Offseason Thoughts

[AMPHAR]

2 minutes ago, ArmyBengal said:

I use to think grading the draft was kind of pointless immediately upon it’s ending. Now I know it !! Grades for the draft are like competitive sports for youth these days. Everyone is a winner, they all tried real hard, and here’s your participation trophy.

Hard to find sites that hand out D’s and F’s these days. God forbid they tell someone they don’t think they did well. It might hurt their feelings.

Everyone gets an A !!!

Yeah.   I was thinking back to the old days.   I think they used to give out Fs.   The Reuter dude from NFL.com mostly gave out As and Bs.  There were some Cs.   Maybe a D,  I dunno.

Anyway you know 3 years from now there is going to be teams with bad records and rebuilding. 

[AMPHAR]

At face value before Mini camp reports and actually see them in NFL action; the best thing it appears they did in this draft was add speed and depth to the secondary which after free agency was the biggest need.     They got multiple guys in 4.3 range and have versatility in their profile so it should not be hard to replace the bottom UDFA players they had on the depth chart prior to the draft.

Volson is easily the most questionable pick.  I prefer they hide him or stash him on the roster instead of throw him to the wolves like they did Carman and MJ.  Look at all the nasty things fans say about them yet if you pay attention to all the Free Agents we lusted over a month ago there is a pattern of top 150 players needing some run up time to establish themselves.   I think a horrible IOL player could survive on this current line the surrounding cast on paper is best its looked since 2015 which that group survived Bodine quite well.   Heck even Adeniji who rushed back from injury to play and played poorly fans just throwing him out like trash.  Take your time with him and maybe you get a starter in year 3.   

 

[ArmyBengal]

I must have it all wrong. I thought after hearing o-lineman after o-lineman say switching from the left to the right or vice versa is a big challenge, that maybe we would target guys and play them at positions natural to them.

Now I get that injuries and other things come into play and that there may be similarities between positions…. However, safeties aren’t natural CB’s and vice versa. DE’s don’t all make great OLB’s. LT’s might not be good RG’s. You can go in and on with that and seemingly we see it every year.

I’m not mad because I guess coaches know more. Ok a lot more, but this seems silly to me.

[AMPHAR]

3 minutes ago, ArmyBengal said:

I must have it all wrong. I thought after hearing o-lineman after o-lineman say switching from the left to the right or vice versa is a big challenge, that maybe we would target guys and play them at positions natural to them.

Now I get that injuries and other things come into play and that there may be similarities between positions…. However, safeties aren’t natural CB’s and vice versa. DE’s don’t all make great OLB’s. LT’s might not be good RG’s. You can go in and on with that and seemingly we see it every year.

I’m not mad because I guess coaches know more. Ok a lot more, but this seems silly to me.

All you are seeing is the superior natural skill players filtering to the top and then coaches switching to were they can be productive.

Do you think any Major League right fielder played right field in little league? Probably not.  Those kids are farmed out of little league into travel ball and there probably tons of parent fights over being right fielder etc. because they know college/major league coaches are going to pick the short stops first and then make them the right fielder.   The player that starts at right field probably finds their career ending early.

All you are seeing at the NFL level is they have to have Left and Right guards but are going for higher quality players that were filling other spots.   The guy that played right guard since pee wee probably isn't on the NFL radar.

 

[cincyhokie]

I’ve noticed the Bengals drafted players very high on the RAS (raw athletic score) this year. Even Volson was very high percentile. Players in the past like Jordan and other OL didn’t grade high.  Also, the thing with Volson is that his athletic skills are good for a guard. Not a tackle. Overall the Bengals has the 5th highest draft in terms of RAS.

[HoosierCat]

16 minutes ago, cincyhokie said:

I’ve noticed the Bengals drafted players very high on the RAS (raw athletic score) this year. Even Volson was very high percentile. Players in the past like Jordan and other OL didn’t grade high. 

Yeah, that was definitely a new focus this year, and IMO a good one. For the record, the Bengals’ class had the ninth-highest average RAS in the draft.

https://twitter.com/mathbomb/status/1520545092934770694?s=21&t=bWs5gKdBrdcfzOmJxYxo7A

[ArmyBengal]

For those really into the grades, I thought I would go back to the PFF mock website.
This is how the draft was graded.

