Sign Stacy Andrews now!

[JoePong]

Sounds like he has improved immensely just since last season. He could become a pretty dominant guard. I would hate to lose him to free agency next year, especially after we took the time to develop him.

340 lbs and athletic enough to pull from the left side?

[Kazkal]

I'd like to see us keep stacey he shouldn't be insanely $$$$ and it would let us keep whitworth at tackle.

[AMC]

Is he a restricted or unstricted FA???

Be interesting to see what kind of draft pick they use on the tender if he is indeed a restricted FA....

Does someone have this info?

[HoosierCat]

He was an RFA this season; they hit him with a second round tender, which is why no one tried to steal him (though he did visit with the Jets). He's unrestricted next year.

What it comes down to is, do you believe Stacy is the heir to Willie Anderson at RT? So far, he hasn't shown that, at least in games. However, he has shown he can be effective inside at guard. But unless the Bengals feel Stacy is a tackle, then they will be outbid for his services next March. The going rate for starting guards has skyrocketed, as we saw earlier this year, and the Bengals are philosophically opposed to paying top dollar for inside linemen.

Bottom line, if Andrews shows he can be a starting guard, then he'll be gone after this season. In that case, look for the team to slide Whitworth inside and then draft an OT or OG in the first two rounds of the '08 draft.

[JoePong]

He was an RFA this season; they hit him with a second round tender, which is why no one tried to steal him (though he did visit with the Jets). He's unrestricted next year.

What it comes down to is, do you believe Stacy is the heir to Willie Anderson at RT? So far, he hasn't shown that, at least in games. However, he has shown he can be effective inside at guard. But unless the Bengals feel Stacy is a tackle, then they will be outbid for his services next March. The going rate for starting guards has skyrocketed, as we saw earlier this year, and the Bengals are philosophically opposed to paying top dollar for inside linemen.

Bottom line, if Andrews shows he can be a starting guard, then he'll be gone after this season. In that case, look for the team to slide Whitworth inside and then draft an OT or OG in the first two rounds of the '08 draft.

I don't think the Bengals showed that they are philosophically opposed to paying top dollar to inside limnemen. They just showed they did not want to do it for an inside lineman who is undersized and often gets physically man handled at the line of scrimmage and pushed into the back field, especially when they had a couple guys on the roster who are more than capable of replacing him. I think you are making a big assumption just because Steinbach did not fit into their plans.

[HoosierCat]

I think you are making a big assumption just because Steinbach did not fit into their plans.

No, I'm not. You're just ignoring reality.

http://www.bengals.com/news/news.asp?story_id=5912

Bechta also said he would have taken $5.2 million per year from the Bengals, but said he knew as early as October any deal was dead. He has worked extensively with the Bengals front office, including executive vice president Katie Blackburn, director of business development Troy Blackburn, and vice president of player personnel Paul Brown that included Steinbach's rookie contract and says he's had a good experience.

"There was just a philosophical difference on the part of management on what to pay Eric as opposed to other positions," Bechta said. "Even though we couldn't get it done, Katie, Troy and Paul have done nothing but treat me with respect and I walked away with a positive feeing about them."

They won't pay Andrews either, unless it's as a tackle.

[Kazkal]

Bottom line, if Andrews shows he can be a starting guard, then he'll be gone after this season. In that case, look for the team to slide Whitworth inside and then draft an OT or OG in the first two rounds of the '08 draft.

Eh,They alrdy slid whitworth in at guard just injury's haven't allowed him to play it,(I know you know just restating)...I really hope they do kick whitworth outside longterm I think he'd be another franchise tackle after willie retires.

[HoosierCat]

Bottom line, if Andrews shows he can be a starting guard, then he'll be gone after this season. In that case, look for the team to slide Whitworth inside and then draft an OT or OG in the first two rounds of the '08 draft.

Eh,They alrdy slid whitworth in at guard just injury's haven't allowed him to play it,(I know you know just restating)...I really hope they do kick whitworth outside longterm I think he'd be another franchise tackle after willie retires.

Actually, the Bengals have said over the last day or two that the LG spot is Stacy's; if Levi can go at LT, Whitworth will sit as the first backup to both spots.

Whit was projected as a RT before the draft; given time to learn the spot I'm sure he could play it just fine. But these days it's a question of which breaks first, Levi's knees or Willie's feet?

[Kazkal]

True that,Whitworth kinda got screwed with the injury's at tackle but mybe not since it will let him contrite on playing tackle.

No doubt on Levi's leg I just pray they hold up

[JoePong]

I think you are making a big assumption just because Steinbach did not fit into their plans.

No, I'm not. You're just ignoring reality.

http://www.bengals.com/news/news.asp?story_id=5912

Bechta also said he would have taken $5.2 million per year from the Bengals, but said he knew as early as October any deal was dead. He has worked extensively with the Bengals front office, including executive vice president Katie Blackburn, director of business development Troy Blackburn, and vice president of player personnel Paul Brown that included Steinbach's rookie contract and says he's had a good experience.

