Strictly Stripes: A Cincinnati Bengals podcast
A Cincinnati Bengals podcast featuring analysis, predictions, rumors and insights from cleveland.com's reporting team of Andrew Gillis, Mike Niziolek and Mohammad Ahmad.
Episodes
There's never too early of a time to start looking at the state of the AFC North.
All four quarterbacks in the dvision have the potential to make a big jump heading into 2023. Who will make the biggest jump? Joe Burrow? Deshaun Watson? Kenny Pickett? Lamar Jackson?
And are the Bengals cathching up with the strength of the Browns' offensive line?
All four teams shuffled up their defensive backfields and either maintained or juiced u...
Mark as Played
June 7, 2023 • 32 mins
The future begins now in the Bengals' secondary.
Rookies D.J. Turner and Jordan Battle got some light but valuable first-team reps in during organized team activities this week. Several other rookies, like Myles Murphy, showed their earliest flashes with other looks during the activies as well.
Cincinnati's offense won't look too different in 2023 but it will change in the backfield as Chase Brown and Trayveon Williams got more rep...
Mark as Played
June 6, 2023 • 45 mins
Zac Taylor has been in Cincinnati for almost half a decade now.
Taylor enters his fifth season as the Bengals' head coach. After two dismal seasons with and without Joe Burrow, he's helped lead the Bengals to unprecedented heights, including a Super Bowl berth and back-to-back conference championship games.
How much of that credit belongs to Taylor?
Taylor not only has one of the best offenses in the NFL, but he's also got coachin...
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There's no denying that Ja'Marr Chase is a Top 10 receiver in the NFL.
The third-year Bengals receiver has already been named to two Pro Bowls and was an All-Pro selection his rookie year after being named the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. He's benefitted greatly from having Joe Burrow throwing him the ball dating back to their LSU days.
Can Chase say he's the best receiver in the game?
His former college teammate, Justin Jeffe...
Mark as Played
June 2, 2023 • 45 mins
Are the Bengals heading in the right direction this offseason?
The team is wrapping up offseason training with organized team activities and mandatory minicamp later this month. Rookies like Myles Murphy, Jordan Battle and Charlie Jones, along with free agent signees like Orlando Brown Jr. will show off their skills in those respective activities.
Who will stand out? And who should stand out this offseason?
The impact those aforeme...
Mark as Played
June 1, 2023 • 30 mins
There's a good chance the Bengals will face DeAndre Hopkins next season.
They were supposed to face him when they head to Arizona for a Week 5 matchup. But he was cut by the Cardinals last weekend, making him a hot commodity on the free agent market.
Could they still face him anyway though? Hopkins would be an ideal fit for many of the Bengals' 2023 opponents, like the Browns, Chiefs, Ravens and Bills among others.
His production...
Mark as Played
May 31, 2023 • 44 mins
Who's winning the arms race in the 'Battle of Ohio?'
The Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns have both been busy this offseason. Cleveland focused its efforts on making big spending decisions in free agency while the Bengals attacked the NFL Draft from top to bottom.
What separated the Browns from the Bengals were two respective trades they made for Elijah Moore and Za'Darius Smith. Does that still give the Browns a leg up on t...
Mark as Played
May 26, 2023 • 41 mins
The NFL’s best offenses are taking shape this offseason.
Most teams are working through their organized team activities and the Bengals will have theirs coming up in the first week of June. For the Bengals, these workouts are far from competitive, but they’re setting the stage for training camp with the hope of being one of the best offenses in the NFL.
The Bengals have the tools to play like a top five offense, but the question is...
Mark as Played
May 26, 2023 • 35 mins
Joe Burrow and Patrick Mahomes don't shy away from pressure.
Both quarterbacks operated similarly when the pocket collapsed in 2022. Whether that came through scrambling, making acrobatic throws or operating with third down efficiency, they both showed why they're two of the league's best passers.
Mahomes has more fourth-quarter comebacks and game winning drives than Burrow. However, Burrow had a game winning drive of his own when ...
Mark as Played
Expect the Bengals to harp on improving the pass rush this offseason.
They had the third-worst pass rush percentage (5.08%) in the NFL last year and had the fourth-fewest sacks (30). Seeing the writing on the wall, Myles Murphy was drafted in the first round to help fix that.
