The Letter..

[XenoMorph]

(07-26-2017, 02:06 PM)oncemoreuntothejimbreech Wrote: He signed a three deal for roughly the same amount per year as the Bengals offered per year and structured it so they can cut him with minimal dead money if he fails to live up to expectations. The Rams did a smart deal. Mike's (and Katie's) obstinace and lack of creative when it comes to negotiating contracts bit them in the ass once again. Don't take my word for it. Look up Whitworth's contract and go over the details for yourself. When I read the details I was disgusted by Mike's frugality.

Its more than that dude...  you have a 1st and a 2nd rounder OT entering their 3rd years... They gotta play so you know what you have. before you have to choose to resign them or not.

they already had invested in his replacement now its time to see that investment pay off.      

One of the bengals biggest issues over the years is not letting players go before they fall off due to age.   We cant start crying when they start doing this.

Everyone would have liked to see whitworth retire in stripes.   But you gotta look towards the future. 

with that in mind the money was better spent elsewhere.

[*Nate (formerly eliminate08)*]

(07-26-2017, 02:09 PM)XenoMorph Wrote: Its more than that dude...  you have a 1st and a 2nd rounder OT entering their 3rd years... They gotta play so you know what you have. before you have to choose to resign them or not.

they already had invested in his replacement now its time to see that investment pay off.      

One of the bengals biggest issues over the years is not letting players go before they fall off due to age.   We cant start crying when they start doing this.

Everyone would have liked to see whitworth retire in stripes.   But you gotta look towards the future. 

with that in mind the money was better spent elsewhere.

All great points and for all we know Whit will start to fall off in LA.

Could of been the right decision and Og has been looking good so far.

With the injury and Og being thrown into the fire last year i cannot judge him yet.

I can judge PA though and Marv for having him start at RT as long as they did when he was clearly our biggest weakness.

[XenoMorph]

(07-26-2017, 02:25 PM)Nate (formerly eliminate08) Wrote: All great points and for all we know Whit will start to fall off in LA.

Could of been the right decision and Og has been looking good so far.

With the injury and Og being thrown into the fire last year i cannot judge him yet.

I can judge PA though and Marv for having him start at RT as long as they did when he was clearly our biggest weakness.

Yeah he struggled At right... they were trying to get him reps I understand.      Little things could have been done to help him there. like a TE  but that's all in the past.

I'm really hoping for improvement from Zampese   as his play calling was a weak spot last year imo

[SunsetBengal]

(07-26-2017, 02:09 PM)XenoMorph Wrote: Its more than that dude...  you have a 1st and a 2nd rounder OT entering their 3rd years... They gotta play so you know what you have. before you have to choose to resign them or not.

they already had invested in his replacement now its time to see that investment pay off.      

One of the bengals biggest issues over the years is not letting players go before they fall off due to age.   We cant start crying when they start doing this.

Everyone would have liked to see whitworth retire in stripes.   But you gotta look towards the future. 

with that in mind the money was better spent elsewhere.

You make a very valid point.  As a fan of the team, did it hurt to see Whit move on, and not retire as a Bengal?  You bet it did.  However, like you mentioned, they invested a first round pick in Ogbuehi, they need to know if he can handle the task or if they need to be thinking 1st round OT in '18.  

[oncemoreuntothejimbreech]

(07-26-2017, 02:09 PM)XenoMorph Wrote: Its more than that dude...  you have a 1st and a 2nd rounder OT entering their 3rd years... They gotta play so you know what you have. before you have to choose to resign them or not.

they already had invested in his replacement now its time to see that investment pay off.      

One of the bengals biggest issues over the years is not letting players go before they fall off due to age.   We cant start crying when they start doing this.

Everyone would have liked to see whitworth retire in stripes.   But you gotta look towards the future. 

with that in mind the money was better spent elsewhere.

Whit was our best offensive lineman at the most important offensive line position and is still playing at a high level, much higher than Ogbuehi who was awful at RT and was benched after his lone start at LT.

Whit offered to play guard to allow Ogbuehi to play LT so they Bengals can "see what they got" as if they weren't watching last season.

And again, Whit's contract is structured so he is making similar money to what the Bengals offered and he can be cut with minimal dead money if he doesn't play well. That is a better insurance policy than what the Bengals have if Ogbuehi plays like he did last year or gets injured.

Lastly, the Bengals cap situation wasn't prohibitive to signing Whit and his contract request wasn't outrageous.

Mike can't claim to be working hard on a championship while screwing the pooch this badly regarding the offensive line. The two are mutually exclusive.

[*Nate (formerly eliminate08)*]

(07-26-2017, 06:07 PM)XenoMorph Wrote: Yeah he struggled At right... they were trying to get him reps I understand.      Little things could have been done to help him there. like a TE  but that's all in the past.

I'm really hoping for improvement from Zampese   as his play calling was a weak spot last year imo

True it is in the past. Just hope they learn from it.

Zamp definately needs to improve, very suspect play calling last year. Needs to use his players to their strengths.

Use more fades to Green in the redzone for heck sake and more TE screens, these always work and we have the players
to get it done. Zamp does sound very excited in the recent article on bengals.com. I sure hope he gets it together in his
2nd year and uses all these weapons appropriately.

(07-26-2017, 07:07 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: You make a very valid point.  As a fan of the team, did it hurt to see Whit move on, and not retire as a Bengal?  You bet it did.  However, like you mentioned, they invested a first round pick in Ogbuehi, they need to know if he can handle the task or if they need to be thinking 1st round OT in '18.  

True, no longer crying over the spilt Whit milk.

[*bengalfan74*]

(07-26-2017, 07:07 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: You make a very valid point.  As a fan of the team, did it hurt to see Whit move on, and not retire as a Bengal?  You bet it did.  However, like you mentioned, they invested a first round pick in Ogbuehi, they need to know if he can handle the task or if they need to be thinking 1st round OT in '18.  

I would go one further and say it wouldn't have bothered me as much if they would have invested in at least one FA other than A. Smith as a backup plan.

If Ogbuehi, Fisher, and Smith all flop what is plan B ? That's what eats at me.

[*Nate (formerly eliminate08)*]

(07-26-2017, 08:50 PM)bengalfan74 Wrote: I would go one further and say it wouldn't have bothered me as much if they would have invested in at least one FA other than A. Smith as a backup plan.

If Ogbuehi, Fisher, and Smith all flop what is plan B ? That's what eats at me.

Cannot disagree with this brother.

I am just hoping at the very least Fisher and Andre pan out.

We have lots of Guards that could be very good, watched Fisher at LT before and he wasn't bad.

But until i see Og struggle mightily at LT i will hold out hope that this was the right decision.

Him being injured and not having an Offseason to work in the NFL cannot be ignored.

Would be wrong to just call him a bust at this point IMHO.

[*bengalfan74*]

(07-26-2017, 09:14 PM)Nate (formerly eliminate08) Wrote: Cannot disagree with this brother.

I am just hoping at the very least Fisher and Andre pan out.

We have lots of Guards that could be very good, watched Fisher at LT before and he wasn't bad.

But until i see Og struggle mightily at LT i will hold out hope that this was the right decision.

Him being injured and not having an Offseason to work in the NFL cannot be ignored.

Would be wrong to just call him a bust at this point IMHO.

I'm crossing my fingers they all work out. It just seems we're putting to much on one roll of the dice. Because it's my belief along with a gazillion others our whole season basically hinges on this one position group.