Herana - Daze Jones

[AMC]

its amazing how hard KK is to cut....

Mitchell is decent but they may take youth over him especially if they are equal on special teams....

[schweinhart]

It might be amazing that K2 is so hard to cut, but it's no wonder he starts and plays as much as he does after glimpsing Herring in action on No Huddles vs. TO.

Granted TO is hands down, by far, without anyone even close to him, the best WR in the NFL, but I have a hard time believing that K2 or Indiana Jones or even my old grandad in his dress shoes couldn't have tracked TO any better on the 1st play of the game or the 30+ yarder in the next series when Herring had coverage underneath.

At least from what little they showed on No Huddles, K2 hung with TO real well on a corner route in the end zone.

Saying that Madieu returning will really help the safety play for the Bengals is grossly understated. W/o Madieu I'm not seeing NFL caliber safety play at all with the exception of some plays here and there by K2, who really ought to be a backup at the most.

[bengalskyspy]

I agree that Madeau will help a ton, but I am concerned about Herring being out of position on TO. Hasn't he been around for like 100 years?

[schweinhart]

This will be Herring's 9th year if you count 2003, which he missed all of with a shattered forearm IIRC.

I'm concerned too about how slow he was to get where he needed to be vs. TO on the TD deep and the 30+ yarder on the second play.

You can't expect to win when the 1st 2 plays put you down 10-0.

I think Herring is to the safety position for the Bengals what Hardy was to the LB position. Serviceable until a better player can get in there.

Last year, Herring didn't get burned like he did by TO from what I can remember. In fact, he seemed to hold the position well enough to think that he'd be decent enough as a stop gap again for this year. He tackles well but not hard in part because IMO he's worried about reinjuring his forearm. Vs. the run as the 8th in the box he's not as physical as Madieu but doesn't get as crushed by blocks as K2 does.

Vs. AFC North teams, the lack of reaction and speed Herring showed vs. TO won't be as glaring. He's not going to be able to play catch up to a Randel-El but he's not gonna get burned by a Derrick Mason.

That is, as long as his shoulder doesn't require surgery. It sounds like he might have torn it up.

I would think that Inidiana Jones has to be thrown into the mix right from the start vs. Colts just to see how he can deal with things. We all know what to expect from K2 and Mitchell, but hopefully we'll get to see lots of Indiana early for however long Peyton & Co. plays.