Let's be completely honest and completely clear this team is done because this defense is as bad as I've ever seen..Lou anarumo is having a terrible season as a coordinator, as evidence exhibit A last night with 2 minutes remaining against a backup quarterback bout as cold as the north pole what did lou do??he played prevent and let them walk down the field to ultimately end up in field goal range..This defense is horrible at every level,rushing 3 last night on 3rd and 7 someone is open right away for a 1st down how does that happen??

This team as constructed cannot play zone coverage affectively, assignments are always voided with this crew simplify it please!The secondary either hates playing press or the coordinator likes off coverage either way something has to give with all these 7-10 yard cushions every play there's a reason we're getting carved up by everybody and that's one of em right there..We also lack aggression, how many times did lou send more than 4 last night??We have to mix it up to get teams off the field way too many 3rd and longs being converted, no way this team can do anything with this defense playing this bad that's just the truth..

I love my team with all my heart, but I refuse to buy into all of the we can make the playoffs hoopla because this defense really takes the air out of my sails..The linebackers are not playing well, the secondary is confused more often than not and the front four can't generate any pressure at all which is a recipe for disaster..The sad part about it is going forward I don't have a clue about how to fix this and that's the scary part about this defense..

Defense has gone to sh** this year... I'll agree with you there.

However our offense just put up 30+ points on what is supposed to be a decent defense. Based on the QB's we play against the next few games there is reason to think we can win all 3.

Linebackers looked slow last night. They have their moments but they are not speedy.

(12-05-2023, 03:55 PM)Tlawsonmariat82 Wrote: Let's be completely honest and completely clear this team is done because this defense is as bad as I've ever seen..Lou anarumo is having a terrible season as a coordinator, as evidence exhibit A last night with 2 minutes remaining against a backup quarterback bout as cold as the north pole what did lou do??he played prevent and let them walk down the field to ultimately end up in field goal range..This defense is horrible at every level,rushing 3 last night on 3rd and 7 someone is open right away for a 1st down how does that happen??

This team as constructed cannot play zone coverage affectively, assignments are always voided with this crew simplify it please!The secondary either hates playing press or the coordinator likes off coverage either way something has to give with all these 7-10 yard cushions every play there's a reason we're getting carved up by everybody and that's one of em right there..We also lack aggression, how many times did lou send more than 4 last night??We have to mix it up to get teams off the field way too many 3rd and longs being converted, no way this team can do anything with this defense playing this bad that's just the truth..

I love my team with all my heart, but I refuse to buy into all of the we can make the playoffs hoopla because this defense really takes the air out of my sails..The linebackers are not playing well, the secondary is confused more often than not and the front four can't generate any pressure at all which is a recipe for disaster..The sad part about it is going forward I don't have a clue about how to fix this and that's the scary part about this defense..

I don't agree that the defense was horrible , they shut down one of the best runners in the game, they forced 5 punts, they had two drives over 55 yards... those are improvements from previous games.... i understand they gave up a late FG but they rebounded to force a punt in OT when needed...

(12-05-2023, 04:12 PM)Essex Johnson Wrote: I don't agree that the defense was horrible , they shut down one of the best runners in the game, they forced 5 punts, they had two drives over 55 yards... those are improvements from previous games.... i understand they  gave up a late FG but they rebounded to force a punt in OT when needed...

They tackled better last night too which is what I wanted to see. The thing is the problems with the Defense can be fixed.

Our Secondary is extremely young, Lou and Bettcher need to get the Linebackers playing better, but I love the optimism! 

Well lots of teams are struggling somewhere. The Chiefs are way off offensive scoring from previous years. Buffalo unlike us has had a healthy QB and team and is 6-6. SF & Buffalo have strong defenses yet our supposedly crap play caller Zac sucks even though he beat them despite our defense. Love this board. Joe carries Zac. Lou carries Zac. Andy Reid although 1-3 vs Zac is struggling with his offense. But he’s the almighty. We replaced 2 veteran safeties. It’s showing. KC just got beat by the Packers. What are they? 8-4? The NFL is tough.