"There was just a philosophical difference on the part of management on what to pay Eric as opposed to other positions," Bechta said. "Even though we couldn't get it done, Katie, Troy and Paul have done nothing but treat me with respect and I walked away with a positive feeing about them."

They won't pay Andrews either, unless it's as a tackle.

Yeah, that was for Steinbach. It's a totally different scenario.

[HoosierCat]

Yeah, that was for Steinbach. It's a totally different scenario.

Nope. It's not about Steiny. It's about the money and where they feel they need to spend it. I'll let Hobson explain.

Q:Not signing Eric S. is to me a big mistake. He's been an alternate in the last two Pro Bowls, he's only 27 and he rarely is hurt. With Carson's injury last year I believe (call me stupid) that Carson needs the best protection possible, and letting Eric go to free agency is just doing the wrong thing. Please make sense of this.

--Anthony L, Woodinville, WA

ANTHONY: Protecting Palmer is the reason Steinbach is gone. They're paying their tackles top five money at their positions. At some point they have to spread their money around. Like on defense.

No question that Steinbach is an elite player, but they've made a pretty solid football-business decision. The best pass rushers come from the outside—ends and linebackers—and they have to be blocked by your best pass protectors and those are your tackles and the Bengals have two of the best and most expensive.

Because of that, the Bengals can't give Steinbach close to what he'd get on the market but they've got a more than able replacement in Andrew Whitworth. He's cheaper, younger, and while he may not be a Pro Bowler yet, the drop-off isn't hellacious.

Yeah, it's tough to lose a durable, versatile, good guy like Steinbach. But it's life under the salary cap. You can't pay everybody, and the ones you do pay big are the guys that do it on the edge instead of inside: Tackles, wideouts, pass rushers and cornerbacks.

[kingwilly]

Yeah, that was for Steinbach. It's a totally different scenario.

Nope. It's not about Steiny. It's about the money and where they feel they need to spend it. I'll let Hobson explain.

Q:Not signing Eric S. is to me a big mistake. He's been an alternate in the last two Pro Bowls, he's only 27 and he rarely is hurt. With Carson's injury last year I believe (call me stupid) that Carson needs the best protection possible, and letting Eric go to free agency is just doing the wrong thing. Please make sense of this.

--Anthony L, Woodinville, WA

ANTHONY: Protecting Palmer is the reason Steinbach is gone. They're paying their tackles top five money at their positions. At some point they have to spread their money around. Like on defense.

No question that Steinbach is an elite player, but they've made a pretty solid football-business decision. The best pass rushers come from the outside—ends and linebackers—and they have to be blocked by your best pass protectors and those are your tackles and the Bengals have two of the best and most expensive.

Because of that, the Bengals can't give Steinbach close to what he'd get on the market but they've got a more than able replacement in Andrew Whitworth. He's cheaper, younger, and while he may not be a Pro Bowler yet, the drop-off isn't hellacious.

Yeah, it's tough to lose a durable, versatile, good guy like Steinbach. But it's life under the salary cap. You can't pay everybody, and the ones you do pay big are the guys that do it on the edge instead of inside: Tackles, wideouts, pass rushers and cornerbacks.

See, to me, this kind of answer is logical in philosphy but crap in application. They are paying Bobbie Williams pretty good ching...How about we free up some cash and dump Jeremi Johnson?? Highest paid FB in the NFL my azz...

If they wanted to keep steiny, they could have done it...or at least planned better for it.

The part of the answer that really chaps me is when he explains the money needs to be spread around on the defense...on what BRob? Deltha??? Don't get me wrong, Deltha CAN perform but will he??? Did we make a play for a Dre Bly with the cash we didn't spend on Steiny? No.

We all know why stieny was cut, philosphically, but with how much under the cap they are and the LACK of "spreading it around" on Defense, the practical reason is very obvious. The reason is because the Bengals are, to use an expression from my grandpa, a bird team, you know, Cheap-Cheap!

[HoosierCat]

See, to me, this kind of answer is logical in philosphy but crap in application. They are paying Bobbie Williams pretty good ching...How about we free up some cash and dump Jeremi Johnson?? Highest paid FB in the NFL my azz...

Well, everything is relative. The highest-paid FB still comes pretty cheap. As for Bobbie, the extension he signed was worth $10 million over 3 years -- decent money, but the way guards are getting paid these days, Andrews will be in for a much bigger payday if he shows the right stuff this year.

The part of the answer that really chaps me is when he explains the money needs to be spread around on the defense...on what BRob? Deltha??? Don't get me wrong, Deltha CAN perform but will he??? Did we make a play for a Dre Bly with the cash we didn't spend on Steiny? No.

That's a reference to Justin. Now, could the Bengals have played some cap games and kept both? Of course...but we all know that's not how the team does business. If Stacy does stand out, and they change their ways and decide it's worth paying for guards (which, given what they've invested in Carson makes sense to me) I'll be thrilled. But I'm not counting on it.

Oh well. Plenty of time to plow over that ground early next year, right?

