Bengals draft makes statement that they are not worried about the O-line

[depthchart]

(05-02-2017, 12:13 AM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: Exacty, SE. 41 sacks with a QB who has an extremely quick release... and Whit/Zeitler were 3 of them.

Now Boling is the best player on your OL. When Boling is your best player, and Bodine is your second best, you're in freaking trouble.

This is going to be some David Carr rookie season level of ugly behind this OL.

I'm not so sure Boling is our Best lineman and if he is, it may be temporary & just be due to having experience at his position.

I see Jake Fisher as a guy that will be a fast riser that may overtake Boling as the Best soon.
Like Cedric, Jake Fisher has had this offseason to get stronger and his experience level is rising.
I see Fisher as a main piece in short order that makes a Jump forward in 2017. Possibly the next Whit as a talent.

I also think Andre Smith will settle in quite well at Guard and it may even be easy for him.
His injury last year was a Triceps injury so his Legs should be fresh and not in a state of recovery from injury.
Andre may just end up pushing Boling for the Best on team honors once he settles in at Guard.

I don't think this is as bad as it looks but still hinges on Cedric improving.

[*Wyche'sWarrior*]

(05-01-2017, 02:31 PM)Hammerstripes Wrote: While I think that they don't see the line as a huge risk like nearly everyone on this board, some thing else sticks out - the low talent level overall of the linemen in this draft.  

I'm happy that they didn't reach, because their first 4 picks were as good as any team's draft and very well could be as good as any of our drafts we've had in the Marvin era.

This.....

Whether they are worried or not, they really didn't have much choice with a weak draft class at the position.  To me, what was more telling, was the lack of any big moves in FA concerning the o line.  Smith is a wing and a prayer band aid.

[sandwedge]

I believe things will be better. With the weapons on offense all coming back, teams are not going to be able just all out rush Andy. The O-line should see more 4 man fronts rushing in only. From what i have read, Mixon is a lot better at picking up blitzes than Hill also.....
I also don't think we would have gotten anyone in this draft, except maybe 1 or 2 of top linemen, that is any better than what we currently have starting or backing up.

[depthchart]

(05-02-2017, 11:53 AM)Wyche Wrote: This.....

Whether they are worried or not, they really didn't have much choice with a weak draft class at the position.  To me, what was more telling, was the lack of any big moves in FA concerning the o line.  Smith is a wing and a prayer band aid.

I get your lack of Big moves point, however, I see Andre Smith as more than just "a wing and a prayer" Band Aid.

His 1 year deal supports the Band Aid portion of your statement but he should be much better than "a wing and a prayer".

I see him settling in and doing a fine job at Guard.

Remember that he was a 6th Overall pick, has a ton of Experience, familiarity with the Bengals Organization and handled Right tackle pretty well throughout his career. His size at around 325 pounds should bode well in a Guard role and he could probably still handle the Freakish Athletes that attack Right Tackles if he needed to be moved there. His injury last season was a Triceps injury so his Legs are not in a state of recovery from injury. He just turned 30 years old in January making him 5 years younger than Whitworth. I see the Smith signing as a no brainer Good signing of a Veteran that rivals the Lafell signing of last year in being a Solid smart move that pays off.

Andre Smith is no Slouch.

[*psychdoctor*]

(05-02-2017, 08:56 AM)McC Wrote: While I'm not a big PA fan, I must say he has traditionally done his best work with OT's, which gives me hope.  CedO, by all reports, has been working his tail off since the season ended.

They won't have to be all pro's.  They should make enough improvement to allow all our great weapons to be able to make plays. 

It seems pretty early in the game to have such a defeatist attitude.

I like the optimism. But what happens if the left tackle gets hurt?

I think they're going to wait until the very last moment and snag somebody that's cut from another team.

[BengalChris]

(05-01-2017, 02:42 PM)THE PISTONS Wrote: I don't see an offensive line guy at 9 that was worth taking. In the 2nd Round...they loved Mixon. It was obvious from his visits that they were going to draft him.

Beyond that...they just went BAP. It's doubtful that they would have found a starter on the offensive line in Rounds 3+.

They have to play Ced to develop him. I remember guys like Boling and Levi Jones struggled initially...so there is hope.

If they drafted a rookie in Round 3 and started him...he would have struggled too.

The team would of had to make a trade to get into position to draft one of the top tackles or Lamp for guard. But that would have meant not selecting Mixon.

Og didn't just struggle last year, he played very, very poorly from either side.

The backup plan is clearly Fisher to LT with either Andre or Winston holding down the RT spot. Fisher at least didn't play too poorly like Og did.

[AtomicBlaze]

My biggest concern is Ogbuehi, I mean he was getting beat on nearly every play. I don't think he has any functional strength because of his back injuries. You just cannot lift heavy if you have back problems. I just don't see him ever getting better. I knew he would be a bad pick, I still can't believe they drafted him.

