USA TODAY Sports
The Cincinnati Bengals Player Power Rankings is a weekly ranking system that not only figures the best players on the team, but the players playing the best. Despite being out of their control, injuries and inactives are huge hits largely because they're not contributing. This week, there wasn't much change but we do add a defender to the top 20 and Carlos Dunlap gets back into the top 10.
|
Rank |
Player |
Last Week |
Change |
Notes |
|
1 |
Geno Atkins |
1 |
-- |
Is there anything that surprises us about Geno Atkins any more? Extend him. Now. |
|
2 |
A.J. Green |
2 |
-- |
Green needs to average about 84 yards in the final four games to break Chad Johnson's single-season record for yards in a season. |
|
3 |
Andre Smith |
4 |
+1 |
Andre Smith is playing at an elite level. He's always been a good pass blocker, but now he's dominating in the run game. He's the power blocker they've been searching for. |
|
4 |
Kevin Zeitler |
5 |
+1 |
Zeitler continues to show his value. He hasn't killed the offense once this year and has flashed an All-Pro future every game. |
|
5 |
Andy Dalton |
3 |
-2 |
Dalton wasn't his best in San Diego. He missed Green on two touchdowns and missed Hawkins on another. That can't happen down the stretch. |
|
6 |
Leon Hall |
6 |
-- |
You completely forget about Hall until he lets up a pass a couple times each game. That's the sign of trusting him to do his job every snap. |
|
7 |
Andrew Whitworth |
7 |
-- |
Great pass blocker, poor run blocker. Something is wrong but it doesn't look like it'll be fixed. This is Andrew Whitworth. |
|
8 |
Adam Jones |
8 |
-- |
Jones almost broke another punt last week and had another good coverage day. He's the highest non-starter on this list. |
|
9 |
Carlos Dunlap |
12 |
+3 |
When Dunlap is on like he was in San Diego, he makes the entire defense better. He's quietly putting together a good season. |
|
10 |
Jermaine Gresham |
9 |
-1 |
When did he become a better blocker than receiver? Watch him block and you'll be shocked. The light has come on. |
|
11 |
Clint Boling |
11 |
-- |
If it wasn't for Boling, this offense would NEVER run to the left. |
|
12 |
Michael Johnson |
10 |
-2 |
Johnson had one of those games where he gets over-shadowed not only by Atkins and Dunlap, but Peko and Gilberry. |
|
13 |
Reggie Nelson |
13 |
-- |
Nelson looked 100% and was very active. He had a couple TFLs and an interception that closed the game. |
|
14 |
Rey Maualuga |
16 |
+2 |
More around a B-plus level instead of the D-grade we were giving him through the first 6 games. |
|
15 |
Terence Newman |
15 |
-- |
You still get those lazy snaps by Newman, then he impresses with his tackling ability; something he never was praised for. |
|
16 |
Vontaze Burfict |
14 |
-2 |
Burfict was torched in coverage again this week, along with a couple of missed tackles. But he's still getting better with run-fits though. |
|
17 |
Andrew Hawkins |
17 |
-- |
Hawkins made the loss of Sanu much easier... until they reached the Red Zone. |
|
18 |
BenJarvus Green-Ellis |
19 |
+1 |
Three straight 100-yard games. Sure, he's had EXCELLENT blocking, but his vision and decision-making has been much better. |
|
19 |
Domata Peko |
18 |
-1 |
One of Peko's better games. He just seems so much better when he's splitting reps with Sims. |
|
20 |
Pat Sims |
NR |
-- |
Welcome to the top-20, Pat Sims. He can be a dancing bear at times... and that's hard to block. |
Just Missed the Cut: Nate Clements, Kevin Huber, Cedric Peerman, Trevor Robinson, Mike Nugent
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