Chinedum's Big Day

[TJJackson]

The content of the page that the link below takes you to changes weekly, so I'll include the link but paste the relevant current content, in which the editor names Chinedum NDukwe one of two runners-up for his weekly "Rookie of the Week" award, with LB Patrick Willis's 20 tackles and 2 sacks taking the prize. Honestly, I think Chinny's 2 picks and (unmentioned) forced fumble beat Will's 2 sacks hands down, but hey, I don't get a vote.....

The link: http://www.gbnreport.com/rookiereport.htm

"The past week in fact saw another outstanding performance by a somewhat unheralded 7th round pick. Cincinnati DB Nedu Ndukwe, the 253rd player taken at the 2007 draft, had a pair of interceptions and 10 tackles as the Bengals knocked off cross-state division rivals from Cleveland, in the process putting a hold on the Browns drive to the playoffs. And Ndukwe wasn’t the only Cincinnati rookie to get a pick as CB Leon Hall, the team’s first round pick this year, had his 5th interception of the year. Hall remains tied with Jacksonville safety Reggie Nelson, another first rounder for the interception lead among rookies as the former Florida star had his 5th of the year as the Jags thumped Oakland 49-11. "

I'm glad folks (yes, I saw the Peter King report as well) are finally seeing some of this

The fact that this young secondary is starting to show some real signs of life is my personal silver lining in the grey cloud that is the 2007 season. Now if only we could get some pass rush in the front seven - my god, we might actually elevate ourselves to an average defense in 2008. At this point, a "merely average" defense would be a major cause for excitement - at least for me :-)

Finally, in the interests of full disclosure - I absolutely hated this pick when it was made. From what I had read, we had just selected a younger and less experienced version of Oh-I-suck-a-lot-hey. The phrase "liability in coverage" was associated with his name in several sources, and naturally, that's not an attractive feature for a safety :-) I wasn't furious, tho, as I felt he was probably picked as a special teams specialist, ala Kilmer. I am ***SO*** very glad to have been wrong about him.

[sparky151]

The content of the page that the link below takes you to changes weekly, so I'll include the link but paste the relevant current content, in which the editor names Chinedum NDukwe one of two runners-up for his weekly "Rookie of the Week" award, with LB Patrick Willis's 20 tackles and 2 sacks taking the prize. Honestly, I think Chinny's 2 picks and (unmentioned) forced fumble beat Will's 2 sacks hands down, but hey, I don't get a vote.....

The link: http://www.gbnreport.com/rookiereport.htm

"The past week in fact saw another outstanding performance by a somewhat unheralded 7th round pick. Cincinnati DB Nedu Ndukwe, the 253rd player taken at the 2007 draft, had a pair of interceptions and 10 tackles as the Bengals knocked off cross-state division rivals from Cleveland, in the process putting a hold on the Browns drive to the playoffs. And Ndukwe wasn’t the only Cincinnati rookie to get a pick as CB Leon Hall, the team’s first round pick this year, had his 5th interception of the year. Hall remains tied with Jacksonville safety Reggie Nelson, another first rounder for the interception lead among rookies as the former Florida star had his 5th of the year as the Jags thumped Oakland 49-11. "

I'm glad folks (yes, I saw the Peter King report as well) are finally seeing some of this

The fact that this young secondary is starting to show some real signs of life is my personal silver lining in the grey cloud that is the 2007 season. Now if only we could get some pass rush in the front seven - my god, we might actually elevate ourselves to an average defense in 2008. At this point, a "merely average" defense would be a major cause for excitement - at least for me :-)

Finally, in the interests of full disclosure - I absolutely hated this pick when it was made. From what I had read, we had just selected a younger and less experienced version of Oh-I-suck-a-lot-hey. The phrase "liability in coverage" was associated with his name in several sources, and naturally, that's not an attractive feature for a safety :-) I wasn't furious, tho, as I felt he was probably picked as a special teams specialist, ala Kilmer. I am ***SO*** very glad to have been wrong about him.

