Why pass on Sweed??

[BengalsDieHard1]

Someone help me. Every scouting service had Sweed much higher than Simpson. And he seems to be a "character" guy and shows a lot of leadership potential. What the hell are these Bengals scouts smoking!!!!! Fire em' all!!!

[duus]

Someone help me. Every scouting service had Sweed much higher than Simpson. And he seems to be a "character" guy and shows a lot of leadership potential. What the hell are these Bengals scouts smoking!!!!! Fire em' all!!!

Wow. Fire 'em all based upon deciding to take a guy that was easily moving up the charts into a 3 round pick by some? Knowing that, if they really felt this guy (Simpson) has so much upside potential, then they likely believed his ceiling is higher than a guy (Sweed) that everyone knows everything about. The most interesting part to all of this is that this will be one that will readily prove itself over the course of the next 2 years since they are on teams in the same division. Should the Chad Johnson thing work itself out somehow, then my gut tells me Simpson will have one of the best route runners around to push him to the potential they think he has. Fire 'em all? Maybe ... but not based upon this pick.

[BengalPappaw]

I was asking myself that same question -- and my only answer was Lima Sweed's wrist injury put some doubt about his health and ability to play immediately -- and to stay on the field during the year.

I've never had much confidence in the Bengals medical staff, so I don't think there was anyone that could remove the doubt about Sweed's health.

I am more comfortable with Simpson after watching him play.

At least we didn't draft someone with a injury that we could not judge whether or not he was ready.

[membengal]

Because they liked the other guy better.

This isn't hard, folks.

[duus]

Because they liked the other guy better.

This isn't hard, folks.

Yep. I think often it is that simple. FOR NOW, I am going to give them the benefit of the doubt that they knew as much about both guys as possible and, as you say, they liked Simpson more. They liked where he has been, is, and has the potential to be. Hard to argue less than 24 hours removed from the selection.

[BengalsDieHard1]

OK, I agree that the jury is still out...benefit of the doubt for now. But if the Bengals pass on one of the three solid round 3 DT prospects: Rubin, Moore, or Sims, and pick some "5th round prospect that they really like", I am really going to lose my damn marbles.

[duus]

OK, I agree that the jury is still out...benefit of the doubt for now. But if the Bengals pass on one of the three solid round 3 DT prospects: Rubin, Moore, or Sims, and pick some "5th round prospect that they really like", I am really going to lose my damn marbles.

BDH, how long have you been a Bengals fan? If I assume from your last post that you still retain your 'marbles', then it cannot be all that long. Mine left me somewhere around 1992. Man, I wish I could find those things again!

[GregCook]

Because they liked the other guy better.

This isn't hard, folks.

Right. From what I can tell, the guy has some physical gifts that none of the other media darlings possess. Such as vertical reach, long arms, big hands and speed.

What is crazy to me is how Malcolm Kelly with his 4.7 speed can be ranked higher than 4th round. Mario Manningham with his personality issues should be no higher than 4th rnd. Limas Sweed just isn't fast, guys like him will be around in the 3 & 4th round.

[GregCook]

Because they liked the other guy better.

This isn't hard, folks.

Right. From what I can tell, the guy has some physical gifts that none of the other media darlings possess. Such as vertical reach, long arms, big hands and speed.

What is crazy to me is how Malcolm Kelly with his 4.7 speed can be ranked higher than 4th round. Mario Manningham with his personality issues should be no higher than 4th rnd. Limas Sweed just isn't fast, guys like him will be around in the 3 & 4th round. These guys are slow enough that quite a few LB's can cover them.

[DontPushMe]

I would have much rather had Sweed but to call this a fireable move is insane. I was really upset about passing on Sweed and even more upset to see him go to the steelers but Simpson has skill, we will see on him. He definitly has the potential to be better than Sweed but IMO he wont be.

[jditty47]

because he was slow. he wasn't explosive and had nothing that stood out. With him, you got what you saw - wasn't developable. We'll see what we passed up cuz the Steelers took him, they seem to do well with slower receivers.

