UK will go how Jake 'Magic' Toppin manages to perform over the full 4o mins, as he has a maddening tendency to disappear for a half and if his fadeaways and flip shots at the basket aren't fluking in. This whole team is one of the weakest I've ever seen at the rim, throwing bricks, floaters and aberrant English off the backboard either hoping it will go in or #34 will clean up their mess with an OR. They're also among the most maddenly nonchalant ever STILL at ball security team too, as well as prone to missing double digits in free throws. If Oscar wants to counter the wrestling and 1o fouls given (frequently dirty with baiting and flopping) bully game teams routinely employ against him in the post, the least he could do is hit ALL his resulting FTs making teams pay dearly for doing so. He's not the most 'bb smart' player and is constantly exploited defensively by the pick & roll, especially when paired on the floor with Wheeler at the point. Which SW hasn't played any in nearly a month from injuries but may find some PG2 minutes in this game vs the smallish KSU floor general that won't just shoot 3s over him. Cason Wallace who took over for Wheeler is a wonderful 'preying mantis' type defender from the 1G role. UK needs him streaking from 3 and he's also their best 2ball % shooting G as well. Reeves is not the greatest ball handler and an errant passer
Princeton shows Missouri why "combined" 2+3 bb shooting stats must go! How do these wily wizards accomplish such wondrous winning feats? Per usual, the first thing we examine will be the shooting stats, which stats narrative will tell you PU shot 42.9% 27/62 from the field with 36.4% 12/33 being from 3 ... um ok. Where's the magic in that, you ask? If you've been following along,* right away you'll note 3 x12 3s = 36 pts from 33 shots taken for 54.5% eFG 2pts scoring equivalence (half again the % = 36.4 + 18.2 = 54.6) = quite good shooting despite missing 21 shots and creating 4-5 extra offensive rebounding situations than is from 33 from 2pt land. Plus it's obvious they featured favoring the long range shooting from 33 vs 29 2s taken for the game. Most teams are never this balanced and usually 2s are shot more 2/3 to 1. Now how easy was that? Versus how irrationally unfathomable being given 42.9% and 36.4% and 27/62 like that was some thing? Albeit they are true numbers, but what do they really tell without back engineering differential mental calculus trying to deduce concrete numbers from a mixed variably incompatible ratio %? If there was any logic or justice in the world, the first shots column, instead of making you subtract the 3s numbers, would just tell you 15/29 2s = 51.7% 3o pts from 29 shots with the lesser 2ball inside the arc game obviously pretty dang close to the 54.5% eFG 3balling in favorably avoiding the Missouri bigger defenders. Just by glancing first at 2 separate columns for 2s versus 3s accounting, an easy and simple yet revealing analysis can be begun
And Keke just said somebody "not shooting well from 3, just 4 for 12 from 3" ... how is 12 pts from 12 shots 5o% eFG not well shooting? They may not have shot 5o% inside the arc
* not sure what game Keke was describing but UK wasn't buying but 2/11 3s along with bigger story 8/23 from that weak feather technique at the rim ... and KSU 12/17 2s i think it was and zero 3s? Shoot that half 5o% eFG and we winnin' by 1o at the half ... KSU is tough scrappy D, credit due
Norse kept me up past my bedtime last night. So proud of the way they pushed. Looked like the legs and lungs were going at the end. Yeah, some more makes on those threes would have been nice. Should have gotten notice from all the eyes on the game. Norse Up indeed.
X frustrated me today. Gave up a little into second half and took myself to Kroger. Corned beef and cabbage already happily cooking in crock pot. Happy to learn they came back to win.
I had visions last year of Joe calling his friends and them calling their friends. How Bengals would build the team around him. Glad to see the Fam lay out for LT protection. I'm ready for the Burrow dynasty myself.
Excellent effort today, Doc. Better you betting on games than me. I wouldn't even put a dollar in the pot for NCAA back in the day. Took my tiny compliance role very seriously. We were Division 2.
Fair notice: I've had a cigar and a ceremonial drop of Woodford Reserve. But I've come to the conclusion that your writing has actually improved in retirement. To improve on what was already superb is worthy of a toast 🍻☘️
I think it is folly to continue to view the Bengals through the prism of pre-2020. People change, why can't organizations? I think they have shown the past three off seasons that they are willing to act like other NFL teams. Even though he is not calling the shots (but still taking them from the fans), MB saw his future and it looked like that of Ebeneezer Scrooge with people celebrating his death. Instead he decided he has a limited time to win and is trying to do that rather than "compete."
Either way, I thought the reactions to guys leaving were overwrought. They still have 21 of their 25 starters (including ST). Hurst was on a prove it deal and was likely gone the minute he could make it through the season.
See the comment from Burrow after hanging with Montana? "He's had all the success I plan on and want to have in my profession." Gotta love that attitude from the QB.
