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General Free Agency Thread


HoosierCat

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Rookie Pool and Injury Pad gonna be mad!   NFL.com running a story that the Bengals are expected to be heavily involved in Free Agency. 

I mean come on,  how they hell are they going to do that with $44 mil in cap room still having to sign rookies, tenders and what not?  IMPOSSIBLE!

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25 minutes ago, AMPHAR said:

Rookie Pool and Injury Pad gonna be mad!   NFL.com running a story that the Bengals are expected to be heavily involved in Free Agency. 

I mean come on,  how they hell are they going to do that with $44 mil in cap room still having to sign rookies, tenders and what not?  IMPOSSIBLE!

Heh. Yeah, don’t make rookie pool angry. You wouldn’t like it when it’s angry.

Seriously tho I’ve been reading and watching those same reports with something of a chuckle. Now, maybe they’ll surprise us like they did back in 2003, when they actually dipped into the middle tier a bit. But if I had to guess I’d say most likely we’re in for a return of the olden (meaning pre-Marvin) days when FAs would come to town, grab dinner with the organization, and then take off with a “structure” in hand. Said structure would then be used as the basis of a bigger (and mostly backloaded, bs deal that nonetheless gets banner headlines) deal elsewhere, and it’s “lol Bengals are cheap!” all over again.

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It’s just where they spend their money. They do intact do a pretty good job of retaining their own as opposed to spending on someone else’s.

Things this year is, someone else’s are much better than their own and they have to make moves to improve that when thinking about building around the future #1 overall QB !!

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Quote

 But if I had to guess I’d say most likely we’re in for a return of the olden (meaning pre-Marvin) days when FAs would come to town, grab dinner with the organization, and then take off with a “structure” in hand. Said structure would then be used as the basis of a bigger (and mostly backloaded, bs deal that nonetheless gets banner headlines) deal elsewhere, and it’s “lol Bengals are cheap!” all over again.

Rough times.     So many hopes and dreams off into the night.

Really though in those early days of FA, I wanted the big name FA.   I still wouldn't mind it today, but there is  a reality of bust factor with them.

At the end of the day their hit rate on recent drafting has declined and they haven't been able to fill the gap with players from other teams.   Been a long while since they got good quality pick ups like Reggie Nelson?

    

 

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For a long time overall spending levels aren't an issue in the NFL.   The salary cap era has been refined so that all teams essentially spend to a level that doesn't influence the competitive balances based on being able to throw $$$$ around.

 The Bengals don't and won't go to far cash over cap.  They treat it like a hard cap.  

The problem is when they've had and built really good rosters they simply didn't get it done.       So they never lost the "cheap" tag.    

Top tier Free Agents in most cases aren't the top tier players at their position.   But they command upfront dollars that forces teams to push money into future years.  Team's treating their cap as a soft cap KNOW they are renting these players and eventually will suffer "dead money".

The question remains can the Bengals draft at a certain level and polish turds fast enough to win a playoff game before roster turnover?   So far the answer has been NO.    But was it player/coaching failure?  Bad luck?  Talent level? 

A CHANGE in Free Agency for the Bengals to me means they will dump up front money into players and churn them through IF they don't work out.   I doubt this happens.  Maybe.

I think they'll go into Free Agency and try to polish turds and hope their draft picks pan out.    Which is fine.  That plan has worked to a certain level but at some point you got to win more than they have for anyone to listen or believe in what they are doing.

For me.  I gave up season tickets because they are too damn expensive, I didn't like the way the league was going with things like Burfict, AND are the Bengals committed to winning every season?  I don't think they are.  I think they view this as "stars" coming into a line and IF they don't it's just Greg Cook or Krumrie's leg, or Palmer's knee, Dalton's thumb as the reason.

IMO, you've got to play the game better.   Coach's shouldn't be here for 10+ years without substantial success.   Players shouldn't see the end of their contracts.    So the organization will have to suffer paying a coach that isn't working for them.  Taking cap hits for players not on the roster.  That's been the "cost" of winning.

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I have long questioned their approach to running things and last year was just the straw that broke the camel's back for me.
I couldn't deal with the stupidity, staleness, and general appearance of the organization not giving a shit.
I walked away completely and didn't watch any Bengals games for a large portion of the season.

Why ??  Why should I care when they obviously don't.  I don't care what they say, I don't care what they spend, I DON'T CARE.
I honestly do not feel any differently about how they do things and expect much of what they typically do.

That being said, they have the #1 overall pick and money to improve the roster with a 2nd year coach.
It's an exciting time and an opportunity for the organization to really change culture.
However, if they sit on their hands and do nothing more than draft Burrow, the rope I give them will be a short one.

I'm not rushing out to buy a Burrow jersey or season tickets.
If they can employ the hope and pray approach.  I can employ the wait and see approach.
I still hate this team and the front office very much.

Thankfully I enjoy football enough to continue talking about it.

 

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I think Dak is a Dalton level QB.   If you are paying him a significant amount you have to be concerned on the limitations it puts on maintaining and building his surrounding cast through out the years.  

The flip side is he is a decent starter and you can do much worse than him so there's risk there if you don't keep him.

Bengals slow to the punch are on the verge of finding out how hard or easy it will be replacing Dalton.   IMO, they should have been crossing this bridge after the 2013 season but did get a team friendly deal.    Dak's demands and the offers he's turning down don't seem as team friendly.

 

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Margus Hunt was the personification of a certain vulnerability the Bengals had for a long time.  Mike, or someone in power, had a real weakness when it came to combine performance/measurables.
 

Jerome Simpson!  He had the biggest hands in the draft!  That center who’s name I’ve blocked out, could bench approximately one million pounds.  
 

We’ve certainly taken our share of combine athletes.

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