This Year's Breakout Star

[HairOnFire]

Who do you think will have a bigger/better impact for us than they did last year? 

 

Dalton.

[Madieu Superstar]

 

Kirkpatrick did have a pick and a pick 6 of Flacco in the final game last year.  This might be a sign he is gaining his sea legs out there.

To play Devils Advocate, he should have dropped the first one and the second one was an errant pass thrown right at him. 

[Tigris]

To play Devils Advocate, he should have dropped the first one and the second one was an errant pass thrown right at him. 

Yep. Kirkpatrick sucks. Sure hope he does something this year. Right now I say he's our 5th best corner. I'll take any of the top 3 and the rook over him. Thinking about it, Kirk may not see the field unless someone gets hurt.

[alleycat]

 

Dalton.

 

Oh no you didn't!

[Zins30]

On offense, I think it will be Jeremy Hill. He has a chance to come in and make a huge impact as the #2, just like Gio did last year. If he is what the Bengals think he is, we could legitimately have one of the best RB duos in the entire NFL. He gives you so much of a boost. Unlike BJGE, he can catch the ball out of the backfield and provide big plays running the ball. So teams can't stack the box when he's in there. And moreso than Gio, he can run with some power between the tackles and be the guy to bury teams in the 4th quarter when we have the lead. Probably will see Gio get 55-60% of the touches and Hill get 40-45%, but even as the backup, he should be able to really impact the team since he'll be touching the ball 10-15 times a game.

 

On defense, no secret that I love Emmanuel Lamur. I think he steps in as starting SLB and adds a real athletic presence that we haven't had at the position. He also should get a ton of snaps in nickel as I think he will be able to push Maualuga to the bench in passing situations. It wouldn't surprise me if he actually has more snaps overall than Maualuga this season. I see his size, speed and coverage ability adding a real boost to the middle of the D. And it's one of the few spots where the D could really use a boost. We've been great just about everywhere except for pass coverage from our LBs.

 

I'm trying to remember - was Lamur in line to start at SLB last season before getting injured?  Where did Harrison expect to get some PT - I assume he'd sign on expecting to start...

 

Maybe I can re-watch Hard Knocks to get a sense of where things stood but I imagine I'd only get clips of James' middle finger or turning around in LB meetings....

[Squirrlnutz]

I am hopeful Lamur becomes the guy many envision but I'm definitely in the "prove it" camp.  I was pretty reluctant to like Vinny Rey at first, but once he played regularly he impacted games just as much as Burfict and I'd think he was inline to get more playing time.  But their small RFA offer and lack of interest from other teams would indicate otherwise I guess.

 

I expect Dre to make a big impact.  If you watched the Cowboys preseason game and the final 3 games of the year and aren't convinced he made enormous leaps during those 18 weeks, I'm not sure what would convince you.  The trouble with the biting on the double move is 100% a Mike Zimmer/Marvin Lewis scheme issue and not a "Dre" issue.  Every CB that has played under those two gets smoked on that move from time to time because they are taught to be aggressive and expect our front four to disrupt the timing enough so that double moves are not possible.  Most of the time they are not possible, but when it happens the CB is left looking like a shmuck.

I think Dre/Dennard send Newman to the bench and possibly make him a cut day casualty depending on Hall's health.

[JC]

Gotta be Eifert.  I think now that he's seen the speed of the game and can now adjust, we are going to see great things.  I imagine they line him in the slot quite a bit this year.

[Oldcat]

 

I'm trying to remember - was Lamur in line to start at SLB last season before getting injured?  Where did Harrison expect to get some PT - I assume he'd sign on expecting to start...

 

Maybe I can re-watch Hard Knocks to get a sense of where things stood but I imagine I'd only get clips of James' middle finger or turning around in LB meetings....

 

Lamur was in line to get a lot of playing time before he got hurt.  Probably similar to what Taylor Mays was doing and then V Rey did later.

[JBandJoeyV]

Eifert or hunt are the obvious choices.

Hamilton perhaps as well.

I'm gonna go for a long shot and guess hawkinson.

[Jason]

The two guys I am watching are Eiffert and Hunt

Crap, I agree with Jamie AGAIN. Maybe I need to see my doctor.




:lol:

[B.A.B.]

Rey Maualuga and I'm not joking...that much. He made serious strides last season tho he seemed to decline a bit after Geno went down and later on. But at times last season he showed definite fire and intensity that I had never really seen from him at times

[texbengal]

Offense - Hill, Eifert

Defense - Dre, Lamur

[HairOnFire]

 

Oh no you didn't!

