|High School Harry| Posted August 17, 2018 Report Share Posted August 17, 2018 https://www.cincyjungle.com/2018/8/17/17690510/5-bengals-to-watch-for-against-the-cowboys 5 Bengals to watch for against the Cowboys Expect a few hot names to be featured earlier in the Bengals’ second preseason matchup in Dallas. By John Sheeran@John__Sheeran Aug 17, 2018, 7:00am The Cincinnati Enquirer-USA TODAY NETWORK The Bengals are on the road for the first time this preseason when they face the Cowboys in Dallas. The game will get a primetime broadcast on the NFL Network, so this will be a great chance to see what the 2018 Bengals are capable of. Here are five Bengals to watch in preseason game No. 2: Jeff Driskel The preseason is starting to look like Driskel’s backyard playground. In five career exhibition games from last year to now with the Bengals, the third-year quarterback has thrown for 304 yards on 8.44 yards per attempt with two touchdowns and no interceptions for a passer rating of 111.34. As of this moment, Driskel is still behind Matt Barkley as Andy Dalton’s backup, but head coach Marvin Lewis hinted at Driskel playing behind the first-team offensive line in traditional Lewis fashion: “Stay tuned (laughs) and claps his hands" Quarterbacks coach Alex Van Pelt also expressed interest in letting Driskel loose a little earlier in the game. Does this mean Driskel will start playing in front of Barkley, or will the first group of offensive lineman play more? If I were a betting man, my money would be on the former. But I’m not, and I’ll never put my money on the line based off the words of Lewis. But this is something to keep an eye on. Auden Tate Similar to Driskel, there’s speculation that we could see Tate out on the field earlier than the second half like last Thursday. Tate saw reps with the first-team offense late last week in practice, and Cody Coredid not practice yesterday for undisclosed reasons. His preseason opener acted like the culmination of his work in training camp, and with Core seemingly getting phased out of receiving room simultaneously, we could see Tate out there against slightly better competition. Alex Redmond Behind Trey Hopkins at right guard, Redmond and Christian Westerman are still vying for Hopkins’ spot, and the competition won’t be settled until the beginning of the regular season. But it appears that it’ll be Redmond who might get the first chance with center Billy Price and right tackle Bobby Hart beside him with the first-team unit. Redmond has been taking snaps with the first-team over the past couple of practices, so the Bengals offense could be preparing to take Hopkins out and put Redmond in a little earlier than last week. Brandon Bell The injury to linebacker Vincent Rey could have many beneficiaries in the linebackers room, but Bell could be the biggest winner. Taking snaps with the second-team unit right after Rey left the preseason opener with his sprained ankle, Bell saw plenty of action and even caught an interception. With Rey’s status for Saturday’s game in doubt, Bell will probably be taking his reps at SAM linebacker behind starter Nick Vigil. He still has an outside shot of making the roster, but more playing time will not hurt his chances. Jessie Bates While Bates did not make a lot of splash plays in training camp, he’s still a highly-regarded talent and is expected to make an impact early on in the regular season. He replaced George Iloka at free safety at the beginning of the second series for the defense, and Lewis’ comments reflect that to continue going forward: “We have been pushing him in (the game) early, and you want to see him take command when he has to take command.” Lewis explained. “He could end up being the guy back there real quick. You have to keep urging Jessie to move forward.” It sounds like Bates will in fact see the field early and often throughout the preseason, and we’ll be watching to see him make his first impact play against a questionable Cowboys passing game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|High School Harry| Posted August 17, 2018 Author Report Share Posted August 17, 2018 #30 in the picture has short arms. Especially the left one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Bunghole| Posted August 17, 2018 Report Share Posted August 17, 2018 I think Tate has played his way into being a lock for the roster, and I do think the Bengals go with 7 WR's and go short somewhere else on the roster (2 QB's?). Tate will never last on the practice squad. The only reason he dropped so far was his combine 40 time, which was admittedly slow for a wideout, but damn, his height, catch radius and leaping ability alone make him a worthy redzone target. His presence on plays like that would go a long way towards ameliorating any absences on the part of Eifert in terms of that role for the offense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Bunghole| Posted August 17, 2018 Report Share Posted August 17, 2018 Also, I sure hope Driskell becomes the backup. Barkley is trash and has no advantage in my mind just because "he's a veteran". So is Driskell, and Driskell seems to have a good knack for making plays when it counts, especially