Bengals Banter: A.J. Green’s Greatness, & Mohamed Sanu’s Emegence
By Jason Marcum
Nov 11, 2012; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Mohamed Sanu (12) runs the ball during the first half against the New York Giants at Paul Brown Stadium. The Bengals defeated the Giants 31-13. Mandatory Credit: Frank Victores-US PRESSWIRE
Bengals wide receiver a.J. Green is one of, if not the best wideout in the NFL right now, but having a good #2 WR to line up opposite of him will be key to keeping defenses from shutting down Green through double and even triple coverages and rookie Mohamed Sanu may be ready to take a hold of that #2 role, and Green is impressed with how far the rookie out of Rutgers has come this year:
"He has grown a lot. He can play a lot of different position. We can put the ball in his hands out of the backfield, he can catch the ball. you need someone on the team like that who can be versatile."
Former Bengals WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh think his Bengals single-season record of eight straight games catching a touchdown pass is going down this Sunday in Kansas City when Green goes up against a Chiefs pass defense that has allowed 18 TD passes, the 6th-most in the NFL, but T.J. believes Green will break it just because he’s that good:
"It wouldn’t shock me if he caught a touchdown in every game the rest of this season. That dude is good. He’s unbelievable. At worst, he’s the second best receiver in the league. Maybe Calvin Johnson is better just because he’s so big. But if you talk about complete receivers, A.J.’s the best receiver in the league. You watch him run routes and not just the deep ball, not a problem. You watch him against press coverage, not a problem. You watch him go downfield, not a problem. He gets downfield so easy. Some guys are one-dimensional or only have a couple of dimensions."
In his Week 11 NFL game rankings, CBS Sports’ Jason La Canforarated each matchup on his trademark ‘hoagie scale’, and the Bengals @ Chiefs game was listed in the “Wrap” section of games:
"Why to watch: The Bengals have a chance to get to .500 and make a push for a playoff spot after falling into a rough patch. Andy Dalton to A.J. Green is heating up again and everybody shines against the Chiefs these days. It might prove tough for the Chiefs’ revolving quarterback door, due to injury, to withstand a powerful Bengals front, and if you aren’t familiar with Geno Atkins’ work, this would be a great time to get to know one of the game’s dominant interior defenders.What to watch for: At this point nothing would surprise me in Kansas City — fan walkouts, players getting cut for fumbling. Pretty soon Arrowhead might join Miami as a place where you can have no trouble catching entire rows of empty seats when the cameras pan out. Expect enthusiastic chants taking aim at ownership, management and the coaching staff. It may prove more compelling than the action at times. … The Chiefs are firmly in the hunt for the first overall pick, but the problem for them is it might be in a year when no QB warrants that selection (oh, if Andrew Luck had just been a year later)."
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