It's severe magical thinking to believe Mike Brown has changed or even can change. I guess you've become another of the many Bengal fans walking around like happy drunks, whitewashing 30 years of the worst ownership in pro sports out of their brains. I thought you were smarter than this. Project all you want. It's just projection, nothing more. I'm convinced you've contracted a bad case of Bengalitis, a nasty memory eating virus invented and perfected by Brown, and it's living rent free in your head.
Bengals lost some key talent. Pretty hard to replace types. Do you really believe high end replacements grow on trees? They are notoriously cheap at signing filler guys. Most are scrubs or end of the road guys. Soon the Bengals will be totally hamstrung budgetwise by Burrow and Chase. This run ends after this year or next. And if Burrow gets hurt after the big contract. it's the Reds 2.0. Everybody needs to sober up and start going to Bengal CoDependency meetings. It's off the charts ridiculous.
Being cheap at replacing filler guys is actually plying a necessary practice in the capped leagues of today when you've got a market setting QB to contract and manage, so this might be a Striped competitive advantage moving forward. And Ms Blackburn has always been the Bengals' resident capologist since that's been a thing, so obviously in house practices have been continually shown to be flexible, especially now with this signing bonus strategy used to snag OBJ. Maybe it means they've figured out how to overcome the nattering one hears about signing bonus escrow funding issues as well and maybe that was creative smokescreening allowing them to subsequently pull something like this off? I guess you didn't bother to scroll down halfway in the link I gave you the last time we had this discussion about how the other 4 conference finalists were in relative cap and roster positions compared to the homies?
Pogo, for whatever reason the team is being operated differently. Who knows why? MB facing mortality after the death of his brother? MB realized he was terrible at running the show and loosened the reins? MB gave Katie free rein? 30 years of ineptitude with some bad luck is finally counter balanced with some competence and good luck?
Lord knows I have been very hard on the Brown Family Mom and Pop on TML over the years and written about my frustrations with them. That said, things are being done differently down at PBS which started with the signing of DJ Reader and is now reflected in the signing of Orlando Brown. I see a trend that is hopefully sustained. To not acknowledge that trend is to be either myopic or purposefully resentful about the past.
Re being cheap at filler guys, what would you have done differently with the guys who left? Bates at $16 million per was never realistic. Hurst was here for $3.5 million, but left for $7 million per year with $14 million guaranteed. Good for him, but the Bengals cannot match that, nor should they. Remember the concerns about disrupting the culture when Uzomah left for $8 million and $15 million guaranteed? Hurst at $3.5 million was clearly a better option. Have a bit of confidence that they can do that again. Perine is not a starter. Overpaying for a 27 year old backup who averages 4 yards per carry at best in limited work would be also be foolish.
The front office has pushed so many buttons correctly the past three years, let's hope they can continue to do so. In the meantime, I hope you enjoyed the past two seasons which had as many playoff wins as the prior history combined.
BTW, speaking of replacements, I saw that the Eagles D had lost or was faced with free agency for 8 of their nine top players earlier this week. Brutal, but that is the nature of the beast to have to replace players. Even more so when they play for successful teams.
They're saving a lot of money when they cut Mixon down the road. Shoulda used it to keep guys who have already had success here. You know, build on success. Perrine as potential starter was fiscally smart, so of course they ignored it. He started last year while Mixon was hurt and outplayed Mixon. He converted nearly all the 3rd and shorts he faced all year. IMO, Bell was important to keep while losing Bates, who was a foregone conclusion, and I would have tried hard to sign Hurst, who played at a near Pro Bowl level. Good tight ends are hard to find in free agency cheap, and Burrow has to have a good tight end to still be Joe Burrow. He likes to wait until the last minute, needs a dump off guy real bad.
Duke Tobin is no genius, yet he has to be for your image of the Bengals to be real. I think this little 2 year run is a fluke, not some new level of genius from the Bengal brass or operational change. Burrow fell in their lap only because Taylor was so bad at first. No one projected Chase to be so good. I'm using common sense that has proven to be right over and over again. Go ahead and get swept up in a little success. I prefer to keep my feet on the ground and head out of the clouds when it comes to Mikey. He has well-earned my lack of faith in him. No vendetta; suggesting such is silly. I'm simply using my brain, something Brown has always had trouble with.
Denver sold out for an elite bodyguard for the little person QB they need to protect in the pocket. A $4.5m '23 cash payment for a 29yo running back is something I don't see the Bengals being all that eager to be doing. It will be interesting to see how Denver weighs the decision next offseason whether they want Perine back for $3m vs a $1.5m dead money hit to cut him
Pogo, I think you are experiencing some serious PTSD from 30 years of Mike Brown's ineptitude. Not faulting you for that - it is justified.
But, let's acknowledge change/good luck/good moves or whatever you want to call it.
Yes, they got Burrow because they were horrible during Zac's first year. However, they could have drafted Herbert or Tua or traded down. Instead, they locked in on their man and they have one of the two best qbs in the league.
