Arkansas Bengal Posted August 28, 2014 Report Share Posted August 28, 2014 Five Bengals To Watch vs the Indianapolis Colts By Brennen Warner @JustBeWarned on Aug 27 2014, 7:00p Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports Here are some names to remember when you watch tomorrow's game live at the stadium or on tape delay. Russell Bodine, center Most of the starters won't play in this game, but Russell Bodine should get a few series in tomorrow's game. He's a rookie who hasn't played up to par yet. Quite frankly, he needs the experience playing against lesser competition as well as a bit of a confidence boost. There was a heated discussion yesterday on our Russell Bodine film piece about Bodine's performance so far. Fortunately, to settle the debate, our own Joe Goodberry has watched and graded eight of the offensive linemen from all three games. Click on the link to view the full statistics. I chose to provide Zeitler's statistics as a control. Zeitler, Andre Smith, and Andrew Whitworth all play at a very high level. Boling falls somewhere in the middle, and Bodine's preseason performances thus far have been ...bad. Of course, he is just a rookie. But this excuse falls flat when a proven veteran in Mike Pollak is now healthy and has been more steady in limited action. Bodine and Zeitler both had more snaps than Pollak, who did not play in the Chiefs game because the Bengals have been giving him rest days as he comes back from an ACL injury. Bodine has been far better as a pass protector than a run blocker. Joe Goodberry chose to include screen blocking as a pass blocking number, so Bodine's true pass blocking numbers likely are five positive blocks and five negative blocks. The glaring number is Bodine's 11 negative run blocks, as well as two holding penalties on run plays (one wasn't called). These plays have hurt Gio Bernard's production and put the Bengals in 2nd/3rd and long situations. With Ravens' Nose tackle Brandon Williams (who has posted a +4.3 run defense grade this preseason) coming up in week one, the Bengals may struggle to run the ball up the middle. James Wilder Jr., running back I struggled to pick another offensive player to watch because most of the starters won't play and many of the backup receivers and running backs are injured. Cobi Hamilton and James Wright are currently battling for the 6th receiver spot, but Wright may miss tomorrow's game due to a concussion. With Rex Burkhead out with a knee injury, and Cedric Peerman and BenJarvus Green-Ellis both dealing with hip injuries, Wilder and Jeremy Hill may play most of this game. Wilder's physical run-through-you running style didn't help him early in training camp because most plays are whistled dead at first contact. He also didn't do well in pass protection early on, but improved greatly the next time he has given a shot. Now he has an opportunity to get a lot of carries against weaker competition. I fully expect him to have some impressive runs and run over a few of the Colts backups. He does need to lower his pad level as well because he tends to run very upright. Sean Porter, linebacker Porter was a player to watch last week because he had been taking first team snaps in practice while Burfict was out with a stomach bug. However, Burfict ended up playing in the Cardinals game and Vincent Rey came onto the field when Burfict went down with a minor hamstring issue. Porter ended up only getting 18 snaps, but he played well in coverage. He was thrown at twice, allowing no completions and recorded an interception off a tip ball in garbage time on the last play of the game. He should play more snaps against the Colts backups. Since Jayson DiManche is the first backup at strong side linebacker, I believe he has a leg up on the Porter and Marquis Flowers for the 5th LB spot. That leaves Porter and Flowers in a close battle for the 6th linebacker spot. Keep an eye on both of these players. They are neck and neck in terms of ability, but Porter has the slight edge right now. Porter played as the second team weak side linebacker, while Flowers was on the third team. Christo Bilukidi, defensive tackle Bilukidi is thought to be battling Devon Still for the 4th defensive tackle spot. Still went down with a hamstring injury in the Cardinals game, and of course he is in a terrible real life situation with his daughter being diagnosed with cancer in early June. The team might choose to keep Still on the 53-man roster no matter what, due to his underlying potential and the fact that the team should support him in a time like this. Bilukidi looked bad in run defense against the Jets, but he has looked decent enough to make the team consider him as the 4th defensive tackle. He has long arms and shows his strength in one-on-one matchups. He will get a big chunk of snaps against the Colts to show his ability. Bilukidi will be eligible to be added to the practice squad under the new rules. This seems to be the most likely ending to this tough scenario. Also keep an eye on LaKendrick Ross, who has flashed ability as a space-eating nose tackle. Marvin Lewis has called him the strongest guy in the building, yet Ross has only played two seasons of organized football. Ross didn't get any snaps in the Cardinals game, perhaps because the Bengals want to sneak him onto the practice squad. The other Bengals backup DTs have struggled taking on double teams, but Ross has done it well. He might be the guy to step up as Peko's backup at nose tackle in 2015. Margus Hunt, defensive end Hunt looked very good through the first two games, making several splash plays per game. However, he had his worst game of the preseason last week against the Cardinals. He only posted one tackle and didn't earn a single pressure in 19 pass rushing snaps. He looks better at defensive end than defensive tackle, where he seems to lose leverage because he can't get his pads low enough. He needs to play better as a pass rusher against the Colts backups. Hunt will be relied on in nickel packages this year at left defensive end, so he needs to become more consistent as a pass rusher. Right now, he can look like J.J. Watt on one play, then like an undrafted free agent on the next. http://www.cincyjungle.com/2014/8/27/6075779/five-bengals-to-watch-vs-the-indianapolis-colts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big_dish Posted August 28, 2014 Report Share Posted August 28, 2014 I hope they don't play hill much at all. I know he's technically not a first stronger, but I think he could be a huge difference maker this year. Let's not risk him in preseason game 4. Just run wilder every down like a normal 1 back team. Who cares. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
