I don't want the narrative during Joe Burrow's entire career in Cincinnati to be "he just never had enough help around him".

This team needs roster upgrades across the entire team. I mean other than QB, which position do you REALLY feel good about going forward with? I'm not sure really any other than running back.

So, what do they do? Well, they've completely failed in the draft the past 5 years which is why we are in this mess to begin with. So, first things first - they need to start NAILING the draft.

Second, and I know some people don't want to hear this...but you absolutely can't re-sign AJ Green to a contract extension. At this point, that money is better allocated elsewhere. You could sign a quality offensive lineman in free agency.

Third - this team is just going to have to continue spending in FA, mainly because they have screwed up the draft so bad over the past few years. There just isn't another option.

Im really starting to get worried about this roster. All of our best players are starting to get up there in age and we just have no talent when it comes to younger players. This roster could be REALLY bad in a couple years.

Offense is in decent shape, just need a new RT and RG.

Defense needs some new DEs and our CBs weren’t playing well last night.

I personally think WJ3 is replaceable and I know I know he got the INT but it was on some weird roaming lost assignment type of scenario. I think Mayfield lost him because WJ3 wasn’t even following an assignment.

Our pass rush is non-existent. The great Carl Lawson is meh, and Dunlap is too old. We need a premier pass rusher like the last two team’s we’ve faced.

(09-18-2020, 10:05 AM)GreenCornBengal Wrote: Offense is in decent shape, just need a new RT and RG.

Defense needs some new DEs and our CBs weren’t playing well last night.

I personally think WJ3 is replaceable and I know I know he got the INT but it was on some weird roaming lost assignment type of scenario. I think Mayfield lost him because WJ3 wasn’t even following an assignment.

Our pass rush is non-existent. The great Carl Lawson is meh, and Dunlap is too old. We need a premier pass rusher like the last two team’s we’ve faced.

I'm actually not huge on our WR options. There is just no speed there, especially since Ross isn't panning out. AJ, Boyd, Tate, Higgins are all decent options but they just don't have a ton of speed. Needed Ross to pan out so bad. 

Start with upgrading the defensive coordinator position or we are looking at a dead last defense ..AGAIN!

You start shedding contracts.

The very first obvious choice, which I continually get dumped on here for bringing up, is Carlos Dunlap. You cut him next year and he saves you 11.25 mil dollars.

Bobby Hart. Give this dude is walking papers at years end and point and laugh at him on his way out. Saves you 5.9 mil for 2021.

Geno. Yeah I know people like him. But we have too many needs to have so much money invested into DT. Plus he's old and declining. Saves you over 22 million dollars over the next two seasons. Saves 9.8 mil in 2021.

There's 26 million in space for 2021 right there. This can buy you 3 quality OL. This can get you an elite OT and an elite OG. They can do a lot with this money.

It might be a tough pill to swallow, but letting A.J. go and grabbing some offensive line talent would be huge. If Burrow isn’t protected, he is going to get injured or start seeing ghosts. He looks like the real deal, now PROTECT HIM. Then work on giving him weapons. If Sewell is there in the draft, the pick should be just as easy as Burrow. Throw Jonah on the right side (he played RT in college as well) and grab the best guard available in FA.

Then work on everything else. I am worried that Cincinnati is going to be just good enough to miss out on Sewell and be in a position where Jamarr Chase is the best pick. We need offensive line, the offense is close to being a good unit.

(09-18-2020, 10:11 AM)Wes Mantooth Wrote: You start shedding contracts.

The very first obvious choice, which I continually get dumped on here for bringing up, is Carlos Dunlap.  You cut him next year and he saves you 11.25 mil dollars.

Bobby Hart.  Give this dude is walking papers at years end and point and laugh at him on his way out.  Saves you 5.9 mil for 2021.

Geno. Yeah I know people like him.  But we have too many needs to have so much money invested into DT.  Plus he's old and declining.  Saves you over 22 million dollars over the next two seasons.  Saves 9.8 mil in 2021.

There's 26 million in space for 2021 right there.  This can buy you 3 quality OL.  This can get you an elite OT and an elite OG.  They can do a lot with this money.

I really think this is the correct approach and you could argue it should have been done earlier (like in last off season). 

This team is just going to have to start adding in FA to get better. Its the only way to accelerate things. There's no way the FO sheds contracts and does it though...no way. 

(09-18-2020, 10:11 AM)Wes Mantooth Wrote: You start shedding contracts.

The very first obvious choice, which I continually get dumped on here for bringing up, is Carlos Dunlap.  You cut him next year and he saves you 11.25 mil dollars.

Bobby Hart.  Give this dude is walking papers at years end and point and laugh at him on his way out.  Saves you 5.9 mil for 2021.

