The Facts: It was a disastrous 2015 for Hill, who aside from having an about-face in production between the goal lines, also had that late fumble in the playoff loss to Pittsburgh. His mission this offseason has been to bury the season and to focus on making 2016 his best yet.
Diehards Line:
One year after averaging 5.1 yards per carry as a rookie, Hill picked up just 3.6 in 2015. As ESPN.com's Coley Harvey suggested, he seemed to out-think himself at times, regularly missing holes at the line of scrimmage that he had hit with swift decisiveness the season before. Though Hill might have brought the Bengals' overall yards-per-carry average down, the entire backfield will be tasked with improving that total. The Bengals' yards-per-rush numbers in 2015 were at their second-lowest point in the past five seasons, according to ESPN Stats & Information. How much new OC Ken Zampese runs the ball and the types of plays he designs for his backs to carry it will be key this season. But regardless, expect the Bengals' rushing average to climb back into the 4.0 range this season. Why? Because on the surface it appears the Bengals will need to run the ball more effectively because of uncertainty at the pass-catching spots behind No. 1 receiver A.J. Green and tight end Tyler Eifert. And Hill sounds like a player determined to put 2015 behind him.