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OL Offseason 2023


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11 hours ago, T-Dub said:

 

Bold prediction that Jonah will be starting at RT. I am not convinced.

I'm not even convinced he's going to show up again. Training camp or otherwise.

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There is no chance Jonah holds out. His future isn't in Cincinnati so he wants the starting job to maintain his market value for next offseason. I think he's likely to be the starter for the same reason he's still on the roster. My guess is Tobin doesn't want to add Jonah to the list of disappointing draft picks even though almost everyone here would say his career hasn't reached the expectations we had for him when drafted or even a year ago. 

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1 hour ago, sparky151 said:

There is no chance Jonah holds out. His future isn't in Cincinnati so he wants the starting job to maintain his market value for next offseason. I think he's likely to be the starter for the same reason he's still on the roster. My guess is Tobin doesn't want to add Jonah to the list of disappointing draft picks even though almost everyone here would say his career hasn't reached the expectations we had for him when drafted or even a year ago. 

 

That's what I'm afraid of: starting him for reasons other than being the best RT on the roster.

 

Though he may actually be the best RT they have in the sense that if you only have half a leftover microwave burrito and some mustard packets in the fridge the burrito is the best dinner you have. 

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18 hours ago, T-Dub said:

 

That's what I'm afraid of: starting him for reasons other than being the best RT on the roster.

 

Though he may actually be the best RT they have in the sense that if you only have half a leftover microwave burrito and some mustard packets in the fridge the burrito is the best dinner you have. 

+1 for the excellent metaphorical comparison.

For the rest of Joan Williams's career here I will think of half of a left over burrito.

Well said.

no :ninja:

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Cross-post from the OTA thread - (thanks griever for the find there) as it is useful in this thread too.

 

 

 

Gotta say, per our previous discussions, he is moving WAY better and earlier than I might have reasonably guessed this soon after the knee surgery.  He said three weeks or so ago how good he was feeling and how much better his back was feeling and I wondered if the rehab for the knee was helping in other ways and this is maybe an indication that it might be. That  looks like a guy who will be ready at some point in 2023, either for this team or someone else...

 

 

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10 minutes ago, membengal said:

Cross-post from the OTA thread - (thanks griever for the find there) as it is useful in this thread too.

 

 

 

Gotta say, per our previous discussions, he is moving WAY better and earlier than I might have reasonably guessed this soon after the knee surgery.  He said three weeks or so ago how good he was feeling and how much better his back was feeling and I wondered if the rehab for the knee was helping in other ways and this is maybe an indication that it might be. That  looks like a guy who will be ready at some point in 2023, either for this team or someone else...

 

 

 

Yeah at this point we have to hope one of these guys makes it through TC healthy. How well they play is kind of an afterthought when 2 of the 3 potential starters have an extensive injury history. 

 

The starting RT job may well come down to who isn't hurt.

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On 5/24/2023 at 9:27 AM, High School Harry said:

+1 for the excellent metaphorical comparison.

For the rest of Joan Williams's career here I will think of half of a left over burrito.

Well said.

no :ninja:

but is the burrito half eaten or is there still half to eat....

sadly this will probably be the most exciting conversation over Jonah this season.

 

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1 hour ago, stryker57 said:

but is the burrito half eaten or is there still half to eat....

sadly this will probably be the most exciting conversation over Jonah this season.

 

 

It's a Taco Bell burrito that we paid a filet mignon price for but it got all soggy on the way home and kept falling apart so now we're trying to turn it into an enchilada like that's going to fix it 

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  • 2 weeks later...
6 minutes ago, dex said:

Excellent Jay Morrison article out on how the OL has been bonding. Orlando Brown is quickly becoming one of my favorite Bengals players. Just seems like the perfect teammate.

He really does - I am gonna go ahead and paste this one here - good for many here to read I think:

 

https://theathletic.com/4588096/2023/06/07/bengals-offensive-line-orlando-brown/?campaign=5888993&source=dailyemail

Quote

 

CINCINNATI — Earlier this offseason, new Bengals left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. went on the Bengals Booth Podcast with Hall of Famer Anthony Muñoz as show host Dan Hoard sat back and let Brown direct the conversation. Brown had the requisite questions for Muñoz, such as how he maintained such a consistent level of excellence for so long, his pregame state of mind and what advice he would give a young player.

