Locked On Bengals - Daily Podcast On The Cincinnati Bengals - Bridging Pre-Season Hype and In-Season Reality For 2024 Cincinnati Bengals

Episode Date: November 20, 2024

When comparing expectations to reality for the 2024 Cincinnati Bengals, only a few players have surpassed their preseason hype. Joe Burrow has been outstanding, with Dax Hill and Chase Brown also outperforming predictions. However, many others fall into the "disappointing" category. The guys dissect where preseason hopes have turned into letdowns, reviewing the team's biggest disappointments this year.Join the Locked On Bengals Insider Community! https://joinsubtext.com/lockedonbengalsFind and follow Locked On Bengals on your favorite podcast platforms:Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/locked-on-bengals-daily-podcast-on-the-cincinnati-bengals/id1159723162Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7AObc0lh0WmQl5fJVgtajsGoogle Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vbG9ja2Vkb25iZW5nYWxz?sa=X&ved=0CAYQrrcFahcKEwio_sXtj8nuAhUAAAAAHQAAAAAQAgStitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/show/locked-on-bengalsFor your next listen, check out the Locked On Fantasy Football podcast. Get daily insight to the best Fantasy draft strategies so you can win your league this season. Click HERE to listen now. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Your Team. Every Day.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Pre-Alcohol by ZbioticsGo to zbiotics.com/LOCKEDONNFLto learn more and get 15% off your first order when you use LOCKEDONNFL at checkout.BetterHelpThis episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Make your brain your friend, with BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com/LOCKEDON today to get 10% off your first month.Bilt RewardsEarn points now by paying rent right now by when you go to joinbilt.com/lockedonnflHillsdale CollegeAll of Hillsdale’s courses are self-paced so that you can start whenever, and tune in wherever. Plus, you can go deeper with readings, quizzes, discussions - or just enjoy the lectures. Go right now to hillsdale.edu/lockedon to enroll. There’s no cost, and it’s easy to get started.PrizePicksDownload the app and use code lockedonnfl to win $50 instantly when you play $5. You don't even need to win to receive your $50 bonus, it's guaranteed! Prizepicks. Run Your Game.Click Here: https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/LOCKEDONNFLGametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNFL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms Apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.FanDuelYou can start the season with a big return on FanDuel. New customers can place a FIVE DOLLAR bet and you’ll get started with ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in BONUS BETS - if you win your first FIVE DOLLAR BET ! Visit FANDUEL.COM to get started.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Cincinnati Bengals are obviously far short of where our preseason expectations had them. But where are the disappointments? And is there anybody exceeding expectations? Let's break it down. You are Locked on Bengals, your daily Cincinnati Bengals podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. What on, Bengals fans, and welcome to another episode of the Lockdown Bengals Podcast. I'm your host, Jake Liscoe.

He's your host, James Rupin. We are part of the Lockdown Podcast Network. here on Locked-on Bengals covering your team every day. On YouTube and everywhere you get your podcast, welcome back to the everyday. Or shout-out to those of you who make us your first listen every day. And if you're new to the show and you're looking for that daily Cincinnati Bengals hit of coverage and analysis, you are in the right place and can hit that subscribe button to make sure you don't miss an episode. Today we're going to dive into an expectations versus reality by week check-in for the Cincinnati Bengals team

and try to figure out where they're short of expectations, try to find the players that are exceeding expectations, the units that are exceeding expectations, and that was a bit of a challenge. I'll tell you that when we were thinking about that for this episode. This episode brought to you by prize picks where you can get $50 instantly to play with when you play your first $5 with promo code, locked on NFL at prizepix.com slash locked on NFL.

And James, let's start on the positive note here and try to figure out where are those players for the Cincinnati Bengals that have outpaced our preseason expectations so far for this team? Well, I think it starts with Joe Burrell. And given where he was with the wrist, knowing the severity of that injury, it's just over a year, by the way, since he suffered that injury, for him to be playing at this level, like, I thought he would still be good. but I didn't expect him to be MVP good.

