HoosierCat

Alright now do something with it.

I continue to be unimpressed by him too.

Per the radio broadcast trainers looking at McMoney’s foot…

I continue to be unimpressed with Smith.

As I feared the D isnt really as good as it looked last week. If Burrow hasn’t found his mojo it’s going to be a long afternoon.

Hobs with the inactives: For the second straight week, pass rusher Joseph Ossai (ankle) couldn't get on the field even though he did practice last week, mostly in limited fashion. With running back Chris Evans (hamstring) out, fifth-rounder Chase Brown makes his debut on special teams. Like last week, cornerback DJ Ivey and offensive linemen Jackson Carman and Trey Hill were healthy scratches.

Ravens declare Stanley, Linderbaum, Humphrey and Williams out. Andrews looks like a go tho. https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/38407605/ravens-banged-week-2-4-starters-vs-bengals

Mini big board update from Mel today. Some WRs rising up. -- Shedeur Sanders, QB, Colorado goes from not ranked to No. 5 overall. -- Quinn Ewers, QB, Texas goes from not ranked to 13 overall. -- Rome Odunze, WR, Washington from not ranked to 14. -- Jalen McMillan, WR, Washington from not ranked to 17. -- Jordan Morgan, OT, Arizona from not ranked to 21. -- Xavier Worthy, WR, Texas from not ranked to 22.

Just the fact they're in contention at all is amazing given expectations at the beginning of the season. Even if they don't make it into the postseason (and if they do I wouldn't expect them to go anywhere) it's been a very promising year. If this team can get some pitching -- any pitching! -- it might actually contend for real.

Injury notes from hobs: Bengals middle linebacker Logan Wilson (ankle) moved from limited to full Thursday and edge-tackle Cam Sample (ankle) went from out to limited. It looks like fifth-rounder Chase Brown may make his debut Sunday because running back Chris Evans (hamstring) didn't work … Besides Stanley, center Tyler Linderbaum (ankle) also didn't work Wednesday and Thursday and he's looking at being out as well in a big break for Cincy

Burrow will be better. I mean, he can't be worse. Question is, how long does it take for him to get back to being himself. Sunday? The next week? October? Longer? Sooooo tired of the "WR can't get open" stuff. What do Taylor and Callahan do all week, play World of Warships? Scheme some guys open if they can't do it themselves. Oline is what it is. Hopefully they can tighten up. Mixon was actually running through arm/ankle tackles against Cleveland. That was refreshing to see. How about using him more? Sample > Smith. Just sayin'. Re the D, are they really as good as the showed in the first half...or was Watson that bad? I fear it was the latter but we'll see. Bengals 72, Ravens 0

Linderbaum, Stanley and Williams all no-shows for Baltimore at practice today. Williams definitely out, the other two described as day-to-day. https://www.thebaltimorebanner.com/sports/ravens-nfl/baltimore-ravens-injury-report-VIWA26XVCRCXLEWFZ43VKSCUJ4/

At a guess, I’d say it was wholly financial. They just emptied their bank account for Joe and, even if they can’t keep Tee, have a bunch more FAs next year in addition to him, as Army’s pointed out. This move gives them back $12 million in cash that they won’t spend on Collins this year and next, and $13 million in extra cap space next year, assuming they don’t use any this year and carry it all over. If Collins was healthy it would have been different but he was reported to be at least 4-6 weeks away. That’s a lot of money going to a guy on the bench and the Bengals are feeling especially poor right now. Always the chance they could re-sign him down the road, I don’t think he will have any immediate interest given the condition of his knee.

Bummer, was hoping he could make it back. Odd timing. Does save then $6 million against the cap and almost $7 million in actual cash this year (tho there may be an injury settlement involved, dunno) and another $7 million against the cap next season.

Some nuggets from the espn draft guys' post CFB week 2 roundup. -- Matt Miller was a big fan of TE Ja'Tavion Sanders in Texas' win over Bama. He had 114 yards on 5 catches. -- Miller also has Jer'Zhan Newton, DT, Illinois, climbing up his board. Had 2 sacks and 5 pressures v. Kansas. Kiper adds for the upcoming week: -- Jordan Reid likes T'Vondre Sweat, DT, Texas. Thinks he breaks into the top 100. Also eyeing this guy as sleeper: Troy Franklin, WR, Oregon

With Williams tearing his pec, Ravens are signing vet S Duron Harmon. https://ravenswire.usatoday.com/2023/09/12/baltimore-ravens-duron-harmon-nfl-free-agency-practice-squad-marcus-williams/

It’s official. Achilles torn. Season over. Possibly career over.

I was listening to the radio broadcast so I can’t say, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Dbs start erring on the side of caution because of the stricter helmet rule. Basically now if your helmet touches a guy you are screwed, intentional or not. From espn: Established in 2018 to reduce the type of contact that frequently causes concussions, this rule has proved nearly impossible to officiate. As a result, the league has relied largely on warning letters and fines issued after the game to enforce the rule, which originally prohibited a player from lowering his helmet to initiate contact with an opponent. And in the rare instances where it is penalized in a game, the NFL has instructed officials to refer to the infraction generically as "unnecessary roughness." Over the ensuing five years, the league has issued an average of 191.4 warning letters and fines per season. In a sign of the difficulty in changing this particular behavior, it set a record of 229 in 2022. But even postgame discipline has proved problematic, as players have successfully appealed roughly one-third of the fines by arguing the helmet contact was incidental rather than an overt attempt to initiate. So in 2023, the league has tweaked the rule to make successful appeals less likely, removing the requirement to "initiate" contact and adding specific examples of impermissible contact.

My condolences to Jets fans. Their franchise might be even more snakebit than ours.

Details are up: https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/cincinnati-bengals/joe-burrow-47594/ Looks like speculation they would copy the rolling guarantee structure the Chiefs used for Mahomes were right. Cap hits: 2023 19.5 2024 29.7 2025 46.3 2027 52.3 2028 53.5 2029 68.6 Then there are 3, count 'em, 3 void years with another 9 million in cap hits.

Yeah, the tag seems inevitable. I know mem's high on tag-and-trade idea, but that idea rarely if ever works. Having to give him a mega-contract is one thing, and then to have to give up draft picks, too? I like Higgins a lot but he's not Megatron in his prime or something. I just don't see it. $64k question is whether the Bengals are willing to eat the cap hit next year? Projected WR tag for 2024 is just under $23 million. Hope they don't have anyone else to sign! Oh, crap, wait...

2024 free agency note: as expected, there will not be any in-season extension for Higgins.

While we wait for next Sunday, I'd like to make a public service announcement: charge your phone before you leave home, or you might end up arrested like Pacman.

Some good stuff from Barnwell over on E$PN+