Midseason Biggest Needs According to PFF

[ibengals]

Went through our starters and their rankings to determine needs. Need are determined by color. Red = urgent, yellow = possible upgrade, green = good. All snaps taken into account.

QB: Andy Dalton - Ranked 28th out of 34 quarterbacks. -Upgrade
HB: Green Ellis - Ranked #122 out of 123 running backs. - Upgrade
WR1: AJ Green - Ranked #4 out of 178 wide receivers. - Upgrade
WR2: Brandon Tate - Ranked #131 out of 178 wide receivers. - Upgrade
TE: Jermaine Gresham - Ranked #94 out of 94 tight ends. (what?) - Upgrade
OT: Andrew Whitworth - Ranked #7 out of 106 tackles - Upgrade
OG: Clint Boling - Ranked #9 out of 116 guards - Upgrade
OC: Jeff Faine - Ranked #53 out of 53 centers - Upgrade
OG: Kevin Zeitler - Ranked #7 out of 116 guards - Upgrade
OT: Andre Smith - Ranked #21 out of 106 tackles - Upgrade

DE: Carlos Dunlap - Ranked #11 out of 96 defensive ends - Upgrade
DT: Geno Atkins - Ranked #1 out of 127 defensive tackles - Upgrade
DT: Domata Peko - Ranked #113 out of 127 defensive tackles - Upgrade
DE: Michael Johnson - Ranked #10 out of 96 defensive ends. - Upgrade
OLB: Vontaze Burfict - Ranked #24 out of 98 outside linebackers - Upgrade
MLB: Rey Maualuga - Ranked #90 out of 90 inside linebackers - Upgrade
OLB: Manny Lawson - Ranked #93 out of 98 outside linebackers - Upgrade
CB1: Leon Hall - Ranked #29 out of 174 cornerbacks - Upgrade
CB2: Terence Newman - Ranked #26 out of 174 cornerbacks - Upgrade
FS: Reggie Nelson - Ranked #11 out of 145 safeties - Upgrade
SS: Nate Clements - Ranked #89 out of 145 safeties - Upgrade

K: Mike Nugent - Ranked #13 out of 49 kickers - Upgrade
P: Kevin Huber - Ranked #12 out of 39 punters - Upgrade
KR: Brandon Tate - Ranked #13 out of 158 kick returners - Upgrade


Possible replacements:

OLB: Thomas Howard (#22/98), Emmanuel Lamur (#27/98)
DT: Brandon Thompson (#42/127), Devon Still (#50/127)
SS: Taylor Mays (#29/145)


What are your thoughts on this? Surprised to see a tight end on pace for 850 yards receiving ranked as the worst tight end in the league. Kind of weird....

[SunsetBengal]

Gresham getting hammered in their metrics for the drops and poor attempts at blocking.

[bfine32]

....waits for Truck to come in and say you're doing it wrong.

[BobJones4980]

Dont forget Kyle Cook, I also think Howard will come back and play OLB, Burfict will move to the middle, also interested to see how Lamur plays the rest of the season I thought he looked decent yesterday.

I think Still and Thompson will get a chance at Pekos spot.

WR#2 and RB for sure need something new, I hope none of the SS's on the team atm are here next year.

Also DE needs to be looked at early, Dunlap is hurt or on the bench half the time and Micheal Johnson has 1 or 2 decent games a year and disappears.

[Archer]

I pretty much agree with everything PFF said.

The lone exception being Gresham. He is wildly inconsistent, but he sure as hell isn't the worst TE in the NFL.

I can't believe they don't at least activate Thompson and see how he does. From what I remember he played pretty well in the preseason.

[Lawless_1]

Originally Posted by ibengals

HB: Green Ellis - Ranked #122 out of 123 running backs

He will be one and done here.

I see him going back to NE.

[berserkerone88]

DE not being a need is why PFF is fun but useless.

[ibengals]

Originally Posted by berserkerone88

DE not being a need is why PFF is fun but useless.

We're averaging almost 3.0 sacks per game. That's among the best in the league. Not sure what you expect out of a defensive line.

[berserkerone88]

Originally Posted by ibengals

We're averaging almost 3.0 sacks per game. That's among the best in the league. Not sure what you expect out of a defensive line.

Horse **** excuse.
3 sacks a game is so damn misleading. Watch the games. We may get 3 sacks but the other 30+ pass attempts we don't sniff the QBs jock.

[Whatever]

Originally Posted by berserkerone88

Horse **** excuse.
3 sacks a game is so damn misleading. Watch the games. We may get 3 sacks but the other 30+ pass attempts we don't sniff the QBs jock.

Part of that is that Peko and Geathers are terrible pass rushers,but still get a lot of PT. Still,we have trouble getting pressure just rushing four guys. It seems we have to blitz to really get after the QB. MJ is solid,but not great. Dunlap has flashes,but simply hasn't put it all together.

