Maualuga Released

[*SHRacerX*]

(03-25-2017, 05:24 PM)Truck_1_0_1_ Wrote: Funny. He's been working out a SHITLOAD on IG and he literally looked like he did in 2009. I thought all along, "man, if they cut him, it'll all be for nothing." Alas, it was indeed, all for nought.

Oh well, solid contributor for years, love the guy.

What is IG?  Ignition?  If this is true, maybe they will sign him back under a lesser deal if no one picks him up?  That would likely cause these boards to implode.  

[*SHRacerX*]

(03-25-2017, 07:26 PM)BonnieBengal Wrote: OK now they get a D in free agency instead of an F-

Bonnie, I feel your pain and I chuckled at your post.  It isn't easy when your team loses guys that have seemingly been on the team forever, but it is often necessary to cut bait and move on.  I loved Whit.  His line after getting ejected for fighting Richard Seymour (Raiders) when that bytch was trying to gouge his eyes out after a late hit on Dalton caused a tussle.  He said:  "I have two contracts in my life:  My marriage to my wife and to protect Andy Dalton".  I fell head over heels in love with him.  My favorite Bengal.  I could deal with the losses of Zeitler (way overrated), and Sexy (but I really, really liked the guy), but Whit...he was my guy.  

Then I remembered when the Reds resigned Barry Larkin when they should have let him go and gone with younger players.  We got to witness his decline, and he cost the Reds a lot of money that could have been used to bring in some young pitchers.  But the got emotional, and at the game when Larkin received standing ovations at every at-bat when he was playing what everyone thought was his final game, the team caved and did what they thought the fan base would want.  And it set the team back three more years.

Whit is no exception.  He is a GREAT man, and his durability is borderline unprecedented.  But they had to get younger, and they have a lot of other pieces that would need the contracts thus prohibiting the contract for Whitworth.  

Ced has been a massive failure, and that overvalues Whit even more.  If the Bengals do a little creative work in the draft, they could slide in Rd 1, get the WR Ross or Davis, then trade BACK in to Round 1 and get Cam Robinson to compete with Ced at LT.  Either Ced has improved enough to win the job (he can't play guard) and the LT spot is secure and Robinson goes on to be an All-Pro at RG or Robinson wins the job at LT and the position is secure and we have the winner of Westerman and Smith at RG.  Either way the offense is better and the run blocking is significantly upgraded.  Again, the offense and the running game are significantly upgraded, at a savings of roughly $22 million.  

That is the job that can and still could be done.  If they pull that off, they deserve an A+ for making the difficult moves and not letting emotional attachments get in the way of improving the team.

They did sign the younger, rising talent Dre Kirkpatrick and a young, speedy LB from AZ (Minter).  They also re-upped with the consummate Pro, LaFell.  

If they can pull of that kind of draft, the team won't just be improved, it will be MUCH improved.  

[Luvnit2]

(03-26-2017, 07:46 AM)SHRacerX Wrote: Bonnie, I feel your pain and I chuckled at your post.  It isn't easy when your team loses guys that have seemingly been on the team forever, but it is often necessary to cut bait and move on.  I loved Whit.  His line after getting ejected for fighting Richard Seymour (Raiders) when that bytch was trying to gouge his eyes out after a late hit on Dalton caused a tussle.  He said:  "I have two contracts in my life:  My marriage to my wife and to protect Andy Dalton".  I fell head over heels in love with him.  My favorite Bengal.  I could deal with the losses of Zeitler (way overrated), and Sexy (but I really, really liked the guy), but Whit...he was my guy.  

Then I remembered when the Reds resigned Barry Larkin when they should have let him go and gone with younger players.  We got to witness his decline, and he cost the Reds a lot of money that could have been used to bring in some young pitchers.  But the got emotional, and at the game when Larkin received standing ovations at every at-bat when he was playing what everyone thought was his final game, the team caved and did what they thought the fan base would want.  And it set the team back three more years.

Whit is no exception.  He is a GREAT man, and his durability is borderline unprecedented.  But they had to get younger, and they have a lot of other pieces that would need the contracts thus prohibiting the contract for Whitworth.  

Ced has been a massive failure, and that overvalues Whit even more.  If the Bengals do a little creative work in the draft, they could slide in Rd 1, get the WR Ross or Davis, then trade BACK in to Round 1 and get Cam Robinson to compete with Ced at LT.  Either Ced has improved enough to win the job (he can't play guard) and the LT spot is secure and Robinson goes on to be an All-Pro at RG or Robinson wins the job at LT and the position is secure and we have the winner of Westerman and Smith at RG.  Either way the offense is better and the run blocking is significantly upgraded.  Again, the offense and the running game are significantly upgraded, at a savings of roughly $22 million.  

