(12-04-2016, 10:47 PM)jj22 Wrote: DE because Hunt and Gilberry won't be here. LB would be close second.

I agree we do need help at DE.  However, that is not conditional on weather Hunt and Gilberry will be here, or not.

I voted LB,

Both Maualuga and Dansby need replaced next season. But D-line is right on their heels ! Peko is flat out used up, he gets no push the vast majority of the time. Mj has his better days behind him.

I won't complain with a pass rush DE in the top rounds.

I agree with you leaving OL off. Marvin gave the start to Winston. So grooming him to be a future piece of our OL gives me great peace of mind. Fisher got his first taste of action too but it looked like Winston played the majority. We are so good on the OL we can just waste 1st and 2nd round picks and give up on developing them.

3 of the 5 starters today will be free agents next year. If only we werent chasing a championship at 4-7-1 maybe we could let the young guys play.

Ok. I voted DL. Gilberry Hunt Sims and Peko should all be gone. MJ has really let me down. Time to try to find some quality playersvon the DL again. Hopefully whoever took Hunt Clarke Still and Thompson early in the draft isnt the one picking this time.

(12-04-2016, 09:02 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: On another note, what a bunch of fickle ninnies some of you are.  At this point, we have 109 looks, but only 7 votes.  What are you afraid of?  If you think I'm full of shit, tell me so.  Trust me, it won't bother me.  At my age, I can let lots roll off of my big, broad shoulders.  

I tried to vote but the site took me somewhere I didn't want to go.

We have the slowest LB core in the league, so them. DL is right there with them. DL is a more important position so hopefully they draft around there higher

I think linebacker is number 1 with DL a close second. After Geno every player at DT is just a guy or an unproven. People keep hyping Billings, but the hard truth is that he is coming off of a major knee injury. Anyone remember what Geno looked like his first year back from a major knee injury? IF Billings is ready on opening day, he's going to be a recovering rookie with zero NFL snaps and the better part of a year not able to train as he's accustomed to. You're not getting the record-setting powerlifter. You're getting a guy trying to get back to that. We need someone else.

They also need a rush end badly. Hunt sucks. Gilberry came in off the street and put his ass on the inactive list. If he's re-signed, it's an absolute joke. Clarke has some potential and MJ is declining. They need speed on the edge almost as bad as they need a run stuffer to replace Peko when he (hopefully) is let go.

I'd love to see them sign a monster FA DT in the offseason. I like Hankins from the Giants and Brandon WIlliams from the Ravens. Neither would be cheap, but they could swing it if they wanted to. Get one of these two and draft a guy like Barnett, and I think the d is in business.

I wouldn't be mad to see them pick Cunningham or Foster in 1, but I really feel like improving the front four will have more of a cumulative effect on the defense.

Trade Hill. Shame Bernard got hurt, makes trading Hill a little harder to do but I would still do it.

The Eagles threw the ball 60 times today we had 1 sack. Defensive line is the most major need on this team and I am including the offensive line.

(12-05-2016, 02:52 AM)J24 Wrote: The Eagles threw the ball 60 times today we had 1 sack. Defensive line is the most major need on this team and I am including the offensive line.

Holy shit. Hard to argue with stats like that.

I voted DL. We just haven't got to the QB enough this season. It's one of the reasons we've had such a drop off from last year when that was actually one of our strengths. Dunlap and Atkins can only do so much.

LB is a close second though. It's a one man show right now.

Ruben Foster next to Burfict would scare teams for sure. Nasty. But I feel like Atkins and Dunlap need more help. Johnson and peko are like tits on a bull totally worthless.

The defensive line, after the offensive line, should be ripe for an upgrade. I looked at film from 2012 to the present and the entire defensive line, especially the right side, is much slower off the snap now than they were back then. Even mediocre offensive lines stand them up in the run game. The Bengals built their defensive line around the north to south bull rush against the pass and forgot the linemen also need effective lateral movement to close gaps against the run. I like what I see in Geno Atkins but even he is getting to the quarterback a bit late hence his sack total is decreasing while his knock down or hurry statistics are increasing. Carlos Dunlap is great at batting down passes but he's no longer a credible sack threat. Michael Johnson is good at taking up two blockers but seeing him drop into coverage makes my stomach queasy. Moving Margus Hunt from end to tackle makes lots of sense and I would like to see him get more snaps and maybe see Domata Peko get less snaps.

I wouldn't say Dunlap is "no longer a credible sack threat."

