If you haven’t had a chance to read the latest Geoff Hobson Q/A session on Bengals.com you should take the chance to read it. Over the years Hobson has been one of the best and his access into the Bengals organization is like no other. He is a great writer and supporter of our beloved team. That being said he is also going to tow the company line to keep that access and stay uncontroversial especially in the pre-season when the Bengals try to build the hype machine to sell tickets. So I wanted to answer the same questions that he covered on Bengals.com and take out the political correctness. It’s how Geoff may want to really answer these if he was being 100% honest.
Do you think this team, considerably upgraded from last year, can win 7-9 games? Certainly anything is possible with this lineup. The skill positions are locked and loaded but getting 7 wins with a rookie QB, a weak offensive line and a revamped defense that will need to figure it out as a unit is a lot to ask. 7 wins is a great season and 8 would be magical. I think 5 games is a bit underachieving and the sweet spot is that 6 win number. It is a process and is going to take some time but I would expect an even bigger jump in 2021.
Would the Bengals be interested in Larry Wolford? First off its Larry Warford my friend and of course they are interested. The Bengals could make the cap magic work but it’s not what this organization does. It seems like they are pretty set in the current personnel at the OL unfortunately and when have you known this organization to go out and make a late FA splash? If Larry could cost half the price and be a guaranteed healthy player then sure they would pull the trigger. If that was the case though the Saints would never have released him for an unproven Ruiz. The Bengals aren’t going to get cap creative so this one won’t happen.
Unless I missed something, Finley showed nothing and Dolegala is still raw. No veteran addition? We saw what Finley had last season and it wasn’t much. Dolegala looked really good in the 2019 preseason but when you play against practice squad guys its hard to make a comparison to real game action. Burrow is mature beyond his years and I think the Bengals are going to let the kid roll with that. A veteran is just a tutor anyway and if for some reason Burrow struggles they are going to let him learn from it all. His drive is not going to ruin him and he will bounce back. If Burrow gets hurt the season is over anyway and they could grab a veteran off the street if they really wanted to. Look at what happened when Alex Smith in Washington went down, it got ugly and it wasn’t because of the lack of veteran depth on that roster.
What is the chances that Jake Dolegala is the backup QB and do you think we will be active at trade deadline moving on from Dunlap, and Bernard if our rookies shows to be good fits, would we pull the trigger to get some draft picks? I think Dolegala has the chance to win that spot. Finley was meh in his game action and QB2 is not seeing the field anyway, it just means more reps in practice. Moving on from Dunlap and/or Bernard is not going to happen. Behind Dunlap you have a final year contract in Lawson and a few other guys to plug in for rotation/rest sake. Dunlap is still a monster in this league and his stats have not dropped off. The addition of Reader is really going to help him and with mounting pressure from Hubbard on the other side they won’t be able to choose double teams on him every time. As for Gio he is the swiss army knife in this offense. He has two years left on his deal and will be hitting FA at a bad age. I think Taylor and crew find a way to utilize him more in space this season but I do not foresee him going anywhere.
My concerns are with TE. Is there enough talent? No there is not. We didn’t see enough of Sample to make a call on him after his rookie season but remember all of those seasons when fans would clamor for a pass catching TE? We are back to that again. Losing Eifert (even with his limited snaps) is going to hurt but I think that you will see more 3-4 WR sets because that is the strength of this team now. Who is going to stop Green-Boyd-Higgins-Tate? Good luck!
… but who’s starting right guard and tackle if it was your call? Anyone not named Bobby Hart. I think that Fred Johnson will be the day 1 starter at RT. I think that he earns that role in camp and holds onto it all season. RG is going to be a battle between Su’a-Filo, Price and Sims. I think Su’a-Filo ends up winning that battle so expect to see him as the starter. This is our weakest area on the field though and I wish I had better names to be certain about.
How do you see Coach Taylor utilizing Green, Boyd, Ross & Higgins? Do you think we can expect to see a lot of 4 wide w/ Mixon in the backfield which opens up Ross down field and screens to Mixon? I think you see a healthy rotation of those guys so that it is maximum speed and effort on the field. I also think you see Green in some weird locations to confuse the defense. Why not throw him at slot and force single man coverage? Get Ross running a go route and Higgins another border guy. The WR group is amazing this season and the schemes are endless for them. A mix of Mixon and Bernard as decoys or screens could be really good but remember you need good blocking with our WR’s to support big gains. It helps that both of our RBs can catch the ball and make big plays. This can be a dynamic and high scoring offense if Burrow gets some decent blocking.
Which new addition (FA or Drafted) do you expect to have an immediate impact? Why? D.J. Reader without a doubt. He is the day 1 guy next to Atkins and is going to not only greatly improve the run defense but also help the guys blitzing on the outside. This kid is entering his prime and was a huge loss for the Texans. I think that the national media has downplayed this FA signing a lot and that you are going to love what you see.
Which player do you think was the biggest steal (of the draft) out of them all? I would like to say Burrow but that is an obvious answer even though he went #1 overall. It has to be Tee Higgins though because he was projected to be mid-first round. I did not expect the Bengals to take a WR but when Duke saw him on the board he truly was the best player available. I thought someone would slip that they really liked at 33 but I would not have guessed Higgins. This was a pick based on best on the board and not need.
Local Cincinnati media has said multiple times that the success of Joe Burrow’s reign is directly tied to the team remaining in Ohio after the current lease. Your thoughts? I agree. A new stadium discussion is going to happen in the next decade and the Bengals are building around Burrow. If he gets to a second contract then signs are pointing up. If not and the Bengals have to rebuild around another guy in 5-6 years it means that we are not winning. Cincinnatians are not going to fund a new stadium for a loser and Mike Brown (if he is still alive) is going to need that fan support to get a deal done. Remember how hard the fight was for PBS; with the addition of MLS now Cincinnati can still retain two pro teams if the Bengals were to move out of the city and that might be enough for tax payers.
Do you think the Bengals will show Joe Burrow they are serious about winning by building an indoor facility? This has been a point of contention for over a decade now. Everyone thinks that you can just magically build one of these at a convenient location next to PBS. It doesn’t work like that. I do think something happens in the next few years though wherever it ends up because they will need it for recruitment of FA’s. An old stadium, a feast or famine fan base and all outdoor practices with a notoriously “cheap” owner is not a great recipe to attract talent. I say that now however we did get Reader, Bell, Waynes and a whole lot of Burrow hope in this offseason so I could be wrong on that.