The PatternMaster Posted May 3, 2007 Report Share Posted May 3, 2007 They say an emoticon is worth 50 words soo.... :player: btw, can I get some extra zone dollars for callin this one?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kazkal Posted May 3, 2007 Report Share Posted May 3, 2007 If this is our LB corps at end of yearHartwell-Odell-Brooks doesn't seem like worse in the nfl anymore Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The PatternMaster Posted May 3, 2007 Report Share Posted May 3, 2007 If this is our LB corps at end of yearHartwell-Odell-Brooks doesn't seem like worse in the nfl anymore way to believe.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kazkal Posted May 3, 2007 Report Share Posted May 3, 2007 Till he's booted off the team I shall beleive Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoosierCat Posted May 3, 2007 Report Share Posted May 3, 2007 If this is our LB corps at end of yearHartwell-Odell-Brooks doesn't seem like worse in the nfl anymore I look for Hartwell backed by Landon on the weak side, Brooks ahead of Miller in the middle, and Jeanty ahead of Henderson at SLB. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoePong Posted May 3, 2007 Report Share Posted May 3, 2007 If this is our LB corps at end of yearHartwell-Odell-Brooks doesn't seem like worse in the nfl anymore I wouldn't count on that just because I don't see Hartwell playing on the strong side and covering TEs. And he would have to do that with that lineup because there is no way in hell either Brooks or Thurman are going to be used on the strong side. Brooks could play in the middle with Odell on the weak side possibly. Or you could flip those two with Thurman in the middle and Brooks playing weak. But Hartwell isn't likely to play strong side, so you can throw that out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derekshank Posted May 3, 2007 Report Share Posted May 3, 2007 Forget Odell. Hartwell-Brooks-Jeanty doesn't seem bad to me. Jeanty wasn't a stud as a pass-rusher, but he was a very good run stopper. That's also what Hartwell is known for. Also, run defense also wasn't a problem for the D-Line last year. For that reason alone, I think the Bengals a top 10 rushing defense right now.The pass rush is far and away the greatest problem with the defense. Perhaps the improved secondary makes that less of an issue... perhaps Jeanty has learned how to be more effective as a pass-rusher... perhaps Brooks will be a great blitzer. Who knows... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The PatternMaster Posted May 3, 2007 Report Share Posted May 3, 2007 Till he's booted off the team I shall beleive Well I'm going to celebrate this good news tonight, the wife might be in for the best 3:17 seconds of her life!! WhoDey!!!!!!!Forget Odell. Hartwell-Brooks-Jeanty doesn't seem bad to me. Jeanty wasn't a stud as a pass-rusher, but he was a very good run stopper. That's also what Hartwell is known for. Also, run defense also wasn't a problem for the D-Line last year. For that reason alone, I think the Bengals a top 10 rushing defense right now.The pass rush is far and away the greatest problem with the defense. Perhaps the improved secondary makes that less of an issue... perhaps Jeanty has learned how to be more effective as a pass-rusher... perhaps Brooks will be a great blitzer. Who knows...I thought Jeanty's claim to fame in CFL was his ability to get to the qb, honestly I like Jeanty and all, great story good kid yayaya, but he's a back up. I would rather have Landon's experience and athletism on the field, especially if Hartwell and Brooks will be the other lb's. Brooks and Hartwell are big enough bodies to hold vs. the run and put pressure on the qb, Landon is our most athletic lb who matches up best with opposing wr's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoosierCat Posted May 3, 2007 Report Share Posted May 3, 2007 The pass rush is far and away the greatest problem with the defense. Perhaps the improved secondary makes that less of an issue... perhaps Jeanty has learned how to be more effective as a pass-rusher... perhaps Brooks will be a great blitzer. Who knows...Enter Hype Henderson. Whether he successfully transitions to OLB, who knows -- but there's no doubt HH can rush the passer. Use him the same way they used Pollack back in '05. HH gets to be the joker: line him up at LB, DE, wherever, and tell him to sic the QB. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kazkal Posted May 3, 2007 Report Share Posted May 3, 2007 wouldn't count on that just because I don't see Hartwell playing on the strong side and covering TEs.Well brooks would be strong ala pollacks perfect replacement Forget Odell. Hartwell-Brooks-Jeanty doesn't seem bad to me. Jeanty wasn't a stud as a pass-rusher, Jeanty has seemed servicable but I'll go for getting the best players on the field.Another reason why rather have Odell in middle then brooks is he's better on passing downs and in coverage where brooks is more suited for running downs.The pass rush is far and away the greatest problem with the defense. Perhaps the improved secondary makes that less of an issue...Doesn't matter how good your CB's are if the QB has all day to throw,it will help but I think we'd gain more from brooks passrush abiltys over jeantys.I thought Jeanty's claim to fame in CFL was his ability to get to the qb,I really diden't get that myself,he had 8 sacks? in 1 season where CFL is alot more pass happy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoePong Posted May 3, 2007 Report Share Posted May 3, 2007 wouldn't count on that just because I don't see Hartwell playing on the strong side and covering TEs.Well brooks would be strong ala pollacks perfect replacement Dude, stop the nonsense about Brooks playing on the strong side! If he's not in the middle he would play a Lawrence Taylor type role on the weakside. His talent would be wasted as the strong OLB. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJ29 Posted May 3, 2007 Report Share Posted May 3, 2007 Well I'm going to celebrate this good news tonight, the wife might be in for the best 3:17 seconds of her life!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bengalsfansince68 Posted May 3, 2007 Report Share Posted May 3, 2007 Forget Odell.Why would I want to forget Odell? Because you guys see his return as impossible? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kazkal Posted May 3, 2007 Report Share Posted May 3, 2007 Dude, stop the nonsense about Brooks playing on the strong side! If he's not in the middle he would play a Lawrence Taylor type role on the weakside. His talent would be wasted as the strong OLB.Ya wasted o_O Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stripes Posted May 3, 2007 Report Share Posted May 3, 2007 btw, can I get some extra zone dollars for callin this one??I sent ya a cool million, since I stated I didn't expect this or see a major need for it. At the very least, our depth is improved. He came cheaply too, I assume. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derekshank Posted May 3, 2007 Report Share Posted May 3, 2007 I thought Jeanty's claim to fame in CFL was his ability to get to the qb.Yeah... it was. But his strength in the NFL was against the run. It's a much different league in the CFL. For whatever reason, his skills translated into stopping the run in the NFL... something he did quite well with.Why would I want to forget Odell? Because you guys see his return as impossible?Nice work. You did a good job of taking my statement completely out of context. I said "forget Odell" as in "Odell isn't a necessary part of the equation to make this a good LB corps" referencing Kazkal's post.But now that you've mentioned it... Odell's return is highly unlikely. I see an '08 return as a best case scenario. So... Forget Odell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James_Brooks21 Posted May 3, 2007 Report Share Posted May 3, 2007 http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2859541Hoping to resurrect a career derailed the past two seasons by injuries, unrestricted free-agent linebacker Ed Hartwell on Thursday afternoon signed with the Cincinnati Bengals.The one-year contract, worth $1 million to $1.5 million, reunites Hartwell with Bengals coach Marvin Lewis, who was once his defensive coordinator with the Baltimore Ravens. It also gives Hartwell a chance to become a starter in the league again and re-establish himself as a force against the run.Although he has primarily played inside linebacker in a 3-4 front or middle linebacker in a 4-3 scheme, Hartwell could start at weakside linebacker in Cincinnati, where fourth-year veteran Landon Johnson currently tops the depth chart. The rationale of auditioning Hartwell at the weakside position in training camp is that he would be able to move to the ball through less congestion and perhaps bolster a Bengals defense that has struggled against the run in Lewis' four-year tenure as the head coach.At worst, Hartwell should provide a veteran backup to second-year middle linebacker Ahmad Brooks, who is entering his first season as the full-time starter in 2007.First, though, Hartwell, 28, will have to demonstrate that he is past the injuries that plagued him the last two seasons with the Atlanta Falcons.After four seasons with the Ravens, where he recorded 191 tackles in 2002 while filling in for an injured Ray Lewis, Hartwell signed a six-year, $26.5 million contract with the Falcons as a much-coveted unrestricted free agent in 2005. But he suffered a ruptured Achilles in the fifth game of that season and missed the rest of the campaign. Last summer, he underwent arthroscopic surgery to relieve swelling in both knees just before the start of training camp and played in just eight regular-season contests.Despite realizing very little from a significant financial investment in Hartwell, the Falcons released him earlier this spring.Hartwell and his agent spoke to several teams after the Falcons cut him loose, but his goal was to strike a deal with the Bengals because of his familiarity with Lewis and his scheme. Hartwell said he wanted only a one-year contract because it would enable him to prove to the league he is physically whole again and then allow him to go back into the free-agent market again next spring.The signing with the Bengals has been anticipated for about a week but was delayed when Hartwell's wife went into labor.In 77 appearances, including 59 as a starter, Hartwell has 544 tackles, seven sacks, one interception, 10 passes defensed, five forced fumbles and two recoveries. During a three-season stretch with the Ravens, 2002-04, he was acknowledged as one of the NFL's best young defenders against the run and averaged 157.3 tackles in that period.Great signing in my opinion, I was not happy going in with the linebackers we had. Hopefully he can stay off the injury list, I'm just wondering who spot is he going to take. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoosierCat Posted May 3, 2007 Report Share Posted May 3, 2007 Great signing in my opinion, I was not happy going in with the linebackers we had. Hopefully he can stay off the injury list, I'm just wondering who spot is he going to take.Brian Simmons'.I figure our LB corps will look something like this:JeantyHendersonBrooksMillerHartwellL. JohnsonNicholsonFrazier Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShulaSteakhouse Posted May 4, 2007 Report Share Posted May 4, 2007 Maybe Jeanty will become a 3rd down specialist (best fit for him), and replace Hartwell on passing downs.Maybe Brooks doesn't get it still and Hartwell has to take his spot in the middle, similar to what happened last year with Brooks.Who knows, they could move Brooks outside too still. Hartwell's great depth. Thank God, they needed another player to replace Simmons. And Hartwell is a solid upgrade to Simmons' weak run defense (or over-all inconsistency).The same thing happened to Spikes basically with his achilles, and he's doing fine again, despite being older than Hartwell I believe. Not sure what's up with Hartwell's knees, but, he did just fine last year for the Falcons when he played later in the season.Happy they got both him and Myers. Upgrades for at least a year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markymark69 Posted May 4, 2007 Report Share Posted May 4, 2007 Put me down for liking the signing. If for nothing else, he wanted to be here, mostly due to his relationship with Marvin. It's looked like a done deal for a week or so, but it's always nice to finally see that they have signed on the dotted line.Who Dey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HairOnFire Posted May 4, 2007 Report Share Posted May 4, 2007 The one-year contract, worth $1 million to $1.5 million, reunites Hartwell with Bengals coach Marvin Lewis, who was once his defensive coordinator with the Baltimore Ravens. It also gives Hartwell a chance to become a starter in the league again and re-establish himself as a force against the run. Belittle the Bengals free agent ways all you want, and most of you will do just that, but I think you'd be hard pressed to come up with two better bang for the buck signings than DT Mike Myers and LB Edgerton Hartwell. Put me down for liking the signing. If for nothing else, he wanted to be here, mostly due to his relationship with Marvin. I'd love to think if Hartwell returns to form his relationship with Lewis might put the Bengals in the jump seat for his services next season, but I'm not sure how much loyalty a contract that small is going to buy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stripes Posted May 4, 2007 Report Share Posted May 4, 2007 Belittle the Bengals free agent ways all you want, and most of you will do just that, but I think you'd be hard pressed to come up with two better bang for the buck signings than DT Mike Myers and LB Edgerton Hartwell.Especially in the chaotic market we saw this offseason. The Bengals have done a fine job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BengalszoneBilly Posted May 4, 2007 Report Share Posted May 4, 2007 So... Forget Odell.It's kinda hard when you witnessed his raw freakin' ability. The guy plainly didn't suck in uniform. Out of uniform is another subject altogether unfortunately. I truly pray for his return. He was an animal! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hrod382 Posted May 4, 2007 Report Share Posted May 4, 2007 I think where Hartwell plays will tell us a lot about the percieved future of Odell. If Hartwell is at WLB and Ahmad in the middle then I don't think Odell is in future plans. If Ahmad is at strong side then Hartwell in the middle I think they have an Odell return in mind.It's hard to sit Jeanty, I'd rather have him out there than Landon.Regardless this gives us options and depth at low risk. Hartwell also has something to prove so hopefully that brings the beast out in him. I don't have massive expectations at this point though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bengalsfan17 Posted May 4, 2007 Report Share Posted May 4, 2007 Im very excited now that they have signed hartwell, he was a pro bowler before his injuries and i think that the bengals got a steal and he might be the emotional leader we need at the linebacker position Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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