Free Agency

[ArmyBengal]

I think you can make a case where the Bengals could have used FA help at OG, C, WR, RB, CB, SS, LB, and DE. Boling, Cook , a better number 2 receiver, a better replacement for BJGE, replacement for Hall, Illoka, Harrison, and Johnson.

Any if these positions could have been upgraded. Of course, not every position can be filled but to look at the roster and say it's set because we have some serviceable depth is a recipe for 9-7....again, IMO.

Could be, but what does the organization think about those players ??

Pollack was a 2nd round draft pick and his best position was always thought to be at Center, where he played in college.

I would consider him an upgrade to Cook right from the jump, but they will probably give Robinson a shot at beating him out.

I'm set with Center.

WR is a position of great depth and they could still add there if they choose to.

Considering the amount of receiving options they have at TE and RB, there are only so many balls to go around.

I'm good with WR as well.

RB could be upgraded from BJGE, but again, there is still time for that and they still have Burkhead who I think is underrated.

There is work to be done there.

While those other positions could certainly be upgraded, I again just think it depends on how the organization views them and if they start spending some of that cap space on getting extensions done. AJ and Burfict are going to cost them and there's more to do than just them.

It's all perspective and I could very well be wrong, but that's just where I am at the moment.

[HoosierCat]

They could have signed some free agents (or alternatively MJ and AC) and still kept Green, Burfict etc. They can always create cap space. They just don't want to pay out the cash on hand. SSDY.

[ArmyBengal]

Correct me if i'm wrong, which I very well could be, but isn't the first season they HAVE to spend pretty close to the cap.

Also in the recent past, they haven't had a problem in doing just that.

I think there's more spending to come.

[HoosierCat]

The spending requirement is over a period of years, 2013-16. They have to average spending 89% of the cap. They will easily do that. I suspect it's why so few players are signed beyond 2016. They have carved out a window, set a budget, and that's that. There is, of course, no prohibition on spending more...

[ArmyBengal]

89% huh ?? Why was I thinking it was more than that ??

Don't answer, i'm having more fun reading articles in my philosophy course like:

"Shareholders vs. Stakeholders: How Liberal and Libertarian Political Philosophy Frames the Basic Debate in Business Ethics"

[combatbengal]

mike brown stated that they are planiing on extending Dalton because he wants to keep the young team intact. He mentioned that they can sign green to a one year deal to save money.

[Kazkal]

Im not to worried about AJ we easily have him three more years with franchise tag after option year.he,ll want resign rather year to year deals.Andy is a QB he will get.paid and rather see now vs be stuck with.a.flacco deal later

[combatbengal]

I would like to see Dalton prove that he can win in a big game before I give him a butt load of money and a long contract. Don't want to be stuck with a bust for year. I'm not saying he'll be or is a bust but he hasn't gotten the job done yet. He's been with AJ for three years now, there shouldn't be any excuses why Dalton can't get the ball to him at chest level. Same with the other Wide Receivers. AJ is what 6'4 and he has to leap (like he's dunking a basketball) to catch just about every ball thrown to him; sooner or later, he's going to get lit up going for one of those balls.

I'd also like to see him make better decisions; scramble a bit more and for god sake throw the ball away when you scramble instead of taking a sack or running out of bounds for a loss.

I understand that he isn't the full problem and that the line needs to protect him but I'd like to see him take more of a leadership role and be that General that Payton Manning is. Help the coaches run practice and plan for the defense that we're up against. Let everybody know that he's in charge of the offense.

[ArmyBengal]

I know many people weren't real thrilled with the Newhouse signing, but I like it from a backup perspective.

I actually liked him coming out of TCU, but it sounds like he struggled while in Green Bay.

Maybe he can find a home like Pollack stated when he came here in how he's taught.

We can say all we want about Dalton needs to do this and Dalton needs to do that, but hopefully Hue puts together an offense that fits a little better.

I think I can speak for most Bengals fans when I say I don't want to see Dalton throwing the ball 50 times a game EVER.

