Remember when folks wanted Ryan Mallet drafted?

[*SHRacerX*]

(10-26-2015, 12:23 AM)Nately120 Wrote: I pointed that out the last time someone made a tread about the Bengals being "too smart" to take Mallett.  Let's face it, our "GM" has a pretty long history of lousy pics so let's not get too terribly smug.

The long history to you speak of was when there was no rookie wage scale.  This meant that an injury (Ki-Jana), a dud (Klingler/Akili), or anything less than a home run at the top of the first round (Warrick, a solid double) meant you were paying so much to a guy that couldn't play, you were also financially hamstrung. 

So many teams would not be able to sign their key FAs because of their huge investments drafted at the top of the draft with ridiculous salaries.  I would have traded nearly all of those high first round picks.  Although I think the biggest mistake in franchise history was not taking the trade with New Orleans for all their picks. 

I guess I am saying that although the "GM" made plenty of personnel mistakes, they were also crippled by the system at that time where today's busts don't kill a team for 3-4 years. 

The past 6 years or so, the Bengals have drafted as well, if not better, than any team in the league. What I like best is the fact that they have seemingly lost their desire to just draft great athletes and they are drafting higher character guys with good football IQ.

Granted, there is an occasional swing-and-miss going after a freak athlete (Moch, Hunt?) but the roster is built on nuts-and-bolts guys that help piece together a winning franchise.  Guys like Sanu, Marvin Jones, Burkhead, Hewitt, Peerman, Boling, Bodine, Atkins, Peko, Vinny Rey, Iloka, Brandon Thompson,  as well as a few lower-tier (price wise) FAs like Sims(who they drafted), MJ(ditto), Reggie Nelson, and Adam Jones are all key pieces that they brought in.  Those draft selections were all third round or later, or as Lapham calls them "the meat and potatoes" picks of the draft. 

I have said it numerous times.  I absolutely love the way this team is put together.  Right now, they have the perfect mix of veterans and young talent.  They have quality people and depth across the board. 

I don't mean to sound like I am drooling over the front office, and think they can do no wrong (there should be a ring of honor, former Bengals should be more involved with the team, and I STILL believe they deserve their own indoor practice facility) but I am so happy with the team they have assembled that I am willing to overlook those things and enjoy what is, possibly, the best Bengals team ever take the field.