I am Loving the Speed

[3wt]

(06-13-2017, 08:28 PM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: I'm going to watch all the games and cheer for the team regardless if they are good or not. I was still a fan regardless of Akili Smith or Ryan Fizpatrick being the starter, so my "true fan" status has been well paid off.

I just know two years ago the Colts tried this exact same approach. Stock up on offensive talent at the skill positions... Luck, Gore, Hilton, A Johnson, Fleener, Allen, use a first round pick on an undersized WR who was the fastest in their draft in Dorsett... and think that the skill positions will make up for having a putrid OL.

Luck ended up with a hurt right shoulder, a hurt ankle, lacerated kidney, and torn abdominal muscle. He had never missed a game prior, but played only 7 games that year. His hasn't really been truly healthy since then, and he had to get surgery on his throwing shoulder, traced back to the injury in the 2015 season. Luck still hasn't resumed throwing yet.

They call it a copycat league, but it is generally implied you are supposed to copy the good things, not the stupid things.

I mean I think your point is totally valid in terms of the approach the Colts took and the sense of putting the cart before the horse.

But I can't agree that the Bengals approach was stupid.  There were really not a lot of good offensive linemen in this draft relative to the talent in the positions we drafted in - certainly not at the 9th pick.  And assuming someone was willing to trade up to nine,  the chance that we would still get an appropriately qualified player lower down was pretty slim looking down from 9.

The biggest draft issue was the tackles we took in 2014 who appear to have been anywhere between reaches and busts.  Given the lack of OTA and training camp reps for both of those players I think there is still a tiny bit of hope they will pan out.

The second biggest problem was letting Whit walk given the lack of assurance that Og would pan out.

But this year's draft looks better the more I see and hear, so I don't think this year's draft qualifies as being stupid.

We'll see...