Stripes

I expect excellent pass rush from the interior, yes. Lawrence, Allen, and Hill should all be above average in that regard. Training camp hype is portraying Lawrence as Godzilla too, so hopefully that isn't just the usual empty commentary.

What's to worry about? The Super Bowl is only at SoFi and the Rams are huge favorites. It's not like the Bengals have ever lost a bowl to the same team twice or anything.

Seems like a reasonably optimal start to camp so far. The defense is making a ton of plays, which means nothing compared to a game, but it carries forward the positive energy. Moreover, Burrow keeps throwing picks (or having them dropped), which ought to light a fire under his ass too.

Woof. Go figure, we expected a bust on the field, but you can’t do that if you never play on the field.

Liz seems to come in two forms, to my eye: 1. She has the same ruthless business brain that her mother and grandfather have leaned on since Paul Brown died. For example, one of the overhauls to the "fan experience" in recent memory was to fire nearly the entire sound staff that had been in place for decades to bring in a new team of professionals. I knew a family directly impacted that swore off the team for it. I also think it worked, because the fan experience has improved. 2. She is much more attentive to the national narratives and the fanbase, because she is a millennial with a basic understanding of social media. Through her influence, the team is much more competent in communicating with fans (e.g., on Twitter). I think this might also influence her to push Bengals-unorthodox decisions within the front office, because she is exposing herself to arguments that her forebears would never hear.

No worries. I think the six of us will manage.

Ring of Honor inductees: Bob Trumpy and James Brooks

The Odyssey is a work of fiction and mythology, so historical accuracy is silly anyway.

Every Bengals-related podcast or TV program is unbearable right now. So and so ranked Joe Burrow 4th instead of 3rd, and they didn't have Dexter Lawrence in their top whatever. Who fucking cares? Get us to training camp already, JFC.

I can't blame the robot for skipping that one. It's probably the most difficult choice. Peak performance relative to peers? Curtis, Johnson, and Chase all have an argument. Longevity? Curtis and Johnson so far Best performance relative to the quality of his own team? Pickens Best performance against division opponents? Green and Chase Best for getting into the endzone? Curtis, Pickens, Chase, and Higgins Best for catching the damn ball? Collinsworth, Houshmandzadeh, and Boyd I think the best player is probably just Chase, but we can still make him earn it. The two best otherwise for my money are already in the Ring of Honor.

Works for me, though I'd swap Riley with Parrish.

Dov Kleiman is a well-known bullshitter and should be ignored by everyone.

I really hope Al Golden follows the Anarumo path and proves himself competent. I am a bit worried he’s going to be more of a Chuck Bresnehan.

From where I stand, the four biggest weaknesses (or question marks) on the roster are pretty clear-cut: Linebacker, slot corner, edge rusher, and defensive coordinator Otherwise, I think everything should be average or better. Edge rusher could end up better, but I need to see it.

I think Joe’s trying to light the fire under his teammates’ and coaches’ asses. Taking two days off certainly isn’t consistent with that message though. Do you want it or not, Zac?