Florio gives his thoughts on what he expects from the Bengals this offseason. I've been as critical as anyone when it comes to Mike and the front office, but I disagree with Florio here...at least as far as what I think they'll do this offseason. I expect them to be active and aggressive in free agency again, and to add some quality talent.


"We do see the Bengals spend big from time to time on strangers to the organization, but overall the team has a long-standing reputation of being extremely careful with money and they may be looking for some bargains in free agency," Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio said this week. "Just because they have that cap space, doesn't mean they have to spend it all. Like no other team the Bengals identify success as money in versus money out and they know how to turn a profit and they're very happy when they do. They don't care about championships. They care about making money."

"And again, just because they have cap space doesn't mean they're going to burn it all," Florio continued. "They like to have that cap space, they like to keep that money in their pockets if they can. There's only so much you have to spend under the salary cap. It's a four-year rolling average and every dollar that you don't spend that is earmarked for the cap is raw unadulterated profit and the Bengals understand that like no one else."

They havent really expanded the scouting department
Or had anykind of incentive to.fire Tobin
So yep profits superceed winning

(02-26-2021, 01:55 PM)Bengalholic Wrote: Florio gives his thoughts on what he expects from the Bengals this offseason. I've been as critical as anyone when it comes to Mike and the front office, but I disagree with Florio here...at least as far as what I think they'll do this offseason. I expect them to be active and aggressive in free agency again, and to add some quality talent.


"We do see the Bengals spend big from time to time on strangers to the organization, but overall the team has a long-standing reputation of being extremely careful with money and they may be looking for some bargains in free agency," Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio said this week. "Just because they have that cap space, doesn't mean they have to spend it all. Like no other team the Bengals identify success as money in versus money out and they know how to turn a profit and they're very happy when they do. They don't care about championships. They care about making money."

"And again, just because they have cap space doesn't mean they're going to burn it all," Florio continued. "They like to have that cap space, they like to keep that money in their pockets if they can. There's only so much you have to spend under the salary cap. It's a four-year rolling average and every dollar that you don't spend that is earmarked for the cap is raw unadulterated profit and the Bengals understand that like no one else."

being aggressive and signing the right folks arent the same thing...  We probly extending bobby hart again lol  (im j/k hopefully)

I want to say that the facts just don't support his contention. If Florio wants to know how we spend money, he should ask himself how many of the guys we draft leave after their rookie contract. But he does have a point. With the exception of 2009 and much to our chagrin, the front office has never been very big on free agency. 2020 shocked us all. I attribute that to the younger blood in the Brown family coming closer to taking control of the franchise.

That said, I expect the Bengals will spend $20-25 million of the cap space we have after extending some guys and resigning Lawson & Jackson. If you have seen John Sheeran & Jake Liskow's article, you need to read it. (Mythbusters) Keeping an extra 5-10 million would be important for potential late signings (after the draft).

Florio is a douche... but he ain’t wrong...

People who reference the salary cap when defending the bengals for spending money and caring about winning forget that having a low team salary isn’t the only way to make a profit.

Low coach salary, small scouting department, no practice dome.

All of that is included with being cheap and turning a profit.

The Steelers and ravens always keep their coordinators. Why? They give them the money. They don’t let a guy like Zimmer leave

I don't think Florio is wrong about the Bengals but he is forgetting that pretty much every team does this. You don't have to sign big names to have a successful off-season.

I disagree with the statement that the Bengals just pocket the unused cap.
They stocked up a good amount of cap back about 10 years ago and basically have rolled it over year after year.
They could make the decision not to roll any or just part of the unused cap to next year, but they roll it all over.
By doing this, they've spent at or very close to the regular cap number every year.

The real issue is they don't always use their cap wisely. They sign mediocre players to inflated deals a good amount of time, and they are hesitant to cut bait with a declining/bad player until they have very little dead cap remaining. As such, some players stay longer than they should.

Everyone knows this, Florio. What you are saying isn't some groundbreaking take.

(02-26-2021, 03:31 PM)ochocincos Wrote: I disagree with the statement that the Bengals just pocket the unused cap.
They stocked up a good amount of cap back about 10 years ago and basically have rolled it over year after year.
They could make the decision not to roll any or just part of the unused cap to next year, but they roll it all over.
By doing this, they've spent at or very close to the regular cap number every year.

The real issue is they don't always use their cap wisely. They sign mediocre players to inflated deals a good amount of time, and they are hesitant to cut bait with a declining/bad player until they have very little dead cap remaining. As such, some players stay longer than they should.

This.  There is more than enough evidence that they want to win championships and that it is a high priority for the organization and the family in particular.

I just think their philosophy is flawed and they keep making most of the same mistakes expecting different results.   What was good for the patriarch (Paul Brown) is good enough for us - in perpetuity.  Every organization makes its mistakes, but the devolvement of the offensive line and poor handling of free agency - not to mention the small size of the scouting department is a well documented trend that has been the hall mark of the team since the beginning.    They have a history of doing some really good things, and I have never heard any of them give direct evidence that they were more interested in money than championships.

I just think they make poor decisions which they justify after the fact.   I was very happy about last years forage into free agency, though I thought Waynes was a reach for the money.

I will be very interested to see how they handle free agency and the draft this year...