I didn't expect him to be put the team on his back good. And that's what he's done. Obviously, it hasn't resulted in a ton of wins. But you look at what they're asking him to do, how he's doing it, the hits he's taken, the play in, play out, down in and downout responsibility that Joe has, plus the fact that he's been able to bounce back like he has from the wrist. And this isn't an ACL or an Achilles where there's precedent for it. This is unprecedented.

There's no quarterback. There's no, well, you can look at this guy or that guy. And they've done, no, there's one guy. And it's Joe Burrow. And he's been awesome this season. So when I think of exceeding expectations, obviously expectations are always high for Joe. And I thought he was going to be good this year. But I don't think anyone.

when expected. Again, expected this. Thought he could do it? Sure. Expected it. I think that's a completely different conversation. And so he's certainly number one on my list and far and away ahead of everybody else. Yeah. When you think about where we were on Joe Burrow in the preseason, it was can he be Joe Burrow? It wasn't, he's going to go out there and be an MVP candidate. It was, can he physically do the things that he's done in the past where we were talking about him in that realm. And we have that answer, I think. It's not been perfect for Joe, obviously, and we've talked about this a lot. And he's talked about it. He has to be perfect because of the team's margin for error. He talked about it directly following the Chargers game. He cut himself off

mid-sentence. He said, we're not a good enough team. We don't have that margin for error. I need to be able to make those plays. We need to be able to make those plays. And for the most part, he has. And so the point where we're like, well, he's the only guy that can do it. So it's not fair, but if they're going to win, he needs to be perfect. And that speaks to the level at which he's playing this year. And it also highlights that nobody else has really taken those steps all year. We've done these episodes, James, where we're like, can somebody step up and help these guys that are playing at the top of their game, that are where they should be, where we thought they could be, are doing what they should be doing.

And time and time again, we're not getting those answers, and we will get there. But saying on the topic of guys out playing their expectations, I agree with you, Joe Burrow, definitely one of those. This was always within the realm of possibility for Joe, but the way he's managed the pocket, the way that he's thrived in chaos and continued to get this offense to be productive, despite one of the worst running games in the NFL, especially in recent weeks, despite the protection issues they've had,

especially in recent weeks, despite missing T. Higgins for extended chunks of time this year is a very impressive performance from Joe Burrow. Everybody knows that. That's very obvious. But if we're talking about a player outpacing expectations, that is where you start. I don't know exactly where you go next, James.

My mind goes to change. Brown. And you could talk about T. Higgins and Jemar Chase here, I think, as well, where Jamar, I think, is having a great year. We expected him to have a great year. T. Higgins, we spent a lot of training camp talking about how awesome he looked. And when he's been on the field, you know, if T. was healthy for 100% of the games this year and was playing the way he's played when he's been on the field, I think that you can even say T potentially had been better than expectations, but the injury puts a little bit of a damper on that. So I go to Chase Brown next. Where do you go next?

Yeah, I think Chase Brown could certainly be there. It's tough because it's like, all right, well, Orlando Brown Jr. was really good. And you could say, oh, well, he exceeded some expectations. But he hasn't played in a few weeks. And I think that's noteworthy. There aren't many. There aren't many guys. And even Chase Brown, like, I thought he'd be pretty good.

To me, the one that stands out. he's hurt now, but Dax Hill certainly exceeded expectations. I think a lot of people, including me coming into training camp, thought that DJ Turner was going to win that starting job. Not only did Dax win that, he's clearly CB1 when healthy and for better or worse, right? So that's one. And another one, if I would have told you that Eric All on draft day will help transform this Bengals offense.

And again, he's hurt now, and that sucks. But man, Eric Al was a really nice piece that helped this offense add a completely different level and style to what they had done in the past. So those are a couple of guys outside of Chase Brown, who I think has been really effective. And when people see what Joe Mixon is doing in Houston, I think they almost forget that Chase Brown's been pretty darn effective for the Bengals and that they're always going to be a past first offense. And so Joe's being, it was playing awesome in Houston. It doesn't mean that Chase Brown hasn't delivered in Cincinnati either. And we've seen that. And I thought he was really good the other night.

