big_dish Posted March 15, 2015 Report Share Posted March 15, 2015 TBH, and while it's tempting to go nuclear, I don't know that they had a lot of other options. Our real issues this off season were going to be at LG, Backup OT, LBX2, DT and RDE. I, for one, think Boling is a middling guard. I can see the merits of bringing him back, however, given how it can open up the draft. If we hadn't, I would have anticipated our first pick being LaEl Collins, Cam Erving, or Ereck Flowers almost without a doubt. A versatile OL who could upgrade G and backup tackle Today, and move over to replace one of Andre or Whit tomorrow. From a value perspective, I am disappointed that we paid Boling. As much as I'm not wowed by him, I do think he got a market-friendly deal. I just think that much one on this team, given what we could have gotten in the draft, was a misallocation of funds. And I count the 2nd round in that, not to mention the unforseen Travelle Wharton that might materialize come training camp. The jury is out for me a little on Winston, simply because he came in at the end of the season and who knows what he can really do. That said, I didn't see a lot of reason for hope, and so I'm brought to the above solution once again, which was find that one swiss army guy in the draft and take care of starrting LG and backup OT in one fell swoop. LB. I'm the biggest Rey hater out there and, given the Burfict issue, recognized that we had to bring him back (how and for how much is another story; I remain incredulous and miffed). I'm not even as against AJ Hawk as most, becauase I realize that the actual problem in our LB corp with Burfict down wasn't a lack of athleticism from Lamur and Flowers and Vinny (Rey M is a different story), but reading a D and making the calls. We are paying peanuts for Hawk, so I can't complain. I would have liked to have signed a WSLB in FA as well, even a journey man, but the journeymen out there this year are all head together with scotch tape and bubblegum so I really don't know what else we might have done, except look to the draft. DT is only on the list because Geno was not his old self last year and Peko is quicky becoming an overpaid placeholder. But it's not a place where we are truly desperate compared to the LB and DE. There were some mid-tier guys on the market (I was most interested in Jared Odrick), but the big names were Suh and Fairley. Suh was a fairy tale, and given what he got paid no part of me would have wanted to allocate that much money to him, so he's not even spilt milk. Fairley was more intriguing. He was available because of all the red flags, and those meant he might go for a bargain. I was in favor of grabbing him, and will be interested to hear what happened. I can certainly understand that we walked away if he only wanted a one year deal. But after those few guys, there really wasn't much else that isn't still out there. And last is DE. Unlike very many posters, I wasn't banging pots and pans for the Jerry Hughes and Jabal Sheards of the world. I was certainly intrigued by Graham and Cole, but those are 30+ year old players that even I have a hard time justifiying in FA. When you invest in an older guy you lose the opportunity to develop a young, up and coming star. And yet... I felt like this position was the most pressing issue of all we had this offseason, and I truly wanted a difference maker. In all truth, there were 3 guys who were even realistically out ther: JPP, J. Houston, and Greg Hardy. Two of them were tagged. And so we are left witih Greg Hardy. (and no, even if he signs here I won't see MJ as anything other than a stop gap because I've seen loud and clear that he simply can't produce in the way that we need a RDE to produce to help us get our D over the hump). So yeah. Greg Hardy. Basically, just one guy in FA who could realistically make a differnce and he's covered in red flags. And he remains an unknown and still a possibility, however distant. So I guess what I'm saying is, it's pretty hard to get upset about FA, and even if we don't get Hardy it's pretty upset to get upset about missing out on the only guy who was a realistic possiblity that numerous other teams were going to be interested in as well. So, all that leaves us with is this: UNLEASH THE KRACKEN!!! (or, you know, let's draft Bud Dupree). I pretty much agree with all of this. I'm OK with Rey (but not his cap hit) and Hawk, who is likely a backup. Did not exactly care for the Boling signing, because I also thought you could get a cheap replacement in the draft. The absolute major failure is the defensive line. Anyone (DT or DE) that could have been a great upgrade was completely ignored while other teams signed them away. Its the defensive difference makers that they let go to other teams that totally miff me. I dont care if they would have to overpay a bit. I would rather overpay and be that much closer to winning a playoff game, than tryign to get them on a budget, not getting them, and then not making