Lightning Meet Thunder!

It was the NFL draft of 2013 and the Cincinnati Bengals were on the clock in the 2nd round pick 37 and most of Who Dey Nation knew that the Bengals were thinking Running Back. And Running Back they took, selecting Giovani Bernard out of North Carolina University. A shifty tailback that could easily weave in and out of traffic and find the hole and take off like a flash of lighting. Fast Forward to the NFL draft of 2014, we find the Bengals once again on the clock in the 2nd round pick 55. Many analysts had us selecting a DE or even an OL in their mock drafts but most of them did not seeing us complimenting our Lighting with its Thunder! Without further adieu we give you Jeremy Hill!

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So why exactly did the Bengals draft Jeremy Hill when Carlos Hyde from Ohio State University was still on the board? How about these stats for you, Hill while at Louisiana State University (LSU) put up monster numbers running in the "toughest" conference in the NCAA, the SEC. With 203 rushing attempts this past season, Hill was able to rack up 1401 yards giving him an unreal average of 6.9 yds per rush. Going up against teams like Alabama, Auburn, Texas A&M, Florida and Georgia, one would say that averaging 3.5 yds a carry would be great. Then of course there is his ability to find the hole and even show his open field quickness that sometimes is overlooked by the 40 at the Combine. Take a look at this gem Jeremy put on South Carolina, with a great move on number 1 draft pick Jadaveon Cloney and the speed to pull away from defenders.

Jeremy Hill 50 Yard TD run

Think thats great, check out this one he put up against Auburn.

Jeremy Hill vs Auburn TD

Or this one he put up in the Chick Fil-a bowl game.

Chick-Fil-A Bowl Game TD

Alright enough with the Highlight Reels we get it, Jeremy Hill is a Human Highlight Reel and we know that he is going to be a great addition to our backfield. The Bengals now have Lightning and Thunder and it is going to be epic to see when teams come into the JUNGLE trying to stop our RB's.

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In 2012, Jeremy Hill put up impressive stats that made Les Miles up his usage in 2013 with 142 attempts in 2012 Hill ran for an impressive 755 yards. Averaging 5.3 yards per carry, which when he brings that to the NFL nobody will be able to stop The Bengals Offense. Just another young addition to the team that should pump up Who Dey Nation and get them ready for an outstanding 2014 season. 

Jeremy Hill is the perfect downhill runner that Hue Jackson loves and he is going to take advantage of his two excellent young backs. You heard it here first, our bold prediction is the Cincinnati Bengals will have two 1,000 yard rushers this year! Thanks for reading and Who Dey On!

The Jungle Has Become a No-Fly Zone

It is simple supply and demand.  So teams want to change the game in recent years so that average QB's (Flacco's of the world) now have 600 pass attempts? Does it now seem as if throwing for 4,000 yards has become as great of an accomplishment as filing ones taxes before the deadline?  This is the NFL we live in and DB's and specifically CB's are rightfully in high demand.  The league wants to have wide receivers and now tight ends flying all over the place in faster and faster offenses?  Then you want guys that can post no-fly zones.  For the 1st pick in the 2014 draft the Bengals began upgrading their anti-air missile defense systems with Darqueze Dennard.   

(Picture from Pittsburgh pre-draft blog article about how they should take him.  Awesome.)

Watch the guy play for just one game (sadly one of mine was when his forced fumble and 2 broken passes  helped put down my Buckeyes in the Big Ten Title game) and you know this guy comes to play and does so with intensity.  Listen to an interview with the him.  It was told to me once that Bill Parcells said that he can tell in just a couple minutes of talking to a player if he will succeed and if he wants him on his team.  For No-Fly Zone Dennard we answer those questions with a Yes and a resounding Yes.  He is a natural leader, very smart, an athletic freak (even Mel K himself says he may of been one of the best athletes in the draft), played just about every position in the secondary in college and has a list of accolades as a Spartan longer then a Steinbeck novel.  

Check them out > NoFlyZone

We love this pick.  The Cincinnati Bengals are still on the cusp of something great and have their sights set far higher then repeating as AFC North Champions.  Nothing is guaranteed in the NFL and getting to the playoffs 3 years in a row is no easy task.  They have a perennial top 10 defense and have a standout defensive back group that is host to numerous former 1st round draft picks.  The Bengals did not approach this draft asking, "What is a big need for our team?" but rather knowing "We are on the verge of greatness, who will help us tip the scales?" 

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Piece by piece this draft they plugged in guys (from Dennard to Hill to Bodine to Clarke) who could fit perfectly on this journey towards hoisting the Lombardi.  Darqueze was a big piece who will hit the ground running, come in on the nickel package, learn from former pro bowlers (becoming one himself someday) and help WhoDey Nation play deeper into January and inch closer to greatness.  "Greatness," saying that word over and over again may elicit giggles from outsiders, media or even locals who have become eternal cynics rumbling some unintelligible grumblings about Mike Brown.  The reality is still that this team is not far at all from greatness and we can't wait to see a future great in Darqueze Dennard take the field in Cincy this fall...and then in Arizona in early February.