[HoosierCat]

I don't think the question is, why pass on Sweed, it's, if you're going to use your second round pick on a guy who would likely last to the third, if not the fourth or fifth -- why not use it to trump the offer NO made to the Pats instead? NO swapped its third for the Pats' fifth to move up; we could have offered to swap our second for their third (or maybe been both of their 3's!). In which case we could almost certainly have the exact same draft, except with Ellis in the first instead of Rivers.

[HAPPYJAQ]

I'll have to admit. Pre-pick, I was hoping for Sweed, too. Then I remembered, that hs best career year at Texas, was as a Soph., with Vince Young. That also tells me, given Vince's ability at the time he was drafted, was the 9 route. I will also say that deep threats are overated. Three receivers on the field that can run get routes, get open and consistently catch the ball, trump "Deep Threats" all the time. Otherwise, Brazell would be an Pro Bowl type player, as a player who could run a "9" in his sleep but can not catch consistently if his JOB depended on it.

With a 44 -nch vert, 11 inch hands and nearly 11 FOOT LONG JUMP (think about it....I think I remember the NFL network saying that they gave him and extra jump at the combine, just to see if he could break the combine record) 4.45 speed, Simpson has a chance to be SPECIAL. If you had a chance to see the ESPN, hightlight film, he caught passes over the middle with RAC, deep with RAC and in the red-zone 10 yards in, while displaying tremendous athleticism. Other than Avery (for my money), while being 3 inches and 20-25 pounds smaller, no other receiver in this years' draft had the same type of versatility or explosion. Kelly and Sweed will be average NFL receivers and the system is a part of that. Many Steelers fans may remember that 3 years ago, the Steelers drafted a PHENOM named Fred Gibson from GA (must better player in college than Reggie Brown; called Baby Moss in ATL), who didn't even make it out of camp, at 6-4 205 (similar dimensions to Sweed).

Again, my thoughts on that. WHO DEY 4 LIFE!

[membengal]

I assume you all have heard this by now, but apparently there was zero chance that they were getting Simpson in the 3rd round. In fact, Pittsburgh was apparntly set to take Simpson with their 2nd round pick, and only took Sweed because the Bengals had taken Simpson before they could get to him.

For what it's worth...

[alleycat]

With a 44 -nch vert, 11 inch hands and nearly 11 FOOT LONG JUMP (think about it....I think I remember the NFL network saying that they gave him and extra jump at the combine, just to see if he could break the combine record)

Actually, if I remember the combine correctly, they didn't remember anyone ever jumping that far, and gave him the extra jump just to see if he could clear the entire measuring field - 12 FEET!

[Clackwoods]

Someone help me. Every scouting service had Sweed much higher than Simpson. And he seems to be a "character" guy and shows a lot of leadership potential. What the hell are these Bengals scouts smoking!!!!! Fire em' all!!!

You have to be excited about a guy that is 6 1 and can jump over people. The guy has the speed and the jump, plus he has great hands. He was at Coastal Carolina guys and gals, there coaches there aren't very esteemed. With an NFL recievers coach, he will learn how to run routes and I have the feeling this guy will signal the end of Chad Wah Wah. I really liked the draft except for the Shirley pick because the Bengals dont need anymore negative media but if it works out that is great, I read someone comparing him to Tony Saragusa.

[Oldcat]

Someone help me. Every scouting service had Sweed much higher than Simpson. And he seems to be a "character" guy and shows a lot of leadership potential. What the hell are these Bengals scouts smoking!!!!! Fire em' all!!!

You have to be excited about a guy that is 6 1 and can jump over people. The guy has the speed and the jump, plus he has great hands. He was at Coastal Carolina guys and gals, there coaches there aren't very esteemed. With an NFL recievers coach, he will learn how to run routes and I have the feeling this guy will signal the end of Chad Wah Wah. I really liked the draft except for the Shirley pick because the Bengals dont need anymore negative media but if it works out that is great, I read someone comparing him to Tony Saragusa.

