BenJarvus Green-Ellis Already Making Rob Gronkowski – Aaron Hernandez Comparisons
By Jason Marcum
Dec 30, 2012; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski (87) is congratulated by tight end Aaron Hernandez (81) after his touchdown against the Miami Dolphins during the second half at Gillette Stadium. The New England Patriots defeated the Miami Dolphins 28-0. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
The Cincinnati Bengals used the NFL draft to add one of this year’s top offensive prospects in Notre Dame tight end Tyler Eifert in hopes of upgrading an offense that struggled mightily to find the end-zone towards the end of last season, and looked like one of the worst offenses in the NFL. Running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis is already thrilled to have Eifert added to an offense that already features a Pro Bowl-quality TE in Jermaine Gresham.
If you recall, he previously played Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez with the New England Patriots, and he believes the Bengals could have something similar with Gresham and Eifert:
"Long story short, if you have two tight ends and they are both big guys and you don’t feel like you have to cover them with DBs, it actually brings more people in to the box. If you have two guys and you feel like one of them is really a receiver then you approach it differently.That was the big thing when I was in New England with Hernandez. [In] the first quarter we had to see how teams were playing us, like, would they play us in nickel personnel to put a DB on Hernandez?. Or would they leave a linebacker in there because now it gives you options from an offensive coordinator standpoint? You could either go back or say, ‘Well, if they are going to play us in nickel personnel with both tight ends, we will run the ball. They play us with big people personnel we’ll just put one of the receiving tight ends out and have them run routes.’ Altogether you can’t really say two tight ends is going to make it better because it all depends on how the defense you’re playing that week is going to approach it."
If the Bengals can utilize Eifert’s abilities correctly while quarterback Andy Dalton continues to improve and become a true franchise QB, there’s no reason the Bengals can’t have one of the more dangerous offenses in the NFL.
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