03-27-2021, 08:30 AM
YES, I think the Bengals are emphatically better.... AND younger. Look who is gone:
- Lawson, who's best seasons were rookie and contract years, with injuries in between.
- Green: Clearly looking old, broken AND A MAJOR SALARY CAP DRAIN since 2017.
- Atkins: Wildly old for a DT and not the same guy. For those wanting Atkins to stick around, how did that go with the player above? Big money on old players in positions where they tend to not age well typically doesn't work out. I believe Atkins was the 3rd oldest starting DT in the NFL at the start if last season.
- Hart: Gross
- Carter: Special teams ace. Will be missed on that side of the ball.
- Erickson: Who cares?
- WJ3: Best season BY FAR was his rookie year. Doesn't fit zone scheme. Will be 29 years old in Oct... You giving a 29 year old who is so-so and doesn't fit your scheme a long term deal? Pfffffft! No! Not when there's a 26 year old out there who does.. at half the money.
- Alexander: I like this guy. He stepped up and worked hard after a crappy start to his season. But, a clear upgrade was available. Which leads me to...
- 2ndary: As a whole, the 2ndary is MUCH MUCH better AND younger. I think the Bengals may have a top 5 2ndary in the NFL as the season goes on. They had NO depth last year. NONE. Now they are 5 deep at CB with respectable guys to go along with the top safety tandem in the NFL - with, again, excellent depth behind them as well.
Philips STARTED 8 games last season. Now? He's the 4th or 5th guy. No more watching Sims flounder about, either. God, that was awful.
Something people aren't mentioning with the 2ndary is that the Bengals want to go to a zone scheme back there. WJ3 was ok at man coverage, but zone wasn't his thing. The guys they signed are all good fits for a zone defense and outstanding tacklers. Very solid guys in that regard. So, I think that has all ultimately be upgraded significantly.
Fun fact: Over the last 3 seasons, Mike Hilton ranks #2 among DBs in TFLs behind Jamaal Adams (30-39). He's a strong player and should be able to be an outright weapon coming in from the 2ndary. If the Bengals want to use him as a blitzing piece, which Hilton is very very good at, this makes uo for the loss of Lawson when combined with...
- DE: No question an upgrade, IMO. Like, no question. Hendrickson is a taller, longer player than Carl and can play every/any down. Lawson is a "tweener", not a full time DE and was a liability against the run. Hendrickson upgrades the actual DE spot, instead of just coming in as a specialist in a limited role.
BTW, most of Lawson's 80 pressures in 4 years stat came as a rookie (59 of them) in a limited role. He was a player without a full time position. Hendrickson gives the Bengals an actual DE, which was wildly needed after Dunlap was gone. They can find an "EDGE" type undersized tweener player in the draft fairly easily.
Notes: The Kerrigan guy would be an interesting fit for a rotational piece.
DT: YES, upgrade. It's not 2016 any more. They signed a young, disruptive guy on the come up.
I still wouldn't hate Margus Hunt sneaking back into the rotation. I thought he worked hard and had some interesting plays. Bengals still thin there, but Reader, Totupu & Wrenn coming back, if all healthy, would be fine.
OL- YES, upgraded, but much more work to do there. Options are running thin.
Not loving Price at C and Spain should opimally be a depth piece, but the draft is looming.
I don't see what's not to like regarding the FA work the Bengals put in. Was it perfect? No. Was it exactly how they drew it up? No. But I think they have upgraded their roster significantly over what had been there. Lots more work to do!
- Lawson, who's best seasons were rookie and contract years, with injuries in between.
- Green: Clearly looking old, broken AND A MAJOR SALARY CAP DRAIN since 2017.
- Atkins: Wildly old for a DT and not the same guy. For those wanting Atkins to stick around, how did that go with the player above? Big money on old players in positions where they tend to not age well typically doesn't work out. I believe Atkins was the 3rd oldest starting DT in the NFL at the start if last season.
- Hart: Gross
- Carter: Special teams ace. Will be missed on that side of the ball.
- Erickson: Who cares?
- WJ3: Best season BY FAR was his rookie year. Doesn't fit zone scheme. Will be 29 years old in Oct... You giving a 29 year old who is so-so and doesn't fit your scheme a long term deal? Pfffffft! No! Not when there's a 26 year old out there who does.. at half the money.
- Alexander: I like this guy. He stepped up and worked hard after a crappy start to his season. But, a clear upgrade was available. Which leads me to...
- 2ndary: As a whole, the 2ndary is MUCH MUCH better AND younger. I think the Bengals may have a top 5 2ndary in the NFL as the season goes on. They had NO depth last year. NONE. Now they are 5 deep at CB with respectable guys to go along with the top safety tandem in the NFL - with, again, excellent depth behind them as well.
Philips STARTED 8 games last season. Now? He's the 4th or 5th guy. No more watching Sims flounder about, either. God, that was awful.
Something people aren't mentioning with the 2ndary is that the Bengals want to go to a zone scheme back there. WJ3 was ok at man coverage, but zone wasn't his thing. The guys they signed are all good fits for a zone defense and outstanding tacklers. Very solid guys in that regard. So, I think that has all ultimately be upgraded significantly.
Fun fact: Over the last 3 seasons, Mike Hilton ranks #2 among DBs in TFLs behind Jamaal Adams (30-39). He's a strong player and should be able to be an outright weapon coming in from the 2ndary. If the Bengals want to use him as a blitzing piece, which Hilton is very very good at, this makes uo for the loss of Lawson when combined with...
- DE: No question an upgrade, IMO. Like, no question. Hendrickson is a taller, longer player than Carl and can play every/any down. Lawson is a "tweener", not a full time DE and was a liability against the run. Hendrickson upgrades the actual DE spot, instead of just coming in as a specialist in a limited role.
BTW, most of Lawson's 80 pressures in 4 years stat came as a rookie (59 of them) in a limited role. He was a player without a full time position. Hendrickson gives the Bengals an actual DE, which was wildly needed after Dunlap was gone. They can find an "EDGE" type undersized tweener player in the draft fairly easily.
Notes: The Kerrigan guy would be an interesting fit for a rotational piece.
DT: YES, upgrade. It's not 2016 any more. They signed a young, disruptive guy on the come up.
I still wouldn't hate Margus Hunt sneaking back into the rotation. I thought he worked hard and had some interesting plays. Bengals still thin there, but Reader, Totupu & Wrenn coming back, if all healthy, would be fine.
OL- YES, upgraded, but much more work to do there. Options are running thin.
Not loving Price at C and Spain should opimally be a depth piece, but the draft is looming.
I don't see what's not to like regarding the FA work the Bengals put in. Was it perfect? No. Was it exactly how they drew it up? No. But I think they have upgraded their roster significantly over what had been there. Lots more work to do!
