#1 Defense

[ShulaSteakhouse]

Not sure what to read into this, other than they are doing a great job, obviously. 275 YPG is #1 in the NFL, they've given up 74 points, which is in the top 10, but that's obviously due to offensive turnovers and field position woes.

They are 2-2 because of their defense, and hanging in every game as well - very Baltimore-like. Of course they haven't played the likes of New England, New Orleans, et al.., but Buffalo was a great test and despite giving up a 9+ minute drive, they were excellent.

The Clements pick-up was very good. CB's are asked to do a lot here. They will get burnt and look bad more often than not, but he and Hall are doing very well.

Howard, Lawson and Crocker have improved weakensses from the last few years in coverage. Really like Howard's ability to cover Rb's and TE's downfield in particular.

Rey and Nelson are doing a great job against the run.

The d-line is one of the best in the league, and Dunlap/Geno/Johnson are starting to make their presence felt as the season wears on.

So, if the 0-line can get better and they can score 21-24 a game, they are actually in good shape.

Win the next two games and stay healthy, could get interesting.

Never thought I'd say that after the last two weeks and yesterday's 1st half, but the #'s don't lie - their defense may be a top 5 unit all season long and that can take them places.

Weird year - it's all on the offense to step up.

[walzav29]

I think Bobbie Williams coming back will help. The defense gets alot of depth back very soon. They should improve week to week. Jax and the Colts are next. Both very winnable. 4-2 would be great.

[cHaD711Johnson]

Dare I say Howard is an upgrade over Keith Rivers?

[TJJackson]

Rivers has been a disappointment, so dare away

[derekshank]

A lot of people said the defense was ranked in the top 5 because they hadn't played a good offense... but Buffalo was ranked 3rd in the NFL averaging 431 yards/game... and Cincy held them to 273 yards. It would be nice to see a few more turnovers though. Only 1 INT this season, and 4 turnovers total.

They should stay near the top of the pack for the few weeks too. Their next 3 games are againse Jacksonville, Indianapolis, and Seattle... offenses currently ranked 30th, 31st, and 32nd.

[Spor_tees]

It really is a testament to some of these guys on defense that they are ranked that high. With some of the guys being hurt that were expected to contribute, that means some guys don't get a breather and have to play more downs. Look how well the defensive line has been able to play with the rotation they have, imagine once Rivers and Mooch come back and can rotate in with the linebackers what kind of help that will give. As far as the secondary with Pacman back, he should help out with forcing turnovers, and Mays will give the safeties more rest with what seems to be only a 3 man rotation at the moment of Crocker, Wilson, and Nelson.

All and all life is good at the moment for the defense.

[volcom69]

Zimmer today put mouse traps in the defense meeting today and said "Dont take the bait on the #1 offense thing" LOL that is awsome i like the way Zimmer thinks. This defense has dont nothing yet, and they can only get better.

Thomas Howard was the best pick up this team has made in along time, he is fast and can run with TE, and RB. Did you guys see him cover Jackson yesterday, it was great.

Finally Rey came into his own yesterday, with 11 tackles, and he made great desicions and took great angles for tackles.

[bwillycuse]

A lot of people said the defense was ranked in the top 5 because they hadn't played a good offense... but Buffalo was ranked 3rd in the NFL averaging 431 yards/game... and Cincy held them to 273 yards. It would be nice to see a few more turnovers though. Only 1 INT this season, and 4 turnovers total.

They should stay near the top of the pack for the few weeks too. Their next 3 games are againse Jacksonville, Indianapolis, and Seattle... offenses currently ranked 30th, 31st, and 32nd.

Yup - Need more turnovers. They will come though. Just keep the pressur on d-line.

wow - Thats their next three games? Im picking up the Bengals D for my ffl team then. We could easily win 2 of 3 there.

This season has been very exciting so far. Lots of highs and lows. But every game has been in reach and has been exciting (maybe minus the Niners game)

Next, I would like to see 60 minutes of good football. Or maybe 30 minutes of average football and 30 minutes of good.

I also find myslef griping about the ineptness of our offense, but if you look around the league. There are some crappy offenses out there.

And we play 3 of them coming up.

[cincy9275]

Dare I say Howard is an upgrade over Keith Rivers?

i say he is looking like the best lb on the whole team. very high on howard the man is every where making plays. i thought rey played his best game yesterday also.

