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Combine interview takeaways


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I watched all the Bengals sessions with both the national and local media. Duke Tobin, Zac Taylor, Brian Callahan, Lou Anarumo, and Frank Pollack all gave extended interviews. 

 

Much of this is opinion and required reading between the lines, but here were my big takeaways:

 

  1. The Joe Burrow deal sounds pretty close. Like maybe even finished and announced this month.
  2. Tee Higgins is not going anywhere this year. Did not get a sense there would be a ton of urgency to get an extension done this offseason, unfortunately. Maybe the tough conversations on Tee come this time next year when the Bengals potentially will be franchise-tagging him. But for 2023, having him at $4M in a prime window of contention is too valuable to trade away. Cross some of the other bridges when you have to, not now.
  3. Joe Mixon is legitimately on the chopping block. Seems they know they can’t afford to pay a non-elite RB top end money and some comments that implied Mixon is non-elite (need more explosiveness in running game, etc.). Door appears open for a restructure but not sure if pride would keep him from taking what would potentially be a big pay cut. 
  4. We can stop with the Jonah Williams to RT talk. Multiple coaches scoffed at the idea, especially Callahan. I get the sense that they think they are set (in terms of 2023 starters) at every spot but RT and Jonah is locked in as starting LT. 
  5. They like La’el Collins more than PFF and a lot of the fan base do. That may or may not matter because it does not change the reality that they can’t really know his 2023 health outlook by the time they need to get make FA and draft decisions and they can't go into the season without a strong Plan B at least.. That needs to come in FA or early in the draft. 
  6. It does not seem like they view Jackson Carman as a strong contender to start or someone they are ready to bank on despite a good game or two. Feels like he is being viewed as a swing tackle backup. 
  7. I think they really want Hayden Hurst back at a good number. A $9 or $10M per year TE is probably too much a luxury with the other big contracts coming on offense. But if it is $5 or $6M, I think they want Hurst back. 
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19 minutes ago, MichaelWeston said:

I think that they won't sign Burrow until after the league year because it pushes some money into 2023 league year

That seems right. I put the enitre Dehner article on Burrow based on Tobin-speak in the Burrow contract thread and that was one of my takeaways from Tobin's quotes. 

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3 hours ago, membengal said:

And one more - punter is wide open. It isn’t Chrisman’s job to lose - it’s not even his job. 

 

Good call. The one interview I didn't watch was Simmons but I saw his quote about hang time and it did seem like a pretty clear indication that Chrisman is not the guy. 

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A. I think its crucial to bring back Bell on a team friendly deal, but Bates is 100% gone (only so many pieces of the pie). I would also tell Mixon he can restructure at a 50% pay cut, or cut him and draft his replacement. 

 

B. Higgins will not be going anywhere as long as Mike Brown is around, as he has stated that he wants the big 3 of Burrow, Chase, and Higgins to stay together. In this case, having an old school owner who will interfere when needed is actually a plus. I am sure he's instructed Katie to do what is needed to make this happen (and afterall, it's his team and money, so ...). Plus, he's always been an offensive type of guy - which I like, as that is the trend in the league at large. Give me an explosive offense any day, over a dominant defense in today's NFL. If you can't score more than 30 points when needed, you have no shot at the Lombardi now.  

 

C. This team is in very good shape for the long term. The combo of Duke and Zac are pure symbiosis, and will make the Bengals contenders for the next decade. Believe me, the rest of the league resents the position the Bengals are in, as they would be the team you pick on Madden Franchise mode when having to play out the next 10 seasons.

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8 hours ago, happyrid said:

We can stop with the Jonah Williams to RT talk. Multiple coaches scoffed at the idea, especially Callahan. I get the sense that they think they are set (in terms of 2023 starters) at every spot but RT and Jonah is locked in as starting LT. 

 

This bothers me.  Not the RT move so much - if he can't get any push at LT there's no point moving him - but that they seem to think he's an NFL starting LT.  He's just not been very good, even when healthy, which he often isn't.   I understand that replacing him isn't easy, or maybe even possible right now, but that doesn't make him good.

 

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They like La’el Collins more than PFF and a lot of the fan base do

 

 

PFF being a joke aside, I can't imagine why.  He came in, talked all sorts of shit, then has been hurt from day one, played like ass, then went to IR.  What's to like? Does he bring cookies from home?

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