Am I missing something about our free agents?

[BengalChris]

Interestingly, I read through the following article listing the top 20 NFL free agents and the next 8 players after that.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000602379/article/top-20-unrestricted-free-agents-for-2016

I was completely surprised that Andre Smith is on the list, but Iloka is not. Neither is Nelson or Adam Jones or any other Bengal free agent.

I truly figured that Iloka would be sought after by several teams in need of safety help.

And, Andre Smith? I don't have him rated that high at all. Maybe there's a dearth of RTs available or something.

[Crowe]

(02-12-2016, 09:40 PM)BengalChris Wrote: Interestingly, I read through the following article listing the top 20 NFL free agents and the next 8 players after that.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000602379/article/top-20-unrestricted-free-agents-for-2016

I was completely surprised that Andre Smith is on the list, but Iloka is not. Neither is Nelson or Adam Jones or any other Bengal free agent.

I truly figured that Iloka would be sought after by several teams in need of safety help.

And, Andre Smith? I don't have him rated that high at all. Maybe there's a dearth of RTs available or something.

If it keeps the cost low to keep Iloka and Jones i'll take it. 

[phil413]

(02-12-2016, 09:40 PM)BengalChris Wrote: Interestingly, I read through the following article listing the top 20 NFL free agents and the next 8 players after that.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000602379/article/top-20-unrestricted-free-agents-for-2016

I was completely surprised that Andre Smith is on the list, but Iloka is not. Neither is Nelson or Adam Jones or any other Bengal free agent.

I truly figured that Iloka would be sought after by several teams in need of safety help.

And, Andre Smith? I don't have him rated that high at all. Maybe there's a dearth of RTs available or something.

You hit the nail on the head, not just RT's available but overall OT and OL play in the league.  You need consistency on the OL to trump these stellar defenses we saw in the Super Bowl.  Even with Andre having some baggage, he still has something left in the tank and someone will pay for that.  That rumor of Denver trying to give up two 1sts for Thomas shows you the value of a quality OT, further proven by the Browns not giving him and his contract up.  Someone will give him a 3 year deal and even pay the dead money in the 3rd year if he doesn't work out just so they can plug a hole preventing them from being a contender.  Yea that list is just his opinon, Iloka should be on there, this will turn into a 10 page thread quick if we put too much stock into it. 

 

[*Go Cards*]

They will be in the top 20 FA that become available.

Because got to believe that half of these listed are going nowhere.

[StLucieBengal]

The around the NFL guys overlook us ridiculously. They actually admitted that this past season.

Part of it is that Wesseling is from Cincy and he hates the bengals because of mike brown.

[GreenCornBengal]

Andre Smith is a LOT better than people on here give him credit for. I've always thought he was a great RT.

[wolfkaosaun]

(02-13-2016, 02:09 AM)StLucieBengal Wrote: The around the NFL guys overlook us ridiculously.   They actually admitted that this past season.    

Part of it is that Wesseling is from Cincy and he hates the bengals because of mike brown.

He sounds like some posters on these boards.

[*pally*]

(02-13-2016, 02:16 AM)GreenCornBengal Wrote: Andre Smith is a LOT better than people on here give him credit for. I've always thought he was a great RT.

He has some great moments, in fact he had the potential to be an All-Pro, but he has major issues with speed guys rushing at him.  He can't use his bulk against them and he doesn't have enough quickness to react to those guys coming around the end.  That's why our blocking tight ends/fullbacks work the right side. Andre's weaknesses will show if he is expected to hold down the right side by himself.  I have a feeling he will go for the money instead of looking for a team with a line that will compliment his strengths and weaknesses.

[HarleyDog]

Andre Smith is lazy, fat and ridiculously slow and needs to go. He also gets too many penalties. How the hell do you get a penalty when your always moving in slow motion? A decent pick in the draft would be an immediate upgrade over his pathetic, toxic waste soaked talent. What a douchebag!

