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The Bengals started the season 1-0, but Bobby Hart didn’t do too much winning on Sunday. He was often blown up on the way to either Andy Dalton getting sacked and pressured or Joe Mixon being forced to make someone miss in the backfield.
At this point, it is hard to see why Cincinnati is playing Hart. He didn’t play well when run blocking or pass blocking, so what saving grace does he have? Could it be the dreaded mean streak the coaches keep preaching? If that is the case they are putting their season at risk.
Margus Hunt, MARGUS FREAKING HUNT, beat Hart for two sacks in the Bengals’ win. Hunt had 2.5 sacks in five seasons in the NFL leading up to Sunday’s game. You remember Hunt from his time with the Bengals, right? He was great in the preseason and then did nothing in the regular season. Well, Hart is so bad that for Hunt, it was like facing someone in the preseason. Per PFF, Hart allowed five total pressures on Sunday.
#Bengals G Alex Redmond earned a 56.5 overall grade across 56 offensive snaps in Indy, allowing five total pressures in the process.
— PFF CIN Bengals (@PFF_Bengals) September 10, 2018
Redmond and Bobby Hart (37.4 overall grade) earned the two lowest grades of any Bengals offensive player and allowed 10 total pressures combined.
The Bengals don’t have a backup plan behind Dalton. Jeff Driskel isn’t leading this team anywhere besides a top 10 pick. Can you imagine what will happen when Hart has to go up against a guy like T.J. Watt when Cincinnati plays the Steelers? Or how about when the team faces the Ravens on Thursday, who got six sacks against the Bills?
The Bengals don’t have a ton of great options behind Hart. At this point Jake Fisher seems like the best replacement option. He showed some spurts of being a pretty good offensive tackle during the preseason. He would probably be the first option for Cincinnati. He is in a contract season, and he has plenty of incentive to play well.
After Fisher the Bengals to turn to guys like Cedric Ogbuehi or Trey Hopkins. Ogbuehi has proven he’s not a capable option, and if the Bengals had actually brought in more of a competition at tackle, Ogbuehi probably wouldn’t even be on the team still.
As far as Hopkins, he is officially listed as a guard, but he has the length to possibly kick out to tackle. It isn’t ideal by any means, but the Bengals don’t have many more options on their roster, and they likely won’t make a move during the season. As bad as it sounds, what does Cincinnati really have to lose?
Hart has been as bad as you could imagine him being, and he was playing against a team that should have made him look at least average. If the Bengals really want to keep up the winning trend, they need to make a move at the right tackle position before Dalton gets hurt.