Offensive Defense

[d00leyn0ted]

Now we all know it's been pretty painful to watch our Bengal's offense cook so many teams the past couple of years only to watch our defense and sometimes our special teams not be able to keep up. Our offense is as finely crafted a piece of American machinery built on native soil one can find. With their success only a matter of staying healty and focused, I think Marvin's full attention can now be payed to his passion, the D. I saw an overhaul of the secondary last year, and to my suprise, the linebacker corps this offseason. With every expert proclaiming our D line was our weak spot, many of us thought we'd pick up a D lineman. We were wrong. I'm very excited about the direction the D is taking and it stands a very good chance of catching up to the calibur of offense we put out. Ratliff and Madieu are studs. Deltha and James are both super solid over achievers. Miller and Landon J both played very, very well for 'undersized' rookies. With the additions of Odell and Pollack, our backers are going to be nasty. So our line seems like the logical focus of next year's draft, right? Looking ahead I don't think we need Ms. Cleo to see what's going to happen next. I forsee two defensive tackles and possibly and end to replace J Smith if he underachieves this year. He played pretty well last year, but if he doesn't match that output with his switching sides this year, he's a gonner. And sadly, I think Brian Simmons' days are numbered as well. He's going to get slower, but like Hardy, his professionalism and mentorship were invaluable to breeding new backers. He's a great guy, but I think he'll be gone to make room for Miller or Johnson to step up. I know that's not their natural spots, but they're both dynamic and smart and could make the switch. Or we could draft another backer, just look at the dogs coming out of college next year. Ohio State's entire backer corp could go in the first round. Alas, I think we'll make it back to the playoffs this year. But we'll be playing the Pats or someone else who will probably edge us in a tough fight. I can see the addition of two new D linemen and a Simmons replacement and a Herring replacement putting the finishing touches on a stellar D;Marvin style. Not really a point here, just wanted to sound off. Let me know what you think.

[HoosierCat]

Not really a point here

That's OK, no one is keeping score

Welcome to the zone.

Re the D: loads of potential. Lots of good pieces. Just waiting for the season to start to see if it's for real or just the latest helping of fairy dust.

[joshh967]

Yea. We can sit here and play guessing games as much as we want. But i know and everyone else knows no matter what team you are, it is impossible to pick how things are exactly going to go. It sounds like you've made a decent statement there though

[Kazkal]

Justin has led in sacks for what 3 or 4years? He is our best Defensive Linemen it would be crazy to let him go...+he is only one man on a 4man line Cut the weakest link not the strongest.

[d00leyn0ted]

I like Justin Smith, don't get me wrong. But it's hard to tell if his lack of living up to the expectations of a 4th-overall pick have more to do with his inability or the team's inability to surround him with talent. I know of more than a few DE's and DT's with high sack output and that doesn't make them good. That stat can lie. The guy batting cleanup isn't always the guy that forced the sack. Also, look at how much we're paying him. Last season he was a huge question mark. Now we see if he can be consistant and if he fits into Marvin's plan. He needs lateral speed to run down RB's on the outside. If he can't do that he'll be gone. That's more important than sacks. I do think he'll perform, especially by switching sides. I hope he does stay, I like his grit. He took his criticism well when he could have lashed out. That's character. It just remains to be seen if he fits Marv and Chuck's defensive strategy.