 

 

I sure did, and perhaps crazier still....I can't believe I'm the only one to do so.

[MichaelWeston]

I will just throw in a name that has not been mentioned. Onterrio McCalleb. 3-5 plays from scrimmage and all returns sounds good to me.

[dex]

Lamur. He could end up a three down LB with Burfict. Maualuga on the field only when they play three LBs.

 

Some might say Marvin Jones was a breakout star late last season, but I still think he could take another leap forward in 2014. I expect him to get many more scrimmage snaps this season than his total for 2013.

[texbengal]

Lamur. He could end up a three down LB with Burfict. Maualuga on the field only when they play three LBs.
 
Some might say Marvin Jones was a breakout star late last season, but I still think he could take another leap forward in 2014. I expect him to get many more scrimmage snaps this season than his total for 2013.

Yes, I'd like him to be a more constant presence in the offense. I know he had some gaudy stats in some games, but it seemed to me that the explosive games were sandwiched in between games where he disappeared. Maybe that was Gruden, or Andy not looking for him, not sure. For sure, he became more of a staple in the offense as the season wore on, so I'm encouraged that he can continue to progress as more of a mainstay for an entire season.

[WRAPradio]

Offense - Hill, Eifert

Defense - Dre, Lamur

 

 

If that happens we may be in the Superbowl.

[Jamie_B]

Crap, I agree with Jamie AGAIN. Maybe I need to see my doctor.




:lol:

 

 

I believe there is some sort of cream for that. :lol:

[fluhartz]

 

 

I sure did, and perhaps crazier still....I can't believe I'm the only one to do so.

 

 

probably because he is already a star.....

[Jamie_B]

 

 

probably because he is already a star.....

 

 

I mean he has his own fragrance

 

http://youtu.be/ee6Kq5E4Yts

[Inigo Montoya]

Not sure how Dalton can "break out" after setting franchise records last year. Plus, his new o-coordinator is promising to lighten his workload and emphasize the running game. That would imply a potential drop in his overall numbers.

My nominee would be the obvious choice, Tyler Eifert. I thought he was under-utilized last year and could be a match up nightmare with so many other weapons to worry about.

[happyrid]

 

I'm trying to remember - was Lamur in line to start at SLB last season before getting injured?  Where did Harrison expect to get some PT - I assume he'd sign on expecting to start...

 

Maybe I can re-watch Hard Knocks to get a sense of where things stood but I imagine I'd only get clips of James' middle finger or turning around in LB meetings....

 

Yes, according to Hobson the Bengals were planning on him playing about 750 snaps. That is a starter type role (I believe we had around 1100 or something on D). Basically out there about 2/3rds of the time. 

 

I think that's what we'll see this year. The Bengals do package the LBs some so I don't think he'll be out there every single down. But something like 70-75% of the snaps. 

[happyrid]

To add a little more Lamur background, here is an article from early in camp last year:

 

From fantasy football to film, the defensive line is hailed as the best in the game.

The secondary has more skins on the wall than a country club.

But you won't hear much about the Cincinnati linebackers unless you spend a few days eavesdropping in the Paul Brown Stadium environs on men watching them daily. And it won't be long before you realize the Bengals think this group has the potential to take the defense deep beyond the No. 6 ranking they're defending.

It starts with two second-year specimens that run around on passing downs in Vontaze Burfict and Emmanuel Lamur. It hangs with middle linebacker Rey Maualuga, a second-round pick in 2009 that head coach Marvin Lewis and Mike Zimmer battled to keep in free agency. It is topped off by James Harrison, already an NFL icon learning a new but old position at SAM backer on the outside.

Over here is Pro Bowl left tackle Andrew Whitworth: "I can't think of another 4-3 defense where you say they have three better looking guys than what we have. Then you have Lamur, as athletic as he is. You almost have a guy built for all situations. You've got a guy like James you put on the ball; he's done that for years. You've got Burfict who can flow and is a tackling machine. You've got Rey who can fill and a guy like Lamur that can cover."

Now here comes running backs coach Hue Jackson, the former Raiders head coach and current Bengals running backs coach, approaching Lamur. Lamur, the 6-4 gazelle-ish former Kansas State freshman safety, pops eyeballs every day. That will happen when you run 4.5 seconds in the 40-yard dash and show up with 11 more pounds than last year at 241.

