Bengals free agent signing gets notable comments from former coach
· Yahoo Sports
New Cincinnati Bengals edge rusher Boye Mafe was a hot topic of discussion when rumblings from NFL executives went public recently.
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Like Trey Hendrickson before him years ago when he first signed in Cincinnati, Mafe’s body of work before his big contract with the Bengals is a little polarizing.
Mafe’s coaches from his time in Seattle disagree with the negativity, though.
Seattle Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald recently told reporters that Mafe’s two sacks last season aren’t a number to worry about, according to Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic:
“Actual pass-rush stats, pass-rush sacks, are a little overrated,” he said. “Probably the best thing that Boye does is (he) wins early, which (is) something you need. You need to affect the quarterback fast. Can he finish a little bit better? Yeah, absolutely. But to get the quarterback off the spot, somebody else is probably making that play, too. Another guy we were really excited about. We are going to miss him.”
Mafe will be expected to get more wins in Cincinnati, but as hinted above, that’s not necessarily going to show up a certain way on the stat sheet.
What the Bengals really like about Mafe’s game is his quick start off the snap that, indeed, could open up plenty of chances for other guys, if not himself.
And at this point, it’s about the leadership angle too as they still hope for big things from Myles Murphy and Shemar Stewart.
Like with Hendrickson before him, with Mafe, it’s not just about the box score stat sheets.
This article originally appeared on Bengals Wire: Bengals free agent signing gets notable comments from former coach