2024 Training Camp stuff

[cincygrad]

What I want to know, who gets the interest of this money that is put into a money making escrow? I know it is not the player. If t he owner receives the interest I can't imagine this is an issue at all for owners then, but I doubt they do. Does the league just get to keep the interest?

My assumption is that there are a number of restrictions that would make any investing be on the conservative side. If you plan to remove the money from escrow within a year or two, you can't be all that agressive with investment strategies..... But honestly, I have no idea. And the NFL has never really shared the rules, so we don't even know if they enforce this rule and what the laws are around it.

But, given that the Bengals have sold naming rights to the stadium and have begun to aggressively explore other avenues for revenue, it's pretty clear they are changing operations to generate funds that are needed for this era.

 

[cincygrad]

Is it really this hard to find someone that can punt? I mean, there has to be a old veteran FA that can at least be somewhat consistent. Every one of these young guys we have brought in basically suck. It's hard to imagine how this won't hurt us this year.

 

[DanBengalfan]

Is it really this hard to find someone that can punt? I mean, there has to be a old veteran FA that can at least be somewhat consistent. Every one of these young guys we have brought in basically suck. It's hard to imagine how this won't hurt us this year.

Marvin Lewis probably knows a guy who can punt good.

 

[Cincyfan78]

Is it really this hard to find someone that can punt? I mean, there has to be a old veteran FA that can at least be somewhat consistent. Every one of these young guys we have brought in basically suck. It's hard to imagine how this won't hurt us this year.

As soon as Araiza was cleared in that whole thing - they should have signed him. Big-time missed opportunity. Brown loves a redemption story, and that dude could kick the ball from one endzone to the other.

 

[Cincyfan78]

A couple of thoughts after game 2 of the pre-season:

The Backups held their own against the Bears starters.

This defense has a few guys who are going to be really, really good coming up through the ranks. Newsome flashes - gave up some plays late, but allowing him the chance to sit this year and learn is going to pay off big down the road. I love Hilton, but I think we are seeing the new nickle guy next year in Newsome. Meta at LB (I'm not spelling his name each time) is a DUDE.

Offensively - interesting to see Burton returning punts, but gives the team options. Jones should be ready to start the season, thankfully. WR depth is good, but missing Browning as the backup QB clearly was an issue. Backup OL looks good in some places (Kirkland, Lee) and bad in others (Ford, Carmen). Though, for Ford...he shouldn't be playing Tackle...he's an IOL all day, but injuries forced the Bengals' hand.

Good Lord - find a punter. Someone. Anyone. What is Lee Johnson up to these days? I mean, I can roll out there and punt the ball 35 yards...this is beyond stupid. Go find someone who can kick the crap out of the ball and move on already.

Lastly - and this just made me laugh....Headlines after this game was "Williams stays hot, looks to build on great outing" (or something to this effect. Caleb Williams went 6 of 13. Did absolutely nothing against the primary backups until they were pulled into the 2nd quarter and then had a nice pass and a nice play where he ran around like he did in college and scored. While those things will happen with Williams' athletic ability...in no way did he play well, look that great, or do anything of substance at any time against anyone who would resemble guys he would be seeing over the course of the 17 week NFL schedule. I just had to laugh because it made it sound like he did so well...I only watched the 1st quarter - so I went back and looked at the box score and saw 6-13 for just 75 yards....saw the hightlight run....meh. LOL

 

[cincygrad]

A couple of thoughts after game 2 of the pre-season:

The Backups held their own against the Bears starters.

This defense has a few guys who are going to be really, really good coming up through the ranks. Newsome flashes - gave up some plays late, but allowing him the chance to sit this year and learn is going to pay off big down the road. I love Hilton, but I think we are seeing the new nickle guy next year in Newsome. Meta at LB (I'm not spelling his name each time) is a DUDE.

Offensively - interesting to see Burton returning punts, but gives the team options. Jones should be ready to start the season, thankfully. WR depth is good, but missing Browning as the backup QB clearly was an issue. Backup OL looks good in some places (Kirkland, Lee) and bad in others (Ford, Carmen). Though, for Ford...he shouldn't be playing Tackle...he's an IOL all day, but injuries forced the Bengals' hand.

Good Lord - find a punter. Someone. Anyone. What is Lee Johnson up to these days? I mean, I can roll out there and punt the ball 35 yards...this is beyond stupid. Go find someone who can kick the crap out of the ball and move on already.

