We guaranteed the return of one of the most accurate, least-clutch kickers in the league. Bravo, Mike!

'When he heard that the Bengals had given Graham the franchise tag, Houshmandzadeh jacked the odds at him playing elsewhere in 2009 to "99.2 percent."'

So our best receiver is as good as gone. Now we have Ocho Insano and a bunch of wet-behind-the-ears receivers.

http://www.bengals.com/news/news.asp?story_id=7503

LMAO!

Only the Bungles

------------------------------------------

I cannot believe they are not going to keep TJ.

Think about the good teams-- don't all of them have a great posession receiver whether it TE or WR? The guy that can move the chains...

Stoolers have Ward, Patriots have Welker, Chargers have Gates, Cowgirls have Witten. How freaking hard is to look at the blueprint of hreatness and try to follow the example?

Dumb, dumb, dumb

Peace

I would like to personally thank mike brown for another kick in the groin, and finally the one that causes enough pain to make me walk away from the game...

this decision makes no sense in any form, and that is why I am done...
an organization run by idiots for idiots (doc paul summed up who those were in an article not long ago)

I wonder if one could find the list of kickers who have been franchised since the nfl made franchising a player a rule...prolly 1 or none...

T.J., you deserved so much better for too long, at least now with your new freedom you can have a shot at the super bowl and constant pro bowls for the rest of your career no matter how short it may be...you were one of the best clutch WR's I have ever seen and the Bengals continue to look like idiots in letting you go...especially for no draft picks...

best of luck to t.j. and all that will continue to hold themselves as a bengal fan, and god speed!

16-0, Division Champs!



"The American Cancer Society says uninsured patients are 60 percent more likely to die within five years of their diagnosis."

.....see below. Free at last, free at last, thank Allah all mighty I am free at last..

Who thinks this conversation went like this:


Goodell: "Hello, this is the Commish...."

Mike F. Brown: "Yes, hi D*ck--errrr--Commish--We want to use the Franchise Tag..."

Goodell: "On who?"

MFB: "Shayne Graham"

Goodell: "ISN'T HE YOUR KICKER!?!??!?!?!??!??!?!?!"

MFB: "Yeah--well, we wouldn't want anyone else stealing him away from us in our wonderful annual free agent signings. We'll just make sure that doesn't happen to us."

Goodell: "YOUR KICKER??!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!??!"

MFB: "Yes, our kicker."

Goodell: "Isn't this the same guy that prevented your team from going to the playoffs one year?!???!?!?!?!?"

MFB: "No. That was the offensive linemen that didn't block for him."

Goodell: "I saw that play, Mike. The laces were out--and Graham had a clean shot. He just plain blew it. And as I was laughing it up with the guys here at the NFL HQ here, I was wondering in the back of my mind when something like this would eventually happen--which made me laugh even harder."

MFB: "Are we good here?"

Goodell: "Again--a KICKER!?!??!!?!??!??!??!?!!??!?!?!?!?!?!? THIS IS A JOKE, RIGHT MIKEY? YOUR FANS ARE SUFFERING AND YOU WANT TO FRANCHISE A KICKER. GO ON WITH YOUR BAD SELF. WE'VE GOT IT COVERED--AND OBVIOUSLY SO DO YOU."

MFB: hangs up abruptly

Goodell: "Hey guys (other NFL Exec types)--get your azzes in here--I've got ANOTHER GOOD ONE TO TELL YOU ABOUT OUR LEAGUE'S VILLAGE IDIOT. HAR HAR HAR HAR HAR."



I think the conversation went something like that--yeah. LMAO.


Also, why in the f@ck would you use a franchise tag on a kicker??!!?!??!??!?! Why in the hell not just go without using the franchise tag at all!??!?!?!?!?!?!? Just f*cking dumb. Nice job, StudMikey.




"So he got fired? Big deal. It's happened to the best of us. So he got kicked out of his house by his 400 lb'ed wife?!?!? That's probably better for him anyways."-OldSchooler on ChrisMBHater's absence

And what is the penalty a team pays if it lures a franchise player away? Isn't it their top draft choice for the NEXT TWO SEASONS?

So Mikey has analyzed that his kicker has a market value of approximately two top draft picks? The hilarity never lets up.

What is the real draft potential for a kicker with Shane Grahm's talent? A single third round? A single fifth round? A single seventh round?

Hell no. It's two first round picks.

On the other hand, the Bungs are so talent poor, it probably is irrelevant who they franchise. None of them have real first round value and therefore none will be pursued with that tag.

