AMPHAR

There's upside with the OTs. Durability is the big concern but Mims looks dominate out there. Keep in mind its Training Camp. Brown was healthy prior to Bengals and hasn't had a healthy season with the Bengals. Durability is the biggest concern of course which has been a repeating factor almost every year with Burrow. Might have another AFC Championship with better OT health.

They could add guard but my guess its somebody yet to be cut IF they add at all. 4 Tackles are going to be Brown Jr., Mims, Rivers, Cochran. 2 Centers will be Karras, Lee (?). Guards will be Fairchild, Patrick, Volson, and Ford. That's 10. IF they keep 10. I don't know they'll add anybody without a significant injury. Volson would be the only name at risk and he'd probably get picked up faster than the typical names the pod casters keep throwing out there. Just got to question the quality of "guard talk" from pod caster land at this point. First Cappa got signed quick off a bad season. Max Scharping has a job, lol. If the Bengals would have signed Jenkins the day he visited that group would be proclaiming the position "fixed" prior to the draft. Well he just started practicing and is hanging on to back up job right now. You just got to wonder why the league isn't signing sure fire starting upgrades or solid back ups with the 3 names that keep getting thrown around Risner, Hernandez, and Schreff. Their health and film probably don't line up to the PFF grades. If Max Scharping still has any job in the NFL then there's something going on below the surface and I doubt any of the 3 are starting upgrades at this point. Cappa has been getting starting reps in Raiders nation. Don't add up; quit listening to these pod casters that harp on guard the entire off season.

Stadium Practice day was fun. Slaton is going to be an impact for this defense. I'm not sure if Shemar Stewart will be a stat stuffer but he's going to make a big impact up front. I don't think we'll have to wait long for him to show up in regular season. He just stands outs, IMO. They switch him from left DE,right DE and rush him inside as well only his first week in camp. Doesn't look like a project to me. What to watch for this week. Mims. He was out again. So do you start Burrow in preseason with a rookie RT? Rookie RT Jalen Rivers has his ups and downs but there might be something there too. Do you want to put Burrow behind a rookie RT up in Philly first game since winning the Superbowl? Myles Murphy had a couple nice moments but still wanting more.

IMO, Zac and Burrow give two shits about running the ball. They don't tackle at all in Training Camp one of the few teams that don't do any live tackling. So by nature you are going to be soft on offense with running the football. I believe AL is trying to supplement the lack of live tackling with drills. Hopefully maybe so more time in preseason for the front 7. They want RBs to be good at pass pro, pass receptions. Run to keep them on schedule and that's about it, IMO. That said the Bengal could also work in some 2 RB sets if they want because all backs seem to be decent/good at both aspects so far.

Defense had a good camp last year. There was a bunch of Joe's wrist must be bothering him, messing with a glove. Joe frustrated. They dominated the Colts in a combined team practice and the 2s/3s dominated Bears in a preseason game. The theme of camp evolving is the competitiveness of the Secondary. A whole lot of shit talking going on. They are clearly making more plays than what the observers expected. Not to say they are dominating but it has been a more spirited/talkative camp from the defense this year so far. Hope that trend continues.

The last time a Bengals offense could challenge 380+ average and even achieve 400+ average over a season where the Boomer years. It'd be nice to average 380+ and 28+ per game over a season again. With Fant. Fant, Giesicki, Sample no matter what combo of 2 TE formation combined with Chase it would be hard to get the safety involved in the box via pre snap. Good thing with Perine and Fant addition. I hope that helps convert more of the short conversions they struggled with last year. Fant seems to excel getting that couple extra yards to convert a first.

Shemar clearly behind based on his first clips. Simply doesn't have the hustle yet. Pulling up early. Hands go on hips, looks winded etc.

Trey has no reason to sign yet. Hopefully he will but I think it gets done with more time. He doesn't really need to run around in July or even early August. He has a lot to gain in guaranteed money. Hopefully he's keeping himself in shape. That's the biggest fear can't pass a physical or an early strain.