Hill- C
Taylor-Britt- C
Carter- F
Volson- F
Anderson- A
Gunter-  I haven't been able to get him to fall to our 7th so I used another team that he was falling to in the 7th and they graded that pick a - D

By that stretch, the overall grade of the draft would be a D.
See, that's where I am.

What does that mean ??  Absolutely nothing.
Especially when considering when actually doing an article about grades, they gave the Bengals a B+.
Whatever huh ?

[redsbengalsbucks]

Going into the offseason the Bengals had 2 major areas of need

OL

DB

Both have now been filled

Call me Happy.

[TJJackson]

for me, the needs were 3TDT, CB, IOL, ORT, TE, PR/KR

and S if the situation with Bates was as I feared

other than S, which was imo addressed excessively, I see these needs as either 1. unmet or 2. met with player who was not the best player at that position at that time or 3. a reach

[COB]

Well you have six positions of need there TJ.  That’s not even possible to effectively address in a 7 round draft.  You could take all 6 positions, but you’d have some guys zero out on you.  Best to address the glaring needs then in deeper rounds go for best player available and include character, love of football, etc, in your equation.   

[TJJackson]

6 is less than 7

but....It is even harder to address 6 needs with 7 picks when you double dip on one position *and* give up picks to trade up.  Not once, but twice.

But its done, it is spilt milk. 

shitty draft is in the books

[cincyhokie]

15 hours ago, COB said:

Well you have six positions of need there TJ.  That’s not even possible to effectively address in a 7 round draft.  You could take all 6 positions, but you’d have some guys zero out on you.  Best to address the glaring needs then in deeper rounds go for best player available and include character, love of football, etc, in your equation.   

This is true. The draft is a crapshoot. Spread the effort thin around multiple position groups, you’re going to miss more than hit. I like what they did at secondary and at DL. Addressed a need and got top talent at DB and depth at DL.

[cincyhokie]

Don’t forget that FA isn’t done. And look at what the Bengals did last year. Traded for BJ Hill a week before the first game. 

[TJJackson]

Spain and Ogunjobi should be approached again at this point - they may be willing to play for 2-3 M rather than not playing at all.  No harm in at least approaching them now that the draft is over and the news on Carman is out

and Hopkins as well.  I am 100% serious here.  Karras moves to OLG if Hopkins gets re-signed, and I am hearing Karras is a better OLG than OC

Needed a developmental TE given that the newly signed FA is only on a 1yr contract, so they should be looking for that guy as well.  Or they could add an extension the new guy's contract.  One or the other. Sample simply isnt the long term answer unless the question is "who is your backup TE?"

Need to scour the FA list to see if there are any talented PR/KRs available. DB or WR. I dont know of any, personally.

[ArmyBengal]

58 minutes ago, TJJackson said:

Sample simply isn't the long term answer unless the question is "who is your backup TE? Who bakes cookies for the team?"

Fixed it for you TJ !!

[TJJackson]

well, ok, I didnt know he baked cookies for the team

he also allegedly can block decently

so there is that

but I'd just about rather have CAM Sample in there rather than DREW on passing downs

[TJJackson]

so, the jersey numbers are in for the draftees, and they gave the rookie OT Spains jersey number

this would seem to indicate that the bridge to Spains return as our OLG has been burned.

very, very sad.

[ArmyBengal]

Every time I hear Sample's name, I think about how much my son can't stand him.
In a game last year Sample helped Chase up off the turf and my son yelled at the TV:
"Hey, keeps your hands off Chase, we don't want your suckage rubbing off on him" !!!

[membengal]

I'm in the middle of a break from here because I cannot be around such senseless negativity right now for a team that just made a run to a Super Bowl behind a front office pushing all the right buttons for several years now in lockstep with a scouting and coaching staff on the same page. 

The knee-jerk screaming seems misplaced in light of recent success, but, have at it. Maybe I will come back when people find some perspective.

In the meantime, if people want to actually hear and understand the team's approach they should listen to the latest HTPG where they interview Dir. of Scouting Mike Potts for the entire 50 minute episode.

It is here:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hear-that-podcast-growlin-a-show-about-the/id1477129521

peace to all. 

