While the month of July is one of the slowest by NFL news standards, interest level from fans is rising and their questions are ramping up with the onset of training camp as the month closes. Aside from keeping a cautious eye on the police blotter, fans are also looking at upcoming position battles and potential weak spots on a roster. It's in those areas and others where our readers are focused on this week when talking about the Bengals.
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@CincyJungle how would you define a successful training camp/pre season? What positives are you looking for?
— Sean Young (@syoung927) July 15, 2016
Remember last summer when a Bengals' training camp practice was televised on NFL Network and Michael Johnson, fresh off of a big free agent deal to return to the club, went down with a knee injury? Thankfully, the injury didn't cause Johnson to miss any regular season time, but it was a scary couple of days until accurate news surfaced. The same thing happened in front of a national audience with HBO's "Hard Knocks" back in 2013, as A.J. Green sprained his knee, narrowly avoiding a season-ending injury.
So, those two long-winded examples point to one simple answer: health at critical positions. Whether it's quarterback, offensive tackle, wide receivers, or the formidable starters on the defensive line, even the deepest of teams need all hands on deck when the games really count. There might be a few scares, but as long as none are long-term losses, that has to be one of the biggest positives to come out of any training camp--especially since it's when the pads come on full-time.
Aside from that, the receiver group's development has to be one of the biggest storylines fans are hoping turns positive through the end of summer. Even though the possible upside of Brandon LaFell and Tyler Boyd seems high, having them integrate into the offense and become reliable contributors has to be one of the biggest priorities for the team. Aside from those two, figuring out the final three spots at the position will also be critical for success in 2016.
Fans seem to be pulling for Jake Kumerow, who impressed in last year's camp, to latch onto one of those spots, but there are a glut of others scrapping for those other final spots. Aside from Kumerow, the three other wideouts most people will be watching are Brandon Tate, Mario Alford and the recently-added Rashaun Simonise, who signed as an undrafted free agent after the Supplemental Draft (though that's not official until he clears his physical in Cincinnati next week). While a big part of the contest between those three will come down to their abilities to help Andy Dalton out in the offense, the kick return aspect of their skill sets will also be scrutinized.
Marvin Lewis uses preseason games to gauge fringe roster players' chances on making the 53-man roster, and that is an area where Tate has continued to excel, hence his continuation of making the final roster over the past five years. The Lewis preseason barometer is wise because what better way to grade a player than in in-game action, right? However, so many players get limited sample sizes in those four games, so bottom-end depth chart guys have to make the most of a small amount of opportunities.
Aside from the offense, pass rush is another area folks should be watching. Carlos Dunlap and Michael Johnson have been both incredibly durable and productive starters, but with Wallace Gilberry moving on and the team not drafting an edge player in 2016, backups used in the rotation for 2016 will be under the microscope. When the Bengals lost Johnson in free agency back in 2014, the team relied on former second round pick Margus Hunt to pick up the slack. He didn't, and now everyone is waiting for him to be a contributor in 2016.
It isn't just Hunt that needs to show the coaches progress, though. Cincinnati's 2014 third round pick Will Clarke is in the same boat, while Marcus Hardison needs to exude the versatility he used at Arizona State. Like wide receiver, the defensive line positions are quite crowded, especially with the offseason additions of Andrew Billings, Pat Sims and Brandon Thompson. Last year, 10 players filled up the defensive linemen spots on the final roster, and with DeShawn Williams and others fighting for spots this year, there are going to be tough calls.
So, if you want positives to come from camp, here they are: all players remain healthy, the current receivers don't miss a beat after the departures of Marvin Jones and Mohamed Sanu, while guys like Hunt, Clarke and Hardison prove capable of getting to the passer in niche situations.
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One of the questions sent to us on one of our recent Facebook Live posts revolved around the confidence level surrounding Bengals kicker Mike Nugent. While "Nuge" is a local hero from his days at Ohio State and his making of quite a few big kicks in his six-year Bengals career, both injuries and a lack of long makes have fans wary of his ability to convert in big situations.
There is an odd irony with special teams coach Darrin Simmons: he is widely-regarded as one of the best at his NFL craft, yet he employs two questionable players with very important tasks on his unit. Tate is one in the return game, which is a whole other topic in itself, but Nugent has been a bit of a polarizing player in his Cincinnati tenure.
In his 12-year NFL career, Nugent has an 81 percent field goal conversion rate. And, the truth of the matter is that's who Nugent has consistently been, year in and year out. With the Bengals, Nugent has a 82.2 percent field goal conversion rate (134-for-163), which is solid, but not spectacular. While a long of 55 yards with Cincinnati isn't anything to scoff at, he still isn't known for his big leg and we've seen Lewis eschew long attempts for pooch punts.
And that is where the distrust comes with Nugent for some. Picture it being late in the fourth quarter at Heinz Field from 56 yards out this December 18th, with the wind swirling. The Steelers' home field is notorious for being unfriendly to all kickers, but how confident are you in Nugent with a long kick on the line in terrible weather in what could be an uber-important scenario?
In quarters one through three and from 30 to 40 yards out, I don't have any fear with Nugent missing the kick. In today's NFL, that's still a fortunate situation, but the long kicks in poor weather make me nervous. And with Nugent kicking at Paul Brown Stadium and in the rest of the AFC North for most of his 2016 schedule, clutch situations are definitely tenuous.