Let’s see if Lou Anarumo and/or Brian Callahan are called to interview elsewhere. Then we can decide how aggressive we truly need to be.

(01-08-2024, 11:25 AM)Sled21 Wrote: Yeah, let Mahomes have Higgins..... Brilliant!!!!

I don't understand why so many want to show Tee
The door and think he is so easy to replace. 
I'd hate for Tee to sign with any of the other 
AFC North teams cause all 3 would covet him
Not to mention the Kansas Cities of the world. 

You can't have too many playmakers at WR in this 
Day and age. Let's not pretend Jamar is a lock 
To play all 17 games. He has been nicked up
The last 2 seasons 

(01-08-2024, 11:40 AM)WeezyBengal Wrote: I don't think the Bengals front office has the savvy or willingness to tag and trade Tee. They won't be comfortable or willing enough to do it. This is going to be one of those "stuck in their ways" types of things.

Maybe I'm in the minority but I don't think we should trade Tee, having him gives us our best shot at winning a Super Bowl next year.

Our window for winning a Super Bowl isn't gonna last forever, Tag Tee, use the rest of FA and draft to find RT, DT, DE, CB and if the right guy falls maybe grab a RB, WR, TE, or FS.

We need to be going all in this year, not trading a top WR for a pick at the end of round 1 at best. We need to improve THIS upcoming season and worry about the future of WR in 2025.

(01-08-2024, 11:58 AM)BobJones4980 Wrote: Maybe I'm in the minority but I don't think we should trade Tee, having him gives us our best shot at winning a Super Bowl next year.

Our window for winning a Super Bowl isn't gonna last forever, Tag Tee, use the rest of FA and draft to find RT, DT, DE, CB and if the right guy falls maybe grab a RB, WR, TE, or FS.

We need to be going all in this year, not trading a top WR for a pick at the end of round 1 at best. We need to improve THIS upcoming season and worry about the future of WR in 2025.

I agreed with Weezy that the front office isn't going to do anything creative regarding Tee, but my post wasn't meant to reflect what should happen with Tee. I'm hopeful they tag him, as you said, to help win a Super Bowl. If they let him walk, I predict they draft Keon Coleman, WR FSU in round 1.

How to approach it? Hopefully with a more modern and aggressive approach than all the previous offseason model-models. If they make very few to no changes in scouting, coaching, trades, etc. then the high-tide of the Burrow era could very well be behind us in regards for the best chance of winning the Super Bowl. Imo that is.

(01-08-2024, 11:50 AM)impactplaya Wrote: I don't understand why so many want to show Tee
The door and think he is so easy to replace. 
I'd hate for Tee to sign with any of the other 
AFC North teams cause all 3 would covet him
Not to mention the Kansas Cities of the world. 

You can't have too many playmakers at WR in this 
Day and age. Let's not pretend Jamar is a lock 
To play all 17 games. He has been nicked up
The last 2 seasons 

I dont think anyone really wants to show Tee the door...  its just the reality of the situatition of having 2 #1 caliber WR's and being able to pay them both #1 contract money while still having enough to field a competitive team on both sides the ball

You have to have guys on smaller contracts (Draft Picks) etc to balance it all out

I don't want to show Higgins the door. I am all in on the keep the band together (willing to let Boyd go). I just don't think he is worth 20+ a year. I don't think this year changed that any.

(01-08-2024, 12:13 PM)XenoMorph Wrote: I dont think anyone really wants to show Tee the door...  its just the reality of the situatition of having 2 #1 caliber WR's and being able to pay them both #1 contract money while still having enough to field a competitive team on both sides the ball

You have to have guys on smaller contracts (Draft Picks) etc to balance it all out

Agreed, it's about considering Tee's status with the team as a pragmatic. It's going to be hard to keep Burrow/Tee/Chase together. We're in the situation now where they tag Tee or don't get much value for him.

(01-08-2024, 12:19 AM)Joelist Wrote: Despite the disappointing end to the season, the team has the resources (in terms of cap money and picks) to do a lot of needed things.

