01-03-2024, 01:10 PM
(01-03-2024, 11:07 AM)Sled21 Wrote: Man, how absence makes the heart grow fonder. Everybody missing Bates, Bell, Perine and Apple.
When Jesse Bates was here all we heard was he was overpaid and missed too many tackles. During his "head funk" period people were lining up to pull the gallows lever.
Bell will always have a place in my heart for his hit on Shit Schuster that set the tone and put the league on notice that this wasn't your daddy's Bengals. I really wanted him re-signed, but I clearly remember a lot of "He's getting too old" comments.
And Apple, despite his high level of play, more people wanted him gone than Covid.
Perine? Another of my favorites, but there were clearly people after his head for not making a diving catch during the Super Bowl.
But now the team is a bunch of idiots for letting them go.
Of the bunch, if it were up to me and I had to let one go, it would have been Bates, because he did not always play up to his ability. Playoff Jesse and Regular Season Jesse weren't even close to the same player. And that tells me he wasn't giving 100% during the regular season.
Dax Hill will be better than Bates IMO. Give the kid some time, it's just his 2nd year and he was playing numerous positions his first year. Battle will come on strong I think. Chase Brown appears to be the real deal and can break a long run at any given moment he is given the ball. CTB and Awuzie > Apple and Awuzie.
The future is bright.
I never thought Bates would be retained. Too high of an asking price. For the right price, I was fine with keeping Apple, and wanted both Bell and Perine to stay. They were good role players.
