TDN's How to Fix the Cincinnati Bengals.

[I_C_DeadPeople]

Remember a few years back when ML said they were going to be aggressive in free agency period coming up? Man that was hilarious. Mikey quickly realized being aggressive meant spending money so that idea was parked.

[JSR18]

(12-12-2019, 10:29 AM)RunKijanaRun Wrote: Agree with the piece and also certainly agree we need a new OL coach and a freaking OC who calls plays.

  How do we know that Brian Callahan isn't a good play caller?? ZT is convinced he's the best play caller since Sean McVey... 

[fredtoast]

(12-12-2019, 09:46 PM)I_C_DeadPeople Wrote: Remember a few years back when ML said they were going to be aggressive in free agency period coming up? Man that was hilarious. Mikey quickly realized being aggressive meant spending money so that idea was parked.

Remember 2011 when we rebuilt our defense by signing three new starters in free agency?  Scoring defense leapt from 24th in 2010 to 9th in 2011.

That allowed us to use our first two draft picks on offensive stars dalton and Green, and a team considered to be the worst in the league went to the playoffs five straight years.

[BenZoo2]

(12-13-2019, 12:52 AM)fredtoast Wrote: Remember 2011 when we rebuilt our defense by signing three new starters in free agency?  Scoring defense leapt from 24th in 2010 to 9th in 2011.

That allowed us to use our first two draft picks on offensive stars dalton and Green, and a team considered to be the worst in the league went to the playoffs five straight years.

How could we forget? You only mention thisabout 5 times a week. If they were so successful at it once why don’t they try it a little more often?


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[GodFather]

Zac wont fire anyone this offseason. He should try to get Bill Callahan in as OL coach. He works wonders and maybe his son being here would entice him. But that wont happen because Zac and Turner have a history together.

[fredtoast]

(12-13-2019, 10:40 AM)BenZoo2 Wrote: How could we forget?  You only mention thisabout 5 times a week. 

The ONLY time I mention it is when someone claims we never sign free agents.

Sorry, but I have a thing for the truth.

[BenZoo2]

(12-13-2019, 12:29 PM)fredtoast Wrote: The ONLY time I mention it is when someone claims we never sign free agents.

Sorry, but I have a thing for the truth.

I think the number of times you point this out is disproportionate to the number of times someone claims we never sign free agents. Since you seem to have so much time to kill why don’t you search the board history for all those claims?

It’s like all those other moments in history. Remember the time we drafted a qb with the first overall pick that actually panned out?

Remember that time we kicked a game winning fg?

Remember that one time at band camp when you shoved a flute up your %^*?


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[grampahol]

(12-13-2019, 12:52 AM)fredtoast Wrote: Remember 2011 when we rebuilt our defense by signing three new starters in free agency?  Scoring defense leapt from 24th in 2010 to 9th in 2011.

That allowed us to use our first two draft picks on offensive stars dalton and Green, and a team considered to be the worst in the league went to the playoffs five straight years.

Fred, telling us the bengals went to the playoffs 5 straight years is meaningless since we all know the results. It's like me telling everyone I went to the bathroom to crap 5 straight days and just farted since I've been really constipated.. 

[TJHoushmandzadeh's Shiny Shoes]

(12-13-2019, 12:28 AM)JSR18 Wrote:   How do we know that Brian Callahan isn't a good play caller?? ZT is convinced he's the best play caller since Sean McVey... 

What makes you think this?

[coachmcneil71]

(12-13-2019, 12:29 PM)fredtoast Wrote: The ONLY time I mention it is when someone claims we never sign free agents.

Sorry, but I have a thing for the truth.

How about that giant acquisition at LB in 2018, Preston Brown. What a terrific FA signing! 

They blew all of that smoke, like they always do. Then like the excellent talent evaluators that they are, they gave him a 3 year extension n March 2019. Only to cut him in the same year!!... Lol

Yeah, they sign FAs. For once you found a dog that hunts......

Signing FAs that can actually play, as opposed to league fodder, would be a terrific swing in the teams favor.

[*Nate (formerly eliminate08)*]

Reps Synric, that is a great article honestly I cannot disagree with at all. Love all the moves.

Usually there is something for me to add but this guy pretty much nailed it.

We do what he says here we will be improved dramatically.

If I would add one thing I think Zac needs to hand over the Play Calling duties to a new OC.

Zac just needs to stick to building the team and coaching, his Play Calling this season has been underwhelming at best.

[*Nate (formerly eliminate08)*]

(12-12-2019, 12:30 PM)ochocincos Wrote: Surprised to not see Hopkins' name on the "Contracts to Renew" list.

Yes, have to re-sign Trey Hop, finally got a decent Center, pay the man.

[J24]

The only thing I disagree with is signing of the the defensive Tackle. We need another 3T not another nose Tackle.
Also don't think we will spend that much in FA but Cronklin would be the guy not sure about Littleton.
I could see the Bengals trading the pick unless there head over heels for Burrow.

