If you're like us (and we know you are), you spend valuable family, work and free time trying to find as much information on anything Bengals as you can. In an effort to be your Bengals central information center, Cincyjungle is going to be diving deep into every game this season to grade players on their performances. Gone are the days where stats from ESPN tell the story of the game. We now have in-depth analysis from footballoutsiders and numerical grading from profootballfocus. But that still isn't enough. Our goal is to bring these new age grades and analysis and tweak them in ways that suit our Bengals needs.
What we're going to do is, select two players each week based on a community vote. We'll choose one offensive player and one defensive player. Or in the case of preseason, we can choose a particular position battle. For example: Nate Livings, Max Jean-Gilles and Clint Boling battle for LG. Then we will watch every snap with a critical eye, break the play down, and grade the player on each individual play. This will help answer questions like... Why isn't Anthony Collins starting? Or why isn't Brandon Johnson playing more? Whatever Bengals related question arises during the season, we plan on finding our OWN answers this year.
Hit the jump to see how this grading and breakdown process will be done...
Here's our grading scale and template for our Player Report Cards.
Grading scale: -1.0 minimum to +1.0 maximum on each play
0 points are awarded for neutral plays. Example: Kyle Cook stops Haloti Ngata from penetrating with the help from Bobbie Williams. Benson carries, gain of 2 yards. +0
+.5 is awarded when a player executes the play correctly and the play work as a team. Example: Rey Maualuga shoots the gap and makes a tackle after a 1-yard gain. +.5
+1.0 is awarded for extra special plays. Example: Andrew Whitworth pancakes the DE and then cut blocks the LB, Gain of 10 yards. +1.0 or Shipley catches a ball 3 yards short of first down and fights through two defenders to get first down. +1.0
-.5 will be awarded for plays when a player can't beat his opponent on the particular play. Example: Jerome Simpson wants to run a fade route but cannot get off the jam and the ball sails out of bounds. Incomplete. -.5
-1.0 will be awarded for very bad plays that directly lead to negative plays. Examples: Dropped pass leads to Int; missed block that leads to sack or TFL; missed tackle and player runs for first down. All -1.0
We'll track numbers and stats such as...
Snaps:
Snaps on Run plays:
Snaps on Pass plays:
Special Teams snaps (if applicable):
Sub packages snaps: [(Nickel, Dime on Def) 3rd down RB, Slot WR, TE in backfield...]
Negative Plays:
Neutral Plays:
Positive Plays:
Total Grade:
I'll also narrate each play involving the players we're watching that week.
Example:
1st QTR - 14:49
Down: 1st & 10 on 29-yard line
Offensive Formation: Single back, 2 TE, Both WRs to right
Defensive Formation: Base 4-3 Defense
Play: Pitch to the offensive right. Maualuga slides to his left, takes on the block from full back. Thomas Howard makes the tackle. Gain of 2 yards.
Grade: 0.0
At the end of our research from that week, I'll give an overall impression of the particular player's day and how they've progressed throughout the season in an attempt to put to rest any questions we have as a community. But it's more likely we'll be left asking even more questions.
This is where the Cincyjungle community comes in. There is a poll/vote before each week's game to determine which players we want to dig deeper on. This week, we need your help in deciding between a few positions battles that we can develop our own opinions on, and get a advanced look at who should be the opening day starter.