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Maualuga at MLB?

Kazkal

By Kazkal
in Cincinnati Bengals

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39 members have voted

  1. 1. Should Maualuga move to the middle in2010?

    • Yes he should
      18
    • Not in 2010 But after Dhani Retires
      16
    • No & We should draft a MLB (Brandon Spikes)
      5
    • Other
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Walrus Newbie

Walrus

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Dhani has shown himself to be a great leader from the MLB position on this defense. I think the spot should be his until Rey or someone else takes it from him. I don't think Maualuga has earned that yet (however I acknowledge this may change through the course of the offseason).

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Pidge Newbie

Pidge

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Yes, Rey will be in the middle next yr - unless we get one of the top 2 MLBs falling to us at 21. Dhani is far, far, far too slow now. So slow that he could draw up the offensive play the other team is going to run, hand it to them and he'd still get burnt. Fantastic experience to have on the roster though.

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Kazkal Newbie

Kazkal

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Dhani has shown himself to be a great leader from the MLB position on this defense. I think the spot should be his until Rey or someone else takes it from him. I don't think Maualuga has earned that yet (however I acknowledge this may change through the course of the offseason).

Dhani is a Great leader Hence why I'd wanna keep him around as a backup,But he just doesn't seem to have the speed for it anymore which showed all season.

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Stripes Veteran

Stripes

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Yes, move Rey to the middle. Dhani had an excellent season against the run, but he was also the primary goat against tight ends. Still though, tight ends didn't rip us apart quite like they have in the recent past. Only Daniels and Gates really killed us, if I recall correctly.

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BengalPimp Newbie

BengalPimp

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Yes, move Rey to the middle. Dhani had an excellent season against the run, but he was also the primary goat against tight ends. Still though, tight ends didn't rip us apart quite like they have in the recent past. Only Daniels and Gates really killed us, if I recall correctly.

Does the name Dustin Keller ring a bell?

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BengalPimp Newbie

BengalPimp

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That's the whole reason they have training camps, and pre-season, to figure out who starts and at what position. I'm not going to comment on it now, because you shouldn't hand out positions in this league...you should have to play for them. Dhani turns 32 next month (Feb 22nd) and I'd like to see how he looks next camp. I just want the Bengals to start the 3 best LB's regardless.

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Kazkal Newbie

Kazkal

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That's the whole reason they have training camps, and pre-season, to figure out who starts and at what position. I'm not going to comment on it now, because you shouldn't hand out positions in this league...you should have to play for them. Dhani turns 32 next month (Feb 22nd) and I'd like to see how he looks next camp. I just want the Bengals to start the 3 best LB's regardless.

Yes but their also more likely not gonna be giving maualuga reps at both (Or they probably would have done it this year),Plus it's still offseason talk because gotta Decide if you want him as SLB or MLB so you know what lookin for in the draft.

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Ickey44 Newbie

Ickey44

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Dhani's got one more year on his contract and I believe they'll keep him in the middle next year. Yeah, he got burned in coverage a handful of times this year, but he also gets the other guys lined up right and makes adjustments based on the offensive formation. That's more valuable than having a little more speed at that position. I think Rey will be back in the middle for 2011.

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ArmyBengal Grand Master

ArmyBengal

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Yeah, originally I was thinking 2010 would be Rey's year to go to the middle, but I'm not sold yet. Camp will decide a bunch of that as well because when Rey was drafted, I don't know how many people would have guessed he would have beaten out Jeanty for the OLB spot to start. It should be interesting to see how it plays out and there are our own FA LB's to consider in Jeanty and Johnson that will need to be taken care of or force our hand in the draft.

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DC_Bengals_Fan Newbie

DC_Bengals_Fan

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Dhani's got one more year on his contract and I believe they'll keep him in the middle next year. Yeah, he got burned in coverage a handful of times this year, but he also gets the other guys lined up right and makes adjustments based on the offensive formation. That's more valuable than having a little more speed at that position. I think Rey will be back in the middle for 2011.

I'm real worried that this year is Dhani's "Tory James Year", where a guy goes from 'hey, he's lost a step' to 'jeebus, is that guy running in quicksand?'. If possible, I'd rather get out in front of that. Sort of like how the Patsies have generally done things - I'd rather miss one decent year out of a guy than realize too late he's over the hill.

Whether they go with Rey as MLB starter or not, I'd definitely give Rey quite a few reps at both MLB and SLB. Not a bad idea to have some versatility at LB anyway, but I think we might get to week 3 and realize we have to take Old Yeller out back and shoot him.

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Spor_tees Newbie

Spor_tees

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Dhani's got one more year on his contract and I believe they'll keep him in the middle next year. Yeah, he got burned in coverage a handful of times this year, but he also gets the other guys lined up right and makes adjustments based on the offensive formation. That's more valuable than having a little more speed at that position. I think Rey will be back in the middle for 2011.

