10-17-2017, 01:36 PM
(10-17-2017, 12:46 PM)muskiesfan Wrote: See, the Bengals can add impact free agents that don't have to be Day 1 bank-breaking deals. There are still quality players available in tier 2 and tier 3. Unfortunately, the Bengals wait until weeks later and sign busts because they're former 1st rounders and cheap, they sign over-the-hill end of their career players because they're cheap, or they re-sign former players who left for big pay days and fell on their face and are now willing to play for cheap.
There are plenty of other Minter types that the team could sign that would be helpful. Signing young players or players coming into their prime is a much better option than former busts, old guys, or former Bengals. They don't have to go after the Suhs, Mike Wallaces, Darrelle Revis', and so on. There are plenty of players in the tier just below them that can be had for reasonable contracts. Of course, flying them in coach and taking them to Wendy's may not win them over, but those are the type of free agents that could come in and help put us over the hump without breaking the bank.
Mike Brown is all about padding his and his family's bank accounts. That is and will always be priority number 1 as long as he's here. If he went out and spent and actually tried to win like 31 other NFL teams do, he'd make even more money. That's the thing I don't understand about Ebenezer Brown. He could make even more money if he spent money to make a legitimate run at a title. Instead he keeps more money than required to sign draft picks, he keeps the highest injury pool in the league, and rolls over money every year.
Free agency could be an amazing supplement to our draft strategy without us throwing around stupid money on the first day. There are plenty of reasonably priced upgrades available every free agency that we pass on to sign an aging bench player.
The Bengals are free agency 'vultures'. They wait until most of the guys are signed then pick through the rest. The guys that get desperate to sign somewhere.
The con of that is what are the odds that the guys that haven't signed fit their system?
Look no further than the Harrison signing. He was an OLB in a 3-4 that totally didn't fit the Bengals system. At the time, Dansby was younger and did fit their system and would fill a need. Dansby wanted more money though...so they signed Harrison.
