General Free Agency News & Chatter.

Let's talk Cincinnati Bengals football!
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skycruiser
Posts: 1345
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Location: Parts Unknown

Re: General Free Agency News & Chatter.

Post by skycruiser » Tue Mar 12, 2024 6:04 am

Joe Mixon among 34 RBs with 150+ carries
STAT MIXON AVG
Yards/carry
26th (3.8)
4.2
Rush yards over expectation
23rd (-39)
16
Yards/reception
16th (7.3)
7.3
Yards after contact/rush
33rd (2.41)
2.91
Explosive Play%
22nd (6.2%)
7.2%
Breakaway%
33rd (10.1%)
24.5%
Elusivity Rating (PFF)
31st (36.1)
54.9

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Joe Bananas
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Location: Southern Indiana

Re: General Free Agency News & Chatter.

Post by Joe Bananas » Tue Mar 12, 2024 6:23 am

It's all about explosiveness. What I been saying about Mixon for years. I don't think that he ever helped this offense progress. He got his yards yes but it's hard to explain. I hope this was the right move. I really do. I know they started featuring Brown alot towards seasons end and must have liked what they seen. Plus who knows with them they may have targeted someone in the draft they really want.
I was crazy back when being crazy really meant something.

Jmble
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Re: General Free Agency News & Chatter.

Post by Jmble » Tue Mar 12, 2024 8:55 am

Jmble wrote:
Mon Mar 11, 2024 2:44 pm
It could be worse.

We could be excited that our team just signed Kirk Cousins to a four year deal.
I'd like to add to this statement...

It could be worse, we could be disappointed that Kirk Cousins left our team.

Vikings bring in Sam Darnold. Justin Jefferson has to be thrilled!

Jmble
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Re: General Free Agency News & Chatter.

Post by Jmble » Tue Mar 12, 2024 9:00 am

Zack Moss rushing out of the shotgun in 11 personnel (2023):

5.2 yards per carry (6th)
0.21 missed tackles forced/att (9th)
3.1 yards after contact/att (11th)
15 explosive runs (4th)

Some relevant stats to our team who definitely likes the shotgun.

MeatHeadbengal
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Re: General Free Agency News & Chatter.

Post by MeatHeadbengal » Tue Mar 12, 2024 9:17 am

Jmble wrote:
Tue Mar 12, 2024 9:00 am
Zack Moss rushing out of the shotgun in 11 personnel (2023):

5.2 yards per carry (6th)
0.21 missed tackles forced/att (9th)
3.1 yards after contact/att (11th)
15 explosive runs (4th)

Some relevant stats to our team who definitely likes the shotgun.
I'm still not thrilled about the sign, however I'm going to hold my judgement until the season gets going a proven commodity is actually replaced.

I would also point out that our offense was terrible until we started to go under center to balance it out. We don't want to be shotgun 75% of the time or more.

skycruiser
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Re: General Free Agency News & Chatter.

Post by skycruiser » Tue Mar 12, 2024 10:10 am

Great read on geno stone. Love this guy!

University of Iowa defensive coordinator and secondary coach Phil Parker saw what he needed to see. It wasn’t on the football field, but New Castle High School basketball coach Ralph Blundo did his best to show off Geno Stone. Blundo conducted an up-tempo, intense practice that featured the Hurricanes’ full-court press. At the back of the press was Stone, ranging across the court and getting his hand on balls as if he was an NFL free safety.

Stone’s quickness and intensity made an impression on Parker, but there was still something bothering the longtime assistant coach. There was still a question that he needed answered. There just had to be a reason no other Power 5 football program had offered Stone a scholarship. Parker wondered what exactly he was missing.

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“He said, ‘Tell me what’s wrong with him? Why isn’t everybody on him?’” Blundo recalled Parker saying. “And I told him, ‘Because they’re not as smart as you.’”

The pattern started early. An all-state high school performer in football-rich Western Pennsylvania, Stone had 17 career interceptions and a hand in over 40 touchdowns. Yet, he couldn’t get a scholarship offer from a major conference program until just days before national signing day, and only after Iowa had two defensive backs withdraw their commitments.