You aren't going to find a whole lot of optimism with this board. I would have loved the Stewart pick in the 2nd round. I don't like having to read film nerd and do film nerd shit for a first round pick. I'll just say Shemar is downgraded by fans that because of his stats. However, if you look at the Texas A&M DL stats. None are impressive. That sack leader on the DL had 5. I think he should be able to contribute just by over running guards/tackles with natural ability. Whether or not he gets those stat figures so fans can sign off on the pick. I don't know. Could be a Lawson. Lawson could rush the passer a whole lot of pressures but few sacks.

Each year stands on its own. The Bengals lost so many 1 score games you can point to a number of factors. For me, 1. Defense 2. They lost so many key and critical fumbles/TOs at the wrong time 3. They were on the wrong side of the whistle and I don't think it evened out. I think this year there's a ton of young defenders that have flashed but not consistent. IMO, Tobin should be on the hot seat with these guys. Their development holds the keys to a Burrow return to the Superbowl.

Report is the clause is in there. They gave an extra $550K in the bonus. Predictable. Clown of an agent went nuclear over a common negotiable item back in mandatory camps. Lost. Couldn't tuck his tail and show up the first week so they throw him a little something so he can say he won.

Supposedly he signed. Going off unconfirmed reports.

Maybe, maybe not. We'll see.

The AFC North is just competitive. Probably the most competitive since its inception. No team has won the AFC North 3 seasons in a row. A feat the Ravens will try to do this year. Other divisions have experience 4-peat, 5-peat up to 11-peat winners. That doesn't necessarily mean the AFC North has the AFC Best. This year they once again have the toughest and have 2 teams squarely in the top 5 favorites for AFC Championship. I would certainly think NFC North is in that spot but wouldn't be shocked if the AFC North has the better head to head this year because the QBs are better.

Patrick limped off under own power. Burton had a big day.

NFC North last year caught AFC South and NFC West that was the underlining result of the great records. Bengals go 4-2 in first 6.

Anyhoo Murphy is back out there today and I believe just had a sack as much as you can have a sack because they aren't tackling to the ground.

Gonna cramp based on the supplements you've been taking. Captain Crunch is a great supplement to a hardy breakfast.

Miller Lite taste great and less filling.

Can the Bengals keep 4 RBs and 3 QBs? Doubtful. Ridder and Moss are interesting watches during preseason. Trey is a diva. Being a pain in the ass is his only play right now to better whatever he's upset about. I think they'll get it done.

If Trey is talking year 2 guarantee and the last time he talked about incentives. You can guess length and total dollars are fine, and now maybe Year 1 is good. I don't see this not getting done its just a matter of when. If you got total dollars you like then you only lose with a hold out. It could be his last chance at a big contract, there's benefit to him being here but its nothing that can't be made up so I think he's in the right to push as hard as he can. I'd only change that opinion IF he threatens regular season games because I don't see the benefit for him.

They need to keep BJ Hill around 500 snaps this year. IF Trey signs, I would like for a reduction of snaps for him too. There wasn't much a rotation under Lou and there's a lot of snaps played among those 2.

My wild ass guess is the agent has already started his "exit" strategy of losing the negotiation. He went nuclear over a common clause. You can't have your client report on time, sign a clause AFTER you attempted to sway public opinion that is was unfair without something gained. So he's already started leaking to Florio bonus structure view points. So that will be his saving grace. Its just a question about how much time does the agent want to waste to put on his show. That would be my guess at the whole thing because it doesn't sound like the clause is going to be dropped. As for Trey. He's going to push and close the gap as much as possible which I think is smart. Does he have a fine limit? Is he willing to burn a regular season game check? But at some point a long hold is unlikely to recoup what he's risking. Much like MB, I think it gets done. J'mar Chase backed out of a rumored deal beating JJ last summer. Anyone's guess about was it smart considering very few know the potential payouts etc. But he only beats JJ's deal by $12m over 4 years which pretty damn close to the cap growth percentage. But using JJ's contract as a guide it saved the Bengals $33m in cash last year.

Bengals stance is reasonable as proven by other rookies agreeing to the clause. Shemar could have practice during mandatory camps. Agent has been about winning public opinion war for some reason. He can't have Shemar sign on time without something to wave around saying he won because it sounds like the clause ain't going away.

Wonder why Volson won't get a chance at RG? Just appears to be Patrick and Ford. Very weird how Pollack inserts him at LG and no matter what seemed like he would start, now can't even get a sniff at an open competition.