More Mike Zimmer Goodness

[membengal]

http://www.bengals.com/news/article-1/High-expectations/28bbf3f6-4800-4d46-83cd-b194d5723905

Mike Zimmer won’t kid you. He never does. When he looked up late in the first half of the 23-20 victory over the Steelers last Sunday and saw Pittsburgh was nearing 260 yards, he muttered, “Whoa, we can’t even slow down these guys.”

And there were a few other times the Bengals defensive coordinator wondered, “Maybe we’re not ready for this big-time deal yet.”

But after the Bengals ended up holding the Steelers to 373 yards and got a defensive touchdown, he felt better. Don’t be mistaken. In Zimmer’s world that just means he’s not miserable. He still felt badly enough to come to work at 4 a.m. Monday, but also better enough that he believes his guys are still on the right track.

“I think we’re pretty good, but I’ve got high standards," Zimmer said. “They settled down. They did better. I think each week when the games come down to the end like they have for three weeks, I think those experiences will make us better. We’re a pretty tough team right now. Nothing really shakes us. They smacked us early, but we came back.”

But his guys are going to get an earful from him Wednesday. All of them. Zimmer appreciates the kind words of quarterback Carson Palmer (“The defense has played great for three weeks”), but amended Palmer with “We’ve played well two out of three weeks.”

“There was no one you could say ‘Hey, this guy played great,’ ’’ Zimmer said. “We had some guys play well, some guys played well in spots. But as a group we can play a lot better and that was the disappointing thing. We’ve come far enough here defensively that I expect us to be better than that. I’ve got high expectations.”

Even though the Bengals held the Steelers to 3.6 yards on the ground for their 28 rushes, Zimmer wasn’t pleased with the misalignments. Even though the Bengals held Super Bowl MVP Santonio Holmes to one catch for 18 yards, Zimmer was upset with the soft coverage that allowed the Steelers two passes of plus 40 yards and 50 percent success on third down. Even though the Bengals held the Steelers to field goals on third downs from the 1 and 6, well, you get the idea.

“The effort was there. We hit. Maybe we almost tried to do too much,” Zimmer said. “I don’t know if it was because they knew it was a big game, but there were some uncharacteristic things that we did. There was more confusion for some reason. We didn’t play well in the back end.”

The most glaring uncharacteristic trait was how open the Steelers receivers were. Zimmer knows there could have been a 61-yard touchdown pass and a 34-yard touchdown pass if the Steelers caught the ball, and his DBs will hear plenty about letting the receivers get off the line so easily and giving cushions.

Zimmer didn’t let himself off the hook, either. He thought he was a bit too conservative in the first half.

“I cut it loose a little bit more in the second half and we changed a few things,” he said. “But you don’t want to have to blitz every time.”

But he knew one thing as a 10-year NFL defensive coordinator. He sensed the Bengals were scoring on the last drive. Zimmer and Palmer have a mutual admiration society going.

“He’s really good,” Zimmer said. “The fourth-and-10 was a little scary, but our guys were on the sideline preparing to go out there with a little time left and win it.”

[HoosierCat]

Mike Zimmer may be the best coaching hire since Wyche. No disrespect to Marvin, but he had a lot to work with in Balti as DC; Zimmer gets "the Little Sisters of the Poor." I just hope that the two can successfully work together long-term.

[volcom69]

Mike Zimmer may be the best coaching hire since Wyche. No disrespect to Marvin, but he had a lot to work with in Balti as DC; Zimmer gets "the Little Sisters of the Poor." I just hope that the two can successfully work together long-term.

So very true! I cant wait to see if the defense rebounds this week with a better outing, and i also wonder if they were trying to do to much, like the game was so big that they were playing to fast that they left guys open? I saw they sliped back to 16th rank or something overall, but hopefully this week they will come out and get back on track where they left off the first 2 games.

[jonahdsage]

I'm sure the shutout this weekend will help our overall ranking.

[ct_bengal]

i have to say there were moments during the game where i was surprised because the defense looked pretty bad, especially in the first half. but they rebounded (thank goodneess). they looked like they were too excited at times but once they settled in they got things going. I would like to see a defensive stomping of cleveland to make up for some of those big plays they gave up gainst the steelers, i mean at halftime i was almost in panic mode.

