Believe the Scott signing was knee jerk reaction per the Bengals losing both Safeties, Truly believe they thought they would be able to retain Bell (Perrine too) and then had to scramble. But as others have pointed out it was on the cheap and to be fair Duke and Zac appear to have hit a HR on Battle in the draft which is better than hitting on Scott imho.

Not sure if TE is on Tobin or Zac because when asked about missing on TE's in the draft. Zac laughed and stated that he never said he was looking for a TE and that was the fans and media claiming that this was the case. Not sure he values TE's that much, but hopefully he changes that theory.

Although do recall a board member with supposed inside information stating that a coach he respected very much said that Irv Smith was going to have a huge year for Bengals after watching him in camp.

Not saying the Scott and Smith signings were good by any means. Yet the Bengals have mostly done really well in FA since Zac's arrival, so will give them a pass on two minor signings. If they had to dig deep in their pockets it would be a completely different story though.

Yet will agree somewhat with OP because now all the Bengals stars are coming off rookie contracts and starting to get paid. So the FA and draft picks will certainly be under the microscope going forward and will be integral to the Bengals success or failure in the near future.

(02-17-2024, 11:56 AM)Soonerpeace Wrote: (Michael) Mayer went early second round. He didn’t do much at the Raiders and they hated his blocking. Don’t know how he did in that regard per PFF. We’d had to pick him first round. Knowing Joe’s propensity to not go to the TE don’t think that works. 

A lot of people wanted Michael Mayer to be a Bengal pick in either round 1 or 2 before the 2023 Draft took place.

I liked Mayer too. He looked like a safe & solid option as did a few of the other Top Tight Ends coming out in 2023.

Mayer may still turn out to be a very good Tight End but so far is disappointing.

2023 stats:

Michael Mayer (Raiders)  27 catches for 304 yards & 2 tds  (games played 14)  (4 year contract averaging $2,328,411 per year)

Tanner Hudson (Bengals)  39 catches for 352 yards & 1 td  (games played 12)  (1 year contract for $940,000)

Mayer was also on a team with a LOT of problems though. Major problems. HC gets canned, poor QB play between an often injured Garropolo and a rookie mid-round pick. You gotta figure once McDaniels was sent packing, and the rookie was starting games at QB that their offensive playbook shrunk dramatically. And their weekly game plan along with it I would suspect. I bet their star, Adams, didn't have a good year either.

Edit: wanted to add that yes, we had Jake Browning starting games and OUR TEs produced without our QB1...that's true. But we also have an offensive system in place that Browning is familiar and comfortable with.

(02-17-2024, 03:28 PM)depthchart Wrote: A lot of people wanted Michael Mayer to be a Bengal pick in either round 1 or 2 before the 2023 Draft took place.

I liked Mayer too. He looked like a safe & solid option as did a few of the other Top Tight Ends coming out in 2023.

Mayer may still turn out to be a very good Tight End but so far is disappointing.

2023 stats:

Michael Mayer (Raiders)  27 catches for 304 yards & 2 tds  (games played 14)  (4 year contract averaging $2,328,411 per year)

Tanner Hudson (Bengals)  39 catches for 352 yards & 1 td  (games played 12)  (1 year contract for $940,000)

Yes, many were chirping for Mayer, with Brad Fritz leading the charge.  I was not one of those people, in fact I was admonished for mentioning that ND is an offense that utilizes the TE so much that whomever is in that role is going to look good, regardless of actual talent level.

(02-17-2024, 03:40 PM)The D.O.Z. Wrote: Mayer was also on a team with a LOT of problems though. Major problems. HC gets canned, poor QB play between an often injured Garropolo and a rookie mid-round pick. You gotta figure once McDaniels was sent packing, and the rookie was starting games at QB that their offensive playbook shrunk dramatically. And their weekly game plan along with it I would suspect. I bet their star, Adams, didn't have a good year either.

Edit: wanted to add that yes, we had Jake Browning starting games and OUR TEs produced without our QB1...that's true. But we also have an offensive system in place that Browning is familiar and comfortable with.