I don't know what else they will do in free agency, but i'm really ready for the draft to get here.

[HoosierCat]

Bengals sign CB RJ Stanford:

/>http://www.bengals.com/news/article-1/Agent-Bengals-sign-CB-Stanford/dc581511-e0fc-47c3-94fc-457225c4bdfe

Ghee replacement.

[ArmyBengal]

Bengals sign CB RJ Stanford:

/>http://www.bengals.com/news/article-1/Agent-Bengals-sign-CB-Stanford/dc581511-e0fc-47c3-94fc-457225c4bdfe

Ghee replacement.

Helps for depth.

Hey TJ, does this affect the comp picks for 2015 ??

[HoosierCat]

Could be. The name doesn't ring a bell to me, but that doesn't mean much.

[ArmyBengal]

Could be. The name doesn't ring a bell to me, but that doesn't mean much.

I had the wrong guy, so I changed the post.

[TJJackson]

Bengals sign CB RJ Stanford:

/>http://www.bengals.com/news/article-1/Agent-Bengals-sign-CB-Stanford/dc581511-e0fc-47c3-94fc-457225c4bdfe

Ghee replacement.

Helps for depth.

Hey TJ, does this affect the comp picks for 2015 ??

The exact formula is of course not known publicly

It is however generally agreed by those who have analyzed the results heavily that

--Each player signed cancels out one player lost.

so normally, I'd say yes, and if so, we just lost the pick for Collins. OUCH, that sucks

However, another generally agreed-upon principle will hopefully override that on in this case

--Players earning low minimum salaries do not qualify.

so as long as he is being paid at or damned close to minimum without any frills, we should be OK

so....I'd like to hear the terms on this one

He was a 4.42 guy on his pro day, so at least there's that
/>http://www.nfldraftscout.com/ratings/dsprofile.php?pyid=78696&draftyear=2010&genpos=CB

[ArmyBengal]

I know if they were released from their team it does not count in the equation, but I don't know his situation.

Sort of like Campbell doesn't hurt us in the least in that regard.

[ArmyBengal]

Just when I think I have a better grasp of the comp pick scenario, I get further confused.

The Ravens pick up 4 comp picks for this draft (3rd, two 4th's, and a 5th).

This was due to losing Paul Kruger, Dannell Ellerbe, Cary Williams, and Ed Reed.

However, they also signed Marcus Spears, Chris Canty, Elvis Dumervil, and Michael Huff.

I guess it comes from the guys they lost signing deals that combined for over 100 million while the guys they brought in were a combined 50 million.

It just doesn't seem enough to warrant the amount of picks they got or at least as high as they did.

Oh well, hopeful for next years draft from a comp pick perspective I suppose.

[TJJackson]

Were Marcus Spears, Chris Canty, Elvis Dumervil, and/or Michael Huff released/waived prior to the Ravens picking them up?

If so, signing them didn't count towards the equation, much the same as Jason Campbell (a pretty good player imho) wont count against us but Newhouse (a fairly terrible player imho) will count against us

The Ravens are arguably the very best players of the Comp Picks game....have earned more picks than any other team

[ArmyBengal]

Yeah, i'm not sure about them being released or not, but true with it playing a large part.

[TJJackson]

Based on the breakdown from Cincyjungle, it is highly possible that the Newhouse signing will not affect 2015 comp picks

/>http://www.cincyjungle.com/contracts/2014/3/24/5543830/breaking-down-the-contract-of-marshall-newhouse

His salary is vet min with total bonuses of 75,000 - a lot of money to you and me, but chicken feed in the NFL

I don't know if that 75,000 will tip the scales at all -- hopefully not -- but signings of players with vet min contracts dont count towards the comp picks calculation

Comp pick gamesmanship aside, given the low salary and it being only 1 year, it looks like he is coming here for redemption as a player, a second chance, with the hope of earning a big payday somewhere else next year. The only reason I can figure that we'd sign a player for just a year is to let draft picks this year get groomed, so I look at this as virtual 100% assurance we'll draft a LT early this year - which is a very good thing

[GapControl]

It is a shame to see the Bengals put themselves in the position of having to draft a LT time after time. It seems like we always take either an LT, WR, CB, LB or RB in the first round. I`d like us to take the BPA at another position more regularly (like Zeitler)... that begs a question:

When is the last time the Bengals drafted a number one pick that was a Safety, Center or Middle LB? The three most influential positions for field management....

