-GoBengals- Posted June 5, 2014 Report Share Posted June 5, 2014 CINCINNATI -- Our friend Scott Kacsmar of Football Outsiders had this interesting ESPN Insider article Tuesday that kind of got my brain working. So, in an effort to get you thinking, too, I decided to pose to you, our loyal Cincinnati Bengalsreaders, one of the questions he was answering. Is cornerback a hole for the Bengals? Where is the Bengals' biggest roster weakness? Offensive line Outside linebacker Cornerback Quarterback Other The overall story attempted to address the single biggest holes that remain for each AFC North team. If you take a look at the link, you'll see the Bengals aren't the only ones in the division who Kacsmar believes needs help in the back end of their defense. Before getting too deep into the conversation about cornerback, it bears mentioning that Kacsmar said he would have considered the coordinator positions to be the holes most worthy of the Bengals' attention if he wasn't focusing on player personnel. In January former offensive coordinator Jay Gruden and former defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer accepted jobs serving as the head coaches in Washington and Minnesota, respectively. They were replaced by internal hires Hue Jackson and Paul Guenther, who promise to build off the schemes Gruden and Zimmer left them. The reason Kacsmar believes cornerback is the Bengals' biggest hole with respect to player personnel is because their primary offseason addition there, rookie Darqueze Dennard, doesn't figure to be an immediate fix to what could soon become a problem. The issue? Cincinnati is getting older at the position. Leon Hall has battled injury in recent seasons and at 29 is starting to fight age, too. Adam Jones will be 31 in September. Terence Newman will be 36 that month, too. Dennard probably won't play much this first season, although he has been gaining valuable experience through the first two weeks of voluntary organized team activities, practicing with the first-team defense. On Tuesday, he ran with the first team as a slot corner, playing the position Hall will have once he returns fully from an Achilles injury that sidelined him last October. Hall expects to be back to full activity sometime next month before training camp starts July 24. Some would consider Dennard the solution to the Bengals' cornerback age problem. He was, after all, the best player available when the Bengals drafted him, and they used a first-round pick on him. They also knew that like a lot of rookie corners he didn't stand much of a chance to start regularly this season. Still, they believed he had a strong chance to do so next year. Dennard also was praised in college for being the type of cornerback Kacsmar said the Bengals needed: a true man-to-man defender who kept constant pressure on his opposing, typically single-covered receiver. That style of play made Dennard the head honcho of Michigan State's self-proclaimed "No Fly Zone" defense. So we turn it to you. Did Dennard's addition do enough to convince you cornerback wasn't a hole for the Bengals? Or do you agree with Kacsmar and believe that since he won't see the field much this year, Dennard didn't really help address Cincinnati's cornerback age issue? Or do you believe there's actually another position that deserves the Bengals' attention for fixing first? Is the offensive line a hole? The defensive line? The linebacker corps? Or is it another position altogether? Vote in our poll and share your thoughts. If you think the issue is another position we didn't mention, feel free to type it into the comments below. http://espn.go.com/blog/cincinnati-bengals/post/_/id/8280/bengals-cornerback-hole-poll-darqueze-dennard?ex_cid=espnapi_public Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-Dub Posted June 5, 2014 Report Share Posted June 5, 2014 Is ESPN a hole for sports coverage? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Elflocko| Posted June 5, 2014 Report Share Posted June 5, 2014 Is ESPN a hole for sports coverage? Lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|kennethmw| Posted June 5, 2014 Report Share Posted June 5, 2014 Is ESPN a hole for sports coverage? They are the Faux of sports broadcasting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tigris Posted June 5, 2014 Report Share Posted June 5, 2014 So basically there was nothing we could have done to fill the hole? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyrid Posted June 5, 2014 Report Share Posted June 5, 2014 It could change if we have some injuries in camp, but the Bengals don't really have any holes right now. We have depth and talent everywhere. If I had to pick one spot that has the most question marks and uncertainty, it would probably be LG/C. We don't know what we have in Bodine or Hawkinson yet. And we don't know if Boling will be healthy. Pollak should be able to fill one of the 2 spots. But I wouldn't really describe that as a hole. We have Pollak to fill 1 of the 2 spots and 3 legit options for the other spot. 1st, Bodine is what the Bengals coaches hope and an instant upgrade at Center, with the other 3 guys free to compete at LG. 2nd, even if Pollak has to start out at Center because Bodine isn't ready, Boling has been a solid starter at LG and should be healthy. 3rd, even if Bodine isn't ready and Boling isn't healthy, the team seems very high on Hawkinson who should also be just fine at LG. And that doesn't even take into account guys like Trevor Robinson, Marshall Newhouse, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparky151 Posted June 5, 2014 Report Share Posted June 5, 2014 Agree that LG/C is a question mark. We know who the starter is likely to be at MLB but Maualuga is below average and we should look to upgrade. TE is also a question mark with Eifert and Gresham not around, Charles spending his time at H-back, and Hewitt also an H-back. We may re-sign Alex Smith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EnglishBengal Posted June 5, 2014 Report Share Posted June 5, 2014 I'd say backup offensive tackle is the biggest weakness on the team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Numbers| Posted June 5, 2014 Report Share Posted June 5, 2014 Is cornerback a hole for the Bengals? No but I think cheerleader was at one point. That hole was filled by some elementary school student... :rsju31uh9: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mongo Posted June 5, 2014 Report Share Posted June 5, 2014 'Hole' is a tough term. 'Question mark' works way better.. We're still talking about Leon Hall, Adam Jones, Terrence Newman, and Dre Kirkpatrick back there. They all played well when on the field last season, and I don't have any reason yet to think they're going to suck this year. Add me to the list more concerned about the offensive line than the secondary. That C, LG shuffle is big. I'm also less than confident in their run blocking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Numbers| Posted June 5, 2014 Report Share Posted June 5, 2014 'Hole' is a tough term. 'Question mark' works way better.. We're still talking about Leon Hall, Adam Jones, Terrence Newman, and Dre Kirkpatrick back there. They all played well when on the field last season, and I don't have any reason yet to think they're going to suck this year. Add me to the list more concerned about the offensive line than the secondary. That C, LG shuffle is big. I'm also less than confident in their run blocking. I think Offensive line also. On the link was a poll and of course QB was #1 ( surprise surprise ), O Line was number 2. Where is the Bengals' biggest roster weakness? 28% Offensive line 13% Outside linebacker 12% Cornerback 33% Quarterback 14% Other (Total votes: 323) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|SF2| Posted June 5, 2014 Report Share Posted June 5, 2014 Correct me if I am wrong but wouldn't the definition of a hole at cornerback mean we don't HAVE a player in that particular position? While it is true some of our players are getting old or older lets examine it. Newman is getting long in years but he played very well last year. Last time I checked, he was healthy and back with the club. Hall is not old and is coming off an injury but all indications are is he will be fine and has been exceptional while healthy. PacMan is not old and has been a rock at his position. Add in the fact we have two first round guys warming up in the bullpen and I must admit Dre started to look like the real deal near the end of the season so where exactly are these holes? Sure, we may have some concerns in the future about the position like almost every NFL team does but for 2014, I just don't see any holes yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie_B Posted June 5, 2014 Report Share Posted June 5, 2014 I would say CB is the one area we are strong for a few years. Backup OT as EB said is a question mark. But I think the biggest question mark will be the new coordinators. Espessally Gunther as he has never done it before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bengals1181 Posted June 5, 2014 Report Share Posted June 5, 2014 Cornerback is arguably the deepest position on the roster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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