Lets take a quick thought at how ZT is building the roster

[impactplaya]

well its a few months till.training camp. Free agency period
is taking a nap and the draft is still.fresh on our minds.
I figure to kill time we could look at the roster and how its shaping up.

so 2 years ago the Rams draft Everett TE,Kupp WR, LB Ekuban (sp)
Johnson SS.(all starters)
a few years prior the Rams signed Whit in free agency bring leadership.and rock solid LT
in 2018 they address a weak part of the defense and acquire Talib and Peters.


so Taylor identifies the Bengals glaring weakness that being the oline.
so what does he do.
signs John Miller. makes Williams his 1st pick as Bengals HC to give the oline a cornerstone.
his 2nd RD pick is a TE that is effective as a inline blocker and possible red zone threat
so he comes to Cincy and already has some nice pieces in place.


Donald
Atkins

Kupp
Boyd

Cooks
Ross

Everett
(Sample Eifert)

then he drafts a Michael Brockers type in Rennell Wren.
RD 4 he drafts Germaine Pratt LB.

so it looks like to me Taylor before he took this job saw that some of the
players in place at least talent wise mirror what the Rams already had.
I see a similiar blueprint in Cincy that he saw take place in LA.

[NKURyan]

I think he has a definite plan in place as far as what he wants the offense to look like and how he wants to get there. That has been refreshing because over the last few years it looked like they had no clue what they wanted to be on that side of the ball.

Defense-wise the plan hasn't been as clear (I think it's mostly "let's hope last year was the exception and not the rule"), but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt because it's hard to fix everything at once.

[Circleville Guy]

So, it’s been established that the Rookie HeadCoach is responsible for drafting these guys? I’m sure that he had some input but I’m not sold on he drafted these guys.

[Joelist]

I think the reason we figure it had to be at least partly ZTs call is before this year our drafting seemed to be BPA centered and also didn't follow any particular player types. This draft seemed centered on specific positions and player types and within those filters BPA. Three picks including the first rounder targeted blocking. Couple that with ZT having already stated he is emphasizing blocking and winning the line of scrimmage and the pieces seem to go together.

[TKUHL]

(04-30-2019, 12:59 AM)Joelist Wrote: I think the reason we figure it had to be at least partly ZTs call is before this year our drafting seemed to be BPA centered and also didn't follow any particular player types. This draft seemed centered on specific positions and player types and within those filters BPA. Three picks including the first rounder targeted blocking. Couple that with ZT having already stated he is emphasizing blocking and winning the line of scrimmage and the pieces seem to go together.

I dunno, there's been patterns before. Just a draft or two ago it was all about speed, most years it was about Value and so on. I just think we are hoping he's building the Rams 2.0 which would be cool but I would rather he build his team with his own creativity instead of just trying to imitate someone else's philosophy. Not saying it's a bad thing being compared to the Rams....(who would have thought that a few years back) but I want ZT to have his own input on what he thinks a winning team needs to be.

[*jason*]

(04-29-2019, 11:09 PM)impactplaya Wrote: well its a few months till.training camp. Free agency period
is taking a nap and the draft is still.fresh on our minds.
I figure to kill time we could look at the roster and how its shaping up.

so 2 years ago the Rams draft Everett TE,Kupp WR, LB Ekuban (sp)
Johnson SS.(all starters)
a few years prior the Rams signed Whit in free agency bring leadership.and rock solid LT
in 2018 they address a weak part of the defense and acquire Talib and Peters.


so Taylor identifies the Bengals glaring weakness that being the oline.
so what does he do.
signs John Miller. makes Williams his 1st pick as Bengals HC to give the oline a cornerstone.
his 2nd RD pick is a TE that is effective as a inline blocker and possible red zone threat
so he comes to Cincy and already has some nice pieces in place.


Donald
Atkins

Kupp
Boyd

Cooks
Ross

Everett
(Sample Eifert)

then he drafts a Michael Brockers type in Rennell Wren.
RD 4 he drafts Germaine Pratt LB.

so it looks like to me Taylor before he took this job saw that some of the
players in place at least talent wise mirror what the Rams already had.
I see a similiar blueprint in Cincy that he saw take place in LA.

