1) Start Jackson and Kirkpatrick as the CBs. Mix in Dennard when he's healthy and move Jones to the 4th CB. Jones is by far our worst starting CB.

2) Bench Vigil. His PFF rating is 35.5. That's considerably worse than Bodine/Ced at their worst. He's by far our worst starter. Go with Evans over him. Or go Rey/Minter/Burfict.

3) STOP playing weak zone coverage. Good QB's pick it apart. Constantly. Repeatedly. Over and over.

I think these minor tweaks could make our defense much better.

(11-27-2017, 02:40 PM)THE PISTONS Wrote: 1) Start Jackson and Kirkpatrick as the CBs. Mix in Dennard when he's healthy and move Jones to the 4th CB. Jones is by far our worst starting CB.

2) Bench Vigil. His PFF rating is 35.5. That's considerably worse than Bodine/Ced at their worst. He's by far our worst starter. Go with Evans over him. Or go Rey/Minter/Burfict.

3) STOP playing weak zone coverage. Good QB's pick it apart. Constantly. Repeatedly. Over and over.

I think these minor tweaks could make our defense much better.

I really agree with #3. Also I might add, blitz more than 4, a lot more.

(11-27-2017, 02:44 PM)sandwedge Wrote: I really agree with #3. Also I might add, blitz more than 4, a lot more.

Yeah blitzing 4 and playing weak zone just begs to be picked apart if they don't get there...which sometimes they won't.

I wouldn't mind seeing us blitz Willis as DE and Lawson at OLB on the same side.

It is indeed frustrating to watch an inexperienced quarterback like DeShone Kizer complete pass after pass against the Bengals but you know what? Those big chunk plays Cleveland ran were all outside the red zone which means Paul Guenther just let the Browns move the ball until they got near the Cincinnati 20. Then things tightened up like my stomach after eating too much Taco Bell.

I’m with all of you: Those plays drive me nuts. I look at the way Matt Patricia runs the Patriots’ defense and he doesn’t let that happen. Neither does Dean Pees in Baltimore. Neither did Mike Zimmer. Basically the Bengals conceded field goals to the Browns every time Cleveland got close. I would like to see more aggressive secondary play along the entire field, not just in the other team’s red zone.

Anytime someone suggests starting Vinney Rey I stop reading. I like Rey, but he is what he is.... a backup. Every single time he has been called on to start due to injury, the more he plays the worse he gets. He doesn't handle the heavy workload well. 

Ever wonder why Zim does not use a lot of zone? Or why when he does it is a tight aggressive zone?

(11-27-2017, 02:40 PM)THE PISTONS Wrote: 1) Start Jackson and Kirkpatrick as the CBs. Mix in Dennard when he's healthy and move Jones to the 4th CB. Jones is by far our worst starting CB.

2) Bench Vigil. His PFF rating is 35.5. That's considerably worse than Bodine/Ced at their worst. He's by far our worst starter. Go with Evans over him. Or go Rey/Minter/Burfict.

3) STOP playing weak zone coverage. Good QB's pick it apart. Constantly. Repeatedly. Over and over.

I think these minor tweaks could make our defense much better.

Agreed, but Dennard should be starting over Kirkpatrick, if we are being totally honest.  We know Dre will be toasted once by pitt, at least once.  

Love Evans...no one outruns him to the edge...No idea why he isn't playing.  Nevermind.  I forgot Dumbass Lewis is still our coach.

The zone is so pathetically weak.  Hate it, but I'm sure opposing QBs love it...throwing no incompletions and no risk of an INT.  Great idea, coaches.

How about how to fix the offense?

1.) Sit Lafell, play Core, Ross, and Malone.  Ross gets at least 5 touches a game.  Get the ball in his hands and let these worn out defenses try to chase him.  

2.) Go two TEs in the Red Zone with Kroft and Uzoman, and AJ and Malone or Core as the WRs.  You have four targets, and the shortest is 6'4" with a 36" vertical. 

3.) Line Gio up at slot WR in rotation with Boyd and Erickson.  

4.) Let Dalton call the plays from the LOS with no huddle.  Get the steelers in nickel and pound them with Mixon...  If they stay in base, spread them out and attack.  No substitutions.  

5.) Fire Marv, or set on fire, whichever

(11-27-2017, 03:31 PM)SHRacerX Wrote: Agreed, but Dennard should be starting over Kirkpatrick, if we are being totally honest.  We know Dre will be toasted once by pitt, at least once.  