 

"You're running like a scalded dog," Jackson says. "I love this guy. I love speed. I watch this guy every day. Because he can run, hit and he loves to play the game."

Over here is cornerback Terence Newman, a two-time Pro Bowler in the NFC with the Cowboys that has seen the NFL's last decade.

"From front to back, we've got as many quality players as anybody in the league," Newman says of his defense. "The linebacking corps is phenomenal. They make plays in the passing game and the running game. The crazy part is we've got guys that are big and can run. They can hit and they cover. When you talk football, they're all smart as hell, too. You listen to ask them ask questions and when Zim asks questions, they rattle off the answers like nothing. It's impressive."

This is why Newman covets Burfict, his locker mate.

"He doesn't want to stay put," Newman says. "If he thinks he had a bad practice, he's always asking me what he could have done better."

And standing on the field at the end of practice Wednesday is head coach Marvin Lewis. There is no one alive who knows more about developing and coaching linebackers in the AFC Central and North of the last 22 seasons. From Burfict to Greg Lloyd. And in between he coached that generation's best linebacker in Ray Lewis.

"They've got so much upside," Lewis says. "They're not only physically good. They're very good mentally. Very, very good that way."

When Lewis first arrived in Cincinnati 11 seasons ago, he wanted to surround his front four with speedy backers that could also counter the 3-4 Steelers and Ravens on special teams. But the 225-pound Khalid Abdullahs, Caleb Millers and Landon Johnsons of the world just never worked out in the NFL's most physical division. God love them, they played hard but those days are long gone looking at Lamur and the 6-1, 255-pound Burfict.

"They look like NFL linebackers. You want guys 6-2 and 240-some pounds," Lewis says. "We had some good football players, but their bodies never matured as much as you would have hoped."

Which is why the Bengals signed Lamur last year after the draft. He was a 228 or so pound ex-safety, but he has a bigger frame than that. He proved it when he came back this year after living with his family in West Palm Beach, Fla., and got beefed up by his mother's recipes from her native Haiti.

Poulet à L'haïtienne, or Haitian chicken, is his favorite.

"I just ate healthier being with my family every day," Lamur says. "A lot of greens. A lot of rice and beans."

Now Newman is calling Lamur "kind of a freak," and when linebackers coach Paul Guenther watches his film of Burfict and Lamur in the nickel package, he is struck by the speed.

"You kind of say, 'Zoom,' " says Guenther, who is also using Lamur as a backup at both SAM and WILL in the base defense as well as starting him in the nickel.

Lamur's partner in the nickel, Burfict, who fittingly wears 55, says they're playing fast for a reason.

"E-man and I know the playbook like the back of our hands," Burfict says. "Plus Guenther has been coaching us since we were yay high. We've been working together since rookie minicamp. When he asks a question, we're the first two guys that answer it."

That's about the only question Burfict is answering these days after a crushing rookie year under the microscope. America loved his story last season, rubbernecking that one long, car wreck out of the first round to free agency.

But when his 174 tackles proved he could play, Burfict is now not nearly as interesting as Harrison or franchise player Michael Johnson, or two-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Geno Atkins, or even the mystery safety next toReggie Nelson.

"Put me back a little bit. I like being under the radar," Burfict says. "Don't worry about me. Don't worry about anything."

So now Harrison is getting the microphones and Lewis a little bit, too. There is a school of thought that Harrison doesn't fit here as a lifelong 3-4 outside backer in his first life as Dick LeBeau's top rusher off the edge with the Steelers.

But, remember, Lewis studied under LeBeau 20 years ago in Pittsburgh.

"The (Pittsburgh) defense there was constructed very similar to the defense here. Many of the philosophies are exactly the same," Lewis said. "The terminology, most of it is exactly the same. So all the innards of the things that we do, or the principles, were built upon the same foundation. So it’s an easy thing. Most of it. And the things that aren’t, he’s been able to handle. He’ll be asked to do some different things than he was there in certain situations, but everything that we’re asking him to do he was asked to do in his previous stop as well."

But forget all that. Forget the football. Guenther loves the guy because he's in the weight room at 6 a.m. every day.

"First guy in the building every day," Guenther says. "So that's easy for me. I just point to him and tell my guys, 'He's been in the league 12 years, he's 35 years old. That's how he's done it.' "

Burfict gives Harrison a hard time about that.

"Six a.m.," he says. "That's only because he can't sleep."

So it's obvious.

Don't sleep on these linebackers.

