I'm already looking at Vegas odds for the upcoming season because, with an improved offensive line, I like our chances at the Super Bowl, Burrow for MVP, Chase for OPOTY, the Triple Crown, and a few other bets. I think we can outscore anyone with a little protection for Burrow, and an improved defense only strengthens my beliefs.
We're currently tied with the Commanders for the seventh-best odds to win the Super Bowl at 16-1. Betting a hundred dollars wins you sixteen hundred....... I like those odds.
Burrow is tied with Mahomes at +750, which I have faith in him, but it will be tough to beat a media favorite in Mahomes unless Burrow has a big season, which is possible.
If our offensive line ends up being good, I think he's a lock for MVP because he could have won last season if we had made the playoffs.
Stewart is tied for seventh in defensive rookie of the year odds at +1,600, which wouldn't be a bad bet because hopefully Montgomery can at least coach him to be able to play with a little more control and finish plays with sacks, which I've argued that sometimes pressures are better than sacks because they lead to rushed/bad throws and turnovers.
We're +180 to win the division, which isn't a bad bet but I don't think it's that good of a bet just because the return's not too big.
I'll probably go over to Hard Rock downtown at some point to place bets and I might place some on Fanduel just because I was watching the Derby yesterday with a girl friend (smoking hot!) and I put in a deposit so we could place some bets but we couldn't get them in on time, so I have money in that account.
What bets do you like and are you going to place any?
Micah Parsons was asked about us drafting Shemar Stewart in the first round and mentions how he's violent and may not finish, but he plays 110 miles per hour and is get-off is amazing. He says that he plays so fast and the lack of college stats doesn't bother him because he only had 6.5 sacks in college.
Parsons also says that he can move inside at some point in his career.
Parsons does mention how he doesn't always finish, but that's what I've been saying about that doesn't bother me and his highlights only confirm that because, if you watch, the quarterbacks either had to release the ball quickly (which can lead to interceptions) or got flushed from he pocket.
He's still maturing (I think he's only 21) so his game will only evolve and give us a hell of a pick.
Here are some of his highlights where you can see the quarterback scrambling or getting rid of the ball quickly, which is just as good as a sack a lot of the time.
I always like to hear as many executives and coaches give their insight. There will always be some fluff, but I like to find details that seem to be consistent from all. I encourage to read it all. I know many think our FO sucks, but listening to. the imtelligent man articulate our draft and eliminate some narratives the FO, staff and coaches do not do their draft analysis homework for me was encouraging. They don't just throw darts at a board and say yeall, grab him,
On Stewart
GH: Talking to the coaches at A&M, it sounds like you've got a guy who can rush inside and out.
TB: He was definitely moved around a lot at Texas A&M. It's truly valuable for us. When you can have a pass rusher that you can really align them anywhere to go attack maybe the weakness of an opposing offensive line. Maybe that's a 4 technique. Maybe that's outside in a wide nine. Maybe in some packages, he's got to kick into a 3. I think Al does a great job in how he's going to utilize these guys. Somebody like Shemar, when we looked at him, he has the skill set to do a lot of things, and he has the experience moving across the defensive line. I think that's a great chess piece to have, and a great tool for Al and his defensive staff to use when we're going to line up on Sundays and try to go out and get after the quarterback.
GH: You've been looking at a guy like the third-rounder, Georgia guard Dylan Fairchild, for two years. Maybe more.
TB: Absolutely. Some of these guys, three, four years. When you identify a guy, how he's going to fit. The next thing is, well, how do you acquire him?
GH: You watch practice live, right?
TB: Absolutely, it's a big eval for us, especially there at Georgia because it's so highly competitive there from rep to rep. We spend time watching the practice and we get a chance to evaluate the film and when you looked at Dylan, there are a lot of things that we really liked for our offense, for our scheme when you talk about athleticism, strength, lateral quickness, being able to mirror inside against some high-level defensive tackles.
He checked those boxes, and it just wasn't me going in there. Our college director, Mike Potts, goes in there. We also sent a bunch of our offensive staff down to the Georgia pro day to meet with him directly. To spend some time with him as, we would say, quote, unquote, get some hands on the prospect and really feel the pop off the bat. See him in person.
