Just curious what everyone's thoughts are on Ossai. He was a prospect I really had not watched much film on so I have been watching some since the draft. I did see that he had an INT and a sack of Joe Burrows. He has one heck of a motor and it appears from what I have seen that he does a pretty good job of getting off of blocks and while he has really good quickness and speed he uses it in a controlled manner and does not run himself out of plays.

Just wondering what you guys think of him and what impact you feel me may have as a rookie?

I know that the team seems to have him pigeonholed in at Edge Rusher, but I'd like to see him in the base defense at SAM.

Aside from Rousseau’s stupidly awesome physical traits that made him my favorite pass rusher Ossai was easily my 2nd favorite. I initially was on the Basham train until I saw some misdirection failures that made me have Lamar Jackson nightmares and general football IQ stuff that made me cool on him. Then I watched Ossai and was wowed. He is fun to watch 100 mph. Got f’d up by Teven Jenkins but kept coming and making plays. At one point I was thinking of ways we could trade back in the first and get him and still get a top T prospect.

Instead we steal him in the 3rd. If it wasn’t for trading back landing a home grown massive talent at our biggest position of need and getting two 4ths that turned into a monster DT and superb small school OL project he would be my favorite draft pick.

(05-07-2021, 08:53 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: I know that the team seems to have him pigeonholed in at Edge Rusher, but I'd like to see him in the base defense at SAM.

We drafted 3 DEs but I think they all have different skill sets. Ossai seems like he can be the stand up 3-4 OLB piece. Sample might end up being our Geno replacement as a 3t. And Hubert could be a base 4-3 DE.

(05-07-2021, 08:58 PM)NATI BENGALS Wrote: We drafted 3 DEs but I think they all have different skill sets. Ossai seems like he can be the stand up 3-4 OLB piece. Sample might end up being our Geno replacement as a 3t. And Hubert could be a base 4-3 DE.

Glad that I'm not the only one who took a look at Ossai, and immediately thought that his skill set would improve our base D, in a stand up role.

I thought he was overrated. After we drafted him, I paid more attention to his film and saw that he is exceptional at stunting inside. He has the athleticism to be very good but needs to develop pass rush moves. I’m actually very excited now that we got him - this isn’t revisionist thinking, he is very good at certain things which seems to be the organizations money ball philosophy when it has come to the draft the past three years. With that in mind, the prettier a players game there is almost a correlation with failing in the NFL.

(05-07-2021, 09:05 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: Glad that I'm not the only one who took a look at Ossai, and immediately thought that his skill set would improve our base D, in a stand up role.

It seems that many are down on Lou Anarumo but I am not in that camp. I will reserve judgement until we get to see the defense he has envisioned with the pieces in place. We took a bit hit last year never having Waynes on the field and the injuries to Reader and Daniels and not having these guys on the field together.

What I like about Lou is that he is not committed to a defense and prefers a hybrid depending on the opponent they are facing and the personnel that he feels will match up the best. That is why I feel Ossai can be an integral part of our defense and do it in many ways. He showed the ability to drop in coverage, play the run, and rush the passer. I think Lou will use him in a variety of ways....or at least I hope.

(05-07-2021, 09:18 PM)OSUfan Wrote: It seems that many are down on Lou Anarumo but I am not in that camp. I will reserve judgement until we get to see the defense he has envisioned with the pieces in place. We took a bit hit last year never having Waynes on the field and the injuries to Reader and Daniels and not having these guys on the field together.

What I like about Lou is that he is not committed to a defense and prefers a hybrid depending on the opponent they are facing and the personnel that he feels will match up the best. That is why I feel Ossai can be an integral part of our defense and do it in many ways. He showed the ability to drop in coverage, play the run, and rush the passer. I think Lou will use him in a variety of ways....or at least I hope.

I tend to agree with you on Lou, and his vision of an NFL defense.  He inherited a defense with players with skill sets stronger in Man coverage, when he prefers Zone. This is year three, he's been able to get the team to move on from players that didn't agree with his philosophy, and has filled those spots with players who's skill sets better fit what he wants to run.

Now, more than ever, is do or die time for Lou Annarumo and the Bengals defense.  They still have new faces to integrate, but that process should only cause confusion for the first few games.  If we're near the bottom in Defense this year?  I would expect Lou to be gone, maybe Zac as well.