[happyrid]

And here are some excerpts from a more recent article:

 

Forget the rehab of Emmanuel Lamur and Clint Boling? When healthy they can be two quiet reasons the Bengals command flexibility in the nooks and crannies of the depth chart.

Emmanuel Lamur

Since the training room is already backed up with their two best defenders, it’s easy to forget that linebacker Emmanuel Lamur is ready to spring off injured reserve and give the Bengals a 700-snap player with some Cam Chancellorish traits of versatility.

And with left tackle Anthony Collins and guard Mike Pollak looking at free agency along an uncertain offensive line, it’s easy to forget that left guard Clint Boling with his 31 NFL starts is quietly vowing to be back in time for the start of training camp to provide even more flexibility in the roster game.

Boling, who underwent reconstructive ACL surgery the last day of 2013, counts out seven months between the operation and the start of camp and says it’s enough time for him to beat the whistle. Everything else can wait as the club mulls re-signing Collins and moving Andrew Whitworth to left guard.

“I absolutely think I can be back,” Boling says. "Depending on who you are, the rehab is different for everybody. I absolutely think seven months is realistic and the goal is to be ready day one.

“The team has to prepare like I’m not going to be ready because they don’t know. AC is a free agent and that’s a big question. Whit moved around a little bit last year (to left guard from left tackle when Boling got hurt Dec. 1). There’s a lot of questions that we don’t know the answers to right now, but all I can do is focus on my rehab.”

What is known is that the 6-4, 244-pound Lamur is going to be cleared in time for the April 21 start of offseason workouts, nearly eight months after he suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in the preseason finale of his second season.

In that rookie year he came off the practice squad to play the last nine games of 2012, Lamur, then just 230 pounds, showed he’s headed in the same direction as the NFL. He’s a sleek hybrid that can run all day and cause problems in pass coverage with his length as well as put some heat on the passer while being a bit of a factor in the run game.

Lamur is far from a two-time Pro Bowl safety like Seattle’s Chancellor, but the former Kansas State safety was versatile enough as an undrafted rookie to play both outside linebacker spots at SAM and WILL while also blitzing at times as a safety in certain looks. Throw in eight special teams tackles in those nine games and Lamur has also shown he can hit people.

They call Lamur “E-Man,” and the E stands for “Everywhere.”

“I want to prove I can play this game each and every down and also be a special-teamer at the same time,” Lamur says. “I want to be different. I want to break that trend that says you can’t play special teams and play every down.”

He’s already bucked one trend. All Lamur got out of the ’12 draft was a plane ticket. That’s the one the Bengals sent him so he could try out at the rookie minicamp. When the weekend ended the team signed Lamur and eight months later he made his first NFL start in a playoff game when he lined up at SAM backer.

Defensive coordinator Paul Guenther says Lamur is ready to be a three-down backer and that day could be in 2015 with SAM James Harrison turning 36 in May as he heads into the last year of his deal. For the moment, Guenther is going to team Lamur with Pro Bowl WILL backer Vontaze Burfict on passing downs, where he’ll get plenty of work.

(Linebacker isn’t a position of need in the draft even with Harrison’s age and it’s why Missouri’s Michael Sam is an unlikely choice for the Bengals. They’ve already got a fourth-round linebacker from last year, Sean Porter, coming off a shoulder injury that cut short his rookie year in training camp, as well as versatile backup Vinny Rey, a special teams ace expected to get a restricted free agent tender after a career year from scrimmage. Backup SAM and WILL Jayson DiManche returns with 12 special teams tackles as a rookie.)

“He’s got good ball awareness in zone and he’s a good man-to-man guy,” Guenther says of Lamur. “He’s a guy you like to go to with everyone playing two tight ends. He’s tall and he can run with those guys and you don’t get caught in a mismatch. He can help you in a lot of different ways. He’s smart. He knows the defense and the techniques.”

Lamur is used to listening to Guenther as his old linebackers coach. Boling is also familiar with new offensive coordinator Hue Jackson after his one season as the running backs coach. Like any offensive lineman, Jackson’s vow to hang his offense’s hat on a physical running game is music to Boling's ears.

 

[NASTYNATI]

Dalton will have a breakout year. Campbell brings the veteran leadership and knowledge of the Hue's offense. AJ McCarron will bring a competitive edge forcing Andy to step his game up and the transition to a run heavy offense will allow Dalton to get more comfortable early in games. I look for this offense to attack opposing defenses this year.