Geno. Yeah I know people like him.  But we have too many needs to have so much money invested into DT.  Plus he's old and declining.  Saves you over 22 million dollars over the next two seasons.  Saves 9.8 mil in 2021.

There's 26 million in space for 2021 right there.  This can buy you 3 quality OL.  This can get you an elite OT and an elite OG.  They can do a lot with this money.

If Carlos continues to just show up and take up space on the field, like he has the 1st two games, I'm right there with you as far as cutting him. Cut Hart. I need to see Geno play this year to make that decision yet. 

(09-18-2020, 10:05 AM)GreenCornBengal Wrote: Offense is in decent shape, just need a new RT and RG.

And maybe a new offensive line coach. The tough guy stuff that Jim Turner is pushing ain't working. 

As for just being RT and RG...I saw holes everywhere last night. I'd continue to draft players and try them out until we find quality guys (it doesn't have to be first rounders but I'd say 2 guys each draft until things improve) and re-signing the ones who turn out to be decent IN ADDITION to going and getting the best FA offensive linemen available ASAP. Oh and in the meantime I'd run max protect schemes (I think you saw some of that with the two TE schemes last night). 

If Uzo is unavailable for multiple weeks we should look at bringing up a blocking TE (maybe take a look at Jake Fisher -- he is sitting on the couch and knows the scheme at least). Or just run an unbalanced line with offensive linemen. Remember the unbalanced line?

(09-18-2020, 10:11 AM)Wes Mantooth Wrote: You start shedding contracts.

The very first obvious choice, which I continually get dumped on here for bringing up, is Carlos Dunlap. You cut him next year and he saves you 11.25 mil dollars.

Bobby Hart. Give this dude is walking papers at years end and point and laugh at him on his way out. Saves you 5.9 mil for 2021.

Geno. Yeah I know people like him. But we have too many needs to have so much money invested into DT. Plus he's old and declining. Saves you over 22 million dollars over the next two seasons. Saves 9.8 mil in 2021.

There's 26 million in space for 2021 right there. This can buy you 3 quality OL. This can get you an elite OT and an elite OG. They can do a lot with this money.

Dunlap has been subpar for a while IMO. I’m right with you on that one. He will have a few decent games or get some easy sacks but the rest of the time you see him slowly chasing down QBs and never getting there. I mentioned this in another thread but we need a premier pass rusher. We just don’t have a guy that strikes fear in QBs.

It's apparent this team is overrated once again. There may be some hope for the future but I started thinking about the (supposed) current talent on the Bengals. My question is what players do you think would actually make the starting lineup on a Top 10 NFL team right now? Here are my thoughts:

Green – Yes
Atkins – Yes
Hubbard – Yes
Williams – Probably
Reader – Maybe
Jackson – Maybe
Mixon – Maybe
Boyd – Maybe

Burrow gets an exemption because he is a rookie and the top ten teams don't need an upgrade at QB.

Anyone who isn't mentioned above goes into the “No way in Hell” category.

Just my thoughts. Be sure to rip me a new one but, it is clear, this is still bad team looking at another top 5 draft pick in 2021. Burrow is the only wild card I see that could elevate this team but 61 pass attempts per game won't cut it.

(09-18-2020, 10:25 AM)Chezaugie Wrote: It's apparent this team is overrated once again. There may be some hope for the future but I started thinking about the (supposed) current talent on the Bengals. My question is what players do you think would actually make the starting lineup on a Top 10 NFL team right now? Here are my thoughts:

Green – Yes
Atkins – Yes
Hubbard – Yes
Williams – Probably
Reader – Maybe-DEFINITELY
Jackson – Maybe
Mixon – Maybe-DEFINITELY
Boyd – Maybe-DEFINITELY

Burrow gets an exemption because he is a rookie and the top ten teams don't need an upgrade at QB.

Anyone who isn't mentioned above goes into the “No way in Hell” category.

Just my thoughts. Be sure to rip me a new one but, it is clear, this is still bad team looking at another top 5 draft pick in 2021. Burrow is the only wild card I see that could elevate this team but 61 pass attempts per game won't cut it.

(09-18-2020, 10:25 AM)Chezaugie Wrote: It's apparent this team is overrated once again. There may be some hope for the future but I started thinking about the (supposed) current talent on the Bengals. My question is what players do you think would actually make the starting lineup on a Top 10 NFL team right now? Here are my thoughts:

Green – Yes
Atkins – Yes
Hubbard – Yes
Williams – Probably
Reader – Maybe
Jackson – Maybe
Mixon – Maybe
Boyd – Maybe

Burrow gets an exemption because he is a rookie and the top ten teams don't need an upgrade at QB.

Anyone who isn't mentioned above goes into the “No way in Hell” category.

