WhoDeyRevolution

Things I Like

This quote from Reggie Kelly on Gresham (courtesy of Joe Reedy):

Looking at his body type and how physical he is, he’s going to be an every down tight end. I have to make sure I nurture him and bring him up the right way. We’ve been working. After practice yesterday make sure to work with him on a couple passes. I just made sure to tell him that he doesn’t have to be like every tight end in the league. He doesn’t have to be one-dimensional. He has the opportunity to be able to both catch and block. When you have those capabilities maximize them and be the best you can be and that can set you apart.

Emphasis mine.

Guys like Reggie provide the stability, professional culture and character Mike Brown does not systematically instill in his organization.  Reggie is more valuable to the Bengals than any other franchise because of this.  Similar to how Marvin Lewis is more valuable as a head coach to the Bengals than he would be to any other franchise.

Having guys like Reggie around also allow you to probably add more of the "cheap talent" Mike Brown so loves to acquire.

Anyway, it's good to have him back.

Thoughts on Weeks 1-6

Hey there WDR readers, I haven't been writing much recently, did you miss me?  No?  WELL I WASN'T ASKING YOU ANYWAYS.

Now that we have that out of the way, here are my quick thoughts on the current state of Bengaldom (Hobson, Bengals.com) through the first 6 weeks of the season.

The "Real Fans" Argument: People come on this site all the time and claim that the writers and comrades of the Revolution aren't "real fans" because we want the Bengals to change their management decision-making personnel and process.  Then there are others who are angry that the team magically seems to have more "fans" whenever the team does well.  To them I say, relax.  We are talking about sports here.  This is not 'Nam.  Sports are a distraction from real life, something to enjoy. People enjoy supporting a winner.  That is why WDR exists - to try and force the Bengals to change how they do things so the team wins more often.  Let's take out the personal attacks and agree that we all want the same thing - for the Bengals to win football games. 

The "4-2 Record Means the Revolution is Over" Argument: The NFL is designed to promote parity - every team is hypothetically doing everything they can to get an edge.  The league is absurdly competitive.   Take a look at the Titans - from 13-3 last year to an embarrassingly putrid 0-6 this year.  The margin of error that results in wins and losses is razor thin.  To win, teams need to do everything they can to get an edge.  Is WDR pleased that the Bengals are 4-2?  Yes, yes and yes.    But could the Bengals be doing more to ensure that these wins continue, perhaps (GASP!) into the playoffs?  YES.

Offensive Preview: Prognosis Negative

I haven't kept my disapproval of Bob Bratkowski's performance hidden. He should not be the Bengal's offensive coordinator after a dismal 2008 playcalling season but, nevertheless, he is.

Word is that Bratkowski, with the help of Carson Palmer, plans to run the football more this upcoming season. Keeping in mind that I do support Brat changing up his strategies, let's consider the new emphasis on the ground game.

Ugh

No matter if you're optimistic or pessimistic about the upcoming Bengals' season, it's almost a given that you think the key to the season will be the offensive line.  If the offensive line plays well as a unit, it's almost impossible to imagine the offense not being a top ten type.  If the offensive line plays poorly, it's almost impossible to imagine the team winning seven games.

With this being the case, Reggie Kelly is a monstrous loss.  Sure, he's a tight end, and is fairly anonymous around the league.  He would have been by far the worst receiving tight end to make the roster.  However, it cannot possibly be understated how important he was to the offensive line as a whole.  Eventually, Whitworth or Smith/Collins are going to be overwhelmed by a pass rusher.  Reggie Kelly would have lined up on their side and taken care of it.  He's solid at the point of attack as a run blocker.  Outside of Carson, he's probably the most important offensive leader.

Hopefully I'm overestimating how much Kelly means to the offense.  I fear that I'm not.