I’m excited to see them in action Sunday against the New England Patriots but also somewhat wary of what is in store over the next 4-5 months.
Perhaps that is illogical, or maybe it’s just a defense mechanism after 2023 was pretty much a season-long root canal.
The Ja’Marr Chase “hold in” took a lot of luster off the preseason, though maybe not as much as injuries to first-round pick Amarius Mims and pretty much the entire defensive line.
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On the bright side, Chase might be in the lineup Sunday, and Mims should be back very soon if not this week.
While the offensive line should be solid or better, it remains to be seen if the defensive line holds up, healthy or not.
I was very bearish on the defense going into last year, and that is again the case for 2024, though the addition of two veteran safeties having an exponentially positive impact is plausible. The unit doesn’t have to be great, but only struggling to stop the run OR pass instead of both would be a big step forward.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Nonetheless, this is probably still a team built more to play with a lead than to absorb the constant body blows of the AFC North’s run-dominant offenses for four quarters and hope to survive.
If the offense is as dominant as it is supposed to be with a healthy Joe Burrow, Chase and Tee Higgins, maybe they can ride that formula all the way to the Super Bowl in New Orleans in February.
The schedule looks pretty forgiving, especially early, and teams rarely arrive complete on opening day in today’s NFL.
While they are in the deepest division in the league, the Bengals should have plenty of time to mess around and figure out their formulas for success on each side of the ball.
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Prime-time dud?
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Ohio State returns to action Saturday with what is becoming an annual tradition: A night game against one of the least-interesting opponents on the schedule.
Western Michigan gave Wisconsin a good run in Madison last week, though, so the Buckeyes best be on alert.
Analyzing Ryan Day’s team in the early season is going to be interesting because so many players are back from last season, expectations are high as usual, they haven’t won anything in the last three years, and regular season games mean less than ever with the new expanded College Football Playoff.
Last year, every week was a referendum on whether or not Ohio State was championship-caliber. That is always the case to a certain extent, but this year it feels more like they have room to grow — however paradoxical that might seem.
Read more: Ryan Day’s takeaways from Akron win
High School Football Week 3
In high school football, many area teams are 2-0, but the two most interesting games don’t involve any of them.
Trotwood-Madison plays at Springfield in what is not your typical matchup of 0-2 teams.
Both teams have high hopes as usual thanks to rosters stocked with potential Division I college players, but their schedules have been unforgiving.
The Rams lost 6-0 to a Cleveland Heights team with four seniors who have verbally committed to FBS schools in Week 1 before dropping a 27-18 decision to a Fairmont team that surprised Alter in Week1.
Springfield lost opening night to a Winton Woods team that also has at least four FBS players in its senior class then a Washington D.C. Gonzaga team that produced No. 1 NFL Draft pick Caleb Williams and has more talent in the pipeline this year.
Also on the docket is Valley View-Bellbrook, a rivalry game matching up two teams with a rousing win and a disappointing loss on their resumes already.
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