O-Line Rankings Have Me Excited!

[BFritz21]

So the offensive line has been the only thing holding us back from a title the past two years. It was ranked 28th last season and it's in the top half this season! Some (few) sites even have us top ten, but most have us around the ten-to-fifteen range.

Either way, it's a drastic improvement from either of the past two years!

I only bring this up because I have the top pick in tonight's fantasy football draft and the consensus is to take Jefferson, but I started doing research on taking Chase first overall.

What I found out was that Jefferson's air yards were almost twice as much as Chase's last year, which means that our line struggled so much that Chase only had half as much time to run downfield before Burrow had to get rid of the ball.

We almost won a title the past two years having two of the worst lines in the league and now we're DRASTICALLY improved, so I'm even more excited!

I'm going to stop by the casino when I get the chance to place more bets

WHO-DEY!

[reuben.ahmed]

stop wasting your money gambling

[BFritz21]

(09-05-2023, 03:52 PM)reuben.ahmed Wrote: stop wasting your money gambling

This thread wasn't about gambling anyways but it's just how excited I am about the season!

Our defense may have lost some pieces at safety, but I feel good about the young guys stepping it up!

[*TheLeonardLeap*]

(09-05-2023, 03:43 PM)BFritz21 Wrote: What I found out was that Jefferson's air yards were almost twice as much as Chase's last year

PFR has Jefferson having an average depth of target of 10.1 yards (Chase at 9.0) and 9.3 yards before catch per reception (Chase at 7.0). No OL improvements will change the fact that Jefferson led the league in receptions and yards because he's the best WR in football.

Jefferson also had just a bit more than twice the air yards of Boyd. You should consider taking Boyd 1st overall.

[007BengalsFan]

We have 4 of the 5 same starters as last year. Jonah moves to the right side and Orlando Brown Jr. takes his spot on the left. While Orlando Brown Jr. is a very good LT, he is not Trent Williams. Jonah is Jonah. We should be improved this year but are we a top 10 offensive line? I dont think so but it could happen. Orlando Brown Jr. would need to play at his usual Pro Bowl level, Jonah would need to play better on the right side than he did on the left side, Volson would need to show some major improvement, Karras would need to improve and Cappa just needs to be himself. If that happens we will have a top 10, maybe even top 5 offensive line. If everyone plays like they did last year, this is not a top 10 line.

[Nepa]

Brad, until I started reading your threads, I could probably count on one hand the number of exclamation marks that I used in correspondence. Now, I find that I'm using exclamation marks in so many of my emails. I realize now: Your excitement is infectious!

[BFritz21]

(09-05-2023, 04:39 PM)Nepa Wrote: Brad, until I started reading your threads, I could probably count on one hand the number of exclamation marks that I used in correspondence. Now, I find that I'm using exclamation marks in so many of my emails. I realize now: Your excitement is infectious!

You're welcome!



Life's too short to not be excited!

[*ochocincos*]

(09-05-2023, 03:43 PM)BFritz21 Wrote: So the offensive line has been the only thing holding us back from a title the past two years. It was ranked 28th last season and it's in the top half this season! Some (few) sites even have us top ten, but most have us around the ten-to-fifteen range.

Either way, it's a drastic improvement from either of the past two years!

I only bring this up because I have the top pick in tonight's fantasy football draft and the consensus is to take Jefferson, but I started doing research on taking Chase first overall.

What I found out was that Jefferson's air yards were almost twice as much as Chase's last year, which means that our line struggled so much that Chase only had half as much time to run downfield before Burrow had to get rid of the ball.

We almost won a title the past two years having two of the worst lines in the league and now we're DRASTICALLY improved, so I'm even more excited!

I'm going to stop by the casino when I get the chance to place more bets

WHO-DEY!

I can totally understand why we would hope to be excited, as:
- Karras and Cappa were both good last year
- Karras, Cappa, and Volson are all going into 2nd year in the system
- New veteran LT added in Orlando Brown
- Jonah should be at least solid at RT, if not better, based on reports coming from camp

With that said, we haven't actually seen how well this OL actually performs.
And are these rankings the expected performance right out of the gate, or by season's end?
I'd be more ok with the rankings if that was projected by season's end once the guys can gel together, but I do have my doubts they'll perform even middle-of-the-pack early in the season.


Also, is depth assessed in any of these rankings?
I don't know the depth across other teams, but I know I have been less than impressed with most of the OL backups on the Bengals roster.
If there are any injuries to about any starting OL, I have very little confidence in the OL being even middle-of-the-pack.
Injuries to the right side have doomed the Bengals the past 2 years.

[casear2727]

(09-05-2023, 04:30 PM)007BengalsFan Wrote: We have 4 of the 5 same starters as last year.  Jonah moves to the right side and Orlando Brown Jr. takes his spot on the left.  While Orlando Brown Jr. is a very good LT, he is not Trent Williams.  Jonah is Jonah.  We should be improved this year but are we a top 10 offensive line?  I dont think so but it could happen.  Orlando Brown Jr. would need to play at his usual Pro Bowl level, Jonah would need to play better on the right side than he did on the left side, Volson would need to show some major improvement, Karras would need to improve and Cappa just needs to be himself.  If that happens we will have a top 10, maybe even top 5 offensive line.  If everyone plays like they did last year, this is not a top 10 line.

