So after exhausting ourselves on the offense let's look at the D.

In some ways this year's edition seems like a fusion between the old cardiac cats and Zim's 2009 unit.

Issues first:

TACKLING! True this seemed somewhat better against the Hags but still problematic. Fix the tackling and a lot of the run defense issues stop.

Losing receivers in the zones / blown coverages. I hope this is just a symptom of our having so many youngsters in the secondary and over time it will stop.

Backside issues and also blowing contain. This has dogged them all season even a little against the Hags (but it was MUCH improved in that game).

The Good:

The young secondary are playing with a lot of heart and showing their talent. Dax Hill is a treat to watch as is CTB. Hilton seemed to get into a groove last Sunday and I hope it lasts. DJ Turner looks like a keeper. Battle looks to be making the case to take over as safety opposite Hill.

The DL has had three games where they seemed off. True. But the other three they just took over the game and made the opposing QB look bad. And the linebackers are doing their parts too.

The D in 6 games has 19 sacks, 8 INT and 3FF. Over 17 games that projects to 54 sacks, 22 INT and 8 FF - obviously it doesn't work that way but it shows the general trend.

I think we all know how you feel about the D.

We were in game day also.

Bengals defense tied for 6th in sacks (19.0). Most in league is 24 by Ravens and Bills.
Hendrickson tied for 3rd among individual players (7.0). Most in league is 8.0 - Danielle Hunter and TJ Watt.

Bengals did well from a run defense perspective against ARZ SEA and LAR, but they've allowed a lot of rushing yards against the other 4 teams.

If the Bengals can get their run defense going like we're used to and/or getting some more pass rush from others not named Hendrickson, Hubbard, and Hill, that should help a ton.

(10-18-2023, 04:09 PM)ochocincos Wrote: Bengals defense tied for 6th in sacks (19.0). Most in league is 24 by Ravens and Bills.
Hendrickson tied for 3rd among individual players (7.0). Most in league is 8.0 - Danielle Hunter and TJ Watt.

Bengals did well from a run defense perspective against ARZ and LAR, but they've allowed a lot of rushing yards against the other 4 teams.

If the Bengals can get their run defense going like we're used to and/or getting some more pass rush from others not named Hendrickson, Hubbard, and Hill, that should help a ton.

I think that is what a lot of us were so disappointed by vs the run - this has been a D that tackled well and stopped the run and all of a sudden they did neither. And the strangest part was they were not getting blown off the line, it was contain issues and not defending the backside of the play correctly which was causing us to get destroyed by cutbacks and deception plays. 

The funny thing about Trey is he also has 3 sacks wiped by flags. So we play cleaner he has 10 already. 

(10-18-2023, 04:09 PM)ochocincos Wrote: Bengals defense tied for 6th in sacks (19.0). Most in league is 24 by Ravens and Bills.
Hendrickson tied for 3rd among individual players (7.0). Most in league is 8.0 - Danielle Hunter and TJ Watt.

Bengals did well from a run defense perspective against ARZ and LAR, but they've allowed a lot of rushing yards against the other 4 teams.

If the Bengals can get their run defense going like we're used to and/or getting some more pass rush from others not named Hendrickson, Hubbard, and Hill, that should help a ton.

Meant Seattle? Held them to just 3.5 ypc despite some sloppy tackling. The Bengals allowed 142 rushing yards at 6.5 yards per carry to Arizona and got lucky it wasn't more because their RB got hurt mid-game.

Even the Rams while only allowing 71 rushing yards, they allowed 5.5 yards per carry which isn't good, the Rams just only rushed 13 times.

(10-18-2023, 05:12 PM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: Meant Seattle? Held them to just 3.5 ypc despite some sloppy tackling. The Bengals allowed 142 rushing yards at 6.5 yards per carry to Arizona and got lucky it wasn't more because their RB got hurt mid-game.

Even the Rams while only allowing 71 rushing yards, they allowed 5.5 yards per carry which isn't good, the Rams just only rushed 13 times.

Yes SEA, not ARZ. Good catch. Will correct my previous post.

(10-18-2023, 04:09 PM)ochocincos Wrote: Bengals defense tied for 6th in sacks (19.0). Most in league is 24 by Ravens and Bills.
Hendrickson tied for 3rd among individual players (7.0). Most in league is 8.0 - Danielle Hunter and TJ Watt.

Bengals did well from a run defense perspective against ARZ SEA and LAR, but they've allowed a lot of rushing yards against the other 4 teams.