And I think we've talked about this a lot. Maybe we haven't talked about it on repeat a lot. Great fit for Joe Mixon in Houston. An offense that is getting the most out of his skill set that is maximizing his production. I think that's awesome. Chase Brown has been really good for the Bengals and is doing it with the worst. from blocking in the NFL, the way that he gets downhill and just runs into a brick wall because he's getting to full speed and he's accelerating and he's showing you that burst

and then there's nobody to get that block and he's just running into a brick wall of guys and going from full speed to no speed. That guy's been through some big collisions this year. But at the same time, you've seen the explosion. You've seen him develop in terms of running through tackles this year. And we got some glimpses of that last year. And you're seeing it a little bit more this year, I think. He's forced 29 miss tackles this year, which is a pretty good number, I think, for 140 attempts as a runner. So the one thing you would like to see cleaned up from him, of course, is the fumbles.

But Chase Brown for, what, a fifth round pick, 165, has been a really good player for this team and has contributed in multiple levels. Has even taken some strides, I think, as a pass blocker. and so is taking those steps to become a complete runner, which I thought he would be good. I don't know if I thought he would be like lead back good. And the Bengals aren't ever going to be a quote unquote lead back, bell cow back system. But I've been impressed with Chase Brown this year. Agree on Dax Hill, by the way, the other one that you could throw in there,

I do think DJ Turner has taken a step. And after we kind of wrote him off when he didn't win that job, was a solid player. And again, now he's hurt. The last one I mentioned real quick, James, is Ryan Rico? Went from, is he going to win this job? We think Brad Robbins is still probably going to win this job to being one of the more effective punters in the NFL.

So Ryan Rico, I think, deserves a shout out there for exceeding expectations. No doubt. No doubt about it. Good call on Ryan Rico. Okay. We somehow had enough guys that were exceeding expectations. Now let's get to all the guys that have not. delivered on preseason expectations have come up short. We will do that. It's a lengthy list

coming up next. Listen up, renters. Do you ever feel like you're stuck in the loop of rent payments, just watching your money vanish into thin air? It's time to turn that rent game around and start earning some serious rewards. That's where Built Rewards comes in. Built is breaking ground as a neighborhood rewards program that hooks you up with points on your rent. Every month, pay your rent, watch the Bilt Points roll and use points to jet off on a dream vacation. Put your point. points toward a flight or hotel stay with 500 plus airlines and 700,000 hotels and properties. You can also use your points to book fitness studio classes. Redeem them toward a future rent payment.

They're designed to meet your lifestyle. Pay rent hassle free through the Built Rewards app. Your rent game just got a major upgrade. Built points have been consistently ranked as the highest value point currency by the points guy and bank rate. Earn points by paying rent right now when you go to joinbilt.com slash lockdown NFL. That's J-O-I-N-B-I-L-T.com slash lockdown NFL. Make sure to use our URL so you know that we sent you, joinBilt.com slash lockdown NFL to start earning points with your rent payments today.

This episode of Lockdown Bengals is also sponsored by Fandul. Even when the Bengals aren't playing, you can get into the NFL action with Fandul, America's number one sportsbook. Right now, if you win your first $5 bet with Fandul, you will get $150 in bonus bets. Again, if you win that first $5. bet, $150 in bonus bets. Maybe you're looking at that Baltimore Ravens, Los Angeles Chargers game coming up this week.

Another AFC North challenge for the Chargers, the team we just saw the Bengals come just short against in LA. Well, it's another one of those games for a couple of teams. The Bengals have been just short against this year. And whether it's that game or anything else, you can get the latest stats and live play-by-play, all on the same page where you place your bets with Fandul. You can check it out today at fandul.com to get started. Again, you'll get $150 in bonus bets if you win your first $5 bet with Fandul, official sportsbook partner of the NFL.

