Ask Jim Owczarski

[*bfine32*]

First of all: Thanks

Secondly: Who is getting the most looks at Center after Bodine?

[BURROWorBUST]

Wow, your comment about the backend of our WR corps makes sense, and it goes a long way toward explaining how bad our offense looked at times without AJ, MLJones, & Eifert. Sanu is a good option at times, but he's not a top tier guy who can take as many snaps as he was forced into last year.

Comparing Denarius Moore to Brandon Tate doesn't sound too positive either. So, based on all of this, can you see any of the young guys emerging as viable targets for Andy? Or are we going to have to wait until the 2016 draft to see any upgrades at WR?

[J24]

Thanks for answering our questions! Does Geno really look like Geno again?

[Sabretooth]

Now that gent knows his craft. He uses proper sentence structure, answers who,what,when, why. Very impressive indeed.
Thanks for the info Mr. O.

[BoomerFan]

Really appreciate you doing this Jim! Not sure if you're coming back for more questions, but if you do have you had a chance to see the new facilities or heard any feedback from players/staff about it? I don't live in Cincinnati so I haven't even seen the new scoreboard.

Also, you already covered the D but do you have any additional observations on who will make the final 4 at Safety? I noticed that Troy Hill is listed as neither CB or S on the Bengals.com webpage (he just shows as R, presumably for Rookie), and I'm probably reading too much into this but has he played any snaps at Safety?

[Rotobeast]

(06-13-2015, 01:45 AM)jowczarski Wrote: Fisher has been impressive - the team said they'd move him around and they have. Coaches and Whit have loved it.



But as far as Fisher goes, he's another "OTA positive" for me. He really has picked things up quickly, both inside and outside, and they even had him running routes as a tackle eligible receiver and caught a ball over the middle and another in the flat. Even TJ Houshmandzadeh had to note it.

Thanks for taking time to interact.


After the draft, I was mentioning (on the old board) and questioning if they'd use Fisher's receiving skills.
I'm very happy to see that they are willing to test his limitations and use him to his fullest.
It should be a lot of fun to watch.

[Bengalholic]

Thanks again for doing this Jim. Great questions from the members, and your answers were very informative.

I wanted to ask about 3 of the young guys...Shawn Williams, Will Clarke and Marquis Flowers. How have they looked so far?

[*bengalfan74*]

Thanks a lot Jim !

Is there any word on Margus Hunt ?

[Bryan]

Maybe this should be stickied

[Luvnit2]

Impressive start to the forum and a great thread I look forward to as the year develops.

[THE Bigzoman]

Of all teams in the AFC North division, which team appears be the biggest threat for the division title?

[Luvnit2]

(06-20-2015, 01:03 AM)THE Bigzoman Wrote: Of all teams in the AFC North division, which team appears be the biggest threat for the division title?

I would tag on can you give us more texture on how some experts have the Ravens far above the rest of the AFCN?

I always look at the off season and addition of players and subtraction of players. I have trouble thinking a rookie for example like Perriman will make the Ravens better as he is replacing Torrey Smith. I see Ngata gone and I think it is great they feel Jernigan will step in and be an all pro and one of the best DL in football, but who replaces him in the rotation to keep the DL fresh?

I guess I am just having trouble seeing where either the Ravens or Steelers got stronger on paper versus the Bengals in the off season. I also think the Bengals had more injuries to key guys like Atkins and Hall coming off major injuries, losing Smith, Burfict, Jones and Eifert for most of the season an dthe playoffs. AJ missing around 6 games including the playoffs due to injuries.

[BURROWorBUST]

(06-20-2015, 01:26 PM)Luvnit2 Wrote: I would tag on can you give us more texture on how some experts have the Ravens far above the rest of the AFCN?

I always look at the off season and addition of players and subtraction of players. I have trouble thinking a rookie for example like Perriman will make the Ravens better as he is replacing Torrey Smith. I see Ngata gone and I think it is great they feel Jernigan will step in and be an all pro and one of the best DL in football, but who replaces him in the rotation to keep the DL fresh?

I guess I am just having trouble seeing where either the Ravens or Steelers got stronger on paper versus the Bengals in the off season. I also think the Bengals had more injuries to key guys like Atkins and Hall coming off major injuries, losing Smith, Burfict, Jones and Eifert for most of the season an dthe playoffs. AJ missing around 6 games including the playoffs due to injuries.

Both the Ravens and the Steelers have multiple SB rings. That creates a bias in how national "mediots" evaluate their rosters. They see us through a very negative lens because we have no rings and because we sucked for a very long stretch of time. 

[3wt]

Thanks so much for taking the time and responding so thoroughly.   Truly a gift to us during the dead zone between mini-camp and training camp.

How are the UDFAs looking?   I am especially intrigued by Watson, Kumerow, Hill and Peters. 

I'm also hopeful for an upgrade of Tate and wonder if any of the WRs are looking like they have a chance to displace him.

[jowczarski]

Haven't forgot about y'all - was on vacation for the last week-plus. Will get back with everyone this week!

In the mean time - I'm taking Twitter questions for our Friday Walkthrough at Cincinnati.com - and you can get at me LIVE tonight at 5 p.m. on Periscope. Giving that a whirl. I'll be able to circle back to a lot of these posts tomorrow...

[McC]

(06-23-2015, 02:32 AM)jowczarski Wrote: Haven't forgot about y'all - was on vacation for the last week-plus. Will get back with everyone this week!

