08-20-2015, 03:38 PM
(08-20-2015, 03:25 PM)Shake n Blake Wrote: 3. If we were talking about a specific peer of MLJ's that had a huge game that bloated their stats, I'd point it out. Did MLJ have a "great" year in 2013? I wouldn't go that far. He was really inconsistent. He had 5 games with 12 yards or less. I'd say he was good that year, but I can't attach the "great" label to someone who completely disappeared that often.
5. I agree. That said, it's still "what if" with DreKirk. We don't know if he'll be a stud starting CB. He could get exposed for all we know. He did get a few of his picks covering scrubs. Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't remember him taking Newman or Pac's place very often. Especially in 2013.
6. If we lose MLJ after this season and only got a couple seasons worth of production from him, it does make the 2012 draft worse, IMO. I don't judge drafts on what players do once they leave. I judge them on what the players did for the Bengals.
7. I never said the 2012 draft was just "okay". I've said it was good through this entire thread. I just think it was "standard good", not a "masterclass" or a franchise altering draft that will go down in Bengals history. Heck, I think we've had multiple drafts that were better over the last 10 years. Were each one of these a "masterclass"? If so, this team should be steamrolling their way to multiple Super Bowls. I don't care who the HC and QB are.
3. Probably my biggest issue of your post is this. The coaching staff was playing musical receivers, so Jones wasn't "disappearing". There were games that the coaching staff was trying to force Sanu in where he didn't belong. Sanu is a good slot WR, but he's not the guy I want to see starting on the outside. MLJ constantly got separation and made catches when he was actually in the game and Andy looked his way. Also, 10 TDs is amazing, not many receivers in the entire league put up double digit TDs that year. I don't care if all 10 came in one game, that's still better than your average #2.
5. He was playing in the starting CB role on the outside sometimes last year. Those were the games that really got the DreKirk hype up, not his mediocre Dime performances from 2013.
6. What if MLJ has a great year in 2015 but then ends up somewhere else? I can completely understand the draft looking worse if he flakes out and gets injured again, doesn't play in 2015, then leaves, sure I'll agree with you then. If he has a solid year then leaves, it's still better value than most people have gotten out of their average mid-late round picks.
7. I was going back and forth on some of your points and some of others, so that's where the "just okay" thing came from. I know you've been saying it's good, though I do believe you're slightly underselling it, but others are much more guilty of that saying that it wasn't anything special at all. Which other drafts did we have over the last 10 years better than 2012?
