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Training Camp Observations from the Bengals “Back Together Saturday”

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1. Joe Burrow is still regaining his rhythm 

On Saturday it was great to see QB1 back on the field. He was moving around the pocket, throwing on the run, and more importantly, smiling as he made throws with his knee brace on. But make no mistake, there are going to be some hiccups come week one against the Vikings. Burrow is still out there regaining the magic he had last time we saw him in a real game situation. These are some of the first throws he has made rolling around the pocket and it was clear on Saturday. He overthrew a couple of guys, made some bad reads, but still flashed some of that pinpoint accuracy he had as a rookie. Burrow is going to return to elite form, but don’t be shocked if it takes a week or two for him to find.

2. Tee Higgins is still the WR1

I am just as excited for Ja’Marr Chase as the next guy, and rightfully so, as he made an amazing sideline catch from Burrow on Saturday. That being said, Tee Higgins is still this team’s WR1. Higgins was fantastic on Saturday, his highlight being a touchdown catch in the back corner of the endzone during the red zone scrimmage portion of the practice. Higgins was constantly getting open all day and securing all his catches. He should also see some favorable matchups too with teams also having to take Ja’Marr Chase, Tyler Boyd, and Joe Mixon into account. Higgins should easily eclipse 1,000 yards this year and should see close to double-digit touchdowns if healthy. 

3. The Linebackers may still be a liability

The Bengals have put a lot of effort in the last few years to improve the linebacker core, and it will no doubt be better, but there is still work to be done. Drafting three linebackers in last year’s draft to pair with Germaine Pratt, the Bengals are attacking the position, but Saturday’s practice may have shown why they need to invest more highly in the draft rather than going for quantity. There were multiple occasions where a running back or tight end slipped free in drills and made an easy wide-open catch. While it was only practice, we may once again have a season where we bite our tongues and pray that the linebackers aren’t a total liability. It will be a big prove it year for both Germaine Pratt and Logan Wilson, who will be wearing the radio on defense in 2021.

4. The Defensive Backs are scrappy

The loss of Williams Jackson III was a big one, but the team brought in multiple free agents in Chidobe Awuzie and Mike Hilton to pair with last year’s big free-agent Trae Waynes. Even newly acquired free agent Eli Apple was making an impact in Saturday’s practice. While this team may not have a true CB1, one thing was obvious, this is a tough and scrappy cornerback room that isn’t going to let anything come easy. They broke up multiple passes and forced several coverage sacks in drills. This secondary, with Vonn Bell and Jessie Bates III at safety, may be one of the strengths of the defense this fall. The revamped cornerback room is hungry to prove doubters wrong!

5. This team gels well together 

After the drama last year of guys either not buying into Coach Taylor, or guys being locker room cancer, it appears that is all behind us. One thing stood out more than anything Saturday and that is this team gets along! Joe Mixon was hyping up defenders, defenders were swarming each other after good plays, heck, we already had Ja’Marr Chase dancing! This team is having fun and they are working together well. There is no drama, no locker room cancers, just a well-bonded team that has each other’s backs and works together, and I think it’s all because of QB1. The Bengals have handed this franchise to Burrow and let him take the wheel and it’s showing! Ladies and gentlemen, the Cincinnati Bengals have never been in better hands! 

Be sure to follow me on Twitter @PiersonNFL and let’s talk about some Bengals Football! Until next time, Who Dey!

Bengals Week 11 Preview – Cincinnati at Baltimore

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Cincinnati Bengals (5-4) at Baltimore Ravens (4-5)

Oh boy, do I really need to recap the Bengals week 10 game against the Saints? Do we all remember the 500 plus yards and 50 plus points the Saints put up on the Bengals? Or do I need to mention that the Saints punter wasn’t used once in the entire game? Or how the Bengals starters managed to only put up just seven points against the 31st ranked defense in the league? Do we all remember this? Good, because I don’t want to talk about it anymore.

