The Secondary

[ArmyBengal]

Ok, just like the front 7, lets take a minute to look at what we have in the secondary.

Last year, the Bengals carried 10 players in the secondary, 6 CB's and 4 Safeties. Here's what we have on the roster right now:

CB

Johnathan Joseph

Leon Hall

David Jones

Morgan Trent

Brandon Ghee

Adam Jones

Johnny Sears

Safety

Chris Crocker

Roy Williams

Chinedum Ndukwe

Gibril Wilson

Tom Nelson

Kyries Hebert

Rico Murray

Jeromy Miles

Yes, it's still early, but it's something to talk about during the slow times. The Bengals have already cut Ratliff, Evans, and Willingham from this group, so they are getting closer. I could see them changing things around this season by going 5 and 5 at each position.

The biggest reason I make that comment is the safety position. You have to figure Crocker and Williams are locks. Wilson is probably right there as well and then you have Ndukwe, who many think is going to stick rather easily. What about Hebert though ?? While he doesn't give much in the safety position on the field, he's the special team captain, is a huge presence on kickoffs, and the coaches are saying he's never looked better than he does heading into this years camp, an absolute beast. I think Nelson and Miles go to the practice squad and maybe Murray since he made it last year.

The CB spot looks really easy if they do keep the same from last year by going with 6 CB's. JJoe, Hall, David Jones, Adam Jones, Trent, and Ghee would all make it, with Sears going to the practice squad. Barring injury, it seems pretty cut and dry. Now if they only go with 5 in order to carry the extra safety, as I mentioned above, then you are looking at a roster battle between, the two Jones', Trent, and Ghee. David Jones had the #3 CB locked down last year until injury struck and then Trent stepped in and did a fairly decent job. I don't see Ghee losing a roster spot being a 3rd round pick and Adam seems to be doing everything well to this point and also brings the return game with him if he continues to improve through camp. If they only carry 5 here, I think Trent goes to the practice squad as well, unless David Jones isn't fully recovered.

So, what are your thoughts at this early stage of the game ??

[redsbengalsbucks]

I dont think your to far off.

Hebert is almost a must keep because of his ST's play, so I can see 5 CB's and 5 S's this year. Trent seems to have a foot up in this regard as they have already tried him at S for short periods, Crocker can service as a CB in an emergency also.

I think David Jones is probably the odd man out, if Adam Jones continues to show he can get back to his talent potential.

Probably Miles and Sears to the PS, I dont think David Jones has that option left.

On a side note:

How long will it take for the usual suspects to hijack this thread and turn it into another love/hate Chad fest?

[w8th]

Now if they only go with 5 in order to carry the extra safety, as I mentioned above, then you are looking at a roster battle between, the two Jones', Trent, and Ghee. David Jones had the #3 CB locked down last year until injury struck and then Trent stepped in and did a fairly decent job.

Unless he screws, up the CB formally known as Pacman will make this team. I watched him three years at WVU and with the Titans and (unless age has already started to take its toll) he has more physical ability (closing speed and the ability to make picks) than any other CB on the team (yes even Leon and JJ). What he needs is to learn is discipline and technique. But I can't see any way they cut him if he keeps his nose clean.

[ArmyBengal]

I honestly think Adam Jones is going to make this team with little thought. He appears to have his sh*t together with his attitude and family life. The coaches think he's coming along and have mentioned his God given physical abilities being very good. All of that plus only really needing to beat out one other guy trying to get a CB spot and you could almost call him a lock to make the team.

Two guys I'm really wanting to see play during the preseason are:

Brandon Ghee- I want to see if we are looking at a future replacement if the Bengals don't decide to bring back either Hall or JJoe. That and to see how much of a battle he will give for the #3 CB spot with Adam Jones.

Jeromy Miles- There have been so many reports on this guy it's staggering. Everything from a top 5 safety in the draft to wondering if he will make an NFL roster. The only things I have seen that gives coaches (or anyone else) pause is he transferred from the Naval academy (smart guy) and that he played at UMass.

I really think we will see a great deal of both of these guys with there being 5 preseason games and it should be fun.

[BengalszoneBilly]

I honestly think Adam Jones is going to make this team.

In my book he's a lock to make the team.

[Clackwoods]

I think the team drafted Brandon Ghee as a safety blanket for JJoe. If he has an injury free year then I could see them resigning him, but it will be less than want Hall gets and I think they resign Hall first.

If Joseph doesn't have another great year they will let him go.

[derekshank]

This is about as deep and talented at CB that I can ever remember the Bengals being.

