Hunt/Clark: Interesting Stat

[*TheLeonardLeap*]

(05-30-2016, 12:23 AM)NATI BENGALS Wrote: This isnt revisionist. Just facts.
Geno led the team in pressures and was second on the team in sacks as a rookie. He was ready to make an impact.

Dunlap had 9.5 sacks as a rookie. He needed to mature. His football skills were there. Playing him behind Geathers didnt make him better. Had injuries that slowed him year 2 and 3. Still rediculous our coaches gave one of the best 4-3 DEs in the league 2 freaking starts his first 3 years in the league.

You can say whatever you want. Hopefully it was the DL coach who left deciding the pecking order. But the fact Dunlap had 2 career starts going in to his 4th year proves there is something broke there.

We had a great opportunity to get Hunt and Clarke a good look in 2014. Instead we rode Gilberry to a league worst sack total.

I hope the change at DL coach changes this and we start to properly utilize the talent we have.

Geno did make an impact, as a role player. He wasn't ready to play against the run every down. For his own freaking college team, he started only 3 of the 13 games before getting drafted. Why? He was a pass rush specialist, so his run defense hadn't developed to the level you'd need for an every down NFL defender. That extra year allowed him to hone that ability.


Same with Dunlap, sure you can mention his QB pressures and sacks and such. How was his run defense? How was his ability to attack the football in a player's hands? There's more to playing DE than just running at the QB. Otherwise you're going to get your face run all over and you'll give up control of the ball to the other team for about 40 minutes per game.

I'll say this again. Dunlap was 21 when he came into the NFL. Not 21-about-to-be-22, but 21 for the entire season. That's young. Combine that with having work ethic/drive questions that dropped his draft stock... yet you're pretending that today's Carlos Dunlap was the same Carlos Dunlap of 2010 and 2011. They're different.