The Bengals should draft for Offense

[blueridge]

It seems to be a given that the Bengals will concentrate on defensive players in the draft. This, however, would be a mistake. Sure, the defense struggled last season, but it wasn't because the Bengals didn't have talented young defensive players. We have enough of those. They just need seasoning and opportunity. WE NEED OFFENSE! The strength of Bengals is their offensive unit. Their best players are on the offense. Yet that offense was only ranked in the middle of the pack in the significant categories,e.g. yardage and scoring, and was too inconsistent. Even the passing game struggled when we absolutely needed it, e.g. Falcons, Ravens 1, Buccaneers, Patriots et al. There is much room for improvement. And we need better offensive players at RB, TE, back-up QB and third/fourth WRs. The Bengals offense is close to being the kind of elite unit that will win a lot of games and contend for championships. At least, it is much closer than the defense. Lets face it, the Bengals don't have the nucleus of an elite defense. At best, we can hope for a moderate-to-pretty good mid-pack defense. But that's good enough if the Bengals' offense makes the next step forward to becoming an elite league-leading unit. That is a reasonable goal and we are well on our way. To accomplish that the Bengals need to draft offensive weapons.The Bengals are in desperate need of a pass catching TE such as Greg Olsen or Zach Miller.Indeed, in view of Chris Henry's impending crucifixion by the boy-band commisioner, the acquisition of another valid redzone target is essential. Another RB to complement Rudi is also a high priority;the often injured Chris Perry simply cannot be relied upon. IMHO,the players to target on day 1 of the draft are Olsen, Miller, Marshawn Lynch, Lorenzo Booker and, maybe, Dwayne Jarrett.

[ChadJohnson-85]

WTF?!? When Monkeys fly out of my a$$! If we draft any offensive player on the first day (which will not happen) I think i'll go suicide.

[Stripes]

The defense does indeed already have a collection of young talents..... but so does the offense, tenfold.

Draft defense.

[Sundance_Kid]

I don't think we should draft an offensive player... but I believe the offense is just as much to blame as the defense and coaching (as per the 'Enquirer' poll)

We need more defensive playmakers...

[ShulaSteakhouse]

I will never, ever complain about drafting a sure-fire O-lineman in the 1st or 2nd round.

I don't care if they're drafted as back-ups.

Gimme 6 great o-lineman and I'll make even Rod Dayne and Akili Smith into perennial pro bowlers, and will score points and keep your defense off the field all day long bitches!

[hrod382]

At offense we have weak links at.... nowhere. You could say Center is mildly iffy but Ghiaciuc and Wilkerson will be more than suitable.

However on defense....

Landon is what he is, he's peaked and is merely average so WLB is a spot for improvement.

DJax isn't exactly spectacular and certainly isn't young so SS can be improved.

If/When we replace Deltha do you really want Keiwan at the 2nd CB spot? CB must be addressed day one.

We have no one on defense that can make plays. Joseph is already one of our best defenders but a CB isn't exactly going to be a playmaker.

The offense wasn't perfect last year but much of it had to do with injuries on the Oline and Carson being out of sync. I do agree about the drafting of Oline. If we managed Kalil the center out of USC I wouldn't be angry, I'd rather see defense but without our Oline we will struggle.

[redsbengalsbucks]

Since this post is obviously an attempt to bring out the other side and build up replies , due to the utter non-sense being spewed forth: here is my reply, no day one offense and no TE in the draft. WE NEED playmakers on the D.

[JoePong]

I would take a franchise RB or a stud TE like Zach Miller. Those are the two things this offense lacks right now. And you can never go wrong with a top notch lineman.

But we need some players on defense. Our first two picks should be for the defensive secondary-a CB and a safety-the order depending on who is available. Then maybe a big DT in round 4. We should only take a LB if a great, can't miss, big playmaking LB falls to us. Otherwise, he'll just get lost in the shuffle with all our other young guys and won't really improve our team.

[HairOnFire]

I think you can make a case for drafting any position, offense or defense, depending on what you do with the rest of your picks. That said, you can't seriously make a case for drafting..."RB, TE, back-up QB and third/fourth WRs."

[GregCook]

If they draft on O on day one, the guy has to start. Name an offensive position that a rookie can take?

Right, none.

However name a position on D that a rookie could take. Yeah, more than a couple.

[JoePong]

Running back. A rookie RB could definitely start.

[Stripes]

Running back. A rookie RB could definitely start.

Disagreed.

