What the bengals should do this off-season

[schroomytunes]

If the offseason started now and we do have @16 million in cap space then I would do this:

1) sign Levi and Steinbach to extentions

2) sign Kemoeatu(DT) from the Ravens, he bolsters the middle and allows our LB's to roam more freely.

3)Sign Marlon McCree(SS) from the Panthers he teams up with Madieu to bolster the secondary.

4)Sign Aaron Shea(TE) from the Browns to be the backup TE

With the exception of McCree and the extentions we have upgraded some areas without spending big bucks, and have upgraded the team a great deal. We can now focus on the draft a lot better after addressing some areas in FA.

Draft:

----take best available player in every round regardless of position, but try to avoid areas of WR,QB,RB

[NJ29]

Yo! Get the O Line set for the future is a big thing for me. Other than that, I would like to see us bring in another defensive tackle, whether that be Kemoeatu, Hovan or maybe, just maybe, the management can grow a pair and make a run at Rocky Bernard. I would also love to see us go after Chris Hope or Marloin McCree.

[Whur CHad At?]

Remember, if a new CBA agreement is reached before March 3, look for the Bengals to be spending a lot of money this off-season. We have a lot of it, and their is no need to waste it. Nate Clements could very well be a Bengal this year. I wouldn't mind seeing it happen

[Clackwoods]

I agree with what everyone says, I think we are all in agreement that we need to upgrade our dt, safety, and corner position. Also add some depth at corner and bring in a solid backup qb. I have faith in Marvin and I think he will make it happen.

[The_Next_Big_Thing]

Clack,

I'm not sure we really need to worry about our corner position early. A second day pick can provide depth. However, if a good corner falls to you and is the BPA, you have to snag him, because corners demand too much in the free agent market.

[schweinhart]

What Bengals should do:

1. Extend Steinbach, Levi, and Big Willie in that order. Don't crutch on Steiny and Levi not being free agents after 2006 if there's no CBA.

2. Dump Dopey the Gunslinger, Big Duane, and Kim Herring.

3. Re-sign Kitna and Kenny Watson and sign Ratbird DT Ma'ake Kemoeatu. Don't fool with other 10 Bengals UFAs.

4. Low tender RFAs Walter, JJ, Kooistra, and K-Dub and hope other team gives K-Dub offer sheet for 3rd round pick.

5. Draft 1) Demetrius Williams WR 2) DeMario Minter CB 3a) Dwayne Slay S 3b) Stanley McClover DE 4) Jeremy Mincey DE 5) Charles Davis TE 6) Jamar Williams LB 7) Justin Phinisee DB/PR

6. Put PK Sam or equivalent and Ronnie Ghent on active roster.

7. Sign undrafted rookie free agents to compete for weakside backer/special teams, punter, fullback, and 3rd string QB.

[The_Next_Big_Thing]

I don't think we can wait untli the 3rd round to pick a safety, and frankly, we need more than one in the offseason.

Kenny Watson, with the emergence of Chris Perry, is expendable.

WR in round 1 is a wasted pick, especially on Williams. He ain't all that.

[kingwilly]

Given Big Willie's comment on bengals.com about giving the young guys the money it sounds as if he's not really expecting anything. If he gets a deal...cool....if not he said he'd ride of into the sunset.

I think we all agree about the priorities...

O-line

Clear the clutter/injury prone

Re-sign some UFA role-players: I like Watson, Wilkins, Luchey and Navies...Kitna won't be back, everyone else can apply elsewhere.

Grab a few FA guys to step in (QB, DT, S all possible)

Keep all RFA's if possible...none are that attractive to other team excpet ...maybe squirrel.

Fill the holes with the draft.

based on that we won't lose an offensive starter and only 1 (if you count Ohalete and Herring as 1 when combined) from the D.

Upgrades at SS, TE, maybe DE and maybe CB from the draft...depending on order/quality.