This week the Bengals face another tough task. That is going into M&T Bank Stadium and facing a divisional rival, the Baltimore Ravens. Like the Bengals, the Ravens are also in the wild card playoff hunt and a win against the Bengals would give the Ravens matching records with Cincy. In order for the Bengals to keep their playoff hopes alive, they can only afford to lose two games max the rest of the year. And with games still left against the Chargers and Steelers, they cannot afford to lose this week. They will have to be sharp against a very good Baltimore defense.

Matchups to watch for…

Tyler Boyd vs. WR1 Coverage – I listed it last week and I will list it again this week. Marvin Lewis isn’t closing the door on A.J. Green playing this Sunday, but we all know that is a total smoke screen. We will not see A.J. Green Sunday, and that is that. Tyler Boyd MUST continue his breakout season against the Ravens top corners, Marlon Humphrey and Brandon Carr. The Ravens defensive backs have already publicly stated their plan to keep more eyes on Boyd. This could be his toughest game of the year.

Andy Dalton vs. The Ravens Secondary- The Baltimore Ravens secondary is good. They are averaging the 3rd fewest passing yard per game this year with an average of just 205 yards allowed through the air. Andy Dalton will have his hands full this weekend, especially with no A.J. Green. The last time the Bengals faced the Ravens Andy Dalton carved them up for 265 yards and 4 touchdowns, but that was with a healthy A.J. Green. Good Andy will have to be out in full force in order to get anything going against this stingy pass defense.

The Bengals Defense vs. A Backup Quarterback- The closer and closer we get to Sunday it becomes more and more evident that Joe Flacco isn’t starting. However, that doesn’t mean we are any closer to knowing who will start. The Ravens are keeping quiet, not telling us if Lamar Jackson or Robert Griffin III will get the start on Sunday. It is looking like it will be Griffen. Regardless of who gets the start the Bengals must take advantage of a backup getting the start.

My Prediction:The Bengals are one game removed from a blowout loss and have recorded three straight games where they given up 500+ yards on defense. I think the combination of a backup quarterback starting for the Ravens and Marvin Lewis taking over the defense, leads to the Bengals defense getting a little more on track. While the Bengals linebackers are all banged up, the rest of the defense should be able to step up. The Bengals seem to always have the Ravens number. It will take everything they have but I believe the Bengals escape with a win.

My Prediction: Bengals 27 Ravens 24

My Bengals Predictions on the year: 6-3

Be sure to follow me on twitter @Pierson242FF. Be sure to tweet me anything Bengals related, questions or comments!

Game: Cincinnati Bengals (5-4) at Baltimore Ravens (4-5)

Date/Time: November 17, 2018 at 1:00 p.m. EST

Location: M&T Bank Stadium

Uniforms: White Jersey

Last Matchup: 9/13/18 – Bengals 34 Ravens 23

Odds: Bengals, +4

Why the Bengals can still make the playoffs in 2018

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After a 4-1 start to the season, the Bengals found themselves in first place in the AFC North. Now a few short weeks later, they sit at 5-4 in second place behind the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Bengals can still make the playoffs, in fact if the season ended today they would be the number six seed. But the Bengals are trending in the wrong direction, and many people are beginning to write them off. Here is how and why the Bengals will still make the playoffs in 2018.

Defense

Their major problem right now is the defense. They are ranked 30th in total yards allowed and 31st in points allowed. This makes it very hard for a team to win even with their offense ranked 11th in total points scored, averaging 26.1 points per game. The defense as a whole has to improve, but how? For starters, they fired defensive coordinator Teryl Austin following last Sunday’s embarrassing loss to the New Orleans Saints. Austin’s defense got off to an okay start through the first few weeks, coming up big with turnovers that led to multiple wins. The defense took a turn against the Steelers and seemingly never got back on track. On the final defensive drive of the game, the Bengals defense allowed the Steelers to march down to field goal range after letting them convert on a long third down and a costly defensive holding penalty by Dre Kirkpatrick. As if that wasn’t bad enough, Austin called an all out blitz a few plays later where Ben Roethlisberger connected with Antonio Brown to give the Steelers the win. After the game, Vontaze Burfict was on tape asking why they called a play they had never even practiced.