John Ross wishes he was Brandon Cooks...

[Joelist]

(04-30-2019, 01:14 AM)TKUHL Wrote: I dunno, there's been patterns before. Just a draft or two ago it was all about speed, most years it was about Value and so on. I just think we are hoping he's building the Rams 2.0 which would be cool but I would rather he build his team with his own creativity instead of just trying to imitate someone else's philosophy. Not saying it's a bad thing being compared to the Rams....(who would have thought that a few years back) but I want ZT to have his own input on what he thinks a winning team needs to be.

"Speed" and "value" are generic - blocking is specific and since ZT specifically stated fixing the blocking was a priority and also he has been working hands on with the offense it sure looks like there is a plan not just a pattern. 

[TKUHL]

Anyone know if the RB's we took late are known to be good blockers.

[TKUHL]

(04-30-2019, 01:35 AM)Joelist Wrote: "Speed" and "value" are generic - blocking is specific and since ZT specifically stated fixing the blocking was a priority and also he has been working hands on with the offense it sure looks like there is a plan not just a pattern. 

I would hope he's working with the Offense since he's an offensive minded coach. Just because we picked a "blocking" TE which pretty much every team has, means nothing. we needed one so we got one. Could be as simple as that.

[Forever Spinning Vinyl]

The fact that they tried to trade up for O-line after taking an O-lineman tells me that Pittsburgh traded in front of Cincy for no reason other than to sell BS to their base.

Taylor sees that the O-line is the biggest problem and trying to fix it with a fast LB in the 1st and the 10th-15th best O-lineman in the 2nd round wasn't going to cut it. If Pittsburgh fans want to hang their hat on "We stole your guy", all they are doing is projecting their anger over losing WJIII to Cincy years ago. The drop off from Bush to Pratt is similar to the drop off from WJIII to Artie Burns. The big difference is, we took our "Artie Burns" in the third round, they took theirs in the first right after WJIII.

Then when Taylor and Tobin knew that their O-lineman that they wanted to trade up for was gone, they looked at their board, knew that the next best "fix" for the O-line wasn't going to be drafted for a bit, traded down, picked up another 6th and got the guy they wanted in Sample.

Then after having all night to review the players left over after round three, they traded up for the QB they wanted, got a good powerful DT and then traded up to get the O-lineman that they felt could contribute.

This is new to me so I'm still kind of adjusting to what they've done.

[Bilbo Saggins]

I like the strategy so far. You don't need the most elite of athletes if you have players who can perform their job and get better every day. ZT said something along the lines of needing players to be part of a team, not just a smattering of talented individuals. I think that this draft will be looked back upon fondly.

[*psychdoctor*]

(04-30-2019, 02:54 AM)TKUHL Wrote: Anyone know if the RB's we took late are known to be good blockers.

Williams is decent at chip blocking, sort of like Gio.   

[sonofstat]

(04-30-2019, 03:52 AM)Bilbo Saggins Wrote: I like the strategy so far. You don't need the most elite of athletes if you have players who can perform their job and get better every day. ZT said something along the lines of needing players to be part of a team, not just a smattering of talented individuals. I think that this draft will be looked back upon fondly.

Honestly if there was any 'strategy' or 'trait' to this draft i think it was that.

There is a lot of character guys there they are bringing in.  

Like most teams we have flirted with risky, project picks over the years but this was a very quiet, steady draft in that respect. I do not think that is by accident.

In some ways it is similar to the way he assembled his coaching staff.  A lot of the higher profile, 'flashier' candidates did not end up here...he consistently talked about communication and trusting the coaching staff and that shaped who he brought in

[Forever Spinning Vinyl]

The best pass blocking running back I ever saw was Walter Payton

The second best pass blocking running back I ever saw was Rudi Johnson. I think he mmmmmmmmmaybe gave up a half of a sack in his time in Cincy. Palmer lasted 2 1/2 or 3 1/2 games after Chris Perry became his starting RB. He actually got injured in the first game but tried to push through it for a bit before shutting it down for the year.

