(01-19-2022, 04:01 AM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: Burrow certainly helped, but the biggest change in the culture of Cincinnati football was opening up the check book.

Reader
Ogunjobi
Bell
Hendrickson
Awuzie
Hilton
Reiff

All very uncharacteristic FA signings that brought the Bengals to where they are right now this season. I think that's more >$5m/yr outside FA signings in a 2 year span than the entire rest of Bengals history combined? Something changed in the FO, and I don't think it was because Taylor was the first coach for the Bengals under Mike Brown to ask to sign some good FA. Really makes me sad that this kind of proactive approach wasn't used 2005-2009 and 2011-2015 for what could have been.

Thankfully enjoying the now helps me from dwelling on that, but it doesn't change the fact that the biggest change of Cincinnati football culture is opening up the check book. If they had continued their FA non-approach then this team would still be winning 4 games and looking like the Lions when they had Stafford and Megatron.

People are trying all they can to make it seem like Mike Brown just bought Taylor a winning team. They had to bring in a lot of free agents, because they were ditching the remaining Marvin guys with just a couple of exceptions. Doing smart things like getting two outstanding ccorners for the price of one meh one. During previous years, the same amount of money basically was spent, it was just spent resigning our guys we drafted. As we move forward, and we re-sign guys that are already here, it will again look like we aren't spending on outside free agents. There's always a minimum amount an owner has to spend, by league rules, and since we have the most cap space, we're not spending the most.

(01-19-2022, 08:57 AM)SHRacerX Wrote: Excellent example.  They also fought WAY back against the Chargers when they dug themselves in to a 24-0 hole.  

It didn't come out a win, but I think they realized they are never out of a game.  They are the product of all their experiences and what I have seen from ZT and his staff is they LEARN from these experiences.  They shifted all season as Joe got back to 100% allowing him to do more and more.  

I give the coaches huge credit for how they have prepared and executed all season.  My biggest recent gripe was "taking the ball out of Joe's hands" against the 49ers.  I think they learned from that, and will put it in Joe's hands.

I think you are right. However Joe is still inexperienced and the problem is the OL. There’s a fine line at the end of a game on burning clock and eliminating from your playbook potentially killer plays resulting in a big loss. All that could be fixed with an OL that can run block. We all know they aren’t very good. Hopefully they get an OL upgrade this year. This team with a better run game makes this offense unstoppable. Tampa won’t make the SB this year because they have their own running issues.

(01-19-2022, 08:59 AM)Sled21 Wrote: People are trying all they can to make it seem like Mike Brown just bought Taylor a winning team. They had to bring in a lot of free agents, because they were ditching the remaining Marvin guys with just a couple of exceptions. Doing smart things like getting two outstanding ccorners for the price of one meh one. During previous years, the same amount of money basically was spent, it was just spent resigning our guys we drafted. As we move forward, and we re-sign guys that are already here, it will again look like we aren't spending on outside free agents. There's always a minimum amount an owner has to spend, by league rules, and since we have the most cap space, we're not spending the most.

I don’t know the history of the Bengals and can only guess a few things. Why the FA change in approach? Attendance? Revenue?
Pandemic hurt everybody but when your team is lousy they don’t renew. The pandemic has effected attendance in all sports events. People got acclimated to staying at home and saving the money. Mike Brown? I suspect his kids and grand kids who are all invested in the team want to get him a Super Bowl. He’s what 84? Joe Burrow? Maybe they feel there’s their biggest opportunity with him on board? Maybe the young Browns running the show have convinced Mike to become more aggressive.

This off season will tell a lot about their intentions. It also will be crucial to elevating the Bengals to the level of GB,KC, Tampa. They still have some holes. Offensive line we know but really the roster too to bottom needs strengthening too as injuries can effect you a lot in what is now a 17 game season.

(01-19-2022, 08:59 AM)Sled21 Wrote: People are trying all they can to make it seem like Mike Brown just bought Taylor a winning team. They had to bring in a lot of free agents, because they were ditching the remaining Marvin guys with just a couple of exceptions. Doing smart things like getting two outstanding ccorners for the price of one meh one. During previous years, the same amount of money basically was spent, it was just spent resigning our guys we drafted. As we move forward, and we re-sign guys that are already here, it will again look like we aren't spending on outside free agents. There's always a minimum amount an owner has to spend, by league rules, and since we have the most cap space, we're not spending the most.

