StripeHype
FanSided

John Ross Deserves a Coach who Actually Believes in Him

By Nick Bossetti

BALTIMORE, MD - NOVEMBER 18: Wide Receiver John Ross #15 of the Cincinnati Bengals catches a touchdown as he is tackled by cornerback Marlon Humphrey #29 of the Baltimore Ravens in the third quarter at M&T Bank Stadium on November 18, 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MD - NOVEMBER 18: Wide Receiver John Ross #15 of the Cincinnati Bengals catches a touchdown as he is tackled by cornerback Marlon Humphrey #29 of the Baltimore Ravens in the third quarter at M&T Bank Stadium on November 18, 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
CINCINNATI, OH – NOVEMBER 25: John Ross #15 of the Cincinnati Bengals is tackled by Damarious Randall #23 of the Cleveland Browns during the first quarter at Paul Brown Stadium on November 25, 2018 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by John Grieshop/Getty Images)
CINCINNATI, OH – NOVEMBER 25: John Ross #15 of the Cincinnati Bengals is tackled by Damarious Randall #23 of the Cleveland Browns during the first quarter at Paul Brown Stadium on November 25, 2018 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by John Grieshop/Getty Images) /

Take Brandon LaFell. Why would Cincinnati consider playing him over Ross? Let’s assume that he is far better than Ross and would lead to more wins. This, in the midst of a losing season, is an entirely bad thing. Winning these pointless games in a season that will have the same result by playing Lafell produces two long term results:

  1. Cincinnati will end up with a worse draft pick due to winning meaningless games, and
  2. Ross loses out on valuable experience, in order to give minutes to a 31-year-old who became a free agent at the end of the season.

I cannot stress enough how bothered I am by the thought of sitting out a rookie in favor of a 31-year-old upcoming free agent. Unless your team is a playoff contender who is competing for a championship, play the young guy.

I am very excited to see a coach work with Ross who doesn’t view him with an odd level of scorn. Ross is no doubt going to be in part a product of his circumstances, but those circumstances have drastically changed for the better.

Want to read more about Cincinnati’s offseason? Be sure to check out all of our Bengals coverage on Stripe Hype!

"The Sunday Opinion: Devin White is a No Brainer for Cincinnati at Eleven"

Home/Bengals News