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Defensive End Prospects?


Kazkal

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I think resigning Justin will be a top priority for the Bengals this offseason. If he stays, I doubt we'll go with an end in the first or second (depending of course on who's there when we pick).

I think our bigger needs are at both outside linebacker spots.

depends how offseason plays out...if in april odell has gotten in trouble and pollack looks like he i done then sure we take a lb in 1st or 2nd rnd...but if odell stays clean till then and pollack looks like hell return then it should be a 2nd day concern

I sure hope we don't resign Justin Smith(can you say OVERRATED)Drafted too high yes but hes still best linemen we have and if you let him walk its a step backwords in getting a better defense sense theres no one better to take his spot and theres no one better on the otherside of him.

Resign justin find a stud who is good at getting to the QB and put him on the other side of justin and the DE play will be alot better.

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It will awesome to see us take Michael Griffin in the first round and Joe Newton in the second. B)

Who Dey!!! :cheers:

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It will awesome to see us take Michael Griffin in the first round and Joe Newton in the second. B)

Who Dey!!! :cheers:

That would work I think. :bengal: Griffin's test this year was to convince teams that he's got the speed to get where he needs to get and the strength to consistently deliver a pounding vs. pass and run. The downside to him based on his switch to the roving SS poisition he's playing this year like Michael Huff did last year is probably going to be that he's a step slow in arrival. There's a couple other safeties with NFL strong safety potential who should get consideration early along with Griffin -- Josh Gattis and Kevin Payne of Louisiana-Monroe. I finally got to watch Payne and he's all over the field in coverage and the run. I'd say Payne can probably play the most complete safety at the next level based on the skills and instincts he showed in how well he covered and reacted to the 5 WR spread of Troy State yesterday. Payne was everyhwere and he hits as hard as any safety out there with just perfect timing. He's got to wrap up better though vs. bigger players, something he should have no problems with.

Newton has great hands and is an excellent route runner, almost WR able. But he can't block. If it came down to a TE in the 2nd, I'd be more interested in Scott Chandler from Iowa. Same big target, but an accomplished blocker to boot. Not the route runner Newton is though and Newton should draw interest from teams who like to launch their TE deep down the seam.

On the DE side of things, there's a few other worth mentioning. If Kenny Iwebema enters early, he'll factor heavily into the Day 1 DE order. Another DE who should get in there is Anthony Spencer. He shows decent lateral speed and pursuit plus surprising strength to separate himself from blockers with his moves pass rushing. A wildcard in the DE picture is Brian Smith of Mizzou. After watching big chunks of the Mizzou loss to Texas A & M yesterday, I'd say Smith will get high consideration as an edge rusher because he is extremely quick from the RDE vs. LTs. His size ultimately tweeners him down to whether he can play OLB in a 3-4 or SSLB in a 4-3.

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It will awesome to see us take Michael Griffin in the first round and Joe Newton in the second. B)

Who Dey!!! :cheers:

Another DE who should get in there is Anthony Spencer. He shows decent lateral speed and pursuit plus surprising strength to separate himself from blockers with his moves pass rushing.

i was just about to mention him. he is the only player we have on defense up here, and he seems to be everywhere! its crazy really. i wouldnt mind if the bengals picked him up

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It will awesome to see us take Michael Griffin in the first round and Joe Newton in the second. B)

Who Dey!!! :cheers:

Another DE who should get in there is Anthony Spencer. He shows decent lateral speed and pursuit plus surprising strength to separate himself from blockers with his moves pass rushing.

i was just about to mention him. he is the only player we have on defense up here, and he seems to be everywhere! its crazy really. i wouldnt mind if the bengals picked him up

His main rap will be is he sized enough to be an every-down 4-3 DE. But he's got great moves and gets after it. I'd say he's a somewhat less version of LaMarr Woodley. And both of those 2 are likely to get tweenered by teams, which probably will affect when they hear their names called. Still, Spencer is going to get looked at hard. He reminds me of a lot of Jeremy Mincey from Florida last year and like Mincey could get a crack at OLB in a 3-4.

