08-09-2017, 01:59 PM
Like Stocks, an NFL team can Leap forward on a year over year basis.
I see more positive signs than negative ones going into 2017 when looking at what went down in 2016.
An Upward pointing arrow for this team.
The injuries to Eifert, then AJ & Gio in 2016 offered Andy Dalton the opportunity to work with the other young receivers and Andy had to Adapt & be a Coach on the field in a way. He couldn't lean on AJ & Eifert and had to be more of a Field General, trying new formations while working at being more experimental & creative. This should make Dalton better in 2017, with all weapons healthy, PLUS young players like Tyler Boyd will have more experience. Then throw in the addition of JOHN ROSS and the signs point up here versus 2016.
The D-line will have a Youth infusion with Andrew Billings & Jordan Willis. Kevin Minter comes in at Linebacker and lots of positive signs are coming from Carl Lawson with many of his team mates calling him a potential standout pass rusher. Nick Vigil also has more experience year over year.
Bring in 1st round Corner William Jackson III and a more experienced Kei'varae Russell & Josh Shaw. I expect William Jackson III to show flashes of excellence early and often throughout 2017. Safety Shawn Williams struggled some early in 2016 but settled into his role which will lead to more Stable Safety play in 2017 year over year. Shawn Williams is experienced now.
Clearly room for growth in the Field Goal kicking area in 2017 versus 2016.
Now bring in a young legged, Stud running back in Joe Mixon who is noticeably faster than Jeremy Hill. I think it will become obvious fairly quickly that Mixon has more Elite qualities than Hill. Excellent pass catcher as well. Mixon should put a new identity Stamp on the running game and have a bigger impact than many might think. Joe Mixon should close the talent Gap that exists between Le'veon Bell and Jeremy Hill leading to a much more Formidable Bengals running game to couple with elite passing weapons like Eifert, AJ, Ross. Getting scary here for defenses.
The Big worry is the Offensive Line which loses Whitworth and Zeitler year over year. A Major loss but not a deal breaker to me. The 2016 season offered the Bengals the opportunity to try out Cedric at right tackle, then move him to left while giving Jake Fisher development time at right tackle. Lessons were learned here with line shuffling variations during 2016. Some time was spent in 2016 preparing options for 2017. I think the Bengals planned for the loss of Zeitler but expected to have Whitworth in 2017. I see Jake Fisher rising to the occasion at right tackle.
Cedric is Motivated to save his reputation and reports are that he has been Strength training all offseason. At his young age he could easily gain a tremendous amount of physical strength in one motivated off season as he also naturally matures. Anthony Munoz and Dave Lapham have both been singing Cedric's praises lately. Lapham said that there is no doubt that Jake & Cedric have the feet to be solid NFL tackles. He also said that they were NOT misevaluated. Room for an Upward arrow in their development in 2017.
While the Offensive Line play may take a step back in 2017 in the experience area with the loss of Whit & Zeitler, it just may be that the additions of a healthy Eifert, AJ, Gio PLUS the additions of John Ross & Joe Mixon will make it much easier for the 2017 O-line to perform at a decent level. Having the Offensive Co-ordinator in his 2nd year should also be a plus that takes a little more pressure off of the O-line when compared to 2016. In short, the 2016 team lacked the healthy & New Weapons that the 2017 team should have and this will make it harder for defenses to tee off on the O-line in 2017 than it would have been for the defenses to do in 2016. This difference coupled with hopefully some solid development from Fisher & Cedric may just allow the O-line to not Buckle to the point of bringing down the team.
I see the weakest Link holding and not breaking, in part due to many other Links getting stronger, more experienced and faster.
I see more positive signs than negative ones going into 2017 when looking at what went down in 2016.
An Upward pointing arrow for this team.
The injuries to Eifert, then AJ & Gio in 2016 offered Andy Dalton the opportunity to work with the other young receivers and Andy had to Adapt & be a Coach on the field in a way. He couldn't lean on AJ & Eifert and had to be more of a Field General, trying new formations while working at being more experimental & creative. This should make Dalton better in 2017, with all weapons healthy, PLUS young players like Tyler Boyd will have more experience. Then throw in the addition of JOHN ROSS and the signs point up here versus 2016.
The D-line will have a Youth infusion with Andrew Billings & Jordan Willis. Kevin Minter comes in at Linebacker and lots of positive signs are coming from Carl Lawson with many of his team mates calling him a potential standout pass rusher. Nick Vigil also has more experience year over year.
Bring in 1st round Corner William Jackson III and a more experienced Kei'varae Russell & Josh Shaw. I expect William Jackson III to show flashes of excellence early and often throughout 2017. Safety Shawn Williams struggled some early in 2016 but settled into his role which will lead to more Stable Safety play in 2017 year over year. Shawn Williams is experienced now.
Clearly room for growth in the Field Goal kicking area in 2017 versus 2016.
Now bring in a young legged, Stud running back in Joe Mixon who is noticeably faster than Jeremy Hill. I think it will become obvious fairly quickly that Mixon has more Elite qualities than Hill. Excellent pass catcher as well. Mixon should put a new identity Stamp on the running game and have a bigger impact than many might think. Joe Mixon should close the talent Gap that exists between Le'veon Bell and Jeremy Hill leading to a much more Formidable Bengals running game to couple with elite passing weapons like Eifert, AJ, Ross. Getting scary here for defenses.
The Big worry is the Offensive Line which loses Whitworth and Zeitler year over year. A Major loss but not a deal breaker to me. The 2016 season offered the Bengals the opportunity to try out Cedric at right tackle, then move him to left while giving Jake Fisher development time at right tackle. Lessons were learned here with line shuffling variations during 2016. Some time was spent in 2016 preparing options for 2017. I think the Bengals planned for the loss of Zeitler but expected to have Whitworth in 2017. I see Jake Fisher rising to the occasion at right tackle.
Cedric is Motivated to save his reputation and reports are that he has been Strength training all offseason. At his young age he could easily gain a tremendous amount of physical strength in one motivated off season as he also naturally matures. Anthony Munoz and Dave Lapham have both been singing Cedric's praises lately. Lapham said that there is no doubt that Jake & Cedric have the feet to be solid NFL tackles. He also said that they were NOT misevaluated. Room for an Upward arrow in their development in 2017.
While the Offensive Line play may take a step back in 2017 in the experience area with the loss of Whit & Zeitler, it just may be that the additions of a healthy Eifert, AJ, Gio PLUS the additions of John Ross & Joe Mixon will make it much easier for the 2017 O-line to perform at a decent level. Having the Offensive Co-ordinator in his 2nd year should also be a plus that takes a little more pressure off of the O-line when compared to 2016. In short, the 2016 team lacked the healthy & New Weapons that the 2017 team should have and this will make it harder for defenses to tee off on the O-line in 2017 than it would have been for the defenses to do in 2016. This difference coupled with hopefully some solid development from Fisher & Cedric may just allow the O-line to not Buckle to the point of bringing down the team.
I see the weakest Link holding and not breaking, in part due to many other Links getting stronger, more experienced and faster.