Love Evans...no one outruns him to the edge...No idea why he isn't playing.  Nevermind.  I forgot Dumbass Lewis is still our coach.

The zone is so pathetically weak.  Hate it, but I'm sure opposing QBs love it...throwing no incompletions and no risk of an INT.  Great idea, coaches.

How about how to fix the offense?

1.) Sit Lafell, play Core, Ross, and Malone.  Ross gets at least 5 touches a game.  Get the ball in his hands and let these worn out defenses try to chase him.  

2.) Go two TEs in the Red Zone with Kroft and Uzoman, and AJ and Malone or Core as the WRs.  You have four targets, and the shortest is 6'4" with a 36" vertical. 

3.) Line Gio up at slot WR in rotation with Boyd and Erickson.  

4.) Let Dalton call the plays from the LOS with no huddle.  Get the steelers in nickel and pound them with Mixon...  If they stay in base, spread them out and attack.  No substitutions.  

5.) Fire Marv, or set on fire, whichever

Your first three steps literally call for 7 different WRs to play, with 2 TEs added on for good measure when in the redzone.

Every single play will be a Too Many Men On The Field penalty in your plan...

(11-27-2017, 03:56 PM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: Your first three steps literally call for 7 different WRs to play, with 2 TEs added on for good measure when in the redzone.

Every single play will be a Too Many Men On The Field penalty in your plan...

There would still be nobody open!!

(11-27-2017, 03:31 PM)SHRacerX Wrote: Agreed, but Dennard should be starting over Kirkpatrick, if we are being totally honest.  We know Dre will be toasted once by pitt, at least once.  

Love Evans...no one outruns him to the edge...No idea why he isn't playing.  Nevermind.  I forgot Dumbass Lewis is still our coach.

The zone is so pathetically weak.  Hate it, but I'm sure opposing QBs love it...throwing no incompletions and no risk of an INT.  Great idea, coaches.

How about how to fix the offense?

1.) Sit Lafell, play Core, Ross, and Malone.  Ross gets at least 5 touches a game.  Get the ball in his hands and let these worn out defenses try to chase him.  

2.) Go two TEs in the Red Zone with Kroft and Uzoman, and AJ and Malone or Core as the WRs.  You have four targets, and the shortest is 6'4" with a 36" vertical. 

3.) Line Gio up at slot WR in rotation with Boyd and Erickson.  

4.) Let Dalton call the plays from the LOS with no huddle.  Get the steelers in nickel and pound them with Mixon...  If they stay in base, spread them out and attack.  No substitutions.  

5.) Fire Marv, or set on fire, whichever

Yeah...I'd like to ease Dennard into a starting role...but ultimately he would be starting. With what the Bengals pay Kirkpatrick...I doubt they'd ever bench him.

(11-27-2017, 03:31 PM)SHRacerX Wrote: 5.) Fire Marv, or set on fire, whichever

Technically, it's the same thing.

(11-27-2017, 02:40 PM)THE PISTONS Wrote: 1) Start Jackson and Kirkpatrick as the CBs. Mix in Dennard when he's healthy and move Jones to the 4th CB. Jones is by far our worst starting CB.

2) Bench Vigil. His PFF rating is 35.5. That's considerably worse than Bodine/Ced at their worst. He's by far our worst starter. Go with Evans over him. Or go Rey/Minter/Burfict.

3) STOP playing weak zone coverage. Good QB's pick it apart. Constantly. Repeatedly. Over and over.

I think these minor tweaks could make our defense much better.

It is my sincere hope that Vinnie Rey never plays again.  He is beyond awful.  Put Evans on the field and leave him there.

(11-27-2017, 02:40 PM)THE PISTONS Wrote: 1) Start Jackson and Kirkpatrick as the CBs. Mix in Dennard when he's healthy and move Jones to the 4th CB. Jones is by far our worst starting CB.

2) Bench Vigil. His PFF rating is 35.5. That's considerably worse than Bodine/Ced at their worst. He's by far our worst starter. Go with Evans over him. Or go Rey/Minter/Burfict.

3) STOP playing weak zone coverage. Good QB's pick it apart. Constantly. Repeatedly. Over and over.

I think these minor tweaks could make our defense much better.

Yes, plus i think we should rush both Willis and Lawson at the QB more often.

More Fej and Shaw out there i would be for.

Quit playing MJ at RDE, he should get a few snaps inside and that's all !