That’s all true but they hated his blocking . End of story. They weren’t going for a TE at 1. Just not an important enough position for them.

(02-17-2024, 03:40 PM)The D.O.Z. Wrote: Mayer was also on a team with a LOT of problems though. Major problems. HC gets canned, poor QB play between an often injured Garropolo and a rookie mid-round pick. You gotta figure once McDaniels was sent packing, and the rookie was starting games at QB that their offensive playbook shrunk dramatically. And their weekly game plan along with it I would suspect. I bet their star, Adams, didn't have a good year either.

Edit: wanted to add that yes, we had Jake Browning starting games and OUR TEs produced without our QB1...that's true. But we also have an offensive system in place that Browning is familiar and comfortable with.

You'd lose that bet 

(02-17-2024, 11:56 AM)Soonerpeace Wrote: Just curious your thoughts based on your comments. Kincaid went before us to Buffalo so he was out. LaPorta went second pick in second round so we’d had to gone with him as our first pick. Let’s not show ridiculous hindsight. La Porta was great but knowing Joe is going with Tee and Chase first on every read then check to the running back. I heard that had La Porta been there for us round 2 they’d pulled the trigger. If you want to say we should have drafted him 1 I’d say you are a great judge of talent. Mayer went early second round. He didn’t do much at the Raiders and they hated his blocking. Don’t know how he did in that regard per PFF. We’d had to pick him first round. Knowing Joe’s propensity to not go to the TE don’t think that works. Musgrave again went before our second pick and was he worth a first rounder? He had 1 TD and 35 catches? Schoonmaker at Dallas went late second round we’d had to pick him 1 and he is at least so far considered a bust at Dallas in the second round. Brenton Strange went #61 right before us at #62. He’s been a huge bust. He’s third team. Geez there’d be 50 threads right now if we’d drafted him 1. After that the drafting of tight ends dropped off.

JMO the Bengals weren’t ready to reach for a TE like Detroit did. They did nail it and due respect. But a lot of teams did too. In retrospect they loved their first pick in Myles Murphy I’m in agreement that we need a better more dynamic TE and one that’s not a rental. I hear the FO agrees. I look for them to draft one in round 2 or 3 if ones there they like. But I don’t fault them for last year the way the draft went. They whiffed on Irv Smith but had little exposure.

Hind site is 20/20 right. So I'm not going to sit here and act like I knew where all these tight ends were going to be drafted.

I will tell you I was in love with La Porta and absolutely would of considered him in the 1st. The other prospects I would of taken if the Bengals felt comfortable trading back and nabbing. 

I get Musgraves and Mayer didn't have the best rookie years but typically Tight Ends do not historically. They did have a couple games each that made you wonder about the future. In Mayer case he didn't really have a QB either in Jimmy and whoever the back up was.

If Murphy pans out this year hopefully this is a mute point but they really need to address this spot. The Tight End is a game changer just ask Brady and Mahomes.

(02-17-2024, 05:26 PM)QueenCity Wrote: Hind site is 20/20 right. So I'm not going to sit here and act like I knew where all these tight ends were going to be drafted.

I will tell you I was in love with La Porta and absolutely would of considered him in the 1st. The other prospects I would of taken if the Bengals felt comfortable trading back and nabbing. 

I get Musgraves and Mayer didn't have the best rookie years but typically Tight Ends do not historically. They did have a couple games each that made you wonder about the future. In Mayer case he didn't really have a QB either in Jimmy and whoever the back up was.

If Murphy pans out this year hopefully this is a moot point but they really need to address this spot. The Tight End is a game changer just ask Brady and Mahomes.