BUT

It is important to get the priorities straight because some of the needs are going to be expensive and they probably don't have the resources to do everything.

So my order of importance right now is:

1) Fix the interior DL room. This is going to be costly because we probably need a major Free Agent here AND a high pick. This is whether we resign Reader and he fully recovers or not. Trey can't be the only source of pressure up front and ideally you want the other source to be on the inside. Fix this and you see an immediate uptick on the defense.

2) Get a savvy veteran Free Safety.

3) Resign Tanner Hudson so that there is flexibility in the draft, especially as they NEED a blue chip DT and this is not a deep TE draft.

4) If both Tee and Boyd leave a veteran good possession WR is a need also.


Obviously the Tee situation has to be resolved early. The problem is his agent is notoriously hard to work with (not just with us either) and will want terms the team cannot perform if they are keeping Chase. So this may be a tag and trade (especially as draft capital is needed).

I was just thinking about player moves and not the higher level things like potential evolving of the scheme on both sides of the ball to fit the player skillsets better.

First, we need to separate the needs from the wants.

Needs

RT-Jonah is an UFA(not to mention he's been bad the past couple of years).  Nobody on the bench shows the promise to be a starter.  It's a terrible FA T, class, but a strong draft class, so that's where we should probably look for a replacement.

WR-Both Higgins and Boyd are UFA's after underperforming this year.  Fortunately, it's both a strong FA WR group and a strong draft class.  The likely best strategy is drafting a replacement for Tee and signing a vet to replace Boyd.

TE-Smith, Sample, and Hudson are all UFA's, while Wilcox is a RFA.  It's a weak FA class and the draft class is horrendous.  We're probably best off trying to retain our own for depth and making a push for a guy like Schultz in FA.

NT-Reader and Tupou are UFA's.  It's a good FA class and an ok draft class.  We definitely need to land a starter in FA. If they bring back Reader, we can probably pass on one in the draft.  If not, we'll need one for depth.

Wants

3 tech- Hill is an average starter, but Carter has been underwhelming his first two years in rotation.  It's a strong FA class and a deep draft class.  Could make a big splash in FA with a guy like Jones or Madubuike or draft a developmental prospect.

RB-Mixon is fairly mediocre and Brown seems to bust a big play or go absolutely nowhere.  Strong FA class and a fair amount of solid mid-round draft prospects.

As far as the secondary goes, they had three starters in their first year as a starter(2 of them being rookies).  I don't see them pulling the plug that fast.  

I'm in the belief this franchise can
Both afford Tee and Jamar. If you have
To go cheaper at RB and TE so be it.
But I think going cheap at WR outside of
Chase might be costly.

(01-08-2024, 01:04 PM)impactplaya Wrote: I'm in the belief this franchise can
Both afford Tee and Jamar. If you have
To go cheaper at RB and TE so be it.
But I think going cheap at WR outside of
Chase might be costly.

Spending half your cap on a QB and 2 WRs, especially when your team can't draft, is an absolute recipe for disaster. 

(01-08-2024, 12:19 AM)Joelist Wrote: Despite the disappointing end to the season, the team has the resources (in terms of cap money and picks) to do a lot of needed things.

BUT

It is important to get the priorities straight because some of the needs are going to be expensive and they probably don't have the resources to do everything.

So my order of importance right now is:

1) Fix the interior DL room. This is going to be costly because we probably need a major Free Agent here AND a high pick. This is whether we resign Reader and he fully recovers or not. Trey can't be the only source of pressure up front and ideally you want the other source to be on the inside. Fix this and you see an immediate uptick on the defense.

2) Get a savvy veteran Free Safety.

3) Resign Tanner Hudson so that there is flexibility in the draft, especially as they NEED a blue chip DT and this is not a deep TE draft.

4) If both Tee and Boyd leave a veteran good possession WR is a need also.


Obviously the Tee situation has to be resolved early. The problem is his agent is notoriously hard to work with (not just with us either) and will want terms the team cannot perform if they are keeping Chase. So this may be a tag and trade (especially as draft capital is needed).

