03-12-2017, 03:09 PM
(03-12-2017, 01:39 PM)samhain Wrote: I sort of agree because it's what's going to happen and we have little choice. I still intensely dislike the process that led them to this outcome, i.e. "we don't pay guards" and not extending Whitworth to make him a Bengal for the rest of his career. I also still believe that they are not only facing a talent regression at the tackle position, but also major durability concerns with all 3 players currently on the roster (Ogbuehi, Fisher, Winston). I think not signing a capable veteran backup is a huge risk that they will pay for at some point. Winston does not seem like a player that can play 4 quarters every Sunday if one of the starters gets hurt or just plain fails.
Outside of that, I think it's what we have to look forward to. Draft early to bolster the defense with youth and see what happens. Worst case scenario we lose 10 or 12 games and have a really good shot at getting the best OT in the 2018 draft. Hopefully that guy is a little better than what 2017 has to offer.
Normally, I would be okay with a patient/casual approach like this, but Atkins, Dunlap, Dalton and Green etc are all approaching 30.
We're wasting this core of talented players.
(03-12-2017, 01:56 PM)CageTheBengal Wrote:
26 years?
The Bengals have changed the way the approach building a team since then.
Have they really? I was around back then. They have always avoided free agents. They have always tried to build exclusively through the draft. They just got lucky and got some hits recently. That changed the view of their approach from "they're being cheap" to "they're being smart". Once they start collecting more losing seasons, the perception will change again.
The training, nutrition, medicine, fitness, playbooks and rules evolve. The athlete does not.
