From Cincinnati.com:
http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20081...60379/1066
Pro Bowl wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh will not get the Bengals' franchise tag this offseason, according to NFL.com's Adam Schefter.
Schefter says Cincinnati will instead try to sign Houshmandzadeh to an extension before his contract expires in late February.
Offensive tackle Stacy Andrews was last season's franchise tag recipient, netting him a $7.455 million salary.
But Andrews injured his knee in the Browns game Sunday, so the Bengals probably won't re-tag him this year because the injury will diminish his attractiveness on the market, Schefter said.
"Don't look for Andrews' tag to go on Houshmandzadeh," Schefter said on his NFL.com blog, citing "a league source."
Houshmandzadeh, 31 years old, has rebuffed previous attempts by the Bengals to sign him to a long-term deal.
Gosh it is huge that we re-sign Housh. We have to have him to be our go-to guy because, as bad as I hate to say it Chad has lost a step over the past season. It is neccesary, if Mike Brown plans on winning a Super Bowl in the next 5-10 years. The blocks are in place for the Bengals to return to being an NFL powerhouse. Young Defense, that has a lot of potential and an offense that had one of the most prolific passing attacks in 2005 with a healthy Carson Palmer, and an added dimension in having Cedric Benson at Halfback. That brings up another discussion though. Will Mike Brown re-sign Cedric Benson? I sure hope so.
Jshort5 Wrote:Gosh it is huge that we re-sign Housh. We have to have him to be our go-to guy because, as bad as I hate to say it Chad has lost a step over the past season. It is neccesary, if Mike Brown plans on winning a Super Bowl in the next 5-10 years. The blocks are in place for the Bengals to return to being an NFL powerhouse. Young Defense, that has a lot of potential and an offense that had one of the most prolific passing attacks in 2005 with a healthy Carson Palmer, and an added dimension in having Cedric Benson at Halfback. That brings up another discussion though. Will Mike Brown re-sign Cedric Benson? I sure hope so.
Great Post :Thumbs:
I agree, Chad has lost a step, but Chad did it to himself IMO. Chad was arugably the hardest worker on the Bengals, and maybe the NFL. Obviously, Chad didn't do a lot of work this past offseason because he was on every media outlet he could get on bashing the Bengals.
You are right, TJ is a must. Benson gives us something that we have not had in a couple of years that the tailback position, so we need to find a way to keep him. In the Draft, they must invest heavily on both sides of the line. IMO, 5 linemen (either side) in the first 8 draft picks.
I hope they get some linemen in the draft and they are projected at getting a o-lineman in the first round, but hopefully T.J. resigns and everybody gets healthy because we did have the most players on the IR.
That's a great thing for the Bengals to re-sign Tj...Because, he brings so much to the Bengals offense. It's a great keep for the Bengals.
Good luck to the Bengals in the years to come!
Bengal4Life Wrote:That's a great thing for the Bengals to re-sign Tj...Because, he brings so much to the Bengals offense. It's a great keep for the Bengals.
Good luck to the Bengals in the years to come!
Sounds like you think that he alerady re-signed. He hasn't if that was what you were thinking.
Jshort5 Wrote:Sounds like you think that he alerady re-signed. He hasn't if that was what you were thinking.
No, I didn't think they re-signed him just yet. But I'm just hoping they do. Lol
We have about a month and a half to re-sign him, which he wants, so I'm praying thate we do because he has about four good years left in him, and, if we draft or sign a tackle (Oher) and a center, we have a legitimate shot next season.
Do you realize that our defense was about 12th overall in YPG and 19th in points? If our offense was on the level since it has been since about '04, we walk deep into the playoffs.
BFritz Wrote:We have about a month and a half to re-sign him, which he wants, so I'm praying thate we do because he has about four good years left in him, and, if we draft or sign a tackle (Oher) and a center, we have a legitimate shot next season.
Do you realize that our defense was about 12th overall in YPG and 19th in points? If our offense was on the level since it has been since about '04, we walk deep into the playoffs.
A legitimate shot at what?
Joe the Plumber Wrote:A legitimate shot at what?
A legitimate shot at having a winning season, if the team makes some changes for the better this offseason. Have you seen their 2009 schedule? Wow. Even just being an average NFL team would probably get them 9-10 wins against that bunch.
Of course, being an
average NFL team is the tricky part for this franchise...
Joe the Plumber Wrote:A legitimate shot at what?
Going deep in the playoffs.
Look at the past few seasons- we flirted with the playoffs or made the playoffs. and what was our defense like? HORRIBLE- low 20s or high 20s in ypg and ppg, and that was with teams not ranking up big stats because they could just run the ball on us.
So, if our offense can return to anywhere near as good as it was in those years, we'll be as good as any team in the league.
BFritz Wrote:Going deep in the playoffs.
Look at the past few seasons- we flirted with the playoffs or made the playoffs. and what was our defense like? HORRIBLE- low 20s or high 20s in ypg and ppg, and that was with teams not ranking up big stats because they could just run the ball on us.
So, if our offense can return to anywhere near as good as it was in those years, we'll be as good as any team in the league.
I don't think I'd go THAT far...
But, I do think a winning season (9-10 wins) is possible next year, assuming the team makes good changes this offseason. Like drafting a stud OT in the first round, and a center later on. Like re-signing T.J. and Cedric Benson. And like deciding that it's time for Bratkowski to move on.
Still, more important than anything else is getting a healthy Palmer back. Without him, this team won't beat anybody of consequence.
More Cowbell Wrote:I don't think I'd go THAT far...
But, I do think a winning season (9-10 wins) is possible next year, assuming the team makes good changes this offseason. Like drafting a stud OT in the first round, and a center later on. Like re-signing T.J. and Cedric Benson. And like deciding that it's time for Bratkowski to move on.
Still, more important than anything else is getting a healthy Palmer back. Without him, this team won't beat anybody of consequence.
Absolutely. Though I won't pin it all on him, much of the problem has been the quality of his playcalling (or lack of). IMO, it has been on both sides of the line that has been the Bengals downfall (going back to the pitiful play that got Palmer hurt in the first place).
My top five wish-list:
1. Sign TJ to a 5 year deal
2. Draft and sign freeagent linemen
3. Sign Benson (I love Benson, but give me a good line and you can create good running backs)
4. replace Bratkowski
5. Hire and GM and add scouts
Stardust Wrote:Absolutely. Though I won't pin it all on him, much of the problem has been the quality of his playcalling (or lack of). IMO, it has been on both sides of the line that has been the Bengals downfall (going back to the pitiful play that got Palmer hurt in the first place).
My top five wish-list:
1. Sign TJ to a 5 year deal
2. Draft and sign freeagent linemen
3. Sign Benson (I love Benson, but give me a good line and you can create good running backs)
4. replace Bratkowski
5. Hire and GM and add scouts
The first four sound good, but you and I both know that the last one will NEVER happen.
More Cowbell Wrote:The first four sound good, but you and I both know that the last one will NEVER happen.
Unfortunately, you are right....
More Cowbell Wrote:I don't think I'd go THAT far...
But, I do think a winning season (9-10 wins) is possible next year, assuming the team makes good changes this offseason. Like drafting a stud OT in the first round, and a center later on. Like re-signing T.J. and Cedric Benson. And like deciding that it's time for Bratkowski to move on.
Still, more important than anything else is getting a healthy Palmer back. Without him, this team won't beat anybody of consequence.
Honestly, I would go that far just because, in '05, we had the number four offense in the league and our defense was ranked low 20s in points but high 20s in ypg, and we could have played with just about anyone, so give us a top 12 D in that year and see how many teams can beat us.
I truly believe that in '05 that the Bengals' would have won the Super Bowl, if Palmer wasn't cheap shotted by Kim Von Oelhoffen. But that is a different thread.