Seconded. I too wasn't a fan of the pick since I'd seen Notre Dame give up long pass after long pass while he played there. I've been pleasantly surprised by Ndukwe's play.

[ArmyBengal]

Now if only we could get some pass rush in the front seven.

Agree TJ, which is exactly why I see the D-line being the 1st and 2nd pick in the draft. DE and DT either round. Speed rusher and a strong dude in the middle to disrupt sh*t !!! Our secondary would be WAY better than average. How can you not be happy with the production we have seen by "Nuke" ?? Definitely a positive this season !!!

WHODEY !!!

[cincyhokie]

The content of the page that the link below takes you to changes weekly, so I'll include the link but paste the relevant current content, in which the editor names Chinedum NDukwe one of two runners-up for his weekly "Rookie of the Week" award, with LB Patrick Willis's 20 tackles and 2 sacks taking the prize. Honestly, I think Chinny's 2 picks and (unmentioned) forced fumble beat Will's 2 sacks hands down, but hey, I don't get a vote.....

The link: http://www.gbnreport.com/rookiereport.htm

"The past week in fact saw another outstanding performance by a somewhat unheralded 7th round pick. Cincinnati DB Nedu Ndukwe, the 253rd player taken at the 2007 draft, had a pair of interceptions and 10 tackles as the Bengals knocked off cross-state division rivals from Cleveland, in the process putting a hold on the Browns drive to the playoffs. And Ndukwe wasn’t the only Cincinnati rookie to get a pick as CB Leon Hall, the team’s first round pick this year, had his 5th interception of the year. Hall remains tied with Jacksonville safety Reggie Nelson, another first rounder for the interception lead among rookies as the former Florida star had his 5th of the year as the Jags thumped Oakland 49-11. "

I'm glad folks (yes, I saw the Peter King report as well) are finally seeing some of this

The fact that this young secondary is starting to show some real signs of life is my personal silver lining in the grey cloud that is the 2007 season. Now if only we could get some pass rush in the front seven - my god, we might actually elevate ourselves to an average defense in 2008. At this point, a "merely average" defense would be a major cause for excitement - at least for me :-)

Finally, in the interests of full disclosure - I absolutely hated this pick when it was made. From what I had read, we had just selected a younger and less experienced version of Oh-I-suck-a-lot-hey. The phrase "liability in coverage" was associated with his name in several sources, and naturally, that's not an attractive feature for a safety :-) I wasn't furious, tho, as I felt he was probably picked as a special teams specialist, ala Kilmer. I am ***SO*** very glad to have been wrong about him.

You know I thought the same thing too about taking a 7th round safety. Ndukwe wants to improve and he plays with something to prove. Emotion and heart still have a place in pro football, contrary to what Marvin thinks.

I'll give the Bengals scouting some credit in that they do find some good developing talent at times. Ndukwe, Housh, Kilmer, Tab Perry when healthy, Andrews, Rudi Johnson, Marvin White looks ok, Landon Johnson, all of which were mid to lower round picks.

....of course there's Nicholson, Brewer, Rucker, Ratliff........etc, etc, etc.....

[cincyhokie]

Now if only we could get some pass rush in the front seven.

Agree TJ, which is exactly why I see the D-line being the 1st and 2nd pick in the draft. DE and DT either round. Speed rusher and a strong dude in the middle to disrupt sh*t !!! Our secondary would be WAY better than average. How can you not be happy with the production we have seen by "Nuke" ?? Definitely a positive this season !!!

WHODEY !!!

Yup. Beef up that line and we have something next year. If, if, when Thurman comes back and Brooks....things may improve significantly. By that I mean moving up to 15th in defense.

I'm telling you guys, losing Brooks hurt this defense alot this year. As well as Jeanty for most of the games. Look back to the games we had Jeanty and how much better we played. Brooks, while young and with weak numbers at times is so big, strong, and fast he would disrupt the blocking schemes to make a big difference. One of the Cleveland coaches was interviewed after game 2 and stated that "Brooks coming out in the second series made a huge difference." That was according to Dave Lapham.