If the Bengals can get their run defense going like we're used to and/or getting some more pass rush from others not named Hendrickson, Hubbard, and Hill, that should help a ton.

As to getting others involved in the pass rush, I am hoping a healthy Ossai will maybe help out in that regard. And it still shocks me that to this day Myles Murphy is only on the field 11 snaps per game, only 17 percent. Not sure the full story there but I would think a first round defensive lineman would merit more PT in this case.

Without looking at comparative stats, this team seems to be all about missing tackles, making sacks in big moments, and big defensive plays (either mishaps on our part or picks). It's hard to depend on big plays happening in our favor, makes it more fun to watch of course. I would like to see better tackling, that is a dependable part of the game that can carry. I feel like we're getting burnt by big runs/passes mores than last year. One big burnt play can lose a playoff game.

This unit will be better at the end of the season then they are now.
What really gets me excited is Cam Sample and Joseph Ossai getting more snaps on the Dline as the season goes on.

(10-18-2023, 04:05 PM)motoarch Wrote: I think we all know how you feel about the D.

We were in game day also.

Wow....... I just spit my drink all over my desk. LOL

Without the defense the Bengals may be 0-6.

Until the offense starts driving the ball down field with consistency to get the Defense some rest, then its hard to judge the D fairly.

(10-20-2023, 07:11 AM)Go Cards Wrote: Without the defense the Bengals may be 0-6.

Until the offense starts driving the ball down field with consistency to get the Defense some rest, then its hard to judge the D fairly.

Yep. I see this as a problem. We rank middle of the pack in T.O.P., but still under 30 and it shows. Our run game needs a drastic improvement to get this up and get that defense some rest. I get we are a pass-heavy team, but the dink and dunk must be addressed also. Our play calling this year looks bland and it's clear how I feel about the OL.

https://www.teamrankings.com/nfl/stat/average-time-of-possession-net-of-ot

(10-20-2023, 09:35 AM)HarleyDog Wrote: Yep. I see this as a problem. We rank middle of the pack in T.O.P., but still under 30 and it shows. Our run game needs a drastic improvement to get this up and get that defense some rest. I get we are a pass-heavy team, but the dink and dunk must be addressed also. Our play calling this year looks bland and it's clear how I feel about the OL.

https://www.teamrankings.com/nfl/stat/average-time-of-possession-net-of-ot

Yes the offense needs to sustain drives. It been a variety of causes but the point is they need to sustain drives. 

The defense is very feast or famine right now. They have issues tackling and constantly get burnt on the backside or losing receivers in the zones. On the other hand they make big plays as well and vs the Hags the backside issue seemed to be fixed. 

(10-20-2023, 10:30 AM)Joelist Wrote: Yes the offense needs to sustain drives. It been a variety of causes but the point is they need to sustain drives. 

The defense is very feast or famine right now. They have issues tackling and constantly get burnt on the backside or losing receivers in the zones. On the other hand they make big plays as well and vs the Hags the backside issue seemed to be fixed. 

They sent CTB to follow DK. Maybe they should start putting him on the #1 WR every week.

Sam Hubbard is ranked 6th in run win rate for edges & Hendrickson is ranked 9th for edges in pass rush win rate this season.

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/38356170/2023-nfl-pass-rush-run-stop-blocking-win-rate-rankings-top-players-teams#prwr

The defense is top 10 in
Qb Rating, % percentage, INTs, sacks per game,and QB Hits per a game.(as of October 20th 2023

(10-20-2023, 02:02 PM)J24 Wrote: Sam Hubbard is ranked 6th in run win rate for edges & Hendrickson is ranked 9th for edges in pass rush win rate this season.

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/38356170/2023-nfl-pass-rush-run-stop-blocking-win-rate-rankings-top-players-teams#prwr

The defense is top 10 in
Qb Rating, % percentage, INTs, sacks per game,and QB Hits per a game.(as of October 20th 2023

Yep Hubbard and Hendrickson are not the problems and Hubbard is excellent at containment as well which is crucial in the AFC North playing Watson and Lamar twice apiece. 

That being said the Bengals could still use a healthy Ossai to help spell H&H without losing much. That is my greatest wish during Bye week is that a 100% healthy Burrow and Ossai emerge from it. Tee too, but those ribs may still take a week or two to get to 100%

I agree that better tackling would help our run defense.Last year the Bengals were probably the best at tackling,with the fewest missed tackles.It seems they are getting better though.

I’m really encouraged by our young defensive backfield.CTB,Turner,Hill,Battle.Mix in Awuzie and Hilton.These guys are fun to watch.