Mikey might have just hit Shane's picture at random with a dart throw. If so, it was probably his least idiotic management decision in the last 18 years.

If poor Paul is watching this trainwreck, he's truly living in hell.

I can't remember which poster it was on here that said that with the Bengals, he no longer got angry anymore, he just sat back and enjoyed the comedy. That's about the size of it. I used to get angry about these types of things and on principle, somewhere in my heart, I am angry about it. But in my mind, I'm not. My first reaction was "of course, that's exactly what I knew was going to happen all along. Hilarious."

This move is ONLY a good idea if they're re-signing TJ. Otherwise, it's idiocy. If they didn't want TJ (and that's a valid opinion), they could have tried a tag-and-trade but who the heck wants to add players to this roster? We're good with what we got, right, Mikey?

But then again, the funny thing is, I bet they used the tag this way because they figured they'd f(#* it up if they tried to be savvy with it. "Trade TJ? We can't make a good deal for doughnut delivery so let's just avoid any attempts at being savvy!" I suppose I can't blame them in a way.

BMN

Not sure how to respond to this.
Like the kicker...need a kicker.....not sure if a franchise tag is the smart move.

Could give 2 sh1ts about TJ leaving.

I guess I could be wrong but, couldn't you wait until training camp and invite about 20 kickers to camp? Sheeit, kickers are all the same basically but the one we've got isn't exactly Linda Lovelace (if ya know what I mean.) Geoff Hobson thinks he's Saint Shayne LMBO... So say goodbye to TJ and wish him well. Has anyone explained to Mikey that he could have traded him if he tagged him?

*************************************************************************************

"Shucks folks I'm speechless."
The Cowardly Lion

"We guaranteed the return of one of the most accurate, least-clutch kickers in the league"

Very true statement. When is the last time this guy made a kick that won a game?

"The American Cancer Society says uninsured patients are 60 percent more likely to die within five years of their diagnosis."

When was the last time he made a kick that mattered?

------------------------------------------

This is fukkin MFB classic!! I love it and I think this is absolutely hilarious. I would like to say this is the icing on the cake....but we all know mikey has plenty more of these up his sleave.

For you sheep out there who get bent out of shape over these shananigans....better go find a new team...otherwise the best recourse is to sit back, relax, grab a cold one, stick one hand down you pants Al Bundy style...and just enjoy the ride on the clown mobile.

Way to go mikey!! 

T 

Only Mike Brown
Only the Bengals
Only in Cincinnati

Can the city lock the Bengals out of PBS?

I've never actually been for "assisted suicide". But MPB may want to consider it.

You shameless home wrecker.

With a spasm of magnanimity that surprised even his own teammates, TJ graciously left the door open 0.08%...

Given Houshmandzadeh's age and the 2-3 years (minimum) it will take for the Bengals to be a contender again, we might as well see the guy off. Mike Brown obviously isn't enough of a wheeler dealer to do the tag-and-trade thing. That leaves letting him go as a free agent.

As for Graham, Hobson has been writing for months about the possibility of the tag going that way, so this isn't much of a surprise. It's the boring same-old same-old that we're used to seeing with the Bengals. Stodgy and uninspiring.

"For you sheep out there who get bent out of shape over these shananigans....better go find a new team...otherwise the best recourse is to sit back, relax, grab a cold one, stick one hand down you pants Al Bundy style...and just enjoy the ride on the clown mobile."

Amen

You have to find humor in the way they do business, SNL writers couldn't do a better job coming up with some of these slapstick moves

------------------------------------------

I would have went after Benson.
That way, you can address the line and the linebacker position in the draft early and look for a tailback later or even next year.

Now, if you don't ink Benson, then you must look at tailback in the first or second round.

Not hating on Shayne....and the money is not that big of a deal, but this is not the smartest move in history.

I will give it some time to work out...but if Benson walks...it becomes the dumbest move since drafting Akili, rehind behind drafting Big Daddy.

You know it's bad when murf is in agreement with the majority of the board!

I've been listening to the podcasts of Cutler this morning and what I found annoying were all the people defending the move ASSUMING that if you were against tagging Graham, it automatically meant you were for tagging TJ. Not so! Some of us wanted tag-and-trade, some of us wanted them to tag Benson, some of us wanted them to not use the tag at all, zero of us wanted the tag to be used on Graham.

You could seriously go out and get Mike Vanderjagt right now for $400K and you'd be getting the exact same product.

