Where does this leave the franchise

[gregcook68]

Odds & ends:

Do we have a no. 2 wide receiver? I think we've seen enough of Sanu to know he isn't it. We hoped Marvin Jones was that guy after 2013 but after the injury?

Does Hue have any idea how to use Gio? Doesn't seem so.

Are Hue and Guenther any good? Injuries make it hard to say but neither stood out.

Do we bring back the Villain?

Time to give gold watches to Geathers and Still. Wish they hadn't extended Peko. Like the guy but he's just a guy at best.

What's Burfict's status? Frankly aside from him, assuming he's healthy, they can flush the whole LB corps.

Point by point:

#2 WR - Larry! Fitzgerald! Sorry guys...I know it won't happen, but I'm going to annoy everyone all offseason until he signs with someone else. At this point in his career, he has no issue being a #2, and we need an experienced all-pro leader like him. AJ would benefit tremedously.

Gio - Yes, they must solve this mystery over the offseason. I think the emergence of Hill as a definite #1 took them off guard and they were too slow to react. Gio is a weapon that needs to be used. And when he is used, we need his 30 yard gains to not be negated by a holding penalty *grumblegrumble*

Hue and Guenther...Hue was a huge step forward from Gruden. Guenther I really have no idea on. It's hard having to fill Zimmer's shoes and even harder when you lose your key player early in the season. I won't cry rivers at losing either one, but I won't declare the season doomed if they both come back, either.

The Villian...price dependent. I don't hate him as much as others around here and if he's playing 2nd fiddle to a healthy Eifert, then I like him that much more. His blocking and versatility are both pretty big deals.

Geathers and Still are probably gone. I'm fine with the Peko extension. I agree that he's no superstar, but losing him at that point would have been tragic as they had nobody obvious to replace him with. He's durable and a great veteran presence. Hopefully we can upgrade the spot, but I'm happy to have Peko there until the time comes.

The LB corps could use an injection, but I'm not as down on them as you seem to be. Maualuga played well this year. Fingers crossed that Burfict's season was an aberration. I have a terrible, nagging feeling that it wasn't.

Hue is going to either Buffalo, Atlanta, or Oakland.

Don't forget the Mike-Sells cincyhokie. You can forget the Hudy, I'll take the dance instead.

[gregcook68]

Odds & ends:

Do we have a no. 2 wide receiver? I think we've seen enough of Sanu to know he isn't it. We hoped Marvin Jones was that guy after 2013 but after the injury?

Does Hue have any idea how to use Gio? Doesn't seem so.

Are Hue and Guenther any good? Injuries make it hard to say but neither stood out.

Do we bring back the Villain?

Time to give gold watches to Geathers and Still. Wish they hadn't extended Peko. Like the guy but he's just a guy at best.

What's Burfict's status? Frankly aside from him, assuming he's healthy, they can flush the whole LB corps.

Point by point:

#2 WR - Larry! Fitzgerald! Sorry guys...I know it won't happen, but I'm going to annoy everyone all offseason until he signs with someone else. At this point in his career, he has no issue being a #2, and we need an experienced all-pro leader like him. AJ would benefit tremedously.

Gio - Yes, they must solve this mystery over the offseason. I think the emergence of Hill as a definite #1 took them off guard and they were too slow to react. Gio is a weapon that needs to be used. And when he is used, we need his 30 yard gains to not be negated by a holding penalty *grumblegrumble*

Hue and Guenther...Hue was a huge step forward from Gruden. Guenther I really have no idea on. It's hard having to fill Zimmer's shoes and even harder when you lose your key player early in the season. I won't cry rivers at losing either one, but I won't declare the season doomed if they both come back, either.

The Villian...price dependent. I don't hate him as much as others around here and if he's playing 2nd fiddle to a healthy Eifert, then I like him that much more. His blocking and versatility are both pretty big deals.

Geathers and Still are probably gone. I'm fine with the Peko extension. I agree that he's no superstar, but losing him at that point would have been tragic as they had nobody obvious to replace him with. He's durable and a great veteran presence. Hopefully we can upgrade the spot, but I'm happy to have Peko there until the time comes.

