(02-07-2024, 11:04 PM)rfaulk34 Wrote: I wouldn't kill you for it but it's something that i don't even want to consider. That's what the Bengals have been doing. Get what they think is a "good enough" talent or draft someone to develop. It's not been working. They need to get serious and get it right this year. They need to build a wall first and foremost. They have good enough talent throughout the roster to compete and they have the QB. 

They have to get it through their thick heads that you need to pay to put guys in front of your franchise to protect him and give him time to do what he does. He's the one and only guy, active in the league today, that has beaten Mahomes and the Chiefs to get to the SB. They FAFO when Aaron Donald pulled the Lombardi right out of their hands and again the next year when Chris Jones ***** slapped Adeniji to end that season. 

Eluemunor falls into that category of "good", without being a top line FA but he's clearly better than who has played there the last 3 seasons. Volson is too volatile to keep giving him seasons to progress. He finally started to play better for a stretch late this year before reverting the last couple games. If they could pry a guy like Cushenberry away from Denver or Biadasz from Dallas, they could move Karras to LG and have clearly the best line Burrow has had in front of him here. Brown Jr - Karras - Cush/Bia - Cappa - Eluemunor and then pray like the dickens for health.

I'm not really interested in drafting Oline at all this year. Grab 2 seemingly affordable guys and use the picks for other positions. I'd rather do this than pay a big bag to Madubuike and put spackle on the Oline again. 

The Bengals probably wouldn't want to do this because it means moving Karras, but whatever. Keep doing stupid shit and falling short. 

Make every effort to sign Tee, not tag him (i know...this goes against what i've stated in the past) and front-load his contract so that you can redo Chase next year and back-load his, balancing out the 2 over the next 4 years or so. Get more speed at the RB position. Brown was a good start but they need to use him more. I wanted Gibbs so bad last year...

I was reading talk about the CB position but i didn't see too much talk about Awuzie. I think he's a must sign. They should be able to get him cheaper now due to the injury last year. 

(02-09-2024, 03:25 PM)jj22 Wrote: Maybe folks just don't trust Pollack to develop a draft pick. Opting for a player already developed. But he's ruined players developed elsewhere too. So damned if we do, damned if we don't.

(02-09-2024, 03:25 PM)jj22 Wrote: Maybe folks just don't trust Pollack to develop a draft pick. Opting for a player already developed. But he's ruined players developed elsewhere too. So damned if we do, damned if we don't.

(02-07-2024, 07:20 PM)ochocincos Wrote: It feels like the Bengals have a lot invested into the OL, but looking at positional spending, maybe the Bengals aren't as much as I thought.

Bengals 2024 cap spending by position rank (before FA/draft):
DL - 4th highest in the league
LB - 19th highest
DB - 27th highest
OL - 21st highest (this goes up to 19th in 2025, 14th in 2026)
TE - Tied for last
RB/FB - 11th highest
WR - 26th highest
QB - 15th highest (Burrow only $29.7 mill against the cap this year)

WR is going to jump up a lot depending on what they do with Chase (and Higgins) in the coming couple years
RB is going to likely go down after 2024 once Mixon hits FA next year.

Maybe the Bengals could (should?) worry less about high-cost positions like WR, DL, CB and put first priority on OL to start FA?
Maybe Onwenu would be considered "good enough" to spend that extra $$ to finally solidify the OL.
I don't think there's much of a shot of moving Volson out of LG though, which I know was mentioned elsewhere. After 2 years and actually seeing improvement across that time, LG feels pretty locked, to me.

(02-08-2024, 04:28 PM)007BengalsFan Wrote: The Bengals did have the 6th highest paid offensive line this year.  The reason they dont show up higher for 2024 is because Jonah is a free agent and no longer counts.  Depending on who they get to replace Jonah, they could jump right back up into the top 10 again.

(02-09-2024, 05:20 PM)PCB Bengal Fan Wrote: They need to be top 10 O-line spending.