[derekshank]

If the offseason started now and we do have @16 million in cap space then I would do this:

1) sign Levi and Steinbach to extentions

2) sign Kemoeatu(DT) from the Ravens, he bolsters the middle and allows our LB's to roam more freely.

3)Sign Marlon McCree(SS) from the Panthers he teams up with Madieu to bolster the secondary.

4)Sign Aaron Shea(TE) from the Browns to be the backup TE

With the exception of McCree and the extentions we have upgraded some areas without spending big bucks, and have upgraded the team a great deal. We can now focus on the draft a lot better after addressing some areas in FA.

Draft:

----take best available player in every round regardless of position, but try to avoid areas of WR,QB,RB

Whoa schroomy... I thought I wrote that post for a second. This is almost exactly what I would like to see us do.

I definetly want Levi and Steinbach re-signed this off-season. We don't need both of them becoming free agents in '07. Willie is getting old, and even though he's still good, we're not going to give him the big Tackle money he wants... especially since he's a RT, not a LT. Maybe he'll get his money from a team that has a left-handed QB. I know the coaches really like Kieft, and between Stacy Andrews, and Wilkerson (who I expect with all his talent to be able to play RG just as well as Bobbie) the left side of the line is all we should look at extending.

Kemoeatu is quickly becoming my biggest desire in FA this year. The more I think about it, the more I realize that rookies don't usually make big impacts at the DT position. The only question I have about him is if Marvin wants a guy that huge. Marvin tends to go for smaller more athletic guys... but it seems clear to me that Smith and Geathers need a guy to take up blockers. Kemo is that guy.

Marlon McCree is the guy I have wanted the most in FA up until this point... but I read an article saying that he is very likely to re-sign with Carolina. We probably won't get him, because he likes being a Panther. However... Safeties much more than DT make impacts as rookies, and even 2nd and 3rd rounders have been known to get starting positions. I think we'll be okay if we wait until the draft to address a starting SS need.

Aaron Shea is the only place I have to disagree with you. He is a good receiver... but a very poor blocker. Manumaleuna out of St. Louis is the guy I'd like to see at TE. He has the versatility to line up as a FB (which Indy was able to utilize with Dallas Clark), and he is just as good as Schobel at receiving... but a fantastic blocker... much better than anything we have right now. He would improve our run game quite a bit, and take nothing away from our passing game from a TE perspective.

[schweinhart]

I don't think we can wait untli the 3rd round to pick a safety, and frankly, we need more than one in the offseason.

Kenny Watson, with the emergence of Chris Perry, is expendable.

WR in round 1 is a wasted pick, especially on Williams. He ain't all that.

There's no hurry for safety in this draft. The position is easily upgraded and the draft is deep with excellent ones without a whole lot of drop off from round 1 to 3. More than 1 safety really wouldn't be necessary because Madieu will be back and one of the CBs can be the 4th safety. But there will be decent safeties there even as rookie free agents if they got to add one. Why waste a pick?

The emrgence of Chris Perry didn't produce as many yards as Watson has from the LOS in his 2nd year, but no doubt the hype was higher. With Watson back, he can be the 3rd down blocker and Perry can line up as a receiver. Why have Perry wasted as a blitz blocker to the detriment of the team when he he can be freed up to run routes? Watson can resume his ways off knocking the crud out of incoming LBs like he likes to do. Plus, if anything happened to Rudi, it'd be nice to have a RB who can run effectively with some power between the tackles like Watson can. Watson also plays teams, so it'd be more likely that his return makes Marcus Wilkins expendable.

WR in Round 1 would be drafting to strength that would be far from wasted if both Henry and K-Dub are gone. And the "especially on Williams" part, I'd like to hear more about just why "He ain't all that". If you check out stats, just make sure you're not looking up his high school ones.

[The_Next_Big_Thing]

If we lose Herring and replace him simply with 1 later draft pick, we break even. Did most of our safeties going down and causing us to play a complete scrub at safety two years in a a row not tell you we need to do more than just replace Herring with someone else? We need to replace Herring AND get depth at the position.