The LB corps could use an injection, but I'm not as down on them as you seem to be. Maualuga played well this year. Fingers crossed that Burfict's season was an aberration. I have a terrible, nagging feeling that it wasn't.

I agree with the bad feeling about Burfict. I'm very concerned that he is going to be our modern day defensive version of Greg Cook.

[cincyhokie]

Draft a playmaker in defense in the 1st round. LB or DE. All of the sudden, other players wil look that much better.

I said playmaker, not Keith Rivers.

[HoosierCat]

I'd love to add Fitzgerald, and we've seen Mikey lay out bucks for FA WRs before. But they always seem to get burned by them so I don't know if they'd go for it.

Agree about Burfict. The way he plays he's bound to keep having injury issues, especially upstairs.

Re Hue, he's not going anywhere.

[cincyhokie]

Odds & ends:

Do we have a no. 2 wide receiver? I think we've seen enough of Sanu to know he isn't it. We hoped Marvin Jones was that guy after 2013 but after the injury?

Does Hue have any idea how to use Gio? Doesn't seem so.

Are Hue and Guenther any good? Injuries make it hard to say but neither stood out.

Do we bring back the Villain?

Time to give gold watches to Geathers and Still. Wish they hadn't extended Peko. Like the guy but he's just a guy at best.

What's Burfict's status? Frankly aside from him, assuming he's healthy, they can flush the whole LB corps.

Point by point:

#2 WR - Larry! Fitzgerald! Sorry guys...I know it won't happen, but I'm going to annoy everyone all offseason until he signs with someone else. At this point in his career, he has no issue being a #2, and we need an experienced all-pro leader like him. AJ would benefit tremedously.

Gio - Yes, they must solve this mystery over the offseason. I think the emergence of Hill as a definite #1 took them off guard and they were too slow to react. Gio is a weapon that needs to be used. And when he is used, we need his 30 yard gains to not be negated by a holding penalty *grumblegrumble*

Hue and Guenther...Hue was a huge step forward from Gruden. Guenther I really have no idea on. It's hard having to fill Zimmer's shoes and even harder when you lose your key player early in the season. I won't cry rivers at losing either one, but I won't declare the season doomed if they both come back, either.

The Villian...price dependent. I don't hate him as much as others around here and if he's playing 2nd fiddle to a healthy Eifert, then I like him that much more. His blocking and versatility are both pretty big deals.

Geathers and Still are probably gone. I'm fine with the Peko extension. I agree that he's no superstar, but losing him at that point would have been tragic as they had nobody obvious to replace him with. He's durable and a great veteran presence. Hopefully we can upgrade the spot, but I'm happy to have Peko there until the time comes.

The LB corps could use an injection, but I'm not as down on them as you seem to be. Maualuga played well this year. Fingers crossed that Burfict's season was an aberration. I have a terrible, nagging feeling that it wasn't.

Hue is going to either Buffalo, Atlanta, or Oakland.

Don't forget the Mike-Sells cincyhokie. You can forget the Hudy, I'll take the dance instead.

Frank Reich to Buffalo. Rex Ryan to Atlanta. Adam Gase to Oakland.

[gregcook68]

It doesn't matter what they do next year, because they still have Andy Dalton.

If SBs can be won with the likes of Mark Rypien, Brad Johnson, Trent Dilfer, Jim McMahon, Jeff Hostetler, and Doug Williams, Dalton can make it under the radar as well. They need to fix the defense.

[gregcook68]

Odds & ends:

Do we have a no. 2 wide receiver? I think we've seen enough of Sanu to know he isn't it. We hoped Marvin Jones was that guy after 2013 but after the injury?

Does Hue have any idea how to use Gio? Doesn't seem so.

Are Hue and Guenther any good? Injuries make it hard to say but neither stood out.

Do we bring back the Villain?

Time to give gold watches to Geathers and Still. Wish they hadn't extended Peko. Like the guy but he's just a guy at best.

What's Burfict's status? Frankly aside from him, assuming he's healthy, they can flush the whole LB corps.

