01-13-2023, 12:21 PM
(01-13-2023, 12:12 PM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: Spend money and sign actually good FAs, and you get good results. Whodathunkit? In the past they MIGHT sign 1 guy like Trae Waynes (but even he was too highly paid to be a past FA signing). If the signing failed? Well, I guess you got your FA for the decade, because now it's time to turtle up and treat quality Free Agents like they're poison again. Hope you can make lemonade from dogshit for the next couple years.
The Bengals draft success lately is largely a product of picking 1st and 5th overall. The last time they drafted in the top-5 they got AJ Green and Andy Dalton in the 1st and 2nd. The time before that they got Carson Palmer and Eric Steinbach in the 1st and 2nd. The time before that they got Justin Smith and Chad Johnson in the 1st and 2nd. Having top-5 picks makes it easier to have good drafts as that's where the blue chip guys are in the 1st round and the 2nd round that high is nearly a second 1st rounder. Being good at winning football games means harder drafts. It's why the Patriots don't traditionally kill it in the top of their drafts.
Being absolutely terrible for a couple years and getting real high draft picks while prying open 'ol Mikey's pocketbook for FA is why it's been better. Look at 2019 and 2022 drafts for a better example of what happens when you don't have top-5 picks and the Bengals starting defense coming into this year was 6/11ths outside FA signings with 5 of those 6 getting notable amounts of money.
That’s true but outside the early picks that’s not entirely true thinking it’s a no fail process. Picking Higgins and Logan Wilson, Volson, CTB, McPherson, and others were good picks.
Romo “ so impressed with Zac ...1 of the best in the NFL… they are just fundamentally sound. Taylor the best winning % in the Playoffs of current coaches. Joe Burrow” Zac is the best head coach in the NFL & that gives me a lot of confidence." Taylor led the Bengals to their first playoff win since 1990, ending the longest active drought in the four major North American sports, en and appeared in Super Bowl LVI, the first since 1988.