I'm real worried that this year is Dhani's "Tory James Year", where a guy goes from 'hey, he's lost a step' to 'jeebus, is that guy running in quicksand?'. If possible, I'd rather get out in front of that. Sort of like how the Patsies have generally done things - I'd rather miss one decent year out of a guy than realize too late he's over the hill.

Whether they go with Rey as MLB starter or not, I'd definitely give Rey quite a few reps at both MLB and SLB. Not a bad idea to have some versatility at LB anyway, but I think we might get to week 3 and realize we have to take Old Yeller out back and shoot him.

I would have to say that the Patsies are a very bad example. A lot of the players that they get the most out of seem to be those veteran players that many think are past their prime. Ted Johnson, Teddy Bruschi, Mike Vrabel, Junior Seau, Ty Law, etc. Sure they miss every now and then like they did this yer with Joey Galloway, but they definitely judge players by talent and not simply by age.

I think you might be a little confused about what the Patriots do. They don't get rid of aging players that they feel are about to drop off in skill level, but more they have a system they use that nets them more compensatory draft picks every other year. They go out one year and they will sign a good group of free agents, then the next year they will let some high priced average skill players go in free agency or trades allowing themselves to get extra picks. They have been doing this for awhile now. Don't you remember how amazed people were that the year after they almost went undefeated they got a bunch of compensatory picks? They have found a way to play the system and are very good at it.

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derekshank Newbie

derekshank

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If the main concern about Dhani is his pass coverage, is moving Rey to his spot really improving anything? I think Rey would bring a big improvement in stopping the run... but I'm not hearing that complaint from Dhani's play. I'm hearing that he can't cover TEs... but the problem is, neither can Rey.

In fact, it's the main problem with the entire LB corps. In fact, it's such a problem that Rivers is probably the best cover LB on the roster... with Dhani being a very close second. Brandon Johnson, Maualuga, and Jeanty are all run stopper/pass rushers. They are all out of their element in pass coverage.

I wonder if that might be one of the many reasons Zimmer loves to blitz so much. He doesn't have a Vilma, or Willis, or Cushing that excel in coverage. He has a bunch of guys who want to pin their ears back and sprint toward the line of scrimmage.

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Kazkal Newbie

Kazkal

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Yeah, originally I was thinking 2010 would be Rey's year to go to the middle, but I'm not sold yet. Camp will decide a bunch of that as well because when Rey was drafted, I don't know how many people would have guessed he would have beaten out Jeanty for the OLB spot to start. It should be interesting to see how it plays out and there are our own FA LB's to consider in Jeanty and Johnson that will need to be taken care of or force our hand in the draft.

Well Jeanty & Johnson Both being RFA's kinda set's them up nicely if a stud falls in their lap in a later round they can still draft him and have a year to develop well having quality backups in both of them...If they don't find a Linebacker they can try extend Jeanty & Johnson who both very servicable backups and wouldn't mind seeing Brandon Starting(Well he pretty much is a starter in nickle packages hehe)

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firemarvinNOW Newbie

firemarvinNOW

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Your safety is the key in a cover 2 or man. In cover 2 the MLB only covers his area he should get safety help on deeper routes. In man the safety should also help on deeper routes. Most damage done by TEs this year were done when Nelson was in for Crocker(Minn,jets reg.sea etc...) Crocker I dont think was 100% for playoff game either.Rey brings a lot of speed and energy he is a perfect fit at MLB.I think Rivers has been a huge dissapointment. B.Johnson makes some big plays but he is way to agressive and takes himself out of a lot of plays, he is very undisciplned and should probably be let go. Jeanty is a solid player but is hurt way too much.You may be stronger leaving Dhani in the middle even though Rey is better at that position, because of how weak you are with Johnson or Jeanty at SOLB. There may be a bigger difference between Rey and johnson or jeanty as opposed to the difference between Rey and Dhani. You want your 3 best on the field. So I believe the question is can Jeanty or Johnson handle SOLB?

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HairOnFire Newbie

HairOnFire

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A couple of points.

First, there were numerous articles, stats, and fluffy stuff posted a few weeks ago attempting to explain the Bengals defensive improvement this season, and one of key improvements noted related to defending the TE. In short, vast improvement.....prior to the playoff game.

Next, I agree the Bengals defense suffered a bit when Rivers more balanced overall game was lost. Yeah, Brandon Johnson replaced him and he made more plays in the opposing backfield, but that's due to his limitations in coverage. He's only effective going forward...so that's how he was used.

And call me crazy, but I thought Dhani was outstanding....all season long.

As for Rey, I thought he showed it all...including the coverage weaknesses that caused him to slide into the 2nd round. But he's got time to develope, and worst case scenario.....he's an outstanding 2-down linebacker and an emotional leader...pretty remarkable for any rookie.

But no, I don't think he'll threaten Dhani anytime soon.....mostly because Dhani manning the middle isn't a problem.

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