State of the Bengals address

[mrschaney]

We're a small market franchise, probably aren't going to be able to do much as long as Burrow is here. He is a great QB, but in order to pay him, that leaves us short at other positions. We are going to have to build back better, from the bottom up rather than from the top down so that every position is upgraded rather than degraded. Need to come up with a Big Beautiful Bengals Plan to get this ship righted.
Just listen to these words.

 

[Brees#1]

 

[Xeliou66]

The Bengals may not be able to capitalize on having an elite QB in Burrow, given their weak D. They haven’t drafted very well overall IMO, Myles Murphy has done nothing in his first 2 years after being the 2023 first round pick, and Shemar Stewart has bust written all over him and is already having issues with his contract, and their best guy on D In Hendrickson is having issues with the front office as well, who knows how that will work out. It’s a shame the Bengals have so many issues on D because Burrow is awesome and their O is top tier with him at the helm. Last year they did lose some heartbreakers and if a couple of those games had gone differently they would’ve made the playoffs, and Burrow did lead the Bengals to the Super Bowl in 2021 with an average D and a weak O-Line. So we’ll see how they do this year.

 

[jerseyhawksfan79]

 

[BeaReylo]

 

[Black Adam]

 

[Stakesarehigh]

The beauty of the NFL is that it does not matter how big the market is

 

[Darrell Green Fan]

The beauty of the NFL is that it does not matter how big the market is

I was about to say the same thing. This is not baseball where the Yankees have a huge advantage over the Royals because they have much more revenu. This is simply not the case in the NFl. Small market team is an excuse, the problem is the owner is just like his dad.

 

[Cincyfan78]

The beauty of the NFL is that it does not matter how big the market is

Yep. That being said, the Bengals owners are "poor" by NFL standards. Their main source of income is the Bengals. It puts them at a really difficult spot as guarantees continue to climb as that means more and more cash in escrow. Cash they will, at some point, struggle to actually have on hand. It's another big reason why they've avoided guarantees after the 1st year until Burrow/Chase/Higgins - and one of the major sticking points in the issue/saga with Hendrickson.

NFL owners are not poor by any stretch - but...the Browns/Blackburns are NFL poor owners, if that makes sense.

 

[fightinfunbags]

Yep. That being said, the Bengals owners are "poor" by NFL standards. Their main source of income is the Bengals. It puts them at a really difficult spot as guarantees continue to climb as that means more and more cash in escrow. Cash they will, at some point, struggle to actually have on hand. It's another big reason why they've avoided guarantees after the 1st year until Burrow/Chase/Higgins - and one of the major sticking points in the issue/saga with Hendrickson.

NFL owners are not poor by any stretch - but...the Browns/Blackburns are NFL poor owners, if that makes sense.

They should sell the team if they’re unable/unwilling to compete. They’re just stealing money.

 

[Cincyfan78]

I was about to say the same thing. This is not baseball where the Yankees have a huge advantage over the Royals because they have much more revenu. This is simply not the case in the NFl. Small market team is an excuse, the problem is the owner is just like his dad.

I've said this a few times - had Paul Brown not died when he did, I think the Bengals would have been MUCH better off. Part of Mike's issue with running the team is that he wants to keep it as it was when his dad ran it, or as close as he can, as some kind of "Tribute". However, Paul Brown was an innovator and a mover. He understood the landscape and the need to change things and do things differently to succeed. Somehow, Mike missed that entire lesson of his dad's life.

Sadly, many of the same issues that Brown plagued the team with in the early and late 90's seemed to be passed down to his daughter here in the 2020's. They continue to try and operate with a foot in each world. A foot in the new NFL/Modern NFL, and a foot in the tradition and history of how the Bengals were run under Paul...which is completely unsustainable in today's NFL.

As an example up until recently (I'd say around 2022 forward...but around then) the Bengals were notorious for keeping players rather than cutting them. They always saw a contract/deal as a contract/deal - and it went both ways. Players played for what they signed for, and the owner would honor the contract. In a way - this worked out because while you could have a larger contract on paper with another team, everyone knew those last years were voidable and likely would never be seen. With the Bengals, you were going to see all 3-4-5 years of your deal...until recently. Now the Bengals are going back and asking guys to take less after bad years...yet telling guys like Trey "You signed a contract"...doesn't work that way. Either you honor all deals under the terms, or you have to admit when guys like Trey out-perform their contracts, they deserve to be paid.

 

[Cincyfan78]

They should sell the team if they’re unable/unwilling to compete. They’re just stealing money.

Fat chance. First, they are making money. Why would they sell? The NFL prints money. The Bengals are just too stupid to realize how to spend it in ways that actually allow them to CONSISTENTLY win games at a high level. They step over dollars to pick up dimes...and while that sucks, it isn't to the level where other owners are going to vote them to force-sell the team.

Despite how crappy things get ran in general...the Bengals have been competitive more than not since the mid 2000/2005ish on. They've had bad years, for sure, but they've won division titles, won an AFCC in 2021, and returned in 2022 and were in the SB in 2021.

 

[Tapey]

 

[Moab]

Ohio, right?

 

[Brees#1]

JSYK, the Bengals were five game winning drives away from a 13-4 record with that bad defense. Chiefs, Commanders, Ravens, Ravens, Chargers.