LOVELAND MAGAZINE

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Tag: LSU

  • Can the Bengals do right by the team and fanbase with Mixon, Green contract decisions

    Can the Bengals do right by the team and fanbase with Mixon, Green contract decisions

    Willie Lutz is a former Loveland resident, a graduate of Loveland High School, and former sportswriter for Loveland Magazine

    By Willie Lutz

    Closing the regular season with a convincing 33-23 victory over the listless Cleveland Browns, the Cincinnati Bengals closed their first run with Zac Taylor at head coach with a 2-14 record and a whole lot of questions left to answer. Granted, the close of the regular season now brings the season of change for this organization. 

    While the Bengals have plenty of structural reloading to do across this roster, with changes being needed in just about every position category, the team has to decide how the foundation of their team progresses with two key contracts this offseason; A.J. Green and Joe Mixon. 

    Both players have also made their interest in remaining Bengals-for-life pretty clear, especially for Green who’s modeled his career after Arizona Cardinals-lifer Larry Fitzgerald.

    If it comes down to a pick-em, it seems relatively clear that Mixon will carry the day.

    Certainly, a “why not both” reality exists, as the $17.7 million owed to QB Andy Dalton, $11.1 million owed to CB Dre Kirkpatrick, and $9.5 million owed to LT Cordy Glenn in 2020 could very easily come off the books at some point early in this offseason. Despite the ability to make up the money, the team may decide it’s one or the other; if it comes down to a pick-em, it seems relatively clear that Mixon will carry the day. 

    Here’s how Mixon and Green have fared over the past two seasons: 

      • Joe Mixon: 30 games, 2,305 rushing yards, 96.3 total yards per game, 17 total touchdowns, 4.5 yards per rushing attempt. 
      • A.J. Green: 9 games (none since Week 13 of 2018), 694 receiving yards, 77.1 receiving yards per game, 6 touchdowns, 15.1 yards per catch, 9 yards per target. 

    Both have the ability to post league-leading numbers in addition to both being complete game-changers when at the top of their game. While it’s been 395 days since we’ve seen Green play football and 437 days since he posted his last 100-plus yard receiving game, what Bengals fans have seen A.J. do in Cincinnati over his eight-year career is plenty convincing. 

    Going into the offseason, everyone in and around the organization is pretty aware that the team’s star running back will plan to hold out for a new contract before the final year of his rookie deal in 2020. Considering Mixon attempted a hold out before the 2019 season, it seems inevitable that the running back will match his colleagues’ tactics and try to push for a healthy pile of cash from the Cincinnati Bengals. 

    It’s not to say that Mixon will have a big drop in production, but typically players in his position group tend to start falling off around the age of 27.

    Recent changes in football spending wisdom have pointed out the inefficiencies of signing running backs to a second contract, as the burn-out factor has frequently out-weighed the value of the deal. It’s not to say that Mixon will have a big drop in production, but typically players in his position group tend to start falling off around the age of 27. 

    Here’s what’s resulted for the bank accounts of other top running backs around the league who’ve held out for more money:

      • Ezekiel Elliot, Dallas Cowboys: Held out all of training camp, signed a six-year, $90 million ($28 million guaranteed) contract on Sept. 4, allowing him to rush ahead for 1,357 yards and 12 touchdowns on 4.5 yards-per-carry during the 2019 season.
      • Le’Veon Bell, New York Jets: Sat out for entire 2018 season with Pittsburgh Steelers, signed four-year, $52.5 million ($35 million guaranteed) with Jets in Summer 2019. 
      • Melvin Gordon, LA Chargers: Skipped training camp, returned to Chargers in Week 5, finishing the season with 8 touchdowns and a career-low 612 yards on 3.8 yards per attempt.

    As the NFL acts as something of a fraternity or perhaps a very specialized networking organization, Joe Mixon is certainly friends with a lot of the other top-flight running backs in the league who’ve recently held out for more cash. Considering Mixon ranks somewhere in the top three-to-five runners in the league, his contract seems more likely to resemble a lofty salary like Elliot’s deal from Dallas and less like the front-loaded deal Bell received from New York. 

    Green will be more of a specialized case; he’s the face of the franchise in a lot of ways and certainly has the healthiest jersey share of any player currently on the team.

    Green will be more of a specialized case; he’s the face of the franchise in a lot of ways and certainly has the healthiest jersey share of any player currently on the team. Walking around the Paul Brown Stadium tailgate lots, you’ll find exponentially more #18 jerseys than #28, #14, or #85 (Ochocinco and Eifert) on the backs of fans. 

    Over the course of his time in Cincinnati, this fanbase has seen a lot more winning when Green is on the field than when he’s off; the Bengals are 66-48-1 with A.J. on the field and 7-21-1 when he doesn’t check into the game. He was also the best player on the team during their five-straight runs to the playoffs from 2011-2015. Making seven appearances in the Pro Bowl and being named to three Second-Team All-Pro squads, Green has been a talisman of greatness in his 111 starts at wide receiver in Cincinnati.

    The Bengals are 66-48-1 with A.J. on the field and 7-21-1 when he doesn’t check into the game.

    What’ll be interesting to monitor in A.J.’s contract negotiation will be his complete disgust at the concept of playing under the franchise tag. If the team does decide to tag the star wide receiver, it seems like that it would only be to drum up a trade asset so they don’t lose him without some sort of return. In a major market, Green would’ve likely been traded at the deadline for a few nice draft assets, but Cincinnati doesn’t operate with that sort of mindset. 

    Certainly, the organization has to consider the value of having both players around for the development of what’ll be April’s first-overall pick in the draft in LSU’s Joe Burrow. The incoming quarterback will strongly benefit from having a talented arsenal of receiving options during his first season in the NFL, as both Green and Mixon have the ability to lift great pressure off of their quarterback.


     

  • With the first pick secured, the Bengals will go Burrow, right?

    With the first pick secured, the Bengals will go Burrow, right?

    Willie Lutz is a former Loveland resident, a graduate of Loveland High School, and former sportswriter for Loveland Magazine

    by Willie Lutz

    Those who endured the 12-minute run from the Bengals, who looked lifeless in Miami, down 23 points on a day many at home hoped to be the final loss on one of the worst seasons of the last decade in Cincinnati, despite eight losses being within one possession. 

    After a 35-38 overtime loss at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, the Cincinnati Bengals secured the first overall pick in the 2020 draft, a pick that should bring a new franchise centerpiece, Joe Burrow. LSU’s Heisman-winning quarterback won the nation’s collective hearts with a dazzling senior season, finishing with 4,715 passing yards, 48 touchdowns, completed 77.9% of passes, and averaged 10.7 yards per attempt. With only 6 interceptions and without a loss on his Tigers’ resume, he represents the nation’s top seed in the College Football Playoff as the nation’s best player.

    If the jungle kittens don’t win next Sunday…

    If the jungle kittens don’t win next Sunday against Cleveland, they’ll have the worst record of any Bengals team ever, though a win would tie the team with the Jon Kitna-led 2002 team who finished 2-14. That finish put Cincinnati in place to draft Heisman winner Carson Palmer with the top pick in the 2003 NFL Draft.

    Certainly, a narrative exists in which the Andy Dalton-led Cincinnati Bengals crush the messy Cleveland Browns in a fitting end to the 2019 season. It’ll likely be Dalton’s last game in a striped helmet and the Browns are about to wrap up one of the most embarrassing seasons of NFL football in recent memory. As we learned on Sunday against the Dolphins, Dalton is here to win; he passed for 396 yards, 4 touchdowns, 0 interceptions, and completed 33-of-56 passes, nearly leading the team to the biggest comeback victory in team history. 

    It’ll likely be Dalton’s last game in a striped helmet and the Browns are about to wrap up one of the most embarrassing seasons of NFL football in recent memory.

    Dalton will want to impress the potentially red-hot quarterback market, as many teams seem ready to move a different direction with their passers. Teams like the Chicago Bears, Carolina Panthers, Jacksonville Jaguars, New England Patriots, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers are among teams that may make a change at QB in the coming months. Potentially, Dalton could head to one of those teams in a favorable trade for the Bengals, as a move could net the team a second or third-round pick if Andy continues to impress against the Browns. 

    For Cincinnati, loss to Miami made a few things pretty clear; Joe Burrow is obviously the pick at the top of the draft and that this team needs to add more good players to the roster this offseason. 

    There is obviously bound to be plenty of pressure from a central Ohio-minded fanbase to go with Burrow’s teammate and practice opponent at Ohio State in DE Chase Young. There probably won’t be as much pressure to draft QB Tua Tagovailoa from Alabama, as the 21-year-old quarterback will enter the league with a cumbersome injury resume. 

    It’s amazing to hear so many college-aged people rave not about the player, but about the human being.

    Having graduated from Ohio State in 2019 and thus meeting a handful of people who are friends or former classmates with Burrow, it’s amazing to hear so many college-aged people rave not about the player, but about the human being. What some knew before but many learned during his incredibly touching Heisman speech, Joe Burrow has the heart of a leader and the poise of a title fighter, essentially the intangibles you’d dream of in a franchise quarterback.

    I’d recommend throwing a couple bucks for this awesome Facebook fundraiser called, “Joe Burrow’s Heisman speech: Fundraiser for Athens County Food Pantry” if you’re feeling inspired by the passer and in the spirit. 

    Before the season, I think like many people, I thought Dwyane Haskins had a higher upside and was probably a better player than Joe Burrow; it’s impossible for me to feel that way after everything I’ve seen from the senior passer’s closing season at LSU. 

    Burrow does everything you’d hope from a young quarterback all before NFL refinement.

    Navigating the pocket like a pro and keeping his eyes on a level plane while reading the defense, Burrow does everything you’d hope from a young quarterback all before NFL refinement. In Cincinnati, he’ll have the chance to work with Zac Taylor and Brian Callahan, two coaches with backgrounds as quarterback coaches from their earlier days in the NFL (of course both are under 40, so those earlier days aren’t exactly ancient). 

    “New Dey” promise

    When Cincinnati comes to the blatant conclusion that they’ll take Burrow at the top of the draft and set this franchise on a brand-new trajectory, it’ll finally deliver on the “New Dey” promise that became apart of the team’s marketing pitch following Zac Taylor’s hire. As many know by now, Burrow is an Ohio kid and a willing leader; he’s more personable than Palmer ever was and doesn’t bring any baggage to a lockerroom currently loaded with likable personalities.

    If this team drifts from Joe Burrow, they’re making a mistake that the 6’3” passer will certainly find a way to make them regret in years down the road.

    If this team drifts from Joe Burrow, they’re making a mistake that the 6’3” passer will certainly find a way to make them regret in years down the road. Sure, Ohio State when got lucky when Justin Fields decided to join the Buckeyes via transfer, filling the gap left by the Burrow departure in 2018, but even they might feel the brunt of that move if they advance to the National Championship game. In the NFL, Burrow will have the chance to make the Bengals pay once every four years, at the most minimal rate.

    The pick seems obvious to this sports-watcher, draft Joe Burrow and call it a day; it’ll give your team one of the best chances in its history to construct a contending roster. However, like many others, I think this is all just preaching to a Bengals-based choir, one including Duke Tobin, Troy, and Katie Blackburn.

    It’s winter in Cincinnati, but the sun is shining on Paul…