[Bengals44]

I agree with everything stated here as I too never thought he could be a starter, but he may be afterall... I thought Marvin White looked good as well, he also hits hard and plays with a sense of urgency, hopefully they can both continue on the path it looks like they are currently on... If they play well vs. Miami, it may be enough for the Bengals to let Madieu go...

[HairOnFire]

... I thought Marvin White looked good as well, he also hits hard and plays with a sense of urgency....

Ndukwe has made more plays, but White has looked almost as impressive. His coverage of Winslow was outstanding all game long, but especially on the play where he pulled Winslow's arm down just as he was attempting to secure the catch. And later when he defelected the ball that Ndukwe intercepted he flashed tight coverage again, and after reading the receivers eyes got his head turned around. Both plays showed outstanding ball skills.

If they play well vs. Miami, it may be enough for the Bengals to let Madieu go...

I wasn't very happy when I read recently that the Bengals have approached Madieu about a new contract. Personally, I think he's played like crap for the last two seasons, and despite the occasional big play seems to be out of position more often than the rookies. However, if he leaves I'd hope to add a veteran safety, and my gut warns me that Williams will probably be a better option than all but three or four of the FA options. Thus, mixed feelings.

[Pidge]

I wasn't very happy when I read recently that the Bengals have approached Madieu about a new contract. Personally, I think he's played like crap for the last two seasons, and despite the occasional big play seems to be out of position more often than the rookies. However, if he leaves I'd hope to add a veteran safety, and my gut warns me that Williams will probably be a better option than all but three or four of the FA options. Thus, mixed feelings.

I'm in the same boat as you. I find myself thinking, well if he had a steady partner at safety and they could get in tune with each other he might play better once again. Maybe the fact I'm finding excuses to explain his poor play just highlights how subpar it has been.

I still think he can be a decent safety and will earn a nice chunk of change somewhere if he goes in FA. Maybe NO. Get reunited with KK.

[Bengals44]

I wasn't very happy when I read recently that the Bengals have approached Madieu about a new contract. Personally, I think he's played like crap for the last two seasons, and despite the occasional big play seems to be out of position more often than the rookies. However, if he leaves I'd hope to add a veteran safety, and my gut warns me that Williams will probably be a better option than all but three or four of the FA options. Thus, mixed feelings.

I'm in the same boat as you. I find myself thinking, well if he had a steady partner at safety and they could get in tune with each other he might play better once again. Maybe the fact I'm finding excuses to explain his poor play just highlights how subpar it has been.

I still think he can be a decent safety and will earn a nice chunk of change somewhere if he goes in FA. Maybe NO. Get reunited with KK.

I just think MW will end up getting more money than he is worth, would rather spend that money elsewhere (if Mike will actually do so)... He looked so good his rookie year, I have to wonder if he never fully recovered from his injury or has lost a bit of agressiveness due to it...

[ArmyBengal]

Hard decision with Madieu but, the youngsters look promising and if they just had some pass rush, this could be very nice looking for the defense. I agree with him probably getting more money from some other team as well...

WHODEY !!!

[Pidge]

I just think MW will end up getting more money than he is worth

Agreed. Even if Ndukwe ultimately turns out to be garden variety then at least he won't be on a big wage.

[BengalszoneBilly]

I just think MW will end up getting more money than he is worth

Agreed. Even if Ndukwe ultimately turns out to be garden variety then at least he won't be on a big wage.

My early impressions of him exceed the garden variety. I love the intensity at which he plays. I say pay what it takes to keep Duke in stripes.

[cincyhokie]

I think the Bengal's retain Williams. It's going to be him and Ndukwe as the starters next year. Marvin White backs-up. If the Bengals let Williams go, they have a total of 2 years of safety experience in the secondary.

I think J. Smith goes- we draft his replacement

I think L. Johnson goes- we draft his replacement or stick Dhani in there.

