(05-22-2015, 03:49 PM)nathan3748 Wrote: I dont know if its me or what but I think Bengals need a better MLB Rey Maualuga hasnt really played that well sure his average but average doesnt win playoffs right now Bengals are pretty good at all other positions as far i can tell well maybe QB but Andy is still getting the team to the Playoffs he just needs more help on the defense side they might can use some help at WR just for Depth because  right now they only have 3 good wrs in Green Jones and Sanu and they need a good backupmtomstep in if one of them gets injured they drafted Mario but with im being under 6 feet he won't be able to get over most defenders to get the ball. But no matter how you look at it the Bengals are just missing the 1 key player that will open the door for them to win a few playoff games or even a Super Bowl.


What do you think the Bengals need to win a playoff game or Super Bowl

They need the will.

(05-22-2015, 04:04 PM)GreenCornBengal Wrote: I don't think it is QUITE that simple.

Sure Maualuga could be replaced, but I think more importantly we need to find a new big guy to plug into the middle for when Peko and company ship off.

I think something we don't have that is of extreme value is edge rushers. Yet the team has never made an effort to fix this. While many on here hype up Dunlap as the next Dwight Freeney, he really isn't anything more than average. In fact, I would argue he is playing way under his potential. Besides, that is only one side of the line, and MJ, while being a very intelligent skilled DE, is not an all world pass rusher either.

Our scheme doesn't really fit edge rushing linebackers, and we never try to get an edge rushing DE in the draft... but I think finding one would help us the most (if our coaches could use them correctly)

Dunlap is a fine pass rusher, one of the best in the league. If he would of finished tackles last
year he could of had 15+ sacks. He just needs to learn to finish once he gets to the QB.

To say Dunlap isn't anything more than average is ignorant of his play on the field.

He was our only good player on the D-line last season.

(05-23-2015, 03:29 PM)Nate (formerly eliminate08) Wrote:
Dunlap is a fine pass rusher, one of the best in the league. If he would of finished tackles last
year he could of had 15+ sacks. He just needs to learn to finish once he gets to the QB.

To say Dunlap isn't anything more than average is ignorant of his play on the field.

He was our only good player on the D-line last season.

He could have had 15+... but he had 8. So no, that doesn't make me ignorant of his play, it means he needs to improve on certain aspects of his game to become an upper echelon pass rusher. He certainly isn't top 5 in the league like you seem to think. He hasn't even hit 10 sacks once in his career. He is a good player, don't get me wrong, certainly not a problem on the team, but we all know he can play up to that 15 sack potential and hasn't yet!

People are too hung up on sacks. Our pass defense was great last year. Third fewest tds. Third most interceptions. Third lowest passer rating.

I agree we need to improve our pass rush, but it won't improve our team that much when we already have an elite pass defense.

(05-24-2015, 06:47 PM)fredtoast Wrote: People are too hung up on sacks.  Our pass defense was great last year.  Third fewest tds.  Third most interceptions.  Third lowest passer rating.

I agree we need to improve our pass rush, but it won't improve our team that much when we already have an elite pass defense.

I agree that sacks can be overvalued but to only have 20 sacks in todays NFL is absurdly bad. Also the more pressure we can apply to Qb the better it is for our guys in coverage.

(05-24-2015, 06:57 PM)J24 Wrote: I agree that sacks can be overvalued but to only have 20 sacks in todays NFL is absurdly bad. Also the more pressure we can apply to Qb the better it is for our guys in coverage.

I agree 100%, but the fact is that since we were already an elite pas defense we are not going to improve significantly just due to more sacks.

It would be like replacing AJ with Calvin Johnson. It would improve the team, but not very much because we were already very good at that spot.

Bengals have A LOT of needs greater than improving our pass defense. Our pass defense was by far the strongest part of our team last year.

(05-22-2015, 03:49 PM)nathan3748 Wrote: I dont know if its me or what but I think Bengals need a better MLB Rey Maualuga hasnt really played that well sure his average but average doesnt win playoffs right now Bengals are pretty good at all other positions as far i can tell well maybe QB but Andy is still getting the team to the Playoffs he just needs more help on the defense side they might can use some help at WR just for Depth because  right now they only have 3 good wrs in Green Jones and Sanu and they need a good backupmtomstep in if one of them gets injured they drafted Mario but with im being under 6 feet he won't be able to get over most defenders to get the ball. But no matter how you look at it the Bengals are just missing the 1 key player that will open the door for them to win a few playoff games or even a Super Bowl.


What do you think the Bengals need to win a playoff game or Super Bowl

A better QB. A MLB upgrade. A couple pass rushers. A DT to replace Peko, or at least limit his snaps. More WR depth. A 3rd safety upgrade. A fiery, accountable leader. Someone to actually implement 2nd half adjustments in Playoff games.

(05-24-2015, 07:18 PM)fredtoast Wrote: I agree 100%, but the fact is that since we were already an elite pas defense we are not going to improve significantly just due to more sacks.

It would be like replacing AJ with Calvin Johnson.  It would improve the team, but not very much because we were already very good at that spot.

Bengals have A LOT of needs greater than improving our pass defense.  Our pass defense was by far the strongest part of our team last year.

The converse is that the pass defense was only great because the run defense was absolutely terrible. Never say no to more pressure on the QB. More pressure begat turnovers, which begat better field position, which results in more scoring opportunities. More points results