the playoffs or being a total playoff dud. I'm also tired of them projecting all the damn money into the future for future signings. At this point, they should have spend the money to go for it. Just fucking go for it. Try to win it all. If they get to the AFC Championship and lose, or the Superbowl and the next year lose some big players, well fuck it. I would be elated we even made it that far. I would gladly trade a Superbowl or AFC Championship appearance for losing an AJ Green or Whitworth or whoever. This team has had zero postseason success in 25 years. Zero. I just cannot believe they dont feel the urgency at all. Literally, at all. Barring a miracle of them going after WIlfork and Hardy, this FA is a failure. There are no significant upgrades left to sign. Status Quo 2015 five-peat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VonBlade Posted March 15, 2015 Report Share Posted March 15, 2015 I didn't realise that merely wanting a free agent made them magically agree to whatever terms you offered. So yeah, fuck Marvin Lewis for being the only factor in whether a free agent and their agent decide to come to the Bengals or not. #NoFreeWill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SocalBengalEd Posted March 15, 2015 Report Share Posted March 15, 2015 As I sip on my glass I concur. Speaking of which, curious what everyone's go to Bourbon's are. I can talk forever about Scotch and Irish and Rye, but I'm a Kentucky boy so I was weaned on Bourbon. I'm a big Buffalo Trace Distillery guy: My bottom shelf go to is buffalo trace. My nice occasion is any of their Van Winkle line. Love the crazy expensive 18 year stuff though I'm just as happy with the standard 12. And then there's the old George T Stagg. My fav is McCallan 18. I drink it straight and without any rocks or ice. Balvenie Caribbean Cask 14 is another really good and for half the cost. I'm more of a scotch guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Elflocko| Posted March 15, 2015 Report Share Posted March 15, 2015 My fav is McCallan 18. I drink it straight and without any rocks or ice. Balvenie Caribbean Cask 14 is another really good and for half the cost. I'm more of a scotch guy. Jameson for me... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JC Posted March 15, 2015 Report Share Posted March 15, 2015 Speaking of Jameson and Tuesday. Dayton is going to be a shit show. NCAA basketball tournament first round and St. Patricks Day...and I am going to be sitting a cubicle within 10 minutes of all of it. :suicide: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparky151 Posted March 15, 2015 Report Share Posted March 15, 2015 I pretty much agree with all of this. I'm OK with Rey (but not his cap hit) and Hawk, who is likely a backup. Did not exactly care for the Boling signing, because I also thought you could get a cheap replacement in the draft. The absolute major failure is the defensive line. Anyone (DT or DE) that could have been a great upgrade was completely ignored while other teams signed them away. Its the defensive difference makers that they let go to other teams that totally miff me. I dont care if they would have to overpay a bit. I would rather overpay and be that much closer to winning a playoff game, than tryign to get them on a budget, not getting them, and then not making the playoffs or being a total playoff dud. I'm also tired of them projecting all the damn money into the future for future signings. At this point, they should have spend the money to go for it. Just fucking go for it. Try to win it all. If they get to the AFC Championship and lose, or the Superbowl and the next year lose some big players, well fuck it. I would be elated we even made it that far. I would gladly trade a Superbowl or AFC Championship appearance for losing an AJ Green or Whitworth or whoever. This team has had zero postseason success in 25 years. Zero. I just cannot believe they dont feel the urgency at all. Literally, at all. Barring a miracle of them going after WIlfork and Hardy, this FA is a failure. There are no significant upgrades left to sign. Status Quo 2015 five-peat. It's especially aggravating when Knighton and Fairley sign cheap deals. Hardy is being slammed excessively in the press so his price is probably reasonable, maybe only 8-9 mil per year on a long term deal with protections for the team. Wilfork probably won't cost as much as he was scheduled to make on the deal NE cut him from. So he's certainly affordable for the Bengals too. What's really annoying is that the team could probably have signed Hardy, Knighton, and used an early pick on a LB and still not dipped into the starting cap space. Let Maualuga go, ask Leon for a 50% paycut, release Geathers and Peko, and we've upgraded 3 positions at no cap cost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeatPurdue Posted March 15, 2015 Report Share Posted March 15, 2015 As I sip on my glass I concur. Speaking of which, curious what everyone's go to Bourbon's