Doesn’t mean squat but if they are right it makes Vegas look off.
8. CINCINNATI BENGALS

Projected Starting Lineup

LT: Jonah Williams
LG: Jackson Carman
C: Ted Karras
RG: Alex Cappa
RT: La’el Collins
This is the most improved offensive line in the NFL, at least on paper. Ted Karras (72.4 grade in 2021), Alex Cappa (71.3) and La’el Collins (80.2) all represent significant upgrades over the Bengals' 2021 starters at those respective positions. Add to that the fact that Jonah Williams and Jackson Carman are both high draft picks on rookie deals who could develop in 2022, and it’s easy to see why hopes are high in Cincinnati.

The O-line definitely has my hopes high going into the season.

LG is quite the quandary. On one hand I wand the early 2nd round pick to play and flourish; on the other I want us to bring in a vet such as Tretter, Flowers, or Spain and know we have decent; at minimum.

LOVE IT!

It's making me want to place my bets (make the SB, win the SB, and Burrow for MVP) even more!

Burrow would carve the league apart with even a decent offensive line!

If they bring in Tretter,which I seriously doubt,the line would likely be top 5,and I would be very happy.

(06-19-2022, 10:21 PM)bfine32 Wrote: LG is quite the quandary. On one hand I wand the early 2nd round pick to play and flourish; on the other I want us to bring in a vet such as Tretter, Flowers, or Spain and know we have decent; at minimum.

Honestly, if there is one spot on a Oline you can kind of hide it's LG. Not saying you necessarily want to but if we have to have a weakness that is probably the place to do it. 

(06-19-2022, 10:21 PM)bfine32 Wrote: LG is quite the quandary. On one hand I wand the early 2nd round pick to play and flourish; on the other I want us to bring in a vet such as Tretter, Flowers, or Spain and know we have decent; at minimum.

If the vet only costs up to $3 mill and can give insurance in case Carman (or Volson) isn't ready to play well there, I say bring the vet in.
Bengals have the cap space to accommodate.
If you're really wanting to push for the Super Bowl again, it's better to be safe than sorry.

(06-20-2022, 10:16 AM)ochocincos Wrote: If the vet only costs up to $3 mill and can give insurance in case Carman (or Volson) isn't ready to play well there, I say bring the vet in.
Bengals have the cap space to accommodate.
If you're really wanting to push for the Super Bowl again, it's better to be safe than sorry.

I was on another message board (college) earlier this morning. I find it funny some of the responses about decisions by players and coaches. I’m not talking to you ochocincos just in general. These people have lots of solid advice from experts. Tretter has lots of options and several will come to pass around the start of training camps. Right now Tretter’s price is steep. Somebody’s going to be desperate come training camp and he’ll get it.

(06-20-2022, 10:36 AM)Soonerpeace Wrote: I was on another message board (college) earlier this morning. I find it funny some of the responses about decisions by players and coaches. I’m not talking to you ochocincos just in general. These people have lots of solid advice from experts. Tretter has lots of options and several will come to pass around the start of training camps. Right now Tretter’s price is steep. Somebody’s going to be desperate come training camp and he’ll get it.

I wasn't really thinking about Tretter, more talking about Flowers and Spain.
I figure Bengals should just keep Karras at C and get a LG.

(06-20-2022, 10:41 AM)ochocincos Wrote: I wasn't really thinking about Tretter, more talking about Flowers and Spain.
I figure Bengals should just keep Karras at C and get a LG.

My bad but Tretter’s been mentioned a bunch. The Bengals are getting there in a top tier roster. I laugh though at the angst by many on this board. I give old Fredtoast a hard time a lot but he’s pragmatic mostly. He’s just got some bad takes on this staff. The bottom line is all teams have depth issues. I’d like to have Spain as well. But a lot of players are playing a waiting game as their values will go up around camps.

(06-20-2022, 10:59 AM)Soonerpeace Wrote: My bad but Tretter’s been mentioned a bunch. The Bengals are getting there in a top tier roster. I laugh though at the angst by many on this board. I give old Fredtoast a hard time a lot but he’s pragmatic mostly. He’s just got some bad takes on this staff. The bottom line is all teams have depth issues. I’d like to have Spain as well. But a lot of players are playing a waiting game as their values will go up around camps.

I get it, and I agree that all teams have depth issues. Look at the Rams last year - if they had another injury or two to OL like Bengals did, they'd have been a sieve too.

With that said, Bengals have the 11th most salary cap - $14.897 mill.
There's room to add one vet to the OL without breaking the bank.
Although I also realize Training Camp and preseason haven't even happened yet, so maybe the Bengals are wanting to wait to see how their current OL perform before potentially adding another player.
I would understand that, although I think it's a security thing for me and other fans given the uncertainty currently around LG.

We don't have a single Pro Bowl or All Pro players on our O-line. I don't expect them to be considered among the "elite" in the league. But with the skill position players we have a #8 rated O-line is plenty good enough for this offense to put up HUGE numbers.

We also need to sign someone for depth. Over the years I have made thousands of post about free agents that contained language some thing like "you don't make a move like that unless you have a roster that is just one or two players away from winning a championship". well, this is that year. We need to make that extra move or two this year because there is no guarantee that we will have a roster this close again. All sorts of stuff could happen with free agency and injuries. I am not saying we need to go out and blow $10 million on another starter, but we could really use some depth for the o-line.

