Around the AFCN

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

The Steelers did an excellent job exposing the Bengals flaws.... The Bengals have terrible offensive tackles and terrible linebackers. The Steelers basically whipped the tackles and made Dalton's life miserable. The offense had no chance to get moving. On the other side of the ball, the Pittsburgh offense basically did all of it's early damage by passing to running backs - The Bengals were hopeless to stop it.

I think the Bengals are fatally flawed and it will likely get worse from here. The way the Niners and Steelers attacked the Bengals D is on film and can likely be imitated by all future opponents. The only real hope for Cincy is a complete tank job and a full reboot.

Trade us AJ Green! Kevin Colbert is fire-saling off all his draft picks so get 'em while they're hot!

 

[cincygrad]

Trade us AJ Green! Kevin Colbert is fire-saling off all his draft picks so get 'em while they're hot!

I honestly hope AJ Green plays for a winning franchise. He's truly a rare receiver.... A guy with his talent that's never had any issues off the field, never thrown his qb under the bus, never caused trouble for a coach, etc. I mean, this guy played with a qb of limited talent for his entire career and never once said anything bad about him. Not to mention the shit he must have seen playing under the Marvin Lewis regime. AJ is a gem.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

The Steelers did an excellent job exposing the Bengals flaws.... The Bengals have terrible offensive tackles and terrible linebackers. The Steelers basically whipped the tackles and made Dalton's life miserable. The offense had no chance to get moving. On the other side of the ball, the Pittsburgh offense basically did all of it's early damage by passing to running backs - The Bengals were hopeless to stop it.

I think the Bengals are fatally flawed and it will likely get worse from here. The way the Niners and Steelers attacked the Bengals D is on film and can likely be imitated by all future opponents. The only real hope for Cincy is a complete tank job and a full reboot.

Do really think a full reboot is in order? Man...a lot of good players on that roster for a full reboot, but if they were to reboot it would make sense to trade AJ.

Something that would throw a wrench into a reboot...didn't they just extend both Dunlap and Atkins?

For now call it a top 10 pick...they have the LT of the future coming back from injury next year...Edge hasn't been terrible, but with Lawson seemingly a frequent vistor on the injured list, and Dunlap at 30, Hubbard needs some help. They could go DE...I would go QB. and use the draft capital from the AJ trade to either beef up the RT, or DE...spend FA money on the other spot.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

I honestly hope AJ Green plays for a winning franchise. He's truly a rare receiver.... A guy with his talent that's never had any issues off the field, never thrown his qb under the bus, never caused trouble for a coach, etc. I mean, this guy played with a qb of limited talent for his entire career and never once said anything bad about him. Not to mention the shit he must have seen playing under the Marvin Lewis regime. AJ is a gem.

He's been a top 5 WR for the better part of 7 yrs...he seems to like the organization, but at some point I'm sure he'd like to be on a playoff team and the window is probably closing on that opportunity in CIN.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Thoughts on picking him up? @ATL96Steeler. We were interested in our mocks that year.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

Thoughts on picking him up? @ATL96Steeler

Wow...at one point this guy was a sure fire stud coming in from Bama...has some issues and dropped in the draft IIRC.

I wonder if it was strictly performance or other reasons...I would kick the tires on him.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Wow...at one point this guy was a sure fire stud coming in from Bama...has some issues and dropped in the draft IIRC.

I wonder if it was strictly performance or other reasons...I would kick the tires on him.

Had some red flags due to off the field issues coming into the draft. Reports indicated he had a great camp this year, but he was lacking production in games. 3rd year in makes you wonder if he just doesn't have it. Still young with plenty of athleticism, just reminds me of Bud Dupree in that he just isn't producing.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

Had some red flags due to off the field issues coming into the draft. Reports indicated he had a great camp this year, but he was lacking production in games. 3rd year in makes you wonder if he just doesn't have it. Still young with plenty of athleticism, just reminds me of Bud Dupree in that he just isn't producing.

Okay...I knew it was something like that b/c at one point he was looked at in the top 15 and was taken in the 3rd round.

I still would kick the tires....he can't be too expensive, still on his rookie deal right?

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Okay...I knew it was something like that b/c at one point he was looked at in the top 15 and was taken in the 3rd round.

I still would kick the tires....he can't be too expensive, still on his rookie deal right?

Yep. Through 2020 based on a 4 yr rookie deal. Would come uber cheap. Don't know if he's PS eligible, but I'd be looking to upgrade Chickillo with him.

 

[cincygrad]

Do really think a full reboot is in order? Man...a lot of good players on that roster for a full reboot, but if they were to reboot it would make sense to trade AJ.

Something that would throw a wrench into a reboot...didn't they just extend both Dunlap and Atkins?

For now call it a top 10 pick...they have the LT of the future coming back from injury next year...Edge hasn't been terrible, but with Lawson seemingly a frequent vistor on the injured list, and Dunlap at 30, Hubbard needs some help. They could go DE...I would go QB. and use the draft capital from the AJ trade to either beef up the RT, or DE...spend FA money on the other spot.

I think the roster has some talent, but they really missed on a lot of recent drafts and that has caused some issues. At this point, they are getting nothing from the 2014 and 2015 drafts. Outside of Mixon and maybe John Ross (when healthy), the Bengals also aren't getting anything out of the 2017 draft. Just too many misses for a franchise that lives and dies by the draft.

Dunlap and Atkins are not the difference makers that they used to be and they aren't getting younger. AJ and Andy have probably already peaked here. So the core of the talented 2015 roster is past peak.