That is the job that can and still could be done.  If they pull that off, they deserve an A+ for making the difficult moves and not letting emotional attachments get in the way of improving the team.

They did sign the younger, rising talent Dre Kirkpatrick and a young, speedy LB from AZ (Minter).  They also re-upped with the consummate Pro, LaFell.  

If they can pull of that kind of draft, the team won't just be improved, it will be MUCH improved.  

Great analogy and I love Whitt also. There is no doubt, Ced and our OL will be under a microscope. I just hope we all remember the OL in 2016 was average and not great so staying status quo was not a good option either.

[Hoofhearted]

Best of luck, Rey! This really opens the door for a LB in the early rounds

[fredtoast]

(03-25-2017, 04:23 PM)OrangeLacroix Wrote: It's sad we have to get excited about the team making such a basic, sensical, business decision like this.

What is sad is people COMPLAINING that they don't have something to cry about.

[Lawless_1]

They'll take Haason Reddick at 9 and everyone will have a s### fit.

[BengalChris]

(03-26-2017, 10:16 AM)fredtoast Wrote: What is sad is people COMPLAINING that they don't have something to cry about.

Plenty to complain about.

Mike Brown still owns the team.

Marvin Lewis is still the HC.

Ogbuehi is the team's laughable answer for Whit.

Paul Alexander wasn't fired.

Jeremy Hill can't get many yards behind a weak O-line.

Will we see a change in Zampese's run-run-pass predictable play calling?

Then there's the annual free agency fail, which we are still in the middle of.

[fredtoast]

(03-26-2017, 10:28 AM)BengalChris Wrote: Will we see a change in Zampese's run-run-pass predictable play calling?

That's a good onre Chris.  I actually thought you were being serious there for a moment.

[fredtoast]

(03-25-2017, 05:35 PM)Trademark Wrote: Finally! It truly is the end of an era though.

Let's hope it is not the end of this era.

Before Maualuga arrived it hdbeen 20 years since the Bengals had a top 10 scoring defense.  But since Rey arrived in 09 we have been top ten 6 of the last 8 years.

Maualuga, like many popular message board whipping boys, was better than a lot of people wanted to give him credit for.  But his playing time had dropped off dramatically and he showed up out of shape last year suffering from some mysterious injury he could not identify.  It was time to move on.

[Shake n Blake]

(03-26-2017, 10:24 AM)Lawless_1 Wrote: They'll take Haason Reddick at 9 and everyone will have a s### fit.

I doubt it. Too small to play Mike or Sam...especially for the Bengals who like huge LBs. 

Unless they're drafting Burfict's future replacement, it ain't happening.

[muskiesfan]

I've been a fan of Maualuga since he was drafted. Always liked the guy. His performance has dropped and it was time to move on. Still sad to see him go. I wish him the best wherever he lands.

On the flip, it seems a little odd that they only signed Minter to a 1 year deal if the plan was to cut Maualuga.

Also, I doubt the saved cap space will be used to sign anyone. Hobson's latest article made it sound as if Maualuga had to be cut to afford Minter. "But it was more than an in-and-out in which Maualuga ($3.7 million) and Minter ($4.5 million) basically swapped hits under the salary cap." http://www.bengals.com/news/article-1/Bengals-move-Maualuga-as-new-LB-corps-takes-shape/38eb6a5a-bf6b-45f3-adf5-79da76b97c23

[fredtoast]

Maualuga will probably always hold the record for quickest switch from fan favorite (remember the way fans went crazy when we drafted him?) to message board whipping boy.

[Shake n Blake]

(03-26-2017, 11:59 AM)muskiesfan Wrote: I've been a fan of Maualuga since he was drafted. Always liked the guy. His performance has dropped and it was time to move on. Still sad to see him go. I wish him the best wherever he lands.

On the flip, it seems a little odd that they only signed Minter to a 1 year deal if the plan was to cut Maualuga.

Also, I doubt the saved cap space will be used to sign anyone. Hobson's latest article made it sound as if Maualuga had to be cut to afford Minter. "But it was more than an in-and-out in which Maualuga ($3.7 million) and Minter ($4.5 million) basically swapped hits under the salary cap." http://www.bengals.com/news/article-1/Bengals-move-Maualuga-as-new-LB-corps-takes-shape/38eb6a5a-bf6b-45f3-adf5-79da76b97c23

Dre Kirk has a cap hit of 9.3 million this year. I believe he made 7 million last year.
Whit and Zeitler's salaries came off the books.
LaFell went from 2.5 million cap hit to 5 million.
Burkhead's salary is also off the books.
Minter (4.5 million) and Maualuga (3.7 million) were almost an even swap.
Andre Smith has a cap hit of $3 million.

