My Manifesto

[Jmble]

I haven't been around for a while because frankly this team has just lost my will to care for the year.

As far as I'm concerned, this team needs to go all out during this trade deadline. Trade everybody who isn't nailed down and get ready to start over. Is Taylor the answer? Is any of this his fault? I don't know, but I do know that we need somebody else calling the plays next year.

I say, trade everybody over the age of 27. Frankly, they aren't going to be good enough to help us compete when we are next able to compete. We have pieces that can bring back value. Even if it's just to help teams this year.

Tyler Eifert, Dre Kirkpatrick, Carlos Dunlap, Geno Atkins, Andy Dalton, AJ Green, Cordy Glenn, Hell, even Kevin Huber and Clark Harris if somebody is struggling at either position. They are 34 and 35 respectively. Many of these players have been very good for the team, but again, we are not going to be competing with any of these players anytime soon. Not all of them will get traded, but all of them should at least be shopped to see what is out there.

Trade Billy Price.... Taylor and staff obviously doesn't see much in him. Maybe somebody else does or thinks they can turn him around. No need to keep dead bodies who could be tradeable.

If you find a home for Dalton, you have Finley start the rest of the year and see what you have in him. It is possible to evaluate a Quarterback even on a bad team to see what he does well and what he doesn't. Not the ideal situation, but it is what it is.

You've got a young base of guys who could potentially be future leaders. Guys like Bernard, Finley, Auden Tate, Tyler Boyd, Sam Hubbard, William Jackson, CJ Uzomah, Clayton Fejedelem, and Alex Erickson And Potentially Jonah Williams if he is what he is supposed to be can all be potential leaders to a young locker room as the team rebuilds. They all have the potential to also help this team on the field as either role players or in some cases important cogs to the new rebuilt team.

As for the future, I wish I could say to bring in somebody to help in the General Manager role, but we all know that isn't happening so you do one of two things. If you think Finley isn't the guy, you stay where you are and grab the best QB you can get. If you think he might be the guy, then you trade down to somebody who does want one of those QBs and you start building. Offensive Linemen, and defense. We don't need skill positions next year aside from the decision on the QB. Boyd, Ross, Erickson, Tate, Uzomah, and Sample may not be a lineup that are going to make people quake in their cleats, but they have proven they can all serve a role in the worst situations so we need to build up the rest of the team before we worry about them. Plus we can always fill holes in Free Agency when Receivers are dropped by other teams if needed. The Running backs are seemingly fine. I feel like if we fix the blocking and make the QB a bit more of a weapon, Mixon and Bernard both have the capability of playing at least decent football.

I've typed all of this because frankly thinking about ways to fix the future is the only thing getting me through this year. That and me becoming a bit of a Vikings fan just because I've been watching a lot of them due to my fantasy team and I still like Mike Zimmer.

Having said all of this, I full expect the status quo. I fully expect we reach the middle of next week with no trades and still starting the same guys after the trade deadline and the bye week. I believe the coaches will get the benefit of the doubt due to bad O-Line play, no linebacker, and injuries. I believe Andy Dalton will still be the QB next year. (I admit he isn't the problem, but he isn't the solution either) We will never be the team that starts out 7-0 and goes out and trades a second round draft pick to try and make our team even better. Nothing of what I said is the Bengal way and it never will be the Bengal way. Wash, Rinse, and if necessary Repeat. over and over and over and over again....

If nothing else I feel better for writing this. Congrats if you actually made it all the way through this post.

[stripesincarolina]

Victory is mine! I made it thru. Nice post Jmble, and we're 100% aligned. Now just get the Brown family on board.

[orange_black]

seems like a typical "par for course" post about this time of year when we arent doing well....

ugh

[Mag]

The problem with this is they won't hire a GM, so we are primarily stuck with the status quo in the front office. This is primarily why a young HC with an inexperienced staff won't work here. Too much is expected of them and there's not enough in the front office to support them. That's why Marvin had what little success as he did. He was an experienced coach who brought other experienced coaches with him. Marv admires Ozzie Newsome, so he relished the tasks involved in scouting. Marvin had some decent drafts early and had some decent teams. Then after he got even more experienced coaches around him (Zim, Hue, Gruden, Joseph) they had some great drafts and good cast offs. When those other coaches left, the team's draft's went to shit.

