walzav29 Posted January 16, 2006 Report Share Posted January 16, 2006 I'm listening to the NFL blitz right now and they were giving props to Lebeau and it makes me wonder why he couldn't build a defense in Cincy. Was it management then? drafting? I guess I'm confused as to why he is a genius in Pittsburgh and in all of his stops with Cincy couldn't get us a top 5 defense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NYBengalfan Posted January 16, 2006 Report Share Posted January 16, 2006 In 2001(6-10) Justin Smith's rookie year he had 9.0 sacks and we were 9th in the league in Defense. But that is about it! LeBeau was always a Steeler at heart so f**k him he sucks and we dont want him, he did nothing for us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buck3y3d Posted January 16, 2006 Report Share Posted January 16, 2006 In 2001(6-10) Justin Smith's rookie year he had 9.0 sacks and we were 9th in the league in Defense. But that is about it! LeBeau was always a Steeler at heart so f**k him he sucks and we dont want him, he did nothing for us.LeBeau always helped and loved the Bengals, the franchise cut ties not him.He built a defense, he just could't build a team. He had a reputation for being soft in the locker room. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoosierCat Posted January 16, 2006 Report Share Posted January 16, 2006 The 2001 defense was over-rated; teams didn't need very many points to beat the league's worst offense.Lebeau had a combination of problems, some that haunt the team to this day. Then, as still now, quality FAs had no interest (other than as contract leverage elsewhere) in coming to Cincy. That may start to change this year, we'll see.There is also the related issue of what the front office was willing to spend, and how it was willing to structure deals to sooth the bloated egos of all too many NFL players. That, too, remains.Then as now, the Bengals rarely addressed the defense with top picks -- and when the did they usually blew it. 1997-02 saw 9 day 1 defensive picks, Reinard Wilson, Takeo Spikes, Brian Simmons, Artrell Hawkins, Charles Fisher, Corey Hall, Mark Roman, Justin Smith, Lamont Thompson...of those Spikes, Simmons and perhaps Smith were worth it.Finally -- and this is one thing that has changed under Lewis -- there was little development of players, partly due to coaches having to act in so many other roles, like scouts. What talent they did manage to get a hold of was never exploited. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShulaSteakhouse Posted January 16, 2006 Report Share Posted January 16, 2006 It's also noteable how talent like Porter, Hampton, Von Ohlehoffen, Polomaleau, Taylor, Haggans and others will do for a coach and make him look good. It's also nice when you run the same defensive system for so many years, that you are drafting guys who fit that particular system over a long period of time - and therefore have more guys who stick around longer and provide some real consistency, despite coaching turnover.The Bengals' have had so many different d-coordinators over the last 15 years I've lost count - and they've continually wavered between a 4-3 and a 3-4 or zone blitz scheme during that time.I think Ron Lynn was the last good d-coordinator here even worth mentioning. With him, they did a good job of supplementing draft picks with FA's like Ambrose, Dixon etc.., if i'm not mistaken. He also drafted guys like Shade and Kimo.Time for the Bengals' to get an impact FA or two on that defense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schroomytunes Posted January 16, 2006 Report Share Posted January 16, 2006 I think you'll see a couple of quality free agents brought in this offseason to help on the defensive side of the ball. My wish list:1)Aaron Kampman-DE (GB) young guy who had 6.5sacks and a whopping 90+tackles2)Ma'ake Kemoeatu-DL(BAL) big 6'5 350lb run stuffer on the DL had 40+tacklesThen Draft:1st round: Darnell Bing-SS (USC) solid hitter instantly upgrades the run game Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJ29 Posted January 17, 2006 Report Share Posted January 17, 2006 I would love to get Ma'ake Kemoeatu. Good call schroomy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjakq27 Posted January 17, 2006 Report Share Posted January 17, 2006 In 2001(6-10) Justin Smith's rookie year he had 9.0 sacks and we were 9th in the league in Defense. But that is about it! LeBeau was always a Steeler at heart so f**k him he sucks and we dont want him, he did nothing for us.LeBeau always helped and loved the Bengals, the franchise cut ties not him.He built a defense, he just could't build a team. He had a reputation for being soft in the locker room. LeBeau has been around here since 1980 when he was hired as DB coach by Forrest Gregg. So to say he did nothing for us is not true. He took over as DC when Sam Wyche replaced Gregg. He was ushered out with Wyche after the 1991 season. He developed the zone blitz scheme using guys like Kevin Greene and Greg Lloyd in the mid 90's with Pittsburgh but some of that was developed while here. He used David Fulcher as a LB at times and would blitz him from various spots on the line. I am not really sure why he ended up here again but he was on Coslet's staff in 1997. He of course left after the 2002 season. I think a big part of it had to do with underachieving draft picks and this franchise has always put a premium on offensive players rather than defensive guys. It's what puts people in the seats. He also had Mark Duffner as DC and I think he let him run things his own way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derekshank Posted January 17, 2006 Report Share Posted January 17, 2006 I think a big part of it had to do with underachieving draft picks and this franchise has always put a premium on offensive players rather than defensive guys. It's what puts people in the seats.Yes... because our great product on offense over the years is what has kept Cincy fans interested. Wait... we have sucked on both sides of the ball! Winning puts people in the seats... but I understand what you're saying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjakq27 Posted February 1, 2006 Report Share Posted February 1, 2006 from Lance McAlister's blog....LeBeau on his time in Cincinnati as coach... by Bob Hunter, Columbus Dispatch........ it leads you to conclude that maybe, just maybe, LeBeau's record as a coach had a lot to do with the abilities of the players under him."We have more good players here, obviously," he said. "But we had some really good players over there, too. The process here in Pittsburgh has been pretty much under coach (Bill) Cowher since '91, so you've been building around the same scheme. I think we probably would have evolved into that any place if you stayed with the same scheme for 14 years. But they've done it here and you see the results."That is as close as LeBeau will ever get to criticizing the Bengals for firing him.Also from the Enquirer....I didn't realize that he was 8-12 in his first 20 games but was 4-21 the rest of his tenure. I wonder how much impact guys like Dillon had on him and his ability to be successful.http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/art.../602010379/1078 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjakq27 Posted February 3, 2006 Report Share Posted February 3, 2006 In Hobson's article about Dick LeBeau, he mentions that Marvin thought enough of him that he would have offered him a job in some capacity here if he had not been hired by Buffalo in 2003. People can say that the Steelers are where they are because of Ben but I think having LeBeau back as DC and getting Troy Polamalu are the reason why they have been so successful the last two years. http://www.bengals.com/news/news.asp?story_id=5048 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesbrooks21 Posted February 3, 2006 Report Share Posted February 3, 2006 That's an easy question. Much more talent in Pittsburgh than here at the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.