From here things continued to get worse for the defense, with multiple players beginning to question Teryl Austin’s methods. This continued to snowball, the Bengals would go on to give up 500+ yards on defense in three straight games, an NFL record. This led to the Bengals making an usual move, and firing a coach midseason. This now puts Marvin Lewis in total control of the defense, a move that could ignite a late season spark that this defense desperately needs. Lewis was known as a defensive guru before taking the head coaching job in Cincinnati. Lewis is the man behind some of the best defenses in the Super Bowl era. It is now all eyes on Lewis who appears to already be working first hand with the defense on the basics of football. A good sign for Bengals fans.

Hue is back!

Hue Jackson! I know that Bengals fans have very mixed feelings on bringing Hue back in the fold, and if the end goal is to eventually promote him to head coach I dislike the move. However, bringing in someone the Bengals players all trust and someone who had great success in Cincinnati, its not a terrible idea. Marvin will get to focus on the defense and have someone he trusts on the sidelines on game day in case he needs to spend more time with the defense. It is almost as if they want him to serve more like the coach and Marvin as the defensive coordinator without the official titles. It will be interesting to see how this hire plays out and the effects that it will have but the bottom line is that Hue had great success in Cincinnati, why not try to find that spark this team needs.

Remaining Schedule

The biggest reason the Bengals could still make the playoffs is their schedule. Right now it looks like the Chiefs, Patriots, Chargers, Steelers, and Texans are all sitting in pretty good for spots 1-5 in the AFC playoff picture. Which means there is one wild card spot up for grabs. In my opinion there are four teams including the Bengals that will be fighting for the last wild card spot. Those teams are the Bengals, the Ravens, the Titans, and the Colts. The Bengals and Colts both have much easier schedules remaining compared to the Titans and Ravens. The Ravens still have games against the Chiefs, Falcons, and Chargers. The Titans will still face the Redskins, Jaguars, Texans, and a red hot Colts team twice. Indianapolis has a chance to go 5-2 to close out the year which would leave them with a 9-7 record. Their two toughest games will be at the Texans, who they almost beat earlier in the year, and at the Jaguars, who they beat last week. Then we have the Bengals, who could also finish the year 5-2 to end up at 10-6 on the year.

Week 11: @ Ravens – A winnable game for Cincinnati. They have a history of doing very well against the Ravens, and it is a Ravens team that could see either a rookie or Robert Griffin III starting at quarterback. Baltimore has a tough defense but I think Cincinnati wins this game.

Week 12: Browns – At home against the Browns with their old head coach on the Bengals sideline, the Browns will make it tough but the Bengals should walk away with the win.

Week 13: Broncos – The Broncos have a tough defense but a weak quarterback to lead their offense. As long as the Bengals keep Von Miller off of Andy Dalton this is another game the Bengals should win.

Week 14: @ Chargers – A possible three game win streak will see its end in LA. The Chargers are red hot right now with only two losses. I think the Bengals will fly home with a loss.

Week 15: Raiders – The Raiders look like the favorites to finish the season with the first overall pick in next years draft and are clearly building for the future. The Bengals get back in the win column.

Week 16: @ Browns – Winning on the road in Cleveland will be tougher than in Cincinnati but the Bengals still have experience on their side. The Bengals should sneak out with a close win.

Week 17: @ Steelers – The Bengals aren’t beating the Steelers on the road. They can’t even beat them at home. The Bengals end the year with a loss.

This would put the Bengals at 10-6 and in a prime spot to sneak into the playoffs. Based off of my projections I have the four teams projected to finish as so…

Bengals 10-6

Colts 9-7 (Colts hold tiebreaker in this scenario)

Titans 9-7

Ravens 7-9

As I mentioned the Ravens have a tough second half schedule and I think their final record will suffer for it. The Bengals can’t afford anything less than a 10 win season with how close this wild card race could be. With Cincinnati’s remaining schedule, a 10-6 finish is still on the table.

No one is saying it will be easy, but the sky is not quite falling just yet for this team. With a good blend of veterans and youth, and a fresh coaching change, the Bengals still have the talent to be a playoff team. I would love to hear your thoughts on the Bengals playoff outlook. Be sure to follow me on twitter @Pierson242FF. Who dey!