I think S. Andrews goes- Willie takes his spot back and we draft Willie's replacement

I don't care about Smith, but I would like to see Landon stay....I don't think we'll be able to afford Stacy when Willie is still under contract.

[JoePong]

I can see the bengals letting Madieu go - I doubt they'd spend big money on a safety that hasn't really progressed much since his rookie year. He is a high character guy though - the type you like having on your team. I just thik safeties are replaceable unless you get a real impact player back there. Williams is not that guy. I think it's more important to sign Landon. I thik we'll miss Justin Smith more than people think, but the fact is we just are not getting any pass rush from the DE position - or any position for that matter, so a change must be made to fix that.

As bad as the offense is, I am starting to think we should draft defense this year. I just think it's going to be a while before our offense is going to be any good. Our defense is much closer to being good than our offense is, so we might as well go ahead and make that unit a strength by filling a couple holes.

[ArmyBengal]

Honestly Joe, I think the offense is no further than a solid offensive line. This is has been the weekness. It contributes to why the running game isn't there, why Carson has no protection, and why the receivers aren't having the season most thought they would. This needs to be addressed. For me, the defense needs to be addressed more because they are FURTHER away than the offense is. Minus the corner position (figuring Deltha being here for one more year) there is not one position on defense that doesn't need improved staters and depth...

WHODEY !!!

[Pidge]

My early impressions of him exceed the garden variety. I love the intensity at which he plays. I say pay what it takes to keep Duke in stripes.

Me too. As I said in another thread about him, he has that invaluable habit of being in the right place at the right time. He did it again today. The fact that he mucked in at LB and did a decent job just shows how seriously he wants to take this chance.

However, let's not break the bank just yet.

If the Bengals were full of lower round guys who left everything on the field then we'd have a couple more wins this year I'm sure. Hopefully the FO and coaches realise that is the NFL and not college. Having mad skillz *throws signs* means precisely dick without the right work ethic and football knowledge. Draft smart, solid players who will contribute. Not projects or problem children with talent.

Got to admit, impressed with most of last year's draft. Another young CB, hopefully a good RB and two young safeties who seem to have something about them.

[Pidge]

I can see the bengals letting Madieu go - I doubt they'd spend big money on a safety that hasn't really progressed much since his rookie year. He is a high character guy though - the type you like having on your team. I just thik safeties are replaceable unless you get a real impact player back there. Williams is not that guy. I think it's more important to sign Landon. I thik we'll miss Justin Smith more than people think, but the fact is we just are not getting any pass rush from the DE position - or any position for that matter, so a change must be made to fix that.

I disagree but am interested in hearing your thoughts why that might be the case. Agree with you about Landon 100%. He'll never be Lance Briggs but he's very solid and adds much needed stability to the LB core, IMO.

[jjakq27]

Guys like him are the reason why I don't know if the draft process is as much of a science as people make it out to be. Seventh rounder, close to going undrafted and he ends up starting at the end of the season and playing great. He and the other young DBs certainly have to make the secondary less of a priority going in to next year.

[HoosierCat]

Nduke's performance is even more impressive if you visit gbn's rookie tracking page (which right now I don't believe takes the last game into account)...

http://www.gbnreport.com/rookiestats.html

The Duke was 17th among rooks in tackles. 13 of the 16 guys ahead of him were 1st or 2nd round picks, the other 3 3rd or 4th.

At 2 sacks he was No. 11 among rooks. And all the guys ahead of him were taken many rounds ahead, mostly in the 1st and 2nd.

He has 3 picks, putting him in a 5-way tie for second-most among rooks. Of the seven top rookie pickers, only two, Duke Nukem & Houston's Fred Bennet (4th), were not 1st round picks.

Considering he was taken 2 picks from Mr. Irrelevant, Chinny may be the steal of the 2007 draft.

[TJJackson]

Exactly

We have done very, very well in round 7 in the last few years. Chinny, Kooistra, Brazell (who I still think has a shot to make the 2008 squad), Kilmer, Fanene....and Bramlet, who I believe should never have been released. And TJ, less recently.