A two-year starter at Iowa and a second-team All-Big Ten selection with six career interceptions and four forced fumbles, Stone believed he’d be taken by the end of the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft. Instead, he wasn’t drafted until the Baltimore Ravens selected him in the seventh round with the 219th overall pick.

He was waived twice as a rookie by the Ravens and then not tendered a contract by the rebuilding Houston Texans, although that was done at his and his agent’s request. Even after playing well for Baltimore during the 2022 season, Stone wasn’t given a restricted free-agent tender in March. He re-signed with the Ravens on a lesser deal.

Seven months later, Stone, 24, is the surprise NFL leader with four interceptions and one of the key breakout performers on the NFL”s second-ranked defense.

“To lead the league, I don’t know that was on anyone’s Bingo card, but any time he’s come into games, he’s always made big plays,” said Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey, one of Stone’s closest friends on the team. “I think you saw that a lot every preseason. It doesn’t really surprise me. The more reps he’s gotten, the more and more he’s improved.”


Ravens safety Geno Stone currently leads the NFL with four interceptions through seven games. (Randy Litzinger / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Stone, who is expected to make his fifth start of the season for an injured Marcus Williams Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals, is a major reason Baltimore is 5-2 and in first place in the AFC North.

In a Week 2 victory in Cincinnati, it was Stone’s third-quarter interception of Joe Burrow just outside of the end zone with the Bengals driving for the go-ahead score that was probably the biggest play of the game. In a Week 6 matchup with the Tennessee Titans in London, the Ravens had given up 10 consecutive points to cut their lead to five and the Titans were in Baltimore territory when Stone picked off Ryan Tannehill.

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“Him making plays in an NFL game, it’s great to watch. But we always joke about it around here, because we saw him do it in Pop Warner, we saw him do it in junior high, we saw him do it in high school and we saw him do it at Iowa. Now, he’s doing it for the Ravens,” said Joe Cowart, Stone’s former football coach at New Castle High. “Every time he’s been on the field, he’s made plays.”

Or as Blundo put it, “If you’re looking for Geno, just find the football.”

As a reporter approached Stone at his locker late Wednesday afternoon, Ravens right tackle Morgan Moses interceded. A playful Moses wanted the reporter to know that there would be no free runs at the NFL interceptions leader. Stone, one of the more popular Ravens in the locker room, laughed. His teammates seem to be enjoying the safety’s star turn even more than Stone himself.

“From the first day he came in, all he did was put his head down and work,” said inside linebacker Patrick Queen, who, like Stone, was part of the Ravens’ 2020 draft class. “He didn’t complain about anything. He just goes out there and does what he does at a high level. That’s what we appreciate about him.”

go-deeper
GO DEEPER
Patrick Queen, Geno Stone among Ravens defenders excelling in contract years
Former Ravens wide receiver Torrey Smith, who still spends time around the team, recently wrote: “If you are a young player that wants to know what it means to take advantage of your opportunities when your number is called, just watch Geno Stone.”

As a rookie in 2020, Stone made the Ravens’ 53-man roster but was released about a month later because of a roster crunch. Stone cleared waivers, signed to the Ravens’ practice squad and was later elevated for consecutive games to play special teams. He again was signed to the active roster in November, only to be waived about five weeks later. The Texans claimed him, but he didn’t actually play in a game for Houston. Following the season, Stone asked to be let go by the Texans because he was unsure of their direction. Citing “unfinished business,” he re-signed in Baltimore and has been a roster fixture since.

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“He’s a good example of someone that takes care of the details on a day-to-day basis, comes to work every day, does his best, doesn’t complain, doesn’t get all caught up in things (like), ‘Why is this not happening for me,’ or ‘That’s not happening for me.’ Then, when his opportunity comes, he’s prepared and he makes the most of it,” said Ravens coach John Harbaugh. “That’s something that it’s just great to see, and it’s a good lesson for young people. If they’re going to watch that (and say), ‘I want to be great at something’ or ‘I want to be a pro football player,’ watch Geno Stone and what he’s been doing.”

