OBI: The Bengals offensive line remains a major work in progress – Cincy Jungle

This summer is looking quite different from last in a lot of different ways, and one of the big ones will be on display this Saturday as the Cincinnati Bengals travel to Tampa Bay to take on the Buccaneers.

Helping us break down all of the sights and sounds from training camp is ESPN reporter, Ben Baby. We chatted with him about the new faces, potential panic button points and pleasant surprises.

Unfortunately, when it came to Cincinnatis offensive line, Baby didnt pull any punches about their summer performance.

Heres what I think: we all like to bag on Jim Turner plenty and I have watched Turner for several years now (in covering the Bengals and monitoring Texas A&M from his native Texas), Baby said. One of my biggest gripes with Turner was that he tinkered with the offensive line way too late in training camp and didnt really give that first five that stability they need...Under Frank Pollack, I dont think its tinkering for tinkerings sake, I think its because there is a legit question of whats going on with the guardstheyre trying to find a guard situation that works.

The question and its response comes on the heels of the teams release of its first depth chart this week, wherein Michael Jordan is listed as the starting right guard at the moment. While things could change, it was quite a surprise, given Jordans struggles in his first two pro seasons and the fact that hes had extremely limited time on the right side in the NFL.

We havent really seen what the unit looks like with Trey Hopkins in there, what the starting guards are going to be and I think thats the caveat with the offensive lineand I hate to come on and just be doom-and-gloombut, the fact of the matter is, I think thats part of what were talking about, Baby continued. We havent really seen what that full unit is going to look like. We dont know who those starting guards are going to be, we dont know what theyre all going to look like with Trey (Hopkins) in there, with Riley (Reiff) getting a little more footing under himthen we can make a more accurate portrayal and depiction of what this offensive line is going to look like.

The way Baby and many other media members have seen things, it sounds like very few offensive linemen have been immune to occasional poor play this training camp. Things are improving as practices wear on, but a lethal combination of growing pains, a lack of talent at certain spots and comebacks from injury have plagued the group.

Its likely to improve as preseason and regular season games wear on, but the national talking points of passing on Penei Sewell at No. 5 and the lack of a high-end free agency addition to the interior of the line will remain atop minds, until this group proves otherwise.

Some other points of our conversation with ESPNs Ben Baby:

After our chat with Ben Baby, we had a Soundbite of the Week from Joe Burrow. In a bit of a surprise, Burrow admitted in an NFL Network interview that he had been a little skittish during the first week of camp. He says that hes comfortable in the pocket once again and hes cleared mental hurdles that inevitably came with his big knee injury.

We also have a Potential Breakout Player and it may be a bit of a surprise. Why? Because many could claim that the player we selected is taking a reduced role in 2021.

Also, we still have our Charity-Fest benefitting the Munoz Foundation, The Ken Riley Foundation and The Ken Anderson Alliance as a celebration for the respective players inductions into the inaugural class of the Bengals Ring of Honor. Were so close to our financial goal, so please donate here. You could win cool prizes!

Get the show on your favorite audio streamer, or on our YouTube channel! Our thanks to Mr. Baby for his timebe sure to keep up with his great Bengals coverage over at ESPN!

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OBI: The Bengals offensive line remains a major work in progress - Cincy Jungle