oldschooler Posted March 12, 2015 Report Share Posted March 12, 2015 HobsonPosted 33 minutes ago A.J. Hawk says players know. They know what NFL locker rooms are mined with malcontents and malaise and which teams to avoid when free agency beckons. “It definitely gets around the league because guys are coming and going and they talk about where they’ve been,” Hawk said Wednesday during his first day as a Bengal. “They know places aren’t good that might have had a reputation for having a tough locker room where guys don’t get along. This place has always been on the top of the list when I’ve talked to anybody that has come through here. They say it was a good spot and they wish they had still been there.” The Bengals may not be big players in free agency, but they are popular in free agency, or what left guardClint Boling calls, “a desirable place.” It may not be the honeymoon destination that awaits him and his bride after they tabled the trip for free agency. But Paul Brown Stadium has become a showcase for Marvin Lewis’ main strength as a head coach. With the help of the front office he continually stokes the chemistry of a solid locker room and a winning roster to make it attractive to not only join, but stay. Hawk has been a Super Bowl champion and played in 13 post-season games and when the Packers cut him last month his first thought and choice was the Bengals. And not just because he grew up 45 minutes from Cincinnati. Even though Boling had attractive feelers from other clubs in the first weekend of free agency as one of the top five guards on the market, he told agent Pat Dye his first option was staying and to focus on a deal in Cincinnati. “There’s a good foundation. There’s A.J. (Green) and Andy (Dalton) who came in with me,” said Boling of that 2011 draft. “And there are a lot of other good guys in this building. It’s a place where guys want to play. “The grass isn’t always greener. You might take more money, but you might not see it all. You never know how these things work.” Which brings us to Michael Johnson. A year after he left the Bengals for a five-year, $43 million offer in Tampa, the Buccaneers cut Johnson Wednesday and, according to some former Bengals teammates, it came none too soon for him. He has been telling them from nearly the day he left that he wants to come back to Cincinnatiand has told them, “You don’t know what you’ve got there.” It’s believed he’s still on the mass text for the Bengals defensive line, Johnson’s unit so central to the two AFC titles they won in Johnson’s five seasons here. At least he was the week the Bengals played Tampa back in November. “They’re my brothers and going to work with them every day, it was fun. It didn’t feel like a job,” Johnson said for media consumption that week. “We had fun every day, especially on Sundays. We had a special group there and I’ll always have very fond memories of our time there.” As of Wednesday night, there is mutual interest but it’s unclear what kind of money Johnson is going to command and if the Bengals can counter after using up much of their salary cap room in signing Boling and linebackers Rey Maualuga and A.J. Hawk. But what is clear is that players want to come here or come back. “It’s the culture the players created,” Lewis said as he watched Boling and Hawk meet the media with easy professionalism. “It’s done by the whole group, not by one person. It’s the atmosphere. The eye toward the future that the franchise has and the players have. It keeps them fresh; it keeps them motivated to keep the spiral upward. Winning breeds winning. Guys want to be around each other. Everyone has worked real hard here to create that atmosphere.” Lewis sees the addition of Hawk in the Terence Newman mold. A wise, experienced NFL vet on his second run mixing with kids like Vontaze Burfict and Emmanuel Lamur in the linebacker group. Kicker Mike Nugent, who played with Hawk at nearby Centerville High School and then Ohio State, says Lewis has it just right. Actually, Nugent first played with Hawk in sixth grade because Hawk played a year up. “He was the kind of guy that a lot of young guys looked up to because you knew he was going to be successful,” Nugent said. “He was always in the weight room, in the film room doing the extra stuff. He won a Super Bowl and he played nine years in Green Bay, so I imagine it has been the same kind of thing.” Hawk checked in with Nugent Tuesday night and got the full report. “He said, ‘You’ll love the locker room here. They don’t have any bad guys,’’’ Hawk recalled. “‘They don’t have any cancers.’ Nuge said they don’t have guys like that and everyone gets along and has a good time. I think you can see that when you watch them play.” As if on cue, Maualuga and Burfict texted Hawk welcome and offered to get together when they get into town. He can’t help but identify with those two guys and how they play with fury and abandon. “First things first,” Hawk said. “I’m a football fan. I like to watch great players, especially defensive players. Both those guys, how physical they are and how they run around. And they’re so productive. “I’ve been a fan of Rey’s since he was back at USC. I played with his good (college) buddy Clay Matthews. You watch him on film and you can see he’s having a good time.” If the locker room is straight, then so usually are the contracts. Rarely do the Bengals cut a guy early in his deal for cap reasons or ask someone to take a pay cut, which is why you never see them in the news cycle leading up to free agency. They released long-time defensive lineman Robert Geathers last month with one year left on a three-year deal. But that was after he got every cent of his six-year, $30 million second contract. Look at cornerback Leon Hall staring at a near $10 million cap count in the last year of his second contract. Hall struggled last season coming off his second Achilles’ surgery, but there has been no hint of a reduction or an extension to lower the cap count. The Bengals don’t like to push money into future years, but they also know building up trust with respected leaders like Geathers and Hall is noticed in the locker room. Free agents also see it. While other teams offer guarantees, the Bengals have balked because of how it can mortgage the future. They feel like they can guarantee a player money early in the deal to soften the future cap hits and players realize the lower their cap deal is in the future, the easier it is to get the entire contract. A real deal, as the Bengals like to call it. “It’s observed throughout,” Lewis said. “It’s observed by the people that represent players and that makes a big difference to them as well. We’ll make a deal and we’ll make a deal right for both parties…We’ve done a good job drafting well and developing our guys and we continually extend guys into their second contracts.” Boling is the seventh player drafted since ’09 to get a second deal and that’s not counting the undrafted Burfict, who parlayed his first two years into a four-year, $19 million extension. Boling wouldn’t get into how much he had in guarantees from other clubs or even the other clubs. Just that he felt comfortable enough with Lewis, offensive line coach Paul Alexander and offensive coordinator Hue Jackson and that they had a very real shot to win in the playoffs. Boling’s deal, as reported by the web site spotrac.com, is how the Bengals like to do it. He gets nearly 50 percent of the deal ($12.5 million) in the first three years with $4.2 million coming this year on a $2.5 million signing bonus and $1.7 million salary. And the cap counts stay steady, ranging from $5.1 million this year, to a low of $4.7 in ’16, to a high in the last year at $5.7. There are no crazy numbers that would cause him to get cut. Many times big deals have huge salary figures that inflate the total package even though everyone knows the player will be long gone before they count, or the deal is re-done. Boling, who turns 26 in May, is one of these solid guys on which the Bengals have built their ’11 re-boot. Mr. and Mrs. Clint and Kelly Boling had been married 11 days when he inked the deal Wednesday and he is, like a typical smart offensive lineman, still waiting on her to pick the honeymoon destination. Suddenly, the wedding and free agency have come and gone. “I knew what I was going to get here,” Boling said. “It’s a good organization. They are loyal to our guys. I feel confident in that. Whether I sign a deal for more money somewhere else, maybe I don’t see all of it. You don’t know how those things work. That’s part of the reason I felt comfortable with this organization and how they felt about me and how I feel about them. There are a lot of different factors that have to play into it. It’s not solely about I’m going to take every single penny I can. There are a lot of different things you have to weigh in.” http://www.bengals.com/news/article-1/PBS-a-destination-point/5e163742-0295-4173-a6b1-4ede929fe500?campaign=cin:fanshare:twitter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldschooler Posted March 12, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2015 Hobson acts like it's a good thing the Bengals are paying Leon $10 million and can't sign more than one player. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelWeston Posted March 12, 2015 Report Share Posted March 12, 2015 It's delusional Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scharm Posted March 12, 2015 Report Share Posted March 12, 2015 Did Fairley respect "the real deal", lol? We'll see Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyrid Posted March 12, 2015 Report Share Posted March 12, 2015 Hobson acts like it's a good thing the Bengals are paying Leon $10 million and can't sign more than one player. Yeah, not sure that is something the Bengals should be so proud of. I've not jumped on the bandwagon of folks being pissed off about them not spending like drunken sailors in FA because I think it's a reasonable perspective and they have less cap space than short and long-term than most people think. But this is the one thing that I really think the Bengals are wrong to do. In this day and age, every single cap dollar counts and they need to maximize the efficiency of their spending. Stuff like this would never happen in New England who is as ruthless as anyone in forcing restructures and it hasn't hurt their ability to attract free agents. Anyway, really hope Leon bounces back and earns his money this year. But if he doesn't, his $7.7M salary should be viewed as a major opportunity cost that could have led to improving elsewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orange 'n Black Posted March 12, 2015 Report Share Posted March 12, 2015 Hobson is full of