Another Arizona Cardinal LB ??

[kingwilly]

It is interesting watching NFL Network when they show games from last season. Yesterday they ran summary games from Spet. and I watched AZ vs SEA. AZ's D was not bad, only saw Blackstock on ST, not doing much but hey...

Then they showed TN vs INDY. Odom got good pressure and sacked manning late game, plus collapsed his side enough to give the LB's blitzing a good lane. He reminds me of a slightly less talented Simeon Rice. BTW, Vanden Bosch is what Justin wishes he was.

Then I watched the CLE vs CIN shootout. Boy, was it telling. Justin getting pushed all around, Jamal Lewis exploiting his side and going bananas. Dexter Jackson generally sucking and poor Leon Hall looking green as a granny smith. Jonathan Joseph shied away from hits, probably cause he was still hurt, and Caleb Miller generally way over his head, getting handled by lead blockers and getting burned by Winslow. That D was absolutely awful.

OTOH, Chad looked very sharp, TJ exemplified what "Pro" is all about and guys like Holt and Green looked very sound. Even Tab Perry, befroe he left the game with an injury, looked tough. Rudi ran ok and compared to hw he ran post injury, was better than I recalled.

It was cool to see some of the guys we've landed on games early last year. clearly, al of our memory is subject to selective recall. It was a fun exercise.

[HairOnFire]

I agree. To compare the Odom or Utecht signings to those of guys like Fat Sam, Myers, Marshall and Dexter is just nuts. In the first place, we are talking about two young guys, fresh off their rookie deals, coming into their prime -- not Old Washed Up Dudes. When was the last time the Bengals did that? Seriously, the only example I can think of is Tony Williams.

We've discussed free agent strategy in the past often, and I always point to the Ashley Ambrose example. For several years Ambrose underperformed for the Colts, but in his final season there the light seemed to go on. Indy, perhaps worried that his improved play was just another example of a player turning it on in his final year, didn't fully commit to keeeping Ambrose and eventually lost him in free agency.....giving the Bengals a Pro Bowl cornerback. Whether the Bengals get that type of return from Odom or Utecht the examples seem to fit. Young players just starting to turn it on.

Second, the Bengals are overpaying. Yes, overpaying. Hell, in Odom's case they chased him to the airport and threw money at him until he said yes! No bargain-shopping, "aren't gonna bid against ourselves" lowball mularkey this time around. And they are overpaying for outside talent -- versus their previous habit of ignoring the market while overpaying for dubious in-house talent.

I'm actually a little stunned by the amount of money Utecht is rumored to be getting. Not that I mind much, but if Utecht had been a Bengal and was being offered that type of money this board would be filled with posters admitting that while he's a solid player he's not worth that type of coin. That said, the money actually buys you more than the player. It also buys you the freedom to ignore the TE position in the early rounds of the coming draft.

I don't think the team has gotten a tenth of the credit it deserves for what it's done so far this offseason.

For most Bengal fans I'd say this offseason is still defined by the deals that were attempted but not completed, and those feelings will be hard to ignore if the Colt's match the offer for Utecht. That said, the fact the Bengals managed to fill a starting DE position in free agency is remarkable in itself. Everything else is gravy.