Nugent: A Case of Detrimental Loyalty?

[Bengal Dude]

(11-21-2016, 12:39 PM)Shake n Blake Wrote: 1. I never viewed Hocker as serious competition for Nuge. For one, he had pretty bad numbers in college, and secondly, the Bengals bring an extra kicker to almost every camp. 

2. I wanted Nugent replaced back when Robbie Gould was still available. While I realize that the available kickers have been thinned out, you have to believe we could do better than the percentages you listed.

I would sign someone now, then look for a serious upgrade in the offseason - when upgrades at kicker are easier to find. The issue with the Bengals is that they are VERY slow to drop certain players, and it's hard to predict when a good kicker will hit the market. It happens every year though. You often see guys like Josh Brown, Prater or Gould hit the market. You just have to pounce when they do.

Sometimes a struggling kicker just needs a chance of scenery. Look at our old friend Shayne Graham. Graham entered the league in 2000. He struggled and bounced around. We were his 6th team when we picked him up right before the 2003 season began. Before he faltered at the end, Graham was an awesome kicker for us. Yes, the kickers on the market might look worse than Nugent in the stats category, but there's a chance that the light clicks on for one if they sign here.