Jump to content

2020 and beyond


Recommended Posts

This thread is about 2020 and beyond. There is always one guy who says "why are we talking about 2020 and beyond?" There are hundreds of other threads just ignore it. It's in the damn title. 

 

Back to the topic. 

 

As I dig deeper into the roster I am actually excited about each move. Looking at the roster just through the lens of the future, were are in a very good place. 

 

QB Dalton 21 Finley 23 Dolegala 22  

 

 

Dalton plays well or he doesn't. If he does well in the system that's fantastic. If he does poorly he costs us nothing to cut him, if we can't trade him, and we have 2 QBs who looked every bit the part at times during the preseason. Finley was looked at by some as the best Rookie QB. Dolegala forced himself on the roster by showing up every time he had the chance to. His story makes sense. An injury in HS threw off recruiters so he ended up at a second level school where he dominated. 

 

RB Mixon 21 Williams 23 Perine 21 Anderson 23 Ellis 22

 

There will be big questions around paying Mixon next year. The cupboard behind him shouldn't be close to bare. Anderson's injury is frustrating but his future matters more. 

 

WR Willis 22 Tate 21 Bohringer 21
WR Ross 22 Morgan 22  
WR Boyd 24 Erickson 21

 

 

I doubt Green is going anywhere. He will be Franchised or otherwise re-signed if he can get past his injury. The team should be loaded around him. 

 

TE Uzomah 22 Sample 23 Carter 20 Franks 20

Schrek 21

 

A spot that will be solid without a star. The Rams haven't had a special guy. I think they can make due with this group and possibly Eifert again. 

 

LT Williams 24 Glenn 21 Miller
LG Jordan 23 Sutherland 22  
C Price 23    
RG Miller 22    
RT Hart 22 Dugas 22  

 

This is where it gets interesting. The way things are we might have landed our starters at LG and LT for the next 4-10 years in this draft. That's huge. I don't think people are excited enough about that. Price may have been beaten out but he will still start 5-8 games so I think we are set from C-LT going forward no matter if Hopkins is back. It hasn't been lost on me that some rookies have called Bobby Hart a genius on the line. I think all of the pieces are here for this line to be very good, just not right away and maybe not even this year. FWIW I would overpay Glenn to be a backup at LT, RT and LG. Their are so few people who can play the position in the league I'd rather have two at a big cost. 

 

LE Dunlap 22 Willis 21  
LT Atkins 23 Glasgow 21  
RT Tupou 20 Wren 23  
RE Hubbard 22 Lawson 21 Brown 21

 

This should be the strength of the team this year and the next. With the only loss being Billings and a hopefully very capable Tupou and Wren to replace him we should be fine. Hubbard and Lawson both could be stars by then.

 

SLB    
MLB Brown 22 Dawkins 22
WLB Evans 21

Pratt 23

 

A decision will need to be made about Vigil but he should make it obvious either way. This is the clear hole next year with questions at both QB and the OL otherwise. We have a spot open now. It seems obvious that we should be seeking trade partners. First off the Seahawks just cut Autin Caltiro, the Giants cut BJ Goodson. The Hawks are loaded with 2 rookie LBs that would be upgrades here. The Bills, a common trade partner, have some depth there as well. 

 

S Williams 21 Henderson 21
S Bates 22 Wilson 20
CB Kirkpatrick 22 Phillips 22
CB Jackson 21 McRae 20
CB Webb 22 Chesley 22

 

These spots should be fine as well. There might be options available for Dennard and Fedj but I don't think this position will be a problem. 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It is a well done analysis.  The only problem is at the end of the day, we have a collection of some Ok players at best, a bunch of IFs and only a few very good players most over 30 other than Boyd, Mixon and Jackson.   

 

Defensive lineman don't age well in this league so it is wishful thinking to believe Atkins will continue to play at this level.  Lawson and Hubbard still needs to prove it without Atkins and Dunlap.  Dunlap is maybe a top 20 4-3 defensive end and is definitely showing signs of aging.  

 

WR looks set but Green being back to 2015 levels is starting to look less likely.  Still, we have good players behind him. 

 

Can Finley or Doleaga step in and play as well as Andy Dalton?  Possibly.  Dalton is probably the 20th best QB in the league so that doesn't excite me at all.  I don't want a Dalton clone. 

 

Until I see Jonah Williams play he is nothing more than a guy.  Other than Glenn, none of these guys have shown they are quality starters yet.  Again, they gotta prove it. 


The TEs seem decent but they are not going to scare anyone.  That isn't exactly essential but it would be nice to have.

