CLEVELAND _ With the newly-inducted Rock-and-Roll Hall of Fame band Foreigner expected to play their hit "Feels Like The First Time at halftime," Joe Burrow’s Bengals stalked their first win Sunday at Huntington Bank Field over the Browns.
Another Ohio player figures to prominently affect the outcome when Bengals rookie tight end Erick All Jr. makes his first appearance in the "Battle of Ohio."
All, the Fairfield, Ohio product, has drawn rave reviews for his blocking, but wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase thinks his game has more than that when he gets the ball in his hands. All is a multiple threat he doesn't think they've had since C.J. Uzomah left after the 2021 season.
"I just feel like he's a big help to our offense because he's two-dimensional. He's three, actually," Chase said last week. "He can block, catch and he can run with the ball in his hands. The only thing we haven't seen him do is run routes more. I feel like that's going to be the case sooner or later. But a tight end like that is something we haven't really had, besides C.J., I would say."
Bengals head coach Zac Taylor agrees and notes All's monstrous play in the red zone last Sunday night where All dragged multiple defenders at the end of his nine-yard-catch-and-run down the middle. Before they took All in the fourth round, the Bengals felt he was comparable as a receiver in the royal line of Iowa tight ends, such as Pro Bowler George Kittle.
"That was an example of it," Taylor said of the play in New York. "I think you'll see him on a flat route and a guy's not on him and he'll stiff-arm the guy and make a couple of guys miss."
All has matched his blocking with 16 catches, putting him on pace for a 45-catch season that would be the most by a Bengals rookie tight end since first-round Jermaine Gresham's 52 in 2010. But it's his blocking that has been a big reason Taylor has doubled up his use of double tight-end sets. He's using them nearly 30% of the time with All logging 45% of the snaps, and Chase thinks that's been a big factor for a team 10th in the league in scoring with pretty much the same scheme they've been using in Taylor's five previous seasons.
"The only difference is the players we have in the system now, like Erick All," Chase said. "He makes a big difference in the system just because we can use him on both sides of running and passing. Not just one- dimensional. I think that's the biggest thing this year that has made the offense more complete."
IN THE SLOT
When it comes to changes, Chase seems to be winning the coaches over with his desire to play more in the slot. According to Pro Football Focus, 141 of his second-in-the-NFL 268 yards after catch have come inside. After years of trying to convince Tyler Boyd to let him take a few snaps in the slot, Boyd is now in Tennessee, and Chase is pretty much everywhere else.
"Now it's more like I can go anywhere on the field," Chase said. "It keeps the defense guessing. Now if I'm in motion I can read if it's man or zone. If I'm in the slot, I can see how the safeties are playing more, if they're playing quarters, if they're playing cloud. It just tells me a lot more than it does outside. When I'm outside, I'm reading the tight ends' motion or the running backs' motion. Now I'm reading my own motion."
SLANTS AND SCREENS
Backup cornerback/special teamer DJ Ivey makes his season debut after overcoming a torn ACL he suffered covering a punt last Dec. 16 against the Vikings. The last time he finished a game, Ivey got a game ball. Playing gunner is a big reason he played eight games as a rookie last season, but he got the ball with help of one of his 21 snaps from scrimmage. The week before he got hurt, he broke up Gardner Minshew's long ball in the second quarter of a win over the Colts. He also recovered a fumbled punt in the fourth quarter to set up a field goal ...
With Ivey back, the Bengals' inactive list looked like it did last week in New York except for rookie wide receiver Jermaine Burton up instead of Trenton Irwin. Defensive tackles Lawrence Guy and Jay Tufele, edge Cedric Johnson, tight end Tanner McLachlan and recently signed offensive lineman Andrew Stueber were out ...
