Stripes

The Twitter talking head buzz is starting to get loud about Burrow’s extension being imminent. Hopefully we see something concrete very soon.

I believe they just left the week open when they removed the fourth preseason game (which compensated for adding a 17th regular season game). I’m very glad for it. Two weeks to prepare and get healthy for the opener should result in better week 1 products league wide.

Also, I think we're going to spank the Browns. Their roster is vastly overrated, and the Bengals are better in every meaningful category short of the offensive line (and that gap has shrunk).

Agreed. I have believed Burrow is in for week 1 pretty much since the day after his injury, and that belief has only strengthened since. He wouldn't be practicing in any capacity two weeks in advance if he didn't have every intention of taking the field on the 10th. I think the contract is 100% irrelevant to that equation too.

Bummer. Will probably be another Darius Hodge anyway. Preseason superstars rarely matter. Unless their name is Geno Atkins.

We’ve already taken care of it, so no worries. However, if you’d like to ship a little rum my way for future voodoo needs, I can PM you an address.

Adeniji had a nice run here for a 6th round draft pick. He might have seemed like decent depth, but he was kind of front-and-center in both the '21 Super Bowl and '22 AFCCG losses. We can do better.

Jackson had an excellent preseason. I think he's more interesting than Lassiter. I think most Bengals fans are down on Trey Hill (myself included), but they clearly like something so shrug. They've earned my trust.

Looks like we also grabbed Demetric Felton (RB) from the Browns.

I figured Grier was headed straight for the PS. He ought to fill one of the vacancies.

I’m surprised Grier made it all the way to us. Cool.

This sets the safeties pretty clearly at Hill, Scott, Battle, and Andersen. Contrary to pre-camp expectations, I have a feeling Tycen is going to open the season as the first guy off the bench. Battle will probably get there sooner than later since he's a smart player, but he needs work.

Tanner Hudson and Raymond Johnson seemed like the most interesting bubble players to consider. I'm not surprised either was cut, but we'll be fortunate to get either or both to the practice squad. I'd like to think cutting Johnson is a decent signal about how they feel about Ossai's injury, but that's probably wishful thinking. Wilcox over Hudson would have been my choice too. Hudson could be brought back, granted. Stanley Morgan and Mike Thomas probably will be brought back in some capacity.

Siemian was doing well to close the half, but then he shit his pants in the red zone. INT.

Apparently Ossai hurt his ankle in this game. Annoyed.

I'll just talk about CIN @ WAS here if nobody objects. McPherson just hit a 58 yarder. He looks like he is in top form right now. Browning also had a nice start, but it's already turned over to Siemian. I wonder if they've essentially decided to go with Browning already and are giving Trevor a shot to show his stuff for future suitors.

Lance was atrocious on another level — like “I’m not sure we can call a passing play” level.

Was going to be an uphill battle in what is suddenly one of the deepest edge rooms in the AFC. I bet he'll get a shot somewhere.

That’s why I think things like 14-3 are realistic expectations. They were already that good a year ago with a longsnapper in week 1 and/or a stable appendix.

As bad as Mayfield is, I still had the urge to check our schedule and verify that we don't play the Bucs.

I think Wilcox definitely makes the team both for STs and as a backup receiver -- he did a decent job on spot duty last year. Sample going wouldn't surprise me much. I'm not sure what he offers at this point. He's supposed to be a good blocker, but is that even true?

I missed the game. Looks like a better defensive showing.

I think Donato's is okay. It's at least my favorite style of pizza (thin crust, cut in squares), though I prefer Marion's. Closest they get to downtown is Mason. Definitely an improvement over the Papa Johns hockey pucks. And I think LaRosa's is terrible.

Looks like he wasn’t clued in to the snap count and/or he thought it was a screen. Whatever though, he has been beyond awful. He’s gone without an immediate major turnaround.

Check out the ground Dax had to cover for his first quarter pass breakup.