Just my thoughts. Be sure to rip me a new one but, it is clear, this is still bad team looking at another top 5 draft pick in 2021. Burrow is the only wild card I see that could elevate this team but 61 pass attempts per game won't cut it.

Who "overrated" this team? They won 2 games last year. 

The problem is is that this team should have been rebuilding 2 years ago instead of making dumbass decisions like re-signing aging vets like Gio, Dunlap, etc to contract extensions. They should have been acquiring a ton of picks, shedding contracts, and doing it the right way. Now they are just ******. 

(09-18-2020, 10:25 AM)Chezaugie Wrote: It's apparent this team is overrated once again. There may be some hope for the future but I started thinking about the (supposed) current talent on the Bengals. My question is what players do you think would actually make the starting lineup on a Top 10 NFL team right now? Here are my thoughts:

Green – Yes
Atkins – Yes
Hubbard – Yes
Williams – Probably
Reader – Maybe
Jackson – Maybe
Mixon – Maybe
Boyd – Maybe

Burrow gets an exemption because he is a rookie and the top ten teams don't need an upgrade at QB.

Anyone who isn't mentioned above goes into the “No way in Hell” category.

Just my thoughts. Be sure to rip me a new one but, it is clear, this is still bad team looking at another top 5 draft pick in 2021. Burrow is the only wild card I see that could elevate this team but 61 pass attempts per game won't cut it.

Hubbard is a no. He was bad last night
Also Boyd, Mixon and Reader would start depending on the team but they definaty are good enough to win with.

(09-18-2020, 10:28 AM)WeezyBengal Wrote: Who "overrated" this team? They won 2 games last year. 

The problem is is that this team should have been rebuilding 2 years ago instead of making dumbass decisions like re-signing aging vets like Gio, Dunlap, etc to contract extensions. They should have been acquiring a ton of picks, shedding contracts, and doing it the right way. Now they are just ******. 

And here we go again.... the team should have been shedding aging vets.... until, like with Whit, they do..... then they are idiots for shedding aging vets...... it's comical.

(09-18-2020, 10:30 AM)Sled21 Wrote: And here we go again.... the team should have been shedding aging vets.... until, like with Whit, they do..... then they are idiots for shedding aging vets...... it's comical.

Are you serious? They let Whit go before the window was closed. They were literally coming off a 12 win season. 

If there is strategy behind it and you realize the window is closed...then it's fine. If youre just too cheap to pay and you have a good team, thats a COMPLETELY different scenario. 

The Browns manhandled us in the trenches on both ides of the ball, and the Chargers manhandled our OL as well. Sure it will help getting Geno and Daniels back but we still need a DE to step up the pass rush. At this point I dont know if there is a fix for the right side of our OL, but Taylor sure does seem to want to run to that side a lot, which imo is stupid.

Ive never seen a weak performance by a DL like we showed last night. Pratt and Bynes both struggled as well, and Bates missed a ton of tackles, but honestly all of that starts up front. They had no help from the DL at all. Chubb and Hunt had giant holes to run through. Baker had all day to throw. The only real pressure I saw on Baker was on the INT he threw. Lawson got a little push here and there but nothing real close to a sack, just typical Lawson. Dunlap and Hubbard were both non-factors. It was almost like they didnt even suit up.

WeezyBengal
Who "overrated" this team? They won 2 games last year. 

The problem is is that this team should have been rebuilding 2 years ago instead of making dumbass decisions like re-signing aging vets like Gio, Dunlap, etc to contract extensions. They should have been acquiring a ton of picks, shedding contracts, and doing it the right way. Now they are just ******. 

Yeah, "Overrated" is probably poor word choice. Actually, should have said, "Many Bengals fans overestimated this team."

1.) We shouldn't overreact over one bad game on a short week. There is no need to blow up the roster right now.
2.) What this roster needs is time to gel and health. Geno needs to play, Wilson and Gaither need experience, and the secondary needs time to learn each other.
3.) Offensively we need to address the Right side of the line and add speed to the WR position.

Nice post I think you hit the nail on the head. Basically don’t resign aging players like Green and they must continue to be active in free agency because they have no choice because of there drafts. Tackle is hard to address in free agency because most teams don’t let good tackles walk and if they do you typically have to be willing to make them the highest paid at there position which I’m not sure if the Bengals want to. Example would be Conklin this year. There’s been a good crop of free agent guards over the last few years the Bengals typically don’t pay guards maybe it’s time for a philosophy change, Gram Glasgow would have been a good signing this offseason. I pray to god every night that Williams and Jordan pan out. But yeah this roster has holes. Corners gonna be another big issue next year ,Jackson III hasn’t looked great , Alexander is a free agent and Wayne is decent when healthy.