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Cincinnati Bengals Midseason Check-In: Awards and Outlook

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Welp, we’re halfway through the 2018 season – and for Cincy fans, things ain’t looking too bad.

The team stands at 5-3, including a win against AFC North foe Baltimore. That’s the best start since going 8-0 in 2015 (which feels like a helluva lot longer than three years ago). They are 3-0 against the teams with whom they are in wild-card contention (Ravens, Dolphins and Colts). Five remaining games are against teams with losing records.

If the receiving corps can hold together until A.J. Green gets back from a foot injury, and the offensive line continues to gel, and Vontaze Burfict quits playing like he’s trying out for the Cleveland Browns, a postseason trip could very well be in the cards.

By the way … some of those players we just mentioned, they deserve mid-season mentions for their accomplishments. Or lack thereof.

Cincinnati Bengals Mid-season Awards

MVP – Andy Dalton: Halfway through the year, Dalton has thrown for 2,102 yards and 17 touchdowns. The latter of those is tied for eighth in the NFL with Tom Brady and Ryan Fitzpatrick. We’re not saying we’d take him over Tom Brady at this point … wait, yes we are.

Surprise player – Trey Hopkins. Offensive guard Trey Hopkins had to show hustle to move up from the practice squad in late 2016. He had to show it even more to earn 12 starts in 2017. Through the first half of this year, he has shown us – and all Cincinnati Bengals fans – that he’s the real deal. Didn’t see that coming.

Rookie MVP – Jessie Bates. Now this is the way to make a first impression. Rookie free safety JB has racked up 60 tackles this year, defended four passes, picked off three others, and scored a touchdown. The last time a Bates was this scary, he was stabbing Janet Leigh in the shower (kids, ask your parents).

Most improved player – Tyler Boyd. Boyd has produced three 100-yard games this year and almost got a fourth against the Ravens in Week Two. His five TDs this year are already more than his first two seasons combined. With 620 receiving yards so far, Boyd is easily on pace to break the 1,000-yard mark in 2018. Now if we can only get John Ross to do that …

Most disappointed in – Vontaze Burfict. Vontaze browned the bed by getting suspended for the first four games of the year for using PEDs. He’s only tallied 17 tackles so far and the Cincinnati Bengals’ defense has fed off that, which puts them on par with the worst Ds in the league. They are 30th in total yards allowed, 25th in rushing yards allowed, and 19th in sacks. Granted, they are tied for sixth with 10 interceptions, so we’ll throw ’em a bone there.

Which 3 Cincinnati Bengals Players Cannot Get Injured in 2018?

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How would The Godfather have turned out if the understudies had taken over for Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, and James Caan? Answer: Unwatchable.

That’s a good word to associate with the Cincinnati Bengals if they lose these players to season-ending injuries in 2018. The stars can get the job done, but if the backups have to replace them at some point, we’ll be flipping to other channels, hoping they made Godfather IV: Corleones on Patrol and we somehow missed it in the theater.

Cincinnati Bengals Players We Pray Aren’t Lost to Injury This Year

Andy Dalton: We’ll start here because this one is the biggest and most obvious. Simply put, if we lose Dalton, we lose the season. When AJ McCarron was the backup, we might not have been so quick to make that statement. But unprovens and semi-provens are lining the bench with Matt Barkley, Jeff Driskel, and Logan Woodside (and we’ll likely lose one in the cut).

Barkley has the most experience, though he’s on his sixth stop in the NFL. Yes, he can play quarterback, but how much confidence does that thought instill in you, or the Cincinnati Bengals offense? It’s like telling your fellow 747 passengers not to worry – if the crew gets food poisoning, you’ll take over because you’ve beaten Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation on your Xbox One.

Driskel is in his third year in the league, but has been injured most of his college and pro careers. Rookie Woodside is 6’2”, 213 pounds and enjoys movies, Chinese food, and long walks on the beach at sunset.

One or more of them could very well turn out to be a quality player. But not in 2018.

AJ Green
Even though Green plays at a position with some depth, we fear an injury to him because ….. well, he’s AJ Green. Losing him would mean “Time to step up, newbies!” instead of “Oh no, what are we going to do now?!” (read: QB) – and neither of those options is good for the Cincinnati Bengals.

Tyler Boyd is a third-year guy who has 76 career catches for 828 yards. He would definitely assume an even larger role in the offense if Green was out. Let’s just hope he has a ride to the game.

