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Bengals Sign Danny Baugher


HoosierCat

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Not necessarily a replacement, but certainly hedging the bet on Larson leaving in FA and/or demanding another million-plus contract

Just a note, Larson didn't ask for $1.2 million last year, that was the 2nd round RFA tender the Bengals put on him. Which, of course, begs the question: if the bengals weren't prepared to sign him to a top-dollar (for a punter) deal this season, why the big tender in 2007? Why not just sign some minimum salary guy last year and put circa $1 million in cap space to a better use?

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Great, this guy got drunk and beat his dad up at 4am in a fast food parking lot, and was charged, not sure if it's been resolved.

He'll fit right in here.

I know this guy and actually the (trumped-up) news widely reported referred to was not what happened. Yes, he was out late the night he was cut from the Patriots and drew the attention of the local police in that small town. Yet, no charges were ever brought and all was immediately dismissed and no fist fight ever occured, period.

Further, he is and was a great citizen in our community and was voted a team captain in high school, college and with the Rhein Fire in NFL Europe (odd for a punter). He also led NFL Europa last year in gross & net, plus was the first team all league selection there.

He said he liked his time with the Bengals and wished he had been 100% healthy then. He had his knee whacked during sr year when he snagged a blocked punt and then proceeded to run it about forty yards before being tackled hi & low blasting the acl. He had been an all region RB & OLB in high school as well as an all american punter. He was also recruited to college as a saftey before settling on punter. He's a talent there. If the Bengals end up using him, Baugher will shine.

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Great, this guy got drunk and beat his dad up at 4am in a fast food parking lot, and was charged, not sure if it's been resolved.

He'll fit right in here.

I know this guy and actually the (trumped-up) news widely reported referred to was not what happened. Yes, he was out late the night he was cut from the Patriots and drew the attention of the local police in that small town. Yet, no charges were ever brought and all was immediately dismissed and no fist fight ever occured, period.

Further, he is and was a great citizen in our community and was voted a team captain in high school, college and with the Rhein Fire in NFL Europe (odd for a punter). He also led NFL Europa last year in gross & net, plus was the first team all league selection there.

He said he liked his time with the Bengals and wished he had been 100% healthy then. He had his knee whacked during sr year when he snagged a blocked punt and then proceeded to run it about forty yards before being tackled hi & low blasting the acl. He had been an all region RB & OLB in high school as well as an all american punter. He was also recruited to college as a saftey before settling on punter. He's a talent there. If the Bengals end up using him, Baugher will shine.

Thanks for the info. Not reall all that bothered about Larson staying or going. He's an OK punter but nothing special. Although it might be me not knowing what we've got until he's no longer around. He is the holder too. Meh. Either way is fine by me.

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On Lance's blog there was some mention of a lowball opening offer to Larson. So maybe Baugher is just leverage for the negotiations.

Probably right. Plus Kyle didn't exactly have a pro bowl season either.

Frankly, Larson regressed badly last year and should consider himself lucky the Bengals are still interested in bringing him back under any circumstances. His play was far worse than his stats imply, and even those are bad enough. Time and time again he blew opportunities to down the ball inside the 20...often by needlessly crushing the ball into the endzone, and he repeatedly shanked punts when kicking from his own endzone.

As for Baugher, if healthy he's absolutely talented enough to replace Larson should it come to that, and it might. Considering how poorly Larson played last season the Bengals would be well served to leave the lowball offer on the table and see if any other team will better it. One might based upon how well Larson has played previously, but if I'm calling the shots there's no way I offer a big contract to Larson. Not after last season.

And while I'd hesitate to throw money at Larson strictly from a performance angle it should be noted that the Bengals might save 500k or more by letting Larson go.

Last points. Baugher's prior experience here should be seen as a huge plus. Not only is he familiar with Simmons, but the Bengals are familiar with him and the fact that he's being given a 2nd chance to unseat Larson is a measure of proof that they liked some of what he showed earlier.

Finally, I was so disgusted with Larson's performance last season that I've already spent a little time pimping the idea of using a late round draft pick on one of two punt prospects. Sadly, both players put on very good shows during Senior Bowl practices and it was said during the game that both players had improved their stock so dramatically that teams hoping to draft a punter late were going to be disappointed, as both players were now projected to be off the board by the late 4th round. Frankly, I'm still interested in both prospects, but that's a little richer than I want to spend.

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