Well, it's a lengthy list, Jake, of guys that haven't met expectations. We can start in a bunch of different areas. It's literally wild. I'm thinking about the debt chart right now and how many guys haven't delivered. I think the one that probably stands out the most is a guy that everyone kind of assumed would be CB1, and it's Cam Taylor Britt. Like, if I had told you when you were out here in August, he's going to be benched. And there's going to be serious questions about him.

I think that would have been wild to say. If I would have told you after the interception in Kansas City, so now we're talking about in season, that this was the path he was going down, I still think it would have been consistent. considered wild. But given his age where he was drafted, second round, how he was trending, it just felt like he would at least, maybe not take a huge step forward, but at least take a small step or be the same as last year. And it's completely unraveled at this point. Yeah, the mental mistakes are a big surprise for him at this point. Third year player had been solid in coverage for two years is playing more this year, is playing the full complement of snaps until, you know,

some of the quote unquote rotations or benchings that he's endured this year and hasn't taken that step that was discussed this off season to be a CV1. I had always expressed a little bit of doubt that he would take that leap. He seemed like a CB2 type. There were physical limitations there in terms of ability to turn and change direction. Compare him to a guy like Denzel Ward and Cleveland just for a familiar face for Bengals fans, for Ohio State fans. He's an Ohio State corner, right? Yes. I don't watch much college football until I have to.

His fluidity and ability to flip his hips and change direction up there with the top in the NFL. Cam Taylor Britt, you never had that change of direction ability, so that was always part of the question. But what wasn't really part of the question for me was some of the mental stuff that we've seen from him this year, not being on the same page as the rest of the defense. And it takes us back to last year when we went to the secondary and the safeties with communication issues. But some of that has persisted into this year and largely it's persisted with Camp Taylor Britt issues, unfortunately.

And so while you hope that he can turn some of those athletic skills, like he's a good physical corner, he's got good length, he's got good speed, he's shown good ball skills in the past. Hopefully you see some of that come back because he has. has made plays this year, despite all of the negative around him, the glimpses are still there, but the consistency is not. And that has been, I think, a disappointment compared to preseason expectations, even if I didn't think that he would take the jump to be a CB1. I didn't think that he would be this level of play. CB9. You didn't think he'd be CB9.

Yeah, which is like, he's been benched for two different guys, and now those guys are hurt, and so Cam Taylor Britt's going to play. Like, he was playing behind Josh Newton. in week 11 of a must-win game. Didn't see that coming. No, I didn't see that coming at all. And I, go ahead. No, I was just going to say that's a big one. You can jump in.

Yeah, I think, I was trying to push this down the line as far as I can, but I'm not sure I can. Essentially, the entire Bengals free agent class. Yeah, that's next. I think, I think Zach Moss and Trent Brown almost get passes. like I think they they showed promised when they played in value. But outside of that, Sheldon Rankin's, Gino Stone, I forgot about Mike Giske, I think he's been fine too. But like when when those guys, you're talking about a two-year deal, one-year deal, one-year deal,

two guys with season-ending injuries and a guy who can be a big part of your offense some weeks and then is not going to be a big part of it at all in other weeks in Gisiki and is obviously limited as a blocker. Man, the Rankins and the Gino Stone ones just really, really, really, hold on. Really, really, really, really, really hurt. And I didn't have like Pro Bowl expectations for either guy, but I thought Rankins was going to get some push. I expected him to be a guy that could get a little heat on the opposing quarterbacks.

I thought Gino Stone would be solid, not Jesse Bates, I don't think we would be calling him Gino Bates, but I didn't think we'd be calling him Gino Scott either, and he looks a lot more like Nick Scott than he does Jesse Bates. And so, who, those two feel like big swings and big misses. Yeah. And when we're talking about preseason expectations versus in-season performance, or even off-season expectations, like we didn't think that the Gino Stone signing was a bad deal.