We were actually a Top 5 oline in regards to pass and rush (unbelievably) efficiency for the last several or so games of the season.  I'll try to find the exact numbers when I get a chance.

[007BengalsFan]

(09-05-2023, 07:11 PM)casear2727 Wrote: We were actually a Top 5 oline in regards to pass and rush (unbelievably) efficiency for the last several or so games of the season.  I'll try to find the exact numbers when I get a chance.

If that's the case then there is no reason they shouldnt continue this year having everyone back and upgrading Brown at LT.  There should be no excuses for Burrow not having enough time to pick apart a defense or Mixon not having open lanes to run the ball if they are that good.

[BFritz21]

(09-05-2023, 07:11 PM)casear2727 Wrote: We were actually a Top 5 oline in regards to pass and rush (unbelievably) efficiency for the last several or so games of the season.  I'll try to find the exact numbers when I get a chance.

In that case, we should be even better this year and dominate the league!

[Chezaugie]

(09-05-2023, 03:52 PM)reuben.ahmed Wrote: stop wasting your money gambling

Hear! Hear!

[007BengalsFan]

(09-05-2023, 07:29 PM)BFritz21 Wrote: In that case, we should be even better this year and dominate the league!

That's the way I look at it.  If they were really that good there should be no excuses for poor performances this year.  I certainly hope they can do it.  If you give Burrow time and the running backs lanes to run through, this offense will be unstoppable with all the talent.

[THE PISTONS]

(09-05-2023, 04:30 PM)007BengalsFan Wrote: We have 4 of the 5 same starters as last year.  Jonah moves to the right side and Orlando Brown Jr. takes his spot on the left.  While Orlando Brown Jr. is a very good LT, he is not Trent Williams.  Jonah is Jonah.  We should be improved this year but are we a top 10 offensive line?  I dont think so but it could happen.  Orlando Brown Jr. would need to play at his usual Pro Bowl level, Jonah would need to play better on the right side than he did on the left side, Volson would need to show some major improvement, Karras would need to improve and Cappa just needs to be himself.  If that happens we will have a top 10, maybe even top 5 offensive line.  If everyone plays like they did last year, this is not a top 10 line.

Yeah I hope the line is Top 10, but I doubt it.

[Soonerpeace]

I was watching Orlando vs Philly today on the replay of the SB. Just watched a few series with KC on offense. Brown is a large human and his long arms rough on DE’s. He looked awfully good with the plays I saw. I don’t think top 10 is realistic but not out of reach either. But…. if the OL is top 15 it will produce a better offense. I’ve been saying it Brown and Volson large humans I’d expect more short yardage success there than years past.

[007BengalsFan]

(09-05-2023, 08:04 PM)Soonerpeace Wrote: I’ve been saying it Brown and Volson large humans I’d expect more short yardage success there than years past.

Volson started out pretty bad last year but he was just a rookie and he did improve by the end of the year.  If he can make the big jump everyone is saying he will, he could be a good LG.  I would love to see it.

[Joelist]

Volson last year was interesting. Like the rest of the OL he had a rough start (lack of snaps with the rest of the line plus the usual rookie OL situation) but he improved steadily as the season progressed and by seasons end he was performing at or near league average for Guards. So his trajectory was in the right direction and based on what we've heard out of camp he came back bigger and stronger and has looked pretty good. So we can hope.

[*bengalfan74*]

I'm fairly optimistic the Oline will be improved. My only questions is how much will Volson be improved? And how good will Williams be at RT. If both are average too little above the sky's the limit.

[Soonerpeace]

(09-05-2023, 08:35 PM)bengalfan74 Wrote: I'm fairly optimistic the Oline will be improved. My only questions is how much will Volson be improved? And how good will Williams be at RT. If both are average too little above the sky's the limit.

I’d say those are the keys. But I think just the continuity of the IOL being the same should prove beneficial but it’s been a revolving door for years

[tms]

(09-05-2023, 04:49 PM)ochocincos Wrote: Also, is depth assessed in any of these rankings?
I don't know the depth across other teams, but I know I have been less than impressed with most of the OL backups on the Bengals roster.
If there are any injuries to about any starting OL, I have very little confidence in the OL being even middle-of-the-pack.
Injuries to the right side have doomed the Bengals the past 2 years.

Honestly, I thought you were gonna go in another direction. I think depth is important, and I'm actually excited about ours. I've always used 3 years as the rule of thumb for OL development. If you think about the last two years, we were bringing along CV, JC, HA, Prince, Hill, Smith all in their first three years. Even Scharping, Cappa, Karras and Collins (and before them Reiff) were new bodies. 

Point being, we had a ton a guys who were just out of college, and another group who were trying to help us change the oil going full speed up the interstate. Besides OBJ coming in off the street and CV on the learning curve, that's not really the case anymore. JC, Smith and Hill are in their much ballyhooed third years. Cappa, Karras and Scharping (and later Collins) will know what to expect. We've been burned before, that's true, and it's important not to count the chickens before they're chickens, but I think we're in a good place.