Off-Topic » A once-promising season is spiraling dangero

usly out of control Womens Justice Hill Jersey , and the Cincinnati Bengals can't even agree on the proper path to turning themselves back into a postseason contender.There's no doubt that the defense has to get better. Yet the offense hasn't exactly been racking up the points without injured wide receiver A.J. Green."That's an individual that we need," Bengals safety Shawn Williams said.After watching his team give up more than 500 yards in total offense in three straight games, most in the Super Bowl era, coach Marvin Lewis fired defensive coordinator Teryl Austin and took over the unit.Lewis was pleased with the baby steps the Bengals took in a 24-21 loss to Baltimore on Sunday, even though they surrendered 403 yards 鈥?including 265 on the ground 鈥?to a team led by a quarterback making his first NFL start.With four losses in five games, the Bengals (5-5) find themselves lumped with several other AFC teams on a ledge, in danger of falling out of the playoff picture."It's a race now, and that's what we're here for," Lewis said. "It's now a race to the finish. And we'll be a better football team coming out of this than we were coming in. That's what's exciting for me."OK, the defense allowed the Ravens to convert half their 16 third-down tries and gave up 15 first downs rushing. But the 24 points allowed compared favorably to the previous four games 鈥?28 to Pittsburgh, 45 to Kansas City, 34 against Tampa Bay and the final insult, 51 at home against New Orleans."It was a step forward for us on defense," linebacker Vincent Rey insisted. "Now we have to put the pedal to the metal."Lewis knows all about leading a defense Lamar Jackson Jersey 2019 , given that he owns a Super Bowl ring from his time as a coordinator in Baltimore. The transition from Austin to Lewis was smooth, even if the results weren't ideal."I have no complaints," cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick said. "I got the calls, I got the checks, everything. We were playing fast, rallying to the ball."Unfortunately, the defense didn't get much support from the Cincinnati offense. Operating without Green, who has a toe injury, the Bengals were limited to 255 yards overall and scored only one touchdown before halftime."We didn't come out fast like we wanted to," tight end C.J. Uzomah said. "Whether it was us hurting ourselves or just not executing, whatever the case may be, we just didn't get it done offensively."Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton engineered a 34-23 win over Baltimore earlier this season and orchestrated a comeback victory last year to knock the Ravens out of the playoff picture on the final Sunday of the season.On this day, he was a pedestrian 19 for 36 for 211 yards and two scores."A.J., if he'd have been out there White Lamar Jackson Jersey , the coverage may have been different," Dalton said. "But I think at the end of the day, we just got to make the plays."Dalton sees only one way for the Bengals to turn their season around: by winning next Sunday at Cleveland, possibly one of the few teams struggling more than the Bengals."For us, it's all about winning the next one. ... It doesn't matter if we don't win. We've got to put our focus on this week." Who will step up?"The Ravens are approaching a bit of a transition year under a young second-year quarterback and will be facing all the challenges (and reaping all the benefits) that their situation entails. A lot of new faces are either entering the mix or will be thrust into the spotlight, and, as a result, the chance for a breakout player to emerge definitely presents itself.So, who could that guy be for this season? A few candidates immediately jump to mind, with a pretty interesting one coming from Bleacher Report’s Gary Davenport in an article ranking each team’s potential breakout player for the coming season:This certainly is an interesting choice and while it’s tough to categorize Ingram as a straight-up breakout type guy, Davenport’s logic does make some sense. He’s very much in line for a big time bounce back season with a new team so in that sense this is a point pick, however there are definitely other players who fit the billing just as well if not better.Let’s take a look at who some of those guys may be, shall we?Wide Receiver, Chris MoorePhoto by Todd Olszewski/Getty ImagesHere’s a fairly obvious one as John Harbaugh has as much said that it’s Moore’s “time.” Hopefully that means the front office will still bring in some young talent to compete for snaps via the draft as Moore’s ascension to a starting caliber player isn’t a sure thing just yet.For now though White Mark Andrews Jersey , it appears he has the inside track to be a top target as training camp opens. If he’s able to capitalize on that by building off the momentum of three seasons in which he continuously improved his game, his trajectory would suggest he’s up to the task of a more significant workload for 2019.Linebackers Tyus Bowser and Tim WilliamsPhoto by Andy Lyons/Getty ImagesI opted to put these guys together because they’re both expected to step into some pretty big shoes. Replacing Terrell Suggs and Za’Darius Smith doesn’t seem like something that’ll happen right off the rip, but for now, these two are the ones who are being tabbed to do so.Williams’ draft profile projected him as an out-and-out pass rusher a-la Smith, while Bowser’s athletic ability suggested he would be a more all around front seven chess piece similar to Suggs in some respects. Both were relatively high picks in 2017 who haven’t shown a ton just yet, but with the right coaching and opportunity in front of them, they may just be breakout players this coming season.Quarterback Lamar JacksonPhoto by Patrick Smith/Getty ImagesLamar may be a tough sell as a breakout candidate after a strong rookie season, but the fact remains that he still has more to prove as a passer. Many analysts seem stuck to the idea that he can’t/won’t improve in this respect, and shutting them up to at least some degree would represent yet another level of a breakout for number 8 in my book. More talent is going to need to be put in place around him between now and September to help facilitate that, but if that does take place to an even reasonable level, there’s no reason why Jackson can’t continue to build upon his first year success.