John Ross is healthy and turning heads in camp. Cody Core is a third-year guy with good size (6’3”) who played in 13 games last year (though he did not record a reception). Josh Malone was having a good training camp but must rest his recently-tweaked hamstring. They can all pitch in to cover the potential loss of Green ……. we hope.

Geno Atkins
You probably know how we feel about a Geno-Atkins-less defensive line. The concern is the same as for the QB and WR positions: Young players behind them on the depth chart.

Atkins is a six-time Pro Bowl selection. Backup Ryan Glasgow is a second-year, fourth-round draft pick with 23 career tackles. That gap should tell you something.

Backup-backup Chris Baker is a journeyman who is on his fifth team in 10 years. Backup-backup-backup Chris Okoye is big on size (6’6”, 320), but small on college and experience (Ferris State, rookie).

Cincinnati Bengals – Keep Atkins and Dunlap After 2018

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Dear Cincinnati Bengals ownership,

We don’t mean the ones from Cleveland when we say this: If you don’t re-sign Geno Atkins and Carlos Dunlap after this year, then you can eat browns and die.

Sincerely, the fans

This could be among your thoughts this offseason. With 2018 being the contract year for these two solid defensive line players, you’d have to think (well, pray) that Mike Brown and the Cincy bigwigs will bring their checkbook and pay Dunlap and Atkins some coin to keep them around for a few more seasons.

Why the Cincinnati Bengals Must Keep Dunlap and Atkins After 2018

Atkins is a six-time Pro Bowler, including the last four years straight. Dunlap has started every game since 2013. Barring injury, he should pass Eddie Edwards’ all-time franchise sack total of 83.5 (official and unofficial) within the next two years. You don’t want to lose those kinds of players – especially when the backups are unproven.

Ryan Glasgow tallied only 23 stops in his 2017 rookie campaign. Sam Hubbard, the third-round draft pick out of Ohio State, is still learning how to carry Dunlap’s laundry. They could develop into fine football players, but they aren’t ready yet.

If that weren’t enough, we’ve already seen how losing two quality guys can affect line play. The Cincinnati Bengals’ offensive line lost Andrew Whitworth (Los Angeles Rams) and Kevin Zeitler (Cleveland Browns) after the 2016 season. You could cliff-dive off the drop in production.

From ‘16 to ‘17, the team went from 13th in the NFL in rushing (110.6 yards per game) to 31st (85.4). That put more pressure on the passing game (which you never want to be forced into), and with a lack of playmakers, the results were predictable. The Cincinnati Bengals offense couldn’t move if they hired a fleet of U-Haul vans.

Now translate that to the defense. With Dunlap and Atkins leading the way, the Bengals were tied for 11th in the league with 41 sacks. Yes, the defense ranked near the bottom in rushing yards allowed, but the point is, how much worse do those numbers get if the two best big bodies blow town? If we lose these guys, opposing running backs will be five yards downfield before Vontaze Burfict can get suspended.

That’s our two cents. So Mike Brown, make us proud. Re-sign Dunlap and don’t go on an Atkins diet. We’ve been two to three wins away from the playoff conversation over the last couple of years. The continued presence of these two could mean making it … or waiting for the next Dunlap and Atkins to come along.

4 Old Cincinnati Bengals Players Who Could Help This Year

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The Cincinnati Bengals have been pretty close to the playoffs the last couple of years. Well, maddeningly close. OK, knife-throwing-act-at-the-circus close. Not really, but it’s not far fetched to think that they are closer to being one of the Bengals teams that made the playoffs 5 straight seasons (2011-2015) than a team that is in total rebuild mode.

Since we can’t change the past, we’ll do the next best thing – we’ll go back to the past. We’re gonna make our call on which four players from Cincy’s best teams (1988 and 2005) could help get this year’s team into the postseason.

4 Cincinnati Bengals Players We Wish We Had On This Year’s Team

Carson Palmer (2005)
No offense to Andy Dalton, but we’ll take 2005 Carson Palmer any day as our signal caller. That year, he threw for 4.35 miles and had as many interceptions as he did multi-touchdown games (12). The 101.1 QB rating doesn’t hurt either.

Palmer was also sacked only 19 times in ’05. Yes, that has more to do with the offensive line’s performance, but the quarterback still has to be able to avoid the rush and deliver the ball. Palmer did that.

Chad Johnson/Ocho Cinco/Johnson/7-11/WTF
The only thing tougher than remembering Chad’s last name was trying to cover him in 2005. He posted a career-high 97 catches for 1,432 yards, and had 23 catches of at least 20 yards. On a scale of 1-10, his performance was a 16/dieciseis.