If I were rebuilding the Bengals, I would be putting most of my chips on some of the young linemen developing (Jonah Williams, Billy Price, Trey Hopkins) while spending more draft capital in that area. If picking in the top 5, I'd take a franchise qb and let Dalton walk. The defense needs playmakers as well, so you're likely looking at 2 or 3 years to rebuild even if some of the players on the current roster develop.

There are a few young assets worth keeping - Tyler Boyd, William Jackson, Jessie Bates, Sam Hubbard all come to mind.... But there are a lot of holes.

 

[cincygrad]

If AJ wanted to end his career here, it could be a good move for the right money.... A young franchise qb could do a lot worse than having AJ Green and Tyler Boyd around to support him. But if they don't find some tackles to protect the new qb, all bets are off.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

I think the roster has some talent, but they really missed on a lot of recent drafts and that has caused some issues. At this point, they are getting nothing from the 2014 and 2015 drafts. Outside of Mixon and maybe John Ross (when healthy), the Bengals also aren't getting anything out of the 2017 draft. Just too many misses for a franchise that lives and dies by the draft.

Dunlap and Atkins are not the difference makers that they used to be and they aren't getting younger. AJ and Andy have probably already peaked here. So the core of the talented 2015 roster is past peak.

If I were rebuilding the Bengals, I would be putting most of my chips on some of the young linemen developing (Jonah Williams, Billy Price, Trey Hopkins) while spending more draft capital in that area. If picking in the top 5, I'd take a franchise qb and let Dalton walk. The defense needs playmakers as well, so you're likely looking at 2 or 3 years to rebuild even if some of the players on the current roster develop.

There are a few young assets worth keeping - Tyler Boyd, William Jackson, Jessie Bates, Sam Hubbard all come to mind.... But there are a lot of holes.

2017...I never thought Ross was a top 10 pick, fast, fast, and more fast, but it doesn't always show up on the field...imo he would benefit from more 1 on 1 coverage with AJ in there....Lawson is a talent, but he was always nicked up at Auburn and that seems to be following him to the NFL.

Dunlap & Atkins...both 3rd contract guys iirc, both are also at the age where the production and cap hit could come into question as early as next season.

The key is AJ...if they keep him (Dunlap, Atkins, and Kirkpatrick) I'm not sure if a full reboot is the way to go as 4 of the top cap hits on the team will be pushing 33-34 y/o by the time the new QB is ready to take the team back to the playoffs...MIA is probably going to take Tua, but Hebert from ORE and Jason Fromm from UGA (probably 70% he comes out) are both future starters in the league. I'd be looking to nab one of them in this draft.

 

[Wamu]

So a 1/4 of the season's gone & the Browns are in 1st place (for now) in the AFCn. Is this a sign of the apocolypse?

 

[ATL96Steeler]

So a 1/4 of the season's gone & the Browns are in 1st place (for now) in the AFCn. Is this a sign of the apocolypse?

It's been a while...lol

Enjoy it!...CLE is the hunted now!

 

[Wamu]

It's been a while...lol

Enjoy it!...CLE is the hunted now!

Funny how the Browns fortunes changed as soon as they fired Hue Jackson. His 3-36-1 record is the worst of any coach with one team in league hsitory.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

Funny how the Browns fortunes changed as soon as they fired Hue Jackson. His 3-36-1 record is the worst of any coach with one team in league hsitory.

Some guys are just not cut out for HC....Hue 2.0 was worse than Hue 1.0 so I think that makes him one of those guys like a Norv Turner...different reasons maybe but just not HC material.

 

[Bridgeburner]

Anyone seen this yet?

Love it. Makes me more of a Rudolph fan.

 

[cincygrad]

Hands down the worst division in football. Through 5 weeks the four teams have a combined 6 wins. Of those wins, the only victories out of division have been against the Cardinals, Dolphins, and Jets. Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Pittsburgh have all been beaten by more than 3 scores on MNF this season.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

Week 5 AFCN Recap



BAL…3-2, W…26-23 OT @ PIT. A typical tough AFCN matchup. After winning the coin flip and being forced to punt on the first series in overtime, the Ravens took advantage of a Juju fumble on the Steelers possession and a couple of plays later, they kicked the winning FG.

Next week…CIN

CLE…2-3, L…3-31 @ SF MNF. The Browns were outclassed in this primetime game. Just putting it bluntly the 49ers ran it down their throats, and Garoppolo added 2 TD passes for the lopsided finish. CLE moved the ball at times, but turned it over in close and never really got much traction going on OFC.

Next week…SEA

PIT…1-4, L…23-26 OT BAL…The Steelers QB Rudolph was knocked out cold on a tough hit to the chin. He eventually came to and was helped off the field. Undrafted FA, Devin Hodges came in and had some success moving the ball. In the end it was another turnover, this one in OT that cost the Steelers a shot a victory.

Next week…@ LAC

CIN…0-5, L…23-26 AZ…The Bengals looked pretty lifeless on OFC in this game early only getting 3 FGs thru 3 qtrs. After falling behind 23-9, they found a spark, and eventually tied the game at 23-23. AZ got the ball last and drove it into FG position and kicked the winner with seconds remaining to get their first win of 2019.

Next week…@ BAL

 

[ATL96Steeler]

Hands down the worst division in football. Through 5 weeks the four teams have a combined 6 wins. Of those wins, the only victories out of division have been against the Cardinals, Dolphins, and Jets. Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Pittsburgh have all been beaten by more than 3 scores on MNF this season.

Yep...it's still early, but right now the north is clearly the weakest DIV in the league...just 4 yrs or so I think 3 teams made the playoffs...tables have turned.