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5 Things Cincinnati Bengals Fans Should Be Thankful For

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It’s turkey week, Cincinnati Bengals fans! Time to stuff our bellies, thank The Man Upstairs and our people in uniform for what they do, and settle in for the second half of the 2018 season.

Because, for the first time in a long time, we won’t just be watching to pass the time until the draft. No sir. With a few more wins, we’ll be back in the playoffs for the first time since 2015. Just about everyone in the 513 area code is thankful for that.

If you root for Cincinnati, here are some other things to be thankful for.

Cincinnati Bengals Fans, Be Thankful That:

5. The offensive line is doing better in 2018. O-line problems are as familiar to Cincinnati Bengals fans as tiger stripes. But with new line coach Frank Pollack and the emergence of guard Trey Hopkins, we’re starting to be cured of the Andrew Whitworth/Kevin Zeitler hangover. The team is tied for 11th in the NFL with 9 rushing touchdowns and are 11th best in sacks given up (21).

4. Our young receivers are getting their chance. With AJ Green out because of a foot injury, it’s a golden opportunity for youngsters Tyler Boyd, John Ross and Josh Malone to get their names mentioned on ESPN. Boyd’s been making the most noise. He has 756 receiving yards through 10 games. He’s also tied for 6th in the league with 14 plays of 20+ yards. If Ross and Malone want to show what they can bring to the table – and get the paychecks to reflect it – now is the time.

3. You don’t root for the Cleveland Browns.

2. The schedule is friendly … ish. This point actually gets us the most excited. Four of the remaining 6 games are against teams with losing records. We could really build some momentum down the stretch. Conversely, the Ravens have to play Kansas City, the LA Chargers and Atlanta – all with a rookie QB in Lamar Jackson. And if not him, then Flacco and his gimpy hip. The Bengals can’t really afford another slip up, but the Ravens have a better chance to slip.

1. We’re doing better than in previous years. Even with Sunday’s loss to Baltimore, the 5-5 Cincinnati Bengals are still in the playoff hunt. The last 2 years saw them at 4-6 (2017), and 3-6-1 (2016) at this point in the season. Yes, their ’18 playoff hopes would look better with two wins against the Ravens, but Sunday’s game is not a deal-killer. Many players on D think brighter days are ahead now that Teryl Austin is out on his duff. If they can sew up some defensive holes, then we’ll get excited about the playoffs. If not … well, there’s always 2019.

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*

It is too early to give up on John Ross

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The hate has already gone too far.

Enough with the John Ross hate, it’s gone too far with Bengals fans. Fans tweeting for his benching, to replace him with Josh Malone or Auden Tate, whatever it is, it needs to stop. It is far too early to give up on the 9th overall pick from 2017.

Ross played just 17 snaps last season as a rookie, partly due to injuries but also for losing the coaches trust. His rookie season was basically non-existent. 2018 is basically Ross’s rookie season as a Bengal. It all started out great, as Ross got a lot of camp hype and impressed coaches on a daily basis.

His great camp, along with Tyler Boyd’s development, was so strong they decided to cut veteran Brandon LaFell in favor of younger players. It was a very unusual move for the Bengals who tend to heavily favor vets but it shows just how confident they were in both Ross and Boyd. His good camp continued, getting compliments from coaches and teammates on his good play and about how good he looked coming off such a bad rookie year. Everything looked like it was coming together for a big 2018. His preseason was up and down but we witnessed how great of an athlete he can be.

Yes he also struggled with some drops but being basically a rookie one should expect there to be some bumps in the road. We even see veteran guys like Julio Jones, Antonio Brown, and even A.J. Green struggle from time to time.

Ross was quiet in week one versus the Colts, catching one ball for a touchdown. Yet it demonstrated how useful he can be for the Bengals. Adding him as a weapon to pair with an already loaded offense could be the missing piece the Bengals have needed. After a quiet week 2, his preseason hype had died down. It appeared maybe a week 3 breakout was on the horizon against a banged up Carolina secondary.

