Hello all, this is my first post on Cincy Jungle, glad to be on board.
I've been thinking for a while what the true differences are between us and the reigning super bowl champions, its been pondering position by position and a few thin...
Hello all, this is my first post on Cincy Jungle, glad to be on board.
I've been thinking for a while what the true differences are between us and the reigning super bowl champions, its been pondering position by position and a few things become evident to me, as to why we aren't in their spot. I figured i'd break it down position by position to see others view points compared to mine.
There will be a separate post for defense.
(For most of this I will be mainly focusing on starting positions on each teams roster for the PREVIOUS season)
Quarterback
Flacco vs Dalton (Flacco) - As much as we hate to admit it, Flacco is easily the choice in this. By no means do I personally consider Flacco elite, but he is ahead of Dalton in many aspects. Flacco has been in the league longer, allowing him to harness his abilities and what he needs to do for a win. There are two main differences between the two.
1.) Flacco is more calm than Dalton in pressure situations, I still think Dalton gets a little too excited, and is yet unable to be completely relied on to run the two minute in a real situation. Flacco shines in this aspect somewhat, and is ahead of Dalton.
2.) The deep ball. Yes, this is the biggest difference between the two. Fans have constantly ridiculed Dalton for his poor accuracy on his deep ball throws, whilst AJ Green, sometimes picks up the slack with some amazing plays. If Dalton could throw the deep ball aswell as Flacco, his numbers, and confidence I believe would increase dramatically. Easily a 4000+ yard season.
Running Back
Rice vs Green-Ellis (Rice) - This is basically a no brainer, in some ways they are completely different types of runners. Rice is 100x more electric than Green-Ellis. Green-Ellis is a between the tackles and short yardage back, which occasionally will make a burst for a 20+ yard run, yet to get caught by most defensive backs. Rice can make sharp burst for long touchdowns, and is by far one of the best at what he does catching out of the backfield. I have faith, and we could only hope that Bernard turns into the next Ray Rice.
Fullback
This is a clear winner in favor of Leach, as he is far better than any of our fullbacks. Whilst the traditional fullback is a dying breed in the NFL, Leach adds into the passing game at times. My hopes for this, is that Orson Charles commits to fullback, and takes a James Casey type of approach.
Tight End
Pitta vs Gresham (Gresham) - This can be a tough matchup, both are great tight ends in their own aspects. Both are similiar in targets, and receptions. Gresham had more yards, and YPC in the 2012 season, 11.5 compared to Pittas 11 pc. Based off this, it would show Gresham would be the better TE, but on the other hand Gresham had 2 fumbles on the season, compared to Pitta's 0, and Greshman became a problem with dropped passes (exposed mainly in the playoff loss to HOU.) Pitta is the more reliable option, but I believe Gresham has the highest ceiling, aslong as he reduces the drops, if not he may lose the starting gig to Eifert this upcoming season.
Wide Receivers
A.j Green vs Torrey Smith (Green) - These two men are two of the best at what they do, getting open down the field. This matchup goes to Green due to the fact that he is just more of a better overall player then Smith, don't get me wrong, in no way is Smith not an amazing player, just Green is better. Green had more targets, catches, and another 495 yards more than Smith (1350, 855). Smith had a much higher YPC, but this is inflated due to the amount of deep balls.
Boldin vs Sanu - This is a hard one to do, the winner is Boldin, due to the fact we saw limited action of Sanu due to a stress fracture in his foot. Sanu is basically a younger version of Boldin, and he has a higher ceiling in my opinion.
Hello all, this is my first post on Cincy Jungle, glad to be on board.
I've been thinking for a while what the true differences are between us and the reigning super bowl champio