We saw how he had been productive in Baltimore, and there was a path to him being used in a way that shows. that he was an ascending coverage for safety. We talked about the athletic limitations. We talked about the tackling and run support limitations. And we've certainly seen those. Those are within expectations. But the coverage issues that they've had,

and it's the entire unit, and he's part of it with Gino Stone, who has looked just a step slow too often this year means that we're still talking about a need of safety. And this is a recurring issue for the Bengals. It is very disappointing. and it's one of those things that can be avoided. And so part of this is not only where are there letdowns,

but where are there things that we saw coming? This one we didn't specifically see coming. But you go back to when Jesse Bates walked, and people are sick of us talking about this, they've invested so many resources in trying to replace that production, and it just hasn't come together. And the same can be said going back 10 years or however long it's been since Kevin Zaitler left,

and the guy's still playing at an extremely high level in the NFL. All this time later, they're letting some of their good players go sometimes and then spending all these resources to replace them and then they're not getting the production. It goes to offensive line issues in the past. And similarly, where DJ Reeder goes because of the injury questions,

they bring in a player that was very good against them in a good defensive scheme in Houston and they haven't figured out the way to use him to get production out of him or he just hasn't been good. And so whether it's, because of the way they're using these guys or because they haven't fit them into the system properly, both of those guys, a massive gap between preseason expectations,

which were solid coverage safety and a guy that could give you something in the pass rush in Shelton Rankins. And Shelton Rankins has four pressures this year on 163 pass rushes according to PFF. I mean, that's crazy. Pressures? I would preseason I would have been like oh well he'll get that week one if you said either week one or at the buy

which which number is this I would say oh week one no it's at the pot yeah I mean I didn't have like sky high expectations for him or anything but like the only player with more than 20 pressures on the Bengals

is Trey Hendrickson more than 20 the gap is it's Trey Henderson 55 BJ Hill 18 Ossi 15, Hubbard 15, Murphy 12, Logan Wilson, 12, Jermaine Pratt, 7, McKinley Jackson, 6, Chris Jenkins, 5, Sheldon Rankins, tied with Akeem Davis Gather with four pressures. Yeah, that can't happen. And yet it has happened. Jake, I found one more positive, one more guy that exceeded expectations. And I think you're going to agree. So we will do that. that before we get to more negative of guys that have come up short coming up next. This show is sponsored by BetterHelp. This month is all about gratitude. And along with the

person that is special in your life or the people that are special in your life, there's someone that we don't think enough. And it's ourselves. It's sometimes hard to remind ourselves that we're trying our best to make sense of everything. And in this crazy world, that isn't easy. Here's a reminder to send some thanks to the people in your life, including yourself. If you're thinking of starting therapy, give better help a try. It's entirely online, designed to be convenient, flexible, and suited to your schedule. So maybe you're traveling for work. Maybe it is busy season with the holidays.

Well, it is going to fit your schedule. And all you have to do to get started, it's quick, it's easy. All you do is fill out a brief questionnaire. You get matched with a licensed therapist. And you can switch therapists at any time for no additional charge. let the gratitude flow with BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com slash locked on to get 10% off your first month. It's BetterHelp.

HELP.com slash locked on. Got a positive for me, James? A positive. Look, I knew he was a good player, but Tyson Anderson, the fact that he's been able to come back from that ACL and be a stud on special teams. I mean, the Rico Anderson connection has been awesome. So I think expectations were pretty high still for him, but I also think he's exceeded them,

given that he was coming off of Bay ACL and where he's at. So that would be another one. Sure, that's fair. That's a good one. He's been really good on special teams. Yeah, he's been, he might be, if we had to predict pro bowlers, it's like Burrow, Chase, Hendrickson, and maybe Tyson, like Tyson could be the fourth. I think that there is a lot of competition for that specialist spot, but he has a,

a legitimate candidacy for sure. And Orlando would be in the mix, too, if he can come back soon and play well. But anyway, so guys that haven't performed, do I get to, we'll wait on him. Who else do you have? Well, is there anything else on the defensive side of the ball? Because that's where we started. Yeah, I mean, Sam Hubbard hasn't delivered. I didn't have high expectations for Sam Hubbard in the first place.

