Brandon Thompson

[Luvnit2]

(08-22-2017, 12:50 PM)ochocincos Wrote: Agreed. For me though (and maybe this is my flaw), I believe a player has fully grown after their third year. I don't see many players suddenly improving a lot in their fourth year or later. It's why I've been harder on Bodine than most. Bodine has had three years of full season reps and now into his fourth offseason and he's still bottom tier. I think he's capped out in terms of his potential.

I agree with you that this team's philosophy (at least in the Dalton era) has been to try to build through the draft vs FA. However, there have been quite a few whiffs that have derailed the seasons so far. IMO if the team really put that much stake into the draft, they would invest into more (and arguably some better?) scouting and coaching. This FO and these coaches seem to have had a "type" of player they are always going after, and they've seemed too stubborn to change that philosophy for years even when there's been multiple instances to prove that philosophy is not working and in some cases hasn't worked for quite some time.

In recent memory, here have been the "types" of players the Bengals have pursued:
- Big, long power 4-3 base DEs
- Athletic OL
- Big, somewhat slow LBs that are predominantly run stuffers but struggle in coverage
- DBs that have some experience defending the run rather than ball hawks

EDIT - At least in regards to the DEs and LBs, this team seems to have finally taken a risk and done what many of us fans have asked for, and that's attempting to add some speed rushers and faster LBs that are better in coverage. It's a bit too early to tell, but indications so far are that we fans barking for years about changing things up in those areas might actually have been right all along.

Listen, I know it's not realistic for every player to be a top 15 player. But that doesn't mean the team shouldn't strive to achieve it. The real issue is that this team seems to accept certain players/positions being a lower tier starter year after year without making any concerted effort to challenge said player to either vastly improve or risk losing his starting spot.

Now, some people (at least on these forums) seem to buy into the thinking that the Bengals staff knows their players better than we ever could because they have (much more) experience in football and are employed by the team whereas we are essentially "armchair quarterbacks". However, I believe that just because someone has more experience in a field or has worked for a certain company doesn't necessarily make them better than someone who hasn't. I very much believe some of our fellow board members would add value to the Bengals or whichever team that would employ them.

No doubt every coach wants a top 15 talent at every position and we do also. I think your 3 year window works for some positions, but not for all. There are a lot of OL who got better with age and experience. RB's seem to know within 3 years if they have starting ability or not. I have seen a lot of special teams players emerge later to start around the league. It is not uncommon for a QB to be a ton better in year 4 or 5 than they were in years 1-3 in my opinion.

I know Brown stated a long time ago he did not believe in paying guards big money nor based on how he drafts centers it seems either. But in the past he has paid big bucks to OT position. I guess he could change and pay the OT's less so he can pay the interior more, but in the end the Bengals have exceeded the salary cap requirement, not by a little, bit by a lot so MB is paying people. I don't disagree MB is loyal to a fault not restructuring or cutting players which would free up some cap space. I hear all the time fans criticize MB saying he is cheap, yet he pays a player sometimes millions the player no longer deserves. I am not sure how that can be ignored in any MB is cheap discussion. If he were cheap, it would be easy for him to cut ties or makes a player restructure and play for a lot less.

As for Bodine, he seems to be progressing each year so let's see if he progresses in his contract year 2017, he is a free agent next year. If I were the Bengals and thought he was progressing, I would try and lock him up right now for another 4 years at a very inexpensive price. The downside of waiting is if he does become a top 15 guy, then we likely lose him to FA where he signs for 6 to 8 million a year minimum. He makes less than $800K in 2017 I do believe. I know no one wants to out cap and spend into player ability conversations, but it is a big deal for the FO to make sound financial decisions not only for now but the long term.