I went over to nfl.com and compared the stats of the most productive running backs (on the ground) in the league over the last three seasons. I included LaDainian Tomlinson, Tiki Barber, Shaun Alexander, Rudi Johnson and Edgerrin James. Among those players, Rudi ranks 1st in carries, 4th in yards, and 3rd in touchdowns.

Larry Johnson would also obviously be in this discussion, but he has only been a starter for a season and a half. Clinton Portis too, but his injury hurt his production.

Carries:

1. Rudi Johnson - 1,039

2. Edgerrin James - 1,031

3. LaDainian Tomlinson - 1,026

4. Tiki Barber - 1,006

5. Shaun Alexander - 975

Yards:

1. Tiki Barber - 5,040

2. LaDainian Tomlinson - 4,612

3. Shaun Alexander - 4,472

4. Rudi Johnson - 4,221

5. Edgerrin James - 4,213

Touchdowns:

1. LaDainian Tomlinson - 63

2. Shaun Alexander - 50

3. Rudi Johnson - 36

4. Edgerrin James - 28

5. Tiki Barber - 27

Keep in mind, these aren't overall NFL rankings over the past three years... just those among these five players. Rudi is comparable to all of them. His YPC statistic might not be quite as impressive, but I think that stat is more dependant on offensive line play than any other. Edgerrin James agrees.

[Kazkal]

2008 is the year we find a RB to be future behind Rudi,it has strong junior/senior class.

I will never, ever complain about drafting a sure-fire O-lineman in the 1st or 2nd round.

I don't care if they're drafted as back-ups.

Gimme 6 great o-lineman and I'll make even Rod Dayne and Akili Smith into perennial pro bowlers, and will score points and keep your defense off the field all day long bitches!

what about Dline give me a ngata and kyle gregg,Ngata,pryce and suggs

LaDainian Tomlinson, Tiki Barber, Shaun Alexander, Rudi Johnson and Edgerrin James. Among those players, Rudi ranks 1st in carries, 4th in yards, and 3rd in touchdowns.

Where does he rank on yards per carrie? He's also one of few RB's who doesn't have a solid RB behind him...but I'm still happy with Rudi we don't need need a replacement for him this year just change of pace 3rd down guy....2008 though we probbley should start looking at young RB's

[Stripes]

Where does he rank on yards per carrie?

I did some quick math, and his YPC through those three seasons is just under 4.1. That's probably 4th among those five players, ahead of Edgerrin James (just eyeballing it though).

He's also one of few RB's who doesn't have a solid RB behind him...but I'm still happy with Rudi we don't need need a replacement for him this year just change of pace 3rd down guy....2008 though we probbley should start looking at young RB's

No argument there. A less injury proned version of Chris Perry would be wonderful for this offense.

[Kazkal]

Only if we could put Chris Perrys talent in Quincy,then Pollacks brain in Odells body,We'd be set mikey stop being cheap and get er done!

[DC_Bengals_Fan]

If they draft on O on day one, the guy has to start. Name an offensive position that a rookie can take?

Right, none.

However name a position on D that a rookie could take. Yeah, more than a couple.

I would say the only guys on D at this point that shouldn't have their jobs taken by a first round pick are Justin, JohnJoe, and Jumpy. So I'd estimate "more than a couple" to be "eight."

I'd also ask people to give Rudi some love. It's like people won't be happy until we get a scatback who averages 4.5 YPC but can't punch it in from the goalline.

[HoosierCat]

It's an old debate: do you draft to your weaknesses, or draft to your strengths? There are arguments to be made both ways. On offense, there are strong cases to be made at several positions:

RB: Chris Perry may be done, and even if he isn't he hasn't shown he can stay healthy a whole season. Bratkowski clearly wants to feature a pass-catching back out of the backfield (versus a pass-catching TE) and the scheme is being crippled by Perry's constant absence. Really, a speedy No. 2 RB who can catch is probably the Os biggest need.

TE: Given the way they don't feature it in thre passing game, the position probably doesn't warrant a day 1 pick, but at this point we got Kelly and a bunch o' undrafted FAs and PS players. And the guy they wanted to put into the pass-catching TE role after Schobel left, Tab Perry, is coming off a nasty injury and who knows how much of him comes back?

WR: Tab is a question mark, Henry looks like he will miss several games, perhaps as many as 8, neither Chad nor Housh are spring chickens anymore, and the rest are largely untested, except for Chatman. And he'll be a FA after this year, I believe.