(05-07-2021, 09:29 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: I tend to agree with you on Lou, and his vision of an NFL defense.  He inherited a defense with players with skill sets stronger in Man coverage, when he prefers Zone. This is year three, he's been able to get the team to move on from players that didn't agree with his philosophy, and has filled those spots with players who's skill sets better fit what he wants to run.

Now, more than ever, is do or die time for Lou Annarumo and the Bengals defense.  They still have new faces to integrate, but that process should only cause confusion for the first few games.  If we're near the bottom in Defense this year?  I would expect Lou to be gone, maybe Zac as well.

Lou inherited a defense with its wheels starting to fall off... It had a few bright spots but in reality it had an aging defensive line with zero depth and no linebacker core.

I like the young man a lot. Said he wanted his first sack to be Big Ben. Baker next.
Would love to see sweet Lou be more aggressive. D line is definitely younger and seems faster. Need some pressure from the Big Cats.

(05-07-2021, 09:42 PM)Synric Wrote: Lou inherited a defense with its wheels starting to fall off... It had a few bright spots but in reality it had an aging defensive line with zero depth and no linebacker core.

LB was an issue before Lou took over.  The secondary, his coaching background, was filled with players specializing in Man coverage.  The DLine was aging, but still had some up and comers.  Let's not paint that Lou took over a wasteland, when coaches that subscribed to a man coverage may have thought it was a good starting point.

Sure, it was painful to see the team move past guys like Atkins and Dunlap, particularly in the fashion that it happened for each.  I, for one, would have loved to see both of them retire as Bengals.  However, age gets the best of all people, father time is undefeated.  I'm just trying to get on board with Lou's philosophy and hoping that his new breed of Bengals defense gains momentum this year.

(05-07-2021, 09:18 PM)OSUfan Wrote: It seems that many are down on Lou Anarumo but I am not in that camp. I will reserve judgement until we get to see the defense he has envisioned with the pieces in place. We took a bit hit last year never having Waynes on the field and the injuries to Reader and Daniels and not having these guys on the field together.

What I like about Lou is that he is not committed to a defense and prefers a hybrid depending on the opponent they are facing and the personnel that he feels will match up the best. That is why I feel Ossai can be an integral part of our defense and do it in many ways. He showed the ability to drop in coverage, play the run, and rush the passer. I think Lou will use him in a variety of ways....or at least I hope.

The things that stood out to me were how he was able to work his way through traffic with a plan and not just get washed out and how quickly he can change direction. 

I agree about Lou. He was dealt a pretty bad hand for what he wants to do. He came into a terrible LB situation with Preston Brown and Nick Vigil. Then the decline of Atkins and departure/decline of Dunlap didnt help at all either. Top that off with the covid sitouts and onslaught of injuries last year and it just wasnt a good year to really evaluate Lou. He has done a good job of getting guys to fit what he wants now and I'm excited to see it play out. This is his year to show what he can do, and I'm behind him.

I hope Ossai can be the next ODELL+BURFINCT X2 with good character of course

My favorite pick in the draft. His play reminds me of the type of players that the Ravens and Steelers have targeted for a long time. He's a hard nosed, gritty guy who will stick a runner and send them backward with the proper zest and zeal. 

His broad jump/vert jump were absolutely phenomenal. Comparing his measurables to other players yields some weird results: https://www.mockdraftable.com/player/joseph-ossai?position=ATH

One of the "most similar" athletes to his testing was Derwin James. Another was a receiver. That's part of why I agree with others' assessment that his ceiling may be actualized if his game is more Mike Vrabel/Rob Ninkovich style than straight up base end. Would you want to try to run a HB dive on 3rd and short with Ossai lined up at Mike? Would you want to throw a screen to his side of the field if he's lined up as the 5th man on the LOS? 

Ossai has Edge/LB versatility. Looks like we see him as an edge 100%, but I think not taking advantage of versatility is silly. Great motor. Great athleticism.

Only real downsides are that he is a little small for a DE and a bit raw/new to his position.

Got the most upside if any of the picks save Chase.

