A tale of two tackles: The Bengals clearly miss Andrew Whitw

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The Cincinnati Bengals' coaching staff and front office put on their best face in the offseason regarding the offensive line, professing their high hopes for the unit despite losing Pro Bowlers Andrew Whitworth and Kevin Zeitler.

Through one quarter of the season, it's safe to say the new line hasn't exactly produced the results they wanted.

Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton has been sacked on 10.2 percent of his attempts this season, which would be a personal high for a season. He's been sacked 14 times through four games. The Bengals allowed 13 sacks at this point last season before eventually finishing with a total of 41.,Authentic Phil Dawson Jersey,

The problem is that Whitworth and Zeitler aren't walking through the door anytime soon, and there are few options to fix the situation.Authentic A.Q. Shipley Jersey,

The Bengals have three tackles on the roster, and a trade seems unlikely. ,womens Justin Bethel Jersey,Any long-term fixes to the unit will probably come after the season, when the Bengals should either sign a priority free agent or pursue a tackle high in the draft.

but that hasn't happened. He's never seized the starting job despite being given every chance since the beginning of last season.,At this point they haven't publicly admitted they possibly made a mistake in 2015 when they drafted Cedric Ogbuehi in the first round and Jake Fisher in the second. The idea at the time was for Ogubehi to become Whitworth's successor

Bengals coach Marvin Lewis refuted the notion that the line is struggling.Authentic Matt Wile Jersey,

and they're going to have to continue to do that.""I don't know that they necessarily (struggled)," Lewis said following the Browns game,womens Phil Dawson Jersey,but I thought they played a better football game, when the Bengals gave up three sacks. "We had a 'struggle' play or two

and began rotating at almost every defensive position. Bengals offensive line coach Paul Alexander said it's a similar philosophy on offense.,The Bengals shook some things up after starting 0-2Authentic J. J. Nelson Jersey,

"I think the mix we've had the last couple of weeks has helped all their play,Authentic Evan Boehm Jersey," Alexander said. "We've got three players so why not? We rotate defensive linemen, we rotate every other position. We've done it here for years."

However, the offensive line must work together as a cohesive unit. Rotating offensive linemen is not the same as rotating defensive linemen,womens A.Q. Shipley Jersey which has actually produced results for the Bengals this season.

couldn't put his stamp on the job.,Instead, the rotation points to the same mess as last season, when given an opening after Ogbuehi's struggles, when Ogbuehi rotated with Eric Winston at right tackle after failing to secure the starting job early in the season. Even FisherAuthentic Justin Bethel Jersey,

likely caused the Bengals to balk at the thought of giving Whitworth a long-term deal.,Still, the Bengals felt good enough to move forward with them,,Authentic Antoine Bethea Jersey, combined with Ogbuehi's draft position, partially at the expense of the 35-year-old Whitworth. His age

ranking as the top pass blocking tackle and seventh overall among tackles via Pro Football Focus.,Whitworth signed with the Rams instead inking a three-year' Authentic Andy Lee Jersey, zero hits and zero hurries in his first four games$36 million deal with $15 million guaranteed. The Rams have started 3-1 and Whitworth has allowed one sack

Rams writer Alden Gonzalez called Whitworth one of the best offseason additions in the league.<womens Andy Lee Jersey,

no hits and 12 hurries.,'womens Evan Boehm Jersey,The Bengals young tackles have allowed a combined 25 pressures in that same time frame, one hit and seven hurries and Ogbuehi has allowed two sacks, more than the Raiders' offensive line combined. Fisher has allowed three sacks

instead signing former tackle Andre Smith with the intention of having him play guard. Trey Hopkins ultimately won that job instead but was hurt in Week 1.,If the Bengals had retained Zeitler,womens J. J. Nelson Jersey, who signed a record deal with the Browns, things might be a little different. But they also didn't make moves to fix the situation after those players left, or Whitworth

That meant the Bengals turned to T.J. Johnson, and then tried to see what Alex Redmond could do. After Redmond quickly gave up a sack, it was back to Johnson again. The Bengals really have few options at any position.womens Antoine Bethea Jersey,