Bengals Banter: Fantasy Football, Wider Playing Field, & Potential Runningbacks
By Jason Marcum
December 2, 2012; San Diego, CA, USA; Cincinnati Bengals receiver Andrew Hawkins (16) is hit by San Diego Chargers safety Eric Weddle (32) after a third down reception during the first quarter at Qualcomm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
There has been talk recently of the NFL widening the playing field in order to help the league cut down on the violent hits and increase player safety. The idea would be to widen the field in the same way the Canadian Football League has. Andrew Hawkins played two years with the CFL’s Montreal Alouettes before making the jump to the NFL. His experience playing on Canada’s wider fields left him with the feeling that the NFL would have fewer big hits if they did make the playing field larger:
"It would prevent a lot of the severe collisions. Guys are getting faster every year. We know that. But with the NFL spacing being more confined than the CFL, there are a lot more big hits. There are a lot more tight windows. It would prevent not all, but a larger portion, of big hits. There are more big hits here. I don’t care how fast you are. If a field is a certain size, you’re not going to be able to get there by the time the ball gets there."
Joe Reedy of the Cincinnati Enquirer takes stock of the Bengals’ running back situation with the NFL combine on the horizon, and he believes the two most likeliest free agent targets that could upgrade that position are the New Orleans Saints’ Chris Ivory and the Miami Dolphins’ Reggie Bush:
"Two possible fits in free agency could be Reggie Bush or Chris Ivory. For Ivory though it would depend on what type of tender New Orleans would attach since he is a restricted free agent. While a lot of Bengals fans have had visions of Bush in orange and black (one fan even went so far to Photoshop it and send it to me on Twitter), it would have to be a deal that makes sense for the Bengals. Green-Ellis’ averages $3 million over three years but cold increase through incentives. Bush could seek a contract that averages $3.5-4 million. That is why it is more likely that the Bengals would look to the draft for that change of pace back that they need. In the draft, there is plenty of depth in rounds 2-4 with three of the top names to watch being Alabama’s Eddie Lacy, North Carolina’s Giovani Bernard, UCLA’s Johnathan Franklin and Clemson’s Andre Ellington."
"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-USA TODAY Sports The Bengals will have several players who are significant names in fantasy football next season, and the Fantasy Guru believes Mohamed Sanu will be a legitimate fantasy threat if he is able to come back fully healed from his foot injury: Rookie WR Mohamed Sanu started to come on in the middle of the season, scoring four times from Weeks Ten through Twelve, but he suffered a stress fracture in Week Thirteen and landed on the IR. He had surgery on the foot and is expected to be running around during OTAs. Sanu looks like he can be the #2 WR and has shown the ability to play in the slot or outside and with his size, showed to be a nice red-zone target, so hopefully he’ll be able to rebound in his second season. He ended up with 16/154/4 (9.6 YPC) and 5.1 FPG. Want more Bengals news? Like Stripe Hype on Facebook, or grab our RSS feed. Follow @StripeHype Follow @UK_Fans Rookie WR Mohamed Sanu started to come on in the middle of the season, scoring four times from Weeks Ten through Twelve, but he suffered a stress fracture in Week Thirteen and landed on the IR. He had surgery on the foot and is expected to be running around during OTAs. Sanu looks like he can be the #2 WR and has shown the ability to play in the slot or outside and with his size, showed to be a nice red-zone target, so hopefully he’ll be able to rebound in his second season. He ended up with 16/154/4 (9.6 YPC) and 5.1 FPG."