[Stripes]

I honestly don't think we've faced a great offense yet, even considering the Bills' ranking prior to Sunday. So serious analysis will be difficult for me until we do, certainly not in the next three weeks. Obviously I love what the defense has done so far though. Even against the horrid offense we've faced, a #1 ranking is still impressive. We're not letting bad quarterbacks chew us up.

[HairOnFire]

Honestly, I couldn't care less about the ranking. All I know is the Bengals finally have the type of defensive line that I expected after hearing Marvin Lewis was hired.

You can win games with this bunch.

[Spor_tees]

The ranking based on yards per game goes to prove a point I made in the "4-0" thread. This defense is good enough to be an undefeated team. When you take into account the yards versus the scoring defense, you'll see what teams have the worst turnover ratio and weakest special teams. How many points do you think the offense gave opposing teams so far this year? If not for the poor play calling by Gruden in the first 3 games of the season on offense, and the overall lack of identity on offense, the Bengals would be all over the news, but this time for good reason.

For those that will be quick to point out that a team's record is going to reflect their offense and defense not just one or the other, I give you this, the Bengals won this week with offense that looked much improved in the second half. What was the majority of responses as to why? People credit Gruden with calling better plays! It was point blank obvious, and even a blind man could see, draws, screen passes, and quick routes. It was like watching the West Coast offense materialize in front of your eyes. Let's hope it continues.

[gregstephens]

A lot of people said the defense was ranked in the top 5 because they hadn't played a good offense... but Buffalo was ranked 3rd in the NFL averaging 431 yards/game... and Cincy held them to 273 yards. It would be nice to see a few more turnovers though. Only 1 INT this season, and 4 turnovers total.

They should stay near the top of the pack for the few weeks too. Their next 3 games are againse Jacksonville, Indianapolis, and Seattle... offenses currently ranked 30th, 31st, and 32nd.

I too would like to see more interceptions, and think they will get them eventually. However, given the choice, I'll take what we got. 2005, we had a decent defense, but it was predicated on a fairly large amount of picks. When we played teams that didn't throw picks, i.e. Colts, Steelers, we came out on the short end of the stick.

Granting you can be both a low-yardage defense and a high-pick defense, if we have to be one or the other, I'll take the former. What this defense is showing, albeit not against power house offenses save the Bills perhaps, is that it can get an offense off the field. That is the key in the NFL. That is also something we have not seen in years. Were it not for our initial offensive woes, owing in large part to a rookie QB and some bewildering at times play calling, we'd be 4-0. At least with our schedule, this defense should keep us in most games we play from here on out.

[derekshank]

Granting you can be both a low-yardage defense and a high-pick defense, if we have to be one or the other, I'll take the former.

Agreed. I love this defense. I was never a fan of a bend/don't break philosophy. I prefer a team that forces 3-and-outs by not bending.

That said... as you mention, the two options are not mutually exclusive. This team is leaving a lot of turnovers on the field by dropping passes that hit them in the hands in a Jonathan Joseph style of defense.

[COB]

Rivers has been a disappointment, so dare away

Marvin on Sirius NFL this morning, when asked how the defense improved so much over last year: (This is an exact quote, I swerved all over I-77 over near Canton writing it down)

Marvin - "We were able to really, I think, upgrade our whole unit with the guys that we brought in, you know, the 2 linebackers, Thomas Howard, Manny Lawson."

Then he went on to complement Nate Clements, and said the rest of the guys on D "just grew up and developed."

Looks like Rivers might have his work cut out trying to get his starting job back.

[Spor_tees]

Rivers has been a disappointment, so dare away

Marvin on Sirius NFL this morning, when asked how the defense improved so much over last year: (This is an exact quote, I swerved all over I-77 over near Canton writing it down)

Marvin - "We were able to really, I think, upgrade our whole unit with the guys that we brought in, you know, the 2 linebackers, Thomas Howard, Manny Lawson."

Then he went on to complement Nate Clements, and said the rest of the guys on D "just grew up and developed."

Looks like Rivers might have his work cut out trying to get his starting job back.

Of coarse Rivers has been a disappointment. He is soft, can't rush the QB, and doesn't force turnovers. He reminds me of a poor example of Brian Simmons. I wish Marvin would have come out and said the truth of the matter. The Bengals brought in enough free agent players with good attitudes, that they were able to start a change of attitude in the locker room. From year to year, bringing in one character guy wasn't enough because guys just wouldn't listen, but when you got the infusion of youth and established veterans schooling these guys everyday, change was inevitable.

