2024 Cincinnati Bengals Part 3: Stay the Course?

[Redhook]

He’d be heading for Canton if he had been a Pittsburgh Steeler.

The stuff he did was not at all out of line with the stuff they let gold & black defenders get away with to this very day, but put him in a Bengal uniform and he’s dirty, a thug, has no place in the game, etc.

100%

[Hillsdale87]

The state of the francise is that they let the Washington Football Club win the Marshon Lattimore sweepstakes. Bengals didn't even fill out the form to compete in the race.

Did you want the Bengals to give up a 3rd round pick for Lattimore? I was hoping they'd get some reinforcements with a 5/6 round pick. But I don't think this team is good enough to invest real draft capital. He's not even healthy enough to get on the field yet. It's a much better bet for 7-2 Washington.


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[KoryMac5]

They asked Taylor about Burrow and the lack of roughing calls. States he needs to be better about getting on the official as Joe doesn’t like to do it as he feels it gets him out of his game flow.


They need to start sending tape to the league office cause he was pummeled by Humphries.

[Todd Gack]

Anyone see Goodberry's brutal film review of Volson getting absolutely bullied?

Frank Pollack needs to be fired because there hasn't been much growth. It's not 100% his fault with the OL but it's still a lot. Amazingly, he's still better than the Jim Turner hire. Zac Taylor's OL hires have been terrifically awful.

[Roy Tucker]

Interesting read on that last 2 point try.

https://www.si.com/nfl/bengals/why-t...PxrUl6bnp0F4mA

[Old school 1983]

Bengals need to realize that maybe trading some picks for established talent might pay more dividends that mid to late in the round draft picks.

[Dom Heffner]

Bengals need to realize that maybe trading some picks for established talent might pay more dividends that mid to late in the round draft picks.

if you cant draft- and really the drew sample pick tells you what you need to see- they should use some of it for known quantities.

they wont because mike brown is too cheap.

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i ran smack into zac taylor at jump zone in oakley, and held my tongue.

[Bob Sheed]

Had the Bengals tied the game, Lamar had 35 seconds, two timeouts and a HOF kicker who has hit game winners against the Bengals in prime time. Completely understand the decision.

That said it looks like they got hosed out of it.

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Whether they are tied, or up by one, a FG still wins it, and Lamar still has 35 seconds, two timeouts and a HOF kicker who has hit game winners against the Bengals in prime time.

I'm all for aggressive playcalling, but this was a stupid decision with very little upside and a ton of downside.

[Ky Fried Redleg]

Whether they are tied, or up by one, a FG still wins it, and Lamar still has 35 seconds, two timeouts and a HOF kicker who has hit game winners against the Bengals in prime time.

I'm all for aggressive playcalling, but this was a stupid decision with very little upside and a ton of downside.

I might have considered it if it was essentially the last play of the game. But with the time that was remaining and the likelihood of the Ravens getting into FG range anyway, I think probably just kicking the PAT was the prudent thing to do. Certainly was an interesting situation.

[Kingspoint]

Did you want the Bengals to give up a 3rd round pick for Lattimore? I was hoping they'd get some reinforcements with a 5/6 round pick. But I don't think this team is good enough to invest real draft capital. He's not even healthy enough to get on the field yet. It's a much better bet for 7-2 Washington.


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I wanted them to give up a 2nd Round pick for Lattimore. BAL offered a 3rd. The Chiefs offered as much, and then Washington swept in and topped the 3rd.

It's just like the REDS with the Greene/De La Cruz window. They need to get quality players around their Super Stars and try to win now. A 2nd Round pick is a crapshoot that may pay off, if it does at all, in 4 or 5 years from now. Lattimore is at his best right now and for the next 4 or 5 years. Competing against the QB-rich AFC, the Bengals have to get quality CB's that are already proven to be good when the opportunity like this arises. It was a complete failure by the franchise to not step up and do so. Burrow can throw for 400 yards and 4 TD's and it's not good enough because there's just as good of a QB on the opposite side of the ball.

[Hillsdale87]

I wanted them to give up a 2nd Round pick for Lattimore. BAL offered a 3rd. The Chiefs offered as much, and then Washington swept in and topped the 3rd.