are. I can talk forever about Scotch and Irish and Rye, but I'm a Kentucky boy so I was weaned on Bourbon. I'm a big Buffalo Trace Distillery guy: My bottom shelf go to is buffalo trace. My nice occasion is any of their Van Winkle line. Love the crazy expensive 18 year stuff though I'm just as happy with the standard 12. And then there's the old George T Stagg. W.L. Weller is the best value bourbon out there. Also love the Four Roses Single Barrel. Another great value. If I'm going to spend over $40 for a bottle Im going with Noah's Mill or Blanton's. Bourbon is the best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alleycat Posted March 15, 2015 Report Share Posted March 15, 2015 Yes, I like WL Weller. Another Buffalo Trace brand. I'll be needing lots of it today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatternMaster Posted March 15, 2015 Report Share Posted March 15, 2015 No status quo my ass. The end. You realize that Mike Brown is GM and ultimately has the final say in who gets signed and who doesn't. The coaches and scouts can recommend players to Brown but he's the one signing the checks and deciding who they bring in and who they don't when it comes to FA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-Dub Posted March 15, 2015 Report Share Posted March 15, 2015 You realize that Mike Brown is GM and ultimately has the final say in who gets signed and who doesn't. The coaches and scouts can recommend players to Brown but he's the one signing the checks and deciding who they bring in and who they don't when it comes to FA. & I'm pretty well convinced that, in his mind, this is a charitable foundation that sometimes holds football games on the weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|High School Harry| Posted March 15, 2015 Report Share Posted March 15, 2015 "All my men drink Kool Aid or they drink nothing at all" Katie Brown Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-Dub Posted March 15, 2015 Report Share Posted March 15, 2015 bookmarking this thread for new bourbon to try Of the low-end-of-decent Ive found I like Knob Creek, kinda smokier & less sweet than most others in that class. Tried Hayden recently and thought it tasted sorta. light? Think I'll check out that WhistlePig or some other decent rye and see how it compares. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Elflocko| Posted March 15, 2015 Report Share Posted March 15, 2015 My fav is McCallan 18. I drink it straight and without any rocks or ice. Balvenie Caribbean Cask 14 is another really good and for half the cost. I'm more of a scotch guy. Speaking of Macallan... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|westside bengal| Posted March 15, 2015 Report Share Posted March 15, 2015 & I'm pretty well convinced that, in his mind, this is a charitable foundation that sometimes holds football games on the weekend. ....maybe more like those businesses that do the fundraising for the charities. The ones that collect $hundreds of millions$ but only give the charities 10% and keep the rest for themselves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alleycat Posted March 15, 2015 Report Share Posted March 15, 2015 bookmarking this thread for new bourbon to try Of the low-end-of-decent Ive found I like Knob Creek, kinda smokier & less sweet than most others in that class. Tried Hayden recently and thought it tasted sorta. light? Think I'll check out that WhistlePig or some other decent rye and see how it compares. WhistlePig is great in that genre. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-GoBengals- Posted March 16, 2015 Report Share Posted March 16, 2015 had MJ not been on the bengals previously.. and been tagged, people would be excited... if he was a Falcon and they tagged him then he went elsewhere had a rough year and we signed him.. people would be all "this guy is awesome, had one down year on a shit team, etc" that aside.. fairley is the only thing i feel we missed out on.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CincyInDC Posted March 16, 2015 Report Share Posted March 16, 2015 * bald-faced liar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Finklestein Posted March 16, 2015 Report Share Posted March 16, 2015 I'm a huge fan of Baker's Bourbon. I like Knob Creek too though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hooky Posted March 16, 2015 Report Share Posted March 16, 2015 I don't know what it is with my drinking B bourbons lately. Blanton's, Bird Dog, Bulleit. Bird Dog has some real nice flavored bourbons if you are into that sort of thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CincyInDC Posted March 16, 2015 Report Share Posted March 16, 2015 Some idiot friend of mine recently bought a bottle of Red Stag, and it was really, really, really awful. I have a bottle of peated Irish whisky at home, and man is it good. Connemara 12 yr mmmmmm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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