Lastly - and this just made me laugh....Headlines after this game was "Williams stays hot, looks to build on great outing" (or something to this effect. Caleb Williams went 6 of 13. Did absolutely nothing against the primary backups until they were pulled into the 2nd quarter and then had a nice pass and a nice play where he ran around like he did in college and scored. While those things will happen with Williams' athletic ability...in no way did he play well, look that great, or do anything of substance at any time against anyone who would resemble guys he would be seeing over the course of the 17 week NFL schedule. I just had to laugh because it made it sound like he did so well...I only watched the 1st quarter - so I went back and looked at the box score and saw 6-13 for just 75 yards....saw the hightlight run....meh. LOL

Quick note about Caleb Williams -- I hope he succeeds just because I am over 50 and I've never seen a Bears QB that was better than average. That fanbase deserves it. That said, he's the type of player that drives me crazy in our 2-second twitterverse of highlights. The athlete fanboys (led by Ruiz at the Ringer) absolutely salivate for dudes that can throw it 60 yards off one foot on a dead run. There is a lot of conflating of great athletic skills with great quarterbacking. It's the type of thing that leads people to overrate Herbert and underrate Burrow. My sense is that Williams has a lot of quarterbacking skill and we'll be fine. But, jury is out until we see it.

I like Newton. At the very least, he is a guy that you can count on to do multiple things for the D and/or Teams. I think he's going to have a solid career. I also love what we are seeing out of that LB - I'd love to see him continue to improve and eventually take over for Pratt.

I think Cody Ford is fine. He's a guy that shouldn't be a starter but has a lot of position versatility and is reliable. His weaknesses are less apparent at guard than they are at tackle, but given that he is our 4th tackle, I'm not sure we can do much better. What teams have 4 good tackles? Matt Lee is intriguing and it's nice to have hope that we might eventually develop one of our own. Overall, this is the best line Burrow will have played behind in his NFL career.

I'm so tired of our punting situation. It really can't be that hard. We don't even need someone that is excellent - Just someone that won't kick line drives with no hang time or put up a 30 yarder when we're already backed up. There has to be someone that will hit the waiver wire that has more skill than the bums we've been strapped with.

 

[Cincyfan78]

Quick note about Caleb Williams -- I hope he succeeds just because I am over 50 and I've never seen a Bears QB that was better than average. That fanbase deserves it. That said, he's the type of player that drives me crazy in our 2-second twitterverse of highlights. The athlete fanboys (led by Ruiz at the Ringer) absolutely salivate for dudes that can throw it 60 yards off one foot on a dead run. There is a lot of conflating of great athletic skills with great quarterbacking. It's the type of thing that leads people to overrate Herbert and underrate Burrow. My sense is that Williams has a lot of quarterbacking skill and we'll be fine. But, jury is out until we see it.

I like Newton. At the very least, he is a guy that you can count on to do multiple things for the D and/or Teams. I think he's going to have a solid career. I also love what we are seeing out of that LB - I'd love to see him continue to improve and eventually take over for Pratt.

I think Cody Ford is fine. He's a guy that shouldn't be a starter but has a lot of position versatility and is reliable. His weaknesses are less apparent at guard than they are at tackle, but given that he is our 4th tackle, I'm not sure we can do much better. What teams have 4 good tackles? Matt Lee is intriguing and it's nice to have hope that we might eventually develop one of our own. Overall, this is the best line Burrow will have played behind in his NFL career.

I'm so tired of our punting situation. It really can't be that hard. We don't even need someone that is excellent - Just someone that won't kick line drives with no hang time or put up a 30 yarder when we're already backed up. There has to be someone that will hit the waiver wire that has more skill than the bums we've been strapped with.

Personally - I think Caleb Williams = Baker Mayfield.

The issues with Caleb as a leader, in the clubhouse, and how he carries himself are pretty well documented if you go back and read some of the subtext from USC players both during the season, after he decided to skip the bowl, and after the entire season. That's not to say he can't develop - but Mayfield's biggest issue (one of) was the consistency of leadership. Williams seems to be even less of that type of leader than Mayfield. If you go back to USC's losing section last year - there are a lot of, IMO, red flags.

Again - he's a top tier Athlete at QB - the question becomes can he learn how to lead a locker room and develop that consistency on the field.

 

[DanBengalfan]

chad johnson can punt

 

[Cincyfan78]

So - No starters will play against the Colts.

