How things got this bad?

[*SHRacerX*]

(11-10-2019, 07:51 PM)TKUHL Wrote: Give us your most logical idea on just how things got as bad as they are now. Every position group is just pathetic, absolutely pathetic this year. Worse than last year. I’m sure most of the problems were building the past 4 years missing on draft picks while letting good players walk. But there has to be even more to it than that. Personally I think we have some good players, take the D for instance. The D line has everyone healthy yet they can’t do anything. So what gives. Is coaching, schemes, play calling a result?

There is no one thing, but I will try to give my two cents on what I believe are the biggest issues:

Offense:  No vertical speed outside.  None at all.  A bunch of possession guys and a good slot WR in Boyd, but none of them get immediate space on their defender.  Ross could do that and week 1 we had over 400 yards passing.  Having Ross and Green on the field with Boyd and sometimes Tate would have made a huge difference.  That, combined with a lack of time to wait for a receiver to get open due to poor offensive line play (on third string LT, Price sucks, etc).  Those issues could be addressed quite easily in the offseason.  Now that they have seemingly tried to move on in QB, however, it will open a whole other can of worms.  

Defense:  Linebacker play.  It is so bad that the entire team on that side of the ball looks awful.  They get no depth in their drops on passing downs, and they have no side to side speed to help prevent RBs from getting the edge.  The middle of the field is open all day on short passes that turn in to easy 10 yard gains.  Most of the pounding the defense takes is not deep shots and they could generate some decent pass rush, but as is the opposite with Dalton, opposing QBs have an easy check down or WR wide open in the slot out of the gate because there is no LB coverage at all.  Combine that with the fact that the Bengals STILL play so damn much off coverage they just die a slow death as opposed to getting beat over the top.  Why you waste  you high draft picks on CBs and have them play a scheme that a practice squad guy could execute is beyond me.  

I won't even put it on coaching.  It is a lack of speed outside and a poor offensive line on offense and pathetic linebacker play on defense. 

My dream (I know I keep saying it) is get the first overall pick and trade it to the #2 or #3 team for a haul of draft picks and get Chase Young and try to get the QB in 2021.  That QB drafted next year will have to play and will get destroyed until this offensive line is improved.  And I hope the next QB is a mobile one.