A lot will be made of the Ocho-TO show, and all the ex-Cowboys currently on the Bengal roster. Much attention will be paid to the play of the starters on both squads, but that's not really what I'm most interested in tonight.
While I will be watching how the offensive line does against two premier D-linemen in Jay Ratliff and Demarcus Ware, and how well the Bengal Defense does against one of the better offenses in the league, I'm going to constantly remind myself that no one shows anything in preseason. The offenses are vanilla, and so are the coverages and pressures, especially this early on. Take the results with a grain of salt.
Where the preseason IS meaningful is in how the roster shapes up, especially for special teams. The most intriguing position battles for me are in the secondary. Typically a team takes 10 secondary players, some combination of 5 to 6 corners and 4 to 5 safeties, for the 53 man roster. There are many more than 10 good secondary players fighting for a spot on this year's Bengals team.
At corner, JJoe and Leon Hall are obvious. Adam "Don't call me Pacman" Jones has looked good so far and is likely to make the team. Brandon Ghee has flashed athleticism, and should make the team for planting Dez Briscoe in the Oklahoma drill if for nothing else (kidding). David Jones and Morgan Trent have logged significant time in this defense, Jones primarily as a backup outside and Trent as a nickel. Normally this wouldn't be a big deal, you'd just take these six guys and roll with four safeties, but with the injury issues and special teams skills of the safeties, I don't think it's that easy a decision.
Last year the Bengals kept 5 safeties on the 53 man roster, and I think the decision this year will come down to who contributes the most on special teams. Starters Chris Crocker and Roy Williams are in. Chinny Ndukwe and Gibril Wilson should both make it given the injury issues of both starters and their veteran status. Kyries Hebert is a special teams ace, the team's best, and should make the team. See the issue?
Crocker can play corner in a pinch, but was pretty awful at nickel corner last year. I don't know enough about Wilson to say whether he can cover enough to do the same. Also on the roster are two "tweaners" in Tom Nelson and Rico Murray. The coaches seem high on both guys, and the versatility and special teams abilities are nice, but making the 53 would be surprising.
I really don't have a good feel for which way this will go, but my gut says five corners and five safeties. That would probably mean a decision to take two of Pacman, David Jones, and Trent. That decision could very well come down to who gives them the most on teams. As I stated in a previous post, this position is also tied to the Wide Receiver decision. And more specifically, who will be the primary punt returner for this team.
If Pacman or Jordan Shipley (or someone else) can establish himself in the return game, you'd no longer have to keep Quan Cosby for just that role. So, the moral of the story is to keep an eye on special teams during the preseason as it is the most telling aspect of these early games.
If any of these guys don't make the team, it'll be interesting to see if they are claimed on waivers prior to being put on the practice squad. There area some talented guys here that will getting cut, which is another sign of how talented this team is.
Two things are certain about tonight. Football is back, and tomorrow, fans everywhere will be totally overreacting to the outcome of the first quarter. (Keep repeating the mantra "it's only preseason, it's only preseason, it's....).
Who Dey!!!!
I agree with the only preseason thing, if it meant anything detroit would be defending their 3rd superbowl title this year. What did you think of Dig Dug Adam Jones? I thought he looked very much in shape and made a few good plays on the ball and he looked good finding lanes on returns. I was also suprised at Matt Jones, I know he was working against practice squad corners but I thought he looked pretty good. Also, was it just me or did anyone else think Chad looked a little sour after all Carson's balls went to TO?
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