Demetrius Williams is a TJ type receiver, not a fast guy. To replace Henry, we need a speedy guy who can spread the field as the #3 receiver, not another TJ type. Mark my words, barring a stunning 40 time at the combine, which is highly unlikely, he will not go in the first round, and will be lucky to go in the early 2nd round. Also, at less than 200 pounds, Williams is not prepared to go into the NFL as a TJ type over the middle receiver without getting hurt, and that has been his game.

[Clackwoods]

If we lose Herring and replace him simply with 1 later draft pick, we break even. Did most of our safeties going down and causing us to play a complete scrub at safety two years in a a row not tell you we need to do more than just replace Herring with someone else? We need to replace Herring AND get depth at the position.

Demetrius Williams is a TJ type receiver, not a fast guy. To replace Henry, we need a speedy guy who can spread the field as the #3 receiver, not another TJ type. Mark my words, barring a stunning 40 time at the combine, which is highly unlikely, he will not go in the first round, and will be lucky to go in the early 2nd round. Also, at less than 200 pounds, Williams is not prepared to go into the NFL as a TJ type over the middle receiver without getting hurt, and that has been his game.

What is all this talk about getting a wr with our first pick? That is madness. We got henry in the third round and he was very good, we don't have to go to the first round just so we can have a good third reciever. You don't use first round picks on guys that are going to be in only a little bit of the time unless you have older recievers that need to be replaced in a year or two. Our recievers are generally young and the soonest we need a wr is the second round, but I think Marvin will snag one in the third just like last year. We need to get a dt from free agency and add a safety in the draft and as I have been arguing this whole time, we need to bring in Couch as backup. Kitna let me down in the second half of that game and he needs to leave. Had he not choked that would have been a huge win for our city and our franchise.

[schweinhart]

If we lose Herring and replace him simply with 1 later draft pick, we break even. Did most of our safeties going down and causing us to play a complete scrub at safety two years in a a row not tell you we need to do more than just replace Herring with someone else? We need to replace Herring AND get depth at the position.

The return of Madieu solves most of the safety probelms because he can interchange. Granted if he goes down again the same problem surfaces, which is why a FS with SS size and mind like Slay is important -- he fixes the SS problem right away. With either Madieu or Slay at SS, the depth issue at FS is less pressing because CBs on the team -- like Body or Keiwan on the roster now or draft picks like I got in Minter or Phinisee -- can fill that spot if K2 goes down. Safety is not the biggest problem on defense. It is zero pass rush, which the Bengals would do well to prioritize over safety in terms of more than 1 pick.

Demetrius Williams is a TJ type receiver, not a fast guy. To replace Henry, we need a speedy guy who can spread the field as the #3 receiver, not another TJ type. Mark my words, barring a stunning 40 time at the combine, which is highly unlikely, he will not go in the first round, and will be lucky to go in the early 2nd round. Also, at less than 200 pounds, Williams is not prepared to go into the NFL as a TJ type over the middle receiver without getting hurt, and that has been his game.

This is a$$backwards. Williams is a #1 -- a Chad type of receiver, not a Housh type. Where Williams will get looked at in the 1st round is straightforward as a predominantly vertical threat who separates effortlessly, can stop on a dime, and catches everything thrown at him. He's plenty fast enough -- and mark my words, his 40 will be like Chad's -- and he can set up the sideline fly on any given play with his ability to run deep outs, slants, and stops. To say he's a TJ type who has to go over the middle is just flat out wrong. Williams would go over the middle the same way Chad does and Henry did -- off quick and middle slants. He wouldn't be a possession receiver like Housh at all but rather would free Housh up from #2 to do that in 3 WR sets because the other WRs in Walter and Tab Perry wouldn't be able to since they're largely limited to possession roles forcing Housh to be more of the vertical threat.