As for safety, again it should come down to how they want to use Madieu if they decide to prioritize S in the draft. I'd like to see less of Madieu at SS and more at free and in the slot in the nickel, which frees up Joseph to play weakside corner every down. So I'd like to see them take a SS who has the range, straightline speed, coverage reaction, ball skills and closing speed to be as interchangeable as possible but more inclined to be a physical SS. From what I've seen this year as to who that could be in the 2nd, I'm liking Kevin Payne.

1st Round: LaMarr Woodley

2nd Round: Kevin Payne

4th Round: Scott Stephenson - Center/Iowa State

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Think woodley can be effective 4-3 end at pro level? or is he more of a pollack pick? though perk is if pollack doesnt return we'd have guy able take his spot :P

Exactly. The very thing that the Bengals might like about Woodley is what probably drops him to the bottom of the 1st round. However, he looks like he might be able to swing every down RDE, which has got to come up with some kind equivalent in run pursuit like Justin has shown over the years. That's going to be even more important than sacks. At least this way with Woodley, they can figure out what they got as they go and either way, they should have a starter right out of the gate.

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You can never have too many good pass rushing DE's. Especially considering that you usually move one DE to DT on passing downs to try to get a maximum pass rush. Keeping Justing Smith, Geathers, Rucker, Bryan Robinson for one more year, and drafting a DE in either the 1st or 2nd would be pretty good for the pass rush. There aren't a ton of other areas I think we really need to focus on.

Another LB for more depth, as Simmons is no spring chicken, and especially if Thurman and Pollack aren't with us, and it seems that it's never a bad idea to take an O-Lineman on the first day. But I'll never complain if they use their first pick on a DE.

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I hope we know pollack and thurmans future by draft day...

Draft is in April, right? Wow, this will be a tough one. Pollack may very well be pretty far along in his rehab, but whether he will be fully back and whether he will have made a decision on whether he will play again (or even be medically cleared) may not have been determined by then. Thurman could still be waiting on a decision on his reinstatement which would hold things up in the air as well. Is there a diffinitive date that Thurman can request reinstatement that anyone has seen or heard?

I say we alternate picks: 1. LB / 2. DE / 4. LB / 5. DE (or maybe other way round, DE first, then LB) :lol:

:bengal:

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Thoughts on justin hickmann?

Best trait he shows is his upper arm strength. Don't think a team will have to worry about him tearing up his shoulders when he pieces his rips and swims off of his bullrush. But he sure looks like he plays top heavy whcih will make it harder for him to get off blocks and make him more susceptible to traps and cuts. There's not a lot of quickness or burst off the line from him and he doesn't seem to get used in space at all which should mean 3-4 teams won't consider him as a 3-4 OLB like they might Dan Bazuin or Anthony Spencer. He's got some interior strength and does have strength off the edge but watching him when he went up against Ryan Harris of ND, he doesn't look like he's got the strength to dominate NFL linemen. I'd say he'll be in the mix starting Day 2 and probably lands in the 5th.

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Gaines sure didn't help himself vs. Hokies. Most of the running damage came from running away from him but still enough plays to him where he failed to keep contain or collapse into the middle that pause could rise if it keeps happening as to whether or not he'll get pigeon-holed by teams as a prototype stronside 4-3 DE. IMO, he won't but he's been looking heavier the last couple game I've seen him, like upwards of 280, which could bring the issue further to the forefront.

Regardless, 1 thing he continues to show he can do well is drop back into coverage. He helped take away the middlerom Calvin Johnson the week before and did well in space and getting downfield after receivers again. His sack ability is tremendous from RDE but I'd still like to see more upper body strength from him for improved bullrush and quicker shed of blocks when playing the run.

The announcers said he was crying at halftime and then crying during the 2nd half. WTF is that :blink: He can't afford to be some kind of basket case.

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