HoosierCat Posted February 28, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2016 They didn't choke in 2014. They did, however, cheap out on the RFA tender to Hawkins, lost him to Cleveland and then paid for it when the WR corps was ravaged by injury. And they chose not to pay MJ and watched as Clarke and Hunt failed miserably and their ability to pressure the QB collapsed. Yes, that had to do with Atkins, too, but their financial decision didn't help. And now we are talking about what? That this roster -- which they largely kept together last year and which finally stayed healthy and almost got that playoff W -- may now lose 2/3rds of its secondary and its No. 2 and 3 receivers because everyone is too expensive. Well, maybe they step up. But given that the only "major push" rumored so far is for Vinny Rey I'm not getting my hopes up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoosierCat Posted February 28, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2016 Well, there's something u don't see everyday... http://screengrabber.deadspin.com/defensive-lineman-crashes-out-of-nfl-combine-40-yard-da-1761792055 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cincyhokie Posted February 28, 2016 Report Share Posted February 28, 2016 15 minutes ago, HoosierCat said: Well, there's something u don't see everyday... http://screengrabber.deadspin.com/defensive-lineman-crashes-out-of-nfl-combine-40-yard-da-1761792055 WTF. Did Rich Eisen just say to "watch out, when these lineman fall down, they fall hard and long." This was after he clearly saw that his junk fell out of his shorts. Hilarious! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoosierCat Posted February 29, 2016 Author Report Share Posted February 29, 2016 Today's mill o' rumors: Lions want Iloka: http://www.cincyjungle.com/2016/2/29/11132852/report-detroit-lions-will-pursue-bengals-safety-george-iloka-free-agency Bengals "prioritizing" Marvin Jones and Pacman: http://www.cincyjungle.com/2016/2/28/11130528/bengals-prioritizing-marvin-jones-adam-jones-mohamed-sanu-likely-gone Really George, Detroit? Hard to see that being his only option though. But its looking more and more (as it has for a while) that he's gone. Interesting news about the Jones. Retaining both would be good moves, Marvin more so than Adam IMHO but that later shouldn't be discounted as it looks likely they will lose a good amount of experience in the secondary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJJackson Posted February 29, 2016 Report Share Posted February 29, 2016 I love what Pacman brings to this team, but really, you have to focus on free agents who are young and improving over older guys Iloka has to be a priority over Pacman Dont get me wrong, tho - I want them BOTH back. Iloka Longterm and Pacman for max 2 years. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
volcom69 Posted March 1, 2016 Report Share Posted March 1, 2016 I can't figure out why they wouldn't tag Illoka, and sign Jones and Pacman? It makes no sense to me, if they can't get a deal done with Illoka then tag him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoosierCat Posted March 1, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2016 My priorities would be 1a. Marvin Jones, 1b. Iloka, 3. Pacman/Nelson (Pacman is 3 if Iloka re-signs, Nelson jumps ahead of George leaves). Unfortunately aside from this latest report it has seemed the FO's priorities are 1. Vinny Rey, 2. ?????, 3. PROFIT! Keeping my hopes up for something good (against my better judgement but...) Re the tag, yeah, makes some sense but imo it'll be a cold day in hell before Mike pays $10 million for a safety. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMPHAR Posted March 1, 2016 Report Share Posted March 1, 2016 On 2/28/2016 at 9:51 AM, HoosierCat said: They didn't choke in 2014. They did, however, cheap out on the RFA tender to Hawkins, lost him to Cleveland and then paid for it when the WR corps was ravaged by injury. And they chose not to pay MJ and watched as Clarke and Hunt failed miserably and their ability to pressure the QB collapsed. Yes, that had to do with Atkins, too, but their financial decision didn't help. And now we are talking about what? That this roster -- which they largely kept together last year and which finally stayed healthy and almost got that playoff W -- may now lose 2/3rds of its secondary and its No. 2 and 3 receivers because everyone is too expensive. Well, maybe they step up. But given that the only "major push" rumored so far is for Vinny Rey I'm not getting my hopes up. Hawkins wasn't going to make up for the loss of Green, Eifert, Greshman and Jones on the road in Indy. They had to play on the road because Green fumbled on the final drive losing the division and had to play without him in what may have been some head hunting by Mitchell (again). Yes, they did choke in 2014. Nuge