WhoDeyRevolution

Another Interpretation

When you find yourself refreshing Joe Reedy's tweets and ProFootballTalk every 15 minutes for a few days, it's safe to say you might be losing the forest for the trees.  I never before so much as waded into the pool of manic free agency update obsession, but I dove in head first this year.

I am wondering if that made my judgment worse.

We signed Antonio Bryant.  At first a supporter of making a big run at Marshall, I talked myself into Bryant being a better football and business decision over the course of my posts.

But as with all large purchases, sometimes you can't tell how you really feel until you finally buy it and bring it home.  And the more I reflect, the less good I feel about it. 

But my issue is not necessarily with Bryant, who will hopefully be a fine player and solid complement to Chad, it is more with what it says about the Brown Family.  I credited them yesterday with landing the top UFA out there.  But really, why did they deserve much credit when:

1. They put themselves in the position of needing to take expensive chances on free agent receivers in the first place by letting TJ go and squandering many draft picks on WRs who so far have not produced
2. They merely replaced the Coles contract they planned on having with a slightly more expensive contract for Bryant (front-loaded payments for Coles 4 year, $7 mil/year deal do mean the Bengals did cost themselves more than just keeping Coles without replacing him)
3. They chose to forgo the bold opportunity (albeit not without risk) to majorly upgrade the offense and secure a top wide receiving talent for a long time - probably balking at cost.  But with non-guaranteed contracts and the Bengals track record of drafting, neither the cost of the contract or the loss of a draft pick would be able to derail the franchise for any extended period of time

The Bryant deal was nice.  But unlike my initial thoughts, I don't think it signals any change in the way Mikey does things.  A run at Marshall would have.  I once wrote the Bengals basic strategy in the draft was to "dream small and give fans the middle finger", and I feel like perhaps this move represents a less egregious version of that.

In the end, Antonio Bryant plus our first round draft pick may end up exceeding in value what we might have gotten out of Marshall.  However, instead of making the boldest move possible, our management just made a decently savvy swap of Coles for Bryant.  I guess it's nice to see they do make some savvy moves these days, instead of approximately zero savvy moves from 1991-2002, but this signing does not represent a meaningful departure from the past.

Imagine You Are the Bengals GM (Hahahahaha). What Do You Do?

Here's the situation.  The situation is this. (where is that from?  I can't remember)

TO v Marshall v Bryant

Let's look at each.  I have my own, whiskey-soaked, unprofessional thoughts on each so I'll try to add some more respectable takes from others where I can.  Sadly though, it appears sources like ESPN Insider's Scouts Inc haven't been updated and would be backward looking evaluations, not forward looking, and hence not that useful.  Here goes:

If There Is One Person That Is Going To Hell Quicker Than MikeyBoy, It's Drew Rosenhaus.

The Bengals have Antonio Bryant and TO visiting today. And as much as I hate Mike Brown for all his penny pinching and stubborn refusal to adjust to the modern era of pro football, I kind of like what he's doing with these two players for the sheer twisted head to head mentality it might bring out. I'm not saying that Mike's going to toss a sharpened stick down between them or anything, but maybe he'll be able to drive both their prices down with them knowing the Bengals have other options (Many options, considering Mike Brown always reserves the right to flip the negotiating table over and tell everyone to go fuck themselves.) Of course, now that I've given MikeyBoy a little props he'll probably turn around and offer David Boston a giant 1 year deal out of nowhere. 

More Free Agency Odds & Ends

One thing I foolishly did not factor into my free agent thinking was the fact that Baltimore needs receivers more desperately than we do. They were probably one receiver away last year from being a much more complete team.  In fact, they always have had bad receivers inexplicably.  Just like the Eagles.  Must be a mid-atlantic thing.

When a team in your division snags a guy at a position of need from you, it's not just a +1 for them, it's also a -1 for you.  Boldin to the Ravens is bad news.  I rely on Football Outsiders to do a lot of my thinking for me, since they are better at it (and they watch every game and chart every damn play). They repeatedly note that a) Flacco is better than people realize and b) they have one of if not the worst receiving core in the league.  They particularly liked to joke that Mark Clayton is literally the worst starting receiver in the entire NFL.