[HoosierCat]

i have to say there were moments during the game where i was surprised because the defense looked pretty bad, especially in the first half. but they rebounded (thank goodneess). they looked like they were too excited at times but once they settled in they got things going. I would like to see a defensive stomping of cleveland to make up for some of those big plays they gave up gainst the steelers, i mean at halftime i was almost in panic mode.

I really think that the D is playing above its talent level right now, and I credit that to Zim. IMO what we lack is a real stud DT.

[BlainThePain]

i have to say there were moments during the game where i was surprised because the defense looked pretty bad, especially in the first half. but they rebounded (thank goodneess). they looked like they were too excited at times but once they settled in they got things going. I would like to see a defensive stomping of cleveland to make up for some of those big plays they gave up gainst the steelers, i mean at halftime i was almost in panic mode.

I really think that the D is playing above its talent level right now, and I credit that to Zim. IMO what we lack is a real stud DT.

I disagree, I think we have that stud DT in Peko. What we lack is that killer MLB. We find that Lewis/Urlacher MLB and a third corner, and this defense will be top 5.

[HoosierCat]

i have to say there were moments during the game where i was surprised because the defense looked pretty bad, especially in the first half. but they rebounded (thank goodneess). they looked like they were too excited at times but once they settled in they got things going. I would like to see a defensive stomping of cleveland to make up for some of those big plays they gave up gainst the steelers, i mean at halftime i was almost in panic mode.

I really think that the D is playing above its talent level right now, and I credit that to Zim. IMO what we lack is a real stud DT.

I disagree, I think we have that stud DT in Peko. What we lack is that killer MLB. We find that Lewis/Urlacher MLB and a third corner, and this defense will be top 5.

I like Peko. For that matter I like Sims, and Tank was a good pickup. But Peko (and the rest) just aren't that Scary Dude in the middle that demands constant double teams to free up the ends. It's a good unit all together but I don't see Peko as "The Guy."

We have that killer MLB. He's playing SAM right now. Next year he takes over for Dhani.

3rd corner? Yeah, that's a work in progress. I don't think David Jones is the answer even once he gets healthy. Trent? I dunno. Maybe we go back to the well again next April.

[Kazkal]

Pat Sims fan myself the guy is simply a beast...

I disagree, I think we have that stud DT in Peko. What we lack is that killer MLB. We find that Lewis/Urlacher MLB and a third corner, and this defense will be top 5.

We have the Stud MLB he's just currently playing SLB,We're gonna need a SLB next year to replace him and ya Nickle Corner would be nice after that very happy with D & players...Brandon Spikes anyone?

[NJ29]

i have to say there were moments during the game where i was surprised because the defense looked pretty bad, especially in the first half. but they rebounded (thank goodneess). they looked like they were too excited at times but once they settled in they got things going. I would like to see a defensive stomping of cleveland to make up for some of those big plays they gave up gainst the steelers, i mean at halftime i was almost in panic mode.

I really think that the D is playing above its talent level right now, and I credit that to Zim. IMO what we lack is a real stud DT.

I disagree, I think we have that stud DT in Peko. What we lack is that killer MLB. We find that Lewis/Urlacher MLB and a third corner, and this defense will be top 5.

I like Peko. For that matter I like Sims, and Tank was a good pickup. But Peko (and the rest) just aren't that Scary Dude in the middle that demands constant double teams to free up the ends. It's a good unit all together but I don't see Peko as "The Guy."

We have that killer MLB. He's playing SAM right now. Next year he takes over for Dhani.

3rd corner? Yeah, that's a work in progress. I don't think David Jones is the answer even once he gets healthy. Trent? I dunno. Maybe we go back to the well again next April.

I agree with ya Hoosier... I feel like Rey is that scary Mike backer that we've been missing, but picking up a big, versatile Sam backer would be great for the team as well. I hate to bring up the draft already, but hell, this team is only a few pieces away from being real good, and could potentially spend a luxury pick on real good Sam in the early rounds, possibly on a guy like Sergio Kindle or Dekoda Watson.

As for a nickel corner, I think Jones will be a serviceable nickel man for now, but I wouldn't call him a good nickel corner. That position, even with Jones healthy, is something I've been harping on for a long time. But s**t, I'm not gonna try to highjack this thread and turn into draft talk, waaay too early for that, haha.

