ESPN's coverage of our free agent signings

[Fulcher_33]

(03-17-2021, 08:00 AM)Synric Wrote: Curtis Samuel looks very fast and quick on the field. My biggest issue is he takes alot of slot reps especially 2020 under Joe Brady when he was used as both a WR and RB like Tyreek Hill. With Tyler Boyd in the Offense Curtis Samuel's slot reps will be limited.



The Bengals already have a Kenny Golladay type in Tee Higgins and to a lesser extent in Auden Tate. What they need is that Z receiver that can threaten a defense vertically to keep the secondary from jumping the underneath routes like we've seen since 2016. John Brown TY Hilton. 

Will Fuller fits that perfectly

[BengalsFanRealist2855]

(03-17-2021, 08:00 AM)Synric Wrote: Curtis Samuel looks very fast and quick on the field. My biggest issue is he takes alot of slot reps especially 2020 under Joe Brady when he was used as both a WR and RB like Tyreek Hill. With Tyler Boyd in the Offense Curtis Samuel's slot reps will be limited.



The Bengals already have a Kenny Golladay type in Tee Higgins and to a lesser extent in Auden Tate. What they need is that Z receiver that can threaten a defense vertically to keep the secondary from jumping the underneath routes like we've seen since 2016. John Brown TY Hilton. 

Well that would make sense on samuel because of his size in the nfl. Hes a slot receiver.  Hes the size of a rb, also not as fast as tyreek hill either. 

Disagree here that they already have a kenny Golliday in the higgins,higgins also doesn't have the speed or size to be a deep threat. Now last year we would of had the best receiving corpse in the league if AJ green was his old self because green used to be able to go deep and do things you see in the highlight video of Golliday.  So out of the free agents available we need someone like him. Will fuller is injury prone or hed be a good choice also. 

[Goalpost]

ESPN didn't treat us that great last year before the draft either. They wanted Burrow elsewhere.

[CJD]

(03-17-2021, 12:15 AM)Murdock2420 Wrote: Other sites have different rankings.

The guy may write for ESPN but that doesn't mean he was the guy who put together the rankings. It even says the article has Multiple Contributors.

The reactions from the guy on ESPN mirror those of Joe Goodberry who has tweeted he'd rather have Jackson, would rather have Lawson and would rather have Alexander.

See here:

I'd rather have the man cover guys. That's more valuable and that skillset will outlast Lou Anarumo's vision/time in Cincinnati. https://t.co/0q439PP2yl

— Goodberry (@JoeGoodberry) March 16, 2021

 

I'm glad to see them getting guys signed, but after all the Tobin talk of not sitting on our hands, all we've done is replace guys we lost. Not one single player that has been signed is going to be here to replace a guy who was bad last year.

Lawson wasn't bad rather or not you want to say Hendrickson is better.

WJIII wasn't bad, again doesn't matter if Awuzie is better in your eyes.

Alexander, was good, and maybe you view Hilton as better.

The problem remains that guys who were shit... are still here, still shit and still not being improved upon.

We literally are treading water as a 4 win team. That isn't how you jump to a 8 to 10 win team.

If the person writing the grades disagrees with the website's top 100 list to this extreme of a degree, then I'd recommend he just not link the top 100 ranking in his description of why he doesn't like the signing that his website's top 100 list implies was a good signing. Then at least he'd be able to say "yea, I didn't write that and I disagree with it, so I'm not linking it to my article." The linking of the article is an implicit agreement with its content. I would never link an article I disagree with to anything I write. It makes him look foolish to say "this was a cheap replacement signing that is typical Bengals" when the website he's writing this on has already come out to rank the "cheap replacement" as a better player than the person being replaced. Similar notes with Trey at 7 vs Lawson at 37. It doesn't really matter what is correct (I personally wanted Lawson over Hendrickson), but it's about journalistic consistency. It's hard to take an article seriously when it blatantly contradicts itself like that.

As for Joe, I understand where he's coming from. Waynes, Hilton and Awuzie is a very different set of CBs than WJIII, Alexander and Phillips (granted, we still have Phillips as our #4, which is excellent depth in my opinion). I don't know the degree to which these three are deficient at man coverage relative to their zone capabilities, but I hope this doesn't lock us into a scheme after we inevitably fire Lou next season (we should have done it, in addition to firing Zac, in January). 

