01-28-2017, 02:36 PM
(01-28-2017, 02:22 PM)Shake n Blake Wrote: Because not signing him would save a ton of money...for Mikey's wallet.
Hobson isn't going to know everything, but the Bengals do influence what he talks about on their site. If he's not mentioning Zeitler, that's a pretty huge omission on his part, and it naturally leads one to believe if he's being omitted for obvious reasons. I'm pretty sure Hobs didn't simply forget about Zeitler. He chose not to mention him for some reason.
I don't personally go to bengals.com anymore, but from past experience reading Hobspin, you can usually get a bead on what the Bengals are thinking if you read between the lines of his articles. For example, he always defends players and coaches who wind up returning. If he doesn't defend/endorse someone, then it's possible they're gone.
Hobs' job is a little different than a typical journalist. Although he probably isn't privy to something like the Bengals draft board, he probably has info that most writers don't, and his job is most likely to put out "news" that the Bengals want their fans to hear.
That might be the way it is during the regular season but the Bengals would have to pretty stupid to have Hobson tip our hand during the off-season. If they are thinking that way during the regular season I think it would make sense for them to be aware enough to change gears in the off-season using Hobson in a different way trying to change the way teams are thinking about our approach.
There is just very little reasoning imo to be taking stock in any team's writers opinions or insights this time of year beyond just speculating. The Bengals have never been the type of franchise to give 2 craps about what their fans think about their off-season moves so I don't think they are trying to be people pleasers. If they are going to be influencing Hobson at this point in the year it's probably going to be a misdirection more than true glimpses into the teams plan. But who really knows?