Lou has done fantastic our losses even with a worse defense aren’t attributed to the defense as much IMO than the offense.

(12-05-2023, 04:17 PM)Nate (formerly eliminate08) Wrote: They tackled better last night too which is what I wanted to see. The thing is the problems with the Defense can be fixed.

Our Secondary is extremely young, Lou and Bettcher need to get the Linebackers playing better, but I love the optimism! 

Yes they tackled better and overall for the most part the effort was there, but it still doesn't change the fact that this defense is absolutely horrible, I have zero confidence in them at this point and I bet it's more people that feel like me than not..

Good Lord,
Can we make the playoffs? 100%. That's not even a question. Now, can we win a playoff game? I'd be pretty shocked, but you never know

(12-05-2023, 04:24 PM)Soonerpeace Wrote: Well lots of teams are struggling somewhere. The Chiefs are way off offensive scoring from previous years. Buffalo unlike us has had a healthy QB and team and is 6-6. SF & Buffalo have strong defenses yet our supposedly crap play caller Zac sucks even though he beat them despite our defense. Love this board. Joe carries Zac. Lou carries Zac. Andy Reid although 1-3 vs Zac is struggling with his offense. But he’s the almighty. We replaced 2 veteran safeties. It’s showing. KC just got beat by the Packers. What are they? 8-4? The NFL is tough.

Lou has done fantastic our losses even with a worse defense aren’t attributed to the defense as much IMO than the offense.

Lou's defense has been terrible, they lost both ravens games and they definitely lost the Texans game, how can you possibly say they have been fantastic with a straight face??tell me your trolling me??

(12-05-2023, 04:24 PM)Tlawsonmariat82 Wrote: Yes they tackled better and overall for the most part the effort was there, but it still doesn't change the fact that this defense is absolutely horrible, I have zero confidence in them at this point and I bet it's more people that feel like me than not..

Overall, I haven't been happy with the Defense for sure this year. Especially in allowing big plays and their inability to stop the run.

But as the young players gain experience it should get better. The vets need to get their shit together and yes, most of this is on Lou.

The poor tackling was my biggest complaint, so it was nice seeing better tackling last night. We will see, all I know is that Lou has had 
this Defense playing tops before and with the youth gaining experience it should get much better than what we have seen all season.

We finally saw a decent running game last night which should also help out the Defense and Browning.

(12-05-2023, 04:29 PM)Tlawsonmariat82 Wrote: Lou's defense has been terrible, they lost both ravens games and they definitely lost the Texans game, how can you possibly say they have been fantastic with a straight face??tell me your trolling me??

Never said they have been fantastic this year. I meant the last few years, Yes they have struggled this year. But I pointed out KC’s with the illustrious Andy Reid & Patrick Mahomes ain’t putting up points. The NFL is tough.

So….what happens if Jake from State Farm takes us to the AFC championship game? Could happen, why not us. We can be the SF of the AFC.

Weather Jake continues to play out of his mind the remainder of the season is still in question but he certainly looked capable last night. It’s a good thing regardless. Nice to know we have a back up that can keep us afloat if Burrow goes down again. Hopefully it will keep the team from giving up the moment Burrow goes down.

(12-05-2023, 04:08 PM)Goalpost Wrote: Linebackers looked slow last night.  They have their moments but they are not speedy.

I think Wilson is hurt - playing on a bum ankle. Hence his "slowness". Ill give him a pass. 

Pratt - idk what the deal is with him. Lack of effort at time and just lost out there. REALLY dissipointed with his play lately. 

(12-05-2023, 04:24 PM)Tlawsonmariat82 Wrote: Yes they tackled better and overall for the most part the effort was there, but it still doesn't change the fact that this defense is absolutely horrible, I have zero confidence in them at this point and I bet it's more people that feel like me than not..

