I think Madieu is good but not great and I imagine he will also get higher offers than he is worth.  We probably have confidence in our two young safeties and Dexter Jackson, while not a good starter, to me is a veteran safety that is fine to have around in the last year of his contract as a backup to Chinedum and Marvin.  We also don't know what we are getting with Kyries Hebert (that CFL safety we signed).  

As for Landon, I think he is a decent 3rd or 4th linebacker but he'll try to get paid like a 1 or a 2 (and he should).  But with Odell and Ahmad coming back along with Jeanty and Jones (and Geathers if we go to a 4-3), there's no reason to force it.  

To me, the only huge need this highlights is on the D-line (whether we are talking 3-4 or 4-3).  Either way, I think we need two difference makers on the D-line.  We have good players at LB, safety and corner but through the draft and free agency, we need at least a couple D-linemen.

Madieu never regained his rookie form following his injury, and with the Vikes supposedly poised to offer him a deal with $10 million in year one money, he's gone.

I do agree that the sheer number of deals that can't seem to get done --  Stacy's, Landon's, Justin's, Madieu's, etc. -- suggest the Bengals are pinching pennies again. OTOH, it's not like their recent history of big-bucks extensions has gone well: give $100 million to Carson, a week later Kimo rips his leg off; give two extensions to Chad and he becomes a cancer; show Willie the money and he promptly falls apart; back the Brink's truck up to Levi's door and he proceeds to blow out both knees. Long-term deals have become the kiss of death in Cincy...

If Smith, Landon and Williams aren't worth signing then how good are the players that they have behind them and how much are they making?

If Smith was worth 8+ mil last year then is he worth the 7+ mil number that they gave to Andrews or is he worth nothing at all?

Landon has been a leading tackler on the team for how many seasons now?  I know that he's not labelled as a starter but he's managed to finish just about every season that he's been here and he's done so by being a steady player?  What is a player like this worth?  Is he worth a franchise tag?  Is he worth at least the 4+ mil that they gave to Fanane who is basically an experienced rookie?  You tell me!!

And what about Williams?  What is he worth?  If we have Jackson turn in a performance like he did last season I'm sure that the team will need to have extra depth.  So what is a player of this caliber worth?  3, 4, 5 or nothing?

The whole thought is that I keep coming up with is that somewhere down the line the team has to stop turning the veterans over every year and make a commitment that they players that they have, except for a relative few, are the players that they want and the players that are going to get them into the playoffs.  They seem to gotten to that position with the offense but not the defense.   It appears that since they have had poor coaching and have made somewhat poor decisions according to players it's like they are continually retooling the defense in an effort to save money or find the right combination.

This should be the year that they change all of that and they should begin to build a solid defense.