Let's just hope their defense is getting old at a such a rapid pace the rise of their offense won't matter.

So Boldin is out.  Walter is too.  At $4 million a year, maybe it's a little high.  But without guaranteed contracts, certainly affordable to any franchise.

That leaves Marshall, Owens, Bryant, Mason & Breaston as the realistic options.  Apparently Marshall and Seattle are getting hot and heavy.  And, wouldn't you know it, the TO to the Bengals rumors just keep on going.

Even Carson spoke about it, and in a positive way.  Saying:

If any qb can deal with extravagant wrs, it's me.

Fair enough but I'd prefer that not to be his lasting legacy.

The only thing I like about TO is that he's a 1 year type of guy and the 2011 season looks to be in jeopardy anyway.  Otherwise, I think his risk/reward no longer favors him, even in a 1 year hired gun role, which is best for him.

What actually encouraged me was this quote:

He also said he had reached out to another free agent wide receiver, Antonio Bryant, and hopes the Bengals will make him an offer.

I just hate it that our franchise guy has to hope the Bengals do something when it should be an obvious priority to talk to Bryant.

I haven't talked TEs much even though they can contribute as much to a passing game.  I ignore it mostly because a)there aren't as many big names out there and b)the Bengals historically don't know how to incorporate a pass catching TE anyway.  We've had the same coordinator for 10 years now (job security's good when the boss likes you) so I don't anticipate that to change.  But it appears we are looking at Chris Baker.  That's fine.  Especially if it means we won't spend a valuable first or second rounder on another TE that ends up being Chase Coffman 2.0.

I repeat, you should hope we sign a TE just so it lessens the chance Mikey impulsively grabs one with a high pick.

Last, we brought in Chester Pitts for a workout or something.  The interwebs inform me that he appears to have started virtually his entire career for the Texans.  I hear he is okay.  But I remember the Texans notoriously having one of the worst lines basically their entire existence.  And he's been there for all of it.  So just cause Chester started there doesn't make him good.

Regardless, Bobby won't be at RG forever and our best LG is our LT.  So adding a guard to the mix shouldn't create a problem.  Also, there's depth.  A suspiciously absent ingredient for most of Mikey's tenure.

So that's as current a state of free agency as you'll get here at WDR.  Normally we don't do stuff like this as much.  Again, I'm about as far away as you can get from a talent evaluator, but I think I can talk basic strategy.  And the off season is the front office's time to pursue their strategy for building a better team.  Think of the Bengals moves in the off season is a barometer for exactly what goes on in the front office.  It matters.  And more often than not, it's embarrassing.

Let The Lack Of Signings Begin.

There are a number of things that have been a constant during the Mike Brown Era. Losing. Frugality. Fan Disrespect. Going along with those general issues, Mikey Boy does not sign top flight free agent talent. I think there a couple reasons for this. His nonexistent scouting department doesn't produce a good evaluation of newly free players from around the league. Maybe it's because he despises paying good players top dollar when he can just draft 10 guys and then pay them very little until they possibly become good a couple years down the road. At which point he cuts half of them loose because they ask for a huge pay raise. And also, let's not forget that players are aware of Brown's shortcomings and even if he did offer them fair market value, they probably say no thanks because they don't want to become embroiled in Mikey's world of cost cutting and defeatism. So with all that, I think we all know Mikey Boy isn't going to explode onto the scene Friday with a big name signing. We can hope for it, staying up late at night fantasizing about Brandon Marshall wearing the stripes, but we all know deep down that the Matt Jones signing will be the only one at WR.

Of course, there is one WR out there that if Mikey really wanted to drive me off the cliff of insanity, he would give a deal to. Terrell "sunshine on my goddamn shoulders" Owens. Please don't sign him. He's really old and not nearly as good as he used to be. I'd much rather have no new receivers than that receiver.

Lance McAlister: Roy Williams in Fold

1530 Homer's Lance McAlister is reporting that free agent safety Roy Williams has signed with the Bengals. 

Known for his big hits and horrible pass coverage, Williams will be in the mix at safety along with Marvin White, Chinny Ndukwe, Kyries Hebert, Chris Crocker, Corey Lynch, and Tom Nelson (free agent rookie). 

Williams is regarded as a great presence in the locker room, and that is something the Bengals cannot get enough of these days.

