ArmyBengal

That’s worth a lot actually. Cannot wait to see how Katie manages these big deal coming up. Hope she works some magic !!

Yes please…

That would be shocking at this point, but not something I would all together dislike. Not sure about paying him top of the market, but if the team wants to go there, that's their call. Maybe Bell is the one on the outs then? I could find far greater things to be upset about then having Jessie Bates and Dax Hill on the field at the same time.

Mem's seal of approval. I'm good. Send in the card.

Wow, that's a nice comparison. Glad to see my thoughts are shared elsewhere. Like I said, I haven't seen the kid play, but you guys had me looking at prospects when I had some time last evening. HOLY SHIT, just noticed they suggest taking him in the first round. That's the first time I've seen anyone suggest that. Most have him as a late second, early third kind of guy. Guess my thoughts aren't all together up to speed huh ?? Well, 28 huh ?? I would have to think about that, but I do like the kid. He's on my list of players I really like to this point. He's like one of my all time favorite Bengals, Geno Atkins. Just 20 lbs lighter. 280 is light for an interior rusher, but whatever.

You guys had me thinking some more about the pass rush yesterday and while I don't think a DE makes sense when looking at the roster, the interior would certainly be a way to improve that aspect. DJ Reader is obviously a beast and while I like BJ Hill and Zach Carter (Hell I like Tupou) they aren't the "game changer" that demands being accounted for in the interior of the D-line. So my line of thought is to add DT to the mix in regards to those first couple picks. That brings me to OT, CB and DT. OT is a lock for one of those first two picks and the other would be between CB and DT. There are TE's to like, but that's a deep TE class in this draft. This made me go looking at the DT's in this draft class and I would think both the top 2 (currently) Carter and Bresee will be top half of first guys, the next 3 could be in play for the Bengals. Baylor's Ika, who is just a massive human being, Florida's Dexter is a super tall DT, and Pittsburgh's Kancey is an explosive smaller guy. Ika's size 6'4, 351 is appealing as a space eater, but his production as a pass rusher is almost non-existant. Dexter being a 6'6 DT looks more like a DE, but would need to drop some weight and is also not a great pass rush guy. Then you have Kancey, the undersized DT. However, when looking at his production from a pass rush perspective, it's night and day. In 3 years (33 games) he has 34.5 tackles for loss and 16 sacks. Then I went and watched some of his highlights, as I can't say that I watched him play this season, and whoa. That's the kind of disruption that, when paired with Reader, would absolutely wreck an o-line. Not only that, it would free up both Hendrickson and Hubbard in having to account for this dude. Not sure if anyone else has looked into these guys, but if you are all in on improving the pass rush, THIS GUY should be at or near the top of that list. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-Snhj5PX8s

Stupid short arms !!

Well, if they do resign Burrow this off season and his signing doesn't have a huge year one impact to the cap, as seen by other contracts, they still may surprise with a free agent move or two. Don't get me wrong, I'm not calling for a couple of high profile players, just what we have seen in recent years. Solid players or better than may want to come here now. This is the magic of Burrow. Just like free agents asking Humphries if the Ravens are going to sign L. Jackson. While players want to get paid, they want to win. I'm not all pumped up about the off season and the draft, but come the beginning of April, I'm going to be "all in" giddy about 2023. I just need a nap.

Oh hell, I totally forgot about Anderson. You never know though. At least Bates and maybe both him and Bell go. Depth would be needed. Honestly, I would have no issue with a DE if "that guy" just happened to fall and he presented a better option, but the more I look at the roster, the less I think they pull the trigger there. I have been all in on an OT or CB with our first couple picks for a while. I'm just now getting more into the draft and like I said, it's bound to change. April is a long way off in what can happen with draft boards and rankings.

Not going to go way in depth with each of these players, but I was messing around with a mock today and had this fall into my lap. 1st- Peter Skoronski, OT, Northwestern: Gift from God to fall this far and is starting RT for 2023 and possible more to LT in 2024. 2nd- Dalton Kincaid, TE, Utah: Another gift falling to here. Watch this kids highlights and tell me he doesn't look like Hunter Hurst. LOVE this kid. 3rd- Mazi Smith, DT, Michigan: Presented as BPA with no DE worthy of this pick. Very nice to add to the interior rotation. 4th- Garrett Williams, CB, Syracuse: Another player I love and think he gets reps in his rookie season. I expect him to rise up the board. 5th- Jay Ward, S, LSU: Yes, another LSU guy, but needed depth with Bates going to leave and Bell an unknown. 6th- Dontay Demus, WR, Maryland: Had an injury early in 2021, but is a big body WR and worth the risk of a 6th. 7th- Gabe Wallace, OG, Buffalo: Because why not have a late round o-line depth guy that's pretty damn big? I know, we didn't come away with a DE, but I'm not even sure they go that route to be honest with Hubbard, Hendrickson, Ossai and others on board. You come away with two starters, three really good depth pieces with potential, and a couple of projects. I will take that. Honestly, I would take hitting on only one as long as it's an OT.

