Be the Non-Existent GM: Your Fantasy Offseason

[NJ29]

Well, we're all pretty pissed right now. That is obvious. But with that being said, many expected this team to go 4-12 or worse this year. The foundation is there and we're moving in the right direction. So let's say Mikey's dumbass hires you to be GM, whatcha doing now? For me...

Free Agency:

- Resign Nelson, Hall, Simpson, Rucker, Collins and Lawson

- Don't resign Livings, McGlynn, Bobbie Williams, Benson, Caldwell, Wilson or Roland

- Throw Carson's money at Matt Forte (every down back, probably the best receiving back in the league, perfect fit for the offense) or Marshawn Lynch (physical, downhill)

- Make a serious push at guard Carl Nicks from NO (or another premier free agent guard)

- Make a run at S Laron Landry, a phenomenal athlete and great hitter, who would be a perfect fit in the division

Draft:

1a. Cordy Glenn / David DeCastro - Take the best interior lineman available.

1b. Janoris Jenkins / Alfonzo Dennard / Dre Kirkpatrick / Mark Barron - Take the best defensive back available, if it's a corner a high round is safety is still a necessity.

2. Best S or CB available (whichever wasn't previously picked), or possibly an impact LB if on falls (I'm not necessarily sold on our linebacking corps)

3. Lamichael James / Chris Polk / David Wilson / Doug Martin / LB - possible spot to pickup a change of pace for Forte, there's a lot of good RBs this year

4-7. BPA

Front Office:

- Hire Bill Polian, easy move for him geographically with a lot of money and picks to work with.

- Fire Marvin and Paul Alexander

- Promote Zimmer to HC, allow him to choose his replacement from the outside

Your thoughts?

[BengalszoneBilly]

Well, we're all pretty pissed right now.

I'm not pissed. I felt this coming.

[NJ29]

Well, we're all pretty pissed right now.

I'm not pissed. I felt this coming.

Fair point.

[jjakq27]

Move up and get DeCastro. He won't last long. Hell be gone at 17.

Get a corner if possible then fortify the d-line more.

Gotta seriously look at moving Alexander out and hope they can keep Gruden.

I'm interested in seeing what Dalton can do with a full offseason. I think he hit the wall in the second half of the season.

[NJ29]

Move up and get DeCastro. He won't last long. Hell be gone at 17.

Get a corner if possible then fortify the d-line more.

Gotta seriously look at moving Alexander out and hope they can keep Gruden.

I'm interested in seeing what Dalton can do with a full offseason. I think he hit the wall in the second half of the season.

I'd fully support the DeCastro move. I'm an Oregon fan and have seen first hand how damn good he is.

[jjakq27]

I saw him in the ND game and liked what I saw. Theyve got some house money to play with so use it.

They key to improving will be to figure out how to beat the Sttelers and Ravens. That's starts with both lines. I'd make the big investment there for starters.

[Horsemen]

My first thought is to laugh at your first draft pick. Blow a first rounder on some fatass interior lineman? Really? Come on bro. Anyways i'll play....

Fired today:

- Marvin Lewis

- Mike Zimmer(Sorry, these lapses and lack of adjustments are piling up. When he is on he is on. When he is off we're creamed.)

- Paul Alexander

- The Hayes Brothers

Hired:

- Mike Pettine, DC, NY Jets to be Head Coach.

- Mike Nolan, DC, Miami Dolphins. To replace Zimmer.

- Bill Callahan, Oline Coach, NY Jets. In the event Gruden heads to Jacksonville. Possibly even if he doesn't, Callahan is a damn good OC teams have been trying to pry from the Jets for years. He also runs the same system.

- Juan Castillo, DC, Philadelphia. The Oline to DC experiment in Philly has failed and Castillo is likely out the door. He is one hell of an Oline coach though.

- Bryan Cox, Dline Coach, Dolphins. He's a damn good Dline coach and VAST upgrade from Hayes.

- Tony Sparano. TE Coach.

