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Hill: If Bengals draft RB, he'll be my backup


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Jeremy Hill: If Bengals draft RB, he'll be my backup

By Jeremy Bergman NFL.com

Published: April 12, 2017

The Cincinnati Bengals missed the postseason last year for the first time since 2010, a misstep that was just the start of what is amounting to be a rough offseason.

Three of Cincy's most unheralded, but vital, offensive players -- Andrew Whitworth, Kevin Zeitler, Rex Burkhead -- departed in free agency. Marvin Lewis indicated that he doesn't expect to receive a contract extension after this season. Now, the Bengals are requesting visits from the draft's top running backs, already one of their deeper positions.

While some fans are questioning whether the organization is suddenly sinking into the Ohio River and/or back into irrelevance, Jeremy Hill isn't worried about much of the turnover in Cincinnati or at his position.

On the reports that the Bengals worked out top tailback prospect and fellow LSU stud Leonard Fournette on Wednesday, Hill told Around The NFL he wouldn't sweat some competition this summer.

"Not at all. That's what the NFL is," Hill said. "I don't think when they drafted me, they said in my contract, they won't draft any more running backs, so I think that's understood, that's part of the business."

Hill added on Up to the Minute Live: "Best available, that's the way the Bengals do it. I would love to play with him. It'd be a great backfield attack with us three and (Giovani Bernard) and I. It'd be amazing. So if I got a chance to play with them, that'd be great.

"If they wanna draft the back high, go ahead and do it. They're probably going to be my backup."

In the final year of his four-year rookie deal, Hill would be right to take the Bengals' forays into the RB draft pool as a sign that his job is in jeopardy. While the starting tailback said he doesn't "feel any pressure" in the first contract year of his career, Hill did acknowledge that to be the player he wants to be -- and secure his place on future Bengals rosters -- he needs to complete his game.

"For me, it's getting that yards per carry higher and yards after contact, just breaking more tackles, and I think everything else will take care of itself," Hill told Around The NFL. "So I know I can get in the end zone, but it's just getting that yards per carry up and more yards after contact."

In a statistical oddity, Hill compiled 222, 223 and 222 carries in each of his first three seasons. The former LSU Tiger has led the team in rushing every year since being drafted 55th overall in 2014, but saw his yards per carry fall under 4.0 the past two seasons after a stellar 1,124-yard rookie campaign. Hill's goals for this season won't excite many fantasy owners, who are placated by the back's propensity for the end zone, but hitting high per-carry marks will definitely sweeten Hill's market come 2018.

Still, there's no guarantee that this year will be any easier for Hill, what with the better half of his offensive line -- Whitworth and Zeitler -- breaking the bank with moves to the Rams and Browns, respectively.

"Those are obviously our two best offensive linemen and anytime you lose that, it definitely hurts," Hill stated. "But we can't lose faith in the front office. They've been to the playoffs this many years. They obviously know what they're doing, so we got to trust them and trust that they're going to make the right decisions and bring guys in there and trust our coaches that they're going to have the guys up there ready to play. I'm not worried right now.

"I don't know who the five (offensive linemen) are right now. I don't think anyone knows."

There's a lot of lingering uncertainty in Cincinnati. Can the Bengals ever regain the consistent competency of the early 2010s? Will Lewis return? Will AJ McCarron's bespoke sushi franchise get off the ground?

Count the state of the Bengals running back position as one more question left answered heading into the draft.

Video interview of Jeremy at the link below as well ...

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000799604/article/jeremy-hill-if-bengals-draft-rb-hell-be-my-backup

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19 hours ago, Bleeds Orange said:

You cost our team a playoff win against Pittsburgh.  Go away.

 

Eh, so did Adam Jones, and AFAIK Hill doesn't have a habit of turning into a drunken asshole & spitting on people.  If we can keep him around because his daughter was born prematurely 6-7 years ago I'm sure we can keep Hill around.  I bet his hamster died when he was a kid or something, so he obviously deserves many many more chances.

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10 hours ago, kennethmw said:

Jeremy, don't you understand that you should have no confidence in your abilities like most of the folks on here?

Would you like to make a bet on Hill's YPC this year?

I'm down for a signature or avatar bet if you're interested. I'd love to see more "Bengals can do no wrong" folks put their money where their mouth is.

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9 hours ago, omgdrdoom said:

Would you like to make a bet on Hill's YPC this year?

I'm down for a signature or avatar bet if you're interested. I'd love to see more "Bengals can do no wrong" folks put their money where their mouth is.

Ohh snap... Laying down the gauntlet with a sig/avatar bet.

Ken's not man enough to take that beat.

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5 hours ago, PatternMaster said:

Ohh snap... Laying down the gauntlet with a sig/avatar bet.

Ken's not man enough to take that beat.

Aww, look, the little hype man!   Let's have a real bet.  I'll bet both of you whiners $250 a piece that he starts 8 or more games as long as he's not injured.  Fuck the avatar shit, put your money where your mouth is.

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9 hours ago, kennethmw said:

Aww, look, the little hype man!   Let's have a real bet.  I'll bet both of you whiners $250 a piece that he starts 8 or more games as long as he's not injured.  Fuck the avatar shit, put your money where your mouth is.

