A little Hue insight

[GapControl]

If hue is I instilling this "take what we want up tempo" offense in his team, he must be satisfied with what he has on the left side of the line. For years the line hasn't been able to run left successfully. Remember Boling is still hurt. We have a new G Newhouse from the Pack, Robinson, Bodine, Pollack and Hawkinson all competing to stiffen up the C and LG spots. Hue has to get that done first before anything else. By saying what he is saying now, is he confident that he has done it?

[ArmyBengal]

If hue is I instilling this "take what we want up tempo" offense in his team, he must be satisfied with what he has on the left side of the line. For years the line hasn't been able to run left successfully. Remember Boling is still hurt. We have a new G Newhouse from the Pack, Robinson, Bodine, Pollack and Hawkinson all competing to stiffen up the C and LG spots. Hue has to get that done first before anything else. By saying what he is saying now, is he confident that he has done it?

Newhouse would be the backup OT not OG and i'm good with him in that role. Boling probably won't be ready, but it would appear they are confident with what they have. I would guess Pollak is the starting LG when things kick off with Robinson and Bodine competing for the starting Center job. The battle for the center position should be a good one and certainly something to keep an eye on.

[GapControl]

I think if Pollack wins the starting C job, Newhouse is the dark horse to start at LG. That'd put Bodine at backup C with Robinson backup C/G. If Whit went down, you'd see Newhouse shift over to LT and Robinson or Hawkinson going to LG. I can't see a situation where Bodine plays LG.

[GapControl]

Also, I can see an injury settlement coming with Boling. I've never been convinced. Lapham called it early. He doesn't get low enough.

[HoosierCat]

FWIW I just read something the other day, I think on the .com, to the effect that Boling was progressing and was now not expected to start the season on PUP.

[cincyhokie]

Am I the only one that thinks Boling is a liability? The interior of the line was consistently gashed the last few years. It's not Zeitler. Cook is gone, thankfully. I can only think that Pollack in the LG spot is a good thing.

[HoosierCat]

I wouldn't call Boling a liability, but IMO he's just a guy.

[cincyhokie]

Yeah, I don't think that "guys" are going to cut it. This team has committed to Dalton and I think it's pretty clear that with protection he's a capable QB, without it, not so much.

IMO, this team should make it a strong priority to have a top 5 OL each and every year that Dalton is the QB. Otherwise, you could just as well make someone like McCarron your QB and spend alot less.

[HoosierCat]

I would make it a priority to have a top-flight o-line every year. You might recall we had this QB before Dalton whose o-line went to pot and this was the result:

[cincyhokie]

I would make it a priority to have a top-flight o-line every year. You might recall we had this QB before Dalton whose o-line went to pot and this was the result:

I remember that. That was the game that Ms. Palmer got blitzed by the Saints on almost every play. Even Kasvehearn(sp?) got in on the action.

[GapControl]

Wasn't Whit identified as a G coming out of LSU? I liked him a lot at G last year, of course that isn't going to happen again. If Newhouse was an average LT in Green Bay it may help to slide him to G. I make the comparison to Whit as an example where it worked well last year. Honestly, the team suffers year in and year out from poor interior line play. It all goes back to the Browns family theory that lineman are made not born.

[HoosierCat]

IIRC Whit was projected at G by some who thought he lacked the mobility to be an NFL LT. But the Bengals drafted him with an eye toward LT because Jones was falling to pieces. I think they were proven right. That said at this point in his career he may be a better LG than LT.

[TJJackson]

the Browns family theory that lineman are made not born.

if those jackasses still employed a great oline coach, as they once did, that might well be true - but no one is banging down the Bengals FO doors for a chance to interview our "assistant head coach" for off coordinator or head coaching opportunities

[kingwilly]

IIRC Whit was projected at G by some who thought he lacked the mobility to be an NFL LT. But the Bengals drafted him with an eye toward LT because Jones was falling to pieces. I think they were proven right. That said at this point in his career he may be a better LG than LT.

When he kicked inside last Fall, the articles poured in call it a "great way to extend his career". I agreed at the time it was probably a great way to improve the line for 2014, with Whit at LT and Collins at LT, and we know how that turned out.

So, if Whit kicks inside and the major reason they didn't pay Collins is to be sure they could sign the Dalton-Green-Burfict trio one has to laugh. Green they kicked the can down the road. Dalton looks to be in fantasy land with how much his agents are asking, and they appear to be stepping over dollars to save pennies on a Burfict deal.

From a football view, some of this may be decided by who ends up snapping. If they are bent on handing the job to Bodine at C, I'd prefer to have Whit in there providing guidance and clarifications. However, that leaves the LT a bit riskier than when Collins could be counted on. I don't have any sense of how Newhouse can play in this scheme but I have a hard time thinking he will be what Collins was.

great.

Well, at least they are working on getting Dalton locked down to close the decade.

[HoosierCat]

So, if Whit kicks inside and the major reason they didn't pay Collins is to be sure they could sign the Dalton-Green-Burfict trio one has to laugh. Green they kicked the can down the road. Dalton looks to be in fantasy land with how much his agents are asking, and they appear to be stepping over dollars to save pennies on a Burfict deal.

This is why I think that, regardless of all the smoke in the press, a Dalton deal (and likely Burfict as well) gets done. After three offseasons of sacrificing to the Cruel God of 2014, balking at the price tag now would invite a train wreck. Not only would call moves like letting Collins walk into question, but it would also risk wasting the money they paid to Geno and Dunlap. Maybe lightning strikes twice with a new QB in 2015 and they get to the playoffs, but the odds are against it. More likely by the time the new guy gets up to speed, assuming he ever gets up to speed, Atkins and Dunlap are approaching free agency again. Not to mention Green is three (or more) years older.

[HoosierCat]

Long read on Hue & Andy from Silver:

/>http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap2000000363337/article/andy-dalton-and-hue-jackson-cincinnati-bengals-odd-couple

Good story.

[COB]

Long read on Hue & Andy from Silver:

/>http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap2000000363337/article/andy-dalton-and-hue-jackson-cincinnati-bengals-odd-couple

Good story.

I read that thing and had a very difficult time reading it. The writing style, I think, is jumpy and was difficult for me to follow. No flow at all. The first third was readable, after that I had problems getting through it.

[HoosierCat]

I read that thing and had a very difficult time reading it. The writing style, I think, is jumpy and was difficult for me to follow. No flow at all. The first third was readable, after that I had problems getting through it.

Silver would have been better served to break it into two stories, one on Hue and one on his and Andy's relationship.

If I were editing this and it had to stay one piece, I would probably have cut a lot of the "backgrounder" stuff (Hue in Oakland, all mentions of Carson Palmer, etc.) and focused more on the here and now. I also would have cut down the number of players quoted. Newman and Gresham add nothing, for example.

[COB]

I think you are right on Hoosier. It needed editing, and some kind of focus.

[skyline]

It was a good read.

I didn't find it hard to get through. Could have used some rearranging, perhaps, but it read easily enough.