(06-20-2022, 11:39 AM)ochocincos Wrote: I get it, and I agree that all teams have depth issues. Look at the Rams last year - if they had another injury or two to OL like Bengals did, they'd have been a sieve too.

With that said, Bengals have the 11th most salary cap - $14.897 mill.
There's room to add one vet to the OL without breaking the bank.
Although I also realize Training Camp and preseason haven't even happened yet, so maybe the Bengals are wanting to wait to see how their current OL perform before potentially adding another player.
I would understand that, although I think it's a security thing for me and other fans given the uncertainty currently around LG.

And your pragmatism shines here. I’m not certain where I’d spend that money most prudently. Ogunjobi? Spain? Tretter? WR? I guess the money figure makes that determination.

(06-20-2022, 10:41 AM)ochocincos Wrote: I wasn't really thinking about Tretter, more talking about Flowers and Spain.
I figure Bengals should just keep Karras at C and get a LG.

Although I find it unlikely we resign Bates what if we did? Wouldn’t it use some of our cap money available?

(06-20-2022, 12:20 PM)Soonerpeace Wrote: Although I find it unlikely we resign Bates what if we did? Wouldn’t it use some of our cap money available?

Depends when they would re-sign him and how that would be structured, but yes.
I can't imagine they'd add too much more this year on top of the $13 mill already allocated toward him with the tag.

(06-20-2022, 12:17 PM)Soonerpeace Wrote: And your pragmatism shines here. I’m not certain where I’d spend that money most prudently. Ogunjobi? Spain? Tretter? WR? I guess the money figure makes that determination.

Maybe the Bengals want to save that money for midseason veterans based on who is injured and how well the team is doing.


Personally, I want to see a vet OL and WR added, at least. I'm super nervous about the WR and OL depth in case any starter goes down.
I'd also be ok with adding Ogunjobi midseason, but I want to see how Carter and Hill fare first.
I wouldn't have selected Carter over Perrion Winfrey, but I do think he can become a good IDL.
And I really like Hill. I wanted Hill kept over Ogunjobi even if the injury didn't happen.

(06-20-2022, 12:28 PM)ochocincos Wrote: Maybe the Bengals want to save that money for midseason veterans based on who is injured and how well the team is doing.


Personally, I want to see a vet OL and WR added, at least. I'm super nervous about the WR and OL depth in case any starter goes down.
I'd also be ok with adding Ogunjobi midseason, but I want to see how Carter and Hill fare first.
I wouldn't have selected Carter over Perrion Winfrey, but I do think he can become a good IDL.
And I really like Hill. I wanted Hill kept over Ogunjobi even if the injury didn't happen.

Winfrey had some reputation issues pop up late. Taking care of business not character issues. He had some reliability issues as far as tardiness that surfaced at Oklahoma and his combine interviews weren’t stellar. I too wanted Hill over Ogunjobi. I agree about WR but if there aren’t any injuries it’s a waste. Personally I’m more worried about the thought of Karras going down than LG.

(06-20-2022, 12:45 PM)Soonerpeace Wrote: Winfrey had some reputation issues pop up late. Taking care of business not character issues. He had some reliability issues as far as tardiness that surfaced at Oklahoma and his combine interviews weren’t stellar. I too wanted Hill over Ogunjobi. I agree about WR but if there aren’t any injuries it’s a waste. Personally I’m more worried about the thought of Karras going down than LG.

I honestly think bringing back Hopkins would make more sense than the often discussed Spain.  He could compete for the LG job and can literally back up every position on the OL.  

WR is a spot where even if you don't have major injuries, guys get dinged throughout games and have to come out for a couple of plays or a series.  Plus, having a strong 4th WR is good to have in the 2 minute drill.

(06-20-2022, 12:51 PM)Whatever Wrote: I honestly think bringing back Hopkins would make more sense than the often discussed Spain.  He could compete for the LG job and can literally back up every position on the OL.  

WR is a spot where even if you don't have major injuries, guys get dinged throughout games and have to come out for a couple of plays or a series.  Plus, having a strong 4th WR is good to have in the 2 minute drill.

All spot on

(06-19-2022, 09:41 PM)Soonerpeace Wrote: Doesn’t mean squat but if they are right it makes Vegas look off.
8. CINCINNATI BENGALS

Projected Starting Lineup

LT: Jonah Williams
LG: Jackson Carman
C: Ted Karras
RG: Alex Cappa
RT: La’el Collins
This is the most improved offensive line in the NFL, at least on paper. Ted Karras (72.4 grade in 2021), Alex Cappa (71.3) and La’el Collins (80.2) all represent significant upgrades over the Bengals' 2021 starters at those respective positions. Add to that the fact that Jonah Williams and Jackson Carman are both high draft picks on rookie deals who could develop in 2022, and it’s easy to see why hopes are high in Cincinnati.

Yeah baby.

I know I keep saying this but if these guys stay healthy records could be broken. Amazing we got to the SuperBowl with 
that thing we called an OL last year. I can only imagine what Burrow, Chase, Mixon, Tee, Boyd, Hurst, Evans can do...

I can only imagine.