Point by point:

#2 WR - Larry! Fitzgerald! Sorry guys...I know it won't happen, but I'm going to annoy everyone all offseason until he signs with someone else. At this point in his career, he has no issue being a #2, and we need an experienced all-pro leader like him. AJ would benefit tremedously.

Gio - Yes, they must solve this mystery over the offseason. I think the emergence of Hill as a definite #1 took them off guard and they were too slow to react. Gio is a weapon that needs to be used. And when he is used, we need his 30 yard gains to not be negated by a holding penalty *grumblegrumble*

Hue and Guenther...Hue was a huge step forward from Gruden. Guenther I really have no idea on. It's hard having to fill Zimmer's shoes and even harder when you lose your key player early in the season. I won't cry rivers at losing either one, but I won't declare the season doomed if they both come back, either.

The Villian...price dependent. I don't hate him as much as others around here and if he's playing 2nd fiddle to a healthy Eifert, then I like him that much more. His blocking and versatility are both pretty big deals.

Geathers and Still are probably gone. I'm fine with the Peko extension. I agree that he's no superstar, but losing him at that point would have been tragic as they had nobody obvious to replace him with. He's durable and a great veteran presence. Hopefully we can upgrade the spot, but I'm happy to have Peko there until the time comes.

The LB corps could use an injection, but I'm not as down on them as you seem to be. Maualuga played well this year. Fingers crossed that Burfict's season was an aberration. I have a terrible, nagging feeling that it wasn't.

Hue is going to either Buffalo, Atlanta, or Oakland.

Don't forget the Mike-Sells cincyhokie. You can forget the Hudy, I'll take the dance instead.

Frank Reich to Buffalo. Rex Ryan to Atlanta. Adam Gase to Oakland.

Yeah, yeah, just bring the Mike-Sells.

[gregcook68]

I'd love to add Fitzgerald, and we've seen Mikey lay out bucks for FA WRs before. But they always seem to get burned by them so I don't know if they'd go for it.

Agree about Burfict. The way he plays he's bound to keep having injury issues, especially upstairs.

Re Hue, he's not going anywhere.

Are you saying he won't be interested or interview, or are you saying he won't be courted?

[HoosierCat]

List of FA wide receivers.

/>http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/free-agents/wide-receiver/

[Scottishbengal]

Well, with all the injuries the Bengals suffered throughout the season we STILL made the play-offs and we went into the last regular season game with a shot at the AFCN title. All things considered I don't think that's a bad season.

A disappointment? Yeah sure, but not a "bad" season when you factor in the injuries.

And that would lead you to believe that Marvin has built a roster than can compete and gain success of some degree. Perhaps our back-ups aren't good enough to win the Superbowl but now and again across the regular season they were able to contribute.

Looking towards next season, with all things being equal, we should have:-

Vontaze Burfict, Tyler Eifert, Marvin Jones, Andre Smith all back from injury.

Geno Atkins, Leon Hall both with a season following serious injury under their belt.

Add in the various players who were dinged now and again throughout the season - AJ Green, James Wright, Mike Pollack, Rey Maualuga etc

Put in the young guys who will have a seasons experience and so should be better next year (stronger, more knowlegable of the playbook etc) Dennard, Bodine, Clarke, Hewitt, Hill, Flowers,

Throw in the high draft picks who should be able to add something during the course of the season and I think we have reason to be confident about next season. The AFCN will yet again be a tough tough division but we can compete in it for sure.

Bring on the draft and some FA signings and lets get the Bengal bandwagon rolling

[ArmyBengal]

Where does it leave the franchise ??

With a coach that in any other franchise would have been fired a long time ago.

That being said, I think they have the talent to remain in the playoff hunt, but the schedule presents some real challenges in 2015.

Dalton can't shoulder this team, but they know that, it's why they have built things they way they have and gave themselves an out.

We get back Burfict and Geno has another offseason to work himself up for the defense.

We get a healthy AJ, Marvin Jones, and Eifert on the offensive side of things.

Focus on getting pass rushers in here. Free agency, the draft, kidnapping, whatever, just get pass rushers in here.