I guess you could extrapolate on that. and say the entire edge rushing rotation. Like, B.J. Hill has been solid this year. He's been about right. He's been hurt a lot, but he's been about right. But, like, everyone else on that defensive line besides Trey, I would say probably fits into the mix. And I don't know what's going on with it either because, you know, we just talked about

they need to play Miles Murphy more. And, like, he needs to have a full opportunity. But in the preseason, we're talking about, you know, can he take? that leap. And this is where we talk about, I mentioned some of these things are avoidable. Like, they knew in the preseason that Cam Sample was done for the year. They knew that Sam Hubbard had this

injury that apparently threatened his year that he chose to not get surgery on and tried to play through. And then Miles Murphy got hurt. Needed to go to IR. They knew all of those things and somehow didn't add a significant piece to bolster their

edge depth. And in the middle of the season, and tried to claim Yonik and Gokwey on waivers and didn't win the waiver claim. You knew. You knew about these issues. And this is one of those things where, yeah, there's letdowns from a player perspective, from an on-field perspective,

but this doesn't absolve the front office or coaching staff. And the reason that we're doing this episode is because, man, I've gotten a lot of feedback. Like, you guys were telling us this team was going to be good. And we're trying to point out here where we thought players would be at least okay, and they've been bad, and like where our expectations in the preseason haven't met reality, or have met reality and are different. But yeah, that entire defensive line unit, the rotation, like somebody needed to step up there.

I don't know that expectations were necessarily sky high, but I would say that even with expectations not being sky high, I just went through those pressure numbers. This defensive pass rush collectively has fell short of expectations that already weren't sky high. I thought they could be competent. Thought it would be okay. Yeah. And it's not. It's the opposite.

No, I think the front office is in there too. No Klias Campbell. Clay is Campbell. No Xavier and Howard. And who knows, maybe that changes by the time people see this. But, like, in Howard's case. But that stuff matters, too, like not getting those guys, not getting Yankee. Gakway. He was out there for forever. You could have gotten him the moment cam sample went down,

like he said. So that, uh, they, those little things do matter, especially on a team that's supposed to contend. And, uh, yeah, they, they come up short again in that department, I think, not reaching expectations. Offensive side of the ball. Jermaine Burton stands out for me here. For, for numerous reasons, the offensive line, interior offensive line stands out here. Is anybody else glaring to you on the offensive side of the ball? Jermaine Burton, I do not know what's going on with him right now. I think, so Burrow targeted him, I think, six times against the Ravens, one catch.

At least four times, well, I still have it up. But I think it's four times the other day, one catch. Like, that can't have, yeah, four times, one catch eight yards. Burrow is the most accurate quarterback in the NFL. So when I see a ball that's off target to Jermaine Burton, like really often it feels weird like on a go ball, who gets the benefit of the doubt? It's certainly Joe Burrow.

It isn't Jermaine Burton. So I don't know what in the world's going on with him. He better figure it out, though. They need him to figure it out. It's why I was sneakily pushing weapon at the deadline because I think they have two weapons right now at receiver in Jammar Chase and T. Higgins. and obviously T. Higgins has missed so much time,

and you don't have a down-in-and-out-out-line receiver three. I think Yoshi's a four. Maybe I'm wrong, but that's how I feel about it. And I don't think Burton, clearly Burton isn't ready to be your three. So I agree there that he hasn't delivered on expectations. And I didn't even have high expectations for him. I thought he could run some go-rout and catch a few touchdowns this year. Well, think about coming into training camp, though.

Was it the same? Because coming into training camp, the thought, for me at least, was that he could challenge for wide receiver three right away, that he could do those things, hit the ground running, and put the talent that we saw to use. And instead, like you said, he's been targeted 14 times this year has four catches. He's got 28.5% of the passes thrown to him this year, which is not a very good clip.