None played last week.

They played 1 drive in the 1st game.

THIS was Taylors big plan on "playing the starters more" to get them ready for the early part of the season?

FFS - shoot me now. I'm not saying they need to play every game, or even full quarters - but 1 drive does absolutely shit to prepare them better for the regular season. DUMB AS F*

 

[cincygrad]

So - No starters will play against the Colts.

None played last week.

They played 1 drive in the 1st game.

THIS was Taylors big plan on "playing the starters more" to get them ready for the early part of the season?

FFS - shoot me now. I'm not saying they need to play every game, or even full quarters - but 1 drive does absolutely shit to prepare them better for the regular season. DUMB AS F*

I guess I will say that in Zac's defense, they did have two practices with other teams. And, Burrow has practiced more than ever by quite a distance. So, there are some reasons for optimism. Opening with one of the bottom 5 teams in the league and being at home will also help.

 

[CrashDavisSports]

I guess I will say that in Zac's defense, they did have two practices with other teams. And, Burrow has practiced more than ever by quite a distance. So, there are some reasons for optimism. Opening with one of the bottom 5 teams in the league and being at home will also help.

I agree with this. I think Taylor anticipated playing Burrow more against the Bears and Colts in practice scenario that protects the QB more than a preseason game does. However, I will also say this, this team is more than just Burrow and the rest of the team has looked like shit the first several games of the season as well. They could use more seasoning to ramp up for the regular season. Maybe they should just do away with preseason altogether and just have an extended training camp and schedule a couple practices with neighboring teams that are a bus ride away.

On a side note, Myles Murphy jacked his knee up in practice yesterday, so who knows how long we lost him for. There goes our rotational backup to Hubbard who has been hurt all spring, and Hendrickson who has also been hurt and complaining about his contract.

 

[cincygrad]

I agree with this. I think Taylor anticipated playing Burrow more against the Bears and Colts in practice scenario that protects the QB more than a preseason game does. However, I will also say this, this team is more than just Burrow and the rest of the team has looked like shit the first several games of the season as well. They could use more seasoning to ramp up for the regular season. Maybe they should just do away with preseason altogether and just have an extended training camp and schedule a couple practices with neighboring teams that are a bus ride away.

On a side note, Myles Murphy jacked his knee up in practice yesterday, so who knows how long we lost him for. There goes our rotational backup to Hubbard who has been hurt all spring, and Hendrickson who has also been hurt and complaining about his contract.

Yeah, I can't quite figure out how they pull things together for the season. They always look like crap during the preseason. They make tons of mistakes with penalties, blitzes, etc..... And that has definitely carried over to the regular season the last couple of years. On the other hand, the team is generally one of the least penalized in the league and has been that way ever since Taylor took over. And they continue to get better as the weather gets cooler - It's just hard to understand why they can't speed up the process a little. This year will be particularly important - They play some really bad teams in the first half of the schedule - Can't afford to lose to the bad teams.

 

[DanBengalfan]

they probably get more out of the non televised practices. they can run a play and not have it recorded and studied by an opposing scout with DVR.

I'm ok with mitigating the injury risk by NOT letting certain starters play in the preseason games.

 

[DanBengalfan]

we're basically watching A - AAA NFL football during the preseason.
I think it would be better if the football minor leagues operated like minor league baseball works with the MLB

from a business standpoint, I don't think anyone wants to do that. basically that's what the Rocks league is doing, but it doesn't work that closely with NFL teams.

 

[CrashDavisSports]

we're basically watching A - AAA NFL football during the preseason.
I think it would be better if the football minor leagues operated like minor league baseball works with the MLB

from a business standpoint, I don't think anyone wants to do that. basically that's what the Rocks league is doing, but it doesn't work that closely with NFL teams.

That is what college football is right? They don't allow graduating high school players to sign with an NFL teams like MLB teams do. They have to be 3 years removed from high school to be eligible. So in reality college football is minor league football.

 

[cincygrad]

That is what college football is right? They don't allow graduating high school players to sign with an NFL teams like MLB teams do. They have to be 3 years removed from high school to be eligible. So in reality college football is minor league football.

Somewhat. I think the big difference is that the major league baseball teams are affiliated with the minor league clubs. They work together with regards to player development. While the colllege coaches want their players drafted, I don't think they give too much of a care about developent for an eventual NFL careeer. I think they just want to win games.