absolutely missed that kick against the Panthers. They dropped 2 against the Steelers with some buffoonery. Got waxed by Cleveland on Thursday night. Could have easily once again been in the mix for a higher seed. Why are Bengal fans going down the "panic" path with the offseason? Roster churn is the name of the game in the NFL. They've won 52 games over 5 seasons and that's despite them finding every way to look like shit in primetime games. Next season comes down to staying healthy and beating the Steelers and not melting down in big spots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoosierCat Posted March 1, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2016 No one is panicking. Hell, we've barely gotten to "criticizing." I have no objection to roster churn as long as there's something to churn to. And at this point the cupboard is bare at WR for replacing Jones and Sanu, and the secondary depth chart is full of question marks (especially when we're talking about potentially replacing the team's top 3 DBs all at once). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
COB Posted March 1, 2016 Report Share Posted March 1, 2016 George Iloka, wake up. These players should study what happens to the careers of free agents. Their their success on their first contract was a combination of their talent, hard work, and to be realistic about it, often they were hand-picked for the scheme they were brought up in and in which they had played in their whole careers. Michael Johnson comes to mind, though that worked out pretty great financially for him. How about Housh and Chad? Why would George be considering Detroit over Cinci? Maybe he's smarter than we thought and he's just getting leverage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottishbengal Posted March 1, 2016 Report Share Posted March 1, 2016 44 minutes ago, COB said: Why would George be considering Detroit over Cinci? Maybe he's smarter than we thought and he's just getting leverage. More likely his agent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoosierCat Posted March 1, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2016 Lot of good thoughts in the Enquirer podcast. I took notes listening. Marvin Jones is No. 1 WR in FA & WR draft class did not impress at combine. Expect some team to throw $$$ at him, especially with cap being a few million more than expected. Bengals will make a run at him before FA but would be surprised if he took anything before “legal tampering” period at least so he can see offers. Don’t think they will go higher than Golden Tate money for him (Tate: 5 years, $31 million, $8 million SB). If can’t get Marvin to sign before FA Bengals may turn around and give $$$ to Sanu. (Like with MJ & Dunlap, first one to sign gets the $$$.) Bengals don’t want to lose both. Sanu should probably cool it with talk that he won’t be back. Overall FA tougher for Bengals this year because so many of their old coaches are elsewhere, so harder to make the argument that it’s better to stay versus going into an unknown situation because it’s not so unknown this time around. Bengals seem resigned to fact that Iloka is leaving. Lot of teams interested in him & is one of best safeties in FA. Looks like he will get a number Bengals aren’t willing to match. Draft much deeper on defense than offense, lot of good S and CB. Think if Iloka won’t sign will give (some of) his money to Nelson. Structure similar to FNR’s deal. Bengals are also high on Shawn Williams, think he is ready to start. Very little chance they keep both Iloka and Marvin Jones. Think the Bengals will throw a “pretty good amount” of money at Pacman. Could be wooed away by Zimmer or Hue tho. He will have a market. Would not be surprised if he was the first one the Bengals resigned. CB a real possibility in first, not sure if Bengals intend to resign Kirkpatrick after this season. Gunther seems ready to move on from Hunt, is really excited about depth of draft on defense. Says they will draft rushers and corners. Vinny Rey: we thought he was a lock to come back but he may have done enough over last two years that he may have a suitor or two like Dan Skuta did. Had him at 95% chance to return, would now reduce that a “significant” amount. Moobs, Winston gone. Tate and Hall probably gone. Jaylon Smith probably off their board. Maybe a late round flyer if he’s there. Not at 24. No on James Laurinitas. B. Thompson/Sims likely replaced by Hardison and/or draft pick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMPHAR Posted March 1, 2016 Report Share Posted March 1, 2016 2 hours ago, HoosierCat said: No one is panicking. Hell, we've barely gotten to "criticizing." I have no objection to roster churn as long as there's something to churn to. And at this point the cupboard is bare at WR for replacing Jones and Sanu, and the secondary depth chart is full of question marks (especially when we're talking about potentially replacing the team's top 3 DBs all at once). Assume Bengals sign no one. Draft no one. Spend nothing. In 15 games AJ Green barely produced 1,000 yards with MVP QB play for most the season. They had so many options that he took a back seat and played decoy. Before a inexperienced QB took over for the final 4 games the offense was top 10 and that was with Hill having a horrible season. Still have Dunlap, Atkins, MJ, Burfict in your front 7. That's a tough team to beat out for a division by itself. In 2014 they had a horrible QB season. Injuries. Plus some bad, bad losses. Still good enough for 5th seed and in hunt for division last week. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoosierCat Posted March 1, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2016 As he does every March, Hobson bring the high heat in hilarity: Bengals already big spenders in FA this year after picking up $16 million in options on Dre and Zeitler last year! No, really: http://www.bengals.com/news/article-1/Bengals-sorting-out-options/dc74e133-90fe-4e04-a7fd-0c7005c3d42a So no tag for Iloka, fellas, up against it and all that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
COB Posted March 1, 2016 Report Share Posted March 1, 2016 40 minutes ago, HoosierCat said: As he does every March, Hobson bring the high heat in hilarity: Bengals already big spenders in FA this year after picking up $16 million in options on Dre and Zeitler last year! No, really: http://www.bengals.com/news/article-1/Bengals-sorting-out-options/dc74e133-90fe-4e04-a7fd-0c7005c3d42a So no tag for Iloka, fellas, up against it and all that. The most amazing quote from that article: "Historically they’ve eyed those extensions closer to training camp. Now their focus is on players hitting free agency next week, a crop that includes 11 starters and regulars like cornerback Adam Jones." A little strange to read Hobson stating that the team's focus is on players hitting free agency. I could see some free agents from other teams getting signed. As far as Marvin Jones goes, goodbye. I can't see paying number 1 money for him. Additionally, he runs like a maniac after he catches the ball. While that's good, it is also problematic injury-wise if you're getting targeted as often as a traditional number one guy. They are making a mistake not tagging Iloka. Williams is good, and I hope they re-sign Reggie, but you need more than that. Iloka knows the system, is up to speed on everything in our defense, takes a burden off the coaches, etc. It just makes sense, they should have tagged him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoosierCat Posted March 3, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2016 Geoff's back and better than ever! OK, well, actually he's about average this time, but he does hit a a few familiar old tunes, like... Can't sign UFAs because that would cost us comp picks in the draft. Can't use the franchise tag because it creates problems that are easily solved. Can't cut declining players like Peko because LEADERSHIP! ("The guy's gold...he's not done yet") http://www.bengals.com/news/article-1/Hobsons-Choice-Happy-New-Year/df42ca1c-3be4-4847-9f68-b8d600897e01 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
COB Posted March 3, 2016 Report Share Posted March 3, 2016 Pretty funny. Hobson says we can't sign any good free agents because the ghost of Antwon Odom is still haunting PBS. Of course, he also says we can't sign any free agents because it doesn't really work (Denver just got lucky). He also says we can't sign any free agents because, as Hoosier noted, it will cost us comp picks. In summary, this was Hobson's annual explanation of why the Bengals don't like acquiring free agents. They should at least wait to see who's out there. One never knows. Also, I did not like the Hawk mention, like they've still got AJ Hawk, why go looking for a linebacker in free agency? Forget that. Hawk looked about as finished as a player can look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMPHAR Posted March 3, 2016 Report Share Posted March 3, 2016 Bengals run their cap harder than most teams and they've yet to hang a playoff win and of course a championship during the salary cap era. Certainly with that track record a level of criticism is warranted. However, the speculation of getting a 5th or 6th for Newhouse (lol) and were still able to sign a player as productive as MJ seems like they are winning the system. Sign me up for that shit all day long. I'm kinda on board with that plan. They could be looking at a decent haul of compensatory picks for 2017 given this year's FAs. There is already existing roster solutions and/or talent in the "cut" FA pool that this team isn't going to lose ground in the division or AFC in the amount of overall talent they have on paper. The big risk with their plan or strategy is that