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Props for the Bengals FO.


Wraith

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Look, I have been very critical in the past about the decisions this team has made in the draft and in free agency but I think it is high time to start throwing some love towards Duke Tobin and team.

It is amazing how much of this team has been acquired in the last two seasons.

Looking at the folks that are making this leap possible, almost all of them are in their first or second year with the Bengals (counting Jonah as a second year guy because let's face it, his rookie season was a red shirt)

The only guys in the starting lineup that are hold overs from Marvin years (not counting special teams guys) are...Joe Mixon, CJ Uzomah, Trey Hopkins, Tyler Boyd and Sam Hubbard...  five players.. that is incredible.

In the offseason, experts (and myself if I am being honest) said they had to resign Carl Lawson and William Jackson at a minimum....they signed neither.  Lawson played one game for the Jets before injury and WJ3 has been the most disappointing FA acquisition in the NFL this season.  Instead they took a fraction of the money they would have had to spend on those two players and turned it into Hendrickson, Chido, Hilton, and Apple....how different would this team be without those guys.  Turning Billy Price into BJ Hill was a move of genius.

In the draft they didn't listen to the talking heads that were saying...in some cases...that they should be demoted from the NFL if they did not select Penei Sewell...and made the right decisions.  And not only that, they are getting good production from guys picked in the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th rounds.  They pulled the trigger on a kicker in the 5th knowing they would get roasted for it but how many games have we won because of McPherson, what would our record be with fat Randy?

Almost every move (should have taken Trey Smith or Creed Humphreys instead of Carman most likely) has been the right move, they have hit on a large % of their moves and are very much responsible for this season and I am not hearing much of that.  I have to say that I am very impressed by this front office and they have won me over the last two seasons.

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Agree with the above as well.

Not to wish 2021 away, because I am certainly NOT doing that, but 2022 brings additional questions and the front office has work to do.

They have a bunch of current starters and depth that will be UFA's at the end of the season:
OT Reiff
DT Ogunjobi
TE Uzomah
S Bates
LS Harris
CB Apple
OG Spain
WR Tate
CB Phillips
P Huber

That's just the start of that list with 9 more, but will admit that I am not concerned about some of them.  There's another 6 that are RFA or ERFA as well.
Some can be upgraded through the draft and who knows what they will do in free agency this coming year.
My point is that we need those good decisions to keep coming !!

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During the offseason, I thought they didn't get enough credit for backfilling Lawson and Jackson.

I would have been plenty happy with extensions for those two, but their replacements are just simply more productive this year  than Lawson and Jackson were their last couple years as Bengals.

Bengal fan always revert back to the 90s after a loss.  Blaming Mike Brown.   Marvin brought in talent off other teams when he got here and then in 2008/09 time frame.

Marvin chased Sapp and others.    A big difference under ZT and Tobin is the ability to land a higher grade FA not just chase them.  Then to have those key acquisitions pay bigger dividends has been fun to see.

Still alot of stuff for ZT/Tobin to knock down because the Mike Brown narrative is only a loss away in message board world.

 

 

 

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3 minutes ago, ArmyBengal said:

And why can't I find out how long Taylor's head coach contract is?
I want to say he's under contract through 2022, but am unsure.

Yes, the money being there is good.  I'm still on wrapping up Bates with some of it.

He’s in a contract year now.

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The early issue for the offseason will be how much do you trust Pollack? 

They have some spots to fill or extend AND they have young guys showing promise. 

Can you put off drafting a Lineman past pick 150 given the success we've seen?  I dunno but keeping/improving that O-line has to be a priority.

 

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Depending on what they do with extensions of those free agents and how they approach free agency, the draft will be interesting.
I can think of a handful of ways they could go with their first pick and nothing would surprise me.

The Center position is one that I think could be upgraded there.  I would think a first round talent will improve their current situation.
CB is another.  If Uzomah isn't brought back, how about a TE? Then there's my personal position of grief and look at an impact LB.

All I know is that they have given fans a reason to tune in at this point.  Not have they only spent money, but have gotten results.
The team is young and fun to watch.  Without expectations of winning the Super Bowl, i'm having a hell of a lot of fun watching !!
Regardless of how 2021 turns out, i'm already fully committed to 2022 and some.

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