And to be fair, a lot of these are low percentage throws, way downfield, but it's not all of them. And there's these weird moments with him where he doesn't. doesn't put two hands up for the ball in the end zone against the chargers, for example, or all these deep balls are just off since the one they connected. I guess they've connected on two, since the two they connected on one against Kansas City, once against one against Philadelphia. The expectations for me before training camp were, I don't know, reasonably high for

Jermaine Burton and then just the path he's taken of not putting it together for this reason or that reason and the on-field results have been have been disappointing hopefully that turns around the rest of the way but we thought i thought i'll say i thought that going into training camp he would be part of the offensive attack for the bengals and he has been a much smaller part i would say then i'll say looks lost so we'll see hopefully he can figure it out because i do think he has talent but it's really not there all right let's get the clearance rack mac i real quick Interior offensive line as well. Didn't think it would be great, worse than I thought.

But go ahead. Sure. Yeah. I think Kappa and Voson specifically are, I thought Volson could take a slight step forward and be competent and play his way into a completely different conversation. Hasn't happened. Same player.

And Kappa, I think, has taken another step back. What we saw in training camp of him losing to B.J. Hill, that's who he is right now. And that's a rough situation. And that's also why we talked about in the NFL draft, rounds three through five, interior offensive line. We talked about it. We hit, hit it, hit it, hit it, hit it, hit it a bunch. And that was a main topic.

But clearance rack, Mac, I thought it was a no brainer to extend him. I know some are like, oh, will you pay him and not Jamar? No, you should have paid both. It doesn't have to be either or. That's dumb. I would have extended him. I have no idea what's going on with clearance rack, Mac, right? right now. Yeah. Oh, I thought there was more. No, I just, I have no idea. I'm,

Zach Taylor still backing him on Tuesday. Fine. And, and I, I've defended it. Like, I've been the guy that's defended him up to this point, to you, to everybody. And then he goes out there, and he misses a 48 yard and a 51 yard with the game on the line. You can't, can't do it. And, and we haven't heard from him. So clearance track Matt for right now. Right now, for kickers that have kicked at least 15 field goal attempts in the NFL. Evan McPherson's percentage of made field goals ranks fourth worst in the NFL. His percentage of made field goals on 50 plus yard attempts is right there with Justin Tucker, which is kind of weird.

But both of those guys, three for seven on 50 plus yard attempts this year. And so I guess that element. Jake Elliott, over four, by the way. But being there with Justin Tucker, I would have said, oh, yeah, he will be. But I would have thought it would be six for seven. And it's just not there. No, he needs to figure it out because that's not a guy. I think they want to cut.

So, you know, searching for a kicker. And I don't think they're there yet. But man, if it continues this way, you're not going to have a choice. He's going to have to start making these kicks. there would be a salary cap, additional salary cap hit if they cut him before next season. The dead cap would exceed the cap savings if they were to cut him next season. Got to do your job. It's not a good place to be where you're talking about cutting your kicker that you

are enough to pay that way. Yeah, I don't think they are talking that way yet. But what if he goes four for 10, 10 the year? I don't want to think about that. Kicker variance is real to a degree. Like Harrison Bucker, the highest big kicker in the NFL this year. He's two for four on 50 plus yarders for Kansas City. Then Chris Boswell model of consistency in Pittsburgh.

Brandon Aubrey for the Cowboys, 23 or 26. Kicker variance is a thing, but McPherson very much on the wrong side of it right now and has had a key role in most of their losses this year, to be honest. and that's not a place you want to be when your margins are what they are, as Joe Burrow pointed out after that Chargers game. We'll hope that there are more in the exceeding expectations bucket down the line here, but hope is not a plan, as we've said before. We'll have more to talk about as we continue this bi-week.

We're going to dive into what's going on schematically with the Bengals, or there's schematic deficiencies. That will wrap up our bi-week here for the next couple of episodes on lockdown Bengals. then thanks for listening to this episode of the locked on bengals podcast hoodeh and have a good one