Get another WR in here to help out. A veteran would be very nice along with another youngster. YES, to Fitzgerald which won't happen.

Outside of that, work to improve the lines and add depth.

I think very little would surprise me in 2015. They could stay healthy, add pieces, and make a real playoff run.

They could fall flat in the regular season against a schedule that features mostly playoff caliber teams.

I still think they are better off than most teams in the league at this moment in time though.

[Scottishbengal]

I think they have the talent to remain in the playoff hunt, but the schedule presents some real challenges in 2015.

HOME: Baltimore, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Kansas City, San Diego, Houston, St.Louis, Seattle

ROAD: Baltimore, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Denver, Oakland, Buffalo, Arizona, San Fran

Focus on getting pass rushers in here. Free agency, the draft, kidnapping, whatever, just get pass rushers in here.

Get another WR in here to help out. A veteran would be very nice along with another youngster.

Tate and Sanzenbacher are UFA's ... I'd like to see an upgrade of Tate for sure, perhaps splash a few million of the cap space and get in a vet that still has some years on the clock.

Definitely need to upgrade the pass rush ...shouldn't be too hard to improve on what was a pretty mediocre PR

We get back Burfict and Geno has another offseason to work himself up for the defense.

We get a healthy AJ, Marvin Jones, and Eifert on the offensive side of things.

This is gonna be a key factor, we we're crippled by injuries this year but still hung tough, will be nice to get some quality players back healthy

[cincyhokie]

There will be another round of crippling injuries next season. Book it.

Depth on this roster has to be addressed.

[volcom69]

So from Marvin's presser sounds like he is happy with Dalton, and all the coaches sound like they will be back as well, unless Hue gets a head coaching job.

[cincyhokie]

So from Marvin's presser sounds like he is happy with Dalton, and all the coaches sound like they will be back as well, unless Hue gets a head coaching job.

Yeah, he sounded happy in general. Upbeat and sparkly.

[gregcook68]

So from Marvin's presser sounds like he is happy with Dalton, and all the coaches sound like they will be back as well, unless Hue gets a head coaching job.

I'm trying to decide if I would rather have Hue stay, or get some Mike-Sells potato chips???? Decisions, decisions!!

[volcom69]

So I was reading Paul's comments, and I'm very happy about him speaking his mind! He is saying changes will be on the d-line, new guys are needed because the ones here can't get it done. He said he was very disappointed in Geno this year, that he was just another guy out there, if he dosnt get it right then he will be replaced. I like his attitude towards what we saw.

Lap today said Burficts knee is not right at all, and he thinks he will get surgery. He said he hopes its not career threatening. OUCH that would hurt, maybe they really need to look at LB

Oh he also said about Leon Hall that he better work his way back to how he was playing before injury.

Sounds like maybe we might see some changes.......I hope

[skyline]

Just hope those young corners are ready to step up...

Change is only good if you can replace these guys with something better.

[volcom69]

Just hope those young corners are ready to step up...

Change is only good if you can replace these guys with something better.

I agree which is why I was hoping Marvin would have played them more. I think Kirkpatrick has done pretty good when he is in problem is he gets hurt a lot. It will be interesting in seeing how all this plays out.

[gregcook68]

So I was reading Paul's comments, and I'm very happy about him speaking his mind! He is saying changes will be on the d-line, new guys are needed because the ones here can't get it done. He said he was very disappointed in Geno this year, that he was just another guy out there, if he dosnt get it right then he will be replaced. I like his attitude towards what we saw.

Lap today said Burficts knee is not right at all, and he thinks he will get surgery. He said he hopes its not career threatening. OUCH that would hurt, maybe they really need to look at LB

Oh he also said about Leon Hall that he better work his way back to how he was playing before injury.

Sounds like maybe we might see some changes.......I hope

I hope I'm wrong but I think Burfict will end up as the modern day defensive version of Greg Cook.

[cincyhokie]

Just hope those young corners are ready to step up...

Change is only good if you can replace these guys with something better.