Yes, their continued mediocrity and inability to protect Joe B. gave them the pick which they used for Chase who was projected to be good but maybe not this good. Remember, they could have used it on Pennell. Instead, they have the best weapon at WR they have every had.
Instead of waiting for the anvil to fall on your head or the bomb to blow up in your hands (and in the past that happened), embrace the present. They have never had one of the two best qbs nor the best WR nor the best WR corps nor one of the best kickers at the same time.
Future therapy sessions will be billed at my attorney hourly rate. 😜
Mixon is carrying $5.5m in dead money so it would be better for both if he negotiated his per year down to around $3-4m with incentives imo. And his style of running could still work for several situations in the league who might have a spare and suitable S or RT with a similar dead money profile to execute that type of player for player swap
You might be able to extrapolate when an operations shift may have occurred with this information. I remember the Knowlton family taking them to court over the sub-S mechanism too?
I agree with everything you said about The Men, Doc. But I must add my own slant on the Lost Decades. The NFL is a game and a business that depends on the game and the first rule of business is that the customer is king. Only a monopoly on customer loyalty in a hotbed of football (Ohio, for goodness sakes) allowed MB to get away with his indifference to making an adequate commitment to winning.
The Brown Trust got richer every year while the customer (those of us dumb enough to put up with his cheapness) paid the price. If loyalty is a virtue, he made a fortune off his inheritance by twiddling his thumbs while the fandom burned at the stake. If MB is arrogant enough to put the community through some kind of drama in a few years over relocation to another city because he can, it will be further proof of his indisputable lack of good judgment. OK, sorry for the rant, you gave me too good an opportunity to let the frustration of the past out.
As for your hero Paladins dispatching the alma mater’s four seed, I must point out that the errant pass intercepted to set up the winning basket was thrown by the same kid that saved the march to the 2019 crown by heaving a bullet to a teammate for a basket that led to the Elite Eight W over Purdue in the Yum Center. It was the first of three certified miracles necessary to walk off the floor with the NCAA championship. I forgave him on the spot. March Madness requires Lady Luck on the bus for every game.
I'll have to dispute this idea that Mike somehow just sat back and inherited his million$ or the team. PB and his cutthroat Harvard Lawyer trained attack fiend MFB first conceived and mounted the scaling of the Impossible Dream mountain of full NFL franchise ownership with basically only about 8mil 1967 dollars and Paul's cachet as HOF Coaching Emeritus. That's pretty much it ... and Mike's business acumen and experience as starting QB for dear old Dartmouth as an undergrad. All of the family million$ were made from the team itself along the way with paying off the other syndicate owners their return too, including all the $$$ the Browns paid themselves to run the damned thing. And it was a desperate, dirty gamble, especially when the unforeseen knuckleball of free agency came about in the '9os, totally jeopardizing the desperate plan of having banked up enough family fortune in this manner to match the right of first refusal sale clause amount to be able to purchase full control from the Knowlton estate when all that went down, which I'd imagine the Fam cash position at that time reduced to pretty close to zero. Mike had to be sweating steel bullets over every penny all along the way until that happened and his desperate visionary plan in which he'd had to beat the IRS in court not once, but twice, over the sub-S corp shenanigans they pulled to make that all even possible
X played in panic mode...lost control of their rhythm. Pressed too hard...going back to see the End, I fear. Nice to hear football is in the air when BB & BB are mediocre. Thanks for a gasp of hope in River City this year. Good tune. ('Scuse me X, while I eat my words. Nice finish.)
X is stinkin' it up as I type. Down big in 2nd half, 10 minutes from Doom. Zero toughness. FreeMantle was the only enforcer on the team. Like him or not, X was nowhere near as good without him. X has been an overrated team after he went down. They need his street ball attitude.
Jonah wants out. Figures. Bengals Lovefest is no more. Guys leaving left and right lately. How long till new guy Brown rips a knee? I say 5 games into 1st year is the over/under. This is the Bengals. It's their way. Doc, quite kiddin' yerself. This is STILL just the Bengals. They will always be the Mike Brown Bengals. That means guaranteed folly, lunacy, and unexplainable disasters year after year.
X still down big. 8 mins from Doom. Announcers clearly rooting for the upset. Show some professionalism, jerks. Turning it off. No need to see more carnage.. Miller continues to struggle as a tournament coach.
PS Well, X got super lucky to pull it out. KennState went ice cold for the last 8 minutes and still nearly won. You gotta hope it was just jitters for X and they got all of them out. They played extremely bad, sloppy basketball. Bad defense, miss free throws, guy playing tight. Announcers still throwing a microscope and lots of shade on blocked shot by Nunge in last seconds. Geezee Deezel, would you jerks just give it a rest? Game's over. Go home. Shaddup.
O-Line depth is key, especially after late last season. As much as I hate losing Perine (and probably Mixon), you can win with an average-to-borderline-nonexistent running game these days.
This is indeed a strange time to be a Bengals fan. It's great, but the doubt and anticipatory heartbreak is always there for those of us who've followed this team for any length of time (and who remember the 1990s).
