High School Harry

https://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/nfl/bengals/2023/10/18/nfl-see-bye-week-grades-for-joe-burrow-cincinnati-bengals-jason-williams-column/ Williams: See bye-week grades for quarterback Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals Jason Williams Cincinnati Enquirer The Bengals aren't good. They're not bad, either. They are what their 3-3 recordindicates: Average. And average means they've underachieved so far. The first six games were supposed to be the easy part of the schedule for a team that entered the season with Super Bowl expectations. Here is the annual bye-week report card: Joe Burrow: C Toughest grade to determine on this report. Some may say this is too high. Some may say it's too low. Fair enough. How do you grade a guy who's played hurt four of the six games? On one hand, you can appreciate his effort and toughness. You can say a partially healthy Burrow probably gives the Bengals a better chance to win than a fully healthy backup Jake Browning. On the other hand, if Burrow is going to play, you expect better. His calf has been fine the last two games, and he turned in mixed results. He was the Joe Burrow everyone expects in the win vs. Arizona two weeks ago. His 63-yard touchdown bomb to Ja'Marr Chase was a thing of beauty − a sign at the time that things were starting to turn around. And then came the offensive dud against Seattle last Sunday, when Burrow and the offense were out of sync, failed to consistently sustain drives and didn't score a second-half touchdown. Call this a teacher's pet grade. Burrow gets the benefit of the doubt with the Arizona performance and simply by what his presence means to the franchise. Passing game: C The statistics says this grade should be lower. The Bengals rank last in the NFL in passing yards per play. As Burrow goes, so goes the passing game. And it's not fair to give the passing game a lower grade than Burrow. Chase is always open. He's doing his job. Slot receiver Tyler Boyd is doing his job. Tee Higgins has been hampered by a rib injury since Week 4. He had some costly drops before his injury. The QB-receiver communication was a problem in the first few games, never more evident than when Burrow threw to an invisible receiver along the sideline in the season-opening loss in Cleveland. The passing game is getting little help from tight end Irv Smith Jr. That's on the front office, though, after the Bengals didn't re-sign veteran Hayden Hurst, who would've helped in the short passing game as Burrow fought through the injury. Running game: F The Bengals rank dead last in the NFL in rushing yards per game. It shouldn’t surprise anyone after the Bengals were one of the worst rushing teams last season, and the front office did nothing in the offseason to fix it. Plenty of good running backs were available, and the Bengals had money to spend. Instead, Joe Mixon took a pay cut. And the Bengals are now paying the price for going cheap. Mixon continues to show he’s no longer a top-level starting running back. His limited touches show the coaching staff doesn’t trust him to carry the offense. A lack of a reliable running game really hurt the Bengals as Burrow battled the injury. Don’t expect this grade to improve much, if at all, the rest of the season. Offensive line: D Maybe the biggest disappointment on the team, given the Bengals have invested $117 million the last two few years in three free-agent linemen. You can get down a rabbit hole quickly when looking at advanced stats on offensive lines. Just know this: By every measure, the Bengals rank in the bottom third in the NFL in both pass and run protection. And most of the teams close to the Bengals in these rankings haven't spent nearly as much on offensive line salaries as Cincinnati has. Bottom line: The offense would be better if the line was better. Offense overall: D+ Burrow & Co. have been nothing short of a disappoint. Cincinnati ranks No. 27 in the NFL in points scored. The Bengals rank last in total yards per game. Unacceptable for a team that has the highest-paid player in NFL history at quarterback and has invested so much money in its offensive line. Defense: B- Bolstered by underrated defensive end Trey Hendrickson, the defense has shown up in the Bengals' three wins. It particularly bailed out the inept offense in wins over the Los Angeles Rams and Seattle. A pick-six changed the momentum in the must-win against Arizona. The defense has had to overcome the loss of starting safeties and team leaders Jesse Bates and Vonn Bell, both of whom left in the offseason as free agents. The Bengals have struggled to tackle, but that shouldn't be too hard to fix for highly respected defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo. Special teams: B Evan McPherson's four field goals spared the Bengals from embarrassment on Monday Night Football vs. the Rams in Week 3. He's 10-for-12 on field goals, with both misses from beyond 50 yards. The Bengals used a draft pick on punter Brad Robbins, and he needs to improve down the stretch. His 44.3-yards-per-punt average ranks 27th in the league. Rookie punt returner Charlie Jones showed promise in the first three games before getting hurt. He has one of the three punts returned for a touchdown in the league this season. Coaching: C- The Bengals mishandled the Burrow injury situation at the start of the season. He should've sat out the first game or two to get healthy. As such, the Bengals made minimal game-plan adjustments to find a way to work around Burrow's bum leg. The team wasn't ready to play in the first four games. Once again, Taylor's take-it-easy approach in training camp led to the slow start. It's left little margin for error as the Bengals head into the tough part of their schedule, starting Oct. 29 at San Francisco.

