Bengals Bytes (6/5): Hurrying up

Carson Palmer and Andy Dalton thrives against blitz; Nick Foles, Sam Bradford don't
During the season, in defensive meeting rooms across the league, coaches spend their days trying to scheme ways to attack opposing offenses. A major factor they’re forced to weigh is how the quarterback they’re facing performs against the blitz. Keeping that in mind, below is a look at the five best and five worst quarterbacks against the blitz last season, using a number of different statistical criteria. All numbers are courtesy of ESPN Stats & Information.

Are Bengals finding new value in older players?
Two years ago, when Karlos Dansby arrived in Cincinnati on a free agent visit, Bengals defensive coordinator Paul Guenther took the linebacker to dinner at one of the nicer downtown restaurants. Once the server arrived at the table, Dansby reached down into a bag he brought with him and pulled out two containers of food.

Carnell Lake Confirms Steelers Were Targeting William Jackson
Going to be honest with you guys. I didn’t expect this much news to come out on a Saturday. But hey, I’m not complaining. If you’ve been following the site over the last several hours, you know our friend Craig Scott has been dropping knowledge-bombs from the Steelers Men’s Fantasy Camp. Specifically, the discussions that have taken place with DBs coach Carnell Lake. In a Q&A session, Lake confirmed the Steelers would’ve taken cornerback William Jackson III had he been available. The Cincinnati Bengals took him one pick ahead.

Bengals Are Most Complete Team in AFC
If there is one thing most teams in the NFL wish they had, it is the combination of depth at every position, organizational grow talent, and leadership un almost every position around the football. The Bengals are one of few teams that can say so much more.

Random Bytes

It Is What It Is " Tom Brady pays tribute to Muhammed Ali: ‘Rest in peace Mr. Ali’
Tom Brady joined the long list of athletes paying respect to Muhammed Ali, who passed away late Friday night. The quarterback posted a picture with Ali on Facebook along with one of Ali’s famous quotes, calling both the quote and picture one of his favorites.

Marshawn Lynch Rocks 'Beast Mode' Sharks Jersey at Game 3 of Stanley Cup Final
Beast Mode lives. On Saturday, retired NFL running back Marshawn Lynch was in attendance at the SAP Center for Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final between the host San Jose Sharks and Pittsburgh Penguins.

Jim Brown and Muhammad Ali stood together to fight injustice
In Cleveland, it's tough to think of Muhammad Ali without thinking of Jim Brown. The two are almost inextricably linked, products of their race, their abilities and their times. Both were supreme athletes who set new standards in their respective sports. Both transcended sport, going beyond in an attempt to end the evil of discrimination and prejudice.

Nine NFL players primed to make their Pro Bowl debuts
The NFL announced Wednesday its going back to the traditional "AFC vs. NFC" Pro Bowl setup. This is great news for fans uncomfortable with the word "unconferenced" and terrible news for fans who own a "Team Sanders" jersey. The league hopes to reduce players bowing out of the game, which has watered down the significance of being Pro Bowler. Only one quarterback initially chosen for the Pro Bowl last season played in the game -- more than 35 replacements played overall.

Jaguars are planning to use hurry-up offense more often
As the Jaguars prepare to potentially take a major step forward in 2016, they’ll apparently be taking their regular steps more quickly on offense this season. Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union explains that the Jaguars have been implementing the hurry-up offense more regularly during OTA practices. And it appears that this specific wrinkle will be unleashed more frequently than in the final two minutes of the second or fourth quarters.

MIke Evans was a really big fan of Muhammad Ali
Buccaneeers wide receiver Mike Evans was such a fan of legendary boxer Muhammad Ali that Evans "like a month ago" got a tattoo of Ali on his forearm. Ali passed away on Friday, and like many notable athletes have done since the news of Ali’s passing broke, Evans tweeted a goodbye "to one of the greatest and most inspirational athletes of all time." His tweet included that picture of his tattoo that you see on the right.

Watching his rookie film, David Bakhtiari asks, "Who the f— is that?"
Packers left tackle David Bakhtiari thinks he’s a pretty good player now, and was a pretty bad player a few years ago. Bakhtiari told Jason Wilde of ESPN that he has spent time this offseason watching old tape of himself, and he’s kind of amazed at how much better a player he is today.