Since half my family lives on the Kentucky side of the Ohio, we're all pulling for UK. My dad, an NKU alum was hoping they'd be in the play-in. He figured at least then they'd have a chance to win a game which would help with awareness and recruiting.
Oddly, losing to Vandy in the SEC tourney improved UK's seed to my UK '81 way of thinking, expecting a final 4 run as birthright. I'd much rather be a 6/7 seed than a 4/5 having to play through the 1 seed's path just to get to the region final. So we get the better of the 6/7 choice *and* more rest and recovery time for a team Cal now tells us had 4 players missing significant practice for injuries and etc in the week leading up to the SEC tourney
I love NKU’s attitude yesterday. I wish UC had done the same against Alabama in the CPS. No reason not to repeatedly go for the throat against a vastly superior opponent.
Doc, you may have left your idea points at the end of today’s TML.
That’s a Top 5 Van composition for me as well, and I have 22 or so of his albums. Morrison said in an interview that it is the most personal and favorite thing he has done in his career.
I was looking at Nick Scott’s stats for last season and they are definitely competitive with Bell or Bates-88 tackles, more than either departing Bengal, but only 2 interceptions, less than Bell or Bates. Not so worried about the FS position, especially if they pick up another FA or draft one early. What do we know about Cody Ford?? Could not find much data on him. Can anyone shed some light on it?
I very much agree with you, it certainly looks like Bengals management is now aiming for the rafters in the NFL. What a change! I wish them all the luck possible.
Ford is a guy they really liked in the draft for whatever reason(s), besides his prodigious alleged gifted level of OL physical traits. I suspect he's got what they're looking for as the "move TE" to be able to execute certain offensive packages they haven't been able to pull off as yet due to lacking what he's got. But that's just me talkin' 😆
If NKU shoots even a modest 30 percent from 3, they win. If they shoot an acceptable 40 percent, they win going away. But I bet the new exhibition at Museum Center (thanks Hey Michelle for a point of reference) doesn't have as many bricks as the Norse chucked up there last night. Too bad. That was a fun one to watch.
On the gaming front, I didn't indulge but for curiosity, my BIL checked - Houston giving 20 at the tip, so at least NKU covered. The adjusted line at the half? 8.5 points, which Houston covered.
On describing 3o% shooting 3s as being modest, I'll agree. That's points equivalent to hitting 45% 2ball shooting, which some entire teams do manage to muddle through shooting 2s in that range. Plenty of college Gs also perform in the 45% range inside the arc. But 4o% 3balling is far better than "modest", it's the points/shot equivalent of shooting 6o% 2pters. That's excellent shooting. Go check out my treatise in Wednesday's comments for more details
Why do players always publicly ask for a trade? Just to screw the current team they’re pissed at? Because the public request robs the current team of whatever tiny leverage they have… who would offer any more than a 6th for Jonah now, esp at that salary? The only value for JW might come in training camp after another team loses a tackle.
I could see them doing it to get out from under his $12.6m cap hit. I'm not even sure I'd project him adding up to a #3 pick amount of comp pick formula credits if he sticks it out here. I also think he'd be better at LG than RT but I'm guessing he's even less enamored with playing there
Yeah, I think it's a super lame and selfish move. Yeah, I get that the money is at LT, but is anyone capable of conduction themselves like a damn professional anymore?
So what if the Bengals refuse to trade him? What's next? Is he going to sit out? This part of football is infuriating as a fan.
Yeah Jonah’s not sitting out & passing up $12M, and he’d actually be the best swing tackle in case of injury. But you can’t pay a backup 5% of the cap, so they’ll have to either move him to RT and cut LC or find a creative trade. And moving him to RT will be near impossible if he sits out OTA’s and any part of camp.
They're not cutting LC until he can pass a physical, as there's apparently a $1.something mil additional cap charge grievance mechanism on top of his $3.3m current potential dead money in play if they were to cut him before he's healthy from the knee surgery. He's also in play for backup swing tackle consideration or better and $2.4m of his '23 compensation is in per game bonuses. My guess LC starts the season on either PUP and/or IR
I think I saw on Facebook that you got a new gig doc. Still going to do TML I hope.
