The Bright Future of the Cincinnati Bengals

 The Bengals' Future

By: The Halftime Buzz, (@halftimebuzz)  

    It has been 5 years since the Cincinnati Bengals have recorded a winning record. Fans are tired of 2-5 win seasons but that will undoubtedly change with their coaching staff and new prodigy, Joe Burrow. Burrow was the first overall pick in the most recent draft and his play should definitely be an upside for Bengals fans. The combination of Burrow and Zac Taylor should provide the Bengals fanbase with some hope for the upcoming season. With Burrow, and all of the offensive weapons surrounding them, the Bengals should be on their way to a great season. In the 2019 season the Bengals lost 8 one score games, which is half of the games played in a season. With a quarterback as talented as Joe Burrow, the Bengals could have seen 5 wins in that span of 8 games. Now, with AJ Green and John Ross healthy, Joe Burrow has a significant amount of weapons on the receiving end to make an impact immediately. The Bengals also have a superstar running back in Joe Mixon. Mixon has had over 1000 yards rushing in his last two years. With Burrow, we can expect to see Mixon be much more involved in the Bengals' passing game as a lot of attention will be drawn from superstar wide out AJ Green. When healthy, AJ Green is, arguably, a top 5 wide receiver in the NFL. He has posted unbelievable stats in the 6 years when healthy. In 5 out of the last 6 years, Green has had over 1000 receiving yards and has an average of just over 8 touchdowns per year. Combine Green's talent with the awareness and talent of Joe Burrow, and the Bengals fans should be very excited for the future of their franchise. For the upcoming season the Bengals, also, have one of the easiest schedules based on the 2019 win percentages of their opponents. According to that stat, only five teams are playing an easier schedule than Bengals going into the 2020 NFL season. Their opponents' win percentages in the 2019 season average out to .477. Although the Bengals only had two wins last season, their new offense combined with their coaching staff should provide a very different outcome in 2020.   

 

The Impact of Joe Burrow

By: Braeden Guthrie, (@bengals_nfl)

    It goes without saying that Joe Burrow will have the biggest impact among all Bengals rookies this upcoming season. Burrow, who is the new franchise quarterback of the Cincinnati Bengals, will undoubtedly start week 1 and have full command of the Bengals offense. Coach Zac Taylor and staff are trying to build around him as they asked him for his 10 favorite plays from his time at LSU to incorporate into Cincinnati's offensive playbook. Burrow brings tremendous accuracy, on all levels of the field, and a magnificent football IQ, being able to read defenses and make adjustments at the line with ease, with him to this needy Bengals team. He throws with great anticipation, which makes up for his lackluster arm strength and consistently throws receivers open, even while they're entirely blanketed by the defense. With all this in mind, Burrow’s best trait is his ability to go off-script. At LSU, Burrow would routinely manipulate the pocket, or go out of the pocket to keep the play alive, and buy time to find an open receiver. That is a trait that Andy Dalton lacked during his time in Cincinnati. Burrow is a great leader, and will have no issues starting day 1. He’ll have to adjust to the faster-paced NFL game and the presence of more athletic players, but Burrow should have no trouble being a star in Cincinnati for years to come.m