BMN

...man my fingers were twitching typing that!

What I don't get about Graham is that he is not in the top half of the league on kickoffs. Field goals maybe make a difference one game a year and he missed on both that counted the last 2 years. He is not a 50 yard + guy, so how is he better than a reject free agent that you could sign for 500K?

Benson given a one year deal to see what you get makes sense, unless they already figured he is not the right guy.

Can anyone explain to me Mikey's thinking on not signing Benson and Crocker to long term contracts?

Both these guys played very well last year and should have been signed by now.

Wait, its the Bengals...sorry, I forgot who I was talking about...

"The American Cancer Society says uninsured patients are 60 percent more likely to die within five years of their diagnosis."

...."Can anyone explain to me Mikey's thinking on not signing Benson and Crocker to long term contracts?

Both these guys played very well last year and should have been signed by now."


Cause these guys want money. I need to wait to see how many sheop...I mean fans renew their season tickets, before I spend any more. Hobspin already took care of that foolishness that we are 28 million under the cap. Hogwash. We only have $8.54 to spend.

Finally Mikey listenedcto his coaching staff!

3 point Marvin got his man!

------------------------------------------

Who else but Meathead Mikey would covet a chock-artist like Shayne? This is sweet as hell, and I can't even say I'm surprised. I seriously think the league should revoke Mikey's ability to Franchise Tag.

Didn't Mike Brown have a shot at this guy--to make him happy with a contract payoff this offseason--to make sure his receiver was happy? Instead, Mike Brown lets these guys stew the whole season--then can't resign them. The d*ck.

The funny thing is I could see the team playing better without Chad and TJ.

TJ rarely if ever made a game breaking catch. He used to convert on third downs, but the last few years he is a check down and never has any YAC.

Don't get me wrong, Mikey is an idiot, but I wonder...I really wonder if the team isnt better without these two malcontents (TJ and Chad)...

"The American Cancer Society says uninsured patients are 60 percent more likely to die within five years of their diagnosis."

Ok, the more I look at this and think about it.

This is not that big of a move, bad or good.

Think about it....
You have a bunch of issues that need to be looked at in the next 10 or so days.
Tailback.
Wideout.
Line.
Safety.

So, you either tag Benson....My first thought... or you tag Shayne.
Here is why.
Benson, you get a vet back that played very well with a sh!t line and the worst qb in NFL history.
My choice.

or, you get rid of an issue for only 2.8 million.

Why cut a solid kicker...he is not the best and to say that he has never made a cluthc kick, is very 2 sided...no he has never made a clutch kick, but is that his fault?
How many times has the man had the chance?
We are talking about the Bengals!

So you eliminate 1 issue, and you tag the guy for 1 year, if he can't reach a deal, then enxt year you move on and it only cost you a few dollars.

This team needs to rid itself of Chad and TJ.

Mike is under a lot of heat. He can't do a no-franchise. So he tags a guy who will cost him the least bucks.
Brilliant in Mikey's World.

I think tagging Benson would be moronic. The guy has no incentive to work a loing term deal. He was left in Siberia until we took a chance on him. He puts together a few good games and that warrants 10 million? No chance.

TJ, I could understand the tag and trade. It makes sense.

"The American Cancer Society says uninsured patients are 60 percent more likely to die within five years of their diagnosis."

"TJ, I could understand the tag and trade. It makes sense."


So Bronco--you're telling me that TJ is worth TWO FIRST ROUNDERS!??!?!?!?!???!??!?!?!??!?!? You're out of your mind.

It makes sense to me--to NOT use the franchise tag on anybody. Why? Because your potentially overpaying a nobody. Not even Palmer's worth the franchise tag, guys. If you don't agree with me--take a look at the last 3 years. HE'S NOT WORTH IT EITHER.





"So he got fired? Big deal. It's happened to the best of us. So he got kicked out of his house by his 400 lb'ed wife?!?!? That's probably better for him anyways."-OldSchooler on ChrisMBHater's absence

...."So Bronco--you're telling me that TJ is worth TWO FIRST ROUNDERS!??!?!?!?!???!??!?!?!??!?!? You're out of your mind."

No. You tag TJ and then trade him for a 2nd rounder after he negotiates a long term deal with a new club. That way you get something for him.

Benson made sense to me. Its only a 6 mill hit for a running back, I think and he gets a full year to prove himself or not. If he doesn't see ya. If he does, long term deal.