It's just like the REDS with the Greene/De La Cruz window. They need to get quality players around their Super Stars and try to win now. A 2nd Round pick is a crapshoot that may pay off, if it does at all, in 4 or 5 years from now. Lattimore is at his best right now and for the next 4 or 5 years. Competing against the QB-rich AFC, the Bengals have to get quality CB's that are already proven to be good when the opportunity like this arises. It was a complete failure by the franchise to not step up and do so. Burrow can throw for 400 yards and 4 TD's and it's not good enough because there's just as good of a QB on the opposite side of the ball.

I agree about maximizing the window, but I just don't want to overpay for this season at this point. If they don't make some big changes in the offseason, that will be a big problem.


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[Kingspoint]

I agree about maximizing the window, but I just don't want to overpay for this season at this point. If they don't make some big changes in the offseason, that will be a big problem.


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I was thinking as much as the next two seasons as Lattimore is under contract for two years and then the Bengals could still use the tag on him.

[Redsfaithful]

Whether they are tied, or up by one, a FG still wins it, and Lamar still has 35 seconds, two timeouts and a HOF kicker who has hit game winners against the Bengals in prime time.

I'm all for aggressive playcalling, but this was a stupid decision with very little upside and a ton of downside.

What's wild is that as a fan I'm really a Joe Goodberry acolyte with this team, I believe in being ultra aggressive on offense, letting Joe Burrow win the game, go for it on 4th down, go for 2, etc etc. but they fail at those calls so damn much (and for a variety of reasons, sometimes it feels like the playcall, sometimes execution, sometimes the refs screw them) that now I'm almost second guessing.

I'm not there yet all the way, because damn if I don't want the ball in Burrow's hands anytime the game is on the line, but their luck this year has just been astoundingly bad, even for a Bengals team.

[Hillsdale87]

It's not doom and gloom. It's just the same old Bengals. You admitted you don't have that much confidence in the front office. The Bengals are good at fielding teams that are good enough to make people think they might be playoff contenders without doing enough to consistently be serious playoff contenders.

The doom and gloom I'm referencing is the Bengals fans who are saying that this is just like Carson Palmer and Joe is going to demand a trade out. I don't think that's going to happen, or at least there's no reason to think it's going to happen now. The Bengals are investing around Burrow, but the problem is that they made really good investments in 2021, and most of the investments since have been busts. Bengals are 3rd in spending against the cap on defense, which seems amazing considering how bad they are.

I think this situation is much different than with Carson. I also think that they're pretty close. They'll be able to make a lot of cuts in the offseason and hopefully shore up some positions and be right back in it next year.


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[Oxilon]

The doom and gloom I'm referencing is the Bengals fans who are saying that this is just like Carson Palmer and Joe is going to demand a trade out. I don't think that's going to happen, or at least there's no reason to think it's going to happen now. The Bengals are investing around Burrow, but the problem is that they made really good investments in 2021, and most of the investments since have been busts. Bengals are 3rd in spending against the cap on defense, which seems amazing considering how bad they are.

I think this situation is much different than with Carson. I also think that they're pretty close. They'll be able to make a lot of cuts in the offseason and hopefully shore up some positions and be right back in it next year.


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That's a pretty irrelevant statistic. Most teams are consistently restructuring contracts and converting base salaries to guaranteed bonuses, so they can spread the current year cap hit over the remaining contract term and free up additional cap space that can be leveraged to sign free agents, resign players to LTC, etc. So ultimately, when you take a snapshot view of cap spend by team, you're not necessarily comparing apples to apples. I say all this, because the Bengals aren't most teams. Most fans like to say the Bengals don't operate this way because they're too cash poor. I actually don't think it's that though. My belief is they hate any potential Dead Cap hits. I know it's not the same, but it's like they view Dead Cap hits in the same lens most people view interest expense; a non-value add expenditure. If you go back the past ten seasons, here is where the Bengals rank in terms of Least Dead Cap Space:

2014: 1
2015: 1
2016: 2
2017: 1
2018: 3
2019: 8
2020: 14
2021: 9
2022: 3
2023: 1
2024: 1

I know this is not the Bengals thread, but if the Bengals want to be actual players in the NFL, they need to start manipulating the cap and increasing the guarantees.