[Catmandude123]

The draft will help immensely in the near future. FA was underwhelming at the least. The biggest boon for 2019 will be the return of players who spent a big part of 2018 on IR. Having Dalton, AJ, Boyd, Eifert on offense and Lawson, Glasgow, Brown on the team seems like we hit the FA jackpot. STAY HEALTHYMY FRIENDS.

[Forever Spinning Vinyl]

(04-30-2019, 07:57 AM)Catmandude123 Wrote: The draft  will help immensely in the near future. FA was underwhelming at the least. The biggest boon for 2019 will be the return of players who spent a big part of 2018 on IR. Having Dalton, AJ, Boyd, Eifert on offense and Lawson, Glasgow, Brown on the team seems like we hit the FA jackpot. STAY HEALTHYMY FRIENDS.

I totally agree. I think Lawson is going to come back strong.

When I first read your post, I saw HEALTHYMY and read it as if you spelled Helsinki with a lisp.

[Sled21]

(04-30-2019, 12:39 AM)Circleville Guy Wrote: So, it’s been established that the Rookie HeadCoach is responsible for drafting these guys? I’m sure that he had some input but I’m not sold on he drafted these guys.

I think it is still Duke Tobin's draft, but I also think he asked Taylor what he wanted and went out and got it for him. He used to ask Marvin what he wanted, but never saw "do better" on the big board anywhere....

[Catmandude123]

(04-30-2019, 08:25 AM)Forever Spinning Vinyl Wrote: I totally agree. I think Lawson is going to come back strong.

When I first read your post, I saw HEALTHYMY and read it as if you spelled Helsinki with a lisp.

I taw that too but was too lazy to change it.

[Catmandude123]

(04-30-2019, 08:26 AM)Sled21 Wrote: I think it is still Duke Tobin's draft, but I also think he asked Taylor what he wanted and went out and got it for him. He used to ask Marvin what he wanted, but never saw "do better" on the big board anywhere....

It didn't take a genius to take Jonah, Sample has Zac written all over it, Pratt was another no brainer. I think whoever was in charge of the draftdid the team a big favor by letting the draft come to them. I have wondered if Marvins penchant for not playing rookies was his way of rebelling against the picks others made.

[SnakeEyez925]

Satisfied with the draft, personally.

For those who don't like Sample... pretend he was picked in the 3rd, and Pratt went 2nd.  

There, it's supposed to be about the entire class and process... we didn't reach for Daniel Jones at #6 or anything, so no need to meltdown imo. :)

They did not entirely "fix" either the OL or LB groups through their selections, but they are at least showing that are not blind to the weaknesses and there is cohesive philosophical direction.... they want to be a running team, centered around Mixon, our best offensive player aside from AJ.  

This team has been getting whipped in the trenches for several years now, and even our 2015 line, which was considered one of our better units.. still was not a dominant line.  We could not take over a game on the ground.  It was built more for the quick passing game, 3 seconds and out.  Remember, Dalton was regarded as getting the ball out maybe 2nd or 3rd quickest in the league.  The line appeared better than it really was.  

I can't remember where or when the stat came out, but there was blurb maybe before last season or midway through, where Mixon was having to evade and create more of his own yardage away from penetrating defenders who were in the backfield, almost more than every other team.  He was being hit something like on average of a yard and a half earlier than most RBs as they were trying to hit their holes.  The O-Line was a turnstile, and it's amazing that Joe was able to compile so many yards.  

It's not a complete product yet, but the O-Line should really begin to take on shape prior to next season, after guys like Glenn and Hopkins are likely replaced and these new guys can play together for a season.  

Also.... as many have pointed out in other posts.... the regime is picking up a lot of character guys.. players who were captains on their teams, and/or highly regarded leaders without baggage. When was the last time that happened in Bengaldom?

I like to think that these are the kinda guys needed to break out of the Bengals' collective stage fright of falling on our faces in primetime and big games. We need to get away from the combine warriors and the projects.