I still want Tee under contract back for a few more years.

We also have the most underrated, overlooked and BEST middle linebacker in the NFL If Logan Wilson is not a first choice Pro Bowler its more of a sham than I already think it is.

Carman Jackson?

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/breaking-down-reasons-why-bengals-023013925.html "Running back Joe Mixon is averaging 3.8 yards per carry (No. 35 in the NFL) and has one touchdown through six games. According to Pro Football Focus, Mixon is averaging 2.39 yards after contact and that ranks No. 133 in the NFL." How about letting Cordell Volson run the ball esp in short yardage situations. He couldn't do any worse and could certainly move the pile rather than falling on his ass after a loss and jumping up and pounding his chest. 1/2

Bengals Tuesday October 12 Wrap Up Nothing happened.

(at the stadium) I didn't even realize Orlando Brown was out of the game until I read it here.

How much time off do the players actually get during the bye two weeks? Somewhere there was a Zac comment about it coming at a good time because after six games they have had time to see what is working and what ain't and enough time to fix it to make adjustments and fixes before the end of the season. "Fix" or somehow replace Volson. I'm hoping for fix. But he ain't the only one. Kappa isn't anything to write home about on the other side, either. I am still not pleased with Mixon, think blaming it all on the O line is kind of a cop out. Get someone back there who can get the short yards and block for Joe. Really liked seeing Drew Sample back there... how about handing it to him once and letting him make his own hole? The New Bengals Order with Zac and Pumpkin have been great at surprising us in recent years with moves and acquisitions which, admittedly, have not all worked (L'eel Collins, Irv Smurf) but I would like to see them do something that says "The Future Is Now". Don't like trading high draft choices (nor do they), mortgaging the future, but there are some second line players other teams could find intriguing. Dunno... the only thing I/we do not want to see is them stand pat. Not hitting the panic button at all, but, like the Cowboys of old, reloading, not rebuilding. Gotta admit, Mr Jesus's suggestion about going after Kyle Pitts (the guy drafted right before Ja'Marr Chase) hard core is a real brain worm for me. Myles Murphy for Pitts? Even Murphy and a mid round draft choice? But if we see 3rd and 4 and a 3 yard reception Smurf trot out there or Clueless Cordell or No Gain Mixon trot out there against San Francisco... square pegs and round holes.

None around here. No idea what they are or are like.

So agree and can't blame it all on the O line. He'll break a play here and there but more often than not he can't get the job done in short yardage. On third or even fourth in one I would prefer to see Joe throw a quick hitch to Ja'mar or someone on the outside, the proverbial "long handoff" rather than see Mixon run into someone's butt and get stuffed. Was musing on What Sam Wyche Would Do... some sort of creativity with someone in the backfield other than Mixon.

Guess I missed it or something. Did not see other teams' scores posted at all. Just an annoying and ridiculous late games and times. Missed the bell ringing. Half times I always go walk around to stretch my aging legs and ogle the drunken eye candy baes strolling around or in the long line for the rest room.

Another David Fulcher post game comments/rant. He said he hated bye weeks because the teams lost their momentum and sense of being a team. Good to heal up injuries but bad for momentum, continuity and building. I think the Bengals have a bad record coming out of the bye weeks. Next week is definitely not a good time for a let down. Next two weeks. OT... but anyone else at the game... Did you notice they no longer have other teams' games in progress posted on the scoreboard? Absolutely kills scoreboard watching. I think the Pumpkinettes have gone a tad overboard with the advertising and game day experience stuff. Next Sunday... Gooooo Indy beat the Clowns Gooooo Lions beat the Ratbirds Goooo Rams beat the Squeels at 4:05

Day After After thoughts Many props to all who appeared in this thread. Totally enjoy coming home and reading it or reading it the next day. What a game... I thought for sure we were going to lose. Nice to be so wrong. If and when anyone finds out when and where this game will be rebroadcast, I would appreciate it if you would post it. Would love to see it again. Game Ball to Sois. We couldn't have done it without his support.

May post this elsewhere, too, but on the post game show on the way home after dinner, David Fulcher said twice that Joe Burrow was looking for him too often and too much when Tyler Boyd and others were more open. I guess Captain Obvious went into the Seagulps locker room at half time and told them Ja'Marr was Joe's bud and favorite target and to work hard on shutting him down. End result... 52 yards offense in the second half.

49ers v The Cleveland Sanitation Workers pre game Can guys be thrown out of a game before it starts?