I like the idea of getting two corners for the price of one, especially since we desperately need to sign some Olinemen, so in that regard I definitely like the idea of signing Hilton and Awuzie over just signing WJIII (42 million for WJIII vs 45.75 million for Awuzie + Hilton) if it means we have enough cap space left to get a Riley Reiff level player to play RT or a Gabe Jackson/Rodney Hudson to fill OG/C. Then all we'd need to do is resolve the other Oline position and we'd be able to go BPA in the draft, for the most part (we still need another pass rusher and a DT if we cut Atkins, but we won't be doing that at 5).

I hope our FO and coaching staff knows what they're doing, but honestly, we all know they don't.

[JerseyDD09]

(03-16-2021, 08:02 PM)RunKijanaRun Wrote: Is the team better after free agency? No. not even close. At best it’s a C- right now, with the potential to go as high as a B or low as an F.

AFTER Free Agency??? It hasn't even started yet dude. It officially doesn't start until after 4pm today. Lmao! 
So, have a little more patience man. 

[CJD]

(03-16-2021, 08:02 PM)RunKijanaRun Wrote: Is the team better after free agency? No. not even close. At best it’s a C- right now, with the potential to go as high as a B or low as an F.

I am prepared to give the Bengals a chance. We'll see if they sign a good offensive lineman or two. I hope they make it work.

[Nicomo Cosca]

(03-17-2021, 10:02 AM)Goalpost Wrote: ESPN didn't treat us that great last year before the draft either. They wanted Burrow elsewhere.

Hard to argue that they were wrong on that one...

[*ochocincos*]

Right now, this team is arguably worse than it was in 2020. They are missing a "starter" at WR since they usually run with 3, and they currently have XSF, Michael Jordan, and Bobby Hart as their starters on OL. For defense, they are relying a lot on Reader, Waynes, and Atkins getting back to their old selves pre-injuries.

[TJHoushmandzadeh's Shiny Shoes]

(03-17-2021, 11:45 AM)ochocincos Wrote: Right now, this team is arguably worse than it was in 2020. They are missing a "starter" at WR since they usually run with 3, and they currently have XSF, Michael Jordan, and Bobby Hart as their starters on OL. For defense, they are relying a lot on Reader, Waynes, and Atkins getting back to their old selves pre-injuries.

Beyond missing a starter at WR and needing 3 upgrades on the O-line, I'd point out that we need to replace Dunlap from the 2020 team too. Depth is a major issue for this team too.

[Sled21]

(03-16-2021, 08:44 PM)Nicomo Cosca Wrote: PFWA. People seem to be confused on the difference here. AP All Pro is the top honor.

Quote:The 2020 All-Pro teams were named by the Associated Press (AP),[1] Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA), and Sporting News (SN) for performance in the 2020 NFL season. Any player selected to the first-team of any of the teams can be described as an "All-Pro." The AP team, with first-team and second team  selections, was chosen by a national panel of fifty NFLFL players and executives. The PFWA team is selected by its more than 300 national members who are accredited media members covering the NFL.

For the 2020 vote, the AP removed the offensive "flex" position that had been added to the ballot in 2016, and instead added a third wide receiver to the ballot

What is the Difference Between Being an NFL All-Pro and Pro Bowler? (sportscasting.com)

Quote:While making the Pro Bowl is considered an honor, making the NFL’s All-Pro teams are more prestigious. Unlike the Pro Bowl, which fans count for one-third of the vote and is often a popularity contest, members of the media select the All-Pro teams.

In 2020, those media organizations include the Associated Press (AP), Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA), and Sporting News (SN). Any player selected to the first-team of any of the teams is considered an “All-Pro” and included in the NFL Record and Fact Book.
The AP selections, which includes both a first- and second-team, is chosen by a national panel of 50 NFL writers and broadcasters. More than 300 national accredited media members, who cover the NFL, select the PFWA team. The Sporting News All-Pro team is voted on by NFL players and executives.

He is an All Pro, and the NFL record books reflect it. You may view the AP as the "top honor", but that does not negate the fact he was selected All Pro by one of the 3 organizations that pick them. Was Lawson picked by any of them???? Didn't think so. Not hating on Carl, I like him, but if he follows the schedule he's been on since college, he is due to miss a major portion of the season due to injury this upcoming season.

[MileHighGrowler]

Given comments that Tobin and the coaches have made, they seemed pretty convinced this offseason that their OL was serviceable. I'm not surprised at all they let the top OL FAs find other homes. Also, given the way the team likes to structure their contracts, I'm not sure letting Lawson or WJIII walk was a surprise, either. I could be wrong, but I'm not expecting the FA pick ups to make much difference to the team. It does nothing to address their primary weakness and protect Burrow (the OL) and swapping out positions on defense doesn't add depth or additional competition so I don't see particular improvement to the team, just to the contract structures.