Mahomes first read is going to be Kelce a lot of the time. Joe’s will be Chase or Tee then the back. Brady’s first read had to be the Gronk a lot. You saw the TE’s get a lot of looks with Jake. The TE is often the go to guy when nobody’s open. But for Joe it’s the back. Joe likes the big play. It’s why we struggled in 2022 early with Joe not conforming to the short passing game. They just don’t value the TE with Joe running the show. Jake did and they used that part of the offense because he liked it. Now if we’d have a TE that was the best target on the team like Kelce or Gronk you bet Joe would utilize it. But Mayer they wouldn’t have drafted in the second round. They flat did not like his blocking.

(02-17-2024, 05:26 PM)QueenCity Wrote: Hind site is 20/20 right. So I'm not going to sit here and act like I knew where all these tight ends were going to be drafted.

I will tell you I was in love with La Porta and absolutely would of considered him in the 1st. The other prospects I would of taken if the Bengals felt comfortable trading back and nabbing. 

I get Musgraves and Mayer didn't have the best rookie years but typically Tight Ends do not historically. They did have a couple games each that made you wonder about the future. In Mayer case he didn't really have a QB either in Jimmy and whoever the back up was.

If Murphy pans out this year hopefully this is a mute point but they really need to address this spot. The Tight End is a game changer just ask Brady and Mahomes.

I'm not usually a Grammar Nazi, but this one kills me

(02-17-2024, 03:45 PM)bfine32 Wrote: You'd lose that bet 

Not really.

1,144 yards and 8 TDs in 17 games is bad for a guy who was a 1st Team All-Pro the previous 3 straight years and is a $28m/yr WR. Over those 3 years he averaged 1,607 yards and 16 TDs per 17 games.

Went from a top 1 or 2 WR to not even a Pro Bowler for the first time in 7 years.

Nick Scott needs to be working for FedEx.

(02-17-2024, 07:44 PM)bfine32 Wrote: I'm not usually a Grammar Nazi, but this one kills me

Have a nice Saturday.

(02-17-2024, 09:07 PM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: Not really.

1,144 yards and 8 TDs in 17 games is bad for a guy who was a 1st Team All-Pro the previous 3 straight years and is a $28m/yr WR. Over those 3 years he averaged 1,607 yards and 16 TDs per 17 games.

Went from a top 1 or 2 WR to not even a Pro Bowler for the first time in 7 years.

those are pretty good numbers for a guy who played with gutter trash qb's and an organization that was firing guys midseason

(02-17-2024, 09:07 PM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: Not really.

1,144 yards and 8 TDs in 17 games is bad for a guy who was a 1st Team All-Pro the previous 3 straight years and is a $28m/yr WR. Over those 3 years he averaged 1,607 yards and 16 TDs per 17 games.

Went from a top 1 or 2 WR to not even a Pro Bowler for the first time in 7 years.

Guess we'll just disagree on what qualifies as a good year

(02-17-2024, 09:58 PM)bfine32 Wrote: Guess we'll just disagree on what qualifies as a good year

10-7 and a loss in the wildcard round is a good year for the Panthers.

It is a bad year for the Chiefs.

(02-17-2024, 10:11 PM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: 10-7 and a loss in the wildcard round is a good year for the Panthers.

It is a bad year for the Chiefs.

Sure...103 catches, 1144 yards, and 8 TDs is a "bad year". IDC who it is, like I said, we'll just disagree if you classify that as a bad year.

(02-17-2024, 10:43 PM)bfine32 Wrote: Sure...103 catches, 1144 yards, and 8 TDs is a "bad year". IDC who it is, like I said, we'll just disagree if you classify that as a bad year.

Leap conveniently left out that stat too 

(02-17-2024, 10:52 PM)Frank Booth Wrote: Leap conveniently left out that stat too 

It gets silly around here sometimes... 

I mean i made the big thread during the season where i proclaimed our defense had a ceiling if we kept starting Scott, and i was proven right. Scott was total ass. Like how does he have a job level ass

Nick Scott was not a cap casualty. An upgrade would be nice. I think we can spend a late draft pick on TE. It seems like a weak draft for safety unless we can convert a cb. Erick All would be worthy of a seventh, at a minimum. Kool Aid in the first maybe, but I haven’t looked at FS.