Kal Posted November 27, 2009 Report Share Posted November 27, 2009 http://www.profootballfocus.com/articles.php?tab=articles&arc=&id=76 I work for this site and have lurked on this board for a bit. We're big fans of the way Evan has been playing so we wanted to do a piece on him and he agreed to answer some of our questions. His answers were so insightful we decided to go with the whole transcript here. It's a real interesting read for any Bengals fan and just any fan in general of the NFL and some of the inner workings. Enjoy and feel free to post elsewhere. Maybe Evan can get near the Pro Bowl as he deserves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coup000 Posted November 27, 2009 Report Share Posted November 27, 2009 Pretty cool interview, thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Finklestein Posted November 27, 2009 Report Share Posted November 27, 2009 Nice look at how the O-Line works! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bengalbutch Posted November 27, 2009 Report Share Posted November 27, 2009 Thanks for posting. Very good stuff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Bunghole| Posted November 27, 2009 Report Share Posted November 27, 2009 That was great. I can't wait until he's back (next game?). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-GoBengals- Posted November 27, 2009 Report Share Posted November 27, 2009 nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cwing Posted November 27, 2009 Report Share Posted November 27, 2009 Nice article. I am wondering how Livings is grading out in comparsion. I am also wondering if both Livings/Mathis are healthy will Mathis be reinstalled as the starter at LG. PFF: How does the coaching staff assess your performance on a week-by-week basis and how is this fed back to you? EM: Our offensive line coach, Paul Alexander, has a complex grading system that breaks down each play with each player. If one wants to strive for perfection on the field, all they need to do is keep doing what Coach Alexander says they did well and correct things that they didn't do well in each game. PFF: Was this a similar process to the one used by the Panthers? EM: When I was with the Panthers, it was hard to know if your play was up to par with what the coaches expected on each play. There were no grades handed out and rarely did I hear if I played well or didn't. It was like studying to take a test every week, taking that test, then never knowing what grade the teacher gave you. I'm a numbers guy, give me a number and tell me to make it better. Tell me to weigh a certain weight, tell me how much to lift, how fast to run, and tell me what I need to grade. When I have those things in my sights, I can break down what it is I need to do to reach my goal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kal Posted November 27, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 27, 2009 [quote name='cwing' date='27 November 2009 - 04:51 PM' timestamp='1259337064' post='833343'] Nice article. I am wondering how Livings is grading out in comparsion. I am also wondering if both Livings/Mathis are healthy will Mathis be reinstalled as the starter at LG. PFF: How does the coaching staff assess your performance on a week-by-week basis and how is this fed back to you? EM: Our offensive line coach, Paul Alexander, has a complex grading system that breaks down each play with each player. If one wants to strive for perfection on the field, all they need to do is keep doing what Coach Alexander says they did well and correct things that they didn't do well in each game. PFF: Was this a similar process to the one used by the Panthers? EM: When I was with the Panthers, it was hard to know if your play was up to par with what the coaches expected on each play. There were no grades handed out and rarely did I hear if I played well or didn't. It was like studying to take a test every week, taking that test, then never knowing what grade the teacher gave you. I'm a numbers guy, give me a number and tell me to make it better. Tell me to weigh a certain weight, tell me how much to lift, how fast to run, and tell me what I need to grade. When I have those things in my sights, I can break down what it is I need to do to reach my goal. [/quote] Livings hasn't been the player that Mathis has. We, in comparison to every guard in the league, graded Mathis has the best performing left guard (he made our [url="http://www.profootballfocus.com/articles.php?tab=articles&arc=2009-11&id=60"]Mid Season All Pro Team[/url] along with several other Bengals. Livings hasn't got the same volume of work to [url="http://www.profootballfocus.com/by_player.php?tab=by_player&season=2009&lastname=Livings&surn=Livings&playerid=3400"]grade[/url] and his poor game came against the Steelers, but I'd see no reason to drop Mathis. He's a free agent this year right? Be interesting to see what kind of contract he'd command. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie_B Posted November 27, 2009 Report Share Posted November 27, 2009 [quote name='Kal' date='27 November 2009 - 01:01 PM' timestamp='1259341281' post='833361'] Livings hasn't been the player that Mathis has. We, in comparison to every guard in the league, graded Mathis has the best performing left guard (he made our [url="http://www.profootballfocus.com/articles.php?tab=articles&arc=2009-11&id=60"]Mid Season All Pro Team[/url] along with several other Bengals. Livings hasn't got the same volume of work to [url="http://www.profootballfocus.com/by_player.php?tab=by_player&season=2009&lastname=Livings&surn=Livings&playerid=3400"]grade[/url] and his poor game came against the Steelers, but I'd see no reason to drop Mathis. He's a free agent this year right? Be interesting to see what kind of contract he'd command. [/quote] This was a good read thanks for posting it. I think Mathis is a RFA this year, I think Bobbie Williams is a UFA. At Bobbies age I will be surprised if we keep him and so I think we will tender Mathis at the highest tender and pick up another G in the draft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Lucid| Posted November 27, 2009 Report Share Posted November 27, 2009 [quote name='Jamie_B' date='27 November 2009 - 02:16 PM' timestamp='1259345766' post='833372'] This was a good read thanks for posting it. I think Mathis is a RFA this year, I think Bobbie Williams is a UFA. [b]At Bobbies age I will be surprised if we keep him[/b] and so I think we will tender Mathis at the highest tender and pick up another G in the draft. [/quote] I think we will try.. It depends on whether Bobbie chooses to price himself out of our range. We know the Bengals don't believe in paying premium tenders for pure guards.. But Bobbie is also a team leader who opitomizes the attitude that Marvin has been trying to foster here. I think the Bengals would be willing to reach a little for Bobbie, but I also think he will be able to command more in FA if he wants a big last pay day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlantNGo Posted November 27, 2009 Report Share Posted November 27, 2009 [quote name='Kal' date='27 November 2009 - 02:01 PM' timestamp='1259341281' post='833361'] Livings hasn't been the player that Mathis has. We, in comparison to every guard in the league, graded Mathis has the best performing left guard (he made our [url="http://www.profootballfocus.com/articles.php?tab=articles&arc=2009-11&id=60"]Mid Season All Pro Team[/url] along with several other Bengals. Livings hasn't got the same volume of work to [url="http://www.profootballfocus.com/by_player.php?tab=by_player&season=2009&lastname=Livings&surn=Livings&playerid=3400"]grade[/url] and his poor game came against the Steelers, but I'd see no reason to drop Mathis. He's a free agent this year right? Be interesting to see what kind of contract he'd command. [/quote] Hi Kal, I've been following PFF's ratings on the Bengals since one poster pointed me out to the site about a month or so ago. A lot of your ratings agree with my observations... one for example, is that Geathers is great against the run but terrible as a pass rusher. I see him single-handedly washed out of the play by the RT alone very often. I agree with Evan though, that it is difficult to grade a player's performance on a play without knowing the play itself. In the latest Steelers game, I saw Geathers over and over getting outside position, then "giving himself up" by turning back inside, resulting in the RT neutralizing Geathers. On several occasions, Ben would look to take off in the gap between RG and RT, and that gap wasn't there as a result of Geathers giving himself up, and I seem to remember it leading to one of Fanene's sacks. One rating that disagrees with my observation is your poor rating on Peko in run D. Could you possibly elaborate on what you are seeing that leads you to rate him so poorly? The Bengals DTs don't dominate the line of scrimmage but Peko is double-teamed a lot yet stays on his feet and makes tackles in pursuit even. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bengalbutch Posted November 27, 2009 Report Share Posted November 27, 2009 [quote name='Jamie_B' date='27 November 2009 - 03:16 PM' timestamp='1259345766' post='833372'] This was a good read thanks for posting it. I think Mathis is a RFA this year, I think Bobbie Williams is a UFA. [b]At Bobbies age I will be surprised if we keep him [/b]and so I think we will tender Mathis at the highest tender and pick up another G in the draft. [/quote] Until his play declines ( and it hasn't )I think you must keep him. At least a two year deal, he is a big team leader. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldschooler Posted November 27, 2009 Report Share Posted November 27, 2009 Great read! Thanks for sharing. I have been very impressed with Mathis this season. And am hoping for his return Sunday. And Welcome to the Best Bengals Site on the Net! (c) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldschooler Posted November 28, 2009 Report Share Posted November 28, 2009 Mathis just made this post on twitter . . . [url="http://twitter.com/ergoism"][b][color="#0a0501"]ergoism[/color][/b][/url] [url=""] [/url] My interview with @[url="http://twitter.com/ProFootbalFocus"][color="#0a0501"]ProFootbalFocus[/color][/url] [url="http://www.profootballfocus.com/articles.php?tab=articles&arc=&id=76"][color="#0a0501"]http://www.profootballfocus...[/color][/url] [url="http://twitter.com/ergoism/status/6126555493"]8 minutes ago [/url]from web Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-Dub Posted November 28, 2009 Report Share Posted November 28, 2009 Nice read, welcome to the site. Post more often! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie_B Posted November 28, 2009 Report Share Posted November 28, 2009 [quote name='Lucid' date='27 November 2009 - 02:47 PM' timestamp='1259347624' post='833375'] I think we will try.. It depends on whether Bobbie chooses to price himself out of our range. We know the Bengals don't believe in paying premium tenders for pure guards.. But Bobbie is also a team leader who opitomizes the attitude that Marvin has been trying to foster here. I think the Bengals would be willing to reach a little for Bobbie, but I also think he will be able to command more in FA if he wants a big last pay day. [/quote] He will be 34 next season. I'd be surprised if we give him anything other than maybe a year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyrid Posted November 28, 2009 Report Share Posted November 28, 2009 [quote name='Jamie_B' date='27 November 2009 - 08:53 PM' timestamp='1259369605' post='833424'] He will be 34 next season. I'd be surprised if we give him anything other than maybe a year. [/quote] The way I see it is that there are 2 options that both make sense. 1. Re-sign Bobbie for a year or two and draft his eventual replacement/backup in the 3rd or 4th round. 2. Don't re-sign Bobbie and use a first or second rounder on one of the best guards in the draft who can step in right away. I'd be fine with either option. With the first, it frees us up to go defense or TE early. With the second, you get a top player and really solidify a good young line for a long time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fredtoast Posted November 28, 2009 Report Share Posted November 28, 2009 [quote name='Jamie_B' date='27 November 2009 - 08:53 PM' timestamp='1259369605' post='833424'] He will be 34 next season. I'd be surprised if we give him anything other than maybe a year. [/quote] I love Bobbie, but Mike got urned so bad on Willie and Levi's contracs that I doubt he will make much of an offer to Williams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldcat Posted November 28, 2009 Report Share Posted November 28, 2009 [quote name='happyrid' date='28 November 2009 - 12:39 AM' timestamp='1259393976' post='833488'] The way I see it is that there are 2 options that both make sense. 1. Re-sign Bobbie for a year or two and draft his eventual replacement/backup in the 3rd or 4th round. 2. Don't re-sign Bobbie and use a first or second rounder on one of the best guards in the draft who can step in right away. I'd be fine with either option. With the first, it frees us up to go defense or TE early. With the second, you get a top player and really solidify a good young line for a long time. [/quote] I imagine we do both - offer a decent if not crazy contract to Bobbie and draft a guard early. We haven't drafted a guard early since Steinbach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyrid Posted November 28, 2009 Report Share Posted November 28, 2009 [quote name='Oldcat' date='28 November 2009 - 03:04 PM' timestamp='1259435083' post='833546'] I imagine we do both - offer a decent if not crazy contract to Bobbie and draft a guard early. We haven't drafted a guard early since Steinbach. [/quote] Just my opinion, but if they resign Bobbie, they can afford to wait until the 3rd or 4th to draft a guard. If you have a year or two to get a guy up to speed, you can make due with a mid round guard. Teams usually only pick them real early if they need someone to step in right away. For example, Steinbach who started pretty much game one. I'd really like to see Cook and Mathis signed long term this offseason. We'd have 4 of the 5 spots covered long term:Whit-Mathis-Cook-Smith. Finding that 5th young guy to put in there is a priority but should be accomplished pretty easily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bengals1181 Posted November 29, 2009 Report Share Posted November 29, 2009 [quote name='Oldcat' date='28 November 2009 - 03:04 PM' timestamp='1259435083' post='833546'] I imagine we do both - offer a decent if not crazy contract to Bobbie and [b]draft a guard early. [/b]We haven't drafted a guard early since Steinbach. [/quote] depends on the progress of Shirley. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-Dub Posted November 29, 2009 Report Share Posted November 29, 2009 [quote name='Bengals1181' date='28 November 2009 - 08:48 PM' timestamp='1259455697' post='833578'] depends on the progress of Shirley. [/quote] good point, he had a few nice blocks in preseason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CougarQuest Posted November 29, 2009 Report Share Posted November 29, 2009 Enjoyed the article. Good Job! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-GoBengals- Posted November 29, 2009 Report Share Posted November 29, 2009 [quote name='fredtoast' date='28 November 2009 - 09:23 AM' timestamp='1259414584' post='833492'] I love Bobbie, but Mike got urned so bad on Willie and Levi's contracs that I doubt he will make much of an offer to Williams. [/quote] completely different scenarios.. neither has anything to do with bobbie.. bobbie gets an offer for sure Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cwing Posted November 30, 2009 Report Share Posted November 30, 2009 If Mathis was healthy today and what is stated in the article is true, then why did Livings start again? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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