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Raiders Week 2021 Season - news/notes/obs ahead of Sunday


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1 hour ago, membengal said:

 

We can only hope... 👇🏼

 

https://bengalswire.usatoday.com/2021/11/11/bengals-sleeper-linebacker-help-struggling-position/?itm_source=parsely-api

 

Cincinnati claimed one linebacker on waivers and hosted two others on tryouts. Akeem Davis-Gaither is on injured reserve and seeking the help of a foot specialist, while Jordan Evans is also on IR and Markus Bailey is on the Reserve/COVID-19 list.

But if push comes to shove and the team is short a ‘backer or two coming out of the bye, special teams coordinator Darrin Simmons has made it clear he has plenty of confidence in practice squad linebacker Keandre Jones, per Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com:

“Keandre is a guy who’s been around here and if we go with him I’m sure he’ll be fine. He and Akeem are close to each other athletically from a size standpoint, so if we go with Keandre, we go with Keandre. If that person’s not here yet, that’s still an option for us too.”

Jones, undrafted out of Maryland in 2020, initially signed with the Bears that year before joining Cincinnati’s practice squad and got promoted to the active roster for the final two games of the season.

Draft writeups likened Jones to a bigger safety and liked his speed, so it’s no wonder the Bengals have kept him around to develop. If necessary, he’ll surely get called up and have a role on special teams wi

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The Weekly Dumpster Dive...

 

The Cincinnati Bengals have signed safety Michael J. Thomas from the practice squad to the active roster, the team announced Monday. Cincinnati also placed tight end Mitchell Wilcox on the COVID-19 list and signed linebacker Austin Calitro to the practice squad. 

Thomas, weighing in at 5-foot-11 and 195 pounds, is an eighth-year player out of Stanford who was originally a college free agent signee of the San Francisco 49ers in 2012. He joined the Bengals’ practice squad on Oct. 5, and previously spent time with the 49ers, Miami Dolphins, New York Giants and Houston Texans. He’s played in 97 career games with 281 tackles, two sacks, three interceptions, 15 pass defenses and three forced fumbles.

The 6-foot, 240-pound Calitro is a fourth-year player out of Villanova who was a college free agent signee of the New York Jets in 2017. He’s played in 42 career games with 84 tackles, 1.5 sacks and two pass defenses. Calitro was actually with the Bengals during the 2020 offseason.

Wilcox, who’s been with the Bengals since signing as an undrafted free agent out of South Florida in 2020, spent most of his first season on the practice squad, but he’s been active in all nine games thus far in 2021. He’s played primarily on special teams while logging 31 offensive snaps.

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https://www.yahoo.com/sports/nfl-power-rankings-entering-week-040437382.html

 

Yahoo Sports Power Rankings

 

17. Cincinnati Bengals (5-4, Bye Week)

The Bengals enter Week 11 and they are not the team from Ohio with the worst record in the AFC North. What they do have to be concerned with is the two-game losing streak that they brought into the bye. They face another team that is fickle and it will be fascinating to see how it plays out. Next: at Las Vegas Raiders

 

Cleveland 18

Pittsburgh 12

Baltimore 10

 

Las Vegas 15

 
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1 hour ago, High School Harry said:

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/nfl-power-rankings-entering-week-040437382.html

 

Yahoo Sports Power Rankings

 

17. Cincinnati Bengals (5-4, Bye Week)

The Bengals enter Week 11 and they are not the team from Ohio with the worst record in the AFC North. What they do have to be concerned with is the two-game losing streak that they brought into the bye. They face another team that is fickle and it will be fascinating to see how it plays out. Next: at Las Vegas Raiders

 

Cleveland 18

Pittsburgh 12

Baltimore 10

 

Las Vegas 15

 

Those Yahoo rankings are a pile of flaming 💩

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Raiders forum thread on Bengals game:

 

https://raiderforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=18684&view=unread&sid=9580735e6f7b3d3ef62ceff7a7b58cf4#unread

 

From the thread, too good not to post:

 

As I mentioned elsewhere, Bradley is an average NFL defensive coordinator: no better, no worse. Average coordinators will generally give you average defenses (unless your personnel is either really good or really bad, and ours isn't either). We all thought he was Buddy Ryan during the first part of the season because he was such an improvement over the legendarily bad Guenther. It's like going from eating out of a dumpster to eating McDonald's every meal. At first, McDonald's seems like a big step up from the dumpster, and it is. However, after awhile, you realize you're eating McDonald's for every meal.
 
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Will the Bengals make a change with Eli Apple at cornerback?

Charlie Goldsmith, Cincinnati Enquirer

https://www.yahoo.com/news/bengals-change-eli-apple-cornerback-200015082.html

Tue, November 16, 2021, 3:00 PM
 
 

According to Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo, cornerback is one of the toughest jobs on an NFL defense.

When a defensive tackle is out of position, Anarumo said that only the coaching staff and the players can spot the mistake. But if a defensive back makes a mistake, everyone can see it.

 

In the Bengals' Week 9 loss to the Cleveland Browns, Bengals cornerback Eli Apple’s mistake on a 60-yard touchdown reception was easy to spot. Apple allowed Browns receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones to run right past him up the middle of the field and make a wide open catch.

 

Over the last two weeks, Apple’s struggles in one-on-one coverage and his inconsistency as a tackler have resurfaced. Heading into the Bengals' game on Sunday against the Las Vegas Raiders, Bengals head coach Zac Taylor didn’t commit to Apple as a starting cornerback.

 

“I think we've got some depth in that (cornerback) room now,” Taylor said. “We get a chance to continue to evaluate those guys and see what kind of roles they play. Sometimes they don't come in as starters. Sometimes there's other opportunities to get them on the field and feature some of their talents.”

 

This season, the Bengals have reshaped their cornerback group more than any other position. In October, the Bengals claimed cornerback Tre Flowers, who has started 40 of his 50 career games and opened the year as the Seahawks starting outside corner. Then in November, the Bengals claimed cornerback Vernon Hargreaves III, a former first round pick who had been a starter for nearly his entire six-year career.

With Bengals starting cornerback Trae Waynes on the injured reserve, Flowers and Hargreaves have an opportunity to compete with Apple for more playing time.

 

“We need that depth to step up over the course of the season because every team is going to lean on that,” Taylor said. “I think that we've done a really good job of adding players who can provide competition and provide depth and we're in a good spot with the roster right now."

While the Bengals claimed Flowers last month, his only playing time on defense so far was his pass coverage against Baltimore Ravens tight end Mark Andrews in Week 7. Flowers’ physicality has helped him have a productive four-year career, and he has the versatility to play multiple spots in the secondary.

“You’ve got to keep adding corners in this league,” Taylor said. “It’s something a lot of teams are dealing with. We’re glad to have him.”

Hargreaves hit the waiver wire because the rebuilding Houston Texans were looking to give younger corners more opportunities. Hargreaves has had a better season than Flowers, and he has more experience this season as an outside cornerback in a role similar to Apple’s.

Hargreaves has still only participated in a handful of practices with the team, but the coaching staff sees him as a consistent tackler and an impressive athlete who can cover on the outside.

“That's great that we have him now,” Anarumo said. “It's great that he adds to our depth. I'm anxious to see him move around (in practice), I really am. He's a heck of a guy. He's got really good ball skills. So, we'll see how it plays out. I'm glad we got him."

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