Offseason Hindsight

[HoosierCat]

Well, here the Bengals sit at 6-2. A tough final 8 coming up, but at least they come into it on top and not chasing, as usual.

Now that we have half a season's games on record, I wondered how everyone thought our offseason moves are working out. My own opinion on some of the major changes:

Shuffling the d-line around and swapping Williams for Robinson: Doesn't seem too have made much difference, does it? Run D is still a joke, and pressure on the QB has been pretty rare. I think it's clear we need too upgrade personnel badly.

Letting Frazier go and bringing Breshnahan in as DC: I think it's clear that the bengals defensive problems weren't Leslie's fault, and no amount of changing schemes or positions is going to turn this collection of sow's ears into silk purses. That said, Chuck has been a perfectly good DC.

Resigning Rudi: remains a mixed blessing, IMHO. He's a great player but with the emergence of Chris Perry (which admittedly no one could be sure of) you have to look at out d-line and wonder what else we might have done with that money and cap space. But in any event Rudi is certainly performing up to expectations.

Resigning TJ: Clearly a great move, we saw how the passing game missed him while his hand was hurt. I think we can forget all those fears he was a one-year wonder.

Cutting Warrick: He's proven healthy in Seattle and we could have certainly used him in TJ's absence. And while you can say he never had a big-yardage year, he was The Man on third downs and in the red zone...precisely where we're struggling. I continue to believe we would have been better off keeping him.

The draft: David Pollack has been a disappointment, but should improve with time. Odell Thurman looks like a steal. Chrs Henry has had the ups and downs you'd expect of a rookie receiver, but his future seems bright. Eric Ghiacuic didn't do badly in his emergency start in Jax, all things considered, and ought to help down the road. Don't know that he's the starter of the future yet, tho. Adam Keift gets a mulligan...but boy we could use some help on the o-line right now. Tab Perry has been great as a return man; given the talent ahead of him at WR I can't help but continue to wonder if he'd make a good DB. Jonathan Fanene? Who knows?

[Stripes]

Shuffling the d-line around and swapping Williams for Robinson: Doesn't seem too have made much difference, does it? Run D is still a joke, and pressure on the QB has been pretty rare. I think it's clear we need too upgrade personnel badly.

I think the D-line is worse than it was last year. The ends are not getting consistent pressure, and the sack totals are abysmal. The tackles had early success against the run, but lately have not been getting it done. Geathers has been a flop, and Thornton moving over a spot has been problematic as well. I think Robinson and Smith have certainly had better seasons than the other two.

Letting Frazier go and bringing Breshnahan in as DC: I think it's clear that the bengals defensive problems weren't Leslie's fault, and no amount of changing schemes or positions is going to turn this collection of sow's ears into silk purses. That said, Chuck has been a perfectly good DC.

I think this has made a difference. We aren't blitzing as often, and that allows for many more comples coverage schemes... This has led to a takeaway frenzy, and I credit that to Bresnahan's sheme fitting Marvin's personnel better than that of Frazier.

Resigning Rudi: remains a mixed blessing, IMHO. He's a great player but with the emergence of Chris Perry (which admittedly no one could be sure of) you have to look at out d-line and wonder what else we might have done with that money and cap space. But in any event Rudi is certainly performing up to expectations.

I still think this was among the best offseason moves in the entire league. He has lost carries to Chris Perry, but his yardage totals have only slightly decreased. He is in position for another good season.

Resigning TJ: Clearly a great move, we saw how the passing game missed him while his hand was hurt. I think we can forget all those fears he was a one-year wonder.

This was obviously a great move. I think T.J. has proven that he is for real this year, and has shown how valuable he is to this offense. He has bailed us out of tough spots time and time again when he has been on the football field.

Cutting Warrick: He's proven healthy in Seattle and we could have certainly used him in TJ's absence. And while you can say he never had a big-yardage year, he was The Man on third downs and in the red zone...precisely where we're struggling. I continue to believe we would have been better off keeping him.

I am not upset with this move. I don't think our struggles in the red zone or on third down are related to the loss of Warrick. I think those problems are more due to penalties and lack of poise. Warrick is still struggling to find playing time as a Seahawk.

The draft: David Pollack has been a disappointment, but should improve with time. Odell Thurman looks like a steal. Chrs Henry has had the ups and downs you'd expect of a rookie receiver, but his future seems bright. Eric Ghiacuic didn't do badly in his emergency start in Jax, all things considered, and ought to help down the road. Don't know that he's the starter of the future yet, tho. Adam Keift gets a mulligan...but boy we could use some help on the o-line right now. Tab Perry has been great as a return man; given the talent ahead of him at WR I can't help but continue to wonder if he'd make a good DB. Jonathan Fanene? Who knows?

At the moment, I'll give the draft a B+. Thurman is the leading candidate in the NFL for Rookie of the Year, so he must be pretty good. Henry has had some big catches and some big games for us, and I think he is certainly one on the rise. Tab Perry has been wonderful in his duties, and I hope to see more of him as the season wears on. Ghiaciuc looks like he may be a keeper as well.

[w8th]

One thing you didn't mention was the lack of changes in the position coaches (specifically Jay Hayes and Ricky Hunley) in the offseason. Those are the only two areas that have not improved or remained the same under the Lewis regime (IMHO).

Special Teams - improved

DBs - improved

QB -improved

OL -same

RB -same

WR -improved

of course some of this is due to upgrades in personnel but one still have to wonder about the level of coaching at DL and LB.

The co-ordinators put together the schemes. The position coaches teach players how to execute them.......

[richmond_mat]

I do not think the pass rush is as bad as the sack total indicates. It seems that the QBs are making risky throws rather than take the sack. I'd guess that there are several tosses that the qb, in hindsight, would have not thrown and he woudl have taken the sack. If you replace half of the ints with sacks, then the numbers don't look so bad. To me it seems like the D-line is playing more to contain the qb than knock his head off. I agree that they cannot stop the run, but that horse is beaten.....

[Kirkendall]

I agree that they cannot stop the run, but that horse is beaten.....

With a baseball bat!

BTW Mat, get much golf in this summer?

[richmond_mat]

I agree that they cannot stop the run, but that horse is beaten.....

With a baseball bat!

BTW Mat, get much golf in this summer?

Yeah I golfed more than I should have this summer.....I missed the first half for it yesterday (stupid frost). Thanks for asking. I've been too busy to post much the last few months, but now that the season is in full swing you'll be reading more from me. Especially with Bratkowski's blundering......I almost said b....ing.

[bengalboomer7]

I played yesterday too and I was cold. Anyways, I like the Chuck upgrade. Even though the defense doesn't seem too different we aren't giving up points, we aren't giving up as many big plays, and even though it's not much, we are certainly a little more sound as a whole. I am seriously pondering if Pollack shouldn't be a full time DE. Seems like the only time he makes a play is when his hand is on the ground, and our only real weakness is our dline. And something's gotta give on that dline, it's horrible. GB kept running these delayed draw handoff plays and it would be 5-7 before he even felt any heat.