[Wes Mantooth]

(12-13-2019, 12:52 AM)fredtoast Wrote: Remember 2011 when we rebuilt our defense by signing three new starters in free agency?  Scoring defense leapt from 24th in 2010 to 9th in 2011.

That allowed us to use our first two draft picks on offensive stars dalton and Green, and a team considered to be the worst in the league went to the playoffs five straight years.

Nate Clements - 2 years/10.5 mil total   ***Out of league after 2012
Thomas Howard - 2 years/6.5 mil total  ***Out of league after 2012
Manny Lawson - 1 year/3.5 mil

I don't think you can point to these additions as rebuilding our defense. Plugging holes (cheaply I might add) or applying band-aids seems like a more approriate description.

This haul was coming off the shedding of Chad's, Odom's, Joseph's, Keith Rivers, and eventually Palmers contracts.  They shedded about 50 mil in cap space and entered free agency with the most to spend.

The result: 3 guys who made an average of 4 mil per. All on short deals, all not that great, and all gone after only 2 years.

The Bengals actually saved a ton of money with these replacements over their relative positions. Signing Nate Clements after letting Jonathan Joseph walk is not retooling or improving the defense. To suggest otherwise is plain wrong. He was much worse, and surprise, much cheaper than the playey he replaced.

The emmergence of Geno Atkins, and a more conservative offense focused on ball control contributed more to the improvement in numbers than these guys.

The fact this is what you point to, 3 bargain bin signings, in a year with a ridiculous amount of space, only further proves the idea that we simply don't use free agency to better this team. And to be clear, that's not to be taken literally. We do use free agency to sign players of course, but just not correctly. We use it cheaply and ignore obvious upgrades. Period.

[JSR18]

(12-13-2019, 01:42 PM)TJHoushmandzadeh Wrote: What makes you think this?

  Just the fact that every place he's been (except the Rams) he's called the plays and been very bad at it.

               Either ZT has an ego as big as the Grand Canyon or he's absolutely blind to the fact that his play calling flat sucks and needs somebody to tell him that...

[SunsetBengal]

(12-13-2019, 09:43 PM)Wes Mantooth Wrote: Nate Clements - 2 years/10.5 mil total   ***Out of league after 2012
Thomas Howard - 2 years/6.5 mil total  ***Out of league after 2012
Manny Lawson - 1 year/3.5 mil

I don't think you can point to these additions as rebuilding our defense. Plugging holes (cheaply I might add) or applying band-aids seems like a more approriate description.

Howard and Lawson did very well.  They were able to step right in and perform, didn't need and training or developmental time.  The fact that they didn't cost much was a bonus.

[*jason*]

(12-15-2019, 12:39 AM)SunsetBengal Wrote: Howard and Lawson did very well.  They were able to step right in and perform, didn't need and training or developmental time.  The fact that they didn't cost much was a bonus.

I'd probably also point out that Nate Clements was sorta long in the tooth by the time he was out of the league, so he wasn't some guy that just washed out. How many guys recruited by John Cooper were still in the NFL in 2013?

[SunsetBengal]

(12-15-2019, 12:43 AM)jason Wrote: I'd probably also point out that Nate Clements was sorta long in the tooth by the time he was out of the league, so he wasn't some guy that just washed out. How many guys recruited by John Cooper were still in the NFL in 2013?

My point really was just to say that it's not beyond our front office to come through on the free agent front, when they put their minds to it.

[*jason*]

(12-15-2019, 12:48 AM)SunsetBengal Wrote: My point really was just to say that it's not beyond our front office to come through on the free agent front, when they put their minds to it.

Yeah... I don't understand why they just stopped.

I will say this much. It may be more than just coincidence that we got solid production from Thomas Howard (short lived as it was), Clements, and Terrance Newman (who looked spent in Dallas) while Mike Zimmer was the DC here. I remember chuckling when they signed a guy who's name sounded similar to Dingleberry... He had one foot out the door of the league, and Zimmer had him playing at a very high level as a rotational pass rusher.

[t3r3e3]

(12-13-2019, 12:29 PM)fredtoast Wrote: The ONLY time I mention it is when someone claims we never sign free agents.

Sorry, but I have a thing for the truth.

Most years you’d be a liar. The Bengals periodically will hit an off-season and sign a few guys that end up being decent starters, a la 2011. Don’t kid yourself though, it’s a 1-3 times a decade kind of thing, and it’s when the troubled former first rounders or C-list FA’s have bounce back years. Mostly because the owner is a cheapskate with respect to free agency and front office staffing. This team consistently hamstrings itself with a miserly front office and threadbare approach. There’s a reason the owner/GM wins at a 40% clip over his tenure and the team hasn’t won a Playoff game since MC Hammer and Vanilla Ice were topping the charts.