This is where we catch up to date on the John Ross situation. There was good and bad in this game for Ross. First, the good. Ross saw a career high 7 targets from Andy Dalton against Carolina. After seeing just 6 combined in the first two games it was nice to see Andy start looking his way more. We saw Andy look his way on a third down near the red zone that Ross caught setting up a touchdown. It was not an easy catch but Ross was able to secure it for the first down.

Now the bad. We saw multiple times in this game where Ross and Dalton could not connect. The first was in second quarter when Dalton took a deep shot to Ross near the end zone.

The ball appears to be just a bit in front of Ross, of course other camera angles show it was catchable, an incompletion nonetheless on what could’ve been a HUGE gain. The takeaway from this is that it was not Ross’s fault anymore than Daltons. They just could not connect.  The next play is on both Dalton and Ross again. Dalton forces a ball towards Ross near the sideline, not exactly a great throw. However, Ross also doesn’t go for the ball as hard as he probably could have resulting in an easy pick for the defense.

Again, the mistake is on both of them. The last play is the one that set fans over the edge. Late in the fourth quarter down by a touchdown, the Bengals need a spark to get the drive moving and tie the game. We see Dalton wind up and let the ball fly deep. He is looking for Ross on the play, and as many of you know the ball is picked off.

At first glance, it appears Ross gives up on his route and may have even been running the wrong way. But, if you watch Joe Goodberry’s breakdown of the play, you see it’s possible that Dalton threw the ball to the wrong spot. This doesn’t excuse Ross for giving up on his route, but it still is not all on John Ross. Most of the mistakes he made in this game were not completely his fault. And for those fans wanting Josh Malone in over Ross, Malone also was main the reason for an interception in this game.

The point is, John Ross is still young, basically a rookie trying to adapt to the NFL under a spotlight with gigantic expectations. Some guys like A.J. Green come into the league and are instantly studs, but for some it takes time. Take Tyler Boyd for example, who last year was made inactive at times and looked to have regressed a bit in his 2nd season and now is one of Dalton’s top targets and is playing like a stud. Ross needs time to develop and build that connection with Dalton. Week 4 will be a huge test to see how Ross can handle the criticism he has gotten and bounce back. There is no reason to give up on someone as talented as Ross. He is facing tougher criticism than someone like Boyd did but he is not yet a bust. We also shouldn’t be giving up just yet. Let him prove us wrong by working harder at practice, finishing his routes, and showing us more of what we saw in college at the NFL level.

It is simply too early to give up on John Ross after just 129 pro snaps.

Be sure to follow me on twitter @Pierson242FF and share your Ross thoughts with me. Who Dey!

Which Cincinnati Bengals Position Groups are the Deepest?

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Think about how little depth the 53-man roster provides. In a sense, it means 59% of the guys on an NFL football team only have one other man for their specific spot on the field. Try getting through a 16-game season with a depth chart that’s about as shallow as the pool that the Cleveland Browns are allowed to play in.

So, when we talk about deep position groups, you won’t hear us say a lot of names – because there isn’t room for them. But we still smile when we think of these positions on the Cincinnati Bengals’ roster because these few names can produce a lot of numbers.  Touchdowns, interceptions, yards per carry, and on and on.

WIDE RECEIVER

Names: A.J. Green, Tyler Boyd, John Ross, Josh Malone, Alex Erickson, Auden Tate

This group has more grabby hands than a high school crowd on prom night. Start with A.J. Green, in his worst statistical year (2016, when he only played 10 games), he caught 66 passes for 954 yards at 14.6 yards per catch – oh darn. He’s one of the NFL’s best, and this should be the year he gets some serious help.

Josh Malone, the second year-man out of Tennessee, and speedster John Ross have been causing some camp buzz. With Brandon LaFell being released, the Cincinnati Bengals will look to Malone to assume a larger role in the offense. Ross is ready to atone for a disappointing, injury-riddled freshman campaign.