UK will go how Jake 'Magic' Toppin manages to perform over the full 4o mins, as he has a maddening tendency to disappear for a half and if his fadeaways and flip shots at the basket aren't fluking in. This whole team is one of the weakest I've ever seen at the rim, throwing bricks, floaters and aberrant English off the backboard either hoping it will go in or #34 will clean up their mess with an OR. They're also among the most maddenly nonchalant ever STILL at ball security team too, as well as prone to missing double digits in free throws. If Oscar wants to counter the wrestling and 1o fouls given (frequently dirty with baiting and flopping) bully game teams routinely employ against him in the post, the least he could do is hit ALL his resulting FTs making teams pay dearly for doing so. He's not the most 'bb smart' player and is constantly exploited defensively by the pick & roll, especially when paired on the floor with Wheeler at the point. Which SW hasn't played any in nearly a month from injuries but may find some PG2 minutes in this game vs the smallish KSU floor general that won't just shoot 3s over him. Cason Wallace who took over for Wheeler is a wonderful 'preying mantis' type defender from the 1G role. UK needs him streaking from 3 and he's also their best 2ball % shooting G as well. Reeves is not the greatest ball handler and an errant passer
Princeton shows Missouri why "combined" 2+3 bb shooting stats must go! How do these wily wizards accomplish such wondrous winning feats? Per usual, the first thing we examine will be the shooting stats, which stats narrative will tell you PU shot 42.9% 27/62 from the field with 36.4% 12/33 being from 3 ... um ok. Where's the magic in that, you ask? If you've been following along,* right away you'll note 3 x12 3s = 36 pts from 33 shots taken for 54.5% eFG 2pts scoring equivalence (half again the % = 36.4 + 18.2 = 54.6) = quite good shooting despite missing 21 shots and creating 4-5 extra offensive rebounding situations than is from 33 from 2pt land. Plus it's obvious they featured favoring the long range shooting from 33 vs 29 2s taken for the game. Most teams are never this balanced and usually 2s are shot more 2/3 to 1. Now how easy was that? Versus how irrationally unfathomable being given 42.9% and 36.4% and 27/62 like that was some thing? Albeit they are true numbers, but what do they really tell without back engineering differential mental calculus trying to deduce concrete numbers from a mixed variably incompatible ratio %? If there was any logic or justice in the world, the first shots column, instead of making you subtract the 3s numbers, would just tell you 15/29 2s = 51.7% 3o pts from 29 shots with the lesser 2ball inside the arc game obviously pretty dang close to the 54.5% eFG 3balling in favorably avoiding the Missouri bigger defenders. Just by glancing first at 2 separate columns for 2s versus 3s accounting, an easy and simple yet revealing analysis can be begun
*check wed/15 comments for more details
Woo... 11 turnovers with 34 and 12 flounder floppin' all around with precious rock
And Keke just said somebody "not shooting well from 3, just 4 for 12 from 3" ... how is 12 pts from 12 shots 5o% eFG not well shooting? They may not have shot 5o% inside the arc
* not sure what game Keke was describing but UK wasn't buying but 2/11 3s along with bigger story 8/23 from that weak feather technique at the rim ... and KSU 12/17 2s i think it was and zero 3s? Shoot that half 5o% eFG and we winnin' by 1o at the half ... KSU is tough scrappy D, credit due
That guy was reaming Oscar at the bunghole all the while he was falling all over him ... and then playing the victim like O did something to him 😆
Put thee ball in thee hole or you go home ... that team was not better. Nowell won the game for them, he's good ... go K-State
This Sunday ,Adams County, Big Basketball game,,,Think it’s Eagles v Hawks,Sheriff Rogers & his minions v Adams co DD led by Liz Lafferty
Norse kept me up past my bedtime last night. So proud of the way they pushed. Looked like the legs and lungs were going at the end. Yeah, some more makes on those threes would have been nice. Should have gotten notice from all the eyes on the game. Norse Up indeed.
X frustrated me today. Gave up a little into second half and took myself to Kroger. Corned beef and cabbage already happily cooking in crock pot. Happy to learn they came back to win.
I had visions last year of Joe calling his friends and them calling their friends. How Bengals would build the team around him. Glad to see the Fam lay out for LT protection. I'm ready for the Burrow dynasty myself.
Excellent effort today, Doc. Better you betting on games than me. I wouldn't even put a dollar in the pot for NCAA back in the day. Took my tiny compliance role very seriously. We were Division 2.
Fair notice: I've had a cigar and a ceremonial drop of Woodford Reserve. But I've come to the conclusion that your writing has actually improved in retirement. To improve on what was already superb is worthy of a toast 🍻☘️
I'll drink to 2nd that. Cheers, Doc
Chuck on analysis is a national treasure. Some of those capital one ads could go away ...
I think it is folly to continue to view the Bengals through the prism of pre-2020. People change, why can't organizations? I think they have shown the past three off seasons that they are willing to act like other NFL teams. Even though he is not calling the shots (but still taking them from the fans), MB saw his future and it looked like that of Ebeneezer Scrooge with people celebrating his death. Instead he decided he has a limited time to win and is trying to do that rather than "compete."
Either way, I thought the reactions to guys leaving were overwrought. They still have 21 of their 25 starters (including ST). Hurst was on a prove it deal and was likely gone the minute he could make it through the season.
See the comment from Burrow after hanging with Montana? "He's had all the success I plan on and want to have in my profession." Gotta love that attitude from the QB.
Have a good weekend.
It's severe magical thinking to believe Mike Brown has changed or even can change. I guess you've become another of the many Bengal fans walking around like happy drunks, whitewashing 30 years of the worst ownership in pro sports out of their brains. I thought you were smarter than this. Project all you want. It's just projection, nothing more. I'm convinced you've contracted a bad case of Bengalitis, a nasty memory eating virus invented and perfected by Brown, and it's living rent free in your head.
