Bengals running back Mark Walton‘s arrest on a battery charge over the weekend wasn’t his first run-in with law enforcement this
offseason.David Ovalle of the reports that court records show that Walton was
arrested for marijuana possession on January 16. Walton was pulled over for not
wearing a seat belt while driving and a bag of marijuana was found in the
car.Walton’s more recent arrest came after an argument with a couple at his
residence. Per the police report
Jeff Driskel Jersey White , Walton’s car was blocking the entrance to the building’s garage and got upset when the female half of the couple began
filming him with her cell phone camera. He allegedly took the phone from her and
“a scuffle ensued and both suffered minor scratches.”Walton played 14 games with
the Bengals after being selected in the fourth round of last year’s draft.
Landing in police custody twice this year has Walton on a path to missing some
of his second NFL season while serving a suspension. Lewis had some thoughts
about what his former team needs to do going forwards."WhiteFanposts Fanshots
Sections #BITESIZEFilm RoomRoster Transactions and ContractsOrange & Black
InsiderSalary Cap And CBABreaking NewsKeep track of the 2019 Bengals
draft?Marvin Lewis thinks Bengals must improve offensive line this
offseasonNew,131commentsLewis had some thoughts about what his former team needs
to do going forwards.ESTShareTweetShareShareMarvin Lewis thinks Bengals must
improve offensive line this offseasonKirby Lee-USA TODAY SportsIt’s still weird
to see Marvin Lewis be anything other than the head coach of the Cincinnati
Bengals. It’s even weirder to hear him talk about the team he no longer
coaches.Lewis made his broadcasting debut Sunday when he was one of the two
analysts for NFL Network calling the AAF matchup between the Salt Lake Stallions
and Arizona Hotshots. Yesterday, he was invited to talk on NFL Live and speak on
some current hot topics surrounding the NFL, like Kyler Murray and minority head
coaches.Eventually, the program shifted the dialogue towards the Bengals, the
team Lewis coached for the previous 16 seasons. When asked about the team, Lewis
elaborated on a familiar point.“They’ve got to go and fix the offensive line.
The offensive front will be a big focus for the Cincinnati Bengals to continue
to lean on Joe Mixon’s abilities, and the abilities of Giovani Bernard, A.J.
Green and the guys they have. ...Offensively
Womens John Ross Jersey , I think, we’ve got to go and restructure, retool the offensive line a little bit. I said, ‘We.’ Excuse me! Excuse me!
(Laughs.)”Fixing the offensive line seemed to be the focal point of last
offseason, evident by the trade for left tackle Cordy Glenn and the selection of
center Billy Price in the first round. While the offensive line improved in some
areas, the clear and self-imposed weaknesses at right guard and right tackle
limited what the unit could’ve been.Self-imposed being the keyword.Ultimately it
was Lewis’ call to start Alex Redmond and Bobby Hart for the entire season. Hart
wasn’t originally seen as a legitimate option to start when he was signed almost
exactly one year ago, but sure enough, he won the job relatively early in
training camp. The team didn’t even so much as address the tackle position in
the draft, knowing that Hart was the only addition to a competition that
included Cedric Ogbuehi and Jake Fisher.Redmond was also viewed with an outside
chance to start over fellow teammates Trey Hopkins and Christian
Westerman
Clark Harris Jersey White , but sure enough, he was given the job. The problem was, he proved very early on in the season he was not starting material,
yet was not challenged up until the very end of the season.Even at the center
position, Lewis and his staff could’ve handled that situation more proactively.
When Hopkins put together solid performance after solid performance at center
when Price was injured, he was benched for a struggling Price as soon as he was
healthy enough to return. By season’s end, it was very possible two of the
Bengals’ best five offensive linemen were forced to sit on the bench for most of
the season.And that’s on Lewis.Nevertheless, Lewis is right about Cincinnati’s
current situation up front. They still need to find a real upgrade at right
tackle, along with clarity at right guard and center. It’s safe to assume that
Price will retain his spot and Westerman remains the best option at right
guard
C.J. Uzomah Jersey White , but do we really want to assume what the new regime believes? We need to retrain what we think we know about the Bengals now
that Lewis isn’t calling the shots.Lewis also expanded on the rest of the AFC
North and how the Bengals fit in the divisional picture now: “It’s an odd
situation to not have a defensive coordinator at this point,” Lewis added. “I
think the biggest challenge all the time is everybody wants to point to what the
(Bengals) haven’t done. Let’s talk about what they have done and continue to
build upon that and move forward and get it done. But you’re in a tough division
and I think that’s the thing we’re talking about the Baltimore Ravens. And now
we’re talking about the Cleveland Browns. And we know how good the Pittsburgh
Steelers are. So we build a football team to be at the top of that division, and
they’ve got to get back there in order to do that.”It’s true, Lewis and his
staff did build a team to be at the top of the AFC North. He ended up at the top
multiple times in his 16 seasons, but it was his failure to evolve that hindered
him from doing it again when it mattered and going beyond just a divisional
title.The objectives to get better are clear for Lewis’ replacement Zac Taylor,
even Lewis can see them. The question now is will Taylor be able to make the
right decisions that Lewis couldn’t.
