A.J. Green avoided surgery for his injured, but it’s unclear how much time he’ll miss at a very critical point in the season. Meanwhile, the team worked out a few players, but have yet to make a significant move. Between the injuries to Green and Carl Lawson, as well as the overall performance (or lack thereof) of the defense has the fans clamoring for a significant move. We talked about these topics and a bunch of others on this week’s Orange and Black Insider podcast. On the show, we had a number Youth Hardy Nickerson Jersey of listeners submit their questions, and we got a few on Twitter as well. *****We’ve got a standalone post on a record prediction for the rest of the season, so we’ll let the first part of Sam’s question be answered there. However, his second question on William Jackson III is another solid one. Coming into this season, Jackson was a Pro Football Focus darling. His shutting down of Antonio Brown last year pointed towards a big 2018 campaign—his first full season as the team’s No. 1 corner. However, through eight games, he, along with fellow first round corners Darqueze Dennard and Dre Kirkpatrick, have been disappointments. The trio have yet to record an interception, and the Bengals’ pass defense is dead-last in the NFL this season. When the Bengals hired Teryl Austin to take over at defensive coordinator for Paul Guenther, many were excited at the possibility of the unit gaining more game-changing turnovers. We figured there would be a bit more of a gambler’s approach by the players on the defense, but we didn’t think it would be so feast-or-famine. Really, the defense can be largely credited for four wins (Colts, Ravens, Dolphins, Buccaneers), but they’re disastrous tendencies credit them with the team’s three losses.In short Cheap Jessie Bates III Jersey , the unit has been a massive disappointment this year. Jackson very well could be the poster child for that disappointment, given his first-round status and all of the offseason hype. Like many of his teammates, he’s had opportunities to corral interceptions, but has dropped a couple of them. When Jackson, Kirkpatrick and Dennard were drafted, either Guenther or Mike Zimmer were the team’s defensive coordinators. In their schemes and philosophies, they liked to get pressure with minimal blitzing and allow their talented corners “play on an island”, if you will. Part of what they liked about each guy’s skill set was their physicality—either in getting their hands on receivers and/or being willing tacklers. Jackson and Kirkpatrick have particularly long arms for the position and that’s something that drew the brain trust to taking those guys in the first round. Zimmer and Guenther trusted these guys to play a lot of one-on-one press coverage and they largely thrived to varying degrees of success (as did re-treads like Nate Clements and Terence Newman). They’re doing some of the same concepts, but by my take, not nearly as often and that’s probably part of the issue. And, this probably isn’t a popular opinion, but there seem to be communication issues continuously occurring between the corners and safeties. When you look at the stat lines of Jessie Bates and Shawn Williams, they are playing solid ball. And, Bates recently was noted as a favorite of PFF as well. However, even with Williams’ and Bates’ six combined interceptions this year, way too many big plays have been given up in the passing game. And, when they usually occur, the crew looks around at each other with a “where were you?” type of pantomime. There are a myriad of issues on the defensive side of the ball right now. Injuries aren’t helping matters, but the players just aren’t responding to Austin’s scheme and play calls. I realize that Vontaze Burfict isn’t a popular guy in the NFL landscape, but his football IQ is off of the charts. That’s why I take a bit of stock into this one here after the last-second loss to the Steelers:*****One of the callers from the last OBI episode talked about the effectiveness and overall need for interior defensive linemen in the NFL. Sure, guys like Aaron Donald, Sheldon Rankins and the Bengals’ own Geno Atkins are necessities Cheap Tyler Eifert Jersey , but what about the other bigger guys?The crux of the question resided in the change we’ve seen in the NFL landscape. Most teams are pass-happy and love to spread defenses out. More and more frequently, we see coordinators kick edge rushers inside to try and get to the passer. Heck, the Bengals have been doing this the past couple of seasons with Michael Johnson. Three offseasons ago, Andrew Billings was a popular name mocked to the Bengals in the first round of the 2016 draft. He made it to Cincinnati, but all the way in the fourth round. While some were wondering about his health that spring and what caused his fall, rumblings began to surface about the value of a big interior defensive tackle. As it turns out, teams just weren’t overly-enamored with a guy who they felt was a “one or two-down player”. To be fair to Billings, he’s taken some decent strides this year, even though the defensive unit has largely been an overall disaster. This isn’t about him specifically, but rather the position he plays. For the most part, the days of Sam Adams (not the alesmith) and Gilbert Brown are all but gone. Players with versatility are far more highly-coveted, as defenses try to keep up with the complexities of evolving offenses. There is a bit of a caveat in the AFC North, though. Sure the division has a lot of exciting pass-catchers, but the teams also employ solid backs. Pittsburgh and Cincinnati are probably the tops in that regard, with the Steelers being able to churn out 100-yard backs with extreme ease. In that sense, big beef in the middle is still valued in the AFC North. Still, pass-rushers and guys being able to cover in space are trending up throughout the league. *****Naturally, with the Browns firing head coach Hue Jackson, the questions on if Marvin Lewis will bring back his old friend to Cincinnati surfaced. Jackson was with Cincinnati from 2004-2006 as a receivers coach and again from 2012-2015 as their running backs coach, an assistant on special teams and in the secondary, and eventually offensive coordinator.When Lewis was asked about the possibility, he gave the media his usual tight-lipped type of answer: “I’m not going to make a headline”.Okay.Currently http://www.bengalscheapshop.com/cheap-authentic-kevin-huber-jersey , there isn’t really a spot for Jackson on this team. Sure, Lewis could find a consultant type of role for his friend, but