7 or 8 Linebackers were signed today seems like the NFL agreed with me that this was a FA deep class...

Still have young guys like Kyzir White, Drue Tranquill, Azeez Al-Shaair and a mix of young old vets like Deion Jones, Denzel Perryman, Zach Cunningham.

(03-13-2023, 08:19 PM)Synric Wrote: 7 or 8 Linebackers were signed today seems like the NFL agreed with me that this was a FA deep class...

Still have young guys like Kyzir White, Drue Tranquill, Azeez Al-Shaair and a mix of young old vets like Deion Jones, Denzel Perryman, Zach Cunningham.

I like Tranquill out of that bunch.

Kind of a bummer day for the fans of the Bengal defense. Other than retaining Germain Pratt, the dark day that coach Lou predicted is indeed upon us.

(03-13-2023, 08:26 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: Kind of a bummer day for the fans of the Bengal defense.  Other than retaining Germain Pratt, the dark day that coach Lou predicted is indeed upon us.

Julian Love and Thornhill and Taylor Rapp and a few good safeties still left.....but like most I was pretty sure Bell was coming back!!

(03-13-2023, 08:23 PM)pulses Wrote: I like Tranquill out of  that bunch.

Out of the box (no pun intended) idea, but maybe ask him to drop 15 or so pounds and move (back) to safety? Good cover guy, can hit, has a nose for the ball. Played safety at Notre Dame, maybe he can fill Vonn Bell's role?

(03-13-2023, 07:43 PM)QueenCity Wrote: Dolphins are winning the off-season pending they can keep Tua healthy.

Very Big if

He is one more concussion away from being Steve Young

(03-13-2023, 08:26 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: Kind of a bummer day for the fans of the Bengal defense.  Other than retaining Germain Pratt, the dark day that coach Lou predicted is indeed upon us.

It was predicted Bates was gone. Bengals went with younger Pratt over Bell.

There is a long way to go in FA and there are still teams that will need to cut/restructure guys. Bengals like cut players since they don't count against other teams signing our FA's.

(03-13-2023, 08:28 PM)pulses Wrote: Julian Love and Thornhill and Taylor Rapp and a few good safeties still left.....but like most I was pretty sure Bell was coming back!!

Yeah, sure, those guys will be swell..

Many Bengal fans thinking that keeping Joe, Jamarr and Tee together somehow = Super Bowl Win, when the reality couldn't be further from the truth.  The old saying is that offense puts butts in the seats, but Defense wins championships.  It's still true today.  

The Bengals made this great run the past two years on the strength of a defense that was predicated by the strong play at the Safety position.  Having one of the premier Safety duos in the NFL allowed the Bengals to go cheap, really cheap by NFL standards at one of the "premium" positions in the league, CB.  Does anyone for a minute feel like the Bengals CBs can even remotely appear to be as good as they did the past two years, by rolling out a second year Safety that had more screw ups than noteworthy plays teemed with some guy that wasn't even part of the team as the Free Safety?  

If anyone thinks that the Bengal defense is going to come out and perform business as usual like the past two seasons, had better get their football IQ checked, because even if Awuzie comes back stronger than before the injury, they will be woefully undermanned in the secondary.  Also, anyone thinking that "the offense will just score so many points that other teams won't hang", unless they make wholesale improvements at Tackle, and develop a rushing attack that can chew clock and keep the defense off of the field, y'all will be in for a rude awakening.

Letting both starting Safeties leave for greener pa$tures will definitely come back to haunt this team.  Just when we thought that management had turned a corner, welcome to the good ole days where mediocrity is good enough, as long as fans are still buying tickets!

(03-13-2023, 08:11 PM)WeezyBengal Wrote: Theyd be really dumb to resign Higgins especially if they resign chase. 

 -

(03-13-2023, 09:03 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: Yeah, sure, those guys will be swell..

Many Bengal fans thinking that keeping Joe, Jamarr and Tee together somehow = Super Bowl Win, when the reality couldn't be further from the truth.  The old saying is that offense puts butts in the seats, but Defense wins championships.  It's still true today.  

The Bengals made this great run the past two years on the strength of a defense that was predicated by the strong play at the Safety position.  Having one of the premier Safety duos in the NFL allowed the Bengals to go cheap, really cheap by NFL standards at one of the "premium" positions in the league, CB.  Does anyone for a minute feel like the Bengals CBs can even remotely appear to be as good as they did the past two years, by rolling out a second year Safety that had more screw ups than noteworthy plays teemed with some guy that wasn't even part of the team as the Free Safety?  

If anyone thinks that the Bengal defense is going to come out and perform business as usual like the past two seasons, had better get their football IQ checked, because even if Awuzie comes back stronger than before the injury, they will be woefully undermanned in the secondary.  Also, anyone thinking that "the offense will just score so many points that other teams won't hang", unless they make wholesale improvements at Tackle, and develop a rushing attack that can chew clock and keep the defense off of the field, y'all will be in for a rude awakening.