I was just thinking about player moves and not the higher level things like potential evolving of the scheme on both sides of the ball to fit the player skillsets better.

Offensively 

*Draft/Sign guys on the offensive line that fit what Zac wants to run Offensively!

* Find a number 2 WR!

* Find a RB capable of pass protection 

*Find a TE that can both Block and Catch

Defense 

*Find a starting 3T; hopefully one in the top 10 or 15 of the league 

* Find a safety that is comfortable playing in the deep zone!

* Get a Nickle LB

* Find out what positon suits Dax best!

* Draft Dlinemen this draft

Special Teams

*Find a Punter who can actually punt the ball!

Zac Taylor says, barring promotional opportunities, he expects the staff to be back.

“I think we have a tremendous coaching staff.”

— Paul Dehner Jr. (@pauldehnerjr) January 8, 2024

 

(01-08-2024, 03:31 PM)Bengalholic Wrote:

Zac Taylor says, barring promotional opportunities, he expects the staff to be back.

“I think we have a tremendous coaching staff.”

— Paul Dehner Jr. (@pauldehnerjr) January 8, 2024

 

Frank Pollack right about now:



Fans who don't care for Frank Pollack right about now:

(01-08-2024, 11:46 AM)kalibengal Wrote: trade for Josh Allen Jags Edge?

He is likely one of the the top franchise tag prospects in the NFL.

Fire Frank the Stank.

Hire an up and coming assistant from a team that features a quality offensive line and knows the scheme to match. Scour the college ranks if you have to.

Sign a top DT in FA.

Sign a vet WR with some speed and quick twitch.

Sign a "possible bandaid" vet RT in case the one you want to draft isn't available. If you have to, sign a RG with RT measureables if that RG is better than any current available FA Right Tackle. Can't go into 2024 w Jackson Carman or D'Ante Smith penciled in as the starting RT.

Draft:
RT, IDL, TE, speedy WR, RB, IOL depth at any of the three interior offensive line spots. Maybe LB depth in later rounds?

Work OTAs like they've been. Tweak preseason mentality of not playing starters. The OLine needs reps, the DLine needs it's rotation worked out. The secondary needs all the reps they can get. Don't play everyone, but play the position groups that need the extra work, injuries be damned. Tired of slow starts and our QB getting lit up while the offensive line works out it's kinks. It's time to hit the ground running Week 1!

I am gonna refrain from a dissertation on the offseason.....for the moment. Broadly speaking, I think the FO (correctly) thinks this team is a contender with a healthy Burrow. That SF game proves it. And the fight we showed without him (and Reader) also is proof positive. 

Having said that, there are issues. The run D was porous even before Reader went down. Aside from Hendrickson, the pass rush was mediocre. Dax Hill struggled to fill Bates' shoes. Scott was poor before being replaced by the much better Battle. After a promising start, Turner struggled. The LBs were not up to 2022 level. Hilton was VERY good, though. Heading into FA, you can make a case for help at NT, DT, CB, S, and DE. Plus the entire backup LB corps are FAs (OK, Harper isn't, he played 1 snap). And that is just on D. 

On O, the ability & commitment to run must get better. The OL was mediocre again. Tee & Boyd are FA's and did not have great seasons. And the entire TE room are FA's. We have a lot of holes to fill in FA & the draft. Heck, our rookie punter was probably the worst in the league.

All is not lost, certainly. Our QB1, WR1, DE1 troika remains amongst the best in the league, if not THE best. Brown was an upgrade over Jonah at LT. Karras had a good year. Volson got better late. Browning proved to be a legit QB2 and is going nowhere as a ERFA. Hudson was a legit find and is a RFA I believe. Brown, Jones, & Iosivas all showed enough flashes that I feel good they can contribute (but not star/start) going forward. And we have a lot of cap room. We'll need it. 

We were 1-5 in the division and 8-3 outside of it. Despite Burrow missing the last 7 games and being hobbled the first 4. But we have to get stouter up front or Balt, Pitt, & Cle just push us around. And we have to make them pay for blitzing more. 

