The Offseason

[derekshank]

With training camp only hours away (or officially here depending on when you read this post) and our first pre-season game only days away, we can start talking about the offseason as a thing of the past. WOO HOO!!!

We've had a very crazy off-season, no doubt. But let's look at it from a purely football perspective. Let's put aside the Chad outburst and Henry/Nicholson/Rucker/Brooks saga, and grade Marvin and management on what we ask them to do... fill the holes and bring us a winner.

I went back to January and looked at what most of us wanted to do in the off-season. "You are the GM" thread so here's a general summary of what people wanted back then, and try to put it in order of fan priority.

Extend the O-line:

We extended Bobbie and Levi and drafted Whitworth. All that's left is either Steiny or Willie and it's complete. Not a lot to complain about there.

Get a Run Stopping DT:

Sam Adams. He might be older... but he's big, and with the addition of Peko, they did what we asked.

Get a SS:

Dexter Jackson. Not overly sexy... but better than Herring... not to mention Ohalete and KK.

Bring in a good back-up QB:

We took a step back here... but if we believe that Carson will really start, it shouldn't be a huge issue.

Get a Pass catching TE:

Nope. Marvin doesn't seem to care either.

Get a pass-rushing DE:

We didn't do much of this. Outside of Rucker, our DE's are the same. I still expect the DT inprovement to help our pass-rush, but I can understand people not being satisfied with how this was addressed.

Get depth at CB:

1st round pick. Can't ask for more than that.

Re-sign key free agents:

We brought back Jeremi Johnson, Tony Stewart, Scott Kooistra, and Kelley Washington.

We let go John Kitna, Ifeany Ohalete, Matt Schobel, and Nate Webster

All in all, I think the off-season from a roster standpoint was fantastic. We can bitch and moan about the character issues, and I think that Marvin and management have learned their lesson that even if it's not really important to them, it's important to the fans and media... but really, with a few minor exceptions, they brought us everything we were asking for.

I think it was a successful off-season.

[Kazkal]

"Get a pass-rushing DE:

We didn't do much of this. Outside of Rucker, our DE's are the same. I still expect the DT inprovement to help our pass-rush, but I can understand people not being satisfied with how this was addressed."

I think brooks = improved pass rush

[Stripes]

I agree, Shank. It has been an awesome offseason. I only see one truly big dissapointment in Odell's suspension, but the rest has been about as good as it could have been.

As for improving the pass rush, I think Marvin is banking heavily on getting a lot from Pollack. Maybe the new beef in the interior line will free up the ends a bit more as well.

[derekshank]

I agree, Shank. It has been an awesome offseason. I only see one truly big dissapointment in Odell's suspension, but the rest has been about as good as it could have been.

As for improving the pass rush, I think Marvin is banking heavily on getting a lot from Pollack. Maybe the new beef in the interior line will free up the ends a bit more as well.

I think the pass rush will be improved for multiple reasons:

1) The interior line is improved and bigger. This allows for more 1-on-1's for the DE's.

2) Geathers is back down to a good pass-rushing weight. No more of that passing down DT nonsense.

3) Pollack was rushing the passer very well at season's end, and should only get better.

4) We have better safeties, so we can not only blitz them sometimes... but better safeties means less risk for blitzing CB's and LB's

But aside from all those reasons that we will be better, the one thing we didn't get this off-season that a lot of people wanted was a good pass-rushing DE. I don't think it's a huge issue given all the holes we did address, and because the reasons listed above should make it less of an issue. However, I still expect us to be in the bottom half of the league in sacks, and that wouldn't be true if we had managed to get that DE everyone wanted.

Oh well... if we're switching to the 3-4 next year it would have been a wasted signing in the long-term.

[bengalboomer7]

I agree, Shank. It has been an awesome offseason. I only see one truly big dissapointment in Odell's suspension, but the rest has been about as good as it could have been.

As for improving the pass rush, I think Marvin is banking heavily on getting a lot from Pollack. Maybe the new beef in the interior line will free up the ends a bit more as well.

