Free-agency forecast
The free agency period will begin at midnight Friday morning, and, as the case has been in recent years, the Bengals are more likely to go slow at the start -- concentrating their efforts on retaining their own free agents and avoiding the first few days of action when prices are largely inflated.
There will be visits to Cincinnati by some free agents early on, but the possibility of any quick deals by the Bengals is remote.
This year, the Bengals' free agency focus is on bringing back a combination of these 2007 defensive starters: safety Madieu Williams, linebackers Landon Johnson and Dhani Jones and end Justin Smith. Jones might re-up this weekend.
Still, if the Bengals don't re-sign any of their other free agents before midnight Friday morning, the club will let the market set the price for their players. As they've done in the past, Bengals executive will ask agents to come back to them with any offers their free agents might get from another team.
The Bengals prefer to spend most of their salary cap money on players they've drafted or have had in their system.
Toward that end of teams looking to retain their top talent, 12 clubs, including the Bengals, used the binding franchise (11 teams) and transition (one) designations on their top free agent. The Bengals' use of the franchise tag on offensive lineman Stacy Andrews and the possible departure of Smith as a sought-after free agent would suggest the Bengals will be seeking defensive linemen or linebackers with experience in the 3-4. The draft also is deep in defensive ends ready-made to play the in-between role of outside linebacker/pass rusher in a pro-style 3-4.
Another chilling effect on free-agent activity could be the looming labor problem. The collective bargaining agreement, approved 30-2 two years ago (Bengals president Mike Brown was one of the two no votes), is up for re-examination by owners; 24 of 32 votes would be needed to keep it in place before the November deadline.
Recently, even such large-market owners as Denver's Pat Bowlen and New England's Robert Kraft have suggested the CBA is bad for the league. Jerry Jones, Cowboys owner and general manager, told The Dallas Morning News this week that he thinks owners will opt out of the deal, which would mean the end of the salary cap after the 2009 season and could usher in the potential for small market-big market economic disparity similar to Major League Baseball.
posted by Mark at 1:45 PM
8 Comments:
at 2/27/2008 2:13 PM 
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at 2/27/2008 3:08 PM 
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at 2/27/2008 3:19 PM 
stinger223 said...
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at 2/27/2008 3:20 PM 
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at 2/27/2008 7:46 PM 
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at 2/28/2008 6:03 AM 
bengalfreak said...
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at 2/28/2008 8:47 AM 
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at 2/28/2008 7:54 PM 
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Post a Comment*The Bengals prefer to spend most of their salary cap money on players they've drafted or have had in their system
Great! This has worked great for them in the past. Why wouldn't you want to resign players from a defense that is consistently ranked last in the league?? Typical- If the CBA ends, Mike Brown and the Bengals will make the Reds look like the Yankees in terms of how much money is spent.
"the Bengals are more likely to go slow at the start -- concentrating their efforts on retaining their own free agents and avoiding the first few days of action when prices are largely inflated."
Insanity is sometimes defined as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. This confirms it - the Bengals "brain trust" has collectively lost their mind.
No suprise here. Once again Mike Brown is sitting at the table with a fistful of cash, holding a royal flush.
Instead of playing his hand he'll fold on the river! I am SOOO over the way this team operates. I'll bet Carson is counting the minutes until his contract expires.
The last line of your blog turns my stomach, Mark. To think, that the NFL could go and absoultely ruin itself by using baseball's economic model. If that happens, I will be turning in my season tickets, and will no longer support the NFL as I have in the past.
To all complaining about FA signings:
Please, tell me which high-priced FA is worth the money they will get? Most of you would prefer to not spend $8-10M an year on Justin Smith. He will probably be the best DE in free agency. Lance Briggs is probably the best LB available, but he's probably not worth the $8-10M he'll get. Landon Johnson sees that money and wants at least half that much since he's pretty good and doesn't cause trouble. Madieu Williams isn't considered one of the best FA safeties, but he'll still probably get $4M a year. So, to get one of the best at each of these positions, we would burn at least $22M, leaving nothing to sign warm bodies on special teams.
The Redskins tried this for a couple of years and they are SCREWED this year. Teams like New England can go out and pick up one big name, because they have filled many of their holes with league-minimum guys and draft picks.
Until we have a solid foundation on both sides of the ball, we cannot risk the whole FA pool on a couple of guys.
And let's not forget -- most of the big money goes to contract-year success guys. What did Adellius Thomas do this year? Or Shaun Alexander?
Steve in Raleigh
Steve in Raleigh, the problem with your analysis is that it assumes, like the Patriots, that you draft well. Unfortunately with, by far, the smallest scouting department in the NFL, not to mention the fact that most of those scouts aren't qualified to hold their same position for a high school team, the Bengals are the worst drafting team there is. So, again the Bengals prove the definition of insanity. Want proof nothing has changed? TJ said at one point last year, the Bengals chained up the free Gatorade machine because the players were abusing it. I wonder if that was one of the weeks that they had problems with cramps.
I posted this under another thread, seems more relevant here.
The problem with the Bengals is they seem to be letting free agency dictate their scheme. They should decide what they want, and then go from there.
If they want 4-3, try to re-sign J. Smith and Landon, if they want too much or you don't think they're worth their asking price, go out and sign comparable replacements like Kawika Mitchell and/or Travis LaBoy, plus use early draft picks to supplement.
If they want 3-4, then stop even talking about J. Smith giving you a chance be in the bidding, and wanting Landon back but needing him to "learn his market value". Start targeting some 3-4 free agents.
But it appears they are losing J. Smith and Landon and are going to switch to 3-4 as a result of that, not because they want to.
Peko got pushed around last year, he regressed in my book, but even so, he's not a pure NT. We don't have enough 3-4 DEs, nor do we have enough 3-4 LBs, let alone enough good 4-3 LBs.
Brooks and Thurman have proven unreliable, Marvin and Co. talk about them in such absolutes, "they will help." Well, you can't count on that.
I vote stick with the 4-3, try to re-sign some of your own 4-3 guys or target like free agents that may be cheaper.
Try to get Dorsey or Ellis, if they fall to 5, offer the Chiefs a package of your 3rd round pick, and maybe Deltha O'Neil or Chris Perry, and a late pick. If not, look at Alford in round 2, build up the DT spot. If will help your DEs and LBs.
I'd like to see Geathers, LaBoy and Fanene at DE.
Ellis/Dorsey, Peko, Michael Myers at DT, with Fanene rotating some.
Cut Thornton and Rucker. Give that DE that was in camp last year another shot, he got cut too soon and should've been on the practice squad...I forget his name but Cutler talked about him on his radio show with a few callers.
If Mark's last paragraph scenario comes true (owners opt out of CBA).
In small market/big market scene>> Bengals lose what little glimmer of hope they have left.
Cunningham & Bengals make it hard to be "from Cincinnati". Marge used to be good at that too.
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