NFL Spin Zone
Fansided

Cincinnati Bengals: Negatives of team’s 2-3 start

By Kenn Korb

CINCINNATI, OH - SEPTEMBER 14: D'Onta Foreman #27 of the Houston Texans attempts to break a tackle from Dre Kirkpatrick #27 of the Cincinnati Bengals during the first half at Paul Brown Stadium on September 14, 2017 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
CINCINNATI, OH - SEPTEMBER 14: D'Onta Foreman #27 of the Houston Texans attempts to break a tackle from Dre Kirkpatrick #27 of the Cincinnati Bengals during the first half at Paul Brown Stadium on September 14, 2017 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 3
Next
CINCINNATI, OH – AUGUST 11: Vernon Hargreaves III #28 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers intercepts a pass at the goal line intended for Brandon LaFell #11 of the Cincinnati Bengals in the first quarter of a preseason game at Paul Brown Stadium on August 11, 2017 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
CINCINNATI, OH – AUGUST 11: Vernon Hargreaves III #28 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers intercepts a pass at the goal line intended for Brandon LaFell #11 of the Cincinnati Bengals in the first quarter of a preseason game at Paul Brown Stadium on August 11, 2017 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

2. Receivers Falling Short

The state of the receiving corps may miraculously be as bad as the cornerbacks. Based on the perception entering the season, this seems like a ridiculous notion. A.J. Green is a superstar. Brandon LaFell is a quality veteran presence. Tyler Boyd had a decent finish to his rookie season in 2016 and seemed poised to take another step forward. Rookies John Ross and Josh Malone appeared to be major talents. Alex Erickson and Cody Core beat out numerous other talented competitors while forcing the team to carry seven receivers on the roster.

They had the potential to be one of the deepest receiving corps in the league, and that’s before even accounting for the pass catching abilities of running backs (Giovani Bernard) and tight ends (Tyler Eifert). Fast-forward to now, and it’s incredible how dramatically things have changed.

Eifert is done for the season  — and perhaps with Cincinnati — due to yet another injury. Bernard has had a pretty slow start. LaFell has been mostly useless even with plenty of opportunity. Boyd, Core and Erickson have struggled to get consistent playing time. Ross has only been on the field for five snaps due to injury, while Malone hasn’t lined up for a single receiving snap due to being a rookie in a crowded lineup. Even their superstar has struggled at times, with Green being at the core of three turnovers in Cincinnati’s eventual win against Buffalo.

More from NFL Spin Zone

It’d be foolish to hold a couple mistakes too heavily against Green though, especially considering how little his receiving mates have contributed.

In five games, Green leads Cincinnati in all these receiving categories: targets (51), receptions (32), receiving yards (504), touchdown catches (3), longest reception (77), 20+ yard receptions (7), converted first downs (20), and yards after catch (173). Despite currently playing a game less than many other top receivers, these totals still rank him ninth, 13th, second, T-13th, T-third, T-seventh, T-ninth, and 12th league-wide through six weeks of games, respectively.

The rest of the team’s pass catchers fall well short of the bar he’s set.

Here’s the No. 2 Cincinnati player for each of those statistics:

  • Targets: B. LaFell (25)
  • Receptions: B. LaFell (15)
  • Receiving Yards: G. Bernard (164)
  • Touchdown Catches: G. Bernard/Tyler Kroft (2)
  • Longest Reception: G. Bernard (61)
  • 20+ Yard Receptions: G. Bernard (2)
  • First-Down Conversions: Tyler Kroft (10)
  • Yards After Catch: G. Bernard (165)

That’s a troubling data set for numerous reasons. It means that, even before getting hurt, Eifert wasn’t making an impact. It means that a running back who has clearly not been his best self after coming off a torn ACL is their second-best pass catcher. It means that their top-performing receiver beyond Green is somehow LaFell, who has been notably horrid to a degree beyond any wideouts on the Cincinnati roster.

Though they likely are not the excellent group that we first believed them to be, this start does not do justice to the talent the group has. Unlike some areas on this team though, this should improve.

Eifert may be done, but Ross should be returning soon (and fellow tight end Kroft has been doing a decent impression of Eifert lately, too). Boyd was a healthy scratch at times for unsound reasoning under former offensive coordinator Ken Zampese. Under Bill Lazor, he is getting his snaps again and should hold onto that No. 3 role. LaFell has been exceptionally bad compared to most of his career, so he should improve. If he doesn’t, younger players will eat into those snaps as his sample size of bad play grows.

They have a long way to go before they earn the offseason praise they garnered, but outside of Green, there’s just about nowhere to go but up from here.

Home/Cincinnati Bengals