12-20-2016, 09:15 AM
(12-20-2016, 08:15 AM)SHRacerX Wrote: Agreed on all fronts, but your last point made me stop and think. While there is some truth to this, if you look at what almost every team the Bengals have faced in the playoffs over the previous five years, those teams go in to a max protection front with only two receivers and a single back. They can slip the TE or back out for a pass, but they start with only two receivers in the pattern. Here is where the Bengals have seemingly had no answer and they didn't again on Sunday. They can't get pressure with their front four against six blockers. Sometimes, Piggy would have more than five seconds while the LBs just continue to drop, the WRs fly upfield, taking the CBs and Ss with them, and it opens up short checkdowns for the TE or RB that go an easy 10 yards. I think Piggy only completed one or two passes downfield because they didn't have to! The underneath route was wide open, there was zero pressure, and the secondary had to cover for a very long time.
I realize this is a defensive issue, but I wonder why the Bengals don't do more of this on offense? One of the reasons is no one fears a player like Lafell getting over the top. They also don't fear our RB as a short passing threat, with Gio out and as I mentioned in another thread they didn't run a single TE or RB screen when the defensive alignment was screaming for it.
In lieu of massive changes on the offensive line, the play design needs to improve dramatically. A vertical threat is the greatest need on the offensive side of the ball. Maybe that player can be Core? I hope he gets a lot more snaps down stretch.
A vertical threat helps but we need to give Dalton / WR time to set up the downfield pass. That's my rationale for putting OL as the greater need than the vertical threat right now.
There have been times this year when AD has barely got his feet set and the pocket is collapsing...he's continually had to bail out around the right side of the line this year and either throw it away or try and find a WR on the sideline hooking back to him. If we had still had Carson Palmer as our QB this year the sack total would be have been scary...
We must get the OL set next year and I'm not optimistic the top of the draft is the way to go. If you look at Osemele (raiders) and Mack (Atlanta) you can make a material difference to your OL play via Free agency.
Also if you want a flat out speedster you can normally find someone in the draft who lights it up but falls in the draft either due to size, or drops concerns.
As for your point re: scheme flexibility and more protection I do agree. It's all very well for Whit to say playing OT is a lonely place in Cincinnati and PA tends to not want to provide extra support/ double team but when you saw what was happening to Ced for most of the season I'd have sent Hewitt in more often to help him. Not sure what happened to our old jumbo package...not rolled out as much this year