The Million Dollar Arm?

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As many of you know, our very own Cincinnati Bengal Rey Maualuga has a featured role in the new motion picture from Disney, "Million Dollar Arm". If you were thrown off it was probably because he did not go by his actual name, he went by the name PoPo, and he was a terror MLB just as he is in the real NFL.

We were lucky enough to win tickets to see the private showing with other Bengals Friday, 5/16 at the Florence Rave. It was hosted by one of the classiest Bengals, Domata Peko and his lovely wife Anna. Since Rey had practice and had to miss the actual opening of Million Dollar Arm, Domata decided to rent out a room at Rave and invite several Bengals, then went to twitter and gave tickets away to local Bengal fans. Blessed to been given these tickets because the movie did not disappoint and even though Rey had only a few minutes on screen, he dominated those few minutes leaving his fellow teammates chanting Oscar! Needless to say, when Rey is done terrorizing on the Football field we know where he will be heading, HOLLYWOOD!

Now to the question that every Bengal fan is thinking about, what are we going to do with Andy Dalton and his contract? Well we here at NatiSportsNation believe that the Bengals do in fact have our franchise Quarterback in Andy Dalton. Take away the name and let's just look at stats:

Season            TD's       INT's       YDS       Record

2011                20          13             3,398     9-7

2012                27          16             3,669     10-6

2013                33          20             4,293     11-5

Now let's take a look at another QB's number but we won't reveal who we are talking about through their first 3 years in the NFL

Season            TD's      INT's       YDS       Record

2002               17          16            3,284      8-8

2003               11          15            2,108      4-12

2004               27          7              3,159      12-4

You see similar numbers with both of these QB's Andy has thrown 80 TD's in his first three season whereas the later mentioned QB threw 55 TD's through his first three years. Of course Andy has also thrown a total of 11 more INT's but leads in total yards by roughly 3500 yards. The QB we are comparing numbers with Dalton is Mr. Drew Brees himself. MVP, Super Bowl Champ, and has led the league in passing multiple seasons throughout his career. Do we really want to do exactly what the Chargers did and let Dalton go well before his prime, or do we want to stick with the leader of the Bengals offense and continue to let them grow and bring the Lombardi trophy to Cincinnati where it has been desperately waiting to visit. 

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The Bengals have a lot of good players nearing the end of their contracts and they have been spending the off season trying to keep this young core together. They are currently in talks with Burfict who we for sure need to lock up for a long time, and we all know that next year is the year we will probably see the biggest contract for a WR when AJ Green's contract runs out. So what we think the Bengals need to do is offer our Pro Bowl QB Andy Dalton a 4 year 40 million dollar contract and let him bring us home a few Lumbardi's and then when everyone is back on Dalton's side pay the man the real money he deserves.

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Home Fieldhouse Advantage

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Well, despite any "ups and downs" the Pacers may have had this year the thought still laid in most people's minds that they were on a one way track towards smacking into their arch-nemesis of recent years, the Miami Heat, at the Eastern Conference Finals, and smack they did!  The Pacers scored the first blow in this brawl, winning 107-96 in Indy on Sun. night.

This should not of come as too much of a shock however as the Big Three and company have been more human on the road this year (22-19) and Lebron himself is 0-7 in game 1's on the road in his career.

One of the big questions going into this series was how well would Roy Hibbert play due to his complete ineffectiveness at many times recently in games.  People who ask that question however need to realize that some people were just simply put on this earth to harass the Greats of our generation, and one such man is Big Roy.

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He not only had a solid 19 and 9 but his Pacers would outscore the Heat by 19 points while he was on the court Sunday.


The Heat did not have an answer for him and when they are not getting to the foul line as much as they like (Pacers had more free throws in the third quarter than the Heat did all game) any deficit is a tough one for them to fight back from.  It didn't help their cause either that Lebron had as many turnovers in the game as he did points in the 4th quarter, 4.

Look for the Heat to strike back in game 2 as everyone knows they are dominant coming off of a loss.

Still, with 5 Pacers in double digits and looking reinvigorated vs. the defending champs, it looks to be a heavy weight matchup resembling last years bout that went to 7 games with the Pacers ultimately losing in Miami.   If this one goes to a game 7 however, Lebron will have to pack his talents up from South Beach and take them to Indy (where they are 1-7 the last 2 years).

Pocket Aces!!

                             

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The Reds were scheduled to go at it twice today against the visiting San Diego Padres. Cueto has entered today as one of the hottest pitchers going in the MLB. After throwing a complete game this afternoon only giving up 3 hits over 9 innings, Cueto now has six straight starts going at least eight innings. He just earned his fourth win and has his ERA to a league low 1.25. Along with leading the league in ERA, Cueto also tops the league in K's with 76, innings pitched with 72, WHIP with a 0.71 and batters average, .135.