[RagnarLothbrok]

The media puts together that list based on what THEY think. It has no relevance to what teams need and where they rank free agents.

[Okeana]

(02-13-2016, 12:40 PM)HarleyDog Wrote: Andre Smith is lazy, fat and ridiculously slow and needs to go. He also gets too many penalties. How the hell do you get a penalty when your always moving in slow motion? A decent pick in the draft would be an immediate upgrade over his pathetic, toxic waste soaked talent. What a douchebag!

Totally ignorant.  Andre Smith is widely considered one of the best RT's in the league.  He has worked hard over the last 4 years to change his work ethic and that deserves credit.  I don't think we should retain him unless it comes really cheap however because we have so much talent developing behind him.

[RoyleRedlegs]

(02-13-2016, 12:40 PM)HarleyDog Wrote: Andre Smith is lazy, fat and ridiculously slow and needs to go. He also gets too many penalties. How the hell do you get a penalty when your always moving in slow motion? A decent pick in the draft would be an immediate upgrade over his pathetic, toxic waste soaked talent. What a douchebag!

2009 called, it wants it's post back

[GreenCornBengal]

How about his run blocking though? Pretty sure its top notch.....

[*TheLeonardLeap*]

(02-13-2016, 02:09 AM)StLucieBengal Wrote: The around the NFL guys overlook us ridiculously.   They actually admitted that this past season.    

Part of it is that Wesseling is from Cincy and he hates the bengals because of mike brown.

Another part of that is Gggreggggg is a Pro Football Talk guy originally, which means he was a Mike Florio guy, who hates the Bengals because he's a big Steelers homer. That mentality probably rubbed off at least a bit.

Too many Steelers fans/players in the NFL media.

[HarleyDog]

(02-13-2016, 02:09 PM)Okeana Wrote: Totally ignorant.  Andre Smith is widely considered one of the best RT's in the league.  He has worked hard over the last 4 years to change his work ethic and that deserves credit.  I don't think we should retain him unless it comes really cheap however because we have so much talent developing behind him.

(02-13-2016, 02:12 PM)RoyleRedlegs Wrote: 2009 called, it wants it's post back

Ok. i guess. what has he done positive?

Still a lazy douchebag.

[wolfkaosaun]

(02-13-2016, 10:05 PM)HarleyDog Wrote: Ok. i guess. what has he done positive?

Still a lazy douchebag.

I mean, he's been rated as one of the best RTs in the league since getting his game together. And how is he a douche exactly?

Smith has had some holding penalties, yes. But he's still a very good RT. He's a Pro Bowl caliber RT.

In 2012 he was ranked by ProFootball Focus as the best RT in the league. In 2013 he was still right up there. 2014 he battled injuries but still had some really good moments. 2015 was consistently good. Wasn't amazing, but also wasn't bad.

He's done a lot of positive since his early seasons.

[*TheLeonardLeap*]

(02-14-2016, 04:28 AM)wolfkaosaun Wrote: I mean, he's been rated as one of the best RTs in the league since getting his game together. And how is he a douche exactly?

Smith has had some holding penalties, yes. But he's still a very good RT. He's a Pro Bowl caliber RT.

In 2012 he was ranked by ProFootball Focus as the best RT in the league. In 2013 he was still right up there. 2014 he battled injuries but still had some really good moments. 2015 was consistently good. Wasn't amazing, but also wasn't bad.

He's done a lot of positive since his early seasons.

Since you're the one using PFF as your reference....

https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2016/02/12/pro-cordy-glenn-tops-free-agent-tackle-list/
7. Andre Smith, Jr.

2015 team: Cincinnati Bengals
Smith had the worst season of his career in 2015 with an overall player grade of 39.6. In his defense, the Bengal has dealt with multiple injuries and concussions over the last two years, both of which could be significant contributors to his worst two seasons out of his five years as a starter. In 2012, he was our highest-graded right tackle in the league, with one of the better run-blocking grades that season. Similar to Okung, it’s possible that he can regain that form, but the uncertainty might be the difference between a short- and long-term contract.


...39.6/100 is "consistently good"? They even say the last two years have been the worst two of his five years starting (I guess they're excluding his awful first two years of injuries and weight). Face it, the guy was awful before hitting his contract year and turning into the beast the Bengals thought they were getting with the 6th overall pick. But then he got paid, put in an okay season after that, and then went right back to turding it up like normal.


He's had 7 seasons. 1 great, 2 mediocre, and 4 bad/awful. He is neither a very good RT, or a Pro Bowl caliber RT. He's honestly much closer to being a bust since that's not what you want out of the 6th overall pick.

[StLucieBengal]

(02-13-2016, 04:01 PM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: Another part of that is Gggreggggg is a Pro Football Talk guy originally, which means he was a Mike Florio guy, who hates the Bengals because he's a big Steelers homer. That mentality probably rubbed off at least a bit.

Too many Steelers fans/players in the NFL media.

True. But I felt this year even greg was carrying the bengals water. Especially Dalton.

[wolfkaosaun]

(02-14-2016, 08:22 AM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: He's had 7 seasons. 1 great, 2 mediocre, and 4 bad/awful. He is neither a very good RT, or a Pro Bowl caliber RT. He's honestly much closer to being a bust since that's not what you want out of the 6th overall pick.

He is a very good RT. To believe otherwise is ludicrous. He had a bad 2014 season. He had concussion issues during camp and barely practiced at all. Had ankle problems, and had a torn tricep. In 2015 he was very up and down. But he didn't get beat. He just had penalties.

A ton of PFF's grade lately goes towards penalties. And honestly, they have regressed tremendously since then. You can ask Truck if you'd like, an un-biased opinion. And He was great in 2012 and 2013.

Also, your numbers are wrong. Smith did not play in 7 seasons. He's played in 6. And it doesn't matter where he was drafted, it matters how you contribute. And Smith has contributed greatly. His biggest question mark was his work ethic. Not once since he's been drafted has anyone questioned it. Smith is still a good RT.

Also, they listed Schwartz above Smith. That alone shows you that you need to take it with a grain of salt. It says he allowed 43 QB pressures and there was 705 passing snaps. Which isn't true. There was 609 passing attempts. They were sacked 53 times. So if you add that up, that's 662 passing snaps. And a lot of those sacks were on him.

[*TheLeonardLeap*]

(02-14-2016, 06:42 PM)wolfkaosaun Wrote: He is a very good RT. To believe otherwise is ludicrous. He had a bad 2014 season. He had concussion issues during camp and barely practiced at all. Had ankle problems, and had a torn tricep. In 2015 he was very up and down. But he didn't get beat. He just had penalties.

A ton of PFF's grade lately goes towards penalties. And honestly, they have regressed tremendously since then. You can ask Truck if you'd like, an un-biased opinion. And He was great in 2012 and 2013.

Also, your numbers are wrong. Smith did not play in 7 seasons. He's played in 6. And it doesn't matter where he was drafted, it matters how you contribute. And Smith has contributed greatly. His biggest question mark was his work ethic. Not once since he's been drafted has anyone questioned it. Smith is still a good RT.

Also, they listed Schwartz above Smith. That alone shows you that you need to take it with a grain of salt. It says he allowed 43 QB pressures and there was 705 passing snaps. Which isn't true. There was 609 passing attempts. They were sacked 53 times. So if you add that up, that's 662 passing snaps. And a lot of those sacks were on him.

I'm not saying PFF is the greatest, but you're the one who brought up how PFF says how amazing he is, so I showed you that no, they haven't said that. Can't use a site as your proof and then when someone uses that same site to prove you wrong, discredit the site.

Also, my number are not wrong. He has been in the NFL for 7 seasons. I am pretty capable of counting low numbers fairly easily. Andre Smith was drafted in 2009.

1. 2009
2. 2010
3. 2011
4. 2012
5. 2013
6. 2014
7. 2015
   

Basic math, bro.