The Bengals face all of the big 4 Manning, Brees, Brady, and Rivers... not to mention Roethlisberger, Flacco and Matt Ryan in that next tier. That is 9 games against Qbs considered to be in the top 10. I think that's a big reason why the Bengals have addressed the secondary so heavily.

Obviously Hall, Joseph and Ghee are locks.

David Jones is underrated in my opinion. Trent played admirably... but he only was in because of injuries. D.Jones, Pacman and Ghee could bump Trent to 6th on the depth chart... if not off the roster completely.

Pacman will likely be given every opportunity to win the nickle spot, because Ghee is raw and I see Trent and D. Jones as fighting for the last spot.

The Safety situation seems pretty cut and dried to me. Roy, Crocker, Wilson, and Ndukwe all seem like locks to me. The last spot with either be a 6th CB, or a STs guy.

If I had to guess on a depth chart today it would be

CB: 1) Hall, 2) Joseph, 3) Pacman, 4) D. Jones, 5) Ghee

S: 1) Roy, 2) Crocker, 3)Wilson, 4) Ndukwe, 5) Hebert

I would expect Ghee to be given the chance to move up the depth chart past D. Jones at some point during the season.

[BengalszoneBilly]

If I had to guess on a depth chart today it would be

CB: 1) Hall, 2) Joseph, 3) Pacman, 4) D. Jones, 5) Ghee

S: 1) Roy, 2) Crocker, 3)Wilson, 4) Ndukwe, 5) Hebert

I see this as a damn good guess.

[redsbengalsbucks]

If I had to guess on a depth chart today it would be

CB: 1) Hall, 2) Joseph, 3) Pacman, 4) D. Jones, 5) Ghee

S: 1) Roy, 2) Crocker, 3)Wilson, 4) Ndukwe, 5) Hebert

I see this as a damn good guess.

I would be more than happy to see this as the depth chart going into the season.

[agreen_112]

If I had to guess on a depth chart today it would be

CB: 1) Hall, 2) Joseph, 3) Pacman, 4) D. Jones, 5) Ghee

S: 1) Roy, 2) Crocker, 3)Wilson, 4) Ndukwe, 5) Hebert

I see this as a damn good guess.

I would be more than happy to see this as the depth chart going into the season.

I agree. The Bengals secondary is nasty this year!

[ArmyBengal]

I like the thought of having David Jones back and hopefully he's healthy, but I can remember the comments last season about how we had NOTHING after JJoe and Hall, and that was before D. Jones got hurt. I still think he makes the roster, but simply because Trent appears to be his only competition and shouldn't be hard to beat out. I'm still hoping he can contribute though.

[derekshank]

I like the thought of having David Jones back and hopefully he's healthy, but I can remember the comments last season about how we had NOTHING after JJoe and Hall, and that was before D. Jones got hurt. I still think he makes the roster, but simply because Trent appears to be his only competition and shouldn't be hard to beat out. I'm still hoping he can contribute though.

Yeah, and I was one of the people complaining... but not because of David Jones, but because if someone got hurt, there was absolutely nothing. I didn't like the idea of have David Jones be one of the starters with some guy named Morgan Trent being the only depth. It ended up working out fine, but I still feel far better this year.

I'm not sure how much you can read into minicamp information, but David Jones, Pacman, and Trent all got snaps as the nickle corner in minicamp. If they end up keeping all 6 CBs, I'll be a bit disappointed because that will most likely mean that the ST captain will get cut.

[membengal]

I guess I will be the contrarian, but I think David Jones smells like feet.

The five I think/hope will get it at CB are Hall/Joseph/Adam Jones/Trent/Ghee.

[Clackwoods]

Jones is getting cut.

[derekshank]

I'll admit my feelings on David Jones are more hypothetical than based on anything I've actually witnessed.

He was forced to start 7 games incredibly early in his career because of Joseph going down. He would have easily been the 3rd corner over Trent last year had he not been injured. I think his experience mixed with the Bengals coaches continuing to give him reps as a 3rd corner indicate that he'll stick.

I just tend to think of him as a hair better than Trent. He also plays STs, which I don't think Trent has done... and that's important when you're talking about the back end of the depth chart. But if Trent does manage to beat him out and the choice is down to keeping Jones or Hebert - you can put me firmly in the Hebert camp.

[Wraith]

There is no way Morgan Trent makes it to the PS, if he is cut he will be snapped up quickly. I think David Jones is the odd man out but I agree they have to keep 5 Safeties because of Hebert. Our secondary is going to be awesome this year, if Adam Jones can play to his potential, he as your nickel back is sick.