Assuming D.J. Reader, Trey Hendrickson and Sam Hubbard can all avoid injury time, and if Logan Wilson and Germaine Pratt build on their success, there's good...
Mark as Played
May 24, 2023 • 39 mins
The Bengals' offense has put up very similar numbers in each of the last two seasons.
Quarterback Joe Burrow threw for nearly identical amounts of touchdowns, interceptions and passing yards in 2022 relative to 2021. His wide receiver core of Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd can say the same with their combined statistics between 2021 and 2022.
With a new offensive line featuring Orlando Brown Jr, the "glass eaters" can ea...
Mark as Played
May 23, 2023 • 29 mins
The Bengals' voluntary workouts are currently focused on camaraderie, but that will change very soon.
Once the team hits organized team activities and mandatory minicamp, the pressure will heat up leading up to training camp. That's going to be especially true for several players who aren't guaranteed to make the team before the 2023 season.
Several players are on the bubble of getting cut, some have a toss-up chance of making the ...
Mark as Played
May 19, 2023 • 48 mins
Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow and Bills quarterback Josh Allen each put on a spectacle last season.
Allen earned a runner-up vote for league MVP while Burrow made a strong case for the award and has primed himself to be a top candidate for the award next season. Burrow got the best of Allen in the playoffs last season but Allen was nursing a partially torn UCL in his throwing arm at the end of the year.
Both passers have elite rec...
Mark as Played
May 19, 2023 • 37 mins
There's a reason why Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow goes by "Joe Cool."
In the most high-pressure situations, Burrow still finds a way to keep himself and his team collected. The moment is never too big or too small for Burrow. Whether that's a game against a winless opponent or the Super Bowl, Burrow has mostly met expectations.
The trickle effect is obvious as seen by his teammates' performances and the culture shift in Cincinna...
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Ja'Marr Chase is a very ambitious person.
The Bengals wide receiver wants to set and break as many records as he can entering just his third season in the NFL. He's already a Top 10 receiver in Bengals history but now his goal is to firmly etch his way as a Top 5 receiver in team history.
Most sportsbooks and oddsmaker haven't thought far enough to predict what Chase can do in 2023. Is it ever too early to predict what Chase is cap...
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We (almost) have a deal.
The Bengals are continuing their ongoing contract negotiations with quarterback Joe Burrow. Burrow is actively involved in his negotiations and has a clear picture of what he's looking for in his extension. Part of that includes using Tee Higgins and Ja'Marr Chase as a focal point for how his deal is set up.
Does Burrow's deal mimic the one Jalen Hurts got last month?
Sure, Burrow might not literally leave ...
Mark as Played
May 15, 2023 • 44 mins
The picture is clear on how the Bengals' roster will shape out in the coming weeks and months.
Rookies are fully settled into the confines of Paycor Stadium, the second phase of voluntary workouts are underway and organized team activities and mandatory minicamps are just about a month away. All of this means that the intensity and competition of the offseason is heating up.
Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow and wide receiver Ja'Marr ...
Mark as Played
May 12, 2023 • 34 mins
The Bengals' path to the Super Bowl doesn't get any easier.
Part of the cost that comes with winning is facing tougher challenges through and through. Their schedule got harder than the prior season when the Bengals reached the Super Bowl. In a loaded AFC, things don't get any easier either.
Part of the silver lining of such a grueling schedule is four prime-time games but the caveat is mostly playing teams that are strong Super B...
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Quarterbacks are getting paid this offseason.
Jalen Hurts and Lamar Jackson have each respectively helped reset the quarterback market this offseason with their new deals. Jackson is currently the league's highest paid player with his new deal that pays him $52 million per year on his five-year extension.
That leaves big name stars like Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow and Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert waiting to get paid this ...
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Imagine a world where you could pick certain players from the AFC North to play for the Bengals.
The only restriction is that you can't pick All-Pro and/or Pro Bowl players who have become household names. So that means, T.J. Watt, Myles Garrett, Nick Chubb and Mark Andrews among others are all off of the table.
But what David Njoku? Kyle Hamilton? Alex Highsmith? Would they fit well with the Bengals?
Although there's a good chance...
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