Tag: Tyler Boyd

Bengals players aren’t happy with team’s portrayal in the media right now

Tyler Boyd, Joe Mixon and others spoke out.

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Cincinnati Bengals fans haven’t been given much of a fair shake lately as the combine and draft nears.

Which means players haven’t either.

The national spotlight on the Bengals has been notably harsh, as has the speculation that Joe Burrow might not want to play for the team — which is blatantly false as of this writing while missing important quotes that suggest otherwise.

Fans have hit back on the coverage plenty and now players have joined the fray too via social media.

Tyler Boyd, the team’s No. 1 wideout over the past two years who signed an extension to stay in town, kicked things off before Joe Mixon and others joined in:

 

Understand Bengals fans and players alike know all too well the team has to play better to change the narrative and earn respect.

But when it feels like much of the coverage has merely lazily glossed over past successes of the franchise and when it feels like the coverage tries to influence what happens at No. 1, this is the result.

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Tyler Boyd ranked among NFL elite in slot production in 2019

Tyler Boyd was elite again in 2019.

It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to find out Cincinnati Bengals wideout Tyler Boyd ranked as one of the most productive slot wideouts in the league last year.

According to NFL Matchup, Boyd put up 661 yards on a 13.8 average from the slot last season, good for seventh in the NFL right around names like Cooper Kupp and Larry Fitzgerald.

Impressive, as on the whole Boyd had another 1,000-yard campaign with five scores despite no A.J. Green on the field for a struggling team under a new head coach that benched the starting quarterback for a stretch (got all that?).

The idea of No.1 play from Boyd is why the Bengals front office hit him with that four-year extension worth $43 million over the summer.

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Report: Robby Anderson doesn’t plan on giving Jets hometown discount

Not willing to give a hometown discount, Robby Anderson is looking to cash-in as he becomes a free agent for the first time in his career.

With the Jets season coming to a close, the team has a decision to make about impending free agent wide receiver Robby Anderson.

Anderson has a big opportunity to cash-in as the fourth-year receiver out of Temple will hit free agency for the first time in his career. Since Anderson and the Jets failed to come to terms on a contract extension prior to the beginning of the regular season, his price tag has gone up and he will likely command around upwards of $12 million on the open market.

At 26 years old and entering the prime of his career, Anderson is in a position to earn the biggest contract of his NFL career. With this in mind, a hometown discount for the Jets during bidding for his mind doesn’t seem to be in the cards.

“You got to talk to my agent,” Anderson told Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News following the Jets 13-6 win over Buffalo. “I don’t think that makes sense.”

After a slow start to the season, Anderson had a second-half surge that could earn him a nice payday. He finished the season with 52 receptions for 779 yards and five touchdowns.

“I would say that I played the cards that I was dealt and made the most out of what I could,” Anderson said of his 2019 season.

Anderson will be seeking a contract similar to what receivers Tyrell Williams, Sterling Shepard and Tyler Boyd have signed recently. He is going to command a competitive market in free agency given his ability to take the top off the defense and game-breaking speed. Also working in Anderson’s favor is his underneath route-running skills, which developed nicely as 2019 progressed.

The Jets would be wise to get Anderson signed to a long-term deal before the legal-tampering period begins. Just don’t expect him to take a cheaper deal with the team that took a shot on him as an undrafted free agent.

Andy Dalton, Tyler Boyd say those hoping for Bengals loss aren’t ‘true fans’

Two Bengals stars had some interesting comments after the loss.

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Cincinnati Bengals players didn’t come close to quitting during Sunday’s loss to the Miami Dolphins.

But fans of the team could be forgiven for hoping for a loss — doing so meant the Bengals wrapped up the first pick in the 2020 draft.

But team leaders like Andy Dalton and Tyler Boyd aren’t happy about the segment of fans hoping for a loss.

Here’s what Dalton told the media after the game:

“You don’t view that. None of those people are — those types of fans, they aren’t true fans. If you’re a fan of the team, you want them to win, you want them to be successful. Every time you’re out there, you want to win.”

And Boyd:

Odds are Dalton probably wishes he could have that one back. It’s silly to decry fans as not “true” fans because they cheer for a certain result — cheering for a loss Sunday was because those fans believe it is truly in the best interests of the franchise for the long-term.