Bengals lost some key talent. Pretty hard to replace types. Do you really believe high end replacements grow on trees? They are notoriously cheap at signing filler guys. Most are scrubs or end of the road guys. Soon the Bengals will be totally hamstrung budgetwise by Burrow and Chase. This run ends after this year or next. And if Burrow gets hurt after the big contract. it's the Reds 2.0. Everybody needs to sober up and start going to Bengal CoDependency meetings. It's off the charts ridiculous.
Being cheap at replacing filler guys is actually plying a necessary practice in the capped leagues of today when you've got a market setting QB to contract and manage, so this might be a Striped competitive advantage moving forward. And Ms Blackburn has always been the Bengals' resident capologist since that's been a thing, so obviously in house practices have been continually shown to be flexible, especially now with this signing bonus strategy used to snag OBJ. Maybe it means they've figured out how to overcome the nattering one hears about signing bonus escrow funding issues as well and maybe that was creative smokescreening allowing them to subsequently pull something like this off? I guess you didn't bother to scroll down halfway in the link I gave you the last time we had this discussion about how the other 4 conference finalists were in relative cap and roster positions compared to the homies?
https://www.si.com/nfl/2023/01/27/cheifs-roster-building-little-moves-perennial-power-afc-championship
Pogo, for whatever reason the team is being operated differently. Who knows why? MB facing mortality after the death of his brother? MB realized he was terrible at running the show and loosened the reins? MB gave Katie free rein? 30 years of ineptitude with some bad luck is finally counter balanced with some competence and good luck?
Lord knows I have been very hard on the Brown Family Mom and Pop on TML over the years and written about my frustrations with them. That said, things are being done differently down at PBS which started with the signing of DJ Reader and is now reflected in the signing of Orlando Brown. I see a trend that is hopefully sustained. To not acknowledge that trend is to be either myopic or purposefully resentful about the past.
Re being cheap at filler guys, what would you have done differently with the guys who left? Bates at $16 million per was never realistic. Hurst was here for $3.5 million, but left for $7 million per year with $14 million guaranteed. Good for him, but the Bengals cannot match that, nor should they. Remember the concerns about disrupting the culture when Uzomah left for $8 million and $15 million guaranteed? Hurst at $3.5 million was clearly a better option. Have a bit of confidence that they can do that again. Perine is not a starter. Overpaying for a 27 year old backup who averages 4 yards per carry at best in limited work would be also be foolish.
The front office has pushed so many buttons correctly the past three years, let's hope they can continue to do so. In the meantime, I hope you enjoyed the past two seasons which had as many playoff wins as the prior history combined.
BTW, speaking of replacements, I saw that the Eagles D had lost or was faced with free agency for 8 of their nine top players earlier this week. Brutal, but that is the nature of the beast to have to replace players. Even more so when they play for successful teams.
They're saving a lot of money when they cut Mixon down the road. Shoulda used it to keep guys who have already had success here. You know, build on success. Perrine as potential starter was fiscally smart, so of course they ignored it. He started last year while Mixon was hurt and outplayed Mixon. He converted nearly all the 3rd and shorts he faced all year. IMO, Bell was important to keep while losing Bates, who was a foregone conclusion, and I would have tried hard to sign Hurst, who played at a near Pro Bowl level. Good tight ends are hard to find in free agency cheap, and Burrow has to have a good tight end to still be Joe Burrow. He likes to wait until the last minute, needs a dump off guy real bad.
Duke Tobin is no genius, yet he has to be for your image of the Bengals to be real. I think this little 2 year run is a fluke, not some new level of genius from the Bengal brass or operational change. Burrow fell in their lap only because Taylor was so bad at first. No one projected Chase to be so good. I'm using common sense that has proven to be right over and over again. Go ahead and get swept up in a little success. I prefer to keep my feet on the ground and head out of the clouds when it comes to Mikey. He has well-earned my lack of faith in him. No vendetta; suggesting such is silly. I'm simply using my brain, something Brown has always had trouble with.
Paul Dehner wrote that the B’s really wanted Perrine and offered him roughly the same contract as Denver. Perrine left for personal reasons.
Denver sold out for an elite bodyguard for the little person QB they need to protect in the pocket. A $4.5m '23 cash payment for a 29yo running back is something I don't see the Bengals being all that eager to be doing. It will be interesting to see how Denver weighs the decision next offseason whether they want Perine back for $3m vs a $1.5m dead money hit to cut him
Pogo, I think you are experiencing some serious PTSD from 30 years of Mike Brown's ineptitude. Not faulting you for that - it is justified.
But, let's acknowledge change/good luck/good moves or whatever you want to call it.
Yes, they got Burrow because they were horrible during Zac's first year. However, they could have drafted Herbert or Tua or traded down. Instead, they locked in on their man and they have one of the two best qbs in the league.
