Orson’s Time Up in Cincinnati?
It would not be an overstatement to say that the Orson Charles experiment has now failed.
After a solid season of being un-productive, the coaching staff moved Charles to the H-Back / Fullback position. This became nearly a 3-way competition between Charles, Former Starting Fullback Chris Presley, and former Bengal and Jet, John Conner.
The Bengals [released] Chris Presley; Connor went on to have a productive season with the Giants. Charles on the other hand, played in a limited role throughout the season for a power rushing attack that was, “lacking”.
Jay Prosch, a FullBack from Auburn, has been predicted as one of the better FBs in the 2014 NFL Draft.
With the FB position becoming obsolete, the Bengals should focus on maintaining a strong O line and one-two punch with their RBs. Gio Bernard’s versatility and expected increased role also make FB less of a need.
At 32, Burleson is on his last legs, and his severe lack of speed probably frustrated some Detroit Lions fans. That said, Burleson is significantly faster than Jason Avant, who will be meeting with the Carolina Panthers today in the hopes of latching on to the WR-needy club, and he also has the ability to win on the outside or inside. That versatility will surely help the Browns, as teams love to move WRs to different parts of the formation in order to generate mis-matches on any given play.
Even though his speed his declining, he’s able to get a little bit of separation with his experienced, smart route-running, and he’s a very reliable pair of hands in the slot and on the outside. That’s exactly the kind of wide receiver the Browns need.
This looks to be a good addition for the Browns, who also signed Andrew Hawkins from the Bengals. Hopefully, Burelson can fill the role Bess was supposed to last season.
The Ravens’ front office has done its part this offseason by signing guys such as Steve Smith, Owen Daniels and Jeremy Zuttah to aid the offense. Baltimore also re-signed Dennis Pitta, Eugene Monroe and Jacoby Jones, ensuring some of the key components stayed put.
Flacco said he has a copy of the new Ravens playbook and is studying offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak’s offense.
“I like it so far,” he said. “I’m just trying to grasp as much of it as I can before I get back and we really start going through it together. That’s when I’ll really start to understand it a little bit better. We’re going to grow our relationship in the meeting rooms as we get this offense where we want it. I had a really good conversation with Gary, and I’m really excited about it.”
Flacco and Kubiak are on speaking terms.
Time to extend Pouncey?
[It’s] somewhat interesting, given Pouncey is coming off a torn ACL, one of numerous injuries he’s suffered since joining the team in 2010. It’s not a terrible idea, either.
The top centers in the game have received somewhere between $10 million (Philadelphia’s Jason Kelce) and $19 million (Kalil) with a $14.5 million (Buffalo’s Eric Wood) and $16 million (Jets Nick Mangold) filling in the middle ground. Pouncey really cannot consider himself in a position to command anything but that general range.
He’d be smart to take it, too. Coming off a devastating knee injury just eight plays into the season, the Steelers offensive line didn’t get on track until the second half of the season. Pouncey was named a team captain in 2013 as well, and if a player could possibly retain value despite significant injury, he may have done just that.
Pouncey’s and right tackle Marcus Gilbert’s contracts are up after the 2014 season. Right guard David DeCastro’s rookie contract is up after the 2015 season, as are the contracts of tackles Kelvin Beachum and Mike Adams, and left guard Ramon Foster.
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