I'd love nothing more than for Tobin to bounce. Everyone blames the Family for the way personnel is handled, and I'm not defending them because at the end of the day it's their show. But Tobin has been around quite a while and he's obviously not driving any kind of positive change. We'll see how the rest of FA and the draft shake out, but I haven't been convinced of any improvements since they decided to keep Taylor and Co and Tobin. This has all pretty much fallen in line with that. The hubris that surrounds this team is remarkable. Not only does the Family possess it in overflowing quantities, the staff they hire do as well, convinced they have the silver bullet to turn it all around without addressing the true needs.

[*ochocincos*]

(03-17-2021, 02:08 PM)TJHoushmandzadeh Wrote: Beyond missing a starter at WR and needing 3 upgrades on the O-line, I'd point out that we need to replace Dunlap from the 2020 team too. Depth is a major issue for this team too.

Depth can be addressed via the draft. This is a good draft for pass rushing depth.
The big thing will be trying to not go into the draft needing more than 1 guy who needs to start as a rookie.
They have at least two starting spots open right now - LG/RG (whichever side XSF doesn't take) and WR3.
While we'd all like for Hart to be replaced, it's important to remember that Pollack was here when Hart was first signed, so he might want to keep Hart around and even possibly starting at RT.

[pulses]

(03-17-2021, 03:20 PM)ochocincos Wrote: Depth can be addressed via the draft. This is a good draft for pass rushing depth.
The big thing will be trying to not go into the draft needing more than 1 guy who needs to start as a rookie.
They have at least two starting spots open right now - LG/RG (whichever side XSF doesn't take) and WR3.
While we'd all like for Hart to be replaced, it's important to remember that Pollack was here when Hart was first signed, so he might want to keep Hart around and even possibly starting at RT.

They need to sign Hudson for 2 years and he can take over at Center. Then I'd sign Jackson for 2 years as well. Hopkins can then take the other guard spot and we draft a RT. This allows us to draft young OL and if they're not ready now in 2 years they can take over for Hudson and Jackson. IF we did this I would trade back in round 1 and draft Tucker and plug him in at RG and then draft a OT in round 2

[Sled21]

(03-17-2021, 03:37 PM)pulses Wrote: They need to sign Hudson for 2 years and he can take over at Center. Then I'd sign Jackson for 2 years as well. Hopkins can then take the other guard spot and we draft a RT. This allows us to draft young OL and if they're not ready now in 2 years they can take over for Hudson and Jackson. IF we did this I would trade back in round 1 and draft Tucker and plug him in at RG and then draft a OT in round 2

You realize Hopkins was not a good guard, right?

[pulses]

(03-17-2021, 03:39 PM)Sled21 Wrote: You realize Hopkins was not a good guard, right?

He's not a good center either he's about average.

[*ochocincos*]

(03-17-2021, 03:37 PM)pulses Wrote: They need to sign Hudson for 2 years and he can take over at Center. Then I'd sign Jackson for 2 years as well. Hopkins can then take the other guard spot and we draft a RT. This allows us to draft young OL and if they're not ready now in 2 years they can take over for Hudson and Jackson. IF we did this I would trade back in round 1 and draft Tucker and plug him in at RG and then draft a OT in round 2

You know, I was just thinking about Hopkins moving back to OG yesterday.
His best pass blocking grades on PFF came when he played OG.
It was his run blocking that made fans dislike him playing RG.
So perhaps Hudson at C and shifting Hopkins would make sense, at least if they want to be primarily a passing team again.

[pulses]

(03-17-2021, 03:45 PM)ochocincos Wrote: You know, I was just thinking about Hopkins moving back to OG yesterday.
His best pass blocking grades on PFF came when he played OG.
It was his run blocking that made fans dislike him playing RG.
So perhaps Hudson at C and shifting Hopkins would make sense, at least if they want to be primarily a passing team again.

If anything it could work for a year while we develop a draft pick from this years draft.

[Sled21]

(03-17-2021, 03:43 PM)pulses Wrote: He's not a good center either he's about average.

Better an average center than a poor guard. 

[Forever Spinning Vinyl]

Even if they grab Sewell, I think that the biggest O-line addition in 2021 will wind up being the coach. I seriously think that Mixon goes off this year.

[*Synric*]

(03-17-2021, 03:39 PM)Sled21 Wrote: You realize Hopkins was not a good guard, right?

Hopkins played well at guard his second year playing filling in after Price came back (Frank Pollacks only year in Cincy). His first stint at guard was his first year playing so there was going to be some growing pains. I believe Hopkins could move to Left Guard without much of an issue.