Graham makes no sense because the difference between Graham and a scrub is minimal in terms of wins and losses. In fact, if the scrub can consistently kick off, he may be better overall. Scrub=500K and better kickoffs with 3 more FG misses that don't matter vs. 3.5 million bad kickoffs and miss the kick when it matters most. I don't get it.

I believe the tag price for a tailback was around 6 million.

If they get into a bidding war for his services, that price could go higher and you lose him anyway.

If you tag him....(would have), then you got him for now and you could talk about a 3-4 year deal.

Now...
You are at his mercy.

TJ is not going to get you 2 first round picks.

TJ is not that great of a player people!

Caldwell is going to make the transition nice and easy.

I'm having a vision... Beanie Wells, MikeyBoy's latest OSU draft pick, playing wide receiver in Buttkowski's new wildcat scheme, catches a pass to put the Bengals at the Pittsburgh 20 yard line with 4 seconds left and the Bengals down by a point. The Bengals can salvage a spectacular 6-10 season with this chip shot. Geoff Hobson erupts in thunderous applause and starts doing the one-person wave as St. Shayne trots onto the field, already fighting off an esophageal occlusion, and boots the football up Giachuk's ass!

*************************************************************************************

"I bought some batteries but they weren't included."
Steven Wright

Jesus,

Murf and Falc, I dont think TJ is worth 2 first rounders. Nor do I think any team would give us 2 first rounders.

My point is this - sign him and trade him to someone that needs a good #2 receiver. We could use a good young linebacker or safety or owner.

"The American Cancer Society says uninsured patients are 60 percent more likely to die within five years of their diagnosis."

http://www.nfl.com/news/story?id=09000d5d80ec4abf&template=with-video-with-comments&confirm=true


You tag TJ--then pay him $9.88 million that he's owed. Then you're hoping that another team will trade for him? Or are you hoping that another team thinks that TJ is worth $9.88 million? You guys are nutz.





"So he got fired? Big deal. It's happened to the best of us. So he got kicked out of his house by his 400 lb'ed wife?!?!? That's probably better for him anyways."-OldSchooler on ChrisMBHater's absence

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_does_the_Franchise_Tag_work_in_the_NFL


"Non-exclusive: Salary terms are the same except it's the average of the top 5 players from the previous year. Player can negotiate with other teams but current team reserves the right to match the offer. If it doesn't match the offer, it receives two first-round draft picks."


So what you guys are telling me--TJ is worth 2 1st rounders--which makes you completely out of your mind.





"So he got fired? Big deal. It's happened to the best of us. So he got kicked out of his house by his 400 lb'ed wife?!?!? That's probably better for him anyways."-OldSchooler on ChrisMBHater's absence

....so you can understand.

"You tag TJ--then pay him $9.88 million that he's owed. Then you're hoping that another team will trade for him? Or are you hoping that another team thinks that TJ is worth $9.88 million? You guys are nutz."

You get a team interested in signing him for lets say 3-4 years. WOrk out a long term deal with cash upfront (see players like cash upfront) It works out to less than 9.88 per year but its a lot up front. Tag and trade for a 2nd round pic. Team and TJ tear up franchise deal and sign a 3-4 year deal instead. Now everyone is happy.

See Mike, thats how you do it.

For the record, the Patriots franchised Vinatieri after the 2005 season, but he is maybe the most clutch kicker of all time.

This offseason the Atlanta Falcons chose to franchise their PUNTER.

Not defending Mikey by any stretch...just that it's been done before, but great organizations (NWE), not so great organizations (ATL), and the worst of the worst (CIN). I just wanted to clear up that this isn't a first, although it is a kick in the groin (like many have said, tag and trade or tag and keep TJ).

There is precedent but that doesn't make it the right thing to do. I wouldn't even mind so much if Graham was good at kickoffs. My main objection is that I'm not sold that you can't get someone just as good for cheaper (and how ironic that I'm not in favour of Mikey move because I think he could do it cheaper. There's a first). If you took his current FG percentage (admittedly high) and combined it with a good record on kickoffs, then I'd see it as worth the money.

BMN

Since this thread has lingered for so long (and there is nothing else to talk about) I'll put in my two cents.

I don't think the tagging of franchise was a great move by any stretch of the imagination, I certainly wouldn't have done it. That said, in terms of Mikey's blunders this is hardly a blip on the radar and I pretty much figured this a month or so ago.

"I believe the tag price for a tailback was around 6 million.
If they get into a bidding war for his services, that price could go higher and you lose him anyway."