(02-09-2024, 05:29 PM)XenoMorph Wrote: What we need is to be Top 10 O-Line production.... Spending hasnt really helped..     I blame pollack.  (Even though he might not be the sole cause)

(02-09-2024, 09:32 PM)Housh Wrote: We’ve likely already agreed to a handshake deal if he’s talking like this. If you aren’t gonna be on the guys team this is kinda sick riding so I’m 96% sure he’ll be announced as a signing day 1 of FA

Willie is one of the best Right Tackles to ever play the game. The committee needs to stop playing, he belongs in canton‼️ https://t.co/P3fheklqeJ

— Jermaine Eluemunor (@TheMainShow_) February 9, 2024

(02-09-2024, 06:16 PM)Frank Booth Wrote: paying top 10 offensive line salaries

but getting bottom 12 o-line production

...I think there's a problem here

(02-10-2024, 12:02 AM)Nicomo Cosca Wrote: Sure seems like it.

Willie is one of the best Right Tackles to ever play the game. The committee needs to stop playing, he belongs in canton‼️ https://t.co/P3fheklqeJ

— Jermaine Eluemunor (@TheMainShow_) February 9, 2024

(02-10-2024, 12:32 AM)007BengalsFan Wrote: We need a RT and Eluemunor could fill the void without breaking the bank.  He would be a solid addition.

(02-07-2024, 02:39 PM)ochocincos Wrote: Maybe I haven't invested enough time looking into the non-1st rounder OT guys, but I'm not overly confident they'd find an immediate starter at OT after 18.

What the Bengals cannot afford, IMO, is either:
1) Putting a rookie RT out there who is not ready to be solid-or-better from Game 1. We can't afford a learning curve throughout the year, as it could derail the season.

(02-07-2024, 11:04 PM)rfaulk34 Wrote: I wouldn't kill you for it but it's something that i don't even want to consider. That's what the Bengals have been doing. Get what they think is a "good enough" talent or draft someone to develop. It's not been working. They need to get serious and get it right this year. They need to build a wall first and foremost. They have good enough talent throughout the roster to compete and they have the QB. 

They have to get it through their thick heads that you need to pay to put guys in front of your franchise to protect him and give him time to do what he does. He's the one and only guy, active in the league today, that has beaten Mahomes and the Chiefs to get to the SB. They FAFO when Aaron Donald pulled the Lombardi right out of their hands and again the next year when Chris Jones ***** slapped Adeniji to end that season. 

Eluemunor falls into that category of "good", without being a top line FA but he's clearly better than who has played there the last 3 seasons. Volson is too volatile to keep giving him seasons to progress. He finally started to play better for a stretch late this year before reverting the last couple games. If they could pry a guy like Cushenberry away from Denver or Biadasz from Dallas, they could move Karras to LG and have clearly the best line Burrow has had in front of him here. Brown Jr - Karras - Cush/Bia - Cappa - Eluemunor and then pray like the dickens for health.

I'm not really interested in drafting Oline at all this year. Grab 2 seemingly affordable guys and use the picks for other positions. I'd rather do this than pay a big bag to Madubuike and put spackle on the Oline again. 

The Bengals probably wouldn't want to do this because it means moving Karras, but whatever. Keep doing stupid shit and falling short. 

Make every effort to sign Tee, not tag him (i know...this goes against what i've stated in the past) and front-load his contract so that you can redo Chase next year and back-load his, balancing out the 2 over the next 4 years or so. Get more speed at the RB position. Brown was a good start but they need to use him more. I wanted Gibbs so bad last year...

I was reading talk about the CB position but i didn't see too much talk about Awuzie. I think he's a must sign. They should be able to get him cheaper now due to the injury last year. 

(02-10-2024, 01:44 PM)Isaac Curtis: The Real #85 Wrote: There isn't top shelf FA OL this year. If wanted to pay a mediocre starter $15 mil, we could keep Jonah. 

There is top shelf OT talent in the draft. Just because we busted on a guy 10 years ago, don't be afraid to take one. You build a wall with Sewell's or Tyrod Smith's, not Jonah or even Elumenor's. But having a mid-level bridge OT while a drafted RT settles in makes sense to me. Particilarly if it ends up being Mims/Guyton. 

(02-10-2024, 01:57 PM)bfine32 Wrote: Trent Brown is a top-5 RT and top-10 OT. I'd imagine Pollack could make him serviceable