(11-27-2017, 07:34 PM)McC Wrote: It is my sincere hope that Vinnie Rey never plays again.  He is beyond awful.  Put Evans on the field and leave him there.

He is who he is. A very good backup, and a mediocre spot-starter. If you're relying on him every week, you're going to be let down. That said, Minter is basically another V Rey, and Vigil is just plain bad.

I haven't seen anything good from Evans that suggests he should play more other than not having "Vigil" on the back of his jersey.

Unsurprisingly the Bengals continue to have a weak LB group because they refuse to change the type of LB they draft/look for.


"He's 245-260lbs? He's slow and struggles in coverage? Sign him up!" - Marvin Lewis, probably.

(11-27-2017, 09:55 PM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: He is who he is. A very good backup, and a mediocre spot-starter. If you're relying on him every week, you're going to be let down. That said, Minter is basically another V Rey, and Vigil is just plain bad.

I haven't seen anything good from Evans that suggests he should play more other than not having "Vigil" on the back of his jersey.

Unsurprisingly the Bengals continue to have a weak LB group because they refuse to change the type of LB they draft/look for.


"He's 245-260lbs? He's slow and struggles in coverage? Sign him up!" - Marvin Lewis, probably.

I'm with you on all of that. While I don't think Minter or Rey are good by any means...they typically grade out as Average on PFF. They do have deficiencies though.

Vigil is just plain our worst starter on the team.

Evans grades out as Poor...but I think with time he could get better. I don't have much hope for Vigil.

(11-27-2017, 09:55 PM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: He is who he is. A very good backup, and a mediocre spot-starter. If you're relying on him every week, you're going to be let down. That said, Minter is basically another V Rey, and Vigil is just plain bad.

I haven't seen anything good from Evans that suggests he should play more other than not having "Vigil" on the back of his jersey.

Unsurprisingly the Bengals continue to have a weak LB group because they refuse to change the type of LB they draft/look for.


"He's 245-260lbs? He's slow and struggles in coverage? Sign him up!" - Marvin Lewis, probably.

Marvin is stuck in like 1980. He's still playing defense like he's facing Franco Harris, John Riggins, and Earl Campbell.

How many years did we have to endure watching Maualuga getting roasted like a marshmallow on pass plays ?

(11-27-2017, 10:09 PM)bengalfan74 Wrote: Marvin is stuck in like 1980. He's still playing defense like he's facing Franco Harris, John Riggins, and Earl Campbell.

How many years did we have to endure watching Maualuga getting roasted like a marshmallow on pass plays ?

Yeah our team is built to stop the Steelers 15 years ago with Jerome Bettis in the AFC North.

RB's are getting faster and smaller and quicker.

(11-27-2017, 03:02 PM)Fan_in_Kettering Wrote: It is indeed frustrating to watch an inexperienced quarterback like DeShone Kizer complete pass after pass against the Bengals but you know what?  Those big chunk plays Cleveland ran were all outside the red zone which means Paul Guenther just let the Browns move the ball until they got near the Cincinnati 20. Then things tightened up like my stomach after eating too much Taco Bell.  

I’m with all of you:  Those plays drive me nuts.  I look at the way Matt Patricia runs the Patriots’ defense and he doesn’t let that happen.  Neither does Dean Pees in Baltimore.  Neither did Mike Zimmer.  Basically the Bengals conceded field goals to the Browns every time Cleveland got close.   I would like to see more aggressive secondary play along the entire field, not just in the other team’s red zone.

Bend but dont break works great with some teams, but the elite teams destroy this. Pittsburgh shreds this defense every time we play them and its horribly frustrating to watch.

We draft athletic DB's and expect them to be disciplined and tackle well in a zone defense. Our Db's do not do well with this. I would almost rather have the other team score quickly every once in awhile instead of letting them chew up clock and wear our defense out

Field goals add up especially when you arent kicking them too.

(11-27-2017, 10:23 PM)bengalhoel Wrote: Bend but dont break works great with some teams, but the elite teams destroy this. Pittsburgh shreds this defense every time we play them and its horribly frustrating to watch.

We draft athletic DB's and expect them to be disciplined and tackle well in a zone defense. Our Db's do not do well with this. I would almost rather have the other team score quickly every once in awhile instead of letting them chew up clock and wear our defense out

Field goals add up especially when you arent kicking them too.

Isn't that the story of the Bengals? We look good about the bad teams...but struggle against the big boys in prime time games.

It's like our scheme and team is built to beat up on the weak teams.