Gotta say it... Mixon isn't the answer. Probably nothing can or will be done over the bye week but he is virtually useless in short yardage and can't all be blamed on the O line. Diving into a pile on 4th and 1... Child, please.

With all due respect, I think that would be one game too many. Yesterday lost in the wash was a 3rd and 4 where he had a three yard reception. Nope And a missed pass. Hudson's time is now and I am still so intrigued by our 6'8" 245 practice squad pick up from Pittsburgh, Zac Gentry. Big target? Him and Drew Sample in a two tight end set for blocking? FWIW Also... not sure if noticed but Sample was in the backfield with Joe a few times.

The Sois Bowl Forecast CINCINNATI (WXIX) - Sunday is going to look and feel a lot like Saturday. We will see cloudy skies much of the day with light rain at times. Rain will not be the big problem but the winds will be very noticeable. Winds will gust as high as 25mph this afternoon. If you are going to the Bengals game, grab some extra layers to prepare for that fall chill in the air. Current temp as I gear up to leave 51º. Wind chill will make it nasty. Gearing up to leave now...

Excellent! E'd her (the artist), got a pleasant reply and added to her mailing list. Nothing yet. She said she is creating a website of nothing but Bengals prints. Speaking of dinner... drove past The Precinct last evening around 7:00. Two tour busses parked across the street so I guess we know where the Seahawks had dinner.

Remind me... when exactly is the trade deadline? How about Jackson Carman for CEH? Still like to get Big Johnson III from the Detroit (?) practice squad and put Tupou on our practice squad to make room.

Seagulps Press https://www.yahoo.com/sports/week-6-preview-prediction-seahawks-151111676.html Week 6 preview and prediction: Seahawks at Bengals The Seattle Seahawks are back in action following their Week 5 bye, and hopefully they used their week off wisely as they have a challenging showdown against the Cincinnati Bengals. This will be Seattle’s first visit to the Queen City since 2015 where they blew a 24-7 lead in the fourth quarter to lose 27-24 in overtime. The Seahawks and Bengals last played each other in the Week 1 opener for the 2019 season, where Seattle narrowly defended home turf with a 21-20 win. Both these teams are a far cry from either of the last two iterations of themselves. The Seahawks are trying to prove they are a resurgent force in the NFC, while the Bengals are trying to keep their status as an AFC heavyweight. Like last year, Cincinnati was off to a slow start. The Bengals were 1-3 with only three offensive touchdowns to their names before they erupted with an explosive 34-20 win over Arizona. Quarterback Joe Burrow finally looked like himself, throwing for 317 yards and scores. Sunday will be a big test for both teams. Seattle is the only team so far to have beaten the Lions, but their last two games were against bad teams and they looked shaky at times in them. Meanwhile, the Bengals will look to prove they truly are back, and that last week was not simply a product of playing the inferior Cardinals. History is on the side of the Seahawks, who are 16-4 in their last twenty trips to the eastern time zone. But Cincinnati has the power of desperation on their side. Prediction: Bengals over Seahawks 31-24 After this week, the Bengals have a stretch where they will play the 49ers, Bills, Texans, Ravens, Stealers and Jaguars. Since Cincinnati has already squandered two seemingly winnable games against Cleveland and Tennessee, they’ll need to bank wins where they can get them. Going into the murderer’s row they’re about to face at 3-3 is a lot different than 2-4. The wide receiver trio of Ja’Marr Chase, Tyler Boyd and potentially the return of Tee Higgins is a handful for any secondary, especially one as young as Seattle’s. The ground attack led by Joe Mixon means the Seahawks defense has to stay honest, and if Joe Burrow truly is fully healthy, he will be difficult to bring down – even if he’s playing behind a shaky offensive line facing a defensive front that recorded eleven sacks the last time they played. The Seahawks offense should remain well-oiled, especially since they are getting healthier. But the Bengals simply have far too much firepower. Something to keep an eye on: the usually reliable Jason Myers already has four missed field goals this year, surpassing his total of three from last year. Combine Myers’ shakiness with Seattle’s struggles on third down and in the redzone, and you have a recipe for leaving far too many points on the field. If the Seahawks want a win in a shootout, they’ll need to extend drives and finish them in the end zone.

I have dubbed tomorrow the Sois Bowl Game.

Trap game? Seagulls coming off a bye week and looks like they have a strong pass rush (not good for us) and decent tight ends including one real big huggy bear. Getting the cart ahead of the horse and food for thought for the future Bye Week thread but I really want to see what we do with two weeks before the the 49ers. Specifically, as far as personnel. Are the big TE and OLman on our practice squad ready to step up and contribute? Raiding other teams' practice squads? Maybe even McCarron up, Browning down? Get rid of some dead wood? I will not be happy if we stand pat and continue to try to pound square pegs into round holes.