[ShulaSteakhouse]

Rivers has been a disappointment, so dare away

Marvin on Sirius NFL this morning, when asked how the defense improved so much over last year: (This is an exact quote, I swerved all over I-77 over near Canton writing it down)

Marvin - "We were able to really, I think, upgrade our whole unit with the guys that we brought in, you know, the 2 linebackers, Thomas Howard, Manny Lawson."

Then he went on to complement Nate Clements, and said the rest of the guys on D "just grew up and developed."

Looks like Rivers might have his work cut out trying to get his starting job back.

I do respect Marvin's ability to judge defensive talent and find guys who can help him - always have. I just wish they didn't have Brown and Alexander calling the shots on offense.

I don't know what to think of Gruden, but I am liking the fact he's adjusting his game plan during the game and apparently not being as influenced by Alexander. We haven't seen that here for a long time (since pre-Alexander days).

They need to win on the road Sunday if they want to not be a fluke/joke this year. Then it gets interesting.

[BengalPimp]

I'm not going to rip Keith Rivers as i think the guy has tons of talent, that said i really like the way the LB's are playing. Howard and Lawson have been great additions no doubt, but I think many people are giving the LB's too much credit by themselves. A Big key has been the great play of the Defensive line which has helped out the LB's tremendously. Rey looks a lot better this year (behind this D-Line's play) and I believe Rivers would too. Problem is, we haven't seen him play yet this year......

[derekshank]

Bengals were allowing 275.5 yards/game. They allowed 276 yards today... so they should stay #1.

I'm still pissed about that 74 yards TD pass though. They were so close to holding Jacksonville under 200 yards.

[BengalszoneBilly]

Bengals were allowing 275.5 yards/game. They allowed 276 yards today... so they should stay #1.

I'm still pissed about that 74 yards TD pass though. They were so close to holding Jacksonville under 200 yards.

That play should have never happened. A mental lapse by the defense there.

[HoosierCat]

Bengals were allowing 275.5 yards/game. They allowed 276 yards today... so they should stay #1.

I'm still pissed about that 74 yards TD pass though. They were so close to holding Jacksonville under 200 yards.

That play should have never happened. A mental lapse by the defense Leon Hall there.

Fixed. Hall better step it up.

[Spor_tees]

Bengals were allowing 275.5 yards/game. They allowed 276 yards today... so they should stay #1.

I'm still pissed about that 74 yards TD pass though. They were so close to holding Jacksonville under 200 yards.

That play should have never happened. A mental lapse by the defense Leon Hall there.

Fixed. Hall better step it up.

I don't know why they kept mentioning Crocker's name as being part at fault, he was the one that tried chaising him down from the OTHER side of the field. Nelson was responsible for that half of the field not Crocker. It was some kind of zone defense, but I am not sure if the safeties were supposed to play the middle of the field or the whole half. By the way Hall reacted I am guessing he was responsible for the sides. Anything short flats was the LBers responsibility, so Hall would have been mid/deep sides.

[derekshank]

Artrell Hawkins tweeted this after the play, FWIW.

These announcers suck too! Leon Hall was not responsible. The coverage was cov 2. Reggie jumped a crossing route which he shouldn't do.

[cincy9275]

Bengals were allowing 275.5 yards/game. They allowed 276 yards today... so they should stay #1.

I'm still pissed about that 74 yards TD pass though. They were so close to holding Jacksonville under 200 yards.

That play should have never happened. A mental lapse by the defense Leon Hall there.

Fixed. Hall better step it up.

I don't know why they kept mentioning Crocker's name as being part at fault, he was the one that tried chaising him down from the OTHER side of the field. Nelson was responsible for that half of the field not Crocker. It was some kind of zone defense, but I am not sure if the safeties were supposed to play the middle of the field or the whole half. By the way Hall reacted I am guessing he was responsible for the sides. Anything short flats was the LBers responsibility, so Hall would have been mid/deep sides.

it was on both of them hall should not have released him. crocker should not have been looking in the backfield. both player paid to much attention to others players who were cover and both let hill slip behind them. we gave them 10 points of a turnover and a mistake. but the good thing is they returned the favor with the excellent turk punt. then the snap to nobody thank you jags.

[BengalszoneBilly]

Let's hope they learn from this mistake.