Odell Thurman to start?!?! Ready 2 boot Landon J?

[cHaD711Johnson]

The early word out of Cincinnati is that second-round pick Odell Thurman is everything the Bengals thought he would be. Thurman, who came to the Bengals with some off-field baggage, was a star last week during the team's minicamp. As one Bengals coach said, "Odell Thurman is a bad ass." Thurman is expected to be the starter at middle linebacker. First-round pick David Pollack will play an outside linebacker spot next to Thurman. Pollack takes over for Kevin Hardy, who was released this week. Pollack will be making the move from college end to linebacker. If Pollack and Thurman are as good as the Bengals hope, their defense might be much improved.

http://cbs.sportsline.com/nfl/story/8447203/2

Our 2nd Rounder impressing already obviously, but starting?!...Although, I think he will eventually take LJ spot in the Middle..but starting already isn't likely..Only if Pollack was really being planned on being utilized at DE which we know he isn't...In the future when Simmons is gone it will be MLB Thurman SSLB Pollack WLB Johnson

[derekshank]

"Is Thurman ready, or Prisco Clueless?"

Possibly both. I think Prisco has shown himself fairly clueless in the past, but as he reported on April 29th, there were several Bengals coaches that wanted Thurman in the first round, noting that he had a "Ray Lewis" kind of look. Lewis wouldn't allow it because of the character issues, but he was there for them in the 2nd.

My guess is that if they (as Prisco states) "strongly considered" taking him in the first, it was with the intention of playing him. It's hard to know for sure though. I'd hate to see Landon Johnson on the bench.

Someone jokingly mentioned a 4-4 and 5-3 defensive scheme, and I'd say we give it a try. That way we can use Pollack at both OLB and DE, and have Landon Johnson and Thurman on the field simultaneously. (Hey, the scheme seems to work in my far-fetched imagination)

Anyway, we can continue to fantasize about what the Bengals defense will look like (and I'm sure we all will), but my guess is that Johnson will start the season, but Thurman will take over, and Johnson is the heir apparent to Simmons, who is 30.

[HoosierCat]

Lenny weighs in with the opinion that Odell could challenge for the starting job at the tail end of his Tip Sheet column...

It appears Cincinnati coach Marvin Lewis is going to sink or swim with younger linebackers this season. Of the 11 'backers on the current roster after this week's release of Kevin Hardy, eight are either rookies or second-year players. The current projected starting linebackers features one second-year veteran (Landon Johnson) and one rookie (first-rounder David Pollack). Expect second-round choice Odell Thurman to challenge Johnson in camp for the starting job at middle linebacker

[ShulaSteakhouse]

I don't see how in the world anyone can make that kind of determination based on a stupid mini-camp - all they do is learn signals/calls/plays and responsibilties/assignments and run drills in shorts - nothing else.

No different than making such a judgement based on someone's combine performance for instance.

Furthermore, Landon Johnson's pretty darn good - played above expectations last year and had a nose for stopping the run behind the LOS. His problem might be that he's somewhat injury prone.

Odell is a prototypical MLB - Landon is more of a project hopeful who may find himself replacing Simmons in the next year or two if he continues to play well and improve.

The problem I have with Simmons is that he's too damn inconsistent, has always been that way since college, and has lost a lot of his toughness despite bulking up quite a bit.

[DesperateDerelict]

Someone jokingly mentioned a 4-4 and 5-3 defensive scheme, and I'd say we give it a try. That way we can use Pollack at both OLB and DE, and have Landon Johnson and Thurman on the field simultaneously. (Hey, the scheme seems to work in my far-fetched imagination)

This was, indeed, meant as a joke, and was during a discussion of who will play strong safety . . . the thought of Simmons, Thurman, Johnson, or Pollack dropping deep for a cover 2 is too awful to contemplate.

[BlackJesus]

Starting LB's

Landon / Odell / Pollack

(There are no irreplaceable parts from # 26 ranked defenses.... Simmons has had more than half a decade, and no dominant D, time to go young and fast)

[BlackJesus]

Simmons already made it known that he won't change, speak up or provide any leadership.... It is no coincidence that all these young players hated to see Hardy go and went to him.... because I don't think Simmons gives them $hit as far as advice.... (I never remember a story or a player mentioning Simmons as mentioring him, it is always that Simmons is a quiet leader that leads by example)

[turningpoint]

Someone jokingly mentioned a 4-4 and 5-3 defensive scheme, and I'd say we give it a try. That way we can use Pollack at both OLB and DE, and have Landon Johnson and Thurman on the field simultaneously. (Hey, the scheme seems to work in my far-fetched imagination)

This was, indeed, meant as a joke, and was during a discussion of who will play strong safety . . . the thought of Simmons, Thurman, Johnson, or Pollack dropping deep for a cover 2 is too awful to contemplate.

true, but i think we could use this set successfully vs the ravens.. with kyle bonner passing,and jamal on the bround...and using one of the LBS to cover Todd heap,and leaving the corners in single coverage with madiue helping over the top( to cover weither heeap or one of the wr's,it could be a really a successful D) IMO.

[HairOnFire]

I wonder what Bengal fans would talk about if it weren't for Pete Prisco?

Probably whether Chris Perry pees standing up or sitting down.

I say he sits.

[DontPushMe]

^^^ Jeez dude you just cant get Chris Perry out of your head can you.