Letting both starting Safeties leave for greener pa$tures will definitely come back to haunt this team.  Just when we thought that management had turned a corner, welcome to the good ole days where mediocrity is good enough, as long as fans are still buying tickets!

 I agree and they definitely have to do something to fix this ASAP.

(03-13-2023, 09:03 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: Yeah, sure, those guys will be swell..

Many Bengal fans thinking that keeping Joe, Jamarr and Tee together somehow = Super Bowl Win, when the reality couldn't be further from the truth.  The old saying is that offense puts butts in the seats, but Defense wins championships.  It's still true today.  

The Bengals made this great run the past two years on the strength of a defense that was predicated by the strong play at the Safety position.  Having one of the premier Safety duos in the NFL allowed the Bengals to go cheap, really cheap by NFL standards at one of the "premium" positions in the league, CB.  Does anyone for a minute feel like the Bengals CBs can even remotely appear to be as good as they did the past two years, by rolling out a second year Safety that had more screw ups than noteworthy plays teemed with some guy that wasn't even part of the team as the Free Safety?  

If anyone thinks that the Bengal defense is going to come out and perform business as usual like the past two seasons, had better get their football IQ checked, because even if Awuzie comes back stronger than before the injury, they will be woefully undermanned in the secondary.  Also, anyone thinking that "the offense will just score so many points that other teams won't hang", unless they make wholesale improvements at Tackle, and develop a rushing attack that can chew clock and keep the defense off of the field, y'all will be in for a rude awakening.

Letting both starting Safeties leave for greener pa$tures will definitely come back to haunt this team.  Just when we thought that management had turned a corner, welcome to the good ole days where mediocrity is good enough, as long as fans are still buying tickets!

I agree with this analysis. Safety is one position that I would think experience in the system is very important and helped make the defense elite at times. Losing one safety is not ideal, but losing both starting safeties? I hope we don't end up depending on Tycen Anderson and Dax Hill or some rookie. 

On another note, I am perplexed by your comment in an earlier post, where you said, "the dark day that coach Lou predicted is indeed upon us."  I never heard that prediction. Could you elaborate?

(03-13-2023, 09:14 PM)Nepa Wrote: I agree with this analysis. Safety is one position that I would think experience in the system is very important and helped make the defense elite at times. Losing one safety is not ideal, but losing both starting safeties? I hope we don't end up depending on Tycen Anderson and Dax Hill or some rookie. 

On another note, I am perplexed by your comment in an earlier post, where you said, "the dark day that coach Lou predicted is indeed upon us."  I never heard that prediction. Could you elaborate?

It was all over my newsfeed on my work computer for a few days.  Surprised that you hadn't heard that.

In my opinion, the best that the Bengals can do right now is put CTB at FS and have Dax develop in SS, and invest in the CB position either in FA or the Draft or both.

(03-13-2023, 09:03 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: Yeah, sure, those guys will be swell..

Many Bengal fans thinking that keeping Joe, Jamarr and Tee together somehow = Super Bowl Win, when the reality couldn't be further from the truth.  The old saying is that offense puts butts in the seats, but Defense wins championships.  It's still true today.  

The Bengals made this great run the past two years on the strength of a defense that was predicated by the strong play at the Safety position.  Having one of the premier Safety duos in the NFL allowed the Bengals to go cheap, really cheap by NFL standards at one of the "premium" positions in the league, CB.  Does anyone for a minute feel like the Bengals CBs can even remotely appear to be as good as they did the past two years, by rolling out a second year Safety that had more screw ups than noteworthy plays teemed with some guy that wasn't even part of the team as the Free Safety?  

If anyone thinks that the Bengal defense is going to come out and perform business as usual like the past two seasons, had better get their football IQ checked, because even if Awuzie comes back stronger than before the injury, they will be woefully undermanned in the secondary.  Also, anyone thinking that "the offense will just score so many points that other teams won't hang", unless they make wholesale improvements at Tackle, and develop a rushing attack that can chew clock and keep the defense off of the field, y'all will be in for a rude awakening.

Letting both starting Safeties leave for greener pa$tures will definitely come back to haunt this team.  Just when we thought that management had turned a corner, welcome to the good ole days where mediocrity is good enough, as long as fans are still buying tickets!

Really? This looks very much like not even day one of FA hyperbole. How about we kill our hopes and dreams after the draft and after the team is assembled? I expect more from a vet like you.

I would be concerned also if it were not March 13th, but long way to go.

(03-13-2023, 09:03 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: Yeah, sure, those guys will be swell..

Many Bengal fans thinking that keeping Joe, Jamarr and Tee together somehow = Super Bowl Win, when the reality couldn't be further from the truth.  The old saying is that offense puts butts in the seats, but Defense wins championships.  It's still true today.  

The Bengals made this great run the past two years on the strength of a defense that was predicated by the strong play at the Safety position.  Having one of the premier Safety duos in the NFL allowed the Bengals to go cheap, really cheap by NFL standards at one of the "premium" positions in the league, CB.  Does anyone for a minute feel like the Bengals CBs can even remotely appear to be as good as they did the past two years, by rolling out a second year Safety that had more screw ups than noteworthy plays teemed with some guy that wasn't even part of the team as the Free Safety?  