shit, when is there ever much of a hint about the Bengals contract moves until right before they get announced? Restructuring / extending Hall is such an obvious move that I'll be fuckin shocked if it doesn't happen sooner or later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatternMaster Posted March 12, 2015 Report Share Posted March 12, 2015 Hobson acts like it's a good thing the Bengals are paying Leon $10 million and can't sign more than one player. That's the mind set that needs to change; as long as the Bengals are being operated like a mom and pop by an owner that drives a Lumina and doesn't have air conditioning in his house they will be overly loyal to players that are past their prime and never be serious contenders for a Super Bowl championship. The NFL is a business and I would hope the Bengals would be more concerned with players worrying about playing up the level of their contracts and winning than winning the popularity contest because guys know they can come to Cincinnati and get one last paycheck. Most teams that are serious about winning would cut Peko and Hall and use that money to get younger more productive players,but the Bengals are more concerned with how they will perceived by other players. Players respect winning, that's it..they want to be with a winning organization. Hobson is insulting the fans level of intelligence with these articles, every year it's the same bullshit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orange 'n Black Posted March 12, 2015 Report Share Posted March 12, 2015 That's the mind set that needs to change; as long as the Bengals are being operated like a mom and pop by an owner that drives a Lumina and doesn't have air conditioning in his house they will be overly loyal to players that are past their prime and never be serious contenders for a Super Bowl championship. The NFL is a business and I would hope the Bengals would be more concerned with players worrying about playing up the level of their contracts and winning than winning the popularity contest because guys know they can come to Cincinnati and get one last paycheck. Most teams that are serious about winning would cut Peko and Hall and use that money to get younger more productive players,but the Bengals are more concerned with how they will perceived by other players. Players respect winning, that's it..they want to be with a winning organization. Hobson is insulting the fans level of intelligence with these articles, every year it's the same bullshit. Shitting on Hobson is kosher, but I can't take this shit seriously about a team who not too long ago lost Johnathan Joseph because he couldn't take home Gatorade. Mike Brown don't give no fucks about what other people think, and he's definitely not intentionally overpaying old players to make people like his team. SMFH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scharm Posted March 12, 2015 Report Share Posted March 12, 2015 Mike Brown cares enough to make it sound like wants a Super Bowl but when it comes time stretch the cap it doesn't happen. His playoff record under salary cap era proves it. For Christ sakes the Dolphins just signed Suh to a 100+ mil contract and he counts 6 against their cap this year. First 3 years are guarantee so I would like to hear Hobson explain how that's not real. Suh counts less than Rey this season in cap o' nomics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatternMaster Posted March 12, 2015 Report Share Posted March 12, 2015 Shitting on Hobson is kosher, but I can't take this shit seriously about a team who not too long ago lost Johnathan Joseph because he couldn't take home Gatorade. Mike Brown don't give no fucks about what other people think, and he's definitely not intentionally overpaying old players to make people like his team. SMFH Mike Brown is loyal to a fault, if he likes you he will keep you around regardless if you are producing. Why Marvin Lewis still the HC of this team, 12 seasons and zero playoff wins...wouldn't happen anywhere else in the NFL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatternMaster Posted March 12, 2015 Report Share Posted March 12, 2015 Mike Brown cares enough to make it sound like wants a Super Bowl but when it comes time stretch the cap it doesn't happen. His playoff record under salary cap era proves it. For Christ sakes the Dolphins just signed Suh to a 100+ mil contract and he counts 6 against their cap this year. First 3 years are guarantee so I would like to hear Hobson explain how that's not real. Suh counts less than Rey this season in cap o' nomics. Hobson is the minister of propaganda, he treats the fans like mushrooms by keeping us in the dark and feeding us shit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldschooler Posted March 12, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2015 The question is: Will the Cincinnati Bengals redo/extend Leon Hall's contract to reduce his $9.6 million cap number? The answer is... probably not. Bengals.com beat writer Geoff Hobson writes that "there has been no hint of a reduction or an extension to lower the cap count." The Bengals don’t like to push money into future years, but they also know building up trust with respected leaders like Geathers and Hall is noticed in the locker room. Plus, they've got great regard for what Hall has meant on and off the field and