 

[CrashDavisSports]

Somewhat. I think the big difference is that the major league baseball teams are affiliated with the minor league clubs. They work together with regards to player development. While the colllege coaches want their players drafted, I don't think they give too much of a care about developent for an eventual NFL careeer. I think they just want to win games.

I agree with them wanting to win, but most of the winning coaches are NFL type of run programs that not only promote winning but preparation for NFL life. Those are obviously the bigger programs with experienced coaches. You don't see many option offenses winning in college football anymore. Most successful programs run an NFL style offense, and most the successful big programs have to counter those offenses with NFL style defenses.

 

[Cincyfan78]

I guess I will say that in Zac's defense, they did have two practices with other teams. And, Burrow has practiced more than ever by quite a distance. So, there are some reasons for optimism. Opening with one of the bottom 5 teams in the league and being at home will also help.

I get that...but practices with teams does not = game atmosphere.

Jonah touched on that last year as a reason he wanted to get into a pre-season game coming off that injury. Said that game atmosphere and intensity is completely different than structured practices - even against other teams. This is a view I've long held to be true (opinion) and agree with Williams' take here.

Also - Taylor talked about getting everyone more reps in the pre-season games. Said it was his goal last year before Burrow got hurt. Then everyone gave him a pass for last year because of that and the expectation of more snaps this year.

Now here we are...in the same spot as always. This is Taylors MO through his career here. He talks a lot about doing different things, but rarely actually follows through. This goes for the Pre-Season setup as well as how he manages games and even calls plays. He's made numerous references to "plays/calls" he'd do differently if the situation comes up again...and then does THE SAME THING!

I realize this might be a bit nitpicky on my part - but this team is too damned good to have another slow start. The Window in the NFL can close just as fast as it opens - and it's going to be a damned shame to look back and think "what if" on a few of these seasons where the Bengals didn't get the most of their regular season and in the end, potentially cost them in the post seasons.

 

[cincygrad]

I agree with them wanting to win, but most of the winning coaches are NFL type of run programs that not only promote winning but preparation for NFL life. Those are obviously the bigger programs with experienced coaches. You don't see many option offenses winning in college football anymore. Most successful programs run an NFL style offense, and most the successful big programs have to counter those offenses with NFL style defenses.

I think the role of a college coach has as much to do with talent identification and recruitment as it does with Xs and Os.... The talent discrepancy between the top programs and everyone else is just crazy. This is different in the NFL, where talent is not all that different between a playoff team and a 7 win team. It's funny because I used to think of College Football as the place to go to watch a wide variety of schemes and approaches to the game.... Now, it seems to me that most colleges are running the same crap as every other college team and the innovation is actually occurring in the pro game. And maybe it's because of transfer rules, but you also don't see the same player development over the years that you used to see in college football.

This gives me a good chance to take a cheap shot at Ohio State..... This is what their problem is - Ryan Day sure can recruit the fuck out of some blue-chip talent. But he does nothing with them. How that guy couldn't win a title with Stroud and the many blue-chip receivers he has coached speaks to the fact that he is a talent collector and not a coach.

 

[Cincyfan78]

I think the role of a college coach has as much to do with talent identification and recruitment as it does with Xs and Os.... The talent discrepancy between the top programs and everyone else is just crazy. This is different in the NFL, where talent is not all that different between a playoff team and a 7 win team. It's funny because I used to think of College Football as the place to go to watch a wide variety of schemes and approaches to the game.... Now, it seems to me that most colleges are running the same crap as every other college team and the innovation is actually occurring in the pro game. And maybe it's because of transfer rules, but you also don't see the same player development over the years that you used to see in college football.

This gives me a good chance to take a cheap shot at Ohio State..... This is what their problem is - Ryan Day sure can recruit the fuck out of some blue-chip talent. But he does nothing with them. How that guy couldn't win a title with Stroud and the many blue-chip receivers he has coached speaks to the fact that he is a talent collector and not a coach.

To your point...

The Bengals finished dead last in the AFCN last season...and had 9 wins. A historically difficult schedule. A healthy Burrow for 5 games (maybe). A defense that was decimated by injuries and youth, and one of the worst under Lou.

They were a win away from the playoffs.....

The gap between talent at the NFL level is marginal. Sure, you have the few who are the greats. The tier 1s...but the vast majority of 53 man rosters are filled with guys who are all within reach of one another.