Cut: Crocker, Benson, Pacman, Livings, McGlynn, Roland, Bobby Williams, Caldwell

Resign: Simpson, Hall(provided his health checks out)

FA: G- Russ Hochstein, SS- Jim Leonhard, FS- Sean Jones, OLB- Marcus Benard

Draft:

1a- CB Janorice Jenkins

1b- ILB Luke Kuechly

2- OLB Bruce Irvin

3a- G Kevin Zeitler

3b- RB Bernard Pierce

4- DE Derek Wolfe

5- WR Juron Criner

6- BPA

7- BPA

Bengals upgrade both Guard spots, upgrade the secondary, replace Benson, replace Caldwell and start laying the foundation for a fulltime elite 3-4 Defense. Of course I am not sure how i'd get some of those players to fall to those spots for sure but we're dreaming out loud, right?

[jjakq27]

Lastly the challenge for this non-existent GM and head coach is sustaining this and making the again playoffs next year. It's hard to do. Let's see if it can be done here

[jjakq27]

Laugh if you want. This team and many others have been successful when they have a dominant o-line. Our interior line has been a weakness at key points of the season. If you can get somebody in FA then go for it but if a cornerstone type guy is there in the draft, you now have the ammo to get him.

[Globetrotter]

My additions

FA:

RB-Bush or Tolbert

RG-Stacy Andrews or get Duice Lutui again. Andrews and Duice both are not starting so it might be a nice enticement for them to know they can start here. Not sure what the relationship is like with either player with an obvious interesting hx with both.

Backup LT/RT-Looking at the lists I don't see a guy I think really fits other than Collins who I think leaves.

Draft

1 Cordy Glenn-G-Ga-Immediate starter at LG can backup LT potentially and be insurance for Andre Smith at RT.

1 Alfonzo Dennard-CB-Nebraska-Probably slides into the nickel immediately and is insurance for a non return of Hall or Jones

2 Mohamed Sanu-WR-Rutgers-A do it all guy who is still a little bit raw. You will love him if you only just watch his blocking.

3 Markelle Martin-FS-Oke State-A potential playmaker at S with limitations. This was the hardest pick for me. Not sure I love him yet.

4 Amini Silatolu-G-Midwestern State-Plays LT but projects to G. Just learning about him but seems like a fit to add depth across the line. My favorite from his writeup on PFW "Plays with a trench warrior mentality — competitive, physical and nasty."

5 Marcel Jones-T-Nebraska-Has great size and has played quite a bit but has big injury questions that drop him

6 Emmanual Lamur OLB/SS-Kansas St. Switched to OLB after playing SS for most of his career. Big play guy this year with nice speed. Might be able to replace Johnson as our nickel guy.

7 Logan Harrell DT/DE-Fresno St. Productive High motor undersized DT who can fit with our group nicely.

Most of the UDFA's that I have listed are just shots in the dark based off brief reads. The ones that stand out to me are

QB-Kellen Moore, who I think would fit our system well.

WR-Wes Kemp-Missou-Size speed guy 4.4 at 6-3 217

WR-Rashad Mason who plays for Georgetown College and was a top 10 recruit at WR for NC before transferring

T-Chandler Burden from Kentucky..I am sure others can say more about him but what I liked was mainly that he was moving over from DE and presumably still trending up.

QB Dalton 2014 Gradkowski 2012 Robinson PS Kellen Moore UDFA

RB Tolbert/Bush Scott 2012 Leonard 2012 Peerman 2011 Davin Meggett UDFA

FB Pressley 2011® Develin PS

WR Green 2014 Caldwell 2011® Tate 2012 Wes Kemp UDFA

WR Simpson 2011® Shipley 2013 (IR) Whalen 2014 Rashad Mason UDFA

WR (2) Sanu Hawkins PS--> Binns PS

TE Gresham 2014 Lee 2011® Colin Cochart 2011 Coffman PS Joe Halahuni UDFA

LT Whitworth 2015 FA/CC Chandler Burden UDFA

LG (1) Glenn Boling 2014

C Cook 2015 McGlynn 2011® Garth Gerhart UDFA

RG Andrews/Lutui (4) Silatulu Hudson PS

RT Smith 2012 (5) Jones O'Donnell PS

K Nugent 2011®

P Huber 2012

LS Harris 2011®

LE Geathers 2012 Rucker 2011® Fanene 2011®

LT Peko 2014 Sims 2011® Black PS

RT Atkins 2013 (7) Harrell

RE Johnson 2012 Dunlap 2013 Frank Alexander UDFA

SLB Lawson 2011® Moch 2014 Evans PS

MLB Mualaga 2012 Skuta 2011 Muckleroy 2013 (IR)

