(02-16-2024, 10:22 PM)Soonerpeace Wrote: I think that B+ is generous. I’d feel better if Chase Brown was a likely starter but he’s not. I’d be pleased if Charlie Jones allowed us to move on from Tyler Boyd …. that’s not likely. I’d be pleased if Myles Murphy forged a 3 man rotation at DE. Not likely. I’d be more pleased if DJ Turner was ready to start at the other corner. I think top to bottom is the strength. No misses. But Pro Bowlers? Not convinced there. Most will start so that’s a good thing.

Pro Bowlers after 1st year is a high bar,, very few rookies even make the pro bowl 1st year, normally on a SB caliber team which the bengals are, rookies get less chance to make an impact 1st year , what was good about this past draft is all rookies actually made the team, that is rare but important for depth and replacement. Outside of Robbins, no player seemed to look at a early miss draft pick, all contributed in some manner and some especially Murphy and Battle showed good gains in their play as they got more snaps...

I would grade the draft as a B

(02-19-2024, 06:06 PM)Essex Johnson Wrote: Pro Bowlers after 1st year is a high bar,, very few rookies even make the pro bowl 1st year, normally on a SB caliber team which the bengals are, rookies get less chance to make an impact 1st year , what was good about this past draft is all rookies actually made the team, that is rare but important for depth and replacement. Outside of Robbins, no player seemed to look at a early miss draft pick, all contributed in some manner and some especially Murphy and Battle showed good gains in their play as they got more snaps...

I would grade the draft as a B

To

Totally agree

(02-19-2024, 06:06 PM)Essex Johnson Wrote: Pro Bowlers after 1st year is a high bar,, very few rookies even make the pro bowl 1st year, normally on a SB caliber team which the bengals are, rookies get less chance to make an impact 1st year , what was good about this past draft is all rookies actually made the team, that is rare but important for depth and replacement.  Outside of Robbins, no player seemed to look at a early miss draft pick, all contributed in some manner and some especially Murphy and Battle showed good gains in their play as they got more snaps...

I would grade the draft as a B

If our QB goes down despite playing the majority of the season and we can't even make the extended 14 team playoffs, is the rest of the roster really a SB caliber team? Or is it an okay team that's being propped up by a SB caliber QB?

We only have 5 Pro Bowlers, 1 2nd Team All-Pro, and 0 1st Team All-Pros on the entire roster.

I think my man Ivy was getting ready to turn a few heads before he got injured!

(02-19-2024, 07:13 PM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: If our QB goes down despite playing the majority of the season and we can't even make the extended 14 team playoffs, is the rest of the roster really a SB caliber team? Or is it an okay team that's being propped up by a SB caliber QB?

We only have 5 Pro Bowlers, 1 2nd Team All-Pro, and 0 1st Team All-Pros on the entire roster.

Burrow played 1/3 of season healthy and last 1/3 of season we played a tough schedule with an inexperience backup and had a winning record and almost make the playoffs, last time i checked awards mean nothing on the football field, outside of KC, last five years, we are the only team to make it to AFC Finals plus a SB, so yes we are a SB caliber team.

Wait....the sky isn't falling?

Bengals should grab Tommy Townsend for their punter. Despite his being a first-team All-Pro, the Chiefs apparently will not be competing aggressively to resign him during free agency, given that they just signed Matt Araiza. An instant upgrade for the Bengals versus their one poor draftee in the 2023 draft class.

(02-20-2024, 12:22 AM)Essex Johnson Wrote: Burrow played 1/3 of season healthy and last 1/3 of season we played a tough schedule with an inexperience backup and had a winning record and almost make the playoffs, last time i checked awards mean nothing on the football field, outside of KC, last five years, we are the only team to make it to AFC Finals plus a SB, so yes we are a SB caliber team.

Agree with this Essex, amazing we had a winning season with Burrow being hurt for most of it. I credit Taylor and Browning the most for this
but this team shown a lot of fight and we aren't that far off if we make the right moves from being right back as a SB contending team with a 
healthy Joe Burrow.

(02-22-2024, 07:32 PM)Nepa Wrote: Bengals should grab Tommy Townsend for their punter. Despite his being a first-team All-Pro, the Chiefs apparently will not be competing aggressively to resign him during free agency, given that they just signed Matt Araiza. An instant upgrade for the Bengals versus their one poor draftee in the 2023 draft class.

Down with this for sure Nepa.

(02-19-2024, 07:13 PM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: If our QB goes down despite playing the majority of the season and we can't even make the extended 14 team playoffs, is the rest of the roster really a SB caliber team? Or is it an okay team that's being propped up by a SB caliber QB?

We only have 5 Pro Bowlers, 1 2nd Team All-Pro, and 0 1st Team All-Pros on the entire roster.

(02-20-2024, 12:22 AM)Essex Johnson Wrote: Burrow played 1/3 of season healthy and last 1/3 of season we played a tough schedule with an inexperience backup and had a winning record and almost make the playoffs, last time i checked awards mean nothing on the football field, outside of KC, last five years, we are the only team to make it to AFC Finals plus a SB, so yes we are a SB caliber team.

All teams are constructed differently. SF has a better roster. Their best 5 guys are better than us. But… had they had a better QB they’d have won. KC is barely better than us when both at full strength. We are 3-2 the last 3 years. We beat SF and scored 31 points on their defense that was at full strength. Has any of Tom Brady’s or Aaron Rodgers been any good without them? How were the Rams without Stafford last year? Does Cincinnati have the best roster? No. We barely missed the playoffs and part of that is not playing Jake the first few games. They made the wrong decision. But why does it matter if we are propped up by Joe? We know we need to be better in the trenches. KC won this year because Spagnola did great with the defense. KC was lucky. They had issues with their tackles and WR group.

