So, the Bengals had T.O. up in Cincinnati because Chad Johnson really wanted him. Then the buzz caught the story and everyone was speculating what would happen to the Bengals with both of those crazy loudmouths on that team. It seems that we’ll never know.
T.O. certainly isn’t worth 4 years and $28 million, but neither is Antonio Bryant. In fact, Bryant is someone I never would have pegged for such a contract on such a team. Yes, he had 83 catches for 1,248 yds and 7 touchdowns, but that doesn’t mean that he can subsist on the Bengals offense. Carson Palmer doesn’t need two “#1’s”–he needs options.
For some reason I think the Bengals think that they can go back to the days of Johnson and Houshmandzadeh. That worked for about 5 seconds the LAST time the made the playoffs. It isn’t going to work now.
I’m sure Antonio Bryant is a nice guy, but they’ll have to have him running possession routes and slot routes as a decoy for Johnson AND the occasional post route to keep the defense honest. However, why would you may $7 million a year for someone who does that job?
This “uncapped” thing is making people do the weirdest stuff. If I were the Bengals I would have settled for what I had and worked on the defense. Clearly, the offense flows, but the defense let them down more than once last year.
They’re going to draft for the defense? Ok, who can they draft that will start on Day One besides Ndamokung Suh? Nobody!
The Bengals need to make some hires on defense that keep them fresh AND improving at the same time. This isn’t rocket science, but I think they’re overthinking by trying to overpower people with their offense. It’ll only lead to more points allowed on the other side of the ball.
