They need a free agent LB more than anything given the market and the fact that i think they draft ellis from USC
They need a free agent LB more than anything given the market and the fact that i think they draft ellis from USC
I will reserve my judgment on Zimmer until I see the play on the field. Past accolades mean nothing when it comes to Bengals football.
I wouldn't mind resigning Dhani Jones if he's cheap, just because he provides some special teams depth and can do a good job filling in at LB. I really hope they save the money they pay Justin Smith and use it to sign a free agent who can make a better impact on this defense. Likewise I'm just not sold on Landon Johnson, but I'd be willing to keep him around if he's not too expensive. Williams is an underperformer, but is still young and could improve under the new defensive regime, so I would consider resigning him if he's not too expensive. That being said, I'd rather the Bengals go out and pay a proven performer to bolster the defense instead of overpaying the guys they have to keep them in the fold.
The classic excuse for resigning your own guys is that they know the system. With a new coordinator coming in, now might be a good time to cut bait on some of these guys and bring in some new blood.
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I think they need to keep Johnson and Williams but im betting both would rather gtfo
Williams is going to be a guy that goes to another team and blossoms into a very good player. Patriots will probably make a run at him
Justin Smith should not be on this roster next season under any circumstances whatsoever, especially taking into account the contract that he will demand.
Smith isnt as bad as people make him out to be but he for sure isnt worth the money hes going to get.
Not sure what the cap hit would be, but no way is Geathers worth the money they are paying him.
75-80% of this roster should be jettisoned, as far as I'm concerned.
Yeah they do operate the opposite way because of there apparent strengths QB,WR,OT suggests you should be a throwing dominant offense. So their philosphy seems to be throw the ball and stop the pass, which is ok as well if you can execute.
The problem is when you are running an offense predicated on the idea of going downfield you must have a RB to complement it. Rudi and the offensive line (more specifically Ghiaciuc) didn't make defenses pay for playing 7 in the box and their secondaries playing back to prevent the big pass play. Which is why the offense looked better with Watson who could get beyond that front seven quick and exploit the areas vacated by the secondary. If Chris Henry had been playing from the start on we would have been playing in the postseason IMO. If this offense has all their pieces playing and add in a complete RB, you have an unstoppable offense. And one in which Carson isn't always pressured into making throws into coverage.
Defense sadly is a whole 'nother ball game! But the type of offense we run will always make the defense a tad more vulnerable due to it's nature of feast or famine. A big play/3 and out offense will keep the defense on the field more than it should. That's why I like a more balanced offense like the Aikman/Emmitt/Irvin Cowboys teams who could play it anyway they wanted to depending on the circumstances, but played it balanced mostly. Thoses defense were also balanced and quite good. Both offense and defense though had good lineplay, and neither side was rarely "tired".
Also look at the Patriots of today and the 9ers's of the '80's. Good line play is the staple of all great teams. And BTW both were actually pretty balanced offenses save for perhaps the '07/'08 Pats.
On Justin Smith I would let him go ultimately, but you can tag him again & you can remove the tag if need be. I would tag him in hopes I could get a team to trade for him. He's a very good player but with re-signing Geathers it makes me feel we cannot afford to re-sign him. He's a great complementary DE to a superb pass rusher type but unfortunately I don't know if Geathers isn't pretty much the same thing except in a different way. But I wouldn't be heart-broken if he came back (depending of course on the contract) if it meant it allowed us to draft an impact DT type like Sedrick Ellis. If we don't re-sign him it may mean we would have to draft Gholston or someone like him just to fill a position.
"You can't let praise or criticism get to you. It's a weakness to get caught up in either one."
--Woody Hayes
Gaethers is the best defensive player on the team and sadly its not even close. He was just out of position for most of the year because of the injured line backer core
Ellis seems like what most mock drafts has us grabbing him, i wouldnt mind it but he is small for NFL DT imo but once again size isnt the only thing to consider.
Best player on the Bengals defense? Quite an honor!
Geathers was over hyped from day one. He's a one trick pony that takes way too many plays off. The Bengals don't have one player on their Dline that should be expected to start in the NFL. The lack of a playmaker in the Bengals front 4 is just pathetic. It's sad that the best thing an announcer can say about a 8 million dollar DE is that he is a "grinder".
That's the Bengals in a nutshell. Quit over paying and actually get a dominant DT/DE. I'm utterly amazed that this team continues to waste high draft picks on any position other than DL. You could have four Deion Sanders and it wouldn't make a difference with the lack of play makers on the front four. It's been over 15 years that the Bengals have had a truly good Dline. It's not surprising that they have continued to be the worst franchise in sports. It's like asking a baseball team to win with the worst pitching staff year to year. Oh god why did I have to be born in Cincy?
I can almost predict what the Bengals will do with certain players before they do it. And most often it's the exact opposite thing they should do. Geathers gets a huge contract based on garbage sacks.
Last edited by Cedric; 01-16-2008 at 12:26 AM.
This is the time. The real Reds organization is back.
Right, on the former!
On the latter....I agree as well, Ellis (at least currently) looks like a good fit even though I haven't really started to break it all down. His size/speed etc doesn't really matter if he has the ability to command double teams which inside usually means strength/quickness. I'll be interested in seeing what the #'s look like after the combine or his "pro day".
"You can't let praise or criticism get to you. It's a weakness to get caught up in either one."
--Woody Hayes
How can you question a guys motivation and lack of heart when he moved positions to help the team with apparently no questions asked?
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