In the coach's talk abort the pick, they both said that few WA in college are polished route runners, cause they don't have to be. All of them have to be sharpened up in the pros

[blueridge]

Because the Bengals judged Simpson a better prospect at WR. Simpson has Sweed's athletic ability and better WR receiving attributes. Simpson has similar receiving skills as Malcolm Kelly, but is a better athlete. I really like the Simpson pick more every day. To be honest, when the pick was announced I cringed. Coastal Carolina? I really thought the pick would be Malcolm Kelly. I knew nothing about Jerome Simpson. The small school thing is the biggest rap I have seen against Simpson. It is ironic that the Bengals are often criticized for their small scouting staff, yet when they dig down and find a first-rate prospect at a little known program they are ripped for reaching. Especially by that numbnut Hobson. Tell me, what other team's official website second-guessed the team's picks the way Hobson did? He wrote that the team dipped into the 5th round to take Simpson. Apparently, this 5th round characterization was based on the Drugstore List guy. For my part, I didn't see any other source which graded Simpson that low. Anyway, I think Hobson's draft coverage sucked.

[walzav29]

I can't say I heard of Simpson before the draft, but I will say that none of the other receivers jumped out. Either to slow or character issues. As we have now learned that is very important. Side note TJ is a class act and he is the new #1.

[Jet23]

This is my take, for what it is worth. As much as CJ has become a pain in the a$$, there is no denying his skills. I believe that the Bengals felt that Simpson was the only wr that has enough upside to replace Chad straight up. How good would it look for them to replace Johnson with a 2nd round pick, plus get a first rounder + for him.

[HAPPYJAQ]

Good post. This year, I finally came to the realization that many of the "draft gurus", simply cannot consistently identify NFL talent. ESPN's Mel Kiper may be argurably the best and at least the most well known, and here's what WIKI says about him:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mel_Kiper_Jr.

That said, the draft is always a crapshoot, but high production at major college programs does not always translate to NFL production at WR (see Mike Williams, David Terrell, Charles Rogers, Troy Williamson, Peter Warrick and many other top 10 picks). A lot of people base their opinions on players on whether or not they performed at big-time schools or are "name" players, as John Clayton emphasized in evaluating the Bengals' draft. One thing that is for certain; the Bengals have a track record with drafting and developing WR's that is amongst the best in the league over the past 7-8 years. Simpson and Caldwell give the staff two more hgh-caliber athletes, with college production, to groom for the future. They obviously didn't have as high a grade on Sweed as they did on Simpson and I believe a major factor in grading a WR is his potential 3-4 years from the time they're drafted. It took Chad 2+ years and T.J. 4-5 years before they reached they're potential.

[BengalPimp]

Someone help me. Every scouting service had Sweed much higher than Simpson. And he seems to be a "character" guy and shows a lot of leadership potential. What the hell are these Bengals scouts smoking!!!!! Fire em' all!!!

Sweed had a wrist injury last season, and the games he did play in, he was not impressive at all. Everyone who was evaluating him was basically

doing it off his junior season 2 years ago.

By the way, Sweed was not the best receiver still on the board.......Mario Manningham was.....but he has a Chad like attitude problem.

[redsbengalsbucks]

Someone help me. Every scouting service had Sweed much higher than Simpson. And he seems to be a "character" guy and shows a lot of leadership potential. What the hell are these Bengals scouts smoking!!!!! Fire em' all!!!

Sweed had a wrist injury last season, and the games he did play in, he was not impressive at all. Everyone who was evaluating him was basically

doing it off his junior season 2 years ago.

By the way, Sweed was not the best receiver still on the board.......Mario Manningham was.....but he has a Chad like attitude problem.

My wife is a Wolverines fan, so I watched most of the games last season. Manningham may have put up #'s, but Arrington was a better all around preformer . Manningham takes plays off when he is not involved and sometimes even when he is the primary target, this is not the kind of player I want to see in stripes.

[Ickey44]

I'm a Wolverine fan as well, and I agree.

[walzav29]

http://www.nfl.com/draft/history/fulldraft...mp;round=round1

7 WR's taken before Chad and I'm sure that Chambers was ranked higher than CJ coming out of college. 2 points to this.

1. WR is an inexact science

2. I think Brat deserves the benefit of the doubt on this one. Let's just give Simpson and Caldwell a shot. Sweed doesn't look explosive.