Can Tommy Doyle step in? The 2nd line active roster depth is equally important. It’s great developing guys for beyond the current season, but I also have high expectations in Beane & Co to find guys who can step in and provide immediate impact. I see the beating both OL & DL take as the highest importance.
Bill Polian helped rekindle mass interest in the Bills and then he did the same for Indy. Kelly - Manning. Smith - Freeney. Harrison - Reed. Faulk - Thomas. Draft good players, retain them. This is what all good franchises do.
Jerry Rice is far ahead of all other WRs total receiving yards wise, and he did it in the pre-modern era which favors passing attacks. From 1985 to 2004 Rice played and for the vast majority of that time ‘85-02 he was a top 30 WR. In a time when most WRs are done by age 33, Rice continued to churn out yards and 1,000 yard seasons until he was 40.
I could see us keeping 7, only if Kumerow’s role on ST can’t be replaced.
Locks
#1 - Diggs
#2 - Davis
#3 - Crowder - PR/KR
#4 - McKenzie - PR/KR
#5 - Shakir - PR
Borderline
#6 Stevenson - PR/KR/Slot/Outside
#7 Austin - PR/KR/Slot/Outside
#8 Kumerow - Outside/ST
#9 Hodgins - Outside/ST
Trade Beasley by 3/20 save $6.1 million, cut him save $4.6 and carry a $1.5 dead cap. I expect a cut as I don’t see a team willing to pay Beasley that kind of money.
Gronk is big and lumbering now, but his big hands cradle rockets. Diggs, Knox, Gronk, Davis would be tough to stop. If the Bills can somehow get a CB2 at pick 25 while adding a speed WR like Calvin Austin III they would be a tougher matchup.
Ask another hypothetical…
option #1 Allen goes down and Trubisky wins a Super Bowl and Allen becomes Wentz
option #2 2021 season plays out exactly how it did
Allen would have destroyed the Rams D. Donald is great but Burros is not elusive in the pocket. 7 sacks!?!? Allen breaks 4 of those and turns them into 40 yards of scrambles and at least 1 Davis toe tap. To me the Bengals will have to invest a small fortune to keep Burrow healthy and upright. Imagine if Allen had an all purpose back like Burrow has in Mixon.
The Bengals pass rush was disciplined and included a lot of rotating stunts, they kept Mahomes contained in the pocket with a 3 man rush and used a 4th to spy & occasionally brought him to add more pressure. And they also blitzed effectively on a few occasions.
If you don’t go for 2 then you certainly execute the squib kick. We can go into “what-if” scenarios for an eternity but the fact remains the Bills didn’t play aggressive enough to win. They played ultra-conservatively and it backfired on them.
Mahomes isn’t that good in pressure games. He choked vs Pats, 49ers for 3 Qtrs, Bucs & now Bengals. He’s good with 2 HOF receiving targets. But arrogance gets him. Is his brother dancing on TikTok now?