Name a team that made the playoffs with last ranked defense?

[HoosierCat]

Besides, don't you think it's telling that the Bengals have to play like a number one defense the next six weeks to have a chance to be the 20th ranked defense in the league? Maybe depressing is a better word for it.

Not to me. But then again, the ranking I'm concerned about isn't the defense's, but the ranking as per the win/loss column. And to pile up the W's doesn't require them to play like a No. 1 D over the next six weeks. Even with no improvement on defense there's a chance they could go 5-1 or better, if the offense keeps piling up points like it has in the last two weeks.

Also, having such a poor ranking may be important to Marvin Lewis and Mike Brown. No one wants to be the worst at anything. In 2002, the Bengals' 2-14 record was the worst in franchise history, and it prompted Brown to go outside the organization for a new coach and make a few other changes. Might a 32nd defensive ranking justify more big changes in players, coaches, etc?

It may, but really, what non-obvious changes are there to make? Both Bryan Robinson and Tory James will almost certainly be allowed to leave, but that's nothing that hasn't been in the cards for some time. Outside of James in the secondary, I don't see anyone who warrants dumping. Maybe you throw in the towel on Brooks and/or Ratliff. At LB, there's really no one left to cut. Up front, the only real question is whether to pay Justin -- and if you don't think he's worth the money, it's still probably a net loss if he leaves.

The problem on defense isn't that the team has a bunch of bad players or coaches who need to be removed. It's that the first two picks of the 2005 draft imploded -- really, through no fault of the Bengals -- and that crashed Marvin's rebuilding program. We've already spent one 2007 draft pick on an LB -- Ahmad Brooks -- which was clearly a response to the Odell situation. With Pollack gone now, too, that likely means we'll have to spend another day 1 pick on another LB. Which in turn delays by another year being able to apply some of those high selections to the defensive line.

Fire Chuck? Well, that could happen, but it'd be no more warranted than the firing of Frazier. All he's had to work with this year is Hamburger Helper, so you can hardly blame him for not producing filet mignon.