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It's the most quiet time of the season in terms of overall sports (Sorry baseball and golf fans) so I figured we can discuss position by position to see where there's potential, where we're gonna be pretty average, and where we have cause for concern. Potential QB - Easy one to start with as 12 quarters is hardly enough to gauge what AR is, but what he could be especially in Shane's offense still gets me excited. Keep in mind, AR scored 7 tds in 12 quarters which is essentially 7 tds in 3 games. In 17 games, that's approximately 40 tds which is insane and that was without Taylor in the backfield with him. WR - Pittman clearly is the WR1, but the potential after him gets me very excited. Downs was coming into his own before he got hurt, Pierce hopefully can be used more in the passing game instead of just a decoy with AR back. I saw a funny statistic that Pierce ran the most miles throughout the season without getting targeted which can be taken as a good thing or a bad thing depending on how you want to interpret it. Mitchell really gets me excited. His catch radius is ridiculous. It's Hopkins like. I honestly think Mitchell gives us that big play potential our WR room is missing. DL - imo, this is the best the dline has looked in Ballard's tenure. Buck is still one of the best DTs in the league, Grove is a monster in run defense and has improved his pass rush, and Paye, Dayo, and Ebukam almost each had double digit sacks. I get what everyone is gonna say, yes we had 51 sacks however it was sporadic especially in the final game of the season. I still think the potential is there to have one of the best units in the league and it's gonna get better with the additions of Latu and Raewkon Davis. Average RB - I'm not talking about Taylor. I think he's poised for his best season since 21. I'm referring to the entire unit. Right now the backs behind Taylor are Sermon, Goodson, and Hull. If anything were to happen to Taylor, the room becomes a run at the mill group with different skill sets. OL - While I do think the oline got better from 22 to 23, I think as an overall unit that the oline is average. Raimann did look good this season and Fries was steady, but I'm worried if health is getting to Nelson, Kelly, and Smith. I think Nelson first four years was a lot better then Nelson the last two years. Just seems like Nelson isn't the immovable object he use to be. I'm not saying he's not playing at a high level, but I do think he's dipped from where he use to be. Kelly for almost two years looked like he needed to retire, but looked much improved last season and hopefully he can stay healthy. Smith concerns me the most. Just constantly hurt and/or not playing at the level we've grown to expect from him. The depth is mostly young and inexperienced as well. While I do think our oline is still a good unit, it's not where it use to be in terms of position strength at this time. TE - While we do have a lot of different types of TEs on the team to help stabilize the position, there are still question marks. Granson imo is our best TE in terms being able to move everywhere on the field. Olgetree seems to be a very good blocker and can bust the seem. Woods flashed as a rookie, but was hurt last year. MAC I see more as another olinemen. He can make plays in the passing game, but his value is more at blocking. Mallory is your traditional find an open spot in the defense and sit there as a safety valve. Collectively, they each bring something to the table, but the room doesn't have that TE1 presence imo. Concern S - I think this is everyone's concern as imo it's the weakest unit on the team. Blackmon returning does help, however Cross and Thomas have not proven either one can start full time and the only other potential starter at S is Ronnie Harrison. I would like to believe eventually Ballard will sign Simmons or Diggs. CB - While I do think Brents and Jones played really well as rookies, this unit concerns me as the room is made up of mostly second and third year players with Kenny being the lone vet. Flowers returning can definitely help as I thought he was playing very well before he got hurt, but the fifth and sixth CB spots imo are completely open. LB - Yes Franklin has established himself as the best LB on the team, there really isn't much depth afterwards. This will be the first season Speed is the full-time starter, Oubi and Stuard are more for STs, and Carlies is converting from S to LB. -
By RollerColt · Posted
It’s been 27 years since the Reds have won a playoff game. The longest drought in all of sports… Since that time and since the Castilinis bought the team, we’ve only reached the post season 4 times… -
Definitely see him in the rotation especially if God forbid Grove or Buck get hurt. The 6 games Grove was suspended was brutal in terms of run defense. Eric Johnson and Bryan were just constantly pushed back
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Yea those wobbly ducks weren't pretty, but they were effective
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I think the line changes will be the same as last season, except adding in the new guys (Davis and Latu). But those two should be an upgrade. I agree that Davis is a key add. The drop off from when Grove is out should be a ton less damaging. Bryan was out of position and it was obvious he couldn’t fill Grove’s shoes. With our uncertainty in the D backfield, the Dline better be what we expect.
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