Bengals Mangement Reaffirms Need for Who Dey Revolution

I am certainly not a football scout, so I will not cram the intertubes with any of my "expert analysis" on the future success of the Bengals draft picks.  Keith Rivers and Jerome Simpson might make the next 15 Pro Bowls in a row or they may be taking a number at the unemployment office behind Chris Henry in a few years.  I'll let others entertain these arguments.

What was made perfectly clear at the draft, however, is that nothing has changed - Bengals management is still a complete joke.  The team was totally outmaneuvered in the first round, made a huge reach in the 2nd, drafted guys late with huge red flags and a couple guys late with local ties.  This has been the Bengals draft day approach for years - why did I think that something would be different this time around?

Round 1 - Keith Rivers, LB, USC

Whether or not they played their hand before the draft, anyone with any football knowledge knew that our top 2 targets in Round 1 were Sedrick Ellis or Derrick Harvey.  Well, the Saints and Jags knew it too - and traded up in front of the Bengals to snag them. 

As Comrade Buck pointed out, why was Mike Brown willing to trade a 3rd and 5th rounder for Shaun Rogers but not trade a 3rd rounder for Sedrick Ellis?  (The Saints traded their 10th overall and 3rd round pick to the Patriots for their 7th overall AND a 5th rounder).  Did Brown even try and trade up to ensure that they could take Ellis? Reports out of New Orleans show that the Saints called every team ahead of them in the draft to try and trade up - so the Bengals management had to know the Saints were working deals to jump ahead of them to take Ellis.  And what did Mike Brown do?  NOTHING. 

As I said before, Sedrick Ellis could be the reincarnation of Big Daddy and Keith Rivers could become the reincarnation of Dick Butkis - that is not the point.  The point is that the Bengals identified Sedrick Ellis and Derrick Harvey as their top targets and sat around and let other teams trade ahead and take their picks.

(more after the jump)

Round 2 - Jerome Simpson, WR, Coastal Carolina

Even with Chad Johnson on the roster, the Bengals have a comically small number of WRs on the team.  They needed to take a WR.  But why take a guy who would have clearly been available in Round 3, or later (Simpson was not projected to be taken on some draft boards till the 6th round)?  Perhaps the Bengals "scouts" saw something in Simpson that 31 other teams missed?  Do you really trust the decision-making and analysis of the Bengals over the front offices of the rest of the league?

Either way, the Bengals did nothing in the first 2 rounds to improve their most glaring weakness in the pass rush.

Round 3 - Pat Sims, DT, Auburn; Andre Caldwell, WR, Florida

Best two picks of the draft for Mike Brown and Co.  Finally added to the defensive line with Sims and got a WR/KR with some big game experience in Caldwell.  Very suspicious taking 2 WRs in the first 3 rounds with all the problems on the other side of the ball, however. 

Round 4: Anthony Collins, T, Kansas

No issues here - teams should always be looking to shore up the offensive line in the draft, espically with aging Willie and grumbling Levi.

Round 5: Jason Shirley, DT, Fresno State

Classic Mike Brown pick here.  Serious character/off the field issues for this guy which caused him to fall to the 5th round (and off some teams draft boards).  Brown clearly forced the team's hand on this pick and "saw value" in Shirley (meaning he could save $ on another Bengals project).  Termain Mack, Chris Henry, Frostee Rucker, AJ Nicholson - meet Jason Shirley.

Rounds 6 and 7: Corey Lynch, CB, Appalachian State; Matthew Sherry, TE, Villinova; Angelo Craig, DE, UC; Mario Urrita, WR, Louisville.

Does another WR signal that Chad's days in Cincy are numbered?  With 3 WRs taken in the draft, let's hope so.  Would Mike Brown draft 3 WRs to force Chad's hand to show him that he is willing to sit him all season? 

Overall: We were totally outmaneuvered in Round 1, made a HUGE reach in Round 2 when we should have focused on defense and continued in the proud tradition of drafting guys with huge red flags. Made some savvy moves in Round 3 waiting for Sims to fall and grabbing Caldwell to return kicks. 

In summary, it is clear that Mike Brown and Bengals management do not read WDR. 

Comments

[Ben]

Hyperbole much? This team isn't poised for a playoff run this year. Why trade to get Ellis when they have so many needs? Rivers + Sims > Ellis. It's going to take two years to make over the roster. This is a solid if unspectacular start.

[Andrew Simon]

Ben - I never judged the ability of Ellis over Rivers or Sims. My point is that the Bengals management was totally outmaneuvered by other teams. They could have offered their 9th overall and the second 3rd rounder to the Pats (a better deal than the Saints gave them), gotten Ellis in the 1st and still gotten Sims in the 3rd.

Regarding your assertion that this isn't a playoff team this year? This is exactly the kind of sentiment that WDR is trying to change. As Bengals fans, we need to demand playoffs, at a minimum, EVERY YEAR. Marvin Lewis has had enough years to build a team. If the team was committed to winning a Super Bowl at all costs, I imagine we would have been much more aggressive on draft. Instead, we settle for Ellis, reach for Jerome Simpson and hope that the team will someday be competitive.

[Alex Simon]

I feel bad about this draft, alot of my friends consider this a very good draft and hope to have a winning season for this year. mike brown (not capitalized on purpose) has a way of leaving a sliver of hope in everything so bengals fans hang on just a bit so we can be crushed by the bourgeois.

[Winn Parry]

The Bengals fan in me wants to be super pumped about this draft and the upcoming season. But the WDR contributor in me is saying that, in the words of Broman from the Fifth Flo', we got took. The same thing happens every year. A team with aggressive ownership (2 teams this year) make a move to jump in front of the Bengals, and take our coveted prospects. All the while Mike Brown sits back, retains all 10 draft picks (there is no way all ten people make the team) and does nothing.