Green Doubtful, Mixon a Go

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The Bengals injury report came out Friday and as expected A.J. Green has been ruled out, despite Marvin Lewis hinting at him playing Sunday. Green along with five other Bengals have all been ruled out for Sundays game against the Ravens.

Vontaze Burfict, Dre Kirkpatrick, and John Ross are all listed as questionable. Already down A.J. Green, if John Ross is in the lineup it would be huge. He had a good outing versus the Saints and could look to further build off of that performance Sunday against the Ravens.

Also good news for Bengals fans, Darqueze Dennard and Joe Mixon did not make the injury report which means both should be all systems go come Sunday. This will be Dennard’s first game back since suffering an injury against the Steelers.

*UPDATE*

Bengals Week 10 Preview – New Orleans vs Cincinnati

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New Orleans Saints (7-1) at Cincinnati Bengals (5-3)

It wasn’t pretty but the Bengals got it done against Tampa Bay. The Bengals were gifted multiple turnovers from Jameis Winston before we almost saw Ryan Fitzpatrick come back and steal the game away. This weeks test will be even harder as the Bengals will likely be without start wide receiver A.J. Green. This Bengals team continues to be hit hard with injuries in the worst way and they will once again need to overcome adversity this weekend in The Jungle.

This week, coming off the bye, the Bengals get arguably their toughest matchup of the year. The New Orleans Saints gained even more momentum last weekend as they took down the undefeated Rams in the Superdome. The Saints boast an explosive offense, their weakness is their defense, which the Bengals will have to exploit if they are to have any shot at taking down this Saints team.

Matchups to watch for…

Tyler Boyd vs. WR1 Coverage – As I mentioned earlier, we likely will not see A.J. Green this week due to an injury he suffered against the Bucs. This means all eyes will be on Tyler Boyd to show what he can do as the team’s number one passing option. The Saints slot corner has struggled this year which is good for Boyd. The problem could be if Boyd lines up outside against the Saints top corner, Marshon Lattimore. Hopefully we see Tyler Boyd stay lined up inside this weekend.

The Bengals Secondary vs. Drew Brees – Drew Brees shows no signs of slowing down as he is now 39 years old. Brees just torched the Rams for 340 yards and four touchdowns, and will now look to do the same against the Bengals secondary. The Bengals back end will have their hands full with Michael Thomas this weekend who is coming off of a 200+ yard performance. As if guarding Thomas wouldn’t be hard enough, the Saints also have one of the league’s best pass catching backs in Alvin Kamara, and recently signed Dez Bryant (though recent reports are he sustained an injury in practice already).

The Bengals Linebackers vs. Alvin Kamara – Alvin Kamara is one of the league’s top backs and is deadly in open space. We have seen the Bengals linebackers struggle all year to stop the run and miss tackles in the open field. The Bengals have to show improvement or Kamara will run for numbers similar to what Kareem Hunt and Christian McCaffrey have done against the Bengals.

My Prediction: The Bengals entered their bye at 5-3, which is good, however they still have a lot of work to do. With a bad defense and missing key offensive pieces, the Bengals could be in for a long day. On the plus side we should see Billy Price, Gio Bernard, and John Ross back in the lineup. The Bengals are also wearing their orange jerseys on Sunday, in which they are undefeated in. It is also supposed to be cold, where we have seen Drew Brees struggle. Despite all of this I still think the Saints will escape with the win.

My Prediction: Bengals 27 Saints 38

My Bengals Predictions on the year: 5-3

Be sure to follow me on twitter @Pierson242FF, and come find me at the game as I will be in attendance this Sunday. Be sure to tweet me anything Bengals related, questions or comments!

Game: New Orleans Saints (7-1) at Cincinnati Bengals (5-3)

Date/Time: November 11, 2018 at 1:00 p.m. EST

Location: Paul Brown Stadium

Uniforms: Orange Jersey with Black Pants

Last Matchup: 11/16/14 – Bengals 27 Buccaneers 10

Odds: Bengals, +5.5