Wasn't the linebacker situation Marvin's fault?

[walzav29]

That was a huge mistake. You can't just say, "that's no excuse". I have not heard him say that it was his fault that they went into that game with 4 linebackers. I'm discouraged.

[HoosierCat]

They did the same thing in Seattle and got away with it. Bit 'em on the a$$ against the Pats, tho.

[walzav29]

Does he fully expect Jeanty to return? I haven't heard any updates on any of the injured guys. It only irritates me because it has an effect on every game. I'll tell you another thing. They better solve this Willie Anderson deal. 1 series a game is not enough to fill a roster spot. Get that goon out of their, put Whitworth at right tackle. Levi at left, Stacey, Williams at guard and figure out if Ghiucec is going to get back.

[mgilgris]

Goes back to being cheap and not picking up a temp back up. Could have been easily done in order to ensure they were not in that situation. Doyle the CBS writer hit the nail on the head when he talked about the bengals being too cheap to pick up another player to ensure that they had enough d for the Monday night game. Picking up one player and dropping him after the game would not have been too much to ask, yet they were too cheap.

I blame this on Marvin and Mikey B.

Marvin needs to stop being so optimistic. I dont think he should be a dooms-dayer but he should at least expect the worst in each game. He clearly is seeing things from the do your job and everything will be alright rose colored glasses.

[mgilgris]

Good point, that is true on the roster spot.

[AMC]

Does he fully expect Jeanty to return? I haven't heard any updates on any of the injured guys. It only irritates me because it has an effect on every game. I'll tell you another thing. They better solve this Willie Anderson deal. 1 series a game is not enough to fill a roster spot. Get that goon out of their, put Whitworth at right tackle. Levi at left, Stacey, Williams at guard and figure out if Ghiucec is going to get back.

I know Willie is an icon for his past play but you have to look at the present.

I agree with this post 1000%. Well, except for the goon part!

[ShulaSteakhouse]

If Willie can't play he needs to give back his $ to help the team and go on IR.

Should've never, ever re-signed him to the contract they did - just a typical bad decision by the Bengals' which leads to their problems in other areas.

They're way too loyal.

The guy looks 9 1/2 months pregnant and crippled.

[kingwilly]

I think what we are seeing is the result of the vacuum in place of a GM.

Mikey is not a GM.

ML is not a true GM, heck he can barely get these guys lined up on the field properly.

The scenario we are experiencing is due to there being no leadership in the management of the team from a personnel/roster perspective.

[whodeynation]

Ed Hartwell is still available... He didn't look so bad to me.

[walzav29]

Compared to Ndukwe at LB I'd say sign him. That's why I can't comprehend it being about anything but money. By the way, the goon I was talking about was Koositra. He scares my children.

[GregCook]

I think what we are seeing is the result of the vacuum in place of a GM.

Mikey is not a GM.

ML is not a true GM, heck he can barely get these guys lined up on the field properly.

The scenario we are experiencing is due to there being no leadership in the management of the team from a personnel/roster perspective.

Adding another cook to this chaotic kitchen will somehow make things right? You're asking for a bigger food fight.

When you have one player with a 120 million contract(CP), you limit your club in other areas not named the NFL draft. As it happens the Oline is the least of our problems, at least they have quality guys that can plug holes when starters go down. When you look at training camp, the Bengals had depth at LB with Jeanty, Brooks, Landon, Miller as big minutes guys with Odell waiting for re-instatement. Last weekend only Landon suited up. Horrible bad luck. Can anyone name a quality RB just floating around once preseason was over? A linebacker?

Where I fault mgmt is putting a team on the field, year after year, that isn't coached to the highest NFL standards. They constantly make costly mistakes either in fundamentals(11 or 12 players on the field coach?) or in assignments(leaving gaps on the field). Whether this is due to the players they pick and keep or bad coaching I don't know. But its one or the other.

[Whur CHad At?]

We signed our savior for the LB core, Corey Mays(?) from the Pats, over Ed Hartwell, Al Wilson, so on and so on.

[GregCook]

We signed our savior for the LB core, Corey Mays(?) from the Pats, over Ed Hartwell, Al Wilson, so on and so on.

Are those guys still in the NFL?

[dave]

We signed our savior for the LB core, Corey Mays(?) from the Pats, over Ed Hartwell, Al Wilson, so on and so on.

Great point -- what does it say about this franchise's personnel people that Hartwell, who was the big off-season acquisition, isn't good (or healthy) enough to get picked up now. Instead, they go for an undrafted free agent cut loose by the Pats. Geez.

[SkinneymulleT]

We signed our savior for the LB core, Corey Mays(?) from the Pats, over Ed Hartwell, Al Wilson, so on and so on.

Great point -- what does it say about this franchise's personnel people that Hartwell, who was the big off-season acquisition, isn't good (or healthy) enough to get picked up now. Instead, they go for an undrafted free agent cut loose by the Pats. Geez.

"Good enough", from what I understand is not the issue, Ed has never recovered from his multiplicity of injuries over the past few seasons. We gave him a shot to see if he was healthy but he was still real stiff and slow. Why pay him when he will likely end up on IR or miss any # of games? He would just be another injured bengals linebacker, collecting from the bengals dole.

[tmartin22]

i wish they wouldnt have locked up levi or willie and signed adalius thomas...remember a couple of years ago when people wanted them to go 3-4 cause of all their talent at linebacker....i wish those days were still here

[Kazkal]

His fault for our LB problem? Linebacker is his favorite position look at our drafts we always go LB heavy o_O

It it marvins fault Pollack Broke his neck? Is it Marvins fault that Goddell is an ass? Is it his fault that brooks and Jeanty can't go? is it his fault 2 of our only 4 LB's go down in the 1st half? I don't wanna place blame but if it's anyones fault I'd say most of it would be on mikey...Could use a better health staff Could use a larger scout staff and could open his pocket book to a big name FA maybe?

[HairOnFire]

"Good enough", from what I understand is not the issue, Ed has never recovered from his multiplicity of injuries over the past few seasons. We gave him a shot to see if he was healthy but he was still real stiff and slow. Why pay him when he will likely end up on IR or miss any # of games? He would just be another injured bengals linebacker, collecting from the bengals dole.

Agreed, but Hartwell remains a fairly attractive option simply because there aren't any better ones. Getting Jeanty and Brooks back should help, as does adding a special teamer like Mays, but injuries like groin pulls tend to nag and reappear. Should that happen I can think of few options better than adding a veteran MLB like Hartwell....even if he's as slow in pass coverage as fellow bandaid, Dhani Jones.

The harsh reality is the Bengals are currently scraping the bottom of the LB pool, and IMHO it's not hard to understand why they preferred playing with extra secondary players for a week. It's not a sustainable strategy, but if Marshall wasn't injured it should have gotten them to the bye.