The no-huddle, will it give us the edge?

[Spain]

I cant belive we have all missed this for so long. Last year this O learned the no-huddle. This is their second year in the O. Bombs away this O is going to be better than last year. The real ? is how rusty will Palmer be. I personally dont expect him to miss a beat. He is so profesional. So Bengaldom when do you think we see a steady no huddle?

[Stripes]

I think we saw a steady no-huddle last season, which is great considering how long they've been employing it. Rumor has it they even intend to run the no-huddle when/if Wright is playing. They have a ton of faith in Brat's system apparently.

When Palmer is back to 100%, this offense will be unstoppable.

[derekshank]

Marvin said this off-season that the no-huddle is what really killed the defense toward the end of the last season. With how much they;ve focused on Rudi this year, I'm expecting to see less of the no-huddle.

That's not to say they won't use it. They will, because it's just so freaking effective... but I'm, expecting them to pick their spots.

[redsbengalsbucks]

Marvin said this off-season that the no-huddle is what really killed the defense toward the end of the last season. With how much they;ve focused on Rudi this year, I'm expecting to see less of the no-huddle.

That's not to say they won't use it. They will, because it's just so freaking effective... but I'm, expecting them to pick their spots.

I hope you are right, the quick strike offense only hurts the defense. Untill the D shows it has grown and can handle the opposition more of RUDI running the ball would help alot.

[Jet23]

Marvin said this off-season that the no-huddle is what really killed the defense toward the end of the last season. With how much they;ve focused on Rudi this year, I'm expecting to see less of the no-huddle.

That's not to say they won't use it. They will, because it's just so freaking effective... but I'm, expecting them to pick their spots.

That brings up a good question. Can you have a good defense with a high powered offense? Can an offensive minded team win a championship? Other than the Greatest Show on Turf (Rams) I can not think of one. Scoring quickly does put stress on the defense. That is why defense and a solid running game wins championships.

Is ML falling into the Tony Dungy trap? Dungy is a defense guy, but playing the offensive hand he was dealt. His defense made great strides last year, but the Peyton is still driving the bus. I'm a little concerned that too much of the payroll is going to be spent on the offensive side of the ball. I would like to see them follow New England's lead. Great defense, and a ball control offense with a smart qb at the helm. It's all about balance. A great offense will get you to the playoffs, but rarely much beyond that.

[Spain]

Marvin is building a D. We need A D that can hold up to the run, with Admas we have it.

[HairOnFire]

That brings up a good question. Can you have a good defense with a high powered offense? Can an offensive minded team win a championship? Other than the Greatest Show on Turf (Rams) I can not think of one. Scoring quickly does put stress on the defense. That is why defense and a solid running game wins championships.

I think this team can develope a very good defense that thrives regardless of how quickly the offense scores IF defensive depth is developed. And it's coming. The defensive secondary now has quality depth at both corners and perhaps at both safety positions. All of the linebacker spots are stacked. Even the depth on the defensive line is improved. So it's not out of the question that we'll finally see the defense attack in waves the way Marvin's units did in Baltimore and Washington. Everybody, including the 3rd stringers, get playing time...and the starters stay fresh.

[Jet23]

That brings up a good question. Can you have a good defense with a high powered offense? Can an offensive minded team win a championship? Other than the Greatest Show on Turf (Rams) I can not think of one. Scoring quickly does put stress on the defense. That is why defense and a solid running game wins championships.

I think this team can develope a very good defense that thrives regardless of how quickly the offense scores IF defensive depth is developed. And it's coming. The defensive secondary now has quality depth at both corners and perhaps at both safety positions. All of the linebacker spots are stacked. Even the depth on the defensive line is improved. So it's not out of the question that we'll finally see the defense attack in waves the way Marvin's units did in Baltimore and Washington. Everybody, including the 3rd stringers, get playing time...and the starters stay fresh.

You are right about the depth. I just wish Big Sam was only as big as a small church. He'll work it off, no worries. I am enjoying the defense building process. The Odell thing is a minor setback, but IMO Brooks will be a better backer in the long run. I also love Jumpy as a situational end. I never understood that whole Tackle experiment. They will be a top 10 defense next year.

[BlueResident]

A lot of the no-huddle I think depends on Carson, he makes a lot of decisions at the line of scrimmage and that's not a luxury Marvin will readily take away from him

[derekshank]

You can definetly have both. Having a high powered offense doesn't mean that the defense necessarily has to be crap.

The Colts last year had a much improved defense, and flirted with an undefeated season. The reason they lost in the playoffs oddly enough was because of bad play from the offense. The Rams Super Bowl team had a very good defense. The one that lost to New England was the one sided team. Denver had a high-powered offense with Elway, Terrell Davis, Rod Smith and Shannon Sharpe. But the Defense was pretty damn special too.

It applies to college too. The USC championship teams had good defenses. Last year was the first year that the offense was so much better than the defense that you watched them intentionally slow down to give the defense a breather... and they lost.

