dex

Exactly. Burrow in the shotgun against a great defense...11 personnel spread formation...no inline TE...he looks right...he looks left...the ball should be out by now...yet no one is open. The ball is supposed to come out fast in this spread formation, but the receivers are covered well. So how can the pocket finally collapsing be the o-line's fault after having given Burrow time to read the entire field?

This is the first time the Bengals have ever scheduled 2 different joint practices. Seems like they will be adding quite a few things they don't want to put on film for early opponents. So the first time the public will see them is in the opener against the Patriots. Some of them might even be held back until W2 against the Chiefs.

This may be where Burrow will choose to get heavily involved. Not dealing with Chase...but instead with the front office.

I don't think the 140M will trouble the Bengals as much as the staggering 110M of it being guaranteed. That's the biggest change in NFL contracts over the last several years, the overwhelming percentage of it that's now fully guaranteed.

Certainly wasn't the 5th best LB pairing last season, that's for sure.

Just saw this from James Rapien: First round pick Amarius Mims continues to play with the starting offensive line. That'll change when Trent Brown returns to the offseason program, which is expected to happen in the near future.

This is all kinda weird. Pretty clear that Trent Brown was expecting to be in Cincinnati this week for voluntary OTAs. Otherwise he wouldn't have made the agreement to throw out the first pitch of the baseball game. A week or two ago Geoff Hobson claimed that TBrown was missing OTAs to attend to a "personal matter," So something appears to be going on here other than him just choosing to work out on his own.

Yeah, teams that win tend to be hated more than teams that don't Funny how that works.

If one of the guards were to go down with a significant injury, I wonder if they might move Trent Brown inside? I don't think Brown has played guard before, but he has played both tackle spots for multiple teams. He prides himself on his versatility. I posted this in the Dan Pitcher thread as well, but Brown got off to a tremendous start last season at LT before injuries caught up with him.

Geoff Hobson said that TBrown was away tending to a personal matter.

Mims now up to 350 pounds at the request of his coaches. Geoff Hobson: SLANTS AND SCREENS: There's nothing like a good first impression and first-rounder Amarius Mims is making one, according to some of his teammates, as he continues to take first-team reps at right tackle while Trent Brown tends to a personal matter. The 6-8 Mims played at 340-345 pounds in college, but he's at 350 pounds now and still looks svelte. "I feel like I'm getting broader," Mims said Tuesday of his upper body. "The coaches like me at 350, so I'll play at 350. I feel good. I'm taking care of my body. I adjusted last week. This week I'm not asking as many questions." Mims impressed at least one vet with his energy. Despite the 87-degree heat, Mims, a Georgia native, bounced around the offensive line drills and at one point dribbled the big exercise balls the linemen use for technique like a basketball as they moved a drill. "This is nothing. This is a step below Georgia heat," Mims said. "I'm fortunate to play the game I love at the highest level possible and still get paid. Why not smile and all that extra stuff?" …

I imagine Higgins will do what Bates (same agent) did when he was hit with the franchise tag. Stay in shape, work out on his own, sign the tag late in August before reporting to camp. Cannot be fined because he isn't under contract at the moment. Even though there are always new plays to learn when the offense gets installed early in training camp - even more so with new OC Dan Pitcher - it really doesn't affect Higgins as much as other skill players because he mostly plays the same WR position all the time. Meanwhile, young players like Burton and Iosivas will get plenty of extra reps in Tee's absence. Not a bad thing at all.

Yes, that was for the entire college career of Mims. Only about 405 pass blocking snaps in total though.

Having listened to podcasts and read articles, I don't think most Bengals fans realize how different the Bengals offense will look if Burrow is healthy. Much of the change is due to the new offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher. In the 2022-23 season after the Bengals started seeing a lot of soft shell defenses Brian Callahan tried to mode the offense after the one in Denver with Peyton Manning when he he was a coach there...Callahan referenced Manning more than once. That were a lot of spread formations, quick reads, ball control offense behind a very average offensive line. Burrow was the 2nd fastest in the NFL in pass release time behind only Brady in 2022-23 season. What Pitcher wants to do is have more explosive plays and fewer 3rd down situations, which is the down where so many sacks happen. Pitcher's favorite phrase is "1st down, 2nd down, 1st down." Gesicki was available as a free agent last offseason, but Callahan didn't think he offered enough as a blocker. Pitcher doesn't care as much about Gesicki's weakness as he does about his strength. Gesicki was horribly used in New England's offense last year, so discount that completely. Pitcher leans into the fact that in the 3 years between 2020-22, Gesicki was targeted 20 yards down the field more times than Boyd and the Cincinnati TEs COMBINED over the last 3 seasons. That's a jarring stat. Yes, Chase and Higgins are both dynamic players on the outside, but the Bengals have not had the right slot personnel to get the most value out of spread formations where the QB has to usually get rid of the ball quickly assuming he stays in the pocket. Pitcher wants slot personnel who can separate quickly either with their speed or their catch radius. Both Gesicki/Burton have a knack for this and are very sure-handed. And even if no one can separate quickly and the OTs can push the EDGE rushers out wide, then Burrow can step up or roll outside to bide time while the more dynamic slot receivers (plus Chase/Higgins) can then break off their routes and create explosive plays even further down the field that way.

I don't think Higgins is worried about Burton. Higgins is almost exclusively an outside WR. Assuming both Chase and Higgins are healthy, Gesicki and Burton figure to spend most of their time in the slot. If the Bengals want to put Chase in the slot, then Burton could easily line up outside with Higgins. And when Higgins becomes a free agent after next season, then Burton will likely become most an outside receiver. It's why the Bengals chose Burton over Roman Wilson who went 2 picks later...Wilson is a slot WR in the way that Tyler Boyd was.

I would love that, but Cincinnati plays in an incredibly tough division while Kansas City's plays in an incredibly weak division. Since the AFC South has improved so much lately, if I were to name the AFC's 4 weakest teams it would likely be the Patriots, Raiders, Chargers and Broncos imo. Jim Harbaugh is a good coach, but the roster was kind of gutted in the offseason. Will take a year or two for the Chargers to challenge KC.

Wanya Morris was generally expected to be the Chiefs starting LT next season. His arrest happened in Johnson City, Kansas...Kansas is one of 4 states where marijuana possession is completely illegal.

Not enough money to go around? The Bengals may not sign Higgins to an extension, but if not they will simply made a choice. Philadelphia gave Hurts franchise QB contract, didn't stop them from making AJ Brown and Devonta Smith 2 of the top 5 paid WRs in the NFL. Oh, they also signed their LT to a massive extension, plus brought in one of the best RBs in the league in free agency. The Eagles MADE the money go around. Will they pay for it down the road? Maybe, maybe not. But the Bengals are many, amny miles away from Cap Hell. If they wanted to, they could at least push their chips halfway toward the middle of the table. At the moment they are holding on tight to the chips for dear life. Tighter than any other team in the league, or at least any team with a rare franchise QB in place.