membengal Posted August 28, 2014 Report Share Posted August 28, 2014 I think they should bring back DeDe Dorsey from wherever he is. Game 4 of the pre-season was always his time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba Posted August 28, 2014 Report Share Posted August 28, 2014 I think they should bring back DeDe Dorsey from wherever he is. Game 4 of the pre-season was always his time. Dede was awesome. He still lives in Cincy. He was good in real games too when given the chance. I remember at home vs Rams. He tore it up. He was just too small and couldn't block. Or take the pounding to stick with a team. Dude could blocks kicks too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scharm Posted August 28, 2014 Report Share Posted August 28, 2014 I think they should bring back DeDe Dorsey from wherever he is. Game 4 of the pre-season was always his time. Yes! If there was a preseason game 4 Hall of Fame he'd be the first one in. Blocking punts. Making plays. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scharm Posted August 28, 2014 Report Share Posted August 28, 2014 I don't know how long they play Bodine. But they've named him a starter and he's run with starters day 1. Yeah, there is a little of "prove it" mentality from the fan base and the name Pollak being thrown and I'm not saying that's not a legit deal but..... treat him like a starter in Preseason game 4. I say that goes with any other young player expected to contribute. IMO, there's very little to be learned from this game that justifies the risk of losing 1 to injury. Alot of people love to hate on Cook but losing him and trying to replace him going into Baltimore was a kick in the nuts. Losing Lamur was a kick in the nuts. Let's not repeat by giving a guy extra snaps going against 2nd/3rd teamers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HairOnFire Posted August 28, 2014 Report Share Posted August 28, 2014 Five to watch? Russel Bodine - Might be country strong but IMHO needs to do a better job of matching the level of aggression and violence of the defenders he faces. A work in progress, his play hasn't come close to matching the praise he's gotten from coaches. James Wilder Jr - Sure I'll watch but I can't imagine any way he makes the roster no matter how many yards he might gain. Michael Basnight v2.0 Sean Porter - May be the one player mentioned whose play against the Colts might determine his roster fate. Almost a forgotten man already, I found myself watching Porter against the Cards simply to better judge how he's built, how he moves, and how he runs. If he plays extended snaps against the Colts it might be possible to get some idea how Porter actually plays. Christo Bilukidi - Said to be locked in a roster scrum with Devon Still, IMHO neither player has done anything noteworthy to date, and an impressive performance against Colt 3rd stringers probably won't be enough to move the needle for Bilukidi. Margus Hunt - He's been a "player to watch" for three games in a row, and if he plays more than a dozen snaps against the Colts I'll need an explanation why. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unleashed Posted August 28, 2014 Report Share Posted August 28, 2014 I hope they don't play hill much at all. I know he's technically not a first stronger, but I think he could be a huge difference maker this year. Let's not risk him in preseason game 4. Just run wilder every down like a normal 1 back team. Who cares. Agreed. I haven't heard that they are worried about him in pass protection which would be the only reason I could see him playing much tonight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldcat Posted August 28, 2014 Report Share Posted August 28, 2014 I think they should bring back DeDe Dorsey from wherever he is. Game 4 of the pre-season was always his time. He could play for both sides.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparky151 Posted August 28, 2014 Report Share Posted August 28, 2014 I don't know how long they play Bodine. But they've named him a starter and he's run with starters day 1. Yeah, there is a little of "prove it" mentality from the fan base and the name Pollak being thrown and I'm not saying that's not a legit deal but..... treat him like a starter in Preseason game 4. I say that goes with any other young player expected to contribute. IMO, there's very little to be learned from this game that justifies the risk of losing 1 to injury. Alot of people love to hate on Cook but losing him and trying to replace him going into Baltimore was a kick in the nuts. Losing Lamur was a kick in the nuts. Let's not repeat by giving a guy extra snaps going against 2nd/3rd teamers. Bodine should get as many snaps as he can handle. If he got hurt we have fallback options in Pollak or Robinson. Bodine needs seasoning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scharm Posted August 28, 2014 Report Share Posted August 28, 2014 Bodine should get as many snaps as he can handle. If he got hurt we have fallback options in Pollak or Robinson. Bodine needs seasoning. I wouldn't. Don't know what they do tonight. Going into Baltimore it'd be nice not to have too many "doubtfuls" to try to lock down the first win there since 2009. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rumble In the Jungle Posted August 28, 2014 Report Share Posted August 28, 2014 I'm pumped. Hope Wilder runs crazy and make the team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba Posted August 28, 2014 Report Share Posted August 28, 2014 I'm pumped. Hope Wilder runs crazy and make the team. Yes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BENGALBRIAN22 Posted August 28, 2014 Report Share Posted August 28, 2014 Anyplace to watch online ????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BengalBuck Posted August 28, 2014 Report Share Posted August 28, 2014 I wish the Bengals could find a Center even just half as good as Rich Braham. That position has been a giant black hole of suck since he left. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Lucid| Posted August 29, 2014 Report Share Posted August 29, 2014 I wish the Bengals could find a Center even just half as good as Rich Braham. That position has been a giant black hole of suck since he left. I really think we have a good one in Bodine. He's done an amazing job so far as a rookie setting the protections, he looks great in the run game and so far better than Cook was last season at holding his ground and giving Andy room to move up in the pocket (a HUGE problem last season IMO). I expect to see some rookie moments and struggles, and he definitely needs to iron out his issue with the shotgun snap, but overall I have been extremely impressed with him. I was never a fan of Cook, and I thought Guycheck was awful from day 1. I was also not a fan of giving Bodine the starting job his first year but so far he has shown me that it seems I was wrong about that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HairOnFire Posted August 29, 2014 Report Share Posted August 29, 2014 So yeah, 5 guys to watch and the only one I was really interested in watching closely (Porter) gets hurt almost immediately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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