04-12-2019, 08:09 AM
(04-08-2019, 01:30 PM)fredtoast Wrote: I posted a thread asking what the Bengals had done right over the last decade. That decade includes the '09 team and after looking closely I'd say the best thing the Bengals did on 2009 was make lemonade out of lemons.
- leading rusher, Cedric Benson had been signed off the street in the middle of the previous season after being released by the Bears.
- O-line was mostly comprised of undrafted free agents (Nate Livings) and players released by other teams (Dennis Roland-Bears, Kyle Cook-Vikings, Evan Mathis-Dolphins)
- leading tackler, Dhani Jones, had also been signed off the street in the middle of the previous year after the Saints had released him.
- both starting safeties were signed after being cut (Roy Williams-Cowboys, Chris Crocker-Browns)
- placekicker, Shayne Graham, had been cut by the Panthers.
- both of out TEs (Danial Coats, J.P. Foschi) were undrafted free agents who had been with other teams
- OLB Rashad Jenty had been signed out of the CFL.
Then next year, 2010, we added Adam Jones who had been cut by multiple teams, and Reggie Nelson who was considered such a bust in Jacksonville that we were able to get him in trade for a back up DB, David Jones, who barely played for us.
2011 we signed WR Andrew Hawkins out of the CFL. We signed 2 free agent LBs who were not really "busts" but had not lived up to their First Round Draft status (Manny Lawson, Thomas Howard), and Nate Clements who had been cut by the Forty-niners.
2012 we signed Terrance Newman who had been released by the Cowboys and Wallace Gilberry who had been cut by the Chiefs. Also added undrafted free agent Vontaze Burfict.
But then after that the stream of successful reclamation projects seemed to dry up. We Signed Michael Johnson in 2015 after Tampa Bay released him and Brandon LaFell in 2016 after he was cit by the Patriots, but most of the other signings of older or troubled players seemed to work out. I don't even remember if Harrison, Hawk, Dansby, or Minter had been cut or not before we signed them.
Honestly of all of them I still say the Reggie Nelson trade was the prime example of lemonade out of lemons...
we had 6 years of fantastic production out of him but even above the numbers which were good he seemed to get the whole secondary lined up , and had that apparent knack for getting in Big Ben's head.
Great player for us and he's the reason why i was delighted to see us get Jessie Bates and see him develop because i was never a real fan of the Ilolka & William, two box safety / hitters approach at safety.