Check out some of his greatest hits:

Bengals to Bring Back Another Player Nobody Else Wanted

Pro Football Talk brings to our attention that Mike Brown's Bengals are reportedly bringing back former fullback Jeremi Johnson.  What the PFT post correctly tells us is that Johnson appeared in 50 games for us, was injured and then released in November.  What the PFT post doesn't tell us is that Johnson was unable to suit up for the Bengals last year after someone ate him and showed up to training camp claiming to play fullback for the Bengals. 

On one hand, the Bengals have a huge need at fullback and might as well bring him back and see if he can return to be what many thought was a productive fullback.  The Bengals certainly had at least one season of an effective running game when he was lead blocking.  Maybe he actually got back in shape.  On the other hand, it is always alarming to see the Bengals bring in another player that no other team picked up.  Think over the years how many players we've had (with significant playing time) that were released or not re-signed that no other team was interested in.  Listed below are such players.  Feel free to add to the list in the comments.

Caleb Miller, Chris Henry, Tab Perry, Eric Ghiaciuc, Ron Dugans, Dede Dorsey, Anthony Schlegel, Kim Herring, Dexter Jackson, Ifeanyi Ohalete....There must be more...

An even more alarming thought: How many more of these guys are on our team?

Tank in the Fold

Veteran defensive tackle Tank Johnson signed with the Bengals late Tuesday, joining a rotation that includes Pat Sims, Jason Shirley, Domata Peko, and Orien Harris.

At this point, assuming the Bengals got him on the cheap, what the hell could it hurt?  The Bengals are already a joke around the league.   They desperately needed to address their anemic defensive line, and at least this is something.  The guy is only 27, and he has kept his nose clean since going over to Dallas in 2007.  Plus, he will be much more effective in a 4-3 defense vs. the 3-4 he played in Dallas.

Now for the bad (or as Mike Brown would put it, his 'redeeming' qualities).  The guy was arrested for illegal gun possession on more than one occasion.  One time, they found enough guns in his home to successfully invade Afghanistan.  He was suspended in 2007 for repeatedly violating the NFL's personal conduct policy.

The final straw for the Bears was his arrest for suspected DUI in Arizona. 

However, Mike Zimmer seemed satisfied that Johnson's troubled days are behind him:

"I talked to a lot of football people down there, especially players," said Zimmer, who coordinated the Dallas defense for seven years before moving to Atlanta in 2007. "I asked if he was a good guy and if he was a guy they wanted as a teammate and they said they would and that he was a hard worker. And he wasn't in trouble for his two seasons down there."

I'll let Johnson's agent, Jerroid Colton, have the last word:

"I know the Bengals are being very careful with the players they're bringing in because of some of the things that have happened."

I don't even have a joke here. 

A Whole Lotta Beef

Multiple news agencies (including our friends at profootballtalk.com) have reported that Alabama OT Andre Smith was in town for a visit yesterday with Bengals brass.  The Frisch's in Bellevue was briefly sold out of all Big Boy Platters, but order was restored once Smith boarded the plane back to Alabama.  After watching how this kid prepared for the two biggest job interviews of his life, let's just say I hope this is a smokescreen.  Or someone above the Bengals is stupid enough to take him.  But, with little comments like this from Baghdad Hob, you never know:

Baltimore general manager Ozzie Newsome's hearty endorsement is part of Smith's climb back into the top 10 after a series postseason decisions dropped his stock briefly.

Briefly?  His stock dropped faster than Enron in 2001.  Seriously, don't insult our intelligence.

In addition, the Dallas Morning News is reporting that free agent DT Tank Johnson visited the Bengals.  Baghdad Hob says that Johnson is intrigued by the situation in Cincinnati.  I have to say I'd also like to see what a rotation of Pat Sims and Tank Johnson would look like, but I'd also like to see what some half decent pass rushers would look like as well.  As far as a redeemer angle, this would be right up Mike Brown's alley. 

Roy Williams To Visit Bengals

Late breaking news out of Dallas, where All-Pro safety Roy Williams is scheduled to visit the Bengals later this week.  Williams went to his first four pro bowls (out of five) under Bengals defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer when the two were in Dallas. 

Stay tuned.