Bengals Kick Off Preseason With Loss To Cardinals, But There Were Plenty Of Positives For The AFC Champs

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I see no need to harp on negatives during the preseason at this early stage. Yes, the Arizona Cardinals beat the Cincinnati Bengals 36-23. No, the scores in exhibition games don't really matter…well unless you're betting on them for some reason/are the Ravens and somehow never lose.

So while Jackson Carman looked pretty damn bad in his efforts to seize the starting left guard job ahead of rookie Cordell Volson, and the bottom-line final tally isn't what you'd ideally want, there were plenty of glass half-full moments to take in from what transpired at…brace yourselves…PAYCOR STADIUM. 

That's gonna take some getting used to.

Dax Hill looks damn good

Sad that's the only footage of Hill's sterling NFL debut from Friday, but the first-round pick out of Michigan sure looked worthy of the investment. With Jessie Bates still refusing to sign the franchise tag, Hill is in line to be the starting free safety. Counting on a rookie to be that guy at such a pivotal position is a risky proposition. Not in this instance.

I'm pretty confident that if Cincinnati has some sort of injury the defensive backfield, Hill can step in anywhere and have success. His versatility is going to allow Lou Anarumo to throw all kinds of exotic looks at opponents. We all knew about Hill's speed coming out of the NFL Draft. It was nice to see him flash some ball skills as well.

Kendric Pryor adds to uptown problems at the wide receiver position

While I don't necessarily think anyone will challenge Trent Taylor for the WR4 spot behind Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd, we could see Pryor make the final 53-man roster. The undrafted rookie out of Wisconsin didn't get to flash his pass-catching talents much in Madison due to the run-heavy nature of the Badgers' offense and subpar QB play in recent years. Let's just say Pryor made a strong impression with his four catches for 89 yards and a score.

Stanley Morgan Jr. is a special teams stalwart, yet Pryor also flashed nicely on coverage duty. Unless Kwamie Lassiter II really pops as a return man, I believe Pryor has the early inside track on a roster spot if Cincinnati keeps six receivers. Based on how the numbers look to be shaking out, I think that's a real possibility.

Casting a vote for Chris Evans as RB2

Don't confuse this with the Captain America actor or me calling out yet another former Michigan player just to appease El Pres or something. Much as I appreciate Samaje Perine for housing that screen pass in Kansas City during the AFC title game, I think anyone with any sense of what talent looks like on the gridiron can acknowledge that the Bengals second-year tailback has a higher ceiling than Perine.

Box score scouts will point to Evans' box score of eight carries for -3 yards and say, "What the actual fuck are you talking about, bro?" To that I would say, "Watch this."

The man also tacked on a 41-yard kickoff return, so he brings upside and explosiveness to special teams. If Zac Taylor is still reticent about giving Evans more backfield snaps over Perine, I have to believe Evans has a higher ceiling than Lassiter as the go-to return man.

Again, the situational pass rush situation is promising

The sort of all-encompassing roundup of training camp I assembled not too long ago touched on how third-round rookie Zach Carter looks like someone who could really contribute in obvious passing situations. Not only is Carter capable of pushing the pocket…the man is apparently able to, um, execute a short-range spot drop?

Seventh-rounder Jeff Gunter is exceeding any reasonable expectations and is showing very real quickness off the ball. His 17 sacks and 35 TFL at Coastal Carolina over the last three years didn't happen by accident.

Carter will have to scrap for any regular-season reps behind D.J. Reader and BJ Hill. I'm not convinced Gunter will take priority over Joseph Ossai, Cam Sample or maybe even Khalid Kareem among the second wave of EDGE reserves. Still, it's nice to know there's at least some type of depth behind the solid starting tandem of Trey Hendrickson and Sam Hubbard.

JOEY B BAY-BEE!!!

The most exciting part of the night for me had nothing to do with the game. i'm not here to gas up Drew Plitt's 6-for-6 passing performance, gaslight myself into Jake Browning as a competent backup or spend much time on Brandon Allen, though I hope he's OK after he was being evaluated for a concussion.

Nope do away with all of that. We haven't seen much of Joe Burrow doing anything football-related since undergoing an appendectomy. Prior to kickoff, Burrow was getting his sea legs back under him so to speak by doing some sprints!

Joe still looks THICC. I figured he might lose some of the muscle he packed on this offseason recovering from this latest freak injury. Seems not to be the case. This is wonderful news. I think Joe has dealt with damn near enough since he entered the NFL. Can the football gods cut this man some damn slack, PLEASE?

We're only a few weeks or so away from the 1 p.m. kickoff at home against the Mitch Trubisky-led Steelers. Let's get the young guys some valuable reps, hammer out the finer details of this roster, confine all the key guys to the sidelines and keep the positive vibes going!!

Twitter @MattFitz_gerald help me out Who Dey Nation we gotta show 'em