(05-07-2021, 09:51 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: LB was an issue before Lou took over.  The secondary, his coaching background, was filled with players specializing in Man coverage.  The DLine was aging, but still had some up and comers.  Let's not paint that Lou took over a wasteland, when coaches that subscribed to a man coverage may have thought it was a good starting point.

Sure, it was painful to see the team move past guys like Atkins and Dunlap, particularly in the fashion that it happened for each.  I, for one, would have loved to see both of them retire as Bengals.  However, age gets the best of all people, father time is undefeated.  I'm just trying to get on board with Lou's philosophy and hoping that his new breed of Bengals defense gains momentum this year.

What?! 

The 2018 Bengals finished ranked 30th in points allowed. They were horrific. Aging players fat with big contracts, the WRONG players extended and kept around, 20+ year old defensive concept (Marvin) that didn't fit the modern NFL anymore, poor depth across the board from year after year of bad drafting, awful LB corps, couldn't tackle AT ALL, AND on and on. That defense was putrid.

1 CB was good at man (Will Jackson). The other, Dre K was trash from jump street and everyone knew it but Marvin. The Steelers threw at him 9 straight times to win a MNF game at PBS and either completed the pass, got holding on Dre K, or a PI on Dre K. He was HORRIBLE.

^ Lou primarily plays zone, BTW. So, man corners are not ideal. The defense needed an entire cleansing and washing away of the stink that was on them from the years leading up to Zac. I am glad the old guard is gone.

Also, in looking up 2018 defensive rankings I found it encouraging that #31 behind the Bengals was Tampa Bay. 2 good drafts and an awesome QB turned into a Superbowl for them quite quickly. (I also noticed they dumped Marvin's good friend friend, Dirk Koetter, as their coach, too   )

Joseph Ossai wasn’t drafted to rush the passer. He was drafted to contain the run game, specifically the off tackle run game. The Bengals have been burnt to a crisp for many years by running backs who follow a blocking tight end into space.

(05-07-2021, 09:51 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: LB was an issue before Lou took over.  The secondary, his coaching background, was filled with players specializing in Man coverage.  The DLine was aging, but still had some up and comers.  Let's not paint that Lou took over a wasteland, when coaches that subscribed to a man coverage may have thought it was a good starting point.

Sure, it was painful to see the team move past guys like Atkins and Dunlap, particularly in the fashion that it happened for each.  I, for one, would have loved to see both of them retire as Bengals.  However, age gets the best of all people, father time is undefeated.  I'm just trying to get on board with Lou's philosophy and hoping that his new breed of Bengals defense gains momentum this year.

This defense was not close to good when this staff took over. I have been a Dunlap fan since he arrived with the team and I have to admit I was extremely disappointed by his reaction when he was challenged by this coaching staff. I hate seeing Geno go but the reality is that he has never come back from injuries to be the player he once was.

I really like the make up of what they appear to be creating on the defensive side of the ball. It looks like with the personnel they have added over the last couple of seasons that they really want to attack. I like this cast of young LBs and especially look forward to seeing what a completely healthy Marcus Bailey brings to the table.

I see Ossai as an extremely versatile piece of the puzzle. I also think Cam Sample is going to be a guy that we see line up all along the D line in given situations and is another young guy that could play a vital role in the success of this defense.

(05-08-2021, 08:54 AM)OSUfan Wrote: This defense was not close to good when this staff took over. I have been a Dunlap fan since he arrived with the team and I have to admit I was extremely disappointed by his reaction when he was challenged by this coaching staff. I hate seeing Geno go but the reality is that he has never come back from injuries to be the player he once was.

I really like the make up of what they appear to be creating on the defensive side of the ball. It looks like with the personnel they have added over the last couple of seasons that they really want to attack. I like this cast of young LBs and especially look forward to seeing what a completely healthy Marcus Bailey brings to the table.

I see Ossai as an extremely versatile piece of the puzzle. I also think Cam Sample is going to be a guy that we see line up all along the D line in given situations and is another young guy that could play a vital role in the success of this defense.

I'm very optimistic about Ossai.  Curious to see how they plan to use him in various situations.  As FanInKettering mentioned, defensive playmaking isn't always just rushing the passer.  Run stuffs and TFL are huge momentum shifters.