(02-22-2024, 07:56 PM)Soonerpeace Wrote: All teams are constructed differently. SF has a better roster. Their best 5 guys are better than us. But… had they had a better QB they’d have won. KC is barely better than us when both at full strength. We are 3-2 the last 3 years. We beat SF and scored 31 points on their defense that was at full strength. Has any of Tom Brady’s or Aaron Rodgers been any good without them? How were the Rams without Stafford last year? Does Cincinnati have the best roster? No. We barely missed the playoffs and part of that is not playing Jake the first few games. They made the wrong decision. But why does it matter if we are propped up by Joe? We know we need to be better in the trenches. KC won this year because Spagnola did great with the defense. KC was lucky. They had issues with their tackles and WR group.

Pretty spot on, it seemed Burrow tweaked his calf in the Ravens game and that is what set him back. Looking back we should of probably went to
Jake after Joe tweaked the calf and let him rest up but hindsight is 20/20 as we all know. Very true on KC, their Defense and running game helped 
them win despite WR's dropping balls and poor play from their Tackles.

(02-22-2024, 08:07 PM)Nate (formerly eliminate08) Wrote: Pretty spot on, it seemed Burrow tweaked his calf in the Ravens game and that is what set him back. Looking back we should of probably went to
Jake after Joe tweaked the calf and let him rest up but hindsight is 20/20 as we all know. Very true on KC, their Defense and running game helped 
them win despite WR's dropping balls and poor play from their Tackles.

Hurts didn’t play as well for Philly. And what happened? We know our roster is not as good as SF. We know KC’s best 5 players are much better than us. Mahomes,Jones, Kelce, Humphrey, Thuney, Snead, are better than Burrow, Chase, Higgins, Hendrickson , Reader, Wilson . It’s not a mystery. Chris Jones , Humphrey, Thuney all are pro bowlers in the trenches. We’ve got to get better there. We aren’t going to win a SB until we do.

Battle was the stud of the class (the pick I liked least).

Murphy, most people knew was raw and was gonna be behind Trey & Sam best case. He got better as the season wore on and was a clear DE3.

Turner looked fantastic early and got picked on more later. But CTB, Hilton, and Awuzie are stronger players now, so I get it. He played a ton of snaps and held up better than I thought vs the run.

Jones flashed the early punt return TD & then got hurt & did not play much until the last week. I think the staff is high on him. As am I.

Ditto Iosivas. He never flashed deep, but did nab 4 red zone TDs.

I think there is a non-zero chance we are confident in these two we let Boys walk AND do not take a WR high. I am not quite there, but the FO may be.

Ivey looked real good in limited snaps before the injury.

Robbins was mostly crappy. Get Townsend or draft Taylor Rd5.

(02-22-2024, 09:22 PM)Soonerpeace Wrote: Hurts didn’t play as well for Philly. And what happened? We know our roster is not as good as SF. We know KC’s best 5 players are much better than us. Mahomes,Jones, Kelce, Humphrey, Thuney, Snead, are better than Burrow, Chase, Higgins, Hendrickson , Reader, Wilson . It’s not a mystery. Chris Jones , Humphrey, Thuney all are pro bowlers in the trenches. We’ve got to get better there. We aren’t going to win a SB until we do.

Sure would be great if we could get elite in the trenches that is for sure. If we can really upgrade at DT and our OL look out.

We can beat anybody, we already know with a healthy Burrow we can beat the Chiefs. We damn near beat them with our backup QB.

(02-28-2024, 06:02 PM)Isaac Curtis: The Real #85 Wrote: Battle was the stud of the class (the pick I liked least).

Murphy, most people knew was raw and was gonna be behind Trey & Sam best case. He got better as the season wore on and was a clear DE3.

Turner looked fantastic early and got picked on more later. But CTB, Hilton, and Awuzie are stronger players now, so I get it. He played a ton of snaps and held up better than I thought vs the run.

Jones flashed the early punt return TD & then got hurt & did not play much until the last week. I think the staff is high on him. As am I.

Ditto Iosivas. He never flashed deep, but did nab 4 red zone TDs.

I think there is a non-zero chance we are confident in these two we let Boys walk AND do not take a WR high. I am not quite there, but the FO may be.

Ivey looked real good in limited snaps before the injury.

Robbins was mostly crappy. Get Townsend or draft Taylor Rd5.

Good wrap up on the picks Ike, well said. 

(02-16-2024, 10:46 AM)Sled21 Wrote: Naw, I read right here that Miles Murphy is a bum.....

You're free to link me how he did against Cleveland's towel boys at any time.

(02-19-2024, 05:20 PM)Nate (formerly eliminate08) Wrote: I still think Murphy and even DJ Turner can be tops soon with their talent. Murphy was just extremely raw and needed to develop some
moves and learn to use his hands better to shed blocks, but he is extremely talented, great quicks, strength and is smart. DJ Turner had a 
rough year as a rookie but a lot of Corners do in the NFL, Turner has elite speed and fluid hips, the things you just cannot teach at Corner.

Mans has been giving me Margus Hunt vibes the moment I firsr heard "raw"

(03-01-2024, 05:01 PM)NotBigzo Wrote: Mans has been giving me Margus Hunt vibes the moment I firsr heard "raw"

To Murphy's credit, his rookie season was his age 21 season and not his age 26 season like with Margus.

(03-01-2024, 05:01 PM)NotBigzo Wrote: Mans has been giving me Margus Hunt vibes the moment I firsr heard "raw"

Completely different players even if they play/played the same position.

(03-01-2024, 05:52 PM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: To Murphy's credit, his rookie season was his age 21 season and not his age 26 season like with Margus.

Yep and Murphy can actually bend, he is not just a pole out there.