If my math is correct, I see $8.6 million in raises and new contracts for 2017, which should be more than accounted for with (a) money saved by letting Whit and Z walk and (b) the salary cap going up by over $12 million. Can anyone point out where I'm wrong?

[Shake n Blake]

(03-26-2017, 12:06 PM)fredtoast Wrote: Maualuga will probably always hold the record for quickest switch from fan favorite (remember the way fans went crazy when we drafted him?) to message board whipping boy.

He was a disappointment, Fred. Not only on the field, but also off of it with multiple legal issues.

Fans tend to turn on players when that happens. I wasn't a Maualuga hater, but I get why people bashed him.

[muskiesfan]

(03-26-2017, 12:16 PM)Shake n Blake Wrote: Dre Kirk has a cap hit of 9.3 million this year. I believe he made 7 million last year.
Whit and Zeitler's salaries came off the books.
LaFell went from 2.5 million cap hit to 5 million.
Burkhead's salary is also off the books.
Minter (4.5 million) and Maualuga (3.7 million) were almost an even swap.
Andre Smith has a cap hit of $3 million.

If my math is correct, I see $8.6 million in raises and new contracts for 2017, which should be more than accounted for with (a) money saved by letting Whit and Z walk and (b) the salary cap going up by over $12 million. Can anyone point out where I'm wrong?

You did forget TJ Johnson and Eric Winston, but I'm with you. I thought it was an odd statement that they were basically swapping cap hits as if the Bengals couldn't afford both. We all know they still have a bunch of cap space, but evidently they can only sign players if they cut players now.

Then I forgot Peerman and Gilberry.

[Luvnit2]

(03-26-2017, 12:16 PM)Shake n Blake Wrote: Dre Kirk has a cap hit of 9.3 million this year. I believe he made 7 million last year.
Whit and Zeitler's salaries came off the books.
LaFell went from 2.5 million cap hit to 5 million.
Burkhead's salary is also off the books.
Minter (4.5 million) and Maualuga (3.7 million) were almost an even swap.
Andre Smith has a cap hit of $3 million.

If my math is correct, I see $8.6 million in raises and new contracts for 2017, which should be more than accounted for with (a) money saved by letting Whit and Z walk and (b) the salary cap going up by over $12 million. Can anyone point out where I'm wrong?

Did you account for raises of existing contracts? Some of the long term deals escalate each year so that number could be substantial when looking at AJ, AD, Geno and Dunlap for example.

[Shake n Blake]

(03-26-2017, 12:21 PM)muskiesfan Wrote: You did forget TJ Johnson and Eric Winston, but I'm with you. I thought it was an odd statement that they were basically swapping cap hits as if the Bengals couldn't afford both. We all know they still have a bunch of cap space, but evidently they can only sign players if they cut players now.

Then I forgot Peerman and Gilberry.

I didn't include those guys because their salaries will all be about the same as their salaries last year.

Either way, it looks like they won't be using all the money possible to go for a championship in 2017.

[Shake n Blake]

(03-26-2017, 12:27 PM)Luvnit2 Wrote: Did you account for raises of existing contracts? Some of the long term deals escalate each year so that number could be substantial when looking at AJ, AD, Geno and Dunlap for example.

No I did not, and I was thinking about that. But still...between the $12 million cap increase and Whit and Z coming off the books, we should've been able to do more than sign Andre Smith for $3 million and upgrade Maualuga for a 0.8 million net difference. We certainly aren't at the point where Maualuga has to be released just to be able to sign a player we've already signed. That's just Hobspin blowing smoke.

[Antares]

(03-26-2017, 11:01 AM)fredtoast Wrote: Let's hope it is not the end of this era.

Before Maualuga arrived it hdbeen 20 years since the Bengals had a top 10 scoring defense.  But since Rey arrived in 09 we have been top ten 6 of the last 8 years.

Maualuga, like many popular message board whipping boys, was better than a lot of people wanted to give him credit for.  But his playing time had dropped off dramatically and he showed up out of shape last year suffering from some mysterious injury he could not identify.  It was time to move on.

Maualuga was over rated. He was average at best. They never really let anybody compete for the job. It was simply his. Having him gone means that they can actively seek to improve the position.

[Luvnit2]

(03-26-2017, 12:19 PM)Shake n Blake Wrote: He was a disappointment, Fred. Not only on the field, but also off of it with multiple legal issues.

Fans tend to turn on players when that happens. I wasn't a Maualuga hater, but I get why people bashed him.

I did not find 2016 numbers, but  this shows how all of the contracts are impacted from 2017 to 2018, most are raises and a lot of contracts so it will always be a factor in spend and also cap numbers.

http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/cincinnati-bengals/