O-line: A day 2 pick on a guard would not surprise me in the least. Stacy seems poised to leave after this season, and Big Willie is old, old, old.

TE, WR and o-line can likely be addressed on day 2, if they feel the need. But it wouldn't surprise me in the least to see them pull the trigger on day 1 on a RB to replace Perry.

[BengalszoneBilly]

Gimme 6 great o-lineman and I'll make even Rod Dayne and Akili Smith into perennial pro bowlers, and will score points and keep your defense off the field all day long bitches!

The other side of the coin to that concept is that they can do the same to us when they get the stinkin' ball! Hello...McFly!!!

DRAFT SOME DEFENSIVE PLAYMAKERS!!

[kayaker0678]

I am not sure if he has been signed yet or not what about bringing in Ahman Green if he comes at bargin basement price

[Kirkendall]

I am not sure if he has been signed yet or not what about bringing in Ahman Green if he comes at bargin basement price

He's in Houston.

[JoePong]

Running back. A rookie RB could definitely start.

Disagreed.

I went over to nfl.com and compared the stats of the most productive running backs (on the ground) in the league over the last three seasons. I included LaDainian Tomlinson, Tiki Barber, Shaun Alexander, Rudi Johnson and Edgerrin James. Among those players, Rudi ranks 1st in carries, 4th in yards, and 3rd in touchdowns.

Larry Johnson would also obviously be in this discussion, but he has only been a starter for a season and a half. Clinton Portis too, but his injury hurt his production.

Carries:

1. Rudi Johnson - 1,039

2. Edgerrin James - 1,031

3. LaDainian Tomlinson - 1,026

4. Tiki Barber - 1,006

5. Shaun Alexander - 975

Yards:

1. Tiki Barber - 5,040

2. LaDainian Tomlinson - 4,612

3. Shaun Alexander - 4,472

4. Rudi Johnson - 4,221

5. Edgerrin James - 4,213

Touchdowns:

1. LaDainian Tomlinson - 63

2. Shaun Alexander - 50

3. Rudi Johnson - 36

4. Edgerrin James - 28

5. Tiki Barber - 27

Keep in mind, these aren't overall NFL rankings over the past three years... just those among these five players. Rudi is comparable to all of them. His YPC statistic might not be quite as impressive, but I think that stat is more dependant on offensive line play than any other. Edgerrin James agrees.

That's great dude. Unfortunately this isn't fantasy football. If it was, those meaningless stats might actually matter. You can have a one-dimensional RB that puts up good stats yet still totally puts limitations on what an offense can do and keeps it from reachng its full potential.

[brau09]

if our defense can't stop anybody why should we use a first round pick and put more money into a top 5 offense? that absolutely makes no sense to me what so ever. plus don't forget most of the reason our offense was in the middle of the pack last year was because of the injuries to the o-line, if the line stayed healthy and kept carson upright more than he was it would have been a diff't year.

[Kazkal]

Well that and he missed most of the offseason,plus we want our defense at some point or atleast get players who can create alot of turnovers ala Odell and Jjoe when he learns to catch.Are you telling me you'd rather have taken Marcedes Lewis last year over Jjoe (he was the popular O pick for us)

[Stripes]

That's great dude. Unfortunately this isn't fantasy football. If it was, those meaningless stats might actually matter. You can have a one-dimensional RB that puts up good stats yet still totally puts limitations on what an offense can do and keeps it from reachng its full potential.

I'd say it's Chris Perry limiting the offense, not Rudi Johnson. There's little doubt that Rudi isn't a big threat in the passing game, but I don't think it matters when the third down back is getting a ton of receptions anyways. When Perry is healthy, the offense is much more complete with both players on the field. I don't disagree that there may be better options for us at RB than Rudi, but I don't think any rookies, first rounders or not, would have any opportunity to supplant him. He has simply been too productive.

The statistics may not matter for much on a scoreboard, but they are a valid means of comparing players even given the variables involved.

[Kirkendall]

That's great dude. Unfortunately this isn't fantasy football. If it was, those meaningless stats might actually matter. You can have a one-dimensional RB that puts up good stats yet still totally puts limitations on what an offense can do and keeps it from reachng its full potential.

What does it say for running backs in our history when Rudi is SMOKING those records and people want to string him up as the reason the Bengals can't reach their "full potential"?

Oh, and TDB, stats DO matter on the scoreboard. He has 36 touchdowns in three seasons. Without taking the time to look it up, I believe that's the best on the team.