Following the lead and example of mentors such as Anthony Levine Sr. and Chuck Clark, Stone earned himself a role by excelling on special teams. When the Ravens have had injuries at safety, he’s stepped in and played well. Stone started seven games last season in place of an injured Williams. Even before Williams went down this year, Stone was playing in three-safety looks.

“It’s not a good situation, because guys go down, but at the end of the day, it’s a ‘next man up’ mentality, and I always try to take that with me,” Stone said recently. “I’ve been like that since college, since high school, whatever it was. Whatever obstacle I had in front of me, I wanted to make sure I (made) the best of my opportunity.”

Stone wrote down a list of goals for himself in late April. One of them was to get three interceptions. He crossed that one off by Week 6.

Things have never come easy for Stone. His birth father hasn’t been a regular presence in his life. Erin Stone, who had Geno when she was 19, did all she could to protect and provide for her son. But there was only so much she could do to shield him from heartbreak.

Erin’s fiance, Bobby Lepore, who became a father figure to Stone, was killed in a car accident when Stone was just 9 years old. Years later, Stone was on his way to a summer league basketball game when he learned that his birth father had been arrested.

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“There was a lot to deal with growing up and even just the past few years,” Stone said Wednesday. “My grandmom was a person who helped raise me and she passed away. It was two years ago Monday. Another mentor of mine, he died seven or eight months ago. Growing up, I’d lean on my family a lot. I tried to be the man of the house, but I always had people helping me out and trying to support me as I chased my dreams.”

Stone essentially grew up on football fields, baseball diamonds and basketball courts. His uncle, Sam Flora, was the athletic director at New Castle, which gave Stone access to all the high school’s fields and its teams. As a youngster, Stone would run onto the field during Hurricanes football games to retrieve the tee after kickoffs. It wasn’t too long before he’d be starring on those same fields.

Malik Hooker, a seven-year NFL veteran who starts at safety for the Dallas Cowboys, was a few years ahead of Stone at New Castle High. College recruiters flocked to the school to woo Hooker, who wound up going to Ohio State and eventually was taken by the Indianapolis Colts with the No. 15 pick in the 2017 NFL Draft.

“Malik opened up some eyes in our town. It was like, ‘OK, this is possible,’” Cowart said. “It’s like catching a shooting star. Geno had the belief and disposition to do it.”


Geno Stone hugging his mom, Erin, following a New Castle High School football game. (Courtesy: Joe Cowart)
Stone may not have had the freakish athleticism and natural ability that Hooker possessed, but he was plenty athletic and his instincts were off the charts. All he did was make big plays, both offensively and defensively, and help New Castle win games. He was a multi-sport star, an honor roll student and the homecoming king to boot. Yet, no top colleges initially came calling.

It was Stone’s dream to play college football at Penn State. He visited State College, Pa., nine different times in some capacity. Yet, the Nittany Lions never extended him a scholarship offer. Michigan State expressed interest at one point and set up a campus visit for him. However, it canceled the visit a few days before his arrival and informed him that it didn’t have a scholarship available.

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“I was infuriated,” Cowart said. “Everybody in the country was recruiting Malik, and Geno was a very similar prospect. I was banging doors down, saying this kid is going to be a multiyear starter at a Power 5 school.”

Stone ultimately committed to play at Kent State, located in Ohio and a little over an hour away from New Castle. He’d have an opportunity to get on the field right away and be close enough to his mom and mentors. But a bigger opportunity and difficult decision loomed.

An assistant football coach from the University of Kentucky was at New Castle to watch Marcus Hooker, Malik’s younger brother and a teammate of Stone’s, play basketball when Cowart asked him for a favor. He wanted the coach to review Stone’s football film and report back. The coach agreed with Cowart’s assessment that Stone was a legitimate Power 5 conference player. Kentucky, though, didn’t have a scholarship to offer.

The same coach, however, happened to be on a recruiting trip shortly thereafter when he crossed paths with Iowa’s Parker while at a school in Detroit. Parker, who had recently learned that two defensive backs had backed out of their commitments to Iowa, asked in jest whether there were any defensive backs in the United States of America who he could bring to Iowa. The Kentucky coach brought up the name of an under-the-radar player at New Castle High School. By day’s end, Parker, who was up against national signing day, had made contact with Cowart and was planning his visit to Western Pennsylvania. A scholarship offer came next.


