CINCINNATI -- Before turning our full attention to free agency, the draft and the 2015 season, let's take one last look back at 2014.
We're doing that all this week through this position-by-position review of the Cincinnati Bengals' recent 10-5-1 campaign that ended with a wild-card round loss at Indianapolis.
Previous entries in the series. Now we continue with offensive linemen:
2014 cap value: $19.5 million total -- LT Andrew Whitworth ($6.2 million), RT Andre Smith ($5.2 million), RG Kevin Zeitler ($2.1 million), OG Mike Pollak ($1.8 million), LG Clint Boling ($1.6 million), OT Marshall Newhouse ($805,000), OT Tanner Hawkinson ($540,606), C Russell Bodine ($534,114), OG T.J. Johnson ($420,000), OG Trey Hopkins ($308,000), OT Eric Winston ($134,118).
Highlights: Offensively, there wasn't a position group as complete and consistent as the offensive line. Bodine, the rookie center, may have been the weak link among starters, but he wasn't awful. As he set protections and made pre-snap adjustments, it helped that he had Boling and Zeitler alongside him, two young guards who had strong seasons. Zeitler's was better than Boling's but the left guard definitely earned the contract extension that could come his way when free agency opens in a month.
As offensive tackles go, none in the league were as good as Whitworth. That's according to Pro Football Focus and countless others in the league who studied tackles all season. Regularly Whitworth was praised by opposing defensive ends, linebackers and defensive coordinators after games. Per PFF, he didn't give up a sack, and allowed just 10 pressures all year.
Lowlights: Like most positions for the Bengals, injuries were the biggest issue confronting the offensive linemen. Specifically, the right side of the line couldn't stay healthy. Zeitler missed parts of five games with calf issues. Smith had an ankle ailment early in the year, and was lost for good in Week 12 when he tore his left triceps. His absence opened a void at right tackle. Newhouse wasn't very good backing him up. Boling was serviceable there but it wasn't ideal for the Bengals to take him off his usual left guard post. The position was a little unsettled until Winston's late-season signing.
Play of the year: It's hard to single out one particular play for an offensive line or offensive lineman, but there were two key drives that were the unit's best. The first came at home against Baltimore in Week 8 when the Bengals trailed by four with four minutes remaining. They marched 80 yards in three minutes. The drive was catalyzed by a third-and-10 conversion on a difficult 53-yard catch by Mohamed Sanu, but from there, quarterback Andy Dalton and the line took over. Eventually making it near the goal line, the Bengals ran three straight plays before calling a sneak on fourth down that got Dalton in for the pivotal go-ahead score. Against Cleveland seven weeks later in a 30-0 win, the line helped push back Browns defenders throughout a run-heavy, 14-play drive that took nearly nine minutes.
Necessary improvements: The most glaring issue for the Bengals' offensive line has to do with the swing tackle spot. After Anthony Collins signed with Tampa Bay in free agency last year, Cincinnati signed Newhouse to fill that role. He didn't play as well as the Bengals hoped, and it appears that with his one-year deal expiring, Newhouse won't be back next year. So the Bengals have to identify his replacement and start gearing up for the future at the position. There's a good chance Winston will be back to play swing tackle in 2015, but he and Whitworth are over 30, and Smith enters free agency next year. It wouldn't be a surprise if the Bengals drafted a tackle to start preparing for life without one or more of the veterans.