Fans don’t need this watered down to understand — most surely get that they should be rooting for this team no matter what, and especially the individuals on it putting in the work. But they can’t blindly pretend they don’t understand the draft implications, either.

Particularly for Cincinnati fans, it’s unfortunate to hear this sort of wording from players given what they’ve been through over the years. That these true fans have stuck through it all and finally have something to be excited for isn’t something they should feel guilt over now.

Luckily for all, everyone can get back on the same page now — everyone wants to see the Bengals whip the Browns to close the season.

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Fantasy football: 5 sleepers to start, 5 starters to sit in Week 16

Five starters to sit and five sleepers to start in Week 16/ Championship weekend in Fantasy football.

It’s championship time in fantasy football.

A little scouting and you can avoid a crucial late-season loss or do just enough to cross the finish line with a win this week in the title game. We’ve got you covered with a quick scouting report to help you out.

Here are five sleepers to start and five starters you’ve got to sit in fantasy football Week 16:

Starts
Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)

QB Jameis Winston

Bucs quarterback Jameis Winston is fresh off two back-to-back awesome games, despite not having some of his best playmakers. Can he go for the hat trick? Yes, he realistically could. Winston and the Bucs face the mess that is the Texans’ secondary this weekend. They’re the No. 28 pass defense in the NFL,  allowing 266.1 yards per game. Houston has also allowed 30 scores through the air this year.

RB Tarik Cohen

The Bears are out of it but their opponent, the Chiefs, are not. Kansas City will want to put Chicago away in this one in their battle for AFC playoff seeding. The Chiefs’ dynamic offense should get ahead in this one, which will make Tarik Cohen a menace out of the backfield via his hands. He’s averaged 5.5 catches per game over the last six games.

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Stephon Gilmore jabs at Tyler Boyd after head-to-head matchup

The Patriots corner had some words for Tyler Boyd.

The small back and forth between the Cincinnati Bengals and New England Patriots in the wake of their Week 15 encounter apparently isn’t over just yet.

Stephon Gilmore got the best of the Bengals in that matchup, picking off two passes and returning one for a touchdown. He’s also not done talking in response to comments made by Tyler Boyd.

Gilmore, when asked about Boyd saying he won matchups all day against New England, said the following on 98.5 The Sports Hub’s “Zolak and Bertrand,” (h/t NESN):

“I don’t know, maybe he was confused, or, maybe, I don’t know. I don’t know what he was looking at. False confidence.”

Gilmore had previously said he knew what routes Boyd was running on both interceptions thanks to film study.

Allegations of predictability aside, Bengals head coach Zac Taylor had said his wideouts got beat all day in matchups while defending Andy Dalton. Boyd very publicly said the opposite.

In reality, bad ball placement from Dalton and one of the NFL’s best outright defenders created a combination that ultimately led to the Bengals going down, 34-13.

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9 fantasy football sleepers for Week 16

Jameis Winston and Kyler Murray top Touchdown Wire’s list of nine fantasy football sleepers for Week 16.

Arizona rookie Kyler Murray and Tampa Bay’s Jameis Winston aren’t quarterbacks that will be starting in the real-life Super Bowl. But we’re talking fantasy football here and that’s a whole different story.

If you’ve got Winston or Murray on your roster, start them. They just might be good enough to win you a championship. That may sound strange about two of the league’s more inconsistent quarterbacks. But it’s the truth.

With everything on the line in Week 16, you have to look for guys on hot streaks and guys with favorable matchups. Winston is on the hottest streak of any quarterback in the league right now and, although Murray has struggle recently, he’s got a favorable matchup against a Seattle defense that hasn’t been good against the past.

Winston and Murray headline Touchdown Wire’s Week 16 fantasy sleepers. Here’s the complete list:

9. Tarik Cohen, RB, Chicago Bears

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The Bears probably will be playing catch-up ball against Kansas City. That means Cohen, who has emerged as a receiving threat out of the backfield, could put up some serious fantasy numbers. He’s averaged 5.5 catches per game over the last six games.

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Fantasy football: 5 sleepers to start, 5 starters to sit in Week 15

Five starters to sit and five sleepers to start in fantasy football Week 15.

It’s crunch time in fantasy football.

A little scouting and you can avoid a crucial late-season loss or do just enough to cross the finish line with a win this week in the playoffs. We’ve got you covered with a quick scouting report to help you out.