TB: Yeah, we have a conversation about everything. And I think the coaches do a great job articulating the role in which they would fit within this scheme. How would they utilize this guy? Is he going to play inside, is he going to play outside? Is he better on third down? Is he the best on first and second down?
GH: It's like what you said about the second-round pick, South Carolina linebacker Demetrius Knight Jr. Great fit for the division. He strikes me as almost Raven-esque.
TB: He strikes me as a Cincinnati Bengal. He's big, he's fast, he's physical, He's smart. He's a leader.
When you turn on Barrett Carter's tape, of course, he can run and hit, go sideline to sideline. But on third down, when it's time to cover a tight end or back, that is something he did well on tape that we love seeing, that would really translate to the things that we do on defense here.
GH: And he's not small at 230 pounds.
Around this time each year I do a series of polls where we rank our position groups against others. I generally try to go starter plus the same number of backups. Example 1 QB starter 1 QB backup, 2 DEs starters, 2 DE backups.
We’ll start this year with the JBs.
Fun Fact: 2 NFL teams currently have top 5 overall draft picks as their starter and backup QB. Can you name them without reviewing the list?
So, where we got Joe and Jake v. the rest? As always, the competition:
ATL: MIKE PENNIX_KIRK COUSINS
ARZ: KYLER MURRAY_ JACOBY BRISSETT
BAL: LAMAR JACKSON_COOPER RUSH
BUF: JOSH ALLEN_MITCH TRUBISKEY
CAR: BRYCE YOUNG_ANDY DALTON
CHI: CALEB WILLIAMS_TYLER BAGENT
CLV: KENNY PICKET_JOE FLACCO\
DAL: DAK PRESCOTT_JOE MILTON
DEN: BO NIX_JARRET STIDHAM
DET: JARED GOFF_HENDON HOOKER
GBP: JORDAN LOVE_MALEK WILLIS
HOU:CJ STOUD_DAVIS MILLS
IND: ANTHONY RICHARDSON_DANIEL JONES
JAX: TREVOR LAWRENCE_NICK MULLINS
KCC: PATRICK MAHOMES_GARDNER MINSHEW
LVR: GENO SMITH_ADIAN OCONNEL
LAC: JUSTIN HERBERT_TYLER HENIKE
LAR: MATT STAFFORD_JIMMY GAROPPALO
MIA: TUA TAGOVALUOA_ZACH WILSON
MIN: JJ MCCARTHY_SAM HOWELL
NEP: DRAKE MAY_JOSHUA DOBBS
NOS: DEREK CARR_TYLER SHOUGH
NYG: RUSSELL WILSON_JAXSON DART
NYJ: JUSTIN FIELDS_TYROD TAYLOR
PHI: JALEN HURTS_TYLER MCCORD
PIT: MASON RUDOLPH_WILL HOWARD
SFF: BROCK PURDEY_MAC JONES
SEA: SAM DARNOLD_DREW LOCK
TBB: BAKER MAYFIELD_KYLE TRASK
TEN: CAM WARD_WILL LEVIS
WAS: JAYDEN DANIELS_MARCUS MARIOTA
Many of us (including myself) have been critical of this Bengals draft class.
Many national media sites are rating the Bengals draft one of the worst in the league.
So the question posed to you...looking at who was available at each pick, who would you have taken?
*Assume no trades because we don't know what was offered, only who was available.
Mine:
1) Derrick Harmon, DT Oregon
2) Tate Ratledge, OG Georgia
3) Xavier Watts, SAF Notre Dame
4) Kyle Kennard, DE South Carolina
5) Mitchell Evans, TE Notre Dame
6) Tahj Brooks, RB Texas Tech
Off-ball LB is one of the cheaper positions to address in FA, so I would have been perfectly ok not adding a LB in the draft. I would have been ok with just 1 LB though.
The front office needs to have some accountability if they expect the coaches and players to follow suit. That is hard to do if it's a family member making all the decisions.
I saw Mike Brown sitting in the draft room front and center. So idk what actually took place and has been taking place. If they have allowed Duke to be the actual architect, if he has been the architect, and if he is indeed the driving force responsible for assembling our roster. Then he deserves the accountability that should come with the pay check.
If we stay relatively healthy and miss the playoffs should we fire Duke?
