As we've harped on during our divisional breakdowns on the Around The League Podcast, there's only so much you can learn during training camp.
No, we won't unearth every nuance of Chip Kelly's up-tempo attack on the Philadelphia Eagles, but injuries and emerging rookies can be tracked with some accuracy. One of those emerging first-year players, running back Giovani Bernard, figures to play a big role for the Cincinnati Bengals.
That's the word from offensive coordinator Jay Gruden, who hinted to The Cincinnati Enquirer that Bernard might see a 50-50 split in carries with last year's bell cow, BenJarvus Green-Ellis.
Makes sense to us. Bernard, the top back taken in the 2013 NFL Draft, impressed Bengals coaches with his speed in offseason workouts, prompting running backs aide Hue Jackson to suggest Bernard might even see time at wide receiver. Bottom line: Bernard is Saturday night; Green-Ellis is Sunday morning. The rookie brings life to this backfield.
The Bengals occasionally were a snoozefest on offense last season, but with Bernard in-house and rookie tight end Tyler Eifert being used in multiple ways, this attack should do damage in the AFC North. As we've seen with Josh Freeman on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Sam Bradford on the St. Louis Rams, the Bengals have surrounded their young quarterback, Andy Dalton, with a generous helping of weapons. There are no excuses in 2013.
Follow Marc Sessler on Twitter @MarcSesslerNFL.