all of sudden start to strike out completely on guys they already drafted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoosierCat Posted March 3, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2016 CJ thinks Geoff is nuts re: a comp pick for Outhouse (scroll to the end). http://www.cincyjungle.com/2016/3/3/11145566/how-do-compensatory-picks-work-and-will-the-bengals-have-any-in-2016 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoosierCat Posted March 3, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2016 2 hours ago, COB said: In summary, this was Hobson's annual explanation of why the Bengals don't like acquiring free agents. They should at least wait to see who's out there. I've said it before but it bears repeating: this is the most amazing part of the typical Bengals offseason. Most teams are upbeat, talk about how they are looking to improve, make moves to clear cap space, etc., even if they aren't signing anyone. The Bengals do nothing but issue endless excuses and laments about how they can't do anything. I guess I shouldn't complain, at least it gives me plenty to snark at. Just keep at least one of Marvin Jones and George Iloka, Bengals. Just one. Is that too much to ask? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
COB Posted March 4, 2016 Report Share Posted March 4, 2016 5 hours ago, HoosierCat said: Just keep at least one of Marvin Jones and George Iloka, Bengals. Just one. Is that too much to ask? No it's not too much to ask, wait, rookie pool, injury settlements, guys we extended last year, incentive bonuses, IR list, forget it. Lamur it is! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingwilly Posted March 4, 2016 Report Share Posted March 4, 2016 5 hours ago, HoosierCat said: I've said it before but it bears repeating: this is the most amazing part of the typical Bengals offseason. Most teams are upbeat, talk about how they are looking to improve, make moves to clear cap space, etc., even if they aren't signing anyone. The Bengals do nothing but issue endless excuses and laments about how they can't do anything. I guess I shouldn't complain, at least it gives me plenty to snark at. Just keep at least one of Marvin Jones and George Iloka, Bengals. Just one. Is that too much to ask? its pretty redonkulous to let Jones, Sanu AND Iloka walk, and attempt to spin some non-existent upside... there is none. Iloka is a very good cover SS. He is solid in run support and when is the last time you recall him being really burned or blowing an assignment? I cant think of a recent example....guy is good. Jones, yes has been a little fragile but when healthy, is a very competent #2. has speed good hands, is tough and has good chemistry with Dalton.. whats not to like. Sanu is a good 2b or 3, and should be a reasonable deal, is tough, versatile and plays hard. Again, think of risk in trying to replace, and missing. just maintain continuity. But, ya know, this isn't carte blanche, gotta mind those nickels and dimes, Pumpkin still has her payment plan from her orthodontist to cover. ... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
COB Posted March 4, 2016 Report Share Posted March 4, 2016 2 hours ago, kingwilly said: , Pumpkin still has her payment plan from her orthodontist to cover. ... All those field hockey sticks Mike bought her 35 years ago weren't free, you know. Plus that AC system they finally installed in Chez Brown. Shit adds up. Tagging that kicker all those years ago? Put it on a Capital One Visa for the points and still trying to pay that off. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoosierCat Posted March 4, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2016 And the numbers have been Hobsonized: The gears have started to grind on the way to $155 M when the NFL’s new financial year opens next week. Backup center T.J. Johnson is expected to be tendered a $600,000 exclusive rights contract. Their allotments for injury protection, incentives, and draft choices add up to about $12 million. Another $3.5 million or so is earmarked for potential dead money; players cut, the off-season workout program, and practice squad salaries. So $38 million has already been sliced to $22 million and they've only tendered one ERFA backup! At this rate actually signing a starter will put them in negative territory! And the next line is THE BEST: But the Bengals and Thornton know all the planning in the world can’t prepare either side for the first 48 hours of free agency. Plan, schman, it's all madness anyhow so Mike's just gonna take a nap... http://www.bengals.com/news/article-1/View-from-both-sides/3223b9ba-3afd-45c8-9145-9c709fa7c0ca Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoosierCat Posted March 4, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2016 Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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