WLB Howard 2012 Rivers 2013 (IR) Rey 2011 (6) Lamur

S Crocker 2012 (3) Martin Sands 2014 Miles 2011

S Nelson 2011® Wilson 2011® Mays 2014

CB Clements 2012 (1) Dennard Ghee PS--> McFadden PS

CB Jones 2011® Hall 2015 Jennings 2011® Bowie PS

[ShulaSteakhouse]

Fire Marvin

Fire Paul Alexander

Draft a G and LB with two 1st round picks

Sign a "good" LB and G in FA

Just let Rey and Lawson go and bring back Rivers for the hell of it

Draft a CB or S in 2nd round, and in 3rd round, and sign another one in FA

Do whatever you want with the rest

Pray Andy Dalton is actually better than he appears to be

Give Jerome Simpson a brain transplant

[cincyhokie]

Move up and get DeCastro. He won't last long. Hell be gone at 17.

Get a corner if possible then fortify the d-line more.

Gotta seriously look at moving Alexander out and hope they can keep Gruden.

I'm interested in seeing what Dalton can do with a full offseason. I think he hit the wall in the second half of the season.

This organization will NEVER trade up to get a guard. They won't even draft a center for godsake.

[ShulaSteakhouse]

Move up and get DeCastro. He won't last long. Hell be gone at 17.

Get a corner if possible then fortify the d-line more.

Gotta seriously look at moving Alexander out and hope they can keep Gruden.

I'm interested in seeing what Dalton can do with a full offseason. I think he hit the wall in the second half of the season.

This organization will NEVER trade up to get a guard. They won't even draft a center for godsake.

Yeah the Bengals' already signed their crappy center to an extension. He'd be a fine back-up at C/G, but the Bengals' have to skimp somewhere, and it's always the interior 0-line and safety positions.

And look at who the big culprits were the last two weeks (Crocker, Livings, Cook, Nelson, Wilson) in addition to Rey (ONE solo tackle tonight as a MLB?? Reality check - Rey sucks)

They have to draft and sign Guards and LB's and Safeties. But they also need another CB (a good one) a better #2 WR, a better FB, and a bell cow RB or good compliment to Scott (assuming Benson's gone as a FA).

I don't have confidence they'll do these things well, or demote guys like Rey, Livings, Williams, Cook, Simpson, Nelson, Crocker etc..., and upgrade those huge talent holes.

I don't think they'll do it, they'll address some of it, but we'll see.

But they don't have a Ray Lewis or an Ed Reed to carry them. The Bengals' have no Lb's. Look how good the LB's and LB/DE's are for the Steelers and Ravens. Howard and Lawson are 3rd down backs at best, maybe you can get by with "one" of them as a 3-down OLB. Rey is a bench player, if not a project.

The Bengals have NO safeties.

Look at the safeties, LB's and DE's for the Ravens and Steelers, or the 49'ers...their Lb's and Safeties stand out over everyone (Reed, Lewis, Suggs, Polamalu, Harrison, Woodley, Timmons).

Not one of the Bengals' LB's or Safeties would start for any of the other playoffs teams, or even most teams in the NFL.

That's why they give up 24 points or more, instead of 13-17.

And the terrible Guards, mediocre Tackles and below average Center are why Nugent misses 50 yard FG's, Dalton throws INT's to d-lineman or gets 3-4 batted down a game, is sacked 4+ times for 30+ yards, and has a RB who has 9 yards rushing at half time.

Yet the awful Paul Alexander still keeps his job. His unit sucks and has for 3-4 years now, since Rudi Johnson's final two years.

It's stupid and frustrating still, being humiliated in a Wild Card game and not winning any of 3 playoff games for 20+ years doesn't make it any easier.

I like some of the talent here, and the minor changes, but they need to do more and do it like other successful NFL teams do it, not like they've done in the past with personnel, or this won't ever, ever change (another first round playoff loss in 3-5 years).

[membengal]

Kick Marvin to front office and make him GM - or whatever title it is that is like a GM.

Figure out if Zim has run his course here.

Hope Gruden with a full season of film and a full off-season can put in a fully functioning west coast offense.

I hate Rey at MLB. There, I said it. Fix that.

Fix safety. For f**kssake, fix safety.

No more Ced. Ever.