After leaving Iowa following his junior year, Geno Stone was drafted in the seventh round by Baltimore. (Michael Allio / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The only problem, though, was Stone was barely interested. He was tired of the recruiting process, and the only thing he knew about Iowa was that it was far from home and his mom, who is his best friend.

“I didn’t want to go,” Stone said

Erin, however, was persistent. She at least wanted her son to visit the Iowa City campus and see what it was all about. He had worked far too hard and accomplished far too much to not explore all his options. Skittish about flying, Stone balked. “That’s OK,” Erin said. They’d just make the nearly 10-hour trip by car. They drove into the teeth of a snowstorm for part of the ride.

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“Taking my chance to go out there and visit kind of opened my eyes to how much of the world I hadn’t seen yet,” Stone said. “I didn’t want to miss out on an opportunity that I thought would never happen. It turned out to be the best opportunity of my life.”

A challenging and frustrating process produced a happy and rewarding ending. It foreshadowed another life lesson that repeated itself more than three years later. Stone, who declared for the draft after his junior year, was devastated in falling to the seventh round. Nursing a leg injury, he didn’t run very well at the NFL Scouting Combine — and that probably hurt his stock.

There were also the same questions about his size and athleticism that he heard from college programs. His NFL Draft scouting report cited his “stubby build with short arms” and “below-average explosion.” It also said that “he lacks juice and length to make enough plays.”

“At the end of the day, I was a productive player. I showed that with my instincts,” Stone said. “They tried to knock my speed, but at the same time, my game speed is faster than most people’s regular speed. Are you going to pick someone who is going to get the job done, or are you going to pick somebody by how they look?”

By now, Stone knows the unfortunate reality for players who may not fit the size/speed prototype. His career is also a testament to the fact that for many players, there is more than meets the eye.

“Sometimes I think that maybe professional teams, when the measurables don’t add up and the analysts say something different, they don’t like to roll the dice. Geno just needed a shot,” Blundo said. “Keep doubting him if you want. You’re not going to get in his way.”

Jmble
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Re: General Free Agency News & Chatter.

Post by Jmble » Tue Mar 12, 2024 11:05 am

Bengals have found a Tight End.
Former Patriots TE Mike Gesicki is signing a one-year deal worth up to $3.25 million with the Cincinnati Bengals, per source.
Probably the best case scenario for what was available in Free Agency. It's an upgrade from Irv Smith, but certainly not a world beater.

Only one year and still leaves us plenty of room to bring in somebody else.

Edit - Best case scenario is a little much, but the other players available aren't much better. Maybe Noah Fant, but I wouldn't feel any better about somebody like Gerald Everett than I do about Geisicki.

Jmble
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Re: General Free Agency News & Chatter.

Post by Jmble » Tue Mar 12, 2024 11:13 am

Jmble wrote:
Tue Mar 12, 2024 11:05 am
Bengals have found a Tight End.
Former Patriots TE Mike Gesicki is signing a one-year deal worth up to $3.25 million with the Cincinnati Bengals, per source.
Probably the best case scenario for what was available in Free Agency. It's an upgrade from Irv Smith, but certainly not a world beater.

Only one year and still leaves us plenty of room to bring in somebody else.

Edit - Best case scenario is a little much, but the other players available aren't much better. Maybe Noah Fant, but I wouldn't feel any better about somebody like Gerald Everett than I do about Geisicki.
from Paul Dehner
#Bengals going with Mike Gesicki at TE is an interesting twist.

Much more of a WR than TE. Sort of a plus-Tanner Hudson, a player-type that Joe Burrow loved, specifically in critical moments (3D, RZ).

Makes both 11 and 12 personnel wrinkles very interesting w/Burrow.

skycruiser
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Re: General Free Agency News & Chatter.

Post by skycruiser » Tue Mar 12, 2024 11:13 am

And his griddy is legendary

skycruiser
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Re: General Free Agency News & Chatter.

Post by skycruiser » Tue Mar 12, 2024 11:17 am

Feels like big money is about to be spent on DT an/or RT

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