He's at 7 with 4 games to go. He could easily end up with double digits again this year.

(12-05-2016, 01:11 AM)samhain Wrote: They also need a rush end badly.  Hunt sucks.  Gilberry came in off the street and put his ass on the inactive list.  

I'm pretty sure he played the last two games.....

(12-05-2016, 09:26 AM)Sled21 Wrote: I'm pretty sure he played the last two games.....

Def didn't play in Gilberry's first game back.  Hasn't done squat since blocking kicks early this year.  

(12-05-2016, 11:29 AM)samhain Wrote: Def didn't play in Gilberry's first game back.  Hasn't done squat since blocking kicks early this year.  

I think that they have been sneaking him in at DT some.

(12-05-2016, 11:34 AM)SunsetBengal Wrote: I think that they have been sneaking him in at DT some.

I saw him yesterday trying to chase down a rb.  Dude may be able to pick up heavy things and throw them really far, but he's slower than shit.  They need to stop trying to make this thing happen.  He's been in the league almost 4 seasons and still hasn't shown that he's worth retaining.  He's what he is at this point IMO, and we need to get a real pass rusher other than Dunlap at the end position.

He's a "Looks like Tarzan, plays like Jane" poster boy.   

1. LB (Dansby / Rey / Maualuga OLD) Fix = Reuban Foster or get a FA LB
2. RB (Gio has torn ACL and Hill is slowly becoming a bust) Fix = Leonard Fournette
3. DE (Jonathan Allen/Myles Garrett)
4. S/LB (JABRIL FRICKIN PEPPERS)

Defensive line.

Pat Sims isn't good, we need to understand that. Peko is a UFA and needs to go. Michael Johnson just isn't that great. Nor is Will Clarke. They're both serviceable, but not starters. Gilberry still isn't good. And Hunt also isn't good.

Sure, we have Dunlap and Atkins. But we have no real pass rushers outside of them. If Dunlap or Atkins gets hurt and misses time, just double team the other and you win one on one matchups.

We need a true pass rusher and have every opportunity to get one in the draft. We've let that slide year in and year out. But you have Derek Barnett, a guy who wants to win and broke Reggie White's college sack record. Then you have Charles Harris, another guy who can get off of blocks and get to the quarterback. Much quicker off the edge and faster. Although he doesn't have as many moves as Barnett does, he's still a great pass rusher.

Smoot is also a guy to look out for. He's a lot better than his stats say. He gets in the backfield and disrupts plays, whether it be by making a play or filling a gap or making the opponent move somewhere they don't want to.

Then in free agency you have Sheard, JPP, and Calais Campbell.

Defensive tackle free agents? Kawaan Short, Sylvester Williams, Poe, and Fariley (again).

Draft when it comes to DT? While I like Billings, we still need help there and Billings is still an unknown.

There's Malik McDowell and Jaleel Johnson.

I believe we need athletic LBs. But we have also put off defensive line for far too long.

I say draft a pass rusher (please Barnett) and get a guy like Raekwon McMillan.

But there's also a lot younger talent when it comes to the LB position when free agency comes.

(12-04-2016, 07:26 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: I say LB.  The Bengals LB corps looks old, fat, and slow.  The sorry part is, this is the best that they have to put out there.  Burfict, our only pseudo-Star at the position, is often injured, suspended, and far from lean.  For quite some time, the organization has short changed the LB position with mid to late round picks, UDFAs, and "bargain" Free Agents.  

The Bengals haven't invested a serious draft pick on the LB position since Rey Maualuga (2nd round) and Keith Rivers (1st).  Anyone else feel like it's high time for the Bengals to heavily invest in the position of LB?  I mean, our guys are very average at stopping the run, below average in covering the pass, we have virtually no one that can roam sideline to sideline, in the traditional sense.

Well of course i voted LB Sunset, i think you nailed it. Burfict plays his ass off and they all looked much better yesterday
but before the season started lots of us thought this was our best LB corps that we have had, boy were we wrong and
Haslett has not helped at all.

I like Burfict and Vinny Rey but other than these two we have just question marks. Dansby looked better but he is not
the future. I like Vigil a bit and Flowers but we need someone to be excited about with work ethic.

The D-line was my second thought. We need to get rid of Peko and need Billings to show up for us. MJ has played pretty
good the last couple games but we also need another end. I like Sims but he is not the future either.

We need another DT and another pass rushing End.