And if you like the speedster Ross, you’ll love the tallster Auden Tate. The seventh-round pick from Florida State has flown under the radar in the last few months – which should be impossible, given his 6‘5” frame. Having him in the red zone will put opposing DBs on red alert.

In case you’re wondering, no, we didn’t forget about Tyler Boyd. If last year was an Oreo cookie, Boyd missed the creme filling with a knee injury – and his stats (22 catches, 225 yards) showed it. But he more than doubled those numbers in 2016, so the ability is there. Quarterback Andy Dalton’s biggest problem is going to be choosing among them. Oh darn again.

RUNNING BACK

Names: Giovanni Bernard, Joe Mixon, Mark Walton, Brian Hill, Tra Carson

The one-two punch of Bernard and Mixon should get Cincinnati Bengals fans primed. Bernard has been versatile, averaging 580 yards rushing and 412 receiving per season over the last five years. That’s balance.

Mixon has a different kind of balance. The kind that involves you losing yours as he flattens you. At 6’1”, the 228-lb Mixon can get the tough yards between the tackles. His first-year numbers (913 yards from scrimmage) were pretty similar to Bernard’s career averages, so there shouldn’t be a dropoff when one subs for the other. And Mixon’s totals will only go up as he spends more time in the league and gets better line play in front of him.

Rookie Walton, like Mixon, is young with tons of upside. If the Cincy brass are smart enough to keep both of them, then in the coming years, the team will have the best R&B duo since Lionel Ritchie and Diana Ross soothed audiences everywhere with “Endless Love.”

CORNERBACK

Names: Darqueze Dennard, William Jackson, Dre Kirkpatrick, KeiVarae Russell, Davontae Harris, Darius Phillips, Tony McRae

The top 3 corners are all first round draft picks (Dennard, Jackson, Kirkpatrick). That tells you something about the talent. Plus, Kirkpatrick is the oldest at only 28 years old. That tells you something about the future.

Kirk defended 14 passes last year (the second most of his career), made 47 tackles and returned his sole interception 101 yards. Note how we didn’t say returned for a TD (just watch the video). Only in Cincinnati could a guy run further than 100 yards and not score a touchdown.

Dennard played in all 16 games last year and started 6 of them. He made the most of the time, picking off two passes and logging 59 tackles and 2 sacks. As a rookie, Jackson started 5 games, defended 13 passes and returned his lone interception 75 yards for a score.

None of these numbers are necessarily All-Pro, but Cincinnati Bengals fans can rest easy that a broken ankle doesn’t break the season.

The 2018 Bengals Wide Receivers

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Embed from Getty ImagesThe 2018 Cincinnati Bengals should be a much different looking team in 2018 than what we saw in 2017. A key factor in this is offensive coordinator Bill Lazor. Lazor took over last year mid season after the Bengals got off to a horrible start. With a full offseason to work with the offense, we should see a huge bump in the Cincinnati offense. A big part of that will be the help of a loaded wide receiver room. Here’s a look at the expected depth chart for the 2018 Bengals wide receiver core.

  1. A.J. Green – ​This will come as a surprise to no one, as A.J. Green has been the Bengal’s number one guy since being drafted 4th overall by the Bengals in 2011. Green struggled a bit in 2017, as much as the Bengal’s offense did, but still posted over 1,000 yards receiving. Green has been on record stating he was frustrated with his play last year and felt it was one of his worst seasons as a pro. Now with a new offensive coordinator, an improved offensive line, and a chip on his shoulder to get back into the conversation of the league’s best wide receiver, A.J. Green could explode and rebound in a big way for Bengal’s fans.