Having him as a complement to A.J. Green would keep defenses on their heels, and that’s before we insert a deep threat. Speaking of which …

Eddie Brown (1988)
Brown was the long baller (now, now) that we hope John Ross will be. He proved it by averaging 24 yards per catch in 1988 (still an NFL single-season record). The cherry on top of that sundae was how he saved his best games for Pittsburgh. In his two 1988 games against the Steelers, he totaled eight catches for 281 yards and three touchdowns.

Having Brown on this year’s Cincinnati Bengals team – with two wins against Pittsburgh under our belts – would have the Paul Brown Stadium crowd dancing like a Fortnite flash mob. Let’s hope Ross can channel his inner Eddie.

Anthony Munoz (1988)
Munoz, the best O-lineman in franchise history, missed only three games in his 13 pro seasons, and none in 1988. You couldn’t get that kind of consistency if you custom-made an offensive tackle on Madden and raised all his durability levels to 99.

Even more than his toughness was his productivity. That much is evident by his nine first-team All-Pro recognitions. And in a pinch, he could be used as a receiving option (seven catches, 18 yards, four TDs). We know we’re talking more about his career than just that season, but … c’mon, it’s Munoz.

Honorable mention

There’s no shortage of Cincinnati Bengals fans who think Marvin Lewis needs to go. If it happened (not that we’re saying anything), good ol’ Sam Wyche is the perfect replacement. He’s a proven winner who has a voice that sounds like a chainsaw revving up. Besides, anyone who does this needs to be leading the team. And he should get Valentine’s Day cards.

Cincinnati Bengals: 5 Biggest Question Marks Heading into 2018

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The Cincinnati Bengals, like all other NFL teams, have some question marks they need to answer this year. Unlike many other teams, answering those questions gives them a great shot to make the playoffs.

In 2017, the Cincinnati Bengals lost four games by one possession. Their record was 7-9, and last year’s wild-card teams (the Buffalo Bills and Tennessee Titans) make it in with 9-7 records. A touchdown here or there and the team is back in the postseason.

Here are our calls for the four biggest issues the team must address to go playoff-ing.

Four Questions That the Cincinnati Bengals Need to Answer This Year

Will the offensive line improve enough? We’ve been beating this drum more than Andrew Neiman in the movie Whiplash. Many times over the last few years, the Bengals’ O-Line performances has left their fans sounding like … well, Terence Fletcher in the movie Whiplash (Editor’s Note: Look it up on YouTube, but NSFW).  We talked a few weeks ago about the team’s recent offensive struggles. Frank Pollack taking over as line coach is definitely a breath of fresh air. Acquiring Cordy Glenn and losing Russell Bodine are steps in the right direction. And each year, the Bengals have drafted or traded for more move-the-ball talent, so you’d think that would provide extra motivation for the big uglies. It’s not like their efforts at improvement would be in vain. As soon as the line gets going, so will the fireworks. This is the year for that to happen … right?

Will John Ross and Tyler Eifert stay healthy? These two have been bitten (well, chomped) by the health bug the last couple of years. The last time Eifert played close to a full year was 2015. That season, in 13 games, he caught 52 passes for 615 yards and 13 TDs. Ross is only in his second year, but his NFL-Combine-record 4.22 speed should keep DBs playing catch-up. Since they both represent different elements of the passing game, having them healthy and on the field gives the defense a lot more ground to cover. It also means those defenses can’t focus on shutting down the running game – which isn’t running on full batteries to begin with.

Who’s after Dalton if he gets hurt? While we’re on the topic of health, let’s address Andy Dalton’s. If he’s injured, the Cincinnati Bengals will be turning to journeyman Matt Barkley, Jeff Driskel (who spent last year on injured reserve), or rookie Logan Woodside. For his career, Barkley has completed almost 60% of his passes, but holds a TD-to-INT ratio of 8-18. Driskel and Woodside have as many pro passing attempts as noted German physicist Hermann Ludwig Ferdinand von Helmholtz (1821-1894). Hopefully, the offensive line can keep Dalton vertical.

Will the Bengals D generate more turnovers? Cincinnati only had 14 takeaways last year, including a measly 3 fumble recoveries. New DC Teryl Austin should change that. Last year with the Detroit Lions, his defensive squads tied for fourth in the NFL in interceptions (19) and forced fumbles (19).