Will the 'D' be up to the challenge?

[oldschooler]

There is a pretty good article about this topic on the

Cincinnati Post`s website today.

Everyone talks about the Bengals having the 28th ranked

Defense. And saying that there is no way this team

can go far with that Defense.

Well here is an interesting quote from that article.

Among the 10 teams that played in the past five Super Bowls, just two finished the regular season ranked outside the NFL's top 10 in total defense. The 2002 Oakland Raiders were 11th and the 2001 New England Patriots were 24th.

The Bengals might be able to draw some inspiration from the Patriots' dynasty-igniting run to the Super Bowl title four years ago. In terms of raw numbers, that New England team was decidedly unspectacular. In addition to the yards they surrendered, the Patriots' turnover margin that season was a mere plus-seven, which tied for ninth in the league. That is one area where the Bengals have been dominant this season, leading the NFL with a plus-24 margin.

http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ar...09/1022/RSS0302

So it has been done before...and even recently.

Those 2002 Raiders were coached by none other than Chuck Bresnahan.

And those 2001 Patriots had ZERO Playoff experience going in.

Anyway what do you think...Will the 'D' be up to the challenge?

[jjb10588]

damn straight they will be

like you said most turnover rate and 3 of them were to big ben himself in 1 game

i say f**k yeah were up to the challenge only teams im worried about in this playoff is Pats and Colts

Pittsburgh doesnt even deserve to be in this it should be KC or SD

The Broncos have fallen off the past few weeks its gonna be tough for them to get to winning again.

[oldschooler]

NFL total defense rankings of teams in the last five Super Bowls:

2004 - New England (9), Philadelphia (10).

2003 - New England (7), Carolina (8).

2002 - Tampa Bay (1), Oakland (11).

2001 - New England (24), St. Louis (3).

2000 - Baltimore (2), Giants (5).

[LB51]

This team seems extremely focused this week. I believe the defense will give up some big plays, but they will not be dominated like Squeelers/Bengals II. This D has been bashed all week in the national media, so i think they're gonna come out with a chip on their shoulders. They definitely have something to prove, and they're gonna prove it this week!

[BlainThePain]

Whocanstopchad the way chad is holding the ball in that pic worries me a little. His fingers are out of place on the ball and its away from his body. That looks like fumble city to me.

[walshfan]

There's no doubt that the Bengal defense is weak due to the ineffieciency of the line.. Say what you want about them but in actuality they arent good at stopping the run ( 4.5 ypc which is allmost last now) and not much in the way of pass rush...

When you have to constantly put 8 in the box it leaves the secondary vulnerable and opposing teams have capitalized on that in the second half allot..

The Bengals want to play uptempo as they did in the second meeting with the Stools..

Pittsburgh has a weak secondary and if the Oline gives Palmer the time he'll expose that weakness.. Rudi should be able to get his 90 plus yards to keep the Steeler line honest in its schemes..

I look for a shootout and thats in the Bengals favor...

One or two turnovers by our secondary would help allot.

I see a 34-30 Bengal win.. not an easy win by any means but the Bengal passing game will be too much for the Stools to contend with for 60 minutes....

[TIMEsteelersfan]

Pittsburgh doesnt even deserve to be in this it should be KC or SD

That's a nice fantasy you've got there. SD crumbled against Miami with the playoffs on the line, and KC couldn't take care of business against Dallas or New York, but you're right they deserve it over Pittsburgh.

[walshfan]

One other thing about the defense is that with Robinson coming back the Dline as shaky as it is at least has the opportunity of rotating the tackles and keeping them all fresh.....the playing time Shaun Smith has received the past 6 games is invaluable....