[Wraith]

24 minutes ago, membengal said:

I'm in the middle of a break from here because I cannot be around such senseless negativity right now for a team that just made a run to a Super Bowl behind a front office pushing all the right buttons for several years now in lockstep with a scouting and coaching staff on the same page. 

The knee-jerk screaming seems misplaced in light of recent success, but, have at it. Maybe I will come back when people find some perspective.

In the meantime, if people want to actually hear and understand the team's approach they should listen to the latest HTPG where they interview Dir. of Scouting Mike Potts for the entire 50 minute episode.

It is here:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hear-that-podcast-growlin-a-show-about-the/id1477129521

peace to all. 

Some people like to be angry and outraged.

[ArmyBengal]

No one is angry (at least I’m not).

While I may not have been a huge fan of the way the draft turned out, it by no means dampers my thoughts of what should be another great season in 2022.

I have all thoughts of another deep playoff run. Much less than that will be a huge disappointment. Would hate to think one somehow equates to another.

[Stripes]

We have Burrow. We’re good.

[TJJackson]

Im admittedly angry at the team for what I see as (mostly) bad moves during the draft.

Despite that, I know that draft mistakes usually dont work out badly for a team in the same year - draft is more about the future, not today, so I too am expecting a playoff team in 2022 with a definite opportunity to get back to the Superbowl

Let me also say that I am absolutely thrilled with the FA period.  This year, they did as I asked/expected them last year - protect New Guy.  Protected him well.  I'd still like them to bring back Ogunjobi or an equivalent 3TDT as the 1b to Hills 1a, and it'd be nice if they brought in another average-ish outside CB and a solid IOL (woulda shoulda been Spain, ah well), but I'm happy even if they don't.  

I am also happy that they seem committed to getting D'Ante up to speed as the swing tackle, concentrating apparently at OLT.  Smart move.

I hope that helps, Mem.....

[ArmyBengal]

I absolutely CANNOT wait to see this o-line work together this season.
I know the talk is (and should be) about protecting Burrow, but I think an equal benefactor to that improvement will be for Mixon.
If all things work out, this could be an absolute BEAST of a year for him.

For all the talk regarding the possibility of them taking a defensive end in the draft, that is yet another thing I'm looking forward to.
What exactly do we have in Joseph Ossai ??  Since they didn't really address it, my guess is they are hopeful of what he's going to bring.

Not only those two things, but there are still cutdowns to come, players that will become available and who knows what that will bring.
I'm so excited for this upcoming football season it's not even funny.  Don't remember THIS much excitement for quite some time.

Local high school teams, my Buckeyes, and the Bengals ?? 
HOLY SHIT, EVERYDAY IS GOING TO BE A FOOTBALL DAY !!!

Fuck being angry or upset, there's a Super Bowl to win !!!

[redsbengalsbucks]

On 5/5/2022 at 1:49 PM, TJJackson said:

Im admittedly angry at the team for what I see as (mostly) bad moves during the draft.

Despite that, I know that draft mistakes usually dont work out badly for a team in the same year - draft is more about the future, not today, so I too am expecting a playoff team in 2022 with a definite opportunity to get back to the Superbowl

Let me also say that I am absolutely thrilled with the FA period.  This year, they did as I asked/expected them last year - protect New Guy.  Protected him well.  I'd still like them to bring back Ogunjobi or an equivalent 3TDT as the 1b to Hills 1a, and it'd be nice if they brought in another average-ish outside CB and a solid IOL (woulda shoulda been Spain, ah well), but I'm happy even if they don't.  

I am also happy that they seem committed to getting D'Ante up to speed as the swing tackle, concentrating apparently at OLT.  Smart move.

I hope that helps, Mem.....

I don't see the problem with the draft.  The biggest hole going into the draft was backup depth at DB and WR.  They filled DB depth and starters for the future, now if they can find a #4 WO in FA before the season starts, I'm very happy.  Spain did not play very well last season, no reason to bring him back.  There will be a marked improvement in at least one of the OL youngsters, especially with solid play beside them, that was not there last season.

 

This was a draft that will build the D for the future, exactly what a SB team needs to focus on.  The future.  Hopefully as a fan base we can get used to this kind of draft.