02-15-2016, 04:27 PM
(02-14-2016, 07:54 AM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: Hmm, neither if you have to overpay either.
Iloka is good and makes the defense better playing compared to not playing, but as long as you keep Nelson, you can roll with Nelson/Williams and not have much of a drop off to warrant paying Iloka like he was Thomas/Berry/Weddle.
Iloka's four years can be broken down as... 1 non-factor, 1 meh, 1 great, and 1 okay. That just doesn't translate to being paid as a top safety in my mind. He also doesn't really have many big splash plays. In four years he has 0 sacks, 20 Pdef, 5 INT, 2 FF. He's good, but not great.
If he wasn't wearing a Bengals uniform and was an outside free agent instead, people would be ridiculing folk for wanting to overpay him as a top safety and "become like the Browns and the Raiders".
Truth.
(02-15-2016, 01:15 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: There is also this thing called the learning curve. He was drafted and developed into the player he is today. Everyone knows that the Bengals aren't going to draft a Safety in the 1st or 2nd round, and they certainly aren't going to buy one in free agency.
Do you really want to wait another 3-4 years for another mid to late round pick to develop into what we have in George? I know that I sure don't.
Pay Iloka, he's worth it.
I think the Iloka replacement would already be on the roster.
Shawn Williams with 5 starts- 28 tackles, 2 INT, 5 passes defensed
George Iloka in 12 starts- 47 tackles, 1 INT, 4 passes defensed
I'd prefer to have Iloka back, but I think Williams had a bit of a learning curve as well, and he's arrived as a starting caliber player.
We didn't really miss a beat in the 4 games Iloka missed last season.
The training, nutrition, medicine, fitness, playbooks and rules evolve. The athlete does not.
