HoosierCat Posted February 14, 2008 Report Share Posted February 14, 2008 Well? Are the Bengals putting us one or will they do it? If so, who?My bet? Change his name to "the Dancing Bull," because Stacy is about to cash in! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC_Bengals_Fan Posted February 14, 2008 Report Share Posted February 14, 2008 None of those guys are worth tagging. I can't even imagine tagging Madieu after he's played lately. Do they break down the tag in the secondary by safety vs. CB? If not, forget about it. If they do, he's still probably not a top-5 safety in the AFC North. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoosierCat Posted February 14, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2008 None of those guys are worth tagging.In the sense of being "worth" the money, probably not. But...they are apparently going to do it, and those three are the prime suspects. I still think Stacy is the best option. If he walks, we're going to have to spend some bucks to get a starting-caliber tackle in FA anyhow -- or dedicate one of those high picks (round 1 or 2) that everyone is screaming to use on defense to the o-line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bengals1 Posted February 14, 2008 Report Share Posted February 14, 2008 Tagging Andrews only makes sense if a long term contract is worked out to supercede the tag.As much as we like him he's simply not worth the same kind of money as the top 5 players at his position. Frankly,none of them are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benny44 Posted February 14, 2008 Report Share Posted February 14, 2008 It will not be Andrews. They will not want to pay him that much. It will #40 Williams. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wraith Posted February 14, 2008 Report Share Posted February 14, 2008 God help us if we tag Justin Smith at $8.8 million. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pidge Posted February 14, 2008 Report Share Posted February 14, 2008 God help us if we tag Justin Smith at $8.8 million.Even God would lose patience with the Bengals if that happened. About keeping Andrews - I hope a deal is worked out but if an Ellis type impact D player is not available for us to pick, then a top tackle prospect would suit me fine in the first. As long as a lineman of either kind is that pick.RB here we come. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HairOnFire Posted February 14, 2008 Report Share Posted February 14, 2008 God help us if we tag Justin Smith at $8.8 million.Even God would lose patience with the Bengals if that happened. Tagging Smith a second time would cost the Bengals 10.3 million, not 8.8. And assuming you could reach an agreement, which seems very unlikely at this point, a long-term deal would cost at least 20 million in signing bonuses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiLBurn Posted February 14, 2008 Report Share Posted February 14, 2008 I'm thinking Andrews as well. More than likely they will use the tag on him and work out a trade with Philadelphia, so he can be with his brother. I'd take a second rounder for him.If Philly doesn't bite, we have a decent backup for Levi or Willie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pidge Posted February 15, 2008 Report Share Posted February 15, 2008 God help us if we tag Justin Smith at $8.8 million.Even God would lose patience with the Bengals if that happened. Tagging Smith a second time would cost the Bengals 10.3 million, not 8.8. And assuming you could reach an agreement, which seems very unlikely at this point, a long-term deal would cost at least 20 million in signing bonuses.Yep and as high energy as he is, he just doesn't deserve that kind of money, IMO. We might lose some tackles and effort without Justin but that $10 million + can be used to make the team stronger overall. It's not like we're only lacking in the front 7. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BengalChamps Posted February 15, 2008 Report Share Posted February 15, 2008 you dont tag players just because you can. You tag them because they're awesome and they deserve it. None of these guys are good enough for that kind of money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoosierCat Posted February 15, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2008 you dont tag players just because you can. You tag them because they're awesome and they deserve it.If that was ever the case, it certainly isn't now. One of the side effects of the big increase in the salary cap over the last few years, especially in the wake of the new CBA, has been to tilt the balance-of-power regarding the franchise tag strongly toward ownership.Back when the cap was tighter and annual increases were smaller, a player receiving the tag did need to be something special, because that tag was eat up most, if not all, of a team's free cap space. Thus there was heavy incentive to get a long-term deal with a lower hit done, and tags were relatively rare.But now, teams can absorb the hit and keep on going. Heck, even if the Bengals were to tag Justin they would still have ~$20 million in cap space, and that's before any player cuts. So these days you see the tag being used to hang on to even average players at positions where a team feels it just can't afford to lose a guy this year.That's a big part of the reason I see Stacy as the most likely target. MW makes no sense to me: the secondary is deep and the impact of his loss would be minor -- if any. Losing Justin would be tougher to deal with, IMHO, but it's time to move on and with Geathers, Rucker and Fanene there is at least a semblance of depth. But the offensive line is a disaster. They let Steinbach go last season, both starting tackles are injury wrecks, Keift gets hurt every time he moves, Bluto is struggling to cut it at center, and if Stacy walks, our depth is Scott Kooistra. Ugh. That's an invitation to get Carson's other knee ripped off. Tagging Stacy gives you an insurance policy on the line, and one more year to judge whether he's really capable of taking Willie's place and thus deserving of a big long-term deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HairOnFire Posted February 15, 2008 Report Share Posted February 15, 2008 Tagging Stacy gives you an insurance policy on the line, and one more year to judge whether he's really capable of taking Willie's place and thus deserving of a big long-term deal. Exactly. My gut tells me that the Bengals would prefer tagging Williams due to the cheaper cost....making it a much more straight forward cost/return sort of debate that doesn't lean as heavily on performance speculation. But my head says tagging Stacy is the smarter move due to the uncertainty at so many OL positions, and the much needed time it buys. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiLBurn Posted February 18, 2008 Report Share Posted February 18, 2008 to the 2 others who correctly picked Stacy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HairOnFire Posted February 18, 2008 Report Share Posted February 18, 2008 to the 2 others who correctly picked Stacy. So, you're the OTHER guy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiLBurn Posted February 18, 2008 Report Share Posted February 18, 2008 to the 2 others who correctly picked Stacy. So, you're the OTHER guy. Yep, anyone else thinking we trade him to Philly? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HairOnFire Posted February 18, 2008 Report Share Posted February 18, 2008 to the 2 others who correctly picked Stacy. So, you're the OTHER guy. Yep, anyone else thinking we trade him to Philly? Not me. I think the move was made soley to keep Andrews a Bengal, and I have no doubts they envision him as a future starter for many years. The real question they face now is if they can secure a long-term contract before the coming season ends....or if they find themselves in this same position a year from now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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