Regardless of what I thought about Zac Taylor as a play caller, he and the crew have done a really good job getting impactful players both in the draft and FA the past 3 offseasons.

Look how many players have been added that are primary contributors:
Jonah Williams
Quinton Spain
Hakeem Adeniji
Jackson Carman
Riley Reiff
Joe Burrow
Tee Higgins
Ja'Marr Chase

Trey Hendrickson
DJ Reader
Larry Ogunjobi
BJ Hill
Logan Wilson
Chidobe Awuzie
Vonn Bell
Eli Apple
Mike Hilton

Evan McPherson

Basically an entire new OL, QB, top two pass catchers, defense, and kicker.

I wished it didn't come at the expense of two really bad years, but I'm happy the team is back in the playoffs finally.

EDIT - Added Evan McPherson (thanks Tecmo)

(01-19-2022, 10:57 AM)Soonerpeace Wrote: I don’t know the history of the Bengals and can only guess a few things. Why the FA change in approach? Attendance? Revenue?
Pandemic hurt everybody but when your team is lousy they don’t renew. The pandemic has effected attendance in all sports events. People got acclimated to staying at home and saving the money. Mike Brown? I suspect his kids and grand kids who are all invested in the team want to get him a Super Bowl. He’s what 84? Joe Burrow? Maybe they feel there’s their biggest opportunity with him on board? Maybe the young Browns running the show have convinced Mike to become more aggressive.

This off season will tell a lot about their intentions. It also will be crucial to elevating the Bengals to the level of GB,KC, Tampa. They still have some holes. Offensive line we know but really the roster too to bottom needs strengthening too as injuries can effect you a lot in what is now a 17 game season.

The history of this team is they always liked to draft their own players, and then give them extensions. Oftentimes, this went too far in the player's respective careers and they dropped off. When Taylor came in, he got rid of most of the holdover players and replaced them with guys he wanted. To do this solely through the draft would have taken years. Hence the big spending for outside Free Agents.

(01-19-2022, 12:11 PM)ochocincos Wrote: Regardless of what I thought about Zac Taylor as a play caller, he and the crew have done a really good job getting impactful players both in the draft and FA the past 3 offseasons.

Look how many players have been added that are primary contributors:
Jonah Williams
Quinton Spain
Hakeem Adeniji
Jackson Carman
Riley Reiff
Joe Burrow
Tee Higgins
Ja'Marr Chase

Trey Hendrickson
DJ Reader
Larry Ogunjobi
BJ Hill
Logan Wilson
Chidobe Awuzie
Vonn Bell
Eli Apple
Mike Hilton

Basically an entire new OL, QB, top two pass catchers, and defense.

I wished it didn't come at the expense of two really bad years, but I'm happy the team is back in the playoffs finally.

Don't forget Evan McPherson. Our boy is on his path to NFL Kicker glory like Justin Tucker.

(01-19-2022, 12:27 PM)TecmoBengals Wrote: Don't forget Evan McPherson. Our boy is on his path to NFL Kicker glory like Justin Tucker.

Indeed. I will add him. Good catch.

(01-19-2022, 08:59 AM)Sled21 Wrote: People are trying all they can to make it seem like Mike Brown just bought Taylor a winning team. They had to bring in a lot of free agents, because they were ditching the remaining Marvin guys with just a couple of exceptions. Doing smart things like getting two outstanding ccorners for the price of one meh one. During previous years, the same amount of money basically was spent, it was just spent resigning our guys we drafted. As we move forward, and we re-sign guys that are already here, it will again look like we aren't spending on outside free agents. There's always a minimum amount an owner has to spend, by league rules, and since we have the most cap space, we're not spending the most.

Right. The guys they were spending big money on when Zac got here were old or getting there. If they wanted a quick turnaround, they had NO CHOICE but buying some talent. The difference here, is the type of player they are targeting in FA and the draft. It's night and day. It shows up on the penalty ledger, and discipline within the schemes. For some reason, no one wants to give this guy any credit. I know why, but it doesn't make any sense to me. I was wrong about how quickly they'd turn things around and how much improvement Zac and the staff would make. I wasn't ready to fire them all, but I wasn't exactly pounding the table to keep them either. I just admit I was wrong and move on.....