Yes, their continued mediocrity and inability to protect Joe B. gave them the pick which they used for Chase who was projected to be good but maybe not this good. Remember, they could have used it on Pennell. Instead, they have the best weapon at WR they have every had.
Instead of waiting for the anvil to fall on your head or the bomb to blow up in your hands (and in the past that happened), embrace the present. They have never had one of the two best qbs nor the best WR nor the best WR corps nor one of the best kickers at the same time.
Future therapy sessions will be billed at my attorney hourly rate. 😜
Have a good weekend.
Knowing that Paul was a football coach and Mike was MFB, which one do you suppose conceived and executed this plan?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1997/04/30/end-run-around-estate-tax-pays-off-for-coachs-heirs/11abf218-4cda-4990-be2c-c0681c793872/
Mixon is carrying $5.5m in dead money so it would be better for both if he negotiated his per year down to around $3-4m with incentives imo. And his style of running could still work for several situations in the league who might have a spare and suitable S or RT with a similar dead money profile to execute that type of player for player swap
You might be able to extrapolate when an operations shift may have occurred with this information. I remember the Knowlton family taking them to court over the sub-S mechanism too?
https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikeozanian/2011/12/21/brown-family-buys-remaing-stake-in-cincinnati-bengals-for-200-million/
I agree with everything you said about The Men, Doc. But I must add my own slant on the Lost Decades. The NFL is a game and a business that depends on the game and the first rule of business is that the customer is king. Only a monopoly on customer loyalty in a hotbed of football (Ohio, for goodness sakes) allowed MB to get away with his indifference to making an adequate commitment to winning.
The Brown Trust got richer every year while the customer (those of us dumb enough to put up with his cheapness) paid the price. If loyalty is a virtue, he made a fortune off his inheritance by twiddling his thumbs while the fandom burned at the stake. If MB is arrogant enough to put the community through some kind of drama in a few years over relocation to another city because he can, it will be further proof of his indisputable lack of good judgment. OK, sorry for the rant, you gave me too good an opportunity to let the frustration of the past out.
As for your hero Paladins dispatching the alma mater’s four seed, I must point out that the errant pass intercepted to set up the winning basket was thrown by the same kid that saved the march to the 2019 crown by heaving a bullet to a teammate for a basket that led to the Elite Eight W over Purdue in the Yum Center. It was the first of three certified miracles necessary to walk off the floor with the NCAA championship. I forgave him on the spot. March Madness requires Lady Luck on the bus for every game.
I'll have to dispute this idea that Mike somehow just sat back and inherited his million$ or the team. PB and his cutthroat Harvard Lawyer trained attack fiend MFB first conceived and mounted the scaling of the Impossible Dream mountain of full NFL franchise ownership with basically only about 8mil 1967 dollars and Paul's cachet as HOF Coaching Emeritus. That's pretty much it ... and Mike's business acumen and experience as starting QB for dear old Dartmouth as an undergrad. All of the family million$ were made from the team itself along the way with paying off the other syndicate owners their return too, including all the $$$ the Browns paid themselves to run the damned thing. And it was a desperate, dirty gamble, especially when the unforeseen knuckleball of free agency came about in the '9os, totally jeopardizing the desperate plan of having banked up enough family fortune in this manner to match the right of first refusal sale clause amount to be able to purchase full control from the Knowlton estate when all that went down, which I'd imagine the Fam cash position at that time reduced to pretty close to zero. Mike had to be sweating steel bullets over every penny all along the way until that happened and his desperate visionary plan in which he'd had to beat the IRS in court not once, but twice, over the sub-S corp shenanigans they pulled to make that all even possible
X played in panic mode...lost control of their rhythm. Pressed too hard...going back to see the End, I fear. Nice to hear football is in the air when BB & BB are mediocre. Thanks for a gasp of hope in River City this year. Good tune. ('Scuse me X, while I eat my words. Nice finish.)
X is stinkin' it up as I type. Down big in 2nd half, 10 minutes from Doom. Zero toughness. FreeMantle was the only enforcer on the team. Like him or not, X was nowhere near as good without him. X has been an overrated team after he went down. They need his street ball attitude.
Jonah wants out. Figures. Bengals Lovefest is no more. Guys leaving left and right lately. How long till new guy Brown rips a knee? I say 5 games into 1st year is the over/under. This is the Bengals. It's their way. Doc, quite kiddin' yerself. This is STILL just the Bengals. They will always be the Mike Brown Bengals. That means guaranteed folly, lunacy, and unexplainable disasters year after year.
X still down big. 8 mins from Doom. Announcers clearly rooting for the upset. Show some professionalism, jerks. Turning it off. No need to see more carnage.. Miller continues to struggle as a tournament coach.
