The Hobspin Translator

[Shake n Blake]

(02-16-2018, 07:38 PM)Wes Mantooth Wrote: Hey, Geoff.  Long time reader, 2nd time question asker...

1.) What is your office like at PBS? Can you describe it?  I'd also be curious to hear where it is, if it's near FO or if it's just a janitorial closet in the basement or something.

2.) My buddy is in journalism and he told me that the newspaper he writes for just provided his department with new laptops and new company cell phones. He's rocking a brand new Macbook Pro and now has the Galaxy S8.  That got me thinking, what stuff are you using?  What to do you write on there, what phone plan do they have you on?

Love the column by the way!

1. Mike Brown's bedroom closet. It smells of rich mahogany, icy hot and 20 year old pairs of Hanes underwear. 

2. I use an Imperial typewriter to bang out my rough drafts, which I then take to the public library so I can publish online. Mike said if I'm good, he'll get me a tape recorder for interviews next year, but he's been saying that for 17 years now. I guess I'm not good enough yet.

(02-16-2018, 08:20 PM)t3r3e3 Wrote: Geoff,

Two questions:  

1:  Why do the Bengals consistently run a threadbare scouting program?  Scouts are cheap with respect to salary, and allow the team to gather more information on prospective draftees.  Knowledge pays off in the mid to late rounds when the best drafting teams unearth quality talent.   Given the team’s reliance on the draft alone and recent lackluster drafts, it seems the obvious solution would be to provide additional scouting input and increase the knowledge base going into the draft.  More scouts would also allow the coaches to coach.  The premier NFL organizations have scouting departments that far outstrip the Bengals’.

2:  Why does the team consistently ignore FA to augment roster building?  The Bengals typically relegate FA signings to Tier 3 and 4 guys.  Super Bowl participants and winners over the past 10 years have shown that FA is a strategic tool that augments the roster and pushes the team into a legitimate Super Bowl contender.  Given that the Bengals haven’t won a Playoff Game in 27 years, isn’t it time to start using FA more aggressively?

Thanks for the questions t3r3e3.

1. As I've noted many times, the Bengals are among the top teams in the league in drafted players still with the team. This combined with an incredible run of sustained playoff appearances means that they've been pretty successful in the draft. So perhaps size isn't everything. I overhear Katie telling Troy this all the time, so I assume this is a firm belief that the Brown family holds dear.

2. Brandon LaFell, Michael Johnson and Andre Smith all say "hello". Maybe these aren't big enough names for you? Well lets look at the Eagles. Nick Foles, LeGarrette Blount, Torrey Smith, Jake Elliott, Ronald Darby, Patrick Robinson and Chris Long were all very Bengals-like signings. Sure, they also made bigger moves for guys like Alshon Jeffery and Jay Ajayi, but those guys did nothing. Yep. Nothing.

You might also be thinking "well the Bengals have never signed that many guys in a single offseason", but they've never had so much freedom because they have so many of their own good players to sign. Remember, the Eagles had consecutive losing seasons prior to winning the championship.