1. Lol I'm not going to bet some unknown on the internet any cash; it's not just you, it's the fact that it's real easy to not pay up. The typical message board bets are sig/av bets, take it or leave it. My point was that there are a few of you on here that can't help yourself but defend every single thing about the team, so I'd like to see you actually believe in your predictions instead of just being a message board trollbot that posts the same generic responses in every thread. I love the Bengals, but there are some things they do right, some things they do wrong. Some of our players suck, some are great. I don't see the harm in trying to be realistic. FWIW, the guys that incessantly bash the franchise and all of our players are just as obnoxious.

2. I couldn't give a fuck less who "starts" a football game. Sometimes a player will "start" (aka play the first snap of the game) and then proceed to play 1/2 the snaps as their "backup". There are dudes that are mediocre or worse football players that start 8+ games every single year around the NFL. Let's talk actual performance if you're so confident in Hill's ability. Betting on starts is seriously the most absurd way to judge a guy having a good year or not.

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The more I read some of your posts, the more I realize your balance. That is a good place to be. Some may say it's more of a relevant position, or a Scarecrow Some People travel both ways stance, but I consider it more legal argument enhanced. My compliments. 

With that said (and isn't there always a "but"?), Ken and I do share the same POV as to the chronic bellyachers--not just here but on all message boards. 

The best line I have seen, is that of "people get paid a lot of money, and have decades of actual NFL management experience--quantum more than pharmacists on message boards". 

Yeah, it's fun to muse and play GM/HC...but when the pharmacists/know-it-alls state conclusively that their POV is as solid or better as the actual professionals, I can only lol. They can be right, of course, but know-it-all slot machine players can hit it right too. 

I guess I am the eternal optimist when it comes to this silly game--which isn't worth $250 or an avitar bet. Every season is fresh and new--with its own challenges and positives. I can remember walking out of Riverfront Stadium in 1987, thinking there was no way this dysfunctional organization could even get to .500 ever again. The following year proved to me that each season is its own individual capsule--where there are no absolutes. 

I am sure a "This guy" will be forthcoming from the Prince Know-It-All here, but that's OK. It's just a game, and this is just an opinion forum. Happy Easter, everyone. 

 

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Deferring to the experts only makes sense so long as they have the same goals.  That argument loses merit when the goal of winning games is secondary to other concerns.  Sometimes that's a compelling sob story, sometimes it's a sunk-cost scenario where Player A is starting over Player B because of draft position or salary.  It's also worth considering that these experts are in a highly competitive and overly scrutinized position, so may choose to go down with the ship before admitting they made a mistake.  Combine these factors with a general lack of accountability with this particular franchise and you create a situation where Joe Sixpack is free to state the obvious, with the singular goal in mind of winning more games, where on the other hand a coach or team exec might be basing their decision on other factors that matter little at all to the average fan.

Point being that this appeal to authority isn't a terribly sound argument.  I don't think it'd be hard for anyone following the team to think of examples where the coaches have drawn out a decision or move that the fans saw coming well before it was made.  It's not that the fans know better, it's that they aren't constrained by the same fear of losing their job, reputation, or being hamstrung by the messiah complex of the business owner, and so on.  It's much easier for us to make an objective assessment of the facts, is all.  Or more accurately, there are no real repercussions for sharing it.

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4 hours ago, T-Dub said:

Deferring to the experts only makes sense so long as they have the same goals.  That argument loses merit when the goal of winning games is secondary to other concerns.  Sometimes that's a compelling sob story, sometimes it's a sunk-cost scenario where Player A is starting over Player B because of draft position or salary.  It's also worth considering that these experts are in a highly competitive and overly scrutinized position, so may choose to go down with the ship before admitting they made a mistake.  Combine these factors with a general lack of accountability with this particular franchise and you create a situation where Joe Sixpack is free to state the obvious, with the singular goal in mind of winning more games, where on the other hand a coach or team exec might be basing their decision on other factors that matter little at all to the average fan.

Point being that this appeal to authority isn't a terribly sound argument.  I don't think it'd be hard for anyone following the team to think of examples where the coaches have drawn out a decision or move that the fans saw coming well before it was made.  It's not that the fans know better, it's that they aren't constrained by the same fear of losing their job, reputation, or being hamstrung by the messiah complex of the business owner, and so on.  It's much easier for us to make an objective assessment of the facts, is all.  Or more accurately, there are no real repercussions for sharing it.

 

13 hours ago, omgdrdoom said:

1. Lol I'm not going to bet some unknown on the internet any cash; it's not just you, it's the fact that it's real easy to not pay up. The typical message board bets are sig/av bets, take it or leave it. My point was that there are a few of you on here that can't help yourself but defend every single thing about the team, so I'd like to see you actually believe in your predictions instead of just being a message board trollbot that posts the same generic responses in every thread. I love the Bengals, but there are some things they do right, some things they do wrong. Some of our players suck, some are great. I don't see the harm in trying to be realistic. FWIW, the guys that incessantly bash the franchise and all of our players are just as obnoxious.

2. I couldn't give a fuck less who "starts" a football game. Sometimes a player will "start" (aka play the first snap of the game) and then proceed to play 1/2 the snaps as their "backup". There are dudes that are mediocre or worse football players that start 8+ games every single year around the NFL. Let's talk actual performance if you're so confident in Hill's ability. Betting on starts is seriously the most absurd way to judge a guy having a good year or not.

Buck, buck, buck, buck.

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