He’s not wrong based on the past.

We rolled over a bunch of money. How many other teams do that? I know there are a lot of teams well over the cap this year.

(02-26-2021, 02:59 PM)Frank Booth Wrote: People who reference the salary cap when defending the bengals for spending money and caring about winning forget that having a low team salary isn’t the only way to make a profit.

Low coach salary, small scouting department, no practice dome.

All of that is included with being cheap and turning a profit.

The Steelers and ravens always keep their coordinators. Why? They give them the money. They don’t let a guy like Zimmer leave

A guy like Zimmer wants to be a Head Coach....

(02-26-2021, 06:10 PM)Sled21 Wrote: A guy like Zimmer wants to be a Head Coach....

he'd reconsider if he was offered more money to be a DC.

either cincy needs to pony up more cash for certain coordinators, or they need to find guys who failed at head coaching, and lock them up as a OC or DC

Like how does that Martindale guy in Baltimore just get to stay in baltimore? 

(02-26-2021, 02:59 PM)Frank Booth Wrote: People who reference the salary cap when defending the bengals for spending money and caring about winning forget that having a low team salary isn’t the only way to make a profit.

Low coach salary, small scouting department, no practice dome.

All of that is included with being cheap and turning a profit.

The Steelers and ravens always keep their coordinators. Why? They give them the money. They don’t let a guy like Zimmer leave

There are a couple reasons (I think anyway).
1) Those teams typically went deep in the postseason whereas the Bengals lost in the first week of playoffs or didn't make it at all. As such, teams weren't able to interview those coordinators and finalize hiring until after their teams were eliminated.
2) Their coordinators may not have had a big interest to move into a HC position. Zimmer, Gruden, and Jackson clearly wanted the opportunity, and that's why they left.

It might be better to get coordinators who were former HCs that floundered out from that role but are still good coordinators.

(02-26-2021, 06:23 PM)ochocincos Wrote: There are a couple reasons (I think anyway).
1) Those teams typically went deep in the postseason whereas the Bengals lost in the first week of playoffs or didn't make it at all. As such, teams weren't able to interview those coordinators and finalize hiring until after their teams were eliminated.
2) Their coordinators may not have had a big interest to move into a HC position. Zimmer, Gruden, and Jackson clearly wanted the opportunity, and that's why they left.

It might be better to get coordinators who were former HCs that floundered out from that role but are still good coordinators.

yes I said that is something they should do.

But those guys come with HIGH price tags.

That hurts Mike Brown's bottom line when he has to pay a coordinator top money

that's why we get guys like Lou Annorumo and Teryl Austin, and Zampese, and That awful OC we used to have with Carson Palmer

I think the national perception of the Bengals as a "cheap" organization will not change until Mike Brown leaves/retires or the organization hires a respectable GM.  It is similar to the perception that the Bengals sign or draft criminals that some fans and members of the media still maintain.  To change public perception of the team, will require years of spending top dollar to improve the team.  Years.  

I hope the National Media continues to hold the Front Office's feet to the fire to replenish the Roster via FA and draft.  To expand the draft department.  To build a freakin practice Bubble.  

This is why the work of Sam Schwartz and Elizabeth Blackburn has been helpful in changing the image of the team, at least via social media.  To change the image of public perception will require the team to make bold moves, to fire or release staff or players that underperform.  The team has to make the paradigm shift from "patience" to "winning."

Right or Wrong doesn't matter if it comes from Florio it is just a a way for him to attack the Bengals franchise.

(02-26-2021, 06:28 PM)Frank Booth Wrote: yes I said that is something they should do.

But those guys come with HIGH price tags.

That hurts Mike Brown's bottom line when he has to pay a coordinator top money

that's why we get guys like Lou Annorumo and Teryl Austin, and Zampese, and That awful OC we used to have with Carson Palmer

In any business, you obviously can only spend so much. You can't really spend more than you have.
I don't know how much money the Bengals have to use outside of the roster cap, but I do wonder how much bigger they could grow the scouting department and pay more for coaches.
I'd like to think they do have the ability to pay more, but perhaps they don't have a lot of room and highly depend on the revenue from ticket sales and concessions moreso than some other owners.

Florio isn't drumming up any new information with his take. This has been a talking point for the past 30 years. It feels inconsequential to discuss, but I do know that last offseason was different. The franchise jumped into free agency so I hope this offseason continues the trend.

(02-26-2021, 07:24 PM)ochocincos Wrote: In any business, you obviously can only spend so much. You can't really spend more than you have.
I don't know how much money the Bengals have to use outside of the roster cap, but I do wonder how much bigger they could grow the scouting department and pay more for coaches.
I'd like to think they do have the ability to pay more, but perhaps they don't have a lot of room and highly depend on the revenue from ticket sales and concessions moreso than some other owners.

I think this line of thinking works better when discussing a league without a salary cap.  The Bengals aren't exactly in the same position as the Pittsburgh Pirates, for example.  With that being said, Mike Brown should theoretically have a nice sum of money put away to hire a lot of people since he's gone without hiring a GM for 30+ years, for example.

That's the issue with the Bengals.  Don't need to hire a GM because I'm the GM.  Hey, should I spend this three million bucks I save every year on more scouts?  Nah.