ICYMI: Good, the Bad and the Ugly: Bengals – Falcons Preseason Opener
By Scott Bantel
Negatives
July 28, 2013; Cincinnati, OH, USA;Cincinnati Bengals center Trevor Robinson (66) with the ball during training camp at Paul Brown Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports
Offensively
Everyone playing the center position (especially Kyle Cook). How does a center false start? Cook had 2 and Robinson had 1. Cook added in a 10 yard hands to the face penalty for good measure (3 separate penalties in half is unacceptable)
First team offense lost to Atlanta’s first team 3-0.
Penalties as a whole – Penalties can kill a team. The Bengals piled up the yellow laundry last night – especially from the O-line (at least 5 penalties – 4 false starts- by the O-line)
Finding out that Andrew Hawkins may need surgery
Tanner Hawkinson being carted off. The rookie was performing well in camp, and looked poised to earn a roster spot as a backup guard and tackle. That kind of versatitltiy is very valuable in a 16-game NFL season.
Defensively
Terence Newman’s poor tackling attempt on the bubble screen
Adam Jones – He did not have a good game, especially on the deep ball PI he had
Rey Maualuga not wrapping up – he put a nice lick on Chase Coffman, but he is lucky he went out of bounds because Maualuga went with the shoulder shot instead of wrapping up
Aug 8, 2013; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Falcons running back Steven Jackson (39) runs against Cincinnati Bengals strong safety Taylor Mays (26) during the first quarter at the Georgia Dome. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
Taylor Mays – I saw him do nothing except over run plays. He seems to just be lost out there. He’s fighting for his life just to stay on the roster, and given that he’s the oldest of the three safeties contending for a starting job, one has to think he’s reached his ceiling, while the other two (Shawn Williams and George Iloka) still have room to grow.
Brandon Ghee with a head injury – Death, taxes, and Ghee getting injured before the season ever starts
Roster Implications Coming Out of Preseason Game 1
Rex Burkhead is likely on the team. Bernard Scott is likely selling his Cincinnati residence.
Dane Sanzenbacher is going to be hard to cut and may be kept to fill the void left by Andrew Hawkins
Taylor Mays is likely not going to have a nameplate at PBS come early September
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