Zac and his staff aren't up to the task. They may be good coaches eventually, just not here. The team needs to admit the mistake and move on. My preference is an experienced coach who had modest success, but has been fired. While finding the next McVay is the hot thing, I'd rather find the next Belichick, Carroll, Vermeil, Coughlan, etc. Those guys couldn't get over the hump in their early gigs, but won Super Bowls later. Having success with a cast off coach is way more common than a young coach striking it hot in his first contract.

To go a step further, give me a guy who coached in college a bit. Herm, Lovie, and Harbaugh would work. They have extensive coaching trees and connections that Taylor obviously lacked. They'd bring experienced NFL coaches and up and comers from the college ranks.
They have had to deal with the roster and staff turnover common to college football, so they're quicker to adapt. They've also had to scheme against a wider variety of systems.

As for players, I wouldn't blow it up. Trade the following players:
Dalton: not the future and he's not a guy that can raise the play of those around him.
Mixon: he's very good, but not good enough to transcend a bad line. He should garner decent trade value.
Ross: not a true #1. Showed enough that he may have decent trade value.
Eifert: should be moved now! Not being used. He's looking healthy and a good team could use him to make a championship run.
Glenn: doesn't want to be here. Talent waning. Still should garner decent trade value since there's a need for lineman. Trade now.

Those guys are not really the future, but I feel we can get some value. I'm fine keeping the vets on D. While Geno and Dunlap are aging, they're still effective and their contracts aren't bad. They should also bring leadership and leave fewer holes to use draft capital on. We also need a good D to help any young QB.

Bring back AJ and Hopkins. Hopkins has been solid and one of the few bright spots on a bad line. AJ, while not what he once was will be a stabilizing force on an offense with a young QB. Aj, Boyd, Tate, and Erickson make for a solid lineup for a young QB. Bring back Jackson at the right price, but I'm concerned he hasn't taken the next step.

The draft is tough. It will depend where we land. If we have a QB we love, you have to take him. If not then you take Chase Young and then try to take a shot at a second tier QB like Fromm or Eason later. Then draft no less than 2 OTs and 2 interior OLs. LB likely won't get fixed in this draft. I'm not enamored with this year's LB. This team will need to hope Pratt fills one spot and then make the one FA acquisition at least an average starter.

For the OL, absolutely need a new coach. This unit is garbage and it starts with the coach. I'm hopeful that we have 2 starters in Hopkins and Jonah Williams. We absolutely need to bring in rookie and FA competition for the rest of the spots. We need the light to come on for Price. So far, not so good. He is all i've been watching lately. He has been ok at times, but he often looks lost too. While we did reach on him, the talent should be the to be a solid starter. Imo, he may be the key. If he can take the LG job, then we only need to replace Hart and Miller (though Miller is serviceable). If Price is a bust then that's another starter we need to find.

[Jmble]

I don't hate many people. I have no reason to. I hate Adolf Hitler. I hate Osama Bin Laden. I hate that idiot up in North Korea, I hate Putin and I hate Trump..... My feelings on Mike Brown are honestly starting to reach the point of all these horrible people. It's probably an overreaction. He is what he is. He always will be what he is. This city is DYING to give their money and support to someone who can bring a winning team to this city.

This quote says it all

"The Bengals don’t feel it’s their job to make other teams better." (From Mike Brown to Paul Daugherty in today's column in The Athletic"

Does Mike Brown understand what a trade is? Is he so old that he remembers the Louisiana Purchase? Does he think every trade that happens is one team giving away nothing to another team that is giving away a very good player?

I've never been close to jumping ship. This team has been in my blood for 45 years. Over 30 of these years just waiting to try and grab on to a little bit of feeling that I felt in 1987 when I was 13 years old. But I'm close now. That statement tells me everything I need to know by telling me everything I already knew.

It's just about time to start shopping for Minnesota Vikings boards.

[Jmble]

By the way, I know hatred is an exaggeration. But reading that column just put me in that mood.

[orange_black]

dont do it man.

mikey will pass and hopefully all things will be better.

guys at work are trying to get me to jump ship too... but i refuse....

[MeatHeadbengal]

I knew going into this season we were going to suck so I've prepared myself! I've hated soP for years so it's not new to me. All I know is I still love the Bengals I just know we suck.

[Exile]

I don't know that we need to blow up our roster, but I do think we need to blow up the coaching staff. It felt last year like we were scraping the bottom of the barrel because of how long we waited to get Taylor in here (after the SB). We need to fire most if not all of these guys. I would probably give Taylor some more time, but not if this whole staff stays intact. Just absolute garbage.