Offseason issues to be resolved

[jjakq27]

Using Joe Reedy's article to as a starting point here are a some of the offseason issues to be resolved.

(http://news.cincinna...als-work-begins)

1. Lack of identity on offense

2. Inconsistency of the pass rush

3. The need for a No. 1 wide receiver

4. Decision on whether to tag Johnathan Joseph

5. The future of the offensive line

[volcom69]

Using Joe Reedy's article to as a starting point here are a some of the offseason issues to be resolved.

(unfortunately it hasn't been posted to the net yet-I will post it when it becomes available)

1. Lack of identity on offense

2. Inconsistency of the pass rush

3. The need for a No. 1 wide receiver

4. Decision on whether to tag Johnathan Joseph

5. The future of the offensive line

There should have never been a lack of identity on offense to begin with!!!!!!

I thought second half the pass rush picked up, still think they need some help there though

Yep they need to get another WR and i dont think it needs to be a big name either, just someone who can catch the ball and dosnt give up on the play

Yes tag Joseph if you cant get a deal done, he said he would be here if they do tag them

O-Line needs to be taken care of this offseason there needs to be changes there

I think the biggest question is what coaches actully take this team to the next step. Also i still wonder what free agents will want to come to Cinci after what happened last year. Guess we will see

[jjakq27]

A couple of my concerns are that the young guys will backslide after some success in the 2nd half of the season. I am worried that guys like Simpson, Atkins and especially Dunlap lack the maturity to take care of their business during the offseason and will regress next season.

I would like them to figure out why it takes so long to get plays called in and why we have so many false start and delay of game penalties or wasted timeouts during the game. On the final Bengal-line show Coach Mike Sheppard made a not-to-veiled comment that the young guys (Simpson and Caldwell) were quicker getting to the line than the two starters.

Is Andre Smith worth the effort? Can he be salvaged and should they move him to guard? I did hear that his contract is Bengal-friendly so if they do release him, it wouldn't be a tremendous hit.

[Horsemen]

Using Joe Reedy's article as a starting point here are a some of the offseason issues to be resolved.

(unfortunately it hasn't been posted to the net yet-I will post it when it becomes available)

1. Lack of identity on offense

2. Inconsistency of the pass rush

3. The need for a No. 1 wide receiver

4. Decision on whether to tag Johnathan Joseph

5. The future of the offensive line

1: That's going nowhere. Trust me on that, we'll still lack identity next season.

2: We have Dunlap though. Of course we also have Hayes coaching Dunlap, so expect us to do nothing while Dunlap is coached down from Julius Peppers level to Robert Geathers level.

3: I would almost guarantee Chad will be back or we ignore it and just made Simpson #1 based off of one game.

4: Probably. Or we let him walk and sign Eric "Burnt" Wright from Cleveland as Hobson talks him up to Revis levels.

5: Either A: Andre is given a 3rd year, B: Andre is moved to Guard or C: We blow our first rounder on another OT further tying up most of our team salary in the OT positions.

[Kazkal]

It's to early to give up on BigDre either keep him at RT or Draft a tackle in the 2nd round or 3rd round and move him to guard.

[HairOnFire]

1. Lack of identity on offense

IMHO the Bengals don't lack an identity on offense. It's just that the one they have sucks.

If Brat stays they won't go back to Smashball. Probably won't even if he's replaced. Because this is a passing franchise at it's very core, and after watching this team treat the 2010 season as if it were a 21 game preseason schedule where the kinks of a new passing attack could be worked out it's safe to say their commitment to throwing the ball around the yard is stronger than ever.

2. Inconsistency of the pass rush

I disagree. Carlos Dunlap may have been the most consistent pass rusher in the NFl over the last half of the season and Geno Atkins and Michael Johnson flshed real ability. Granted, stats produced over the full season are going to look modest at best, but that's largely due to the coaching staff starting mediocre veterans for far too long who were either ineffective, dinged, or both. Added help will be needed if dead weight is tossed aside, but the foundation for something very good has already been laid.

3. The need for a No. 1 wide receiver

The offseason has barely begun and I'm tired of this topic already. Play Jerome. Pay Chad to watch.

4. Decision on whether to tag Johnathan Joseph

Probably, but any answer offered now seems premature.

5. The future of the offensive line

If there's any uncertainty about Smith's health I'd exercise the option to bail. If he's deemed sound the task of rebuilding the O-line seems much less overwhelming. At the very least they need to draft at least one new interior starter.

[jjakq27]

Here is the link to Reedy's article. It was posted on cincinnati.com earlier this morning.

http://news.cincinna...als-work-begins

[COB]

Here is the link to Reedy's article. It was posted on cincinnati.com earlier this morning.

http://news.cincinna...als-work-begins

Here's Reedy's solution to the no. 1 receiver question:

"How it should be addressed: The Bengals could draft Georgia's A.J. Green with the fourth pick, and he could have Ochocinco as a mentor."

So in Reedy's Theater of the Absurd, Chad is cast as the wide old veterean, unselfishly tutoring his understudy? WTF?

[ArmyBengal]

Chad and mentor go hand in hand like Chad and blocking.

For someone to even consider that is amusing.

[Kazkal]

Here is the link to Reedy's article. It was posted on cincinnati.com earlier this morning.

http://news.cincinna...als-work-begins

Here's Reedy's solution to the no. 1 receiver question:

"How it should be addressed: The Bengals could draft Georgia's A.J. Green with the fourth pick, and he could have Ochocinco as a mentor."

So in Reedy's Theater of the Absurd, Chad is cast as the wide old veterean, unselfishly tutoring his understudy? WTF?

ogod...Chad is staying brat is stayingh the sky is falling

[HoosierCat]

ogod...Chad is staying brat is stayingh the sky is falling

Blame the lack of a CBA. They're hanging on to Chad because no one knows how things will shake out. If something gets done in the next 4-6 weeks, then Ocho Bozo probably gets his ticket punched. But this is the NFL, and the NFL is a lot like Congress: nothing gets done until it absolutely has to, and of course by then it's so late in the game that the final product is almost always a complete mess. Look no further than the last CBA extension.

With no CBA, not only is there no free agency but even if there's a draft no one will be able to sign any players. And it seems completely plausible to me than any work stoppage/lockout/etc. could go deep into the summer. So even if you are planning to dump Chad, you hang on to him for now, because if a deal doesn't go down until August 31st-ish someone like Green won't be any help. Even if you inked him 5 minutes after the CBA deal he still doesn't know the offense. And even if the plan is to pay Chad to watch Simpson play, this franchise has been among the league leaders in injuries for how many seasons?

Bottom line, it appears to me that the Bengals FO is betting that there will be a 2011 season, but that getting there will be a complete train wreck and that by standing pat, they can take advantage of the disaster and a weak schedule to get back to the postseason. Which IMHO is not a bad bet. But even if they reach the playoffs I'm not sure it gets them very far in January 2012.