[*Wyche'sWarrior*]

(05-02-2017, 12:21 PM)depthchart Wrote: I get your lack of Big moves point, however, I see Andre Smith as more than just "a wing and a prayer" Band Aid.

His 1 year deal supports the Band Aid portion of your statement but he should be much better than "a wing and a prayer".

I see him settling in and doing a fine job at Guard.

Remember that he was a 6th Overall pick, has a ton of Experience, familiarity with the Bengals Organization and handled Right tackle pretty well throughout his career. His size at around 325 pounds should bode well in a Guard role and he could probably still handle the Freakish Athletes that attack Right Tackles if he needed to be moved there. His injury last season was a Triceps injury so his Legs are not in a state of recovery from injury. He just turned 30 years old in January making him 5 years younger than Whitworth. I see the Smith signing as a no brainer Good signing of a Veteran that rivals the Lafell signing of last year in being a Solid smart move that pays off.

Andre Smith is no Slouch.

I somewhat agree, but Andre seems to be trending down lately....and has always had injury concerns.  I hope he makes the necessary adjustment to G, and most likely will.  On paper though, this line got a lot worse over the offseason.  We had the resources to replace the guys we lost and improve the C position.  I hope the strategy pays off.....

[depthchart]

(05-02-2017, 04:29 PM)Wyche Wrote: I somewhat agree, but Andre seems to be trending down lately....and has always had injury concerns.  I hope he makes the necessary adjustment to G, and most likely will.  On paper though, this line got a lot worse over the offseason.  We had the resources to replace the guys we lost and improve the C position.  I hope the strategy pays off.....

No doubt we got worse.

Zeitler gets $60 million and Andre gets $3.25 mil plus Whitworth is gone.

Andre Smith is now like a Brandon Lafell by being a Veteran that can come in on 1 or 2 year deals and do the job.

I call them "Hired Guns" but on the Cheap.

They are actually pretty good experienced players that can get overlooked but have a proven track record.

They can do the job and buy a team some time.

[packerbacker]

I predict about 11-5 season for the Bengals this year.

[*Wyche'sWarrior*]

(05-02-2017, 04:44 PM)depthchart Wrote: No doubt we got worse.

Zeitler gets $60 million and Andre gets $3.25 mil plus Whitworth is gone.

Andre Smith is now like a Brandon Lafell by being a Veteran that can come in on 1 or 2 year deals and do the job.

I call them "Hired Guns" but on the Cheap.

They are actually pretty good experienced players that can get overlooked but have a proven track record.

They can do the job and buy a team some time.

True....the epitome of stop gap.  What we have to hope is that the young players develop...and Blodine becomes better than just barely serviceable. If not....they BETTER make some moves in FA in the offseason and kill o line in the draft next year. Ogbuehi played like he had never seen a football before. Fisher wasn't real good...but showed improvement. Blodine is Blodine.

[SYLVIA]

I would like them to play the young and use the older players as insurance, otherwise, we will not build for our future.

[Housh]

Wonder what Andy Dalton thought about that statement

[Circleville Guy]

If Smith stays heathy at guard, tge run game may be ok. The tackles hopefully will surprise us in a good way. Left tackle is the riskiest, I still don't get why they didn't just franchise tag big Whitt. It seemed so obvious, I never will get that one.

[lostpoet2]

(05-01-2017, 05:07 PM)Luvnit2 Wrote: If the OL is as bad as the experts and teams thought, then it also makes it very hard to evaluate DL. If they can't beat poor college OL, then they are in deep trouble going against the NFL OL.

I've often thought this may have been an issue during the Bengals' 2016 training camp. Everyone was touting Ogbuehi's athleticism, and meanwhile Dunlap's stated goal was to break the single season sack record. I bet Dunlap was whipping Ogbuehi every day, which was really just foreshadowing for what every opposing team did during the season.

[McC]

(05-02-2017, 12:26 PM)psychdoctor Wrote: I like the optimism. But what happens if the left tackle gets hurt?  

I think they're going to wait until the very last moment and snag somebody that's cut from another team.

What happens if anybody's LT gets hurt.  Shuffle, shuffle.  Whit's durability was such that you pretty much took for granted he would be there.   Depth at T could be an issue.

[McC]

(05-02-2017, 04:57 PM)packerbacker Wrote: I predict about 11-5 season for the Bengals this year.

I'll take it.

[Derrick]

(05-01-2017, 03:53 PM)Luvnit2 Wrote: I agree Bengals obviously decided speed was a prerequisite to be a round  through 4 pick and I know Falcons speed impressed me

I don't recall the Bengals being specifically interested in speed in years past. I suspect they now realize that speed wins and they had better try to catch up. Better late than never.