[JoePong]

We didn't pay big money to keep Steinbach for the same reason we didn't pay big money to keep Jon Kitna. Just becasue they didn't pay to keep Kitna around doesn't mean they don't place much value on the QB position.

Steinbach performed pretty well, but he had some holes in his game and the future was sitting behind him on the bench, just like it was with Kitna.

[ShulaSteakhouse]

So we're assuming Andrews is "the future" based on a couple of preseason games, and think he should be re-signed already?

Hmm.

[Kazkal]

Yeah, that was for Steinbach. It's a totally different scenario.

Nope. It's not about Steiny. It's about the money and where they feel they need to spend it. I'll let Hobson explain.

-Well depends how much they think Dancing Bear will cost them if it's a affordable contract (not 30-50million) I could see them working something out.

Q:Not signing Eric S. is to me a big mistake. He's been an alternate in the last two Pro Bowls, he's only 27 and he rarely is hurt. With Carson's injury last year I believe (call me stupid) that Carson needs the best protection possible, and letting Eric go to free agency is just doing the wrong thing. Please make sense of this.

--Anthony L, Woodinville, WA

---Wait Carson needs the best protection possible so we resign the guy who was blocking both guy's who injured Carson?

I could be wrong but wasn't it Steinbach who was blocking Seymour when carson got Injured? wasn't it Steinbach who was blocking kimo when he took out Carson's leg? isn't it steinbach who we had to wrench when ever he was pit against a powerful DLinemen?Steinbach was a Great pulling guard and solid pass protector vs not powerful Dlinemen....

PS,Plus we have 2 Athletic 340 lb Walls to replace him with ya they might not be as athletic as he was but for 340 lb linemen their pretty freaking athletic and this may downgrade our pulling guard plays but overall I really don't think will miss steinbach much this season.Richie on the other hand will see .

[kingwilly]

We didn't pay big money to keep Steinbach for the same reason we didn't pay big money to keep Jon Kitna. Just becasue they didn't pay to keep Kitna around doesn't mean they don't place much value on the QB position.

Steinbach performed pretty well, but he had some holes in his game and the future was sitting behind him on the bench, just like it was with Kitna.

That is a terrible analogy.

maybe you can explain to us what Steiny's holes were? uh, that would be just about none...

sorry, this thread is not about Steiny, so I have taken this topic of track.

I do not have a problem with them trying to re-sign Andrews...but he just has not even started a full season. He has all the talent and ability you could want. his job now is to fulfill that potential any way he can.

Hossier, plenty of time to plow ground is correct. Let's all be ready to savor the contract year performance that Justin is about to show us.

[HoosierCat]

Yeah, that was for Steinbach. It's a totally different scenario.

Nope. It's not about Steiny. It's about the money and where they feel they need to spend it. I'll let Hobson explain.

-Well depends how much they think Dancing Bear will cost them if it's a affordable contract (not 30-50million) I could see them working something out.

Well, that's the $64,000 Question here, isn't it?

Right now, Stacy has no particular reason to rush into a new deal, unless he's offered one of the $7 million/year variety other top-end guards are getting. And even if they wanted to, the Bengals don't have the cap space to do such a deal at the moment. On top of that, Stacy has already been wined & dined by one team, the Jets, and I'm sure they made it clear they looked forward to chatting with him next March.

If, for some strange reason, Stacy came to the Bengals and said he'd sign a deal for, say, $4 million/year, I agree with Pong: sign him! Yes it's a risk but if it pays off you have a starting guard for half the going rate.

[DC_Bengals_Fan]

We didn't pay big money to keep Steinbach for the same reason we didn't pay big money to keep Jon Kitna. Just becasue they didn't pay to keep Kitna around doesn't mean they don't place much value on the QB position.

Steinbach performed pretty well, but he had some holes in his game and the future was sitting behind him on the bench, just like it was with Kitna.

Wait - where's the #1 overall pick we have pencilled in at G? I'd love to find one if they have one hidden at Georgetown. You toss Kitna because you have Palmer. We don't have someone better than Steinbach to plug in at his position. Now that's not to say they should have paid him what he was asking, but that's a different question.

[Kazkal]

maybe you can explain to us what Steiny's holes were? uh, that would be just about none...

Undersized,Was over powered easily when you look at who's man injured Carson or taking knee shot's at Carson it was normally who ever was able to overpower Steinbach. Steinbach was a great pulling guard though his pass protection skills seemed more suited for the outside where his speed and athleticism would pay off better then the inside.Steinbach was a great guard but he still left much to be desired and I'm sorry I just don't wanna give a guy a 50 million dollar contract to let guys kill Carson's knee's.

Wait - where's the #1 overall pick we have pencilled in at G?

Well we had 2nd rounder penciled in till our OT's got banged up.

[hrod382]

Bottom line... Guards are replacable. I could see them parting ways with Williams though and moving Andrews to RG... He's a beast, granted, Williams has a sweet contract from a front office standpoint.

[GregCook]

Rule Number 1 in Bengaldom: Protect the QB.

What if Willie can't play this year? He'll be 32 next year? Sign Stacy, if possible, to a long term deal this year. Never violate rule number 1.