[derekshank]

I guess that I am still technically in the "doubter" category relating to Pacman. I hope he plays up to his potential... I'm just sure I have a lot reason to expect him to.

The thing I like most about this secondary is it's depth. If Hall or Joseph get hurt, that's still a big problem... but nothing like it was a year or two ago. The 4 safeties are nearly interchangeable.

[ArmyBengal]

As much as I didn't like the situation last year, David Jones had the #3 locked until he was injured. While Trent filled in and had his moments, there were times where he was frustrating. If D. Jones stays healthy, it's silly to simply write him off because of Trent. This isn't any different from some other positions on the team, where we will be cutting some quality players.

I'm not really worried either way and glad we aren't having to argue about who the starters are.

David Jones, Morgan Trent, whatever. I honestly think Adam Jones is going to earn the #3 when it's all said and done.

[Kazkal]

Were gonna keep 10 DB's 5 CB's 5 S's I'd put money on that minus injury....

CB:Joseph,Hall,Ghee,Jones & Trent

FS:Crocker,WIlson

SS:Roy,Ndukwe,Hebert

, I think Trent goes to the practice squad as well, unless David Jones isn't fully recovered.

I just don't see that I think Jones is a dead man walking...Yes he was ahead of Trent at first because Trent was a rookie but Trent was still higher up when Jones returned...I also think Trent adds more via Special teams and playing the run well being close battle vs the pass

[BengalPimp]

I hate to say it, but Hebert looks like the odd man out.

NO WAY they only keep 5 CB's....Write it down now...They keep 6 CB's

Having to face Pass happy offenses with QB's such as Brady, P.Manning, Brees, P.Rivers, M.Ryan, Big Ben(Twice), and Flacco (Twice). They'll need to keep 6, as sometimes they might need 4 CB's on the field at the same time (Think Indy running 4WR sets with Wayne,Gonzalez,Garcon,Collie) also facing passing teams like we have to, you need all the quality insurance you can get in case of injury. This is by far the most quality they've had at CB in recent memory....Oh yeah, and if David Jones is healthy, he makes this team hands down.

[savagehenry54]

My link

For his part, Johnny Sears is sporting the best hair style of the entire group, that much is not debatable. In fact, the name/hair style combo he brings to the table may land the Eastern Michigan rookie a roster spot regardless of how good his backpedal is. How could Marvin Lewis possibly cut a dude named "Johnny Sears" who rocks an early 90's style high top box fade? I submit that general principal demands of Lewis that he do no such thing.

An overview/preview of the Bengals defensive backfield situation heading into this summer's training camp. The quote is just the anecdotal portion of the article. I cover the nuts and bolts of the DB scenario as well.

[ArmyBengal]

The only thing I saw in the blog that was off, was the fact they carries 6 CB's and 4 Safties last season per the official site.

I suppose that could be off, but betting against it.

Sears ?? Practice squad at best.

Anyway, I thought I would merge as there was some good conversation about this already !!!

Thanks for the input and welcome to Bengalszone !!!

[savagehenry54]

The only thing I saw in the blog that was off, was the fact they carries 6 CB's and 4 Safties last season per the official site.

I suppose that could be off, but betting against it.

Sears ?? Practice squad at best.

Anyway, I thought I would merge as there was some good conversation about this already !!!

Thanks for the input and welcome to Bengalszone !!!

All good man. The split was 5/5 though I think. Pope, Trent, Hall, Joseph, and David Jones at CB. Crocker, Williams, Ndukwe, Hebert, and Nelson at Safety....or so I thought, I might have it wrong, but I'm pretty sure that was the opening day DB corp.

Of course, it's a given that such things change from year to year and throughout the season based upon numerous factors so I'm just using last year's opening day roster as a template for how many they'll probably open this season with at a given position.

I'll probably get into the business of trying to predict what the final 53 man roster will be, how many at each position group and all in a summation article to finish off the series right at the start of camp. For now, I'll be moving on to the offensive side, backfield, Line, Receivers and TE's in the coming days leading up to TC.

[Kazkal]

The only thing I saw in the blog that was off, was the fact they carries 6 CB's and 4 Safties last season per the official site.

I suppose that could be off, but betting against it.

We only carried 6 CB's after Roy was on Injured Reserve before that we had 5 Safety's...Like we will more likely have this season 5 CB's 5 S's

[ArmyBengal]

Cool, by me. Like I said, taken from the official site, so no issue.

The reason this thread never really took off is, I honestly don't think there is going to be much to discuss.

I think the secondary is already pretty much set.