Signing Kirk, LaFell, TJ, Smith, Minter all Good News

[Luvnit2]

(03-20-2017, 09:12 AM)kevin Wrote: OK, we lost some fan favorites. Peoples take that this team is giving up and in rebuilding mode, no, I don't see that at all. If that was the case they would not resign Kirkpatrick and Lafell or bring back Andre Smith or sign Minter.  I also like that Minter is 26 as opposed to the ages of Harrison, Hawk and Dansby brought in way past their prime.  So I see a lot of positives as we head into the draft next month. Plus we have picks from last few years in training mode ready to become veterans. Bodine, Dennard, Ced, Fisher, Jackson, McCarron, Boyd, Core are among the draft picks developing into veterans. It is a huge jump from college to NFL.  With the players we have and the draft coming, the Bengals can score a lot but give up few points in 2017.  Bengals already said if the LSU RB is there when they pick, they will make him a Bengal.  Don't give up on a team with Dalton and all these pass catchers and Atkins and Dunlap on defense just yet.  

Looking back at our last losing season in 2010 (4-12), losing our franchise QB (Palmer), the talking heads on major networks and a lot of fans had us not only being bad, but saying worst team in the NFL. I look at 2016, I saw our OL not play well as a unit, I saw our kicker kill us. I saw us lose the same close games we won previously. I see talent on this team, but we need to fix the OL issues and new starters need to step in and step up.

I am curious what pieces are added in the 1st 3 rounds of the draft. We had our #1 pick not play a snap the past 2 years and not much 3 years ago (Dennard) due to injury. Hopefully at #9 (highest pick we have had since AJ Green at #4), we draft a day one impact player that can produce in 2017, not a year or 2 later.

The NFL margin of winning and losing is small, we need to flip some negatives from 2017, add some talent, have more guys step up and have career years. If so, I know we can do well.