In FA, I try to sign Tee long term to get that yearly cap hit as low as I can. I am willing to go higher in terms of years and guarantees to do it. I think the tag is $23 mil, and I will if I have to, but I'd prefer something around $20 per long term. 

I am assuming next year is mostly a wash for Reader, but maybe he can come back late on. He is still one of the best run stoppers in football & I do not see anything remotely resembling him on our roster, nor in the draft outside of Sweat.  I am willing to go 3 years, $25-$30 mil. Maybe a touch higher if he can play most of next. Hopefully lower, but that may be a pipe dream.  

Generally, I do not mind paying up for difference makers (Higgins, Reader), but not so much for average-ish players. We had 4 starters who rated at 80+ at PFF: Chase (85.3), Hendrickson (82.3), Battle (82.5), and Reader (82.2). This was Tee's worst year via PFF at 72.1 (1st year below 75), but that was still #3 on offense behind Chase & Burrow (77.9). Jonah was our 4th best OL and (barely) rated higher than Volson. He started strong & faded & gets dominated within the division. I think we can land a good OT at #18 (Fuaga, Mims, Guyton). I am ready to move on and reinvest that Jonah $$ in a better player. 
It is a risk because our OT depth is not great. 

I am more agnostic on Boyd and Chido. If PFF is your thing, Boyd had a poor year at 59.5. His last 4 were 71.1, 72.6, 75.8, 73.0. Most career drops. Had some big catches as well. Blip or portent of coming attractions? Some guys don't play as well as FAs. Higgins didn't. 

Chido had his worst year as a Bengal via PFF, 62.6 this year, 69.9 last, 83.4 in 2021. How much of that is coming off injury and how much new normal? Turner looked good early and wobbly late. 

I'd rate them as Highins & Reader first. Then Chido. Then Boyd. Then Jonah. But I try to land a big FA stud at DT before even thinking about Chido/Boyd/Jonah. If I whiff at DT in FA, I might turn my eyes to big time secondary or TE help, though I doubt we would pay up for a TE (Schultz) or a S (Winfield). Corner maybe. If I strike out on FA help, then I circle back to our other 3 big ones. 

Even if Chido/Boyd stay, I can still see more CB/WR help incoming, but it would be Day 3 guys instead of Day 2. We could upgrade Irwin and need to replace Ivey. I think we will bet on Turner & Dax Hill improving. 

(01-08-2024, 01:04 PM)impactplaya Wrote: I'm in the belief this franchise can
Both afford Tee and Jamar. If you have
To go cheaper at RB and TE so be it.
But I think going cheap at WR outside of
Chase might be costly.

If they would have hit on late round RB's (2 not just 1), RT, LG, CB, S DE, DT in the last couple drafts then they would have been primed and able to blow the CAP on a QB and 2 WR. Unfortunately they didn't and thus they need money and cap to be spread out.

With that said CB may be solved, but we can't go into next season expecting DJ to improve, that will be a gamble they can't take.

(01-08-2024, 11:46 AM)kalibengal Wrote: trade for Josh Allen Jags Edge?

I have been suggesting trading tagged players with the Jags - Tee for Allen. Tee reunited with his college QB and Allen plays close to where he went to college.

However I am not sure this would be a good move. Trey is a must play for sure. Hubbard maybe becomes a two down player but then what about Murphy? They invested a first round pick on him so he has to get more playing time next year. I just don’t see a realistic spot/reason to trade for Allen even though you can never have too many pass rushers.

(01-08-2024, 11:58 AM)BobJones4980 Wrote: Maybe I'm in the minority but I don't think we should trade Tee, having him gives us our best shot at winning a Super Bowl next year.

Our window for winning a Super Bowl isn't gonna last forever, Tag Tee, use the rest of FA and draft to find RT, DT, DE, CB and if the right guy falls maybe grab a RB, WR, TE, or FS.

We need to be going all in this year, not trading a top WR for a pick at the end of round 1 at best. We need to improve THIS upcoming season and worry about the future of WR in 2025.

so we just locked up Burrow for years but now our SB window is closing