when pass pro breaks down on him, like that TD to Tate in the last preseason game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-Dub Posted August 18, 2018 Report Share Posted August 18, 2018 1 hour ago, Bunghole said: I think Tate has played his way into being a lock for the roster, and I do think the Bengals go with 7 WR's Think they'd do that if Ross had been a UDFA? I wonder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Bunghole| Posted August 18, 2018 Report Share Posted August 18, 2018 4 hours ago, T-Dub said: Think they'd do that if Ross had been a UDFA? I wonder. Hell no. Ross is a top pick, and while I'm aware you don't like him nor the pick for him, if he proves a fraction of his worth this season with that world class speed he's got, we'll both be happy I assume. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|SF2| Posted August 18, 2018 Report Share Posted August 18, 2018 11 hours ago, T-Dub said: Think they'd do that if Ross had been a UDFA? I wonder. You can't teach that kind of speed. He wasn't an UDFA because he has Olympic Trials type speed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-Dub Posted August 18, 2018 Report Share Posted August 18, 2018 42 minutes ago, SF2 said: You can't teach that kind of speed. He wasn't an UDFA because he has Olympic Trials type speed. Yeah you're right, but this isn't Olympic Trials. He ran, what, 2/10ths of a second faster than others? 40 yards in a straight line. In shorts. Against nobody. Forget that 40 time & where he was drafted for a minute. He's dropping balls in practice, he's maybe 4th on the depth chart, doesn't seem well suited for a returner or other ST role. Right now, today, is he worth carrying as a 7th WR? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|SF2| Posted August 18, 2018 Report Share Posted August 18, 2018 3 hours ago, T-Dub said: Yeah you're right, but this isn't Olympic Trials. He ran, what, 2/10ths of a second faster than others? 40 yards in a straight line. In shorts. Against nobody. Forget that 40 time & where he was drafted for a minute. He's dropping balls in practice, he's maybe 4th on the depth chart, doesn't seem well suited for a returner or other ST role. Right now, today, is he worth carrying as a 7th WR? While I agree with the latter part of your post, .2 seconds at the end of a 40 is a good 2 yards. Any move he makes to make the DB bite even a tiny bit equals 4 yards. However, just like Bob Hayes, he will have some growing pains. At the end of the day, if the kid can stay healthy and learn the playbook, he could be pretty lethal. Do you think Tom Brady would love this kid in the Wes Welker role if he could learn the playbook? Of course he would. You can't teach this kind of speed. I ran up against it playing Division 1 college soccer. The kid wasn't nearly as skilled as I was,.. it didn't fucking matter.. I simply could not match or even angle out his pace. The worst part is the kid didn't speak english so I couldn't even get in his fucking head. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Posted August 18, 2018 Report Share Posted August 18, 2018 I want to see Tate catch a few passes from Andy tonight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|kennethmw| Posted August 19, 2018 Report Share Posted August 19, 2018 On 8/18/2018 at 9:28 AM, T-Dub said: Yeah you're right, but this isn't Olympic Trials. He ran, what, 2/10ths of a second faster than others? 40 yards in a straight line. In shorts. Against nobody. Forget that 40 time & where he was drafted for a minute. He's dropping balls in practice, he's maybe 4th on the depth chart, doesn't seem well suited for a returner or other ST role. Right now, today, is he worth carrying as a 7th WR? 7th? You're friggin delusional. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-Dub Posted August 19, 2018 Report Share Posted August 19, 2018 9 minutes ago, kennethmw said: 7th? You're friggin delusional. OK, fair enough. Somewhere between 7th WR and Top 10 draft pick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Bunghole| Posted August 19, 2018 Report Share Posted August 19, 2018 4 hours ago, T-Dub said: OK, fair enough. Somewhere between 7th WR and Top 10 draft pick. I do think he has potential as a PR. Yes, he probably shouldn't have let that punt go last night, but he knows how to do it. For some reason, it seems like he's psyching himself out or something. He looks tentative out there like he's not sure of himself. If he or someone can help him get his confidence back I think he could be pretty productive out there. I still miss Adam Jones for his punt returns. He was the best returner we've ever had, absolutely fearless, no fair catches, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saphead Posted August 20, 2018 Report Share Posted August 20, 2018 Jessie Bates' middle name is Mastur. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Bunghole| Posted August 21, 2018 Report Share Posted August 21, 2018 9 hours ago, saphead said: Jessie Bates' middle name is Mastur. Ah, but the servant waits, while the master baits... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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