Excuses, excuses.

J/K.  Hope you had a good vacation and welcome back.

[Mike M (the other one)]

welcome back!! Nice to have a break now and then, cause you won't get one again for a while

I'm mainly interested in the DL, how have they been lining everyone up (obviously Carlos, ???? (Peko most likely), Geno, MJ) and have you seen a lot of substitutions with different guys in different packages/situations?

The DL is a group I want watched very closely (especially once the pads come on), as I feel that they are our best shot to having a great season with a strong finish.

[Bryan]

I have 2 questions.

1) How do you pronounce your last name?
2) Do you think you could plug this board in some of your articles to get some traffic here and some new members?

[jowczarski]

(06-13-2015, 06:57 AM)BritishBengal Wrote: This was awesome, big thanks Jim for this, your thoughts really add value to this new board.

Thank you! 

[jowczarski]

(06-13-2015, 06:57 AM)OK! I\m back! Yeah, it's a slow time of the year. But, I figure I can do this a little more often now - during the season I imagine I'll have get a bit more choosey with things. If any of you jumped onto the Periscope broadcast last night, thank you. If not - join the next one! Wrote: Couple easy ones:

* My last name is pronounced "Oh-zar-ski" - c'mon! Super easy! :)

* Can I promote the board? Well ... check Friday's Walkthrough. I'll see what I can do.
* I was told I could throw some links in on this board, and I do have some that can answer a couple questions right away - specifically what was up with Margus Hunt, thoughts on Shawn Williams and Will Clarke . I don't mind typing here, but if I can direct y'all to answers in that way, I'd appreciate the reads and it's easier to get to some other topics we haven't addressed yet.

Cedric Peerman: There is a value for veteran special-teams only guys. I saw it up close with Jarrett Bush in Green Bay. But, eventually, their time comes (see Bush being allowed to walk this offseason). Peerman will turn 29 in October, so he's not "old" and he knows the offense and can get the job done on ST. The thing about that special unit is discipline and the ability to tackle. Now, those guys are meant to be expendable in that you can keep a young guy who might be amazing, but if you totally go that route you end up paying the price on Sundays. With Hewitt being valuable at the H-Back spot, you only really can carry four runningbacks. So now we're talking about James Wilder, Rex Burkhead, Terrell Watson and Peerman for two spots. To me, Wilder and/or Watson would have to be really amazing in the preseason to supplant Burkhead and Peerman.

Tyler Eifert: He is healthy. But now, it's about seeing him in contact, and re-establishing a rhythm with Dalton. Honestly, they need him to produce like a first-round pick this year.

Dalton's arm strength: To me, it's more about consistency. In open OTAs, I saw him make a couple of bad underthrows. Then, he hits the blazing Mario Alford, in stride, perfectly, deep down the sideline. He also makes all the throws out to the sideline. What does that say to me? He can get the ball wherever, it's just 'can he get it wherever all the time?' No one is perfect, not every throw will be perfect, but to me it's a matter of working on that consistency.

Center behind Bodine: I'll be 100% honest. I wasn't looking - we had Fisher moving around all over, the rookie tight ends, Marvin Jones v. the DBs, and frankly with no contact inside, I just didn't look. But honestly, training camp will be a better judge.

Emerging targets for Dalton: I don't see any, not if everyone is healthy. Maybe you could see some Burkhead in the slot or out of the backfield, and Kroft and Uzomah have shown flashes, but it's status quo there. One of those rookie tight ends could end up playing a bit if the mature quickly in camp, so I guess that could be your "sleeper" target -- but only after Green/Jones/Sanu/Eifert and the RBs.

Geno looks like Geno: I get what the coaches are saying, but there is no contact at all. Some guys looked really good, some guys didn't. But they all looked quick because no one could really put their hands on them or stop them from running upfield. I'll just take the coach's word for it and we'll see...

D-Line rotations: See above. So hard to tell. Honestly, everyone was rolling in and out and around the line (except for the heavies, who were definitely inside). I think during the "basketball on grass" session, it was more about getting reps at various spots and working on techniques.

Facilities: The new weight room area is amazing - the players love it. 

Troy Hill / safety: Troy flashed in the rookie camp, but didn't see many reps at all during OTAs that we could watch. I didn't see him play any safety, either - though Leon Hall took some snaps back there during our last OTA session. (I was off for the mandatory mini-camp.) They are a little thin back there - and they have said Shaw could play safety, but he won't. 

UDFAs: The two that stood out, to me, in the OTA periods were Jake Kumerow and Floyd Raven, Sr. (safety). Part of the reason is because they actually got on the field. And, when they did, they were around the ball (Raven, Sr.) or they caught it (Kumerow). I'll be watching those two in camp. 

Divisional thoughts: I saw someone say history is why the national media picks the Ravens and Steelers to win the division/make playoff runs. Yes. I keep harping on the 40-win stat from the last four years, the fact that the Bengals have the best record in the division in that timeframe, but the reality is every team is judged by the postseason - and those franchises have multiple Super Bowls and current Super Bowl-winning head coaches and quarterbacks. In the preseason, it's easy to see why people would just pencil them in. It's also because those teams have long track records of losing "stars" or key contributors and just filling the holes with guys who later become stars. From a media guy's perspective, it's not Bengals-hate -- it's just that those franchises have earned that trust.