Have the Bengals actually made any improvements this offseason?

Yahoo Sports’ Jason Fitz and Frank Schwab break down the reasons why they’re skeptical the Cincinnati Bengals will be a Super Bowl contender this season. Hear the full conversation on “Inside Coverage” – and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you listen.

Video Transcript

A year ago, I was higher on the Bengals than I am right now because I don’t know that they’ve done, like bringing in a new defensive coordinators a step, but I still think that fixing the defense is a multi-year project, and I, I just, I feel like they won 9 games last year.

I thought they were going to be an 11 win team last year.

I think they’re sort of, you know, I, I guess, I don’t know, I’m, I’m a little lower on the Bengals today than I was a year ago.

Yeah, I, I, I’ll go with repeat.

If you read what I wrote about the Bengals last offseason, I, I was, I, I will say I was in the camp of, it wasn’t just all Joe Burrow’s injury why this team didn’t make the playoffs.

Like Jake Browning actually played pretty well for them.

There are a lot of other things going on with the Bengals that I didn’t like.

I kind of manifested itself last year.

The defense did fall off and At a plus side for them, they lost a lot of close, weird games.

I mean, losing at a Patriots week one.

I mean, it, it easily could have been a 10-11 win team in the playoffs.

We’d be having a totally different discussion about the Bengals, but I just don’t know that they’re that Super Bowl contender.

We all want them to be.

Yes, they brought back T Higgins.

They paid Jamar Chase.

Great for them, but it’s basically the same team, like, where have they improved and the Trey Hendrickson thing.

Until that gets resolved, uh, that’s a minus for them.

Uh, look, maybe just new blood, uh, a defense coordinator, replacing Lou Arumo with Al Golden, maybe that makes a big, big difference for this defense.

Maybe just the bounces go their way this year when it didn’t last year, but I think you’re just asking way too much of Joe Burrow to carry this team.

I don’t like the infrastructure.

I don’t like, I I I love the passing game, which is a great spot to start in the NFL.

I don’t really love anything else.

I just, I, I, I don’t see them being the best team in this division by far, and I just don’t see how we get them to be like this top 5 team that we all thought they might be.

So I, I, yeah, I, I, I guess I would just say repeat on the Bengals, but I was a little bit lower in the market last year on the Bengals anyway.

Have the Bengals actually made any improvements this offseason? | Inside Coverage

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