Last year we did what we did best. We scored. That was hard on our defense, because we were too young, inexperienced, and lacked depth. At the beginning of the year it was okay, because our weakness was run defense. (If a team wants to keep running the ball while they're down by 17... well, be my guest). As we improved the run defense through the season, teams started taking advantage of our weak safeties.

I still don't like our safety depth, which is why I wonder if we might run the no-huddle less... but I'm excited about the future of our defense. Our secondary and LB's are going to be good for a really long time. I'm still a little concerned about the D-line... but if we can get that fixed, it won't matter how quickly we score.

[bb.gun77]

excellent idea, but wouldn't that put our defense on the field to often. remember, the defense gives up alot of first downs and points. no huddle is fun but controlling the ball for 7 minutes is effective too!

[Stripes]

I think this team can develope a very good defense that thrives regardless of how quickly the offense scores IF defensive depth is developed. And it's coming. The defensive secondary now has quality depth at both corners and perhaps at both safety positions. All of the linebacker spots are stacked. Even the depth on the defensive line is improved. So it's not out of the question that we'll finally see the defense attack in waves the way Marvin's units did in Baltimore and Washington. Everybody, including the 3rd stringers, get playing time...and the starters stay fresh.

That'd certainly be lovely, but I'm not sure any team in the league is deep enough on defense to be able to play consistently with 3rd stringers on the field. Depth obviously helps, but I think conditioning might need improved to keep the stamina up for the starters.

No-huddle or not, the offense will move the ball. If the defense is adversly affected by so many quick strikes, then give the ball to Rudi. They appear to be way ahead of me.

[aaronburr]

I don't see a reason why the no-huddle can't be run at a pace that's more beneficial to the defense. We're strong enough to basically do whatever we want offensively, so why not get Marvin, Brat and Carson all on the same page, and manipulate the pace of the game like a conductor leading an orchestra.

[BlueResident]

I don't see a reason why the no-huddle can't be run at a pace that's more beneficial to the defense. We're strong enough to basically do whatever we want offensively, so why not get Marvin, Brat and Carson all on the same page, and manipulate the pace of the game like a conductor leading an orchestra.

You obviously can't rule out any options at this point...we don't know how much our defense will be improved with our FA additions, and our offense is in another year and we didn't lose any starters so they'll be fine. Our D might be strong enough this season to win some games for us while not depending on turnovers to do so

[KMH14]

Ok, here is my take, for what it is worth. Early in the season, I would like to see us go to a

no huddle when the defense has a defensive package on the field designed to stop the pass.

In that situation, run the no huddle and give them a steady dose of Rudi and the running game. This

will tire out the defense, chew some time off the clock and give our defense some time to rest.

The bottom line is this: We need to stop the run. If we stop the run effectively, our offense can

put some points on the board and build a lead. Now the opposing offense almost has to pass. In

this scenario, we rush the passer, get sacks as well as the picks. After we build a lead, go to the

no huddle whenever Carson/Brat feels it would be effective.

Even if we don't go no huddle, we have an offense capable of a quick strike at any time and that

also puts the defense back on the field soon after coming off the field. Either way, stop the run, build a

lead and rush the passer. Sounds simple doesn't it?

[ArmyBengal]

I also agree that Rudi will be employed much more this year, but feel if the no-huddle is utilized to build a lead and then try to hold on will be much more effective this year due to the upgrades on the defensive side of the ball. Just think, the offense runs a no-huddle and builds a 17 point lead. Does anyone here think the improved D would blow it ?? I know we haven't seen it on the field yet, but I've never been this optimistic about our D in forever. They will be relentless regardless, but feel it will be more balanced with a healthy Rudi and hopefully C. Perry...

WHODEY !!!

[aaronburr]

Just think, the offense runs a no-huddle and builds a 17 point lead. Does anyone here think the improved D would blow it ??

And with a big lead, the no-huddle is almost counter-productive.

Run no-huddle heavy in the first half, build a lead. Continue for at least one possession in the 3rd quarter to set the tone/maintain the advantage. Then give the ball to Rudi and run out the clock.

To answer your question: No, I don't think our defense will cost us games this year.

[ArmyBengal]

My point exactly and with a healthy Rudi, running out the clock during the second half should come easier...

WHODEY !!!

[Oldcat]

Just think, the offense runs a no-huddle and builds a 17 point lead. Does anyone here think the improved D would blow it ??

And with a big lead, the no-huddle is almost counter-productive.

Run no-huddle heavy in the first half, build a lead. Continue for at least one possession in the 3rd quarter to set the tone/maintain the advantage. Then give the ball to Rudi and run out the clock.

To answer your question: No, I don't think our defense will cost us games this year.

Nothing about the no-huddle says the offense cant use ever scrap of the clock time, run the ball, and dominate time of posession. The Bengals no-huddle of the 80s did exactly that.

Its a matter of play selection, not no-huddle vs not no huddle.

[Spain]

you run the no huddle till the third then kill the clock with the lead.