It would be great to see him sign a retirement deal with the Bengals for a day or whatever it is and have a proper send off from a Bengals crowd during the home opener. While understanding that AJ is a lowkey guy, that would be an event he and his family could look back on for a lifetime. Something they would never forget. The fans and stadium would be going crazy to kick off the 2023 season. I know I wouldn't miss it.

Happy for AJ and wish he would have been able to find his way to a team that would have gotten him a championship. Good luck to him in all he does post-NFL !!

Now things can always change, but at this point, Ringo falling to 60 would come close to modern day miracle. Again, at this point in time, most have him gone in the top half of the first.

Yes, Mixon was incredible in the Buffalo game. It seemed everyone had something extra that game. Too bad it didn’t carry over to the KC game for sure. Again, it won’t bother me if Mixon is back next year. I will root for him just like always. He’s been great in our small suburb of Anderson, showing up to local high school games and interacting with the kids as well. However, if he were to not be brought back, I will simply wish him well and move on. What I won’t be is surprised. Cap savings is but one reason him leaving that would make sense.

I can admit being pissed at Ossai. Matter of fact, the whole way back to the car I kept muttering, “Why are you that close to the QB in that instance?”. Over and over. I was beside myself. I couldn’t believe we lost that game. I truly thought we were going to overtime and that we would have found a way to win. I FELT THAT FOR REAL !! The disappointment was real, to lose the game that way despite blowing opportunities throughout the game. Fucking Ossai !!! It wasn’t until I cooled off and was able to look at it outside of the viewpoint of the fan in the stands, that I was able to grasp what really happened. We still lost the fucking game, but that one play was not the only reason why. Happy to see the leadership from Zac and Ossai’s team mates. Hope he comes back stronger next year. We are going to need him !!

FrankenPratt I found our boy COB. Even better, he’s projected to be an UDFA, so no need to spend a 6th on him. I give you Isaiah Moore, LB, NC State… https://youtu.be/PYzzCl6x1rk

- Yes, Mixon can catch and averages about 20 ypg, while producing 10 TD's over 6 seasons. Nothing special there. - No doubt the o-line hasn't helped him. I've never made any claim about him going elsewhere and not having better numbers. Not sure why that was brought up. He very well may though. - I don't care what the market would be for Mixon if he's not a Bengal. I would simply move on like any other player released. - I don't want any Bengal in Baltimore, because I fucking hate Baltimore. If he would do better there (which he may) than good for them. I just don't care. He won't be carrying that team. - It's not a waste of time when you have the caliber of players the Bengals do and the cap numbers become restrictive to fielding a competitive team. - It cannot be forgotten that a big reason they have so much space is due to all the expired contracts. It's not like they have 40 million with Bates, Bell, Pratt, Perrine and others under contract. Those players need to be replaced AND still have to pay Burrow and others in the near future. Sometimes I think people overlook that aspect of how much space the team really has.

To start, I really don't care that much at this point. If they bring Mixon back (which I expect) I won't be upset. If they cut Mixon in a cap savings move, I won't be upset. I suppose it depends on how people want to define "productive" and Mixon's inconsistency makes that a bit challenging. Are we talking about 2021 production where Mixon ran for 13 TD's and added another 3 receiving ?? Or are we talking about his other 5 seasons where he averaged 5 rushing TD's and another 1 receiving ?? It's things like that which could be causing people to wonder if the team should consider taking the 7 million in cap savings and try to find an upgrade. Again, I don't care all that much, but would like to see a dynamic RB added in the draft no matter what they do with him.

I'm honestly a bit torn on Mixon and think there are many thing to consider with him. Has he lost a step? Is he worth 12 million? Why are they not playing him more? (See 35% of snap in AFCCG) The team can save 7 million in releasing him, but not sure that's the best course at this point. Boyd? It's the last year of his 4 year deal and until 2022 has never made more than 10 million in a season. That dude is just a pro and seemingly makes plays whenever they call his number. I don't want him going anywhere any sooner than necessary. He's just now 28 and I wouldn't mind seeing them extending him at least a couple more years honestly, but that has gotten costly. Last time I looked at market values, Chase is around 25 million, Higgins is around 20 million and Boyd around 15 million. OUCH !!

Going to change my pitch up and smack my bitch up.

Hey Joe… How’s it going ??

Nice knowing you Joe…

Good. Bye Prince...

So much for a "reasonable" contract, allowing the team to continue building the way they have to maintain the success. "Monster contract extension" is going to have massive ripples for them in my opinion. I'm not mad about resigning Burrow in the least. Just the opposite. I'm fucking stoked to know he's going to be around a while. However, I am concerned what that means for the team's ability to sign our other free agents that have been huge for the team. They are really going to have to hit on draft picks more as I see it. I don't see the Reader and Hendrickson contracts in FA soon. That and make better decisions on which players they continue to pay top dollar. Yes, I'm looking at you Mixon. They have always been loyal to a fault and really wish they would stop paying guys 10 million a year when not worth it. I would bet resetting the QB market for Burrow will equal no more Higgins. That makes me very sad.

Nice to hear someone talk up the Center from Minnesota, John Michael-Schmitz. If you have never seen the kid play, do yourself the favor. Not thinking we will be looking for an interior O-lineman that early, but if we were, he'd be it.