Still,you're right about stuff like this exposing PFF as fun,but far from the gospel. Gresham has some drops and isn't a top tier blocker,but the worst TE in the league is a complete joke. Even with the drops,Dalton is still completing 66.7% of his passes targeting Gresham for 8.49 YPA,very good numbers. Dalton as 28th is laughable. I'm not saying he's elite or anything,but he's been a middle of the pack QB this year. Terrance Newman ranked 26th as a CB is totally false,and anybody who actually watches Bengals' games knows this. I dunno if the PFF guy doing the grades is Newman's college roommate and/or hitting the beer fridge while he's getting burned 3rd down after 3rd down,but they are totally off base,there.

Still,I think most of us know our biggest holes are RB,WR2,MLB,SLB,CB2,and SS.

[berserkerone88]

CB #2 wont be an issue for me unless Kirkpatrick is awful. And I mean awful. Epically bad.

[Murphy]

first-the yellow is an awful choice....very hard to read.
second- Andy is not even remotely close to being replaced. He's not playing that bad. AND there is very little in this draft in terms of an upgrade.

[Whatever]

Originally Posted by berserkerone88

CB #2 wont be an issue for me unless Kirkpatrick is awful. And I mean awful. Epically bad.

CB2 will be a hole until either Mike Zimmer figures out Newman stinks or Mike Zimmer gets fired.

[berserkerone88]

Originally Posted by Whatever

CB2 will be a hole until either Mike Zimmer figures out Newman stinks or Mike Zimmer gets fired.

Newman isn't a #2 CB but has been thrust there via injuries.
And it may be a need but not a draft need.

[mulligan]

I completely agree that neither Dalton nor Gresham need to be upgraded. Yes, they need to continue to improve and be more consistant. But I wouldn't bail on these two as of yet.

As for Peko, I feel that people (PFF included) misinterpret Peko's value. For example, Peko exited the game due to injury against the Broncos. I believe that after Peko exited, the Broncos score at least 1 TD, if not 2. Peko flat out shuts down the run. I would grade Peko with a yellow. WTS, it is possible that Peko's upgrade is already on the team in Thompson and/or Still.

Cook is still a Bengal, and I would aware upgrading Center as a yellow as well.

I would add a Defensive End as a critical upgrade. It seems obvious that the Bengals get (at the very least) extremely inconsistant pass rush.

I feel that both Howard & Burfict will be playing LB for the Bengals next year, so I feel that there is only 1 additional LB needed critically (either MIKE or SAM whichever is opposite to Burfict's role).

IMO, 5 critical upgrades; 2 on offense (RB, WR2) & 3 on defense (SS, LB, DE)

[ibengals]

Originally Posted by berserkerone88

Horse **** excuse.
3 sacks a game is so damn misleading. Watch the games. We may get 3 sacks but the other 30+ pass attempts we don't sniff the QBs jock.

I'm not saying it's not a need, but there are more pressing issues with this team right now than DE. Denver has the best pass blocking team in the league by a mile right now.


They've played 4 teams with a 4-3 defense, and given up ONE sack to a defensive end.

[J24]

1.) Need is at the Lber position neither Vontez, Rey,or Lawson are athletic enough to be 3 down players in the nfl. We need speed in the middle of the field.

2.) Strong Safety- 4 different players have played that position and none of them have been impressive so far this season.

3.)Running Back- need a back that can run inside and outside, catch the ball out of the back field, and pass protect.

4.) Tweener DE/D-tackle- We Miss Fanene and Rucker this year badly.

5th.) Speed rush Defensive End- Dunlap and Johnson are a great duo when hayes lets Dunlap play but their is know one behind either one of them that can play. Geathers stinks, Moch suffers from Migraines, and Gilberry is being misused.

[berserkerone88]

Originally Posted by ibengals

I'm not saying it's not a need, but there are more pressing issues with this team right now than DE. Denver has the best pass blocking team in the league by a mile right now.


They've played 4 teams with a 4-3 defense, and given up ONE sack to a defensive end.

And that doesn't explain Miami, Cleveland, Baltimore, Pittsburgh....
Sorry but we get a few sacks but otherwise dont touch the QB for the most part and give him all day to throw.

[Stewee28]

Its hard not to agree with any of what PFF is saying here. Almost every "red highlighted" position has been discussed on this board, so I think we can all agree, WE ARE VERY SMART!!!

Now, why is the head coaching position not highlighted in bright orange for UPGRADE IMMEDIATELY??

All kidding aside, WR2, RB, DE, MLB/OLB, S, C, possibly CB is highly needed. DE, MLB, S are and should be our first 3 picks. Three selections in the first two rounds gives us three day one starters. Address the RB in the 3rd with Ellington and maybe even Barner in the later rounds. WR2 can either be taken in the 3rd as well, if Ellington is not there. There will be a ton of different scenarios come draft day.