 

But one of the more interesting questions Brown asked dealt with Muñoz’s relationships with his left guards, not just during their years as teammates but still to this day, 31 years after retirement.

 

It was clear how much value Brown puts on those friendships, of which there are many as he finds himself with his third team heading into his sixth season in the league. He explained why following one of the team’s recent voluntary workouts at Paycor Stadium.

 

“I don’t have any experience with the military other than my grandfather being in the Korean War, but I would think these relationships are somewhat similar to those guys in the trenches,” Brown said. “When you go into battle, and you’re in these hostile environments, sometimes you’re only as strong as the man next to you. I’ve been very fortunate to be around some really good men and build these really special relationships with my guards, and I was just wondering if it’s just me or if that was something Anthony really valued.”

 

Brown hasn’t played for the Ravens since 2020, but he remains in close contact with Marshal Yanda, Bradley Bozeman and Ben Powers. Brown only recently left Kansas City but thinks his friendship with Joe Thuney will endure the same way. And he knows his bond with Cody Ford will continue — Ford signed with the Bengals one day before Brown did.

 

So one of the first things Brown did after signing his four-year, $64.1 million contract was to get in touch with Cordell Volson, the Bengals’ left guard who started all 16 games last year as a rookie.

 

“We already have a great relationship off the field, and we talk all the time about how important that is,” Volson said. “We’ve done some events together and gone out to dinner, and it’s just been great to get to know him.”

 

Brown could have tapped the cheat code that it is Bengals center Ted Karras to get a feel for what kind of person Volson is. Like Brown, Karras remains tight with Thuney after their years together in New England, calling him one of his best friends.

 

Karras was one of the first to welcome Brown to Cincinnati, and the common bond of Thuney could have kickstarted some conversations about Volson after Karras played next to him for all 19 regular and postseason games.

 

But Brown wasn’t interested in that.

 

“I’ve tried to figure him out on my own because the relationship has to be built from within,” he said. “I want to know what makes him tick, get to know his story and background, and I want to learn that myself. I would trust anything Ted would tell me, but I want to learn everything about the man next to me on my own. That’s just the kind of person I am.”

 

The Bengals have 16 offensive linemen on the roster, and even with Jonah Williams skipping the voluntary workouts, that makes for some crowded position drills. Players take turns moving in and out of the action, resulting in constant shuffling in the way the onlookers are aligned. But Volson and Brown always seem to find a way to end up standing next to each other, bouncing critiques and observations off one another.

 

But Brown is active even when he’s watching. He’s constantly talking to guys after they come out of a drill, but he’ll always circle back to Volson, and no matter how short their time was apart, they always come back together with a fist bump and quick conversation.

 

“I don’t know that I buy into the idea that you have to be best friends to play well together, but it makes it a lot easier,” said right guard Alex Cappa, who like Karras joined the Bengals last offseason.

 

“It’s beneficial that you enjoy your time together for sure,” Cappa added. “It just makes it more fun to come to work. It makes it easier to communicate. I’m all about the communication. Whether it’s guard-tackle, center-guard, quarterback-running back, it all comes down to the communication. Even when you’re just hanging out, you’re also talking shop. I really enjoy that aspect of it.”

 

Karras held an event last month at Holy Grail prior to the Reds-Yankees game, where he was selling his Cincy hats. All of the proceeds go to the Village of Merici, which provides services, coaching and independent housing for adults with disabilities.

 

 

Quote

 

Volson and Brown were among the offensive linemen who showed up not just to support Karras and the cause, but to spend more time together away from the facility, just getting to know each other.

 

“One of the main tenets I believe in in football in order to have any success is to trust the men around you and build their trust in you,” Karras said. “Trust isn’t just some big gesture where ‘now I trust you.’ Trust is a culmination of a lot of day-to-day stuff. One of my other tenets is play your best when it counts the most, and you can’t do that without trusting the guy next to you.

 

“Building that trust started when we showed up, pre-Phase 1 (of OTAs),” Karras continued. “Just guys being here ready to go. Now that we’re on the field, knowing what to do, knowing how to do it, having each other’s backs, it translates off the field. Me and Orlando hung out a ton, and Cordell, too. There’s a lot of wide-encompassing factors that go into trust, and being friends is one of them. You don’t have to be friends to trust each other on the field, but it helps.”