[The_Next_Big_Thing]

If we lose Herring and replace him simply with 1 later draft pick, we break even. Did most of our safeties going down and causing us to play a complete scrub at safety two years in a a row not tell you we need to do more than just replace Herring with someone else? We need to replace Herring AND get depth at the position.

The return of Madieu solves most of the safety probelms because he can interchange. Granted if he goes down again the same problem surfaces, which is why a FS with SS size and mind like Slay is important -- he fixes the SS problem right away. With either Madieu or Slay at SS, the depth issue at FS is less pressing because CBs on the team -- like Body or Keiwan on the roster now or draft picks like I got in Minter or Phinisee -- can fill that spot if K2 goes down. Safety is not the biggest problem on defense. It is zero pass rush, which the Bengals would do well to prioritize over safety in terms of more than 1 pick.

Don't you get it? What are you failing to see? The safety play was one of our biggest problems this season, with the black Ho out on the field called Ohalete. It affected our run coverage, our pass coverage, and frankly, the entire game. Neither Keiwan or Body are going to play safety. If they were, they would have gone in for Ohaletmerunbyyouonemoretime. You say Madieu coming back solves the problem. That's the most assinine answer I've ever heard! What if he gets injured again? That's the whole freaking point of needing more than 1 guy. We need DEPTH at safety badly. Lack of depth is what killed us this year and last year. There's a pattern here folks.

As for the lack of a pass rush, I totally agree, we need better guys on the defensive line all around. Frankly, the scrub Shaun Smith is the only one who impressed me in the least this year, and he wasn't even drafted. Justin Smith is alright. He's solid but not spectacular. Robert Geathers looked so good as a pass rush specialist last season, but looked like CRAP this year. Thornton is well, average. Robinson is history. In other words yes, this is a position of need.

In my opinion, we need to somehow, via free agency and the draft, come up a starting strong safety and a backup strong safety. We also need a starting defensive end and a backup defensive end to develop. After that we could sure use a pair of defensive tackles to start, AND a backup corner to groom for the future. Oh, and while we are at it, a journeyman QB to backup Carson would be nice if Kitna leaves, AND another linebacker to groom to replace Simmons in the long term is a need too.

If you haven't figured it out yet, our defensive is a mess, and we need to work on the whole thing. However, you can only do so much each year. This draft is heavy on good safeties (which is rare) and has quite a few above average DTs but few DEs. It's also weak for WRs. So, expect us to address the line and safety and then see who slips.

[kingwilly]

THe onyl impact DE in FA is Abraham, and we are not gong to cough up that kind of coin. What makes the most sense is a top DE in r1. Kiwi, Hali make the most sense...Tapp would be a reach... Pass rush problem is sovlable.

Safety play and depth was the weakest spot on this team last year. I think grabbing 2 in the draft is an option. Mitchell is average, Ohalete will be unemployed and KK will be shuffled back to a #2. Williams staying healthy is really only the first step, having a top-flight S from the draft (r2 Whitner or r3 Watkins or r4 Slay) may aslo help solve the pass D issues.

As for William, he may run a sub 4.5 40 and have physical stats like Chad....in fact, there are many players who look like Chad on paper...but none are Chad. Williams is a decent mid-round WR who played under two QB's and had some nice games. I think he will project into r3 but may slip into r4. I think Mike Hass is a better WR techically and has better physical tools to succed in the NFL, especially the bengals vertical schemes, he could go r4-5. I also think Brandon Marshall is a real sleeper who could make an impact in the NFL, he could be had in r6. WR is not very deep in this years draft so teams with WR shortages could reach for players. No reason for the Bengals to burn a r2-3 pick on a guy who any other year is a r5 grade.

As far as the whole D being a problem, I only partly agree. We had some key injuries. Williams down, B-Rob missing many games, Herring (no matter the opinion) was replaced by Ohalete....those are some major fall-offs in talent from our 1 to 2/other. This D, as is, is not as bad as it played late in the year. A couple of upgrades and depth to offest the fall-off between 1-2, we will be a much better D as a unit.