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This is old news for Reds fans, but it seems that Cueto is starting to finally get the national attention he deserves as a Cy Young contender. Then there is the starting pitcher we have yet to see this year, the Reds ace last year when Cueto was out, Matt Latos. We can only hope he comes back as the same pitcher he was last year, finishing with a 3.19 ERA, 14 wins opposed to 7 losses, and 187 K's through 210 innings pitched. Latos could be a solid ace in a rotation, put him as the second starter and one could argue that he is the best 2nd starting pitcher in the MLB. 

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It is extremely nice to be in the predicament the Reds will be when Latos returns, but the question that presents itself is who will we bump down to the bullpen. Now the quick response would be to send Alfredo Simon back to the bullpen but look what numbers Simon has put up this year in a starting pitching role. He is 4-2 with a 2.89 ERA, 1.076 WHIP and has allowed only 35 in 43 innings pithed. These are all solid numbers but the Reds just have to much power in their starting rotation. With Homer Bailey a solid 3rd starter and Mike Leake who seems to just be improving each and every year since he was drafted. Like I stated, it is awesome to have this problem but it will definitely cost us later on come free agency but for right now let's take a gamble on our Pocket Ace's and pitch our way to a world series. 

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Long Live the Tre!

Well it was #WinorGoHome for the Brooklyn Nets and it was safe to say that they were looking like a team that wanted a game 6 real bad. That was until they let the Miami Heat go on a 12-0 run within the last five minutes. It seemed it was more like the Miami Heat vs. Joe Johnson but in the end it was the Miami found a way to pull out a win and advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.

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Joe Johnson clocked in one of his greatest games of his career scoring 34 pts., 7 rebounds and 3 assists. Even when the "King" started Joe there was no match as Johnson kept the Nets in the lead and in the game even till the final second hitting a 3 with 5 seconds left. It was to no a vale though as the Nets really had no other help closing out the game. Getting older it will be interesting to see what the Nets do with their savvy vets.

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Lebron "King" James stats were a little skewed due to the weak fouls he was given, but he finished the game with 29 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists. The player of the game had to be Dwayne Wade though who had 28 points with most his damage coming in the first half and keeping the Heat in the game. When Dwayne Wade is in his grove and he is Driven and Flopping like he was tonight there is no stopping him. It was classic Dwayne Wade!

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Despite the scoring from Lebron and Dwayne it was the closing out once again by Ray Allen and Chris Bosh. Seems like when the Heat are in a clutch moment they draw plays to keep it out of Lebron's hands and this time it was Ray Allen hitting a three with 32 seconds left giving the Heat a lead they would not lose. 

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Up next for the Heat trying to prevent them from a Three Peat are either the Indiana Pacers or the Washington Wizards. If the Heat keep closing the games out like they did the past two against a veteran team like the Nets then a Three Peat is definitely a possibility for Miami Heat.

Where's the Runs?

It has been a while since we have posted, why not come back with an exciting post about why our Cincinnati Reds are not scoring any runs....

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Taking a look at the Reds team stats can be brutal, they currently rank a horrendous 28th out of 30th in Runs scored. As a team they are batting .244 which puts them 22nd in that category amongst all MLB teams. Combine those stats with the fact that out of 1227 plate appearances the Reds have had this year, they have struck out 270 times (for those not great at Math that would equal 22% of at bats).

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Through these struggling times, us Reds faithful need to look at the positives that are presented to us. Since Billy Hamilton's rough start he has come on of late raising his batting average to a solid .260, stolen 12 bases and has 3 triples one of the more exciting hits in baseball. He is very young and hopefully with time will be able to improve his avg. and reduce his strikeout ratio. 

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Another feel good story about the Reds this year is the progression of 3B Todd Fraizer. Mr. Big Band Fraizer has been keeping the Reds alive and currently has a 12 game hitting streak going into tonights matchup against the Padres. Todd is batting .265, leads the team with 7 home runs and has 21 RBI's this year. Projections are just... well projections, but Todd is on pace to finish the year batting .265 hitting 30 HR's and knocking in 90. Pretty solid numbers and definitely an improvement from last year.

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With every positive though comes the negatives and boy do the Reds seem to have a lot of those on offense. Lets start with our 1B Votto, now we assume he is going to finish with strong numbers as he has done every year but to be making 12 million this year and putting up .262 avg. not horrible but 6 HR's and a measly 12 RBI's, you have got to start being the Clutch Votto we are used too. Then there is the SS problem, and boy is that a major problem. If only our lineup was good enough to where this could just be a defensive position and not needed to hit well in the lineup. Cozart is having a horrible start to the 2014 season and he just looks terrible when he is at the plate. He is currently batting a horrible .190, he has 1 HR and has batted in just 9 runs. I would say his time is limited but we have no quick solution to SS. No prospects, the only way to solve this is through trades. 

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Then you have the Left Field conundrum, who to start? Is Heisey an everyday starter? Why is Bernadina still on the MLB roster? Who is Ryan Ludwick, is that same Ludwick that was good during the early 2000's? I am not trying to put the team down, but there definitely needs to be some moves soon or the Reds are looking at a sub par season. How great our pitching has been it's time for the Bats to do some backing up. Lets go Redlegs pull it together and lets start our first Hot streak of 2014!

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