how much value is there in that type of move at this point? Can Jackson truly coach defense?Look, Jackson spearheaded one of the best offenses the Bengals have ever seen in the 2015 clan. He was innovative and used the myriad of weapons to near perfection.There just doesn’t seem to be room or a pressing need for him on the staff at the moment, other than potentially tipping some Cleveland game plans. Perhaps that possibility can be re-assessed in the offseason, but we don’t expect to see Jackson in Cincinnati this season. If you’re unable to join us live for here at Cincy Jungle or YouTube every episode, all Orange and Black Insider content is available here on CJ, as well as on our SoundCloud, Stitcher, through the Google Play Music app and YouTube channels, ART19 as well as on iTunes! You can tweet us @BengalsOBI or get in touch with us via email at theobinsider@gmail.com. Thanks for listening and go subscribe to our channels!Film Room: Get ready for the Lamar Jackson package Make no mistake, Joe Flacco is the Baltimore Ravens’ quarterback and will be under center for most of Thursday night’s game, but Lamar Jackson will be a factor in the game, too.The Ravens have packages for both Flacco and Jackson and both were on the field simultaneously in Baltimore’s season opener against the Bills. This is a frightening proposition. The thought of Jackson under center brings back images of Deshaun Watson scrambling for a 49 yard touchdown on third-and-15 shortly before halftime on a Thursday night game against the Bengals almost exactly a year ago. The demoralizing run came when the game was tied 3-3 and ended up being the definitive play of the game as the Bengals lost 9-13.With that in mind, it doesn’t matter that Jackson will only get a hand full of snaps. He is capable of making a big play any time he touches the ball and one big play could be the deciding factor in this matchup. Jackson wound up getting a lot of time at quarterback in Week 1 as the Ravens blew out the Bills, but he did not have any plays that stood out as ‘special’. Thursday night in front of a national audience against a divisional opponent is the perfect setting for Jackson’s welcome to the NFL. With a short week, the Ravens probably already had part of a game plan ready for the Bengals before the season started, and it definitely involves a handful of opportunities for Jackson to make a big play.Below, Jackson has replaced Flacco at quarterback and Flacco lines up at wide receiver on the right side. This loaded backfield set is ideal for a quarterback run game as it provides lead blockers and the ability to run any number of spread option concepts. The first rule of playing option quarterback is if you get tackled by your read key, you made a bad read. Jackson made a bad read here.Same formation, but this time Jackson makes the correct read by keeping the ball and he makes a solid gain on the play. This formation is likely a foundational piece of the Jackson package.The Bengals need to be on high alert if Jackson is on the field but not taking the snap. This is a broken play, but appears to be a toss/pass out of an empty backfield. The Ravens bring Jackson in motion and toss it to him in stride. The assumption is that with Jackson’s speed and the already bizarre looking play Bengals William Jackson Jersey , the defense will run up to stop him and leave a receiver wide open down the field. The Bills get some big time penetration on the front side of the play and it does not get a chance to develop. Don’t be surprised if Jackson lines up at receiver on Thursday night and motions to get the ball on a toss or jet sweep.Here’s another good read by Jackson. As left defensive end Jerry Hughes gets up field, Jackson pulls the ball and follows his lead blocker up the field picking up a first down. They call the play the zone read, but Chip Kelly says it is more of an “unless.” As in, you hand the ball off unless the read is going to make the tackle. Here, the left end is not getting up field, but he is not bending down the line in pursuit of the back either. This should have been a give by Jackson who uses his athletic ability to make what could have been a loss into a short gain.This is a weird call on second-and-six in the middle of the field. Even much less athletic quarterbacks have been known to run this play on the goal line. It is a bootleg, but instead of the receivers running routes, it is a designed run. The idea is that the defense will sell out on the run fake (as they would on the goal line) and allow the quarterback to run the other direction for an easy score. Schematically it did not work at all. The running back was tackled almost immediately and Jackson has a man in his face the second he turns around. However, Jackson’s athleticism prevails and a great player makes a bad play call look good.This is an RPO and Jackson isn’t quite sure what he is seeing, so he freezes. Once again, because he is who he is, he is able to avoid disaster and gain three yards on the play.Jackson has a nice little move to avoid the pass rusher on this play, but unfortunately he gets lost after that. He attempts to reset his feet to pass, but his eyes aren’t looking down field. He sees the other pass rushers in front of him and tries to dance his way out of danger but ends up being sacked.This is a very athletic play by Bills defensive end Shaq Lawson. Reading the boot, he sticks a foot in the ground and turns up field to cut Jackson off. He would have made the play on just about any other quarterback in NFL, but Jackson is a special athlete and is able to narrowly escape. Jackson does not find an open man, but throws the ball away to avoid a negative play.Jackson looks comfortable in the pocket here, but his read is bad as the receiver is not open. Jackson’s ball is inaccurate and could have been intercepted. This is what Jackson was looking for on the last clip. He is comfortable in the pocket and delivers a nice ball to Ravens tight end Maxx Williams between two defenders.The Ravens had Jackson in for a couple of plays before pulling Flacco and giving a glimpse of the role he may play in the offense for the time being. From the play calling when Jackson did get in, it is evident they have put together an extensive package for him and that he will be making an appearance every week. He did not have any huge plays in Week 1, but he had some very good runs for big chunks of yardage. Jackson is going to be in the game plan Thursday night and preventing him from making a big play will be key to a Bengals victory.