the commitment he showed to both rehabs. Hall has recovered from two Achilles tears, one suffered in 2011 and the other in 2013. Once the lockout was lifted in 2011, the Bengals signed Hall to a four-year extension worth $39 million. The deal, which expires after the 2015 season, gives Hall a base salary of $7.7 million and a cap number at $9.6 million -- A.J. Green is the only Bengals player with a higher cap number at $10.176 million. If the Bengals release Hall, they'll have $1.8 million in dead money, but will save $7.8 million against the cap. A carefully worded contract extension could also help reduce his cap number while keeping Hall around for another year or two -- or more if they wanted (he's only 30-years-old). http://www.cincyjungle.com/2015/3/11/8197817/bengals-com-no-hint-at-extending-redoing-leon-halls-contract Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turningpoint Posted March 12, 2015 Report Share Posted March 12, 2015 If they don't restructure Leon I'll be really really let down. I guess the question is how to restructure a guy making 1 year $10 million and then ask him to make let's say Antrell Rolle Money? 3 years $11.125 million. the bengals are in a tricky situation with Leon....they obviously need him next year, but he's not going to take a 70% paycut and risk losing him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dautcom08 Posted March 12, 2015 Report Share Posted March 12, 2015 If they don't restructure Leon I'll be really really let down. I guess the question is how to restructure a guy making 1 year $10 million and then ask him to make let's say Antrell Rolle Money? 3 years $11.125 million. the bengals are in a tricky situation with Leon....they obviously need him next year, but he's not going to take a 70% paycut and risk losing him. At this point in his career he's a slot specialty guy running on two Achilles surgeries. I'm not sure the risk of losing him would be all that great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
membengal Posted March 12, 2015 Report Share Posted March 12, 2015 Hobson has lost his mind. The fact that they didn't re-structure or cut both Peko and Hall weeks ago to free up money for FA is the grossest of incompetence from ownership to front office to Marvin. Why does this team scuffle? Because they just don't fucking care to try and be better. Not enough to do the basics that clubs do to try and win. But, hey, at least its a comfortable place for vets to grow old in, so we go that going for us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelWeston Posted March 12, 2015 Report Share Posted March 12, 2015 It may be a destination point. But you are not trying to get anyone to land there. So it doesn't matter. People could love going to Guam on their honeymoons but if you close all the airports there is no point in talking about how amazing it would be for people to go on their honeymoons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scharm Posted March 12, 2015 Report Share Posted March 12, 2015 Hobson is the minister of propaganda, he treats the fans like mushrooms by keeping us in the dark and feeding us shit. This is true. He is an enemy of the movement. We must take him out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scharm Posted March 12, 2015 Report Share Posted March 12, 2015 In my mind Peko and Hall are afterthoughts. Sure they represent potential cap savings. This team has done 2 good extensions to players. Rey and Bolings. No arguements about the player glad they are back. Not really concerned with the total dollar amounts. However, a few days later after signing the contract they are going pay them a "roster bonus" instead of paying that amount on the day the contract is signed. Thus making those payments hit the cap in full instead of letting them be allocated as a signing bonus over the life of the contract. This year it's cost them about 6 mil in cap room. Last year they did the same thing for Dalton/Burfict costing them about 9. Those amounts are not significant enough that pushing money into the future years is going to destroy their cap model. MJ last year signed a deal with his cap number as 9. The Dolphins just made Suh the highest paid defender in the league. His cap number in year 1 is 6. Just from paper accounting practices and not going crazy like the Dolphins the Bengals could easily have Johnson, Fairley and another decent Free Agent. Hobson piece is bullshit. They did not give an honest effort last year in free agency and to this point is doesn't look like they are going to this year. All at a time in which the baseline talent of the roster has this franchise's best shot to return to a Superbowl and we ALL think they are 1/2 players away with a little "Good" Andy to show up in the postseason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big_dish Posted March 12, 2015 Report Share Posted March 12, 2015 I cant even read Hobsons articles right now. Every one of them is a steaming pile of dog shit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HairOnFire Posted March 12, 2015 Report Share Posted March 12, 2015 This is true. He is an enemy of the movement. We must take him out. Perhaps we could send him a poison laced 5-layer bean dip? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B.A.B. Posted March 12, 2015 Report Share Posted March 12, 2015 I wish the national media cared enough to do like a scathing segment on it and how they're forcing lies to us. Only place I can see even bothering to do a write up on it without giving a shit about holding back would be someplace like Deadspin. The local writers are regurgitating the same shit. Even Dehner or whatever was spewing the crap about having to resign the entire world next season. Need someone on the outside to shine a spotlight and let the world know just how fucking stupid the Bengals FO is Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatternMaster Posted March 12, 2015 Report Share Posted March 12, 2015 In my mind Peko and Hall are afterthoughts. Sure they represent potential cap savings. This team has done 2 good extensions to players. Rey and Bolings. No arguements about the player glad they are back. Not really concerned with the total dollar amounts. However, a few days later after signing the contract they are going pay them a "roster bonus" instead of paying that amount on the day the contract is signed. Thus making those payments hit the cap in full instead of letting them be allocated as a signing bonus over the life of the contract. This year it's cost them about 6 mil in cap room. Last year they did the same thing for Dalton/Burfict costing them about 9. Those amounts are not significant enough that pushing money into the future years is going to destroy their cap model. MJ last year signed a deal with his cap number as 9. The Dolphins just made Suh the highest paid defender in the league. His cap number in year 1 is 6. Just from paper accounting practices and not going crazy like the Dolphins the Bengals could easily have Johnson, Fairley and another decent Free Agent. Hobson piece is bullshit. They did not give an honest effort last year in free agency and to this point is doesn't look like they are going to this year. All at a time in which the baseline talent of the roster has this franchise's best shot to return to a Superbowl and we ALL think they are 1/2 players away with a little "Good" Andy to show up in the postseason. The Bengals approach to FA shows you how their commitment to winning a Super Bowl, they say they want to compete with the best teams in the NFL and win a Super Bowl but they don't do everything they can to make sure they field the best team possible. As a fan it's frustrating to support an organization that gives a half effort when other organizations are going all in and having success. Why should I spend my money on tickets, jersey's, etc...when MB doesn't want to spend his money on getting the best possible players available? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madieu Superstar Posted March 12, 2015 Report Share Posted March 12, 2015 I love Leon Hall and believe he should have a place on the team next year. If he's unwilling to re-structure, I'd probably let him stay anyway. Having said that, to say that this shows other players that the Bengals are a stand-up organization is ridiculous. New England lets players go like its a bodily function. They've restructured contracts. For some reason though, players still go there. Why? Because they believe they can win the Super Bowl there. NE does what is necessary to win, not to curry favor with other players. Business is business. Sometimes I just wish the Bengals would treat it that way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HairOnFire Posted March 12, 2015 Report Share Posted March 12, 2015 Haters should write a group letter to Hobson containing all of their gripes and bitches. Perhaps have Scharm start it off despite his hatred for all things front loaded, including dishwashers, cement mixers, and human heads. Then have Khat write a paragragh or two where he says the opposite of what he means. Let's see if that smug bastard Hobs can figure that shit out. Maybe get BAB to write twenty paragraphs about what a tragedy it was to Sign Mike Nugent. Pick the best one and delete the rest. And since it's a letter to Hobs I assume you'll need to include a dick joke or two. So write your own or use one of the many hundreds I've told over the years. Finally, throw in a depressing bomblet from Mr. Hopeful or Patternmaster for emotional flavor. Have Jamie spell check the final draft of course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|SF2| Posted March 12, 2015 Report Share Posted March 12, 2015 Haters should write a group letter to Hobson containing all of their gripes and bitches. Perhaps have Scharm start it off despite his hatred for all things front loaded, including dishwashers, cement mixers, and human heads. Then have Khat write a paragragh or two where he says the opposite of what he means. Let's see if that smug bastard Hobs can figure that shit out. Maybe get BAB to write twenty paragraphs about what a tragedy it was to Sign Mike Nugent. Pick the best one and delete the rest. And since it's a letter to Hobs I assume you'll need to include a dick joke or two. So write your own or use one of the many hundreds I've told over the years. Finally, throw in a depressing bomblet from Mr. Hopeful or Patternmaster for emotional flavor. Have Jamie spell check the final draft of course. Well fuck I want in. I will put the letter in a bag of trash and strewn it over his front yard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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