PS Well, X got super lucky to pull it out. KennState went ice cold for the last 8 minutes and still nearly won. You gotta hope it was just jitters for X and they got all of them out. They played extremely bad, sloppy basketball. Bad defense, miss free throws, guy playing tight. Announcers still throwing a microscope and lots of shade on blocked shot by Nunge in last seconds. Geezee Deezel, would you jerks just give it a rest? Game's over. Go home. Shaddup.
O-Line depth is key, especially after late last season. As much as I hate losing Perine (and probably Mixon), you can win with an average-to-borderline-nonexistent running game these days.
This is indeed a strange time to be a Bengals fan. It's great, but the doubt and anticipatory heartbreak is always there for those of us who've followed this team for any length of time (and who remember the 1990s).
Since half my family lives on the Kentucky side of the Ohio, we're all pulling for UK. My dad, an NKU alum was hoping they'd be in the play-in. He figured at least then they'd have a chance to win a game which would help with awareness and recruiting.
Oddly, losing to Vandy in the SEC tourney improved UK's seed to my UK '81 way of thinking, expecting a final 4 run as birthright. I'd much rather be a 6/7 seed than a 4/5 having to play through the 1 seed's path just to get to the region final. So we get the better of the 6/7 choice *and* more rest and recovery time for a team Cal now tells us had 4 players missing significant practice for injuries and etc in the week leading up to the SEC tourney
I love NKU’s attitude yesterday. I wish UC had done the same against Alabama in the CPS. No reason not to repeatedly go for the throat against a vastly superior opponent.
Doc, you may have left your idea points at the end of today’s TML.
That’s a Top 5 Van composition for me as well, and I have 22 or so of his albums. Morrison said in an interview that it is the most personal and favorite thing he has done in his career.
I was looking at Nick Scott’s stats for last season and they are definitely competitive with Bell or Bates-88 tackles, more than either departing Bengal, but only 2 interceptions, less than Bell or Bates. Not so worried about the FS position, especially if they pick up another FA or draft one early. What do we know about Cody Ford?? Could not find much data on him. Can anyone shed some light on it?
I very much agree with you, it certainly looks like Bengals management is now aiming for the rafters in the NFL. What a change! I wish them all the luck possible.
Ford is a guy they really liked in the draft for whatever reason(s), besides his prodigious alleged gifted level of OL physical traits. I suspect he's got what they're looking for as the "move TE" to be able to execute certain offensive packages they haven't been able to pull off as yet due to lacking what he's got. But that's just me talkin' 😆
https://www.nfl.com/prospects/cody-ford/3200464f-5207-6987-5f02-57664dbea176
If NKU shoots even a modest 30 percent from 3, they win. If they shoot an acceptable 40 percent, they win going away. But I bet the new exhibition at Museum Center (thanks Hey Michelle for a point of reference) doesn't have as many bricks as the Norse chucked up there last night. Too bad. That was a fun one to watch.
On the gaming front, I didn't indulge but for curiosity, my BIL checked - Houston giving 20 at the tip, so at least NKU covered. The adjusted line at the half? 8.5 points, which Houston covered.
Slainte, Mobsters.
On describing 3o% shooting 3s as being modest, I'll agree. That's points equivalent to hitting 45% 2ball shooting, which some entire teams do manage to muddle through shooting 2s in that range. Plenty of college Gs also perform in the 45% range inside the arc. But 4o% 3balling is far better than "modest", it's the points/shot equivalent of shooting 6o% 2pters. That's excellent shooting. Go check out my treatise in Wednesday's comments for more details
Why do players always publicly ask for a trade? Just to screw the current team they’re pissed at? Because the public request robs the current team of whatever tiny leverage they have… who would offer any more than a 6th for Jonah now, esp at that salary? The only value for JW might come in training camp after another team loses a tackle.
And I wouldnt hold my breath waiting for The Fam to yield to a trade request.
I could see them doing it to get out from under his $12.6m cap hit. I'm not even sure I'd project him adding up to a #3 pick amount of comp pick formula credits if he sticks it out here. I also think he'd be better at LG than RT but I'm guessing he's even less enamored with playing there
Yeah, I think it's a super lame and selfish move. Yeah, I get that the money is at LT, but is anyone capable of conduction themselves like a damn professional anymore?
So what if the Bengals refuse to trade him? What's next? Is he going to sit out? This part of football is infuriating as a fan.
Yeah Jonah’s not sitting out & passing up $12M, and he’d actually be the best swing tackle in case of injury. But you can’t pay a backup 5% of the cap, so they’ll have to either move him to RT and cut LC or find a creative trade. And moving him to RT will be near impossible if he sits out OTA’s and any part of camp.
They're not cutting LC until he can pass a physical, as there's apparently a $1.something mil additional cap charge grievance mechanism on top of his $3.3m current potential dead money in play if they were to cut him before he's healthy from the knee surgery. He's also in play for backup swing tackle consideration or better and $2.4m of his '23 compensation is in per game bonuses. My guess LC starts the season on either PUP and/or IR
Just Lovely with a chaser of Into the Mystic.........ahhhh. 😊🍀💚