As it stands now, we may be picking in the top 10 so we should have a pretty good shot at nailing

DE - Montgomery / Mingo / Werner
MLB - Te'o
CB - Millner (only if our CB becomes our greatest need; dont think it will)

As for the second round...

DE - Okafor
OLB - Ogeltree
S - Vaccarro

Third

RB - Ellington
WR - anyone not named Tate or Binns
S - Rambo (personally, this is the Safety I want. He is the definition of a ball hawk and play maker at his position.)

Again, these are just some options. Not saying this is what our draft looks like. I am no where near that smart.

[bfine32]

Originally Posted by ibengals

Went through our starters and their rankings to determine needs. Need are determined by color. Red = urgent, yellow = possible upgrade, green = good. All snaps taken into account.

HB: Green Ellis - Ranked #122 out of 123 running backs. - Upgrade
WR2: Brandon Tate - Ranked #131 out of 178 wide receivers. - Upgrade
OC: Jeff Faine - Ranked #53 out of 53 centers - Upgrade
DT: Domata Peko - Ranked #113 out of 127 defensive tackles - Upgrade
MLB: Rey Maualuga - Ranked #90 out of 90 inside linebackers - Upgrade
OLB: Manny Lawson - Ranked #93 out of 98 outside linebackers - Upgrade
SS: Nate Clements - Ranked #89 out of 145 safeties - Upgrade

Looking at the Red needs alone:

RB- Possible replacement not on the team. Needs to be drafted early and late
WR2- Possible replacement on the team (Sanu/Jones). Draft only if there is a big fall by someone.
OC- Cook brings this up to yellow. Draft with a mid-round pick
DT- Possible replacement on team (Sims/Thompson). Draft only if there is an big fall by someone.
MLB- Possible replacement on the team (Burfict). Draft only if you can get one of the top 2-3
OLB- Possible replacement not on team. Draft early or re-sign Rey and move until 2014.
SS- Possible replacement on team (Sands/Dye). Draft only if you take the #1 or #2.

[goalpost]

I wonder what Cook was actually rated at... last year among centers.

[mulligan]

Originally Posted by Stewee28

Third

RB - Ellington
WR - anyone not named Tate or Binns
S - Rambo (personally, this is the Safety I want. He is the definition of a ball hawk and play maker at his position.)

Again, these are just some options. Not saying this is what our draft looks like. I am no where near that smart.

Let's say hypothetically that the Bengals wait to the 3rd round to draft a SS.

And then Rambo gets picked before the Bengals 3rd round slot.

Who are you going to draft at SS in the 3rd round when Rambo is not available as well as all the other 1st & 2nd round SS?

[mulligan]

Originally Posted by bfine32

Looking at the Red needs alone:

RB- Possible replacement not on the team. Needs to be drafted early and late
WR2- Possible replacement on the team (Sanu/Jones). Draft only if there is a big fall by someone.
OC- Cook brings this up to yellow. Draft with a mid-round pick
DT- Possible replacement on team (Sims/Thompson). Draft only if there is an big fall by someone.
MLB- Possible replacement on the team (Burfict). Draft only if you can get one of the top 2-3
OLB- Possible replacement not on team. Draft early or re-sign Rey and move until 2014.
SS- Possible replacement on team (Sands/Dye). Draft only if you take the #1 or #2.

I don't have much confidence in either Sands or Dye being starter calibre strong safety material.

In addition, it seems to me that this safety class is quite deep. Thus, I would exclude considering drafting a safety is the safety was the 3rd or 4th best safety.

As for the LB corp, I am very interested to continue to watch Burfict's & Lemur's development over the next 8 games. As of right now, I am not completely sold on either of these guys. As bad as our LBs have been, Burfict may be "suffering" with the "tallest midget" syndrome.

Burfict seems to struggle in pass protection and is a bit slow. This is overcome prodimantly by his good instincts in run stopping.

Lemur seems strong in pass protection. But, if I remember correctly, he struggles against stopping the run.

[Stewee28]

Originally Posted by mulligan

Let's say hypothetically that the Bengals wait to the 3rd round to draft a SS.

And then Rambo gets picked before the Bengals 3rd round slot.

Who are you going to draft at SS in the 3rd round when Rambo is not available as well as all the other 1st & 2nd round SS?

guess we will just have to watch how quikly the safties come off the board. If the second round comes and they start flying off the board, we may have to grab Rambo or another with our 2B pick.

[BobJones4980]

Originally Posted by mulligan

Let's say hypothetically that the Bengals wait to the 3rd round to draft a SS.

And then Rambo gets picked before the Bengals 3rd round slot.

Who are you going to draft at SS in the 3rd round when Rambo is not available as well as all the other 1st & 2nd round SS?

Depends on how early were picking, if were top 10 there may be better value at the top of round 2 over SS, plus early 3rd round could have great value, Vaccaro, Rambo, Williams, and Jefferson(who some believe can play both SS/FS) are slated as 2-3 atm. Id say there is a good chance we can wait till 3 for a S if were top 10.