He's not the only one. I have huge aspirations for Pollack this year, and I think you'll see the beginning of a dominant LB. But i don't believe this was addressed enough. i thought the lack of pressure was the bigest weakness our defense had. It wasn't that our secondary was THAT bad, but you give any QB in the league five seconds to throw and he'll find somebody. I can only hope Sam Adams is finally a guy that can draw two Olineman.

[ArmyBengal]

We've been saying for a while now that having a big boy in Adams will have an impact across the whole defense. It will free up the faster guys to do what they were brought in to do. Our safties are going to make the world of difference for us with a healthy Madieu and the experience of Jackson. (I hated OhIsuckAlote) !!! KK can go back to his backup role !!! Pollack will be huge and I for one am looking forward to seeing a slimer faster Geathers back out on the end as opposed to the DT disaster from last year !!! This off season has been far better than the average off season we have been accustomed to !!!

WHODEY !!!

[duus]

We've been saying for a while now that having a big boy in Adams will have an impact across the whole defense. It will free up the faster guys to do what they were brought in to do. Our safties are going to make the world of difference for us with a healthy Madieu and the experience of Jackson. (I hated OhIsuckAlote) !!! KK can go back to his backup role !!! Pollack will be huge and I for one am looking forward to seeing a slimer faster Geathers back out on the end as opposed to the DT disaster from last year !!! This off season has been far better than the average off season we have been accustomed to !!!

WHODEY !!!

Couldn't agree more. I truly believe folks will be very surprised by the changes in this defense this year. There is no doubt that the offense is tops in the NFL, and I think we will all soon find out that the D is in the upper half of the league as well. I think the pass D will be top 5 and the run D will be around 12-15 in the in the league. I understand full well the comments from those who question this ... there is plenty of reason in the last couple years to do so. But I am telling you that, even with the tough schedule, there are several <14 point games in store this year for our D. We all know what happens if you have an offense that puts points up, that it puts pressure on the opponent to match it. With an upgraded D, things begin to happen in that scenario. I also know folks have been concerned about the first 4 games of the season. I am a believer ... if Carson is behind center, I think our upgraded D will help get us 2-2 at least ... and maybe even pull a big surprise at 3-1. It is generally true that the defenses excell in the first quarter of the season as the offenses are learning to get timing with new personel, etc. Well, that's where I think we have the upperhand. We don't have those problems on offense (assuming Palmer is healthy), and our D will surprise. I'm a believer. Only time will tell who is correct here.

Go Bengals!

[bengalboomer7]

We've been saying for a while now that having a big boy in Adams will have an impact across the whole defense. It will free up the faster guys to do what they were brought in to do. Our safties are going to make the world of difference for us with a healthy Madieu and the experience of Jackson. (I hated OhIsuckAlote) !!! KK can go back to his backup role !!! Pollack will be huge and I for one am looking forward to seeing a slimer faster Geathers back out on the end as opposed to the DT disaster from last year !!! This off season has been far better than the average off season we have been accustomed to !!!

WHODEY !!!

Whiel I didn't particularly enjoy our safety tandem last year, I don't put the problems as much on them as I did the Dline. It not real easy to cover a guy for 5+ seconds when the QB can just sit back there and wait for someone to get open.

[DC_Bengals_Fan]

We've been saying for a while now that having a big boy in Adams will have an impact across the whole defense. It will free up the faster guys to do what they were brought in to do. Our safties are going to make the world of difference for us with a healthy Madieu and the experience of Jackson. (I hated OhIsuckAlote) !!! KK can go back to his backup role !!! Pollack will be huge and I for one am looking forward to seeing a slimer faster Geathers back out on the end as opposed to the DT disaster from last year !!! This off season has been far better than the average off season we have been accustomed to !!!

WHODEY !!!

Whiel I didn't particularly enjoy our safety tandem last year, I don't put the problems as much on them as I did the Dline. It not real easy to cover a guy for 5+ seconds when the QB can just sit back there and wait for someone to get open.

Agreed somewhat - but it was a lot worse last year it seemed than 2004, with basically the same D-line. So sure, it would be nice to actually get some pressure - but it would also be good if the safeties could be trusted at all. I mean, trading KK and OhellImtoast for Madieu and Jackson? That's a huuuuuuge upgrade! And I don't mean to dog KK, he'd probably be the first to tell you that he's not starter material, and I think he filled in great all things considered.