If anyone thinks that the Bengal defense is going to come out and perform business as usual like the past two seasons, had better get their football IQ checked, because even if Awuzie comes back stronger than before the injury, they will be woefully undermanned in the secondary.  Also, anyone thinking that "the offense will just score so many points that other teams won't hang", unless they make wholesale improvements at Tackle, and develop a rushing attack that can chew clock and keep the defense off of the field, y'all will be in for a rude awakening.

Letting both starting Safeties leave for greener pa$tures will definitely come back to haunt this team.  Just when we thought that management had turned a corner, welcome to the good ole days where mediocrity is good enough, as long as fans are still buying tickets!

Well, I still think there's a chance that this can pan out.  There's some logic to the road they're going down.  Jesse's deal was a non-starter here.  He just wasn't a guy they were ever going to sink that kind of coin into.  It's another symptom of having a lot of really good players and not being able to keep all of them forever.  On a shittier Bengal roster, he'd have been a must-sign.  Well, idk.  His agent was kind of a prick.

I'm a huge Bell fan, but if you told me it would take 10 mil per to retain him I'd have passed too.  

I feel like the best path might be for Hill to replace Bell.  Find a free safety to fill in Bates' role, and move forward.  Dax may not be on Bell's level yet, but I think his ceiling is much higher than Vonn's.  

On a less positive note, this sucks for Lou Anarumo.  He's tasked with replacing both safeties while already being saddled with good but not great corners, the best one being a huge question mark due to injury.  He'll have his work cut out for him getting the new-look secondary up to speed vs a loaded AFC.

His stock as a head coaching candidate could take a massive hit if this defense drops off and the magic isn't there anymore.  They don't exactly generate a ton of pressure, so they will need whoever steps in to cover extensively.

(03-13-2023, 09:22 PM)samhain Wrote: Well, I still think there's a chance that this can pan out.  There's some logic to the road they're going down.  Jesse's deal was a non-starter here.  He just wasn't a guy they were ever going to sink that kind of coin into.  It's another symptom of having a lot of really good players and not being able to keep all of them forever.  On a shittier Bengal roster, he'd have been a must-sign.  Well, idk.  His agent was kind of a prick.

I'm a huge Bell fan, but if you told me it would take 10 mil per to retain him I'd have passed too.  

I feel like the best path might be for Hill to replace Bell.  Find a free safety to fill in Bates' role, and move forward.  Dax may not be on Bell's level yet, but I think his ceiling is much higher than Vonn's.  

On a less positive note, this sucks for Lou Anarumo.  He's tasked with replacing both safeties while already being saddled with good but not great corners, the best one being a huge question mark due to injury.  He'll have his work cut out for him getting the new-look secondary up to speed vs a loaded AFC.

His stock as a head coaching candidate could take a massive hit if this defense drops off and the magic isn't there anymore.  They don't exactly generate a ton of pressure, so they will need whoever steps in to cover extensively.

Might wanna sign Jamel Dean one of the best man CB's avilable while you can.

It’s getting a little dramatic in here. Bell was a tier 2, close to 3, FA when he got here. He had a good run here and departs for more money. His major value was leadership when we needed it but the team has grown up since he got here. There are other Vonn Bell level players available in FA. The guys is making around 7.5 a year, that is not lynchpin of a defense type of money for that position.

Bates is the bigger hit but we knew that was coming and it’s why we need Hill to be who we drafted him to be. We need another player with 20-30 starts under their belt to come in and just provide some experience in the backend. I think we will get that before things are said and done.

How we won in the past though isn’t how this team will win in the future. As soon as Joe became the guy it was obvious we were always going to build around him and hitch our wagon to him. Lou has taken guys off the street before and made it work and that will be the ask once again.

(03-13-2023, 09:20 PM)Luvnit2 Wrote: Really? This looks very much like not even day one of FA hyperbole. How about we kill our hopes and dreams after the draft and after the team is assembled? I expect more from a vet like you.

I would be concerned also if it were not March 13th, but long way to go.

A vet like me has seen this movie before, it doesn't end well for the protagonist..

(03-13-2023, 09:24 PM)pulses Wrote: Might wanna sign Jamel Dean one of the best man CB's avilable while you can.

He was signed hours ago. Also we were never going to pay him 13+ per season as he got, and took a discount to stay in TB to do so.

(03-13-2023, 09:24 PM)pulses Wrote: Might wanna sign Jamel Dean one of the best man CB's avilable while you can.

He's staying in Tampa.

(03-13-2023, 09:19 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: It was all over my newsfeed on my work computer for a few days.  Surprised that you hadn't heard that.

In my opinion, the best that the Bengals can do right now is put CTB at FS and have Dax develop in SS, and invest in the CB position either in FA or the Draft or both.

I actually like this idea, but then we have a need at corner.  It would making re-signing Eli mandatory, which is okay with me.