Bengals' A.J. Green: 'I want to be a Hall of Famer.'

This isn’t enough.

All of this. Not. Enough.

The screeching shouts of “A.J. Green! A.J. Green!” during training camp. Star status. Six Pro Bowls. A top spot on the pay scale at his position. Being “the guy” on the offense. Endorsement opportunities (and the ability to pass on them). 

Nope.

“There can’t be a day in practice or certainly not a game where his presence isn’t felt,” Bengals wide receivers coach James Urban said. “Everybody in the building, everybody who witnesses it, should know A.J. Green played that day, or practiced that day.

“That’s the mentality.”

To bring that mentality into a reality starts with being first in line for everything on the practice field. And it’s flying a personal trainer from Kentucky to Atlanta on a weekly basis, putting him up in a hotel, and then driving him around different universities in Georgia for individual training sessions.

Work with a purpose.

“It’s special because it’s a choice,” Bengals offensive coordinator Ken Zampese says about watching Green on a daily basis, a smile pulling at the corners of eyes.

“Not everybody makes that choice. That’s why he’s different.”

It’s being told Andrew Whitworth signed in Los Angeles and quietly acknowledging to a friend he’s going to have to have more of a voice in the locker room.

Words with purpose.

“I’ve seen him assert himself this entire offseason, which is great,” Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis said. “That’s what we need from him now.

“He is the best player on the football team. And he’s got to continue to be.”

Making the choice

The coaches have to pick on something. It’s their job, right?

Two years ago in the preseason, Monday Night Football analyst and Super Bowl winning head coach Jon Gruden took apart Green’s route running on some Andy Dalton interceptions. In the regular season, former Bengals offensive coordinator Hue Jackson noted how Green didn’t come back hard enough on a ball that was nearly picked off early in the season.

Green smiles. “Yeah…”

He heard all that.

“Yeah.”

Now, two years later, on the eve of his seventh season, a year after Green had put together arguably the best, first nine games of any season in his career … what can he be better at?

Urban took the mic.

It was during a question-and-answer session at Green’s summer camp in Cincinnati, and the only position coach Green has ever known was drilled by a young camper – what does A.J. Green need to get better at?

There was a pause.

Blocking.

You gotta pick something, right?

Blocking is just a metaphor of the choice Green is making in 2017. So is being conditioned enough to run every route to its exact specification, at the exact speed he feels it should be run at. It’s about picking and choosing when to speak, in the huddle or off the field, so the message resonates.

It’s part of leaving his mark, a handprint, on every game.

“As a leader of this team, the way I work can trickle down to how other people work,” Green said. “You don’t have to be an All-Pro. Just give me what you got. That’s the biggest thing for us. We’ve just got to get every bit out of every guy and I think we’ll be fine.”

Lewis often says you can take a receiver out a contest through coverage and pressure. So, how do you affect it anyway?

“That his energy comes through the football team each and every play,” Lewis said. “Then when they slip up or they make an error, or something’s a little different – then he makes the big play. What he can’t do is get frustrated and then not be ready when his number is called and he does get an opportunity. As a mature player, like he is now, he understands that.”  

A large hand print

There are a group of three other receivers currently in the NFL that float in Green’s orbit. First and foremost is his 2011 draft classmate, Julio Jones. Then there are Antonio Brown and Demaryius Thomas, who entered the league in 2010. That quartet is setting the pace.

Yet it seems like it’s Green who is playing catch up.

“He’s hungry,” Zampese said. “Guys in his position can cruise control it. He’s hungry.”

Part of that hunger is because he’s the only one who hasn’t been to a Super Bowl.

Brown and Jones have earned All-Pro nods, recognition of the elite of the elite, and that pair has led the league in individual receiving categories at various points. Brown, Thomas and Jones all have more catches, yards, touchdowns and playoff wins.

Statistically, Green’s numbers were stunted due to the torn hamstring he suffered at the beginning of his 10th game of the season last year. He was on pace for career highs in catches and yards, and likely would be entering this season ahead of Jones in receptions.

He insists it’s not about that, at least right now.

“I know what I’m capable of,” he said. “I know when the game is on the line and we need a spark play, I’m going to make that play. But we’ve got to be smart about it. Can’t be forcing a lot of things if I’m getting double-covered a lot.

“We just gotta know what we’re great at and gotta work on that. If that’s not getting me the ball 20 times a game, that’s fine with me as long as we’re winning.”

He may not need it 20 times per game, or 1,800 yards for the Bengals to get back to the playoffs, and to get over the hump of winning not just one postseason contest – but get to a Super Bowl. But Green knows that in order for the Bengals to do that, he will undoubtedly accumulate the numbers needed to reach his end goals.

“I want to be a Hall of Famer,” Green said. “I think that’s the ultimate goal and why a lot of people play this game. As a team, it’s winning the Super Bowl and I guess the next step is to get into the Hall of Fame. I think that’s what pushes me every year. I want to be one of the best that ever played the position. That’s my approach every year.”

His good friend, former Detroit wide receiver Calvin Johnson, posted very similar numbers to Green in his first six seasons – save for two All-Pro nods and leading the league in six different receiving categories. Johnson didn’t play much beyond that, however, completing nine seasons and retiring at the age of 30 with his body breaking down.

Green retooled his diet, workout and recovery regimen this offseason as he turned 29 and sets his gaze on the not-too-distant horizon.

It’s where Larry Fitzgerald runs.

Fitzgerald, currently No. 3 all-time in receptions and second all-time among wide receivers, just turned 34 and is entering his 14th year in Arizona.  

“He’s driven by greatness,” Urban said. “So, all things – nearly every decision he makes – is aimed on that slant.”

It’s the kind of hand print Green wants to leave not just on Cincinnati, but the league.

“When I see him every day working, he works like that that’s his main goal,” Bengals wide receiver Brandon LaFell said. “That’s his main goal – other than the goals we have on the field, winning the Super Bowl – he works like he’s trying to be the best in the game. Every day.”