They've managed to get a few stops in critical situations, and gotten a lot of turnovers. However, the shit ton of yards and some games, points, is concerning. They are really young on the back end though. They should improve as the game reps stack up.

(12-05-2023, 04:41 PM)WeezyBengal Wrote: I think Wilson is hurt - playing on a bum ankle. Hence his "slowness". Ill give him a pass. 

Pratt - idk what the deal is with him. Lack of effort at time and just lost out there. REALLY dissipointed with his play lately. 

I have been thinking the same with Logan and yeah, Pratt has been way worse this season, don't know what is up with him.

All I know is he needs to start tackling better instead of always just ripping at the ball, it isn't working. Everyone knows that is 
what Pratt is going to do now.

(12-05-2023, 04:41 PM)WeezyBengal Wrote: I think Wilson is hurt - playing on a bum ankle. Hence his "slowness". Ill give him a pass. 

Pratt - idk what the deal is with him. Lack of effort at time and just lost out there. REALLY dissipointed with his play lately. 

Pratt has done a lot of grabbing at the ball instead of tackling for one thing.

They stopped the run, which was their Achilles heel last few weeks. Make a couple more plays on the back end and its a different game.


But yeah, Pratt has not played well the last couple of weeks.

I don't think we're all of a sudden back on track, and I certainly don't see us as a Super Bowl threat even if we do get in.

But we just went on the road in Prime Time, with a backup no-name QB, and beat a team vying for #1 in the AFC. That's quite a thing.

Maybe it hurts us in terms of draft position, but I'm just happy to see my Team win a game I didn't think we're even really compete in.

(12-05-2023, 05:01 PM)TheCincinnatiKid Wrote: I don't think we're all of a sudden back on track, and I certainly don't see us as a Super Bowl threat even if we do get in.

But we just went on the road in Prime Time, with a backup no-name QB, and beat a team vying for #1 in the AFC. That's quite a thing.

Maybe it hurts us in terms of draft position, but I'm just happy to see my Team win a game I didn't think we're even really compete in.

This is pretty much how I look at it. We might not be able to go all the way and we not even make the playoffs. So these wins do hurt our draft stock but it's out of our hands. We just got some really enjoyable Bengals ball so might as well sit back and enjoy the ride. 

As far as the defense we should've all expected to take a step back this year. The tackle struggles have been the most concerning/shocking. But watching tape its really seemed to be young guys and Nick Scott. Scott is not playing much and I think alot of those young guys are starting to find they're footing. They have a tendency to give up some big plays but they never panic and really implode. Last we had a turnover that gave them the ball at the 5 and it still took 4 downs to get it in and a should've been pick turned into a TD. Your up 3 at the end of the game they have 1 timeout give them easy stuff and make the tackle. If they get down the field they will most likely settle for a field goal with they're own backup. Overall I really enjoyed watching the team last night defense included.

(12-05-2023, 06:01 PM)NUGDUKWE Wrote: This is pretty much how I look at it. We might not be able to go all the way and we not even make the playoffs. So these wins do hurt our draft stock but it's out of our hands. We just got some really enjoyable Bengals ball so might as well sit back and enjoy the ride. 

As far as the defense we should've all expected to take a step back this year. The tackle struggles have been the most concerning/shocking. But watching tape its really seemed to be young guys and Nick Scott. Scott is not playing much and I think alot of those young guys are starting to find they're footing. They have a tendency to give up some big plays but they never panic and really implode. Last we had a turnover that gave them the ball at the 5 and it still took 4 downs to get it in and a should've been pick turned into a TD. Your up 3 at the end of the game they have 1 timeout give them easy stuff and make the tackle. If they get down the field they will most likely settle for a field goal with they're own backup. Overall I really enjoyed watching the team last night defense included.

Nice post Nug. Agree with all of it. Well said.