This was originally published in The Athletic....

The Bengals’ offseason has crawled toward its quiet time, that seemingly interminable six-week stretch after the draft, OTAs and minicamp. Players and coaches vacate while football writers fill time compiling dumb lists of which coaches are on the hot seat, which quarterbacks should be considered elite and which training camp storylines will be worth paying closest attention to.

The Bengals’ offseason storylines have been plentiful, and by now, well-established. The ones most talked about involve the evolution and improvement of the offense, with much of the conversation focusing on the offensive line changes....

...The Bengals will have a better offense in 2017, well, because when an offense finishes 32nd in a 32-team league, there’s really nothing else it can do but improve.

But nothing against the offense, the guy coaching it, or the players he’s working with, my intrigue as we wait impatiently for training camp lies with the other side of the ball.

To read the entire piece, go to The Athletic.

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