[ct_bengal]

i have to say there were moments during the game where i was surprised because the defense looked pretty bad, especially in the first half. but they rebounded (thank goodneess). they looked like they were too excited at times but once they settled in they got things going. I would like to see a defensive stomping of cleveland to make up for some of those big plays they gave up gainst the steelers, i mean at halftime i was almost in panic mode.

I really think that the D is playing above its talent level right now, and I credit that to Zim. IMO what we lack is a real stud DT.

I disagree, I think we have that stud DT in Peko. What we lack is that killer MLB. We find that Lewis/Urlacher MLB and a third corner, and this defense will be top 5.

I like Peko. For that matter I like Sims, and Tank was a good pickup. But Peko (and the rest) just aren't that Scary Dude in the middle that demands constant double teams to free up the ends. It's a good unit all together but I don't see Peko as "The Guy."

We have that killer MLB. He's playing SAM right now. Next year he takes over for Dhani.

3rd corner? Yeah, that's a work in progress. I don't think David Jones is the answer even once he gets healthy. Trent? I dunno. Maybe we go back to the well again next April.

I agree with ya Hoosier... I feel like Rey is that scary Mike backer that we've been missing, but picking up a big, versatile Sam backer would be great for the team as well. I hate to bring up the draft already, but hell, this team is only a few pieces away from being real good, and could potentially spend a luxury pick on real good Sam in the early rounds, possibly on a guy like Sergio Kindle or Dekoda Watson.

As for a nickel corner, I think Jones will be a serviceable nickel man for now, but I wouldn't call him a good nickel corner. That position, even with Jones healthy, is something I've been harping on for a long time. But s**t, I'm not gonna try to highjack this thread and turn into draft talk, waaay too early for that, haha.

i actually liked jones he showed alot of improvement last year. how he shows up this year tho is whats important, but i thought he showed that he is improving

[ArmyBengal]

There's a draft conversation going on in the Draft Forum if you want to put in your 2 cents...

[cincy9275]

i have to say there were moments during the game where i was surprised because the defense looked pretty bad, especially in the first half. but they rebounded (thank goodneess). they looked like they were too excited at times but once they settled in they got things going. I would like to see a defensive stomping of cleveland to make up for some of those big plays they gave up gainst the steelers, i mean at halftime i was almost in panic mode.

I really think that the D is playing above its talent level right now, and I credit that to Zim. IMO what we lack is a real stud DT.

i disagree, this defense may be lacking a nickle corner. our starters are just as good as any team defense even better in some positions. as for a stud d-tackle, as long as odom keeps playing lights out we won't need one. odom may not have got credit for the sack in the last game he was the one that caused it. then all the holding the steelers where doing on him was because they could not block him. you have to figure if he wasn't held so much he may have 2 more sacks to his total. i think when jones makes it back we will have our 3rd corner, as for d-tackle i really think sims will develop in to a pass rusher, this past preseason sims showed the ability to get in the back field and sack the qb. remember this defense is still young and is only going to get better. WHO DEY!!

[jjakq27]

The more I read and see about this guy, the more I like him. I hope he is able to hang around here for a few years before he gets an offer to be a head coach. I just wonder if his personality would work as a HC.

[volcom69]

They should have gotten a nickle corner awhile ago, instead of letting Crocker do it, hes more of a saftey then a corner anyways. Maybe Jones will be back this week, and we can see where he is, and hopefully will be good.

[membengal]

Jones is back, Trent's in house and learning, and they have a few versatile safeties.

It's worked out okay this time around, but a CB early in next year's draft wouldn't make me sad.

[jonahdsage]

Jones is back, Trent's in house and learning, and they have a few versatile safeties.

It's worked out okay this time around, but a CB early in next year's draft wouldn't make me sad.

you mean day one early? Can we spend a 2nd rd pick on a nickel corner? I suppose if Zimmer keeps up this hybrid 3-4 thing going where we have a nickel in almost every play, I suppose so. Oh who am I kidding, i have no idea how NFL defense works. Carry on . . .

[HoosierCat]

The more I read and see about this guy, the more I like him. I hope he is able to hang around here for a few years before he gets an offer to be a head coach. I just wonder if his personality would work as a HC.

I dunno. From what we saw on Hard Knocks, Zim's a touch...quirky. But then again, we had a guy nicknamed "wicky-wacky" and like I said before he worked out OK.