The best teams in the NFL – Baltimore, Philadelphia, Kansas City, San Francisco – are balanced on offense. Tight end is a key part of those offenses, especially for Baltimore (when Mark Andrews is healthy), Kansas City and San Francisco.
Digging back into the inbox. Send an email to ask me anything − sports, local politics, Cincinnati food, youth baseball coaching, etc. − and/or let me know if you agree or disagree with a column.
And I’ll pick some of your messages and respond right here a few times a week.
The people have spoken. Kenyon Martin’s broken leg in the 2000 Conference USA basketball tournament is the most devastating injury in Cincinnati sports history, according to several readers.
My column after Joe Burrow went down with a season-ending wrist injury set the inbox on fire. I suggested his injury may be the most devastating in Cincinnati sports history.
My argument centered on Burrow’s importance to a franchise that, despite early season struggles, still had Super Bowl title expectations right up until he crashed to the turf on Thursday Night Football in Baltimore.
There is no bigger prize in American sports than the Lombardi Trophy, something the Bengals have never won.
(Side note: A few emailers pointed out that I omitted former UC and Bengals quarterback Greg Cook from my list of historically brutal injuries.
Shame on me. Paul Brown believed Cook was destined for greatness.
Cook was AFL Rookie of the Year in 1969, despite playing most of the season with a bum shoulder. Sadly, he was forced to retire.)
But I get it with Martin. His devastating injury came after UC had proven throughout the regular season that it was a legitimate national-championship contender and the odds-on favorite to win it all. Martin was the best player in the land.
The Bearcats were merely a handful of games away from the ultimate prize.
Having a good route-running, sure-handed tight end would be helpful in the short and intermediate passing game, especially to help backup quarterback Jake Browning build confidence. You could also argue such a tight end would’ve been helpful during the early weeks of the season when Burrow was battling through the calf injury.
The best teams in the NFL – Baltimore, Philadelphia, Kansas City, San Francisco – are balanced on offense.
Tight end is a key part of those offenses, especially for Baltimore (when Mark Andrews is healthy), Kansas City and San Francisco.