[schweinhart]

Don't you get it? What are you failing to see? The safety play was one of our biggest problems this season, with the black Ho out on the field called Ohalete. It affected our run coverage, our pass coverage, and frankly, the entire game.

Safety was no doubt a problem...after Madieu went out. But even then safety was not the primary reason why games were lost. It had more to do with pass rush, which the safeties had no fault in. Ohalete is an easy target to blame on highly visible plays like the Willie Parker TD run in the 1st Steelers game, the missed strip of Dallas Clark vs. Indy, or the whiff on the spin move on the TD by Quincy Morgan. But the blame is shared by K2 (especially in the playoff loss) and Tory James, who just can't hang with anything other than average WRs. And the underlying root of the problem remains the absolutely non-existent pass rush.

Neither Keiwan or Body are going to play safety. If they were, they would have gone in for Ohaletmerunbyyouonemoretime.

Keiwan did, both when Ohalete was out and some after he returned. Mitchell never did and neither did Body. Nor did Tony Bua or Indiana Jones or Reggie Myles or any other street free agent. Ohalete was apparently the best of the available options despite his shortcomings.

You say Madieu coming back solves the problem. That's the most assinine answer I've ever heard! What if he gets injured again? That's the whole freaking point of needing more than 1 guy.

Here's an even more assinine question...What if K-Dub and Henry are gone and the 3rd wide out is left to Walter, Tab Perry, or PK Sam or even worse, Chad and/or Housh are injured and those 3 plus the equivalent of WR Ohaletes make up the rest of the receiving corps? That's the whole freaking point of needing one more guy at WR. The difference between needing that guy at safety and WR is the difference between the primary strength of the Bengals in their vertical attack on offense getting crippled over the far less positional importance of safety.

We need DEPTH at safety badly. Lack of depth is what killed us this year and last year. There's a pattern here folks.

Depth is definitely needed and easily had without burning a 1st or 2nd or spending free agent dollars on it. And yes there is a pattern....Mitchell, Herring, and Ohalete...all Marvin guys from his former life. Hopefully, that pattern changes.

In my opinion, we need to somehow, via free agency and the draft, come up a starting strong safety and a backup strong safety. We also need a starting defensive end and a backup defensive end to develop. After that we could sure use a pair of defensive tackles to start, AND a backup corner to groom for the future. Oh, and while we are at it, a journeyman QB to backup Carson would be nice if Kitna leaves, AND another linebacker to groom to replace Simmons in the long term is a need too.

I absolutely agree with the one exception of wanting a 3rd WR high off the board at the expense of a backup strong safety in order to preserve the most important strength of the team.

If you haven't figured it out yet, our defensive is a mess, and we need to work on the whole thing. However, you can only do so much each year. This draft is heavy on good safeties (which is rare) and has quite a few above average DTs but few DEs. It's also weak for WRs. So, expect us to address the line and safety and then see who slips.

No question the defense is a mess. Such a mess that upgrading it should be easily done. And such a mess that every draft pick on D and a couple second tier free agents wouldn't fix it enough to compensate for the loss of the strength in the vertical game if there is no effective 3rd wideout to free Housh underneath or, if it came to it, no viable deep threat backup should anything happen to Chad -- which would still be needed to allow Housh to operate how he's most effective. As the vertical game goes with Carson Palmer at the controls, so go the Bengals.

[cincy9275]

first resign levi and steinbach

sign a quality d tackle it all starts up front we need some guys to free up our ends and lb's

try to sign hope he would be a nice addition and would not break the bank

then draft a te dtackle ss wr cb qb de

bring tim couch in to work him out and see if he is worth brining to trainig camp wait and see what happen with kitna in f/a before we offer him a contract.

i believe this d will be better next season because of experince . we were horrible at stoping the run and getting any pass rush. if we can get to the qb our secondary will put up better numbers because they don't stay in coverage as long. but we will see what happens