  2. Tyler Boyd – ​The third year man out of Pitt has seen an up and down start to his career. As a rookie, Boyd eclipsed 600 yards receiving and looked like the true WR2 on this team behind Green. Boyd would struggle last year, in large due to injuries, playing just 10 games. He ended the year on a high note when he caught the game winning touchdown to knock the Ravens out of the playoffs. I’m listing Boyd as the number two because I think he benefits most from the departure of Brandon LaFell. Boyd excels from the slot, he caught 21 of 27 passes from the slot in 2017 for two touchdowns. The reason his success in the slot is important is because of how Bill Lazor has used the slot in the past. Lazor was the offensive coordinator for the Miami Dolphins in 2014 and 2015. Lazor utilized Jarvis Landry, one of the league’s best slot receivers, from the slot where Landry posted 1,915 yards and 9 touchdowns during this two year span. While it isn’t a guarantee, there is a chance we see Boyd used similar to how Landry was used under Lazor. If he is in fact utilized in a similar way, he could instantly become the second most important receiver behind Green.
  1. John Ross – ​A lot of people are still scratching their heads from when the Bengals elected to take John Ross ninth overall in the 2017 draft. Ross didn’t do much to change the minds of these people, as he had zero receptions and one carry resulting in a fumble in 2017. His season was a waste and he was labeled a “bust” by most. Ross later admitted to a shoulder injury he was not disclosing which may have played a factor in his poor performance last year. But that is behind him now, Ross is back with a vengeance and he is showing it everyday at camp. Ross has been one of the most talked about players in camp, with highlight reel catches almost everyday. Ross has impressed to the point where the Bengals released veteran wideout Brandon LaFell. Ross had a good showing in his first preseason action against the Bears, showing his elite speed on a play he turned into a 20 yard gain when it appeared it would have only been five. Speed and athleticism is not the issue with Ross, it is his durability. If he can stay healthy he should see favorable matchups this year with teams focusing more on A.J. Green and Joe Mixon.

  2. Josh Malone – ​Malone is a guy I’m really starting to like this year and I think could see a decent amount of playing time. Malone has been putting together a very solid camp and looked great in action against the Bears. He hauled in 3 receptions for 41 yards, with one being a beautiful catch near the sideline where he extended and drug his toes. Malone should take a big year two step and become a very good bench player for the Bengals. I do not think Malone has the skill set to over for anyone listed above him, but as a fourth wide receiver for the Bengals, I am very excited for him.

  3. Auden Tate – ​Auden Tate is the biggest riser, from a seventh round pick who many thought wouldn’t even make the team, to one of the most talked about players of training camp. Tate is playing very well and turning a lot of heads. Tate fell to the seventh round in the draft, his biggest knock being his speed as he has never been a guy to burn you down the field. However, as he’s showing in camp, he doesn’t have to be. One spot we could see Tate specialize is in the red zone. Tate is a physical freak, standing at 6’5” tall. Pairing him and Tyler Eifert in the red zone could be a nightmare for defenses. Tate is on his way to making an impact on this offense this upcoming season.

  4. Alex Erickson – ​I’m predicting Erickson to win the last receiver spot over Cody Core primarily due to Erickson’s return ability. Alex has been a fairly effective return man for the Bengals the last two years. And with no one else stepping up to challenge him for this spot, it is likely he is safe due to being the expected starting return man. He caught one touchdown in 2017 for the Bengals along with 12 catches, so do not expect him to make a very big impact on offense. Cody Core has also just not provided much for the Bengals, so it is very unlikely Core wins the last spot.

Outside of A.J. Green obviously, the two biggest names to watch this year will be John Ross and Tyler Boyd. They will both be fighting for that WR2 spot behind A.J. Green and should be interesting to see who ends up the more productive of the two. It is also possible they both end up having great seasons and take over as the teams 2A and 2B due to their different skill sets and what they bring to the offense.

Andy Dalton should have plenty of pass catching options this year with what looks to be a very promising group of receivers. It isn’t so long ago when he had A.J. Green, Marvin Jones, and Mohamed Sanu and that is when he had one of his best years as a pro. Factor in the running backs and tight ends to throw to and we could see Daltons best year as a pro in 2018.

Follow me on twitter @Pierson242FF for all things Cincinnati Bengals! Be sure to tweet me any Bengals related questions and comments. Who Dey!