I really hope that 2 first round picks coming into their prime are better than a 37 year old and a guy who's had 2 achilles surgeries. If not, the Bengals have bigger problems than who's playing cornerback.

That takes nothing away from either Newman or Hall. Both of those guys have been crucial to this team's success.

[cincyhokie]

So I was reading Paul's comments, and I'm very happy about him speaking his mind! He is saying changes will be on the d-line, new guys are needed because the ones here can't get it done. He said he was very disappointed in Geno this year, that he was just another guy out there, if he dosnt get it right then he will be replaced. I like his attitude towards what we saw.

Lap today said Burficts knee is not right at all, and he thinks he will get surgery. He said he hopes its not career threatening. OUCH that would hurt, maybe they really need to look at LB

Oh he also said about Leon Hall that he better work his way back to how he was playing before injury.

Sounds like maybe we might see some changes.......I hope

Accountability is non-negotiable if a team wants to be a winner. I like what he's talking. Let's see how it pans out.

[kingwilly]

So I was reading Paul's comments, and I'm very happy about him speaking his mind! He is saying changes will be on the d-line, new guys are needed because the ones here can't get it done. He said he was very disappointed in Geno this year, that he was just another guy out there, if he dosnt get it right then he will be replaced. I like his attitude towards what we saw.

Lap today said Burficts knee is not right at all, and he thinks he will get surgery. He said he hopes its not career threatening. OUCH that would hurt, maybe they really need to look at LB

Oh he also said about Leon Hall that he better work his way back to how he was playing before injury.

Sounds like maybe we might see some changes.......I hope

I'm sorry but Hall at the $ of his current contract is not smart football business. two blown achilles. 3 years later.... he's not going to get in a hot tub time machine. Those $ are needed to get better on the D line/LB and at WR/TE. these are the tough choices that the Brown's don't always do so well with... we will see.

Burfict will be OK. He will get his body fixed up and return to form.

Atkins is a concern. Maybe it is a mental thing and some more work through the off season and prep will get him right.

I think they can improve at most spots. Dre and Dennard, with Pac in the slot sounds like a great plan to me. I've really like Iloka and Nelson, so I feel with Mays and Williams, they are solid at safety.

My hope is the Browns see how injuries and time have depleted their core group. Make the tough choices (cut Hall, Geathers and Thompson) and get active in FA to fill the spots that get them back into contention. 2012 and 2013 were when the window was open. Dalton wasn't ready and the run game was stagnant even though the defense was elite.

Get the D back to elite, bring in a legit #2 WR (FA like Cobb, Maclin, or even a lesser guy like Britt) and draft a talent like Coates and/or Funchess so they can absorb an injury or two, and ensure that the O-line stays together and healthy.

I don't think they need more than 1 serious addition to the WR group. A top guy like Coates or Funchess, paired with Jones and Sanu, should AJ end up hurt or out again.

Let's see a list that looks like this:

Green

Coates/Funchess

Jones

Sanu

---whoever---

----whoever--

or like this

Green

Cobb

Coates/Funchess

Jones

Sanu

---whoever---

[HoosierCat]

Lap today said Burficts knee is not right at all, and he thinks he will get surgery. He said he hopes its not career threatening. OUCH that would hurt, maybe they really need to look at LB

Two thoughts. First, only half in jest, of course it's career ending. That's just how much God hates the Bengals.

Second, I saw similar comments on the .com about things "trending" toward surgery, whatever that means. Sooner is usually better, unless of course there's some medical issue causing them to wait, in which case see thought one.

[cincyhokie]

Lap today said Burficts knee is not right at all, and he thinks he will get surgery. He said he hopes its not career threatening. OUCH that would hurt, maybe they really need to look at LB

Two thoughts. First, only half in jest, of course it's career ending. That's just how much God hates the Bengals.

Second, I saw similar comments on the .com about things "trending" toward surgery, whatever that means. Sooner is usually better, unless of course there's some medical issue causing them to wait, in which case see thought one.

I saw the same thing but with the added emphasis that he'd "be back for the beginning of the season".

Someone just go ahead and make Groundhog Day 2 "The Days of the Bengals". Good lord.