 

No one knows that better than offensive line coach Frank Pollack. He played six NFL seasons in the 1990s and still counts some of his teammates among his friends. He’s been encouraging his offensive linemen to set up weekly dinners since he arrived, and the tradition is ongoing.

 

“They’re gonna miss that s–t when it’s over,” Pollack said. “Those things help. They lead to the whole room having that tight bond. During the season when s–t’s hitting the fan, we’re all standing together. We’re not splintering or fracturing.

 

“It’s football,” Pollack added. “It’s not always clean and smooth. It can get a little rocky. And when it does, you can maybe push on a guy or jump on a guy a little bit where ‘Hey, we’ve got to get this cleaned up and fix this,’ and an intense message like that is better received when guys have that bond. It’s just a natural evolution or extension of their off-the-field relationship right into their on-the-field relationship.”

 

Black/White, young/old, Republican/Democrat, West Coast cool/Southern grit. Those differences melt away in an NFL locker room.

Even rich/less rich.

 

Volson joked that Brown’s penchant for picking up the dinner tab has accelerated their relationship.

 

“It’s very much appreciated,” he said. “I’ll pay him back one day.”

 

According to Brown, he already has in ways he may not even know.

 

“I’m helping him as much as he’s helping me,” Brown said. “Communication and body language are so important in football, and they’re not necessarily talked about often. But those two things are so important. When you’re playing next to a good offensive guard that really has good body language and knows how to communicate with his eyes, with his body, with a feel, all those learned tendencies and small details are so important to offensive line success.

 

“We’re still learning,” Brown added. “It’s still early. We’re figuring it out, and we’re having fun doing it. I can’t wait to see where this relationship goes.”

 

 

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34 minutes ago, dex said:

Excellent Jay Morrison article out on how the OL has been bonding. Orlando Brown is quickly becoming one of my favorite Bengals players. Just seems like the perfect teammate.

 

Also, yeah, the Orlando Brown signing looks spectacular - the stuff in that piece from the off-the-field understanding Brown has in how and why it is important to build relationships on the line gives me huge hope that the line really is about to be quite settled.  Him with Karras and Cappa, that's some excellent leadership.  What a great read. 

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27 minutes ago, membengal said:

 

Also, yeah, the Orlando Brown signing looks spectacular - the stuff in that piece from the off-the-field understanding Brown has in how and why it is important to build relationships on the line gives me huge hope that the line really is about to be quite settled.  Him with Karras and Cappa, that's some excellent leadership.  What a great read. 

Sour Apples Harry, here, but Flounder Carman seems to be conspicuously absent with the attaboys.

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42 minutes ago, High School Harry said:

Sour Apples Harry, here, but Flounder Carman seems to be conspicuously absent with the attaboys.

you don't always have to be sour apples. That article and Brown's focus is on making sure he is lockstep with his running mate at LG - which is Cordell Volson. Carman is on the other side of the line trying to win RT job...

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4 hours ago, membengal said:

you don't always have to be sour apples. That article and Brown's focus is on making sure he is lockstep with his running mate at LG - which is Cordell Volson. Carman is on the other side of the line trying to win RT job...

 

If he can't beat out Cody Ford that'd be sad. 

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5 hours ago, membengal said:

you don't always have to be sour apples. That article and Brown's focus is on making sure he is lockstep with his running mate at LG - which is Cordell Volson. Carman is on the other side of the line trying to win RT job...

Yeah, I know (and agree, of course) but just sayin' we're hearing lots of good stuff

about the other OLinemen and noting on or about Carman.  Scary.

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1 hour ago, High School Harry said:

Yeah, I know (and agree, of course) but just sayin' we're hearing lots of good stuff

about the other OLinemen and noting on or about Carman.  Scary.

we've heard a ton of good stuff about Carman - there has been a ton posted in the running OTA threads. 

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14 minutes ago, membengal said:

by the way, the upper right batter is La'el. His knee rehab really does feel to me like it must be progressing really well. 

 

Would be really nice if he can play. Him & OBJ with Carman as 6th man backing up both sounds pretty good.

 

Jonah can then stay home.

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