As for this article tho, looks just like what i expected. Landon Johnson, Odell Thurman, and David Pollack will be our starting LBs for the next 6+ years. Thurman takes MLB and sometime mid/late this year or early next year Simmons sits for Landon Johnson. Simmons was never quite the player bengal fans thought he was. He was always just above average, not a leader or very vocal, and didnt really make plays. He was certainly no Takeo Spikes.

[derekshank]

HairOnFire, seriously- you are a funny guy.

[#85MVP]

Q: WHY DID WE DRAFT 2 LBs IN A ROW?

A: TO MOVE TO 3-4

STARTING LB'S

SIMMONS - THURMAN - L.JOHNSON - POLLACK

STARTING DB'S

JAMES - ONEAL - RATLIFF (SAFETY) - M.WILLIAMS

STARTING DL'S

SMITH - ROBINSON - CLEMONS/THORTON (WHOEVER WINS JOB)

[jditty47]

3-4 is stupid and wont happen. and for blackjesus - no f**kin way simmons gets benched or cut. he has been solid all season long for the past 8 years and hasnt shown a sense of slowing down. he will start for sure for the next 2 years if he is healthy, possibly the next 3-4.

[DontPushMe]

omg when will people get it thru their heads, were-not-playing-a-34-defense full time

and to the poster above me, yeah, Simmons has been solid, solid gets you 8-8, we need upgrades at LB, and i think hes going to be the weak link there once the 2 rooks and him are starting

[jditty47]

looking at it, we need his solid play for at least 1 more year...im guessing 2 at the minimum. hes still active, forces turnovers, and can hold his own doing every aspect of the defense...which none of the rookies or 1 yr players possess at this point. hopefully pollack and thurman can improve but we have no one on our roster that will move simmons out of his spot now, or in the future...we'd have to sign someone new or draft a replacement - which in my opinion, i hope doesnt happen for about 3 yrs.

[cHaD711Johnson]

Anybody know how many years left on Simmons contract? I agree though, 2 yrs max left in him unless he produces pro bowl numbers soon because these young, fast, athletic linebackers are sounding better. Simmons was never spectacular to me anyway. I still remember when then pissed Spikes off by trying to re-sign Simmons before him which is why we are having this discussion anyway.

[ShulaSteakhouse]

Landon Johnson makes for nice depth if Thurman works out - since he can play any of the LB positions and is a natural OLB.

Simmons had 1 sack last year, 107 tackles, 84 solo, 3 FF's and 2 INT's.

In 11 starts LJ had 84 tackles and 64 solo - 2 sacks - 2 forced fumbles - more tackles for loss, and 0 INT's.

As you can see he may or may not exceed or equal Simmons' production but it's damn close - and Simmons should be in the 130+ range for tackles and his production there seems to be tailing off.

So LJ should hopefully replace him after 2006, but for now what a great draft pick if he can stay healthy as a back-up/spot player/starter and play any of the 3 positions until he can prove he'll stay healthy for significant periods of time.

If Thurman doesn't beat him out then he starts at MLB and Thurman can at least be a quality bench player/rotation guy.

[AGrizzlyBaer]

thats just the games l. johnson started... he had something like 110 tackles on the season

[BengalsOwn]

Simmons' contract:

1998 342000.00

1999 427500.00

2000 513000.00

2001 598500.00

2002 1000000.00

2003 2000000.00

2004 2200000.00

2005 2600000.00

2006 2840000.00

2007 3300000.00

2008 3700000.00

[DontPushMe]

*sigh* lets not turn this into a madden 2005 stat discussion

why cant we just judge players based on what they say, all of these numbers mean nothing, tackles are meaningless for LBs, they could be happening 8 yards down feild every play, and thats not helpful

[jditty47]

*sigh* lets not turn this into a madden 2005 stat discussion

why cant we just judge players based on what they say, all of these numbers mean nothing, tackles are meaningless for LBs, they could be happening 8 yards down feild every play, and thats not helpful

dpm and me look at things the same way so it seems...the right way might i add.

[BengalsOwn]

*sigh* lets not turn this into a madden 2005 stat discussion

why cant we just judge players based on what they say, all of these numbers mean nothing, tackles are meaningless for LBs, they could be happening 8 yards down feild every play, and thats not helpful

dpm and me look at things the same way so it seems...the right way might i add.

The tackle statistic is the most worthless statistic available.

[BengalszoneBilly]

why cant we just judge players based on what they say

Spoken like a true graduate of the "Terrell Owens School of NFL Player Evaluation in Relation to New Contract Demands!"

[membengal]

I am with Jesus and DPM on this one, at some point, and very soon, I think Thurman takes over MLB and Landon goes to take Simmons' spot from him. I understand Simmons is a favoite player for some folks, but he has never quite lived up to whatI expected from him. His production is OK, but not great, and no way does he rn as fast as Landon at this point. Remember, Simmons' selling point was speed coming out of NC. The dollars on Simmons' last two contracts look monstrous to me, and, with lineman to re-sign etc., we may see Landon/Thurman/Pollack faster than a lot of people are expecting.

Which would be fine with me. I couldn't stand the LB play last year, and, personally, blamed that group for the running D woes more than the DLine. Perhaps Marvin felt the same way, since he went LB in the first two rounds.

[Bobcat Bengal]

I couldn't stand the LB play last year, and, personally, blamed that group for the running D woes more than the DLine. Perhaps Marvin felt the same way, since he went LB in the first two rounds.

Yizzir he did.