texbengal

No more Cinnamon Toast Crunch for this guy! I mean, how could he have possibly known that wasn't a healthy choice for a pro athlete?

That’s what was mind-numbing about CTB… just seemed like his (lack of) focus was really evident at times. Giving up way too many free releases due to poor/lazy technique, for example. He’s got hella talent but he needs to be way more consistent and have his head in the game all of the time.

Goes to show how important good drafting is… Eagles have a ton of young talent on first contracts and for that matter, the Rams have rebuilt their DL in a hurry with guys like Verse and Fisk, who have contributed from the jump. Meanwhile, the Bengals have spent lots of D draft capital over the last several years and have little to show for it. Captain Obvious here, but clearly that’s on Duke and on the coaches, because I gotta believe at least a few of the guys they picked can be consistent (positive) contributors.

As a fan, it’s frustrating to see this. Like with most stalemates, I’m guessing they can find some workable solution. As “they” say, deadlines make deals, so I still expect some resolution within the next month or so. That said, I remember watching a video pre-draft from Todd McShay, who threw some shade on Stewart’s agent about him being very difficult to work with when it came to private workouts. I don’t recall the specifics because honestly, I didn’t foresee the Bengals taking Stewart ;). But without sharing specifics, he did indicate that he’d heard stuff from some of his contacts around the league. For what little that may be worth. Not that it matters, but Zac Hiller is his agent. I believe he’s FL-based, relatively new in the agent game, and has had the Cooks (Dalvin and his brother James) and Zay Flowers (who grew up in FL but went to BC) among his clients. Stewart is from south FL too.

Same… alarming IMO. I mean, glad they do it now - but WTF was the previous coach(es) doing? Gotta believe that the technique work both line coaches are focusing on will help. Didn’t seem like either guy they had before focused enough on that. Volson in particular was bad way too often.

I don’t listen to all the pods, especially bc I don’t think Paul Dehner is funny (although he does!), but there are sometimes some good nuggets to be found. The one he does on occasion with Charlie Goldsmith is usually pretty good, and given the OTA stuff just ended, I thought this episode had some good content around some of what they saw and heard. And yeah, there’s some contract isht but I skipped through that part.

https://open.substack.com/pub/charlieschalkboard/p/a-bengals-defense-in-transition-is?r=vikmq&utm_medium=ios Charlie Goldsmith’s latest.

If Pratt plays elsewhere like he did the last few years, I don't see him as a starting-level LB anywhere. If he plays more like 2020-2022 Pratt, could see that. I'm appreciative of what he did, especially during the two SB run years. But it was time to go. That said, the Bengals didn't help him at the end... it was clear several months ago that he wasn't in their plans and they still held on to him. He likely wasn't gonna merit a draft pick, or if so, it was going to be a very late one. Other teams knew it. Sometimes it just seems that this FO just stirs up isht for no reason. Just cut your losses and move on. Just when I think the FO are smart people, they do something else that makes me shake my head and wonder WTF I was thinking.

https://forum.go-bengals.com/index.php?/topic/93115-what-is-your-biggest-concern-right-now/#findComment-1757826

No doubt Pratt had some very memorable plays - game-changing plays for sure… but I don’t give a rat’s ass how many tackles he made last year. Preston Brown made a bunch of tackles when he was here, too. Someone has to. Last year, Pratt was slow and out of position, took bad pursuit angles, tackled poorly … lots of stuff that wasn’t good. He wasn’t the only one, but to my eyes, he really hasn’t been good for the last few years. I’m sure he’ll get another shot somewhere, but I don’t suspect that teams will be lining up… they didn’t when he entered FA several years ago, and subsequently re-signed in Cincinnati on a very reasonable contract at the time.

I went with LB play, although I considered run D and CB play. I do expect the run D up front to be better, and I am hopeful at CB… although you have 2 guys coming off of pretty serious injuries. Anyway, at LB, Pratt blew chunks last year and ADG wasn’t much better. And while I didn’t think Wilson was great either, I wasn’t a James Bettcher fan, and I’m banking on Golden and Hodges helping Wilson to return to form. I like the two rookies a lot, especially Knight as a better run defender and tackler, and Carter’s versatility, and improved depth with the addition of Burks (who might start… he was great in last years’ Eagles SB run). Add to that another year in the program for Maema and Heyward. IMO they are a lot more athletic there overall, and even though Knight and Carter are rookies, they’re smart and fast and they’ll get better.

Really like this pick. He’s smallish but he’s like a missle on the field. Versatile piece… coverage, spying, blitzing. Hella ST player. Really high character kid too. Looking forward to seeing him play.

Ring of honor nominee?

Another good read from Charlie re Al Golden and D install. https://open.substack.com/pub/charlieschalkboard/p/the-identity-of-the-al-golden-defense?r=vikmq&utm_medium=ios

She’s “focusing on her craft” - just like Orlando is. At the end of the day, there’s no question about it. It’s not too big for her. She embraces the process. And that’s big, and it’s important. And we move forward that way. Know what I’m sayin?