[skyline]

When is the last time the Bengals drafted a number one pick that was a Safety, Center or Middle LB? The three most influential positions for field management....

These aren't common 1st round picks for ANY team (except for perhaps MLB, and even that I'm unsure of).

Regardless, I feel the Bengals have drafted very solidly for years now, and most of the time with a BPA mentality. We haven't seen them stretch to fill a need in quite a while.

[ArmyBengal]

The Eifert pick comes readily to mind. He wasn't a need with Gresham on the roster.

I don't think the Bengals have put themselves into a situation where they HAVE to draft any particular position in the first round this year either.

CB would make sense and so would an OL, but not necessarily a LT. They could go with a versatile OG in the first and either draft LT later or the following year. Whit was a LT at LSU, moved to LG for a while, and then back out to LT. There are many scenarios that could work for another season or two without it being something they HAVE to do in the first.

So, from my thought process, they could rationally use take almost any position, minus QB, in the first round.

In looking who "should" be around within a handful of picks either way from #24, there are many directions they could travel.

OT, OG, DE, OLB, S, or CB.

Whatever they do (not expecting much) with what's left of free agency, I don't really think it's going to impact what they do towards the top of the draft.

[Wraith]

I don't believe they have ever drafted a Safety in the first round.

Depending on your definition of Middle Linebacker the last time they drafted a MLBer in the first is probaby the Takeo Spikes/Brian Simmons draft ('98).

At Center I believe the last time the Bengals took an Offensive Center in the first round was '83 Dave Rimington from Nebraska they also selected a Center in '68 (the Bengals' first draft) #2 overall Bob Johnson from the University of Tennessee.

[HoosierCat]

I haven't seen it posted so just to feed TJ's obsession with comp picks here's Campbell's deal:

/>http://www.cincyjungle.com/2014/3/25/5545758/examining-jason-campbells-contract-with-bengals

Total of $1.5 million. $1 million salary, $400k signing bonus, $100k workout bonus.

[ArmyBengal]

It's another reason to like the Campbell deal from a comp pick perspective.

He was released from the Browns and doesn't count into the equation regardless.

Here's something I saw:

•The NFL does not disclose the exact formula it uses to divvy up the picks. All picks are awarded based on the previous year's free-agent market so in this case, the Rams' extra picks will be based on players like Danny Amendola and Jared Cook rather than the many free agents they've lost this year.

•What we do know about the formula is that it's based on a balance of what a team gained and lost the previous season. Picks aren't just handed out because a team signed less free agents than it lost. How those players performed, how much they played and how much money they made is more important than sheer attrition. So if you lose four backups and sign one starter, it could theoretically even out and gain you nothing depending on how those backups perform and the differential in money.

•Only unrestricted free agents who had that designation based on the natural course of their contract expiring are eligible to be factored into the formula. Restricted or exclusive rights free agents who do not receive tenders from their team are ineligible to be counted. Likewise for veterans who are released before the start of the new league year. What's more unclear is how players who come to some sort of opt-out agreement are counted. Using an example for the Rams, running back Steven Jackson technically opted out of his contract and chose to leave but the Rams enabled that despite Jackson not meeting the requirements to automatically trigger the voidable year. Still, Jackson was categorized as an unrestricted free agent and played 398 snaps in 2013, which should qualify him for this exercise.

•The new Collective Bargaining Agreement only allows for a total of 32 compensatory picks to be handed out. That's not per round but total so as to limit the draft to no more than the equivalent of a full eight rounds.

•Compensatory picks cannot be traded.

/>http://espn.go.com/blog/nflnation/post/_/id/121827/projecting-rams-compensatory-picks