Shoot Livings, metaphorically. Or not, if need be.

Find a decent #2 WR.

Another CB.

Etc.

[cincyhokie]

Kick Marvin to front office and make him GM - or whatever title it is that is like a GM.

Figure out if Zim has run his course here.

Hope Gruden with a full season of film and a full off-season can put in a fully functioning west coast offense.

I hate Rey at MLB. There, I said it. Fix that.

Fix safety. For f**kssake, fix safety.

No more Ced. Ever.

Shoot Livings, metaphorically. Or not, if need be.

Find a decent #2 WR.

Another CB.

Etc.

I wouldn't mind seeing the Bengals pick up a good pass catching TE to play with Gresham. Watching Graham, Gronkowski, Hernandez, Pitta, etc...it makes you wonder how much the offense and Gresham could benefit by adding more offensive looks with a 2 TE set.

[volcom69]

Good thing is this year is a huge class of free agency! I hope maybe now free agents will want to come to cincy, and they wont have a tough time getting them.

Zim i wont be upset if he leaves, i think its time for a change, his defense is way to inconsistant

Marvin well i thought he should have left years ago, but i think we all know he is going nowhere!

Rey yea im tired of him not getting off blocks or being where he is supposed to! Im rooting for him big time i want to see him be the Middle LB that we have been waiting for, but so far he is not.

[kingwilly]

Fantasy GM.... here goes.

O-line

Keep:

Whit, Cook, Fat Andre, Collins, Boling

Gone:

Williams, Livings, McGlynn,

Get: Carl Nicks, and draft in r1-3 a highly rated prospect

Comment: Cook will play better when he has more solid presence on his left. I'd also like them to move Collins into the RG position.

My starting line is: Whit - Nicks - Cook - Collins - Fatty

If Fatty gets injured or is cut, then Collins moves to RT (He always plays well) and they can use Boling at RG, or maybe start the drafted player (Osemele (Iowa St.) or Washington (Miami))

RB

Keep: Scott, Peerman, Pressley

Gone: Benson, Leonard

Get: Matt Forte - Pay him the HOUSE. He's shown he can carry a team, would fit this system and make Dalton look like an All Pro. He is our Ray Rice, or MJD. He would incinerate the Pit and Baltimore D 4 times a year. Essentially, he an do what they envisioned Chris Perry being able to do. The concept is correct.

QB

Keep: Dalton, Gradowski

Get: another arm for training camp. If Gradkowski is let go, they do need to get Dalton a vet guy who can be his extra eyes to make adjustments and read things from a Pro's perspective

WR:

Keep: Green, Hawkins, Shipley (if his knee is OK)

Gone: Simpson, Caldwell, Whalen

Get: get either Reggie Wayne or a Colston. Dalton NEEDS a reliable route runner who demands serious attention so AJ can get more mismatches. They can EASILY get Wayne or Colston, who both would work well in this system. Then, use r2 pick with size/speed traits similar to a Demaryus Thomas or Brandon Lafell or Kenny Britt, as well as a late rounder (maybe can find the next TJ or Victor Cruz). r2 pick can ease into his role, so when they go to 3-4 WR sets, there are mismatches everywhere.

I will attempt to dig into the defense later tonight.

[Horsemen]

Laugh if you want. This team and many others have been successful when they have a dominant o-line. Our interior line has been a weakness at key points of the season. If you can get somebody in FA then go for it but if a cornerstone type guy is there in the draft, you now have the ammo to get him.

Despite Bengals fans having this idea in their heads you can actually find offensive linemen outside of round one. Good ones. In some cases better ones than the overrated fatasses in round one. Ask New England about that one and if they'd rather trade Vollmer for Fatdre Smith, straight up.

[jjakq27]

I hated the big dre pick when it happened and am still not crazy about it now. Maybe Boling might be that guy I'm not sure. My point is that we have a chance to fix a lot of holes this year and have the resources to make a move rather than wait for the next guy to fall to us. See Darrelle Revis and Leon Hall in 2007.

[derekshank]

Maybe Boling might be that guy I'm not sure.

If he is, it will be a credit to Paul Alexander... because Boling was terrible when he played early this season.

He might just take a year or two to develop, but I'm guessing he's never going to be a pro-bowler... which is just one more reason I want DeCastro. He'll likely play at a pro-bowl level right out of the gate.