Clackwoods Posted July 28, 2009 Report Share Posted July 28, 2009 I personally voted for the Oline play because everything in football starts with the Oline. We have three new starters, four if you include Whit changing positions. I don't see Whit having an issue at LT and I see Smith as a dominant RT. I have faith in Cook, I am just a little afraid our new LG can't repeat his second half of 2008. What do you think??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BengalszoneBilly Posted July 28, 2009 Report Share Posted July 28, 2009 Oline play without a doubt. It protects Carson and gives Chad time to get open. It opens holes for the RB's to run through. If their job is done right, it keeps the defense off the field, and the all important time of possession in the Bengals favor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derekshank Posted July 28, 2009 Report Share Posted July 28, 2009 O-Line appears to be the obvious answer... but I would suggest that it seems that way because it's the biggest question mark. But think about how the Bengals ended last season. They won their last 3 games resting firmly on the shoulders of the defense.Of course the O-Line is a very important question needing to be answered... and if the offense finishes the season ranked 31st again, there will be no success this season. But if the O-Line can manage to just be mediocre instead of awful, Palmer has plenty of weapons. I could still envision a relatively good season on a young and hungry defense that needs to keep progressing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoTbOy Posted July 28, 2009 Report Share Posted July 28, 2009 I voted for O-line also, but I would have to give a honorable mention to NO injuries, to me that has been the main problem with people getting hurt in key positions, and they seem to be on the O-line so maybe they go hand in hand... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArmyBengal Posted July 28, 2009 Report Share Posted July 28, 2009 O-line without ANY thought at all...Carson's elbow is important and would argue this is a close #2, but the o-line play will help resolve whatever problem may or may not still be there in that regard.Progression of the defense is certainly #3 and will go a long way in seeing if this team is capable of competing for a playoff spot or not.Contribution from the rookies is important, but not as important as in past seasons in my opinion. If A. Smith doesn't sign right away (probable), i'm ok with Collins until that happens. Maualuga may not even get the chance to start this year, but needs to get reps. Johnson will be situational as well and Coffman is still coming off his injury. Huber will be a HUGE factor for this team and is a guy that we need to get good contribution from from a rookie standpoint.While I think a returning Chad who is focused would be a great lift for the offense, I'm still not anywhere near convinced he's there. I hope he proves me wrong, but even if he does, I still think he's a douche. Not that my opinion plays a part, just saying. If he shows up and helps the team win great, but I think we have adequate WR depth this year and if Carson is healthy, it shouldn't make as much difference. Coles helps that situation greatly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC_Bengals_Fan Posted July 28, 2009 Report Share Posted July 28, 2009 O-line is danged important...but I voted for a tendon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clackwoods Posted July 28, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 28, 2009 O-line is danged important...but I voted for a tendon.Obviously if Carson goes down we are screwed, but he appears to be healthy which is a good sign. You could make an argument that Oline isn't as important as the defense. The reason I say that is because Pittsburgh had a HORRIFIC Oline last year but their defense was so damn good that they made up for their weak line! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ickey44 Posted July 28, 2009 Report Share Posted July 28, 2009 O-line is danged important...but I voted for a tendon.Obviously if Carson goes down we are screwed, but he appears to be healthy which is a good sign. You could make an argument that Oline isn't as important as the defense. The reason I say that is because Pittsburgh had a HORRIFIC Oline last year but their defense was so damn good that they made up for their weak line!Yeah, but Roethlisberger's a lot better at avoiding rushers and breaking tackles that Palmer is. Roethlisberger is good at making something from nothing, which is not something Palmer can do either. We need to have a good oline in order for Palmer to have a good season. The same is not true of Pittsburgh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walrus Posted July 28, 2009 Report Share Posted July 28, 2009 Tough choices, but I voted Defense. I'm excited to see what some of the new blood will do. It's tempting to vote Oline for all the reasons others have mentioned, but I'm mindful of the other teams in our division who have done well by maintaining a dominant Defense. I think the Bengals defense might really be on the cusp of something special.As an honorable mention, a revitalized running game will go a long way to mitigating any shortcoming at QB or with Ocho. In fact, if they benched Chad in favor of someone who actually blocked downfield ... well, a fella can dream, can't he? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clackwoods Posted July 28, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 28, 2009 Tough choices, but I voted Defense. I'm excited to see what some of the new blood will do. It's tempting to vote Oline for all the reasons others have mentioned, but I'm mindful of the other teams in our division who have done well by maintaining a dominant Defense. I think the Bengals defense might really be on the cusp of something special.As an honorable mention, a revitalized running game will go a long way to mitigating any shortcoming at QB or with Ocho. In fact, if they benched Chad in favor of someone who actually blocked downfield ... well, a fella can dream, can't he? I honestly am a firm believer that Chad falling on his face last season was a fluke. My reasons are as follows:1. He was acting like an idiot in the offseason instead of training and it cost valuable tune-up time.2. The injury he suffered in the preseason put a serious damper on his abilities.3. Carson was injured and Fitz simply couldn't get him the ball. TJ's numbers didn't dip as much because he is an underneath receiver which is what played into Fitz arm. If you got a deep threat, but no QB to throw to him the numbers aren't going to be there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derekshank Posted July 28, 2009 Report Share Posted July 28, 2009 O-line is danged important...but I voted for a tendon.Obviously if Carson goes down we are screwed, but he appears to be healthy which is a good sign. You could make an argument that Oline isn't as important as the defense. The reason I say that is because Pittsburgh had a HORRIFIC Oline last year but their defense was so damn good that they made up for their weak line!Yeah, but Roethlisberger's a lot better at avoiding rushers and breaking tackles that Palmer is. Roethlisberger is good at making something from nothing, which is not something Palmer can do either. We need to have a good oline in order for Palmer to have a good season. The same is not true of Pittsburgh.Yeah... but a lot of experts say that Roethlisberger's unwillingness to thrown the ball away resulted in far more negative plays than positive plays.Sure, we always see the highlights of Ben avoiding the rush and finding Hines Ward inexplicably standing all by himself... but we don't see the 3 sacks he took earlier in the game when Ward wasn't standing all alone and resulted in a punt and poor field position.Palmer has always been willing to throw the ball away and took far fewer sacks and negative plays than he should have... which in turn made the O-Line look better than it actually was in '06 and '07. And if the Bengals had the same poor O-Line they had last year... but had Palmer healthy and the Pittsburgh defense, they'd be a playoff team. The defense would give Palmer multiple easy situations, and Palmer would rarely put the defense in a bad situation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HairOnFire Posted July 28, 2009 Report Share Posted July 28, 2009 I'm casting another vote for the tendon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derekshank Posted July 28, 2009 Report Share Posted July 28, 2009 Carson was injured and Fitz simply couldn't get him the ball. TJ's numbers didn't dip as much because he is an underneath receiver which is what played into Fitz arm. If you got a deep threat, but no QB to throw to him the numbers aren't going to be there.I'll be honest... I'm sick of this excuse. Even if Palmer's injury made the deep ball impossible, why is the assumption that 75% of Chad's production came from that one function?No. Chad was once a premier route runner, and possibly the very best in the NFL at the hitch... Something that would have fit Fitz's game perfectly. No... He tanked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thurmanation Posted July 28, 2009 Report Share Posted July 28, 2009 i voted for the line. If they play great our entire team could be garbage and we would still win 9 games - example; 2007/8 Jaguars Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJJackson Posted July 28, 2009 Report Share Posted July 28, 2009 The most important thing is that we get Odell back in here as our starting MLBYessiree, that'll do'er.Is he out of jail yet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ickey44 Posted July 28, 2009 Report Share Posted July 28, 2009 Carson was injured and Fitz simply couldn't get him the ball. TJ's numbers didn't dip as much because he is an underneath receiver which is what played into Fitz arm. If you got a deep threat, but no QB to throw to him the numbers aren't going to be there.I'll be honest... I'm sick of this excuse. Even if Palmer's injury made the deep ball impossible, why is the assumption that 75% of Chad's production came from that one function?No. Chad was once a premier route runner, and possibly the very best in the NFL at the hitch... Something that would have fit Fitz's game perfectly. No... He tanked.I concur. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wraith Posted July 28, 2009 Report Share Posted July 28, 2009 Jacksonville 07/08 had the personnel to completely shut down the running game with Stroud and Henderson in their primes. The Bengals might be improved but we don't have to personnel to take a team completely out of a phase of the game. The Oline will not only contribute to the health of Palmer but it will also vastly improve the running game which improves TOP which in turn improves the defense and if the running game is successful teams will have to honor it as a threat (particularly if we can get Bernard Scott on little swing passes or dump offs or sweeps around the edge for a couple of big gains per game) and that will lossen up coverage and will decrease the intensity of the pass rush and thereby increasing the capability of the passing game AND increasing the likelyhood that Palmer can make it through an entire season. The Oline is everything IMHO because it affects so many aspects of the game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC_Bengals_Fan Posted July 28, 2009 Report Share Posted July 28, 2009 Yeah... but a lot of experts say that Roethlisberger's unwillingness to thrown the ball away resulted in far more negative plays than positive plays.I think he made his O-line look a lot worse than they actually were. People keep talking about how bad his O-line was, and while it wasn't great, I think if you watch the games they covered as long as you could expect them to.I've often said that he's just not a pocket passer. I honestly think sometimes he *waits* for the first rusher to miss him so the play can break down and he can find an open receiver in busted coverage. In other words, for him to succeed, he *has* to make his O-line look bad, regardless of whether they are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clackwoods Posted July 29, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 29, 2009 Carson was injured and Fitz simply couldn't get him the ball. TJ's numbers didn't dip as much because he is an underneath receiver which is what played into Fitz arm. If you got a deep threat, but no QB to throw to him the numbers aren't going to be there.I'll be honest... I'm sick of this excuse. Even if Palmer's injury made the deep ball impossible, why is the assumption that 75% of Chad's production came from that one function?No. Chad was once a premier route runner, and possibly the very best in the NFL at the hitch... Something that would have fit Fitz's game perfectly. No... He tanked.Honestly, I believe it did have more to do with his effort and preparation than anything else, but Fitzgerald is a horrible QB and that is evident by the fact that he is stinking it up already in Buffalo. A receiver is only as good as his QB and anyone who has played football and has played the receiver spot knows that. Just ask Randy Moss when he played in Oakland. I would be willing to bet money that Chad has a bounce back year, you don't just fall that far in one off season, especially when your only 30 years old. He only averaged 10 yards per catch which is even lower than what he had his rookie year. I could be wrong, but I doubt it~! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BengalszoneBilly Posted July 29, 2009 Report Share Posted July 29, 2009 I'm heartened that 19 out of 25 lucid folks who voted here really see where the core of this game lies. Protect your QB, open holes for your RB's, keep your defense rested, and you'll find success. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kazkal Posted July 29, 2009 Report Share Posted July 29, 2009 -Above Average or better play out of the Oline....we don't need a top 5 unit but we do need solid play....-Defense continues to improve,If our offense isn't another large pile of dog crap this alone should help the defense-Improve Pass rush seriously I don't know how we had a 12th ranked defense with 31st or 32nd ranked passrush...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArmyBengal Posted July 29, 2009 Report Share Posted July 29, 2009 Seriously I don't know how we had a 12th ranked defense with 31st or 32nd ranked passrush......Honestly, playing teams to end the seasons with poor offenses didn't hurt: Washington (#19), Kansas City (#24), and Cleveland (#31).That's the biggest reason I am still not completely sold on the defense becoming a top 10 unit. Couple that with the fact the two teams they played prior to those 3 games (Ravens (#18) and Colts (#15)) weren't that much better, stat wise, than the last 3 offenses they faced and they got blown out in each of those 2 games a combined 69-6.While I think there is reason to be optimistic and think they will have a solid season when looking at the schedule of offenses they face this season, I wouldn't be suprised if this unit didn't crack the top 10. Once again, I'm hoping for good things out of them and can't wait to see some of the rookies and free agents get in the mix !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clackwoods Posted July 29, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 29, 2009 -Above Average or better play out of the Oline....we don't need a top 5 unit but we do need solid play....-Defense continues to improve,If our offense isn't another large pile of dog crap this alone should help the defense-Improve Pass rush seriously I don't know how we had a 12th ranked defense with 31st or 32nd ranked passrush......Its funny because I was reading an article yesterday about the Texans decision to take Williams over Bush and also the two most important positions on a team. They did this survey within NFL Gm's and said the vote came out QB number one followed by DE, but DE barely beat out CB and Tackle. A lot of the teams that had a good pass rush last season didn't even make the playoffs. The Cowboys for example were number one in the league in sacks, but they didn't make the playoffs. Getting pressure on the QB is good, but it isn't necessary if you want to have a good defense. I would rather have a defense that doesn't allow anyone past the line of scrimmage than one that gets a couple sacks each game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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