 

Our linebackers are garbage.   We don't have anything approaching a top 20 4-3 linebacker.  Maybe Pratt but again this is a team of maybes. 

 

 

Honestly, if the half the players above step up and prove to be decent starters we are still talking about a 5th or 6th best team in the AFC.

 

We don't have a GUY on defense that scares anyone.  Atkins can be game planned around easily due to his position and lack of anyone at linebacker who can take advantage of it.  You don't need to throw deep to beat this team, there is no reason to.

 

Offense can be decent, maybe top 10 but the defense won't be good enough to make this team anything more than a first round WC victim. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 minutes ago, SF2 said:

It is a well done analysis.  The only problem is at the end of the day, we have a collection of Ok players at best, a bunch of IFs and a few very good players most over 30 other than Boyd, Mixon and Jackson.   

 

Defensive lineman don't age well in this league so it is wishful thinking to believe Atkins will continue to play at this level.  Lawson and Hubbard still needs to prove it without Atkins and Dunlap.  Dunlap is maybe a top 20 4-3 defensive end and is definitely showing signs of aging.  

WR looks set but Green being back to 2015 levels is starting to look less likely.  Still, we have good players behind him. 

Can Finley or Doleaga step in and play as well as Andy Dalton?  Possibly.  Dalton is probably the 20th best QB in the league so that doesn't excite me at all.  I don't want a Dalton clone. 

Until I see Jonah Williams play he is nothing more than a guy.  Other than Glenn, none of these guys have shown they are quality starters yet.  Again, they gotta prove it. 
The TEs seem decent but they are not going to scare anyone.  That isn't exactly essential but it would be nice to have.

Our linebackers are garbage.   We don't have anything approaching a top 20 4-3 linebacker.  Maybe Pratt but again this is a team of maybes. 

 

 

Honestly, if the half the players above step up and prove to be decent starters we are still talking about a 5th or 6th best team in the AFC.  We don't have a GUY on defense that scares anyone.  Atkins can be game planned around easily due to his position and lack of anyone at linebacker who can take advantage of it.  You don't need to throw deep to beat this team, there is no reason to.    Offense can be decent, maybe top 10 but the defense won't be good enough to make this team anything more than a first round WC victim. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Agree 100%. And the other thing you have to throw in is - this team will not be 'able' to re-sign all the younger players, even though many or most are average as noted above. There is simply never any urgency to improve quickly so it has to come via the draft and when the string of weak drafts comes around the team suffers for a long time. 

 

Nice work on the analysis but like everything else Bengals it relies on ifs, ands, buts, hopes, stars aligning, wishful thinking and Mikey not screwing it up further. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

All great points. 

 

I like to think about it this way. If you were going to start a team from scratch I would always start it with a LT. And if we are giving Taylor a long leash then everyone else outside of Williams is just noise. I also think that Bill Callahan will be joining the staff next year as well so that offense will be revamped a bit. 

 

Here are the people on the 53+ who signed contracts after Taylor arrived. 

 

QB Finley 23 Dolegala 22    
RB Williams 23 Perine 21 Anderson 23 Ellis 22
FB        
WR        
WR Willis 22 Cooper 20    
WR Boyd 24 Morgan 22    
TE Uzomah 22 Eifert 20 Sample 23 Franks 20
LT Williams 24 Dugas 22 Miller  
LG Jordan 23 Sutherland 22    
C Hopkins 20      
RG Miller 22      
RT Hart 22 Smith 20    
         
K        
P        
LS        
         
LE Wynn 20      
LT        
RT Wren 23      
RE Brown 21      
SLB        
MLB Brown 22      
WLB Pratt 23 Dawkins 22    
S        
S        
CB        
CB        
CB Webb 22 Chesley 22    
Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 hours ago, MichaelWeston said:

FWIW I would overpay Glenn to be a backup at LT, RT and LG. Their are so few people who can play the position in the league I'd rather have two at a big cost. 

 

 

Interesting read overall but.. why this?  He's in concussion protocol & already missing games, after not finishing last year.   We couldn't count on him when we made that desperation-move trade for him and we still can't count on him.   No idea why we keep pretending otherwise.  Even when healthy he's looked average at best.  Why not replace him with some other average OT that isn't held together with thoughts & prayers?

 

The injury excuse wears thin for me when we consistently open the season with a bunch of already-hobbled guys on our roster.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, T-Dub said:

 

Interesting read overall but.. why this?  He's in concussion protocol & already missing games, after not finishing last year.   We couldn't count on him when we made that desperation-move trade for him and we still can't count on him.   No idea why we keep pretending otherwise.  Even when healthy he's looked average at best.  Why not replace him with some other average OT that isn't held together with thoughts & prayers?

 

The injury excuse wears thin for me when we consistently open the season with a bunch of already-hobbled guys on our roster.  

Because he's under contract and the position is so ridiculously thin that we may be starting Andre Smith and Bobby Hart week one with John Jerry as the backup. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

20 hours ago, MichaelWeston said:

Because he's under contract and the position is so ridiculously thin that we may be starting Andre Smith and Bobby Hart week one with John Jerry as the backup. 

 

Um..  The position is ridiculously thin because Glenn can't play.  I don't think he's going to step in and play for himself when he's hurt, which is always. He's part of the problem, not the solution to it.   The only reason for keeping him is because it's cheaper and easier than finding someone who can actually do the job.

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, T-Dub said:

 

Um..  The position is ridiculously thin because Glenn can't play.  I don't think he's going to step in and play for himself when he's hurt, which is always. He's part of the problem, not the solution to it.   The only reason for keeping him is because it's cheaper and easier than finding someone who can actually do the job.

 

 

 

He played 76% of offensive snaps last year. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, MichaelWeston said:

There literally are no other options. He is unequivocally the best option. 

 

The best option for right now, sure..  assuming he starts practicing with the team again, anyway.  You were talking about overpaying him next year though.  If Williams wasn't out too Glenn would probably be a 2nd-string guard right now.  So again, I don't understand why you would want to "overpay" him instead of paying any other borderline-average healthy OL to replace him for 2020.   

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, T-Dub said:

 

The best option for right now, sure..  assuming he starts practicing with the team again, anyway.  You were talking about overpaying him next year though.  If Williams wasn't out too Glenn would probably be a 2nd-string guard right now.  So again, I don't understand why you would want to "overpay" him instead of paying any other borderline-average healthy OL to replace him for 2020.   

Cordy Glenn, when healthy, is one of the better Tackles in the league.  He is far better than Hart.  Pretending he is a 2nd stringer is laughable.   That guy we drafted in the first round this year, ole What's His Name,  has never played one down in an NFL practice, drill,  pre season game or live game.  Glenn is a veteran and missing a few practices will barely be noticed. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, SF2 said:

Cordy Glenn, when healthy, is one of the better Tackles in the league.

 

If only we could go back to 2014 when he was healthy!  When a player hasn't finished a season since then I think it's reasonable to assume they're not going to do it this season, either, and adjust accordingly.  Also he hasn't missed "a few practices", he missed almost the entirety of TC & preseason due to a concussion that now has him questionable for the opener.  Counting on him is wishful thinking, even more so now than when we traded for him.

 

Totally agree on Williams being an unknown, and acting like drafting him was going to solve all our OL problems overnight was stupid.  Andre Smith as our Plan B is a joke.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

32 minutes ago, T-Dub said:

 

If only we could go back to 2014 when he was healthy!  When a player hasn't finished a season since then I think it's reasonable to assume they're not going to do it this season, either, and adjust accordingly.  Also he hasn't missed "a few practices", he missed almost the entirety of TC & preseason due to a concussion that now has him questionable for the opener.  Counting on him is wishful thinking, even more so now than when we traded for him.

 

Totally agree on Williams being an unknown, and acting like drafting him was going to solve all our OL problems overnight was stupid.  Andre Smith as our Plan B is a joke.

I will take 13 games with Glenn than 16 games with anyone else on the roster at this point.  I agree there had to be a 3rd quality OT as part of the plan given all the unknowns. But bro, they are expensive and  what not!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, SF2 said:

I will take 13 games with Glenn than 16 games with anyone else on the roster at this point.  I agree there had to be a 3rd quality OT as part of the plan given all the unknowns. But bro, they are expensive and  what not!

 

The more perpetually-injured guys they keep on the roster the easier it is to blame injuries for the team going nowhere.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

23 minutes ago, T-Dub said:

 

The more perpetually-injured guys they keep on the roster the easier it is to blame injuries for the team going nowhere.

It’s  from the  “If Only” school of management.  You can get a black belt in it!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

After watching last game I am convinced this team is a contender next year. That roster is solid everywhere but OL and LB and QB can be a winner. 

 

OL is going to be drastically improved by next year.

Bill Callahan will be added to the staff. 

For the first time since Marvin was hired I see a coach dictating and out thinking the other coach. And it happened both on offense and defense. We had good leaders as coaches but we didn't do anything that was over the top. Now we have smart guys on both sides. The personnel will catch up.

We have few free agents this offseason. Green-Hopkins and Vigil. I am hopeful Hopkins signs asap. Just offer him the 3 year 16 million dollar deal we just gave John Miller. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...