Forget about Halloween reruns. Ignore all those reviews for Paranormal Activity. Try to suppress the image of a 205 pound chick in a size 6 schoolgirl outfit (seriously whore - it's not an excuse!).
No, no, and no. That's not even close as terrifying as this article from SI.com. If you're a fan of the NFL Draft and/or college football, it's a must read. If not, a brief summary, in my own words:
The company that controls the game film for 8 of the 11 major college football conferences, XOS, has always given the NFL access to game film for free. In return, the NFL has ran the Junior Advisory Committee, which advises underclassmen their draft status should they declare. Now they, or more accurately, the conferences, want the NFL to pay up for access to this film. To the tune of $20 or $30 million. Quite obviously, the NFL has balked at that asking price.
Now, if you're thinking that this isn't a problem just yet, you'd be wrong. According to the article, tape typically starts arriving at NFL offices around the league around Week 2 of the regular season. However, with this dispute, tape has yet to arrive, nor will it until things have been worked out. Also, colleges are denying NFL scouts on-site access to film, a courtesy extended in the past.
Well then. That sounds like a problem, even for a team with a large scouting staff. With no game tape, a scout would have to rely on television replays (almost impossible to judge everyone on the field) and traditional scouting (unreliable as you only get one look in real-time).
For a team like the Bengals, with next to nothing in terms of a scouting staff, any sort of delay in the process could be deadly. They're already light years behind in preparation for the 2010 Draft.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not blaming the Bengals for the situation. The conferences aren't asking for the money from the teams individually, they're asking for it from the league as a whole. I don't blame the NFL for rejecting their offer outright.
However, this situation simply underscores the value of a large, competent scouting department. If one of your scouts is sick or has to take some leave, you can cover it. If you don't have access to game film, your scouts can overlap a bit and form a general consensus. Hard to get a reliable, general consensus with one or two guys out there scouting. And think how many guys could slip through the cracks. Let's just hope this gets fixed.
Finally, check out this killer quote:
"And if you don't have [the video], it becomes very problematic for some teams to scout. If you have a general manager who doesn't travel to scout, he can't see the players because he doesn't have the [video].''
This will really simplify things for Mike Brown. He can just sort the list of prospects alphabetically and start picking from the beginning.
Posted by: PutYourYellowOnBrown | October 28, 2009 at 10:44 AM
Well, one side of the argument could be that our (lack of a ) soucting department will now be at the same level of everyone else. Now other teams will know what it's like going into the draft without a clue as to who they should pick beyond the first 2 rounds.
Posted by: The Sontag | October 28, 2009 at 12:11 PM
Ahhh, the NCAA and its big time, D-I member institutions....Ruthless, greedy, and above all else, exploitative.
Typically they prey on the small and weak (student-athletes, fans, their fellow non-BCS/DI schools) but now they're steppin' up to play with the big boys.
Posted by: Karl | October 28, 2009 at 12:58 PM
The Sontag -
I understand your side of the argument, but this situation actually hurts the Bengals more than other teams with larger scouting staffs. A team like the redskins (they are horrible i must say) still have a scouting staff 4 times the size of the Bengals. Their scouts during the regular season are capable of attending games throughout the country, are staff a mere 3-4 guys dont have the ability to cover as much ground as a larger scouting staff. Mike Brown used these videos to help scout and now he no longer can. The teams with larger staffs will work their way around this, the Bengals cant unless they higher more scouts. Simple as that....
Posted by: The Devils advocate | October 28, 2009 at 02:30 PM
I posted this morning along the same lines as The Devils advocate, but for some reason my last two posts haven't shown up in spite of saying they were posted.
Basically, I'm of the optimistic variety - without his default line of "we have the same resources available (meaning the game film) as the rest of the league", he'll have no excuse to hide behind if the fans make it known that continued underperformance in the draft, DIRECTLY CORRELATING TO A LACK OF SCOUTING DEPARTMENT, will not be tolerated. If we are able to apply enough pressure, this could be the straw that breaks the camel's back (or opens the miser's wallet, as the case may be).
Realistically, do I think anything will change? No, I'm more than certain Mikey will come up with a new line of BS, but this is at least a ray of hope.
Posted by: Wyatt | October 28, 2009 at 02:47 PM
A) the two sides will work this out, eventually, and
B) if the Bengals small scouting staff can't cover as much ground as a larger one, will someone please explain to me why one of them attended a Coastal Carolina game to begin with?
Posted by: Leo deTrotskyo | October 28, 2009 at 03:13 PM
Cincinnati Bengals receivers coach Mike Sheppard attended Simpson's "workout day". Bratkowski "watched tape." I am not sure any Bengals scouts actually went to a regular Coastal Carolina game.
Clearly they screwed up big time.
Of the draft day busts in the Marvin Lewis era Simpson is currently riding number 1, and Keiwan Ratliff is number 2. Although you could make a case for Odell Thurman being the biggest bust since he seemed like he could play well, but they should have stayed away because of the criminality factor.
I suppose if Simpson ever gets on the field and catches a couple of TDs he can redeem himself since Keiwan set the bar at "suck".
Posted by: FeedMikeBrownToAquaBengal | October 28, 2009 at 03:26 PM
@Leo - the Bengals actually do have one guy who covers the southeast. One of the Tobins. Amazing right?
Of course, the southeast probably has the most territory and highest concentration of talent of any region so having only one guy is a travesty.
Also, that one guy is focusing on Coastal Carolina, which speaks poorly to his ability to prioritize.
Posted by: Sleeping With Bieniemy | October 28, 2009 at 03:46 PM
@Karl, yea and the same could be said for the NFL with their Sunday Ticket prices, ruthless and greedy, and preying on the weak NFL fans. The NFL is just as greedy as the colleges are. They have a product and they want to paid for their services. You know, in the same manner the Bengals fans want MFB to provide a competitive product every year and receiving Free Money by not doing it and doing his business in a rent free facility.
If this does not get cleared up, MFB better be hiring more scouts. @FeedMikeBrown, there are plenty of more BUSTS we all can name, don't forget Hooter's Boy Kenny Irons, AJ Nicholson, and the best damn Center in the NFL GuyCheck.
Posted by: TigerJ@w | October 28, 2009 at 07:04 PM
SWB, my point exactly. If there is only one scout for the entire southeast, you'd think he would have his hands full with the SEC and ACC. Sure, there are lots players from small schools who have made it big in the NFL, but you'd think a limited staff would use the BCS conferences as an initial filter.
Posted by: Leo deTrotskyo | October 28, 2009 at 07:05 PM
@Tiger: Yeah, when I look through lists of previous Bengals draft picks I have to have a quart of tequila handy.
Posted by: FeedMikeBrownToAquaBengal | October 28, 2009 at 07:06 PM
@FMBTAB - I see we need the same therapy. It's amazing how many aren't with us. But there's no need for change, right?
Posted by: concretefish | October 28, 2009 at 09:33 PM
@ The Devils Advocate
Oh, i agree it's not a good thing that we have less time/resources for our already borderline embarrassing scouting (how many people is required to be in a group before it can be called a department?) department, but just wanted to pose that side as well. Either way, we're going to be like a dislexic kid at a spelling bee at the draft.
Posted by: The Sontag | October 29, 2009 at 11:55 AM
KA-BOOM!
That's the sound of another Draft full of busts. Simpson seems like the biggest of all time just because he's so new. But let's not forget that Mike Brown was in charge during the days of...hmm...Akili Smith! Dan Wilkinson! Ka-gina Carter! Reinard Wilson! Peter Warrick! So many more. And I'll bet we have most of the same scouting department from those days, too (THAT would be a sweet article--find out if we haven't changed our scouts)!
There has probably not been a team with more busts in Pro Footbal history (although the Raiders are making a sweet run at it right now). That's the whole point of this site--sure, we're 5-2 and will probably make the playoffs this year. But it won't last because a whole new wave of Jerome Simpsons is coming right around the corner.
Posted by: SM | October 29, 2009 at 01:03 PM
Well all of this boils down to the rank incompetence of Roger Goodell (Jane Skinner's husband). He doesn't understand the purpose of what the NFL's about saying: that ...it is about bringing people together...' No it's not Barney Rubble (yes, that's exactly who Goodell reminds me of), what the NFL is all about it being the supreme gathering institution to play the game of American Football and to do the best to provide such an institution with the best tools available to continue with that tradition and indeed to grow this institution. You, Barney, seem to think it is about giving JHO -- uhm, JLo and Ferguson Jenkins (aka Fergie) a minority stake in a piss poor team in Miami. Interesting, Mr, Rubble, Velly intalesting!
Posted by: WCH | October 29, 2009 at 01:25 PM
Did Tobin think Andre Caldwell was cute? That was a decent SEC pickup.
Posted by: Steve | October 30, 2009 at 07:32 AM
Yeah, isn't it amazing how the fifth round WR (I think that's where Bubba Caldwell was picked, right? Or was it fourth?) was more polished and NFL-ready than the second round WR?
Posted by: Wyatt | October 30, 2009 at 08:35 AM
Don't believe - know - if you want your prissy arguments to be taken seriously. Before being poopy-pants about all the draft picks, why don't you do some comparisons and see what percentage of draft picks stay on teams after 3-5-7-or-10 years. Compare that with 1st round/1st day picks. Take the time and do the comparisons if you want to make a point. It's easy to remember players you feel like you knew better not to take, or to wait for an injury and cry bust. See what the league trends are and then make a case. I've made the point on here before that there are several x-bengals players from the marvin lewis era that have moved on to play for play-off teams or ones that are still playing well but just signed for a lot of money on shitty teams (and that includes keiwan who plays for you know who). my personal view is that the draft is the biggest goddamn crapshoot - actually worse odds than a crapshoot - especially when drafting high and early, which unfortunately, the bengals do a lot of. we've done well, as a lot of teams do (and as hobson most recently pointed out), in the later rounds. my biggest gripe with mike brown on draft day is his incompetence when it comes to moving down and collecting more of those mid-round picks.
Posted by: votasi | October 30, 2009 at 12:53 PM