Bengals special teams coach Darrin Simmons says that Shayne Graham's two misses in the Wild Card loss to the Jets has put the kicker's future with the organization under the microscope.
The Cincinnati Enquirer has already reported that the Bengals will "very likely" let Graham walk as a free agent and Simmons did nothing to quiet that notion. "Snaps were good. Holds were good. There’s no excuse. He picked a hell of a time to have a bad game," Simmons said.
I haven't been in this thread since 1/12 but I felt I should still respond to this post:
I think that's part of it but I also think that the defense already has the potential to be one of the very best next year and it just doesn't seem like you share that view.
Between key players missing time due to injury (Odom/Peko/etc) and inexperience (Maualuga/Rivers should only improve with more experience) I think the defense is in pretty good shape with a little better luck as far as injuries go. I'm in no way saying that they shouldn't add to the defense. I just think the offense is a higher priority. The defense wasn't a problem in '09. The offense was a problem.
Improving the team speed on offense could and should help. I would definitely look at adding speed at the WR position as well as the TE position. We need a burner on the edge who can stretch the field. Look at the seperation the Colts got yesterday with Garcon and Collie, both pretty speedy receivers who run good routes.
I am all for taking a wideout or a TE in the first round if a good one is there.
If you have a losing record at Reds games, please stop going.
What about the '05 playoffs? What about the '06 regular season miss vs PIttsburgh? It's not like his performance to choke in big games was an abberation.
With all that said, WR should be the #1 target for the Bengals. If they don't pick a WR, Greshman should be the choice if he's still available.
Last edited by ChazzReinhold; 01-25-2010 at 04:08 PM.
We must have had very good depth this year in order to survive all the injuries. We lost Odom, Rey M, Tank, Roy Williams, Peko, Jeanty, & Crocker to significant injuries this year. That's an awful lot. I'd say their depth was very good to be able to withstand all of that.
We played pretty poorly at the end of the season too. We still played okay once Odom was hurt, but when Peko got hurt, it really killed us.
If you have a losing record at Reds games, please stop going.
Hernandez = Chase Coffmann. The Bengals employ a block first, catch pass second form or TE. Think Heath Miller or Todd Heap. Taking Hernandez, whom I have seen some mock drafts predict, makes little sense to me. The guy isn't the type of TE the Bengals use.
My list would be LT, WR, S, RB, QB, CB in that order. LT is the obvious need. Shift Whitworth back to G and get a bonified LT to help with the pass blocking. Need a WR to stretch the field. I would entertain trade ideas for both Marshall and Boldin, but use a 2nd rounder to try to fill that void. S is the next pressing need with depth needed at RB (especially one who can play in the return game), QB (Carson's heir apparent), and CB.
I think Whitworth only gave up one sack this year for whatever it's worth, and Marvin has been pretty vocal about him being great at left tackle. I think they see him as a good fit there, so I'm hoping they get a guard in the second round. Whitworth-New Guard-Cook-Williams-Smith could be a pretty decent line I think.
I think they need offensive help myself, but I also wouldn't be opposed to getting a safety in the first round. I'm hoping for safety or wide receiver first round and then best player available that fits after that.
Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
I would love for the Bengals to draft an interior lineman as long as he projects to be elite. If the Bengals had Steve Hutchinson, it would have had a huge impact on their offensive production imo.
Just do not ignore the defense....like they ignored the offense pretty much in 05-08.....and before you realize it...your offense sucks beacuse of injuries/bad later picks you do get or players who under-achieve.
It happened in the late 80's when they went all out on defense and kept drafting lineman really late in the draft....and think McNally would turn them to gold like he did Kozerski and Reimers and Montoya...who were drafted after the 5th-6th rounds. Before you know it...you have Kevin Sargent manning the LT and people like Ken Moyer and Scott Brumfield manning your G positions.
Board Moderators may, at their discretion and judgment, delete and/or edit any messages that violate any of the following guidelines: 1. Explicit references to alleged illegal or unlawful acts. 2. Graphic sexual descriptions. 3. Racial or ethnic slurs. 4. Use of edgy language (including masked profanity). 5. Direct personal attacks, flames, fights, trolling, baiting, name-calling, general nuisance, excessive player criticism or anything along those lines. 6. Posting spam. 7. Each person may have only one user account. It is fine to be critical here - that's what this board is for. But let's not beat a subject or a player to death, please. |