the right tackle spot. The Bengals first round pick last year is going to be starting there at the beginning of the year. It will be his first game. People say he would've been top 5 pick in the draft if he didn't tear his ACL his last year of college so he fell to the Bengals at the 21st pick and recovered all last season.
Turning to defense there are 2 young guys at the defensive tackle spot in Hardison and Williams the coaches have raved about and looked good during pre-season. We have a great d-line but it's about time for a young guy to step up.
Karlos Dansby was a veteran linebacker we picked up from Cleveland. He's on the back end of his career but he's still a great cover linebacker and should help us out on defense right away. He's been an underrated all-pro his whole career and almost landed here when he was looking for a new team a few years back.
Nick Vigil is a 3rd round rookie linebacker who the coaches are feeling good about. He has to put on some more weight and adjust to the game physically but apparently his instincts on the field and his intelligence are off the charts.
Darequeze Dennard was our first round pick 2 years ago at corner back. Behind a super talented group and held back by injuries he's looking to take over the 3rd cornerback spot this year manning up against slot receivers. He's got big shoes to fill left behind by one of the best Bengals in recent history Leon Hall who is playing for the Giants this year. The little bit we've seen from Dennard has been positive though.
Shawn Williams was a third round pick 3 or 4 years ago and is taking over for another Bengal great Reggie Nelson who moved on to Oakland this year. We first saw Shawn play during injuries last season he has looked solid but this is his first year as a starter and like Leon Hall I think Reggie Nelson left a big void that needs to be filled.
Wow what an informative read, thank you for the effort that you put into this post. In regards to the rookie RT, ACL's are a difficult injury to come back from mentally, in my experience it takes a lot of game time to get the confidence back that the knee will be ok. With him not playing last year do you believe this will still be a factor?
I always enjoyed watching Hall and Nelson play, but was excited by the talk surrounding Dennard when we first drafted him. I also like what you had to say about Vigil as that should mean we are fairly strong at LB later in the season.
There are not many Bengals fans down here, happy to say I've been a fan since the early 90's but most people down here support the big market teams. The Ravens are hugely popular down here, along with the 49ers, due to an Australian Rugby League player making their squad last year, the Broncos, Cowboys and Patriots. So poor little me is definitely in the minority.