Here are five sleepers to start and five starters you’ve got to sit in fantasy football Week 15:

Starts
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. Credit: Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports

QB Jimmy Garoppolo

49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is fresh off the best game of his career when his team edged out the Saints 48-46 on the road. Garoppolo had 349 yards and four touchdowns with an interception. The Saints defense over the years has been terrible, but this year they’ve been average. En route next for the 49ers is the Falcons, who’ve been a bottom-feeder defensive team all season. That, and the 49ers have home-field advantage this time around.

RB Kareem Hunt

In PPR leagues, Kareem Hunt is a solid starter as the Browns face the Cardinals this week. This meeting pins two poor defensive units up against each other and Hunt has shown production over the past few games, even with Nick Chubb, scoring a touchdown in three-straight. This game could even turn into a shootout.

RB James White

Like Hunt, James White will be more productive in PPR leagues but he still has value, regardless. The Patriots have the lowly Bengals en route. Cincy is bad all-around, but particularly bad against opposing running backs, who grab an average of 45 yards in receiving against the Bengals. While White does most of his damage in the air, the Bengals also sport the NFL’s worst run defense heading into this one as well.

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Stopping DeVante Parker and Mike Gesicki among keys to Jets defense vs. Dolphins

The Jets defense must lock in on the Dolphins top receiving threats in this rematch of their Week 9 loss.

The only thing more demoralizing than losing to a previously winless team is doing it twice in one season.

The Jets accomplished just that in their loss to the then-0-11 Bengals in Week 13, just four weeks after they deliver the Dolphins’ first win of the 2019 season. This time the Jets will get the chance for revenge at home against a team that’s riding an offensive hot streak.

New York is severely depleted with a bevy of injuries including safety Jamal Adams, who’s recovering from an ankle injury. New York will likely lean on its dominant run defense again, though the Dolphins average the fewest rushing attempts and rushing yards of any team in the league. Miami will utilize its passing game, so the Jets should expect to see a lot of Ryan Fitzpatrick, DeVante Parker and Mike Gesicki.

With that being said,here are four keys to the Jets defense against the Dolphins.

Focus on DeVante Parker

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The Dolphins’ recent uptick in offensive production is due in large part to DeVante Parker finally breaking out and realizing his potential.

The wideout already reached career-highs with 854 receiving yards and six touchdowns and he’s secured at least six receptions and more than 90 yards in three consecutive games. He and Preston Williams tortured the Jets secondary when the two teams met back in Week 9. Now he’s the focal point of Ryan Fitzpatrick’s targets with Williams on injured reserve. 

The Jets could have a tough time against the physical Parker, especially after giving up nine receptions for 125 yards and touchdown to the Bengals wideouts Tyler Boyd and Auden Tate a week ago. This will another good test for rookie Bless Austin to see if he’s truly capable of being a starting cornerback.

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Adam Gase, offensive line among Jets’ Studs & Duds in loss to Bengals

The Jets dropped their second game to a winless opponent this season and are now 4-8 with four games remaining after their 22-6 loss in Ohio

The Jets lost to a team that is 1-18 in its last 19 games on Sunday.

Adam Gase’s squad was a no show in Cincinnati, thinking they already had the game won when they arrived. Instead, New York was on the wrong side of NFL history for the second time this season.

The Jets gave the 0-7 Miami Dolphins their first win. No NFL team has ever given two teams who started 0-7 or worse their first wins of the season. New York became that team Sunday, handing Cincinnati its first win of the season and giving Zac Taylor the first win of his head coaching career.

For the Jets, it was two steps back in the wrong direction. Sam Darnold ended the game with a pronounced limp and the Jets offense didn’t sniff the red zone once.

Here are the best and worst players from the Jets’ sluggish and embarrassing Week 13 loss.

Dud: The Offensive Line

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Pass protection has been an issue all season for the Jets, but it reared its ugly head in the 22-6 loss.

The Jets offensive line was guilty of six holds and several back-breaking penalties. The Jets offense had no chance with the Bengals defensive front wreaking havoc on the backfield on every play.

Offensive line play has been key to the Jets’ success all season, so it didn’t help that Kelvin Beachum and Tom Compton were penalty machines while Brandon Shell was a turnstile.

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