This is why I am not too upset, at least they didn't tag Benson and make the Murf's of the world happy. That would have been a way worse move imo. The guy has 4 or 5 decent games and talent starved Bungle fans suddenly think this guy is the next coming of Corey Dillon or something. Look, I hope they can keep the guy, but mostly because they really don't have any starting caliber backs on their roster right now. In fact, they got a couple of guys that probably wouldn't even land on another roster if the Bengals released them (I would be shocked if anyone picks up Christina Sherry, the guy can't run or block effectively, and 6 fumbles in 6 games is just embarassing. He was near the tops in the league in fumbles for backs even though he got benched less than halfway through the season --after suffering through Sherry's play Benson looked like Barry Sanders for a minute there, but it is time to wake up to the reality that he is just OK, that's it, really. He is definitely not a franchise caliber back like Brandon Jacobs). They should be able to sign Benson for an average around 3.5 mill and that includes incentives and money he may never even see. I highly doubt some crazed bidding war for Benson will ensue, and if it does let him go, not a big deal. So, imo, it actually could have been much worse.

BMC,

Like I said, I am not defending Mike or the Bungs here. It's just that the reactions up to that point in this thread was that of "this is the worst move ever...the Bengals have to be the first team to ever franchise a kicker."

I would have to agree with most of the other sentiments in this thread, being that:

1st move would be to tag/trade Housh because he has some trade value and most teams could use his services. Like has been said, this would have been a SMART move, Belichikesque, because the organization gets something of potential value (i.e. a 2nd rounder) in exchange for a player that they were going to lose anyways...

2nd move would be to tag Benson and see if they can negotiate a low risk contract or pay him the $6 mil and see how he does

or

3rd move would be to tag Housh and try to negotiate a contract if he's willing to talk, and if not, either try to trade him or attempt to call his bluff

Franchising Graham would have to be 4th or 5th on the list, but like has been said, he is pretty much Vanderjagt but kicking in more difficult conditions (notably the AFC North's stadiums as opposed to the RCA Dome and southern cities). Not worth that kind of money, but at the same time, not a bad kicker, either.

"So, you either tag Benson....My first thought... or you tag Shayne."

Come on, Murf. I distinctly remember you saying that the Bengals shouldn't tag anybody. I remember because (gasp!) we were in agreement on that topic.

Per Bronco, Tagging Benson wouldn't have made any sense because he didn't show enough to prove that he's worth it. He might have turned his career around, but four good games hardly nails it. Tagging Graham is probably a wash because he'll end up signing the same kind of long-term deal, anyway.

Tagging and trading TJ was hypothetically the one bold, smart move Mike Brown could have made. But the possibility had never even occurred to me until people started writing about it last week. He never does anything like that. It would be liking hoping for Charles Manson to join the Goodwill Association.

I agree....
I am just talking in theory now.
just trying to figure out the mindset of the front office on this one.

I am just saying, that if you were going to use the tag, i would have went with Benson and inked Shayne to a long term deal.

"You get a team interested in signing him for lets say 3-4 years. WOrk out a long term deal with cash upfront (see players like cash upfront) It works out to less than 9.88 per year but its a lot up front. Tag and trade for a 2nd round pic. Team and TJ tear up franchise deal and sign a 3-4 year deal instead. Now everyone is happy."


OK--now let me type it just as equally slow:

Y-O-U A-R-E S-T-I-L-L O-U-T O-F Y-O-U-R M-I-N-D!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Paying that much for an aging receiver with an attitude!???!??!?!!?!!?! Show me one owner outside of Daniel Snyder (who I don't even think he's dumb enough to do), Al Davis, and Jerry Jones who would do something stupid like that. Hell, that would be dumbazzed like franchising a kicker.

LMMFAO.





"So he got fired? Big deal. It's happened to the best of us. So he got kicked out of his house by his 400 lb'ed wife?!?!? That's probably better for him anyways."-OldSchooler on ChrisMBHater's absence

Well, you just named three owners dumb enough to do it. There's a start! :-p

In all seriousness, though, I was originally in favour of a tag-and-trade, but like psychostats said, it's probably not anything you could even think of MB doing savvily. I'm not claiming I'm a genius that would have done the right thing but I'm inclined to think not using the tag at all would have been the better option.

BMN

You seem to think TJ won't get a multi year deal in free agency, I say he will, lets see who is right dumbass. You tag THEN trade. What part of that do you not understand?? Gee, I guess 2 steps was more than you could follow.

JB, I'm assuming your comment today was intended for T's Tiger Woods thread...