Yesterday, 02:29 PM
(11-12-2024, 08:12 PM)ochocincos Wrote: Dude has been Director of Player Personnel for the Bengals since before he turned 30 years old.
Looking back at his prior history, he played a couple seasons of Arena Football in his mid-20's then became Bengals director of player personnel just a few years later.
I don't believe he had any scouting or NFL job prior to this though, at least not what I can find.
His father, Bill, had been a director of player personnel and GM from the late 80's to early 2000's.
I would imagine that's where Duke learned from.
I have heard of Bill Tobin, didn't know Duke has been around the Bengals this long, thanks.
(11-12-2024, 08:31 PM)Bilbo Saggins Wrote: His dad worked for and was friends with Brown. I think that's a sticking point for some. He assembled the rosters that saw Teryl Austin look like he was the worst DC in the league. This same DC is doing just fine in Pittsburgh. Someone in the building deserves a lot of credit for recent FA acquisitions like Hendrickson, Hilton, Awuzie, Reader, Kappa, etc. When that pace of signing impact free agents proved unsustainable, it became apparent that some of these recent drafts have not been good. Who should be held to account for that? And how? When I hear things like how media people have "seen the big board" before draft night, or we have guys like Dave Lapham predicting the first round selection every other year, or how the Bengals have the fewest scouts, or how Bengals scouts "talk to other teams's scouts" in order to build a consensus, I do wonder at the overall level of professionalism when it comes to drafting. None of that sounds like what an elite franchise would do. Then you have overall macro-strategy in regard to how rosters are assembled. You have guys like Andy Reid who have always focused on the trenches. Then you have what I'll call the Duke Tobin approach to team building. He will draft corners that fit different schemes. He will put a premium on skill position players. He will actively seek out Mixon/Burton types. He wants good offensive tackles, but seems content to field centers/guards who torpedo the effectiveness of the OL as a unit. The macro-philosophy seems very off from the top down.
That point on Teryl Austin is eye opening for sure and how he is doing well with a great defensive roster where here he was putrid
with a terrible roster. The drafting of players in different schemes and putting round pegs in square holes and been happening for
a while now and shows why we at the very least need more scouts and Duke needs to step back and listen to the coaches and what
they want for their scheme more than just drafting talent.
(11-12-2024, 08:33 PM)Mickeypoo Wrote: I think Tobin is a very loyal family friend they can trust. Mike Brown is the GM.
I completely agree. It has been time to make changes since Burrow got here. They have changed nothing. Of course I don't think they WANT to waste his career. I believe they run things the way they always have and HOPE they do not waste Burrow, Chase careers. I don't think they know how to do anything different/better because they are in a small minority family echo chamber.
I believe the Brown/Blackburn families are probably very nice people from what I have heard. I don't think they sit in their offices trying to do things that hurt the team or make the team worse. I do believe they are very stubborn and have an inner circle of only family members who are only willing to change so much. As an example, why not do something as simple as get your scouting/analytics dept up to what a modern NFL franchise would look like. No control issues. Just trying to make things better. They do nothing.
Do you think they would bring in a GM and take that title from Mike Brown? No way. When he finally passes they will probably just give that title to Tobin and nothing will change. That is the whole problem. They are not willing to change.
Look what just happened with Chase. They just cost themselves millions and hurt the team by doing so. He is worth so much more now.
I don't know man. I just don't believe we have any real shot as long as the FO keeps operating the same way. We got lucky one year and almost a second. We are trending down, not up.
I wasn't always down on the Bengals like this. Even through the 90's and 2000's I would root for them and watch every game. I think the reason I am so down is that after decades of embarrassment and failure I truly believed that the awful losing seasons were over. We had 2 awesome, exciting seasons. Much reason for hope. The future looked bright. And now here we are. No playoffs last year. I know Burrow was hurt. And now this year. 4-6 praying for a miracle.
What do you think the FO is going to do different between now and next season to turn things around? Some coaching changes? Hire an actual, proven GM? Better scouting dept so maybe our draft is better?
I don't know if Mikey Boy is the GM, he has say, but less than he has in the past which gives me some hope. Duke being such a friend of the
family does make me doubtful of us ever getting a real GM though which sucks. I agree with a lot of what you say here Mickeypoo. I just hope
that if this Defense keeps playing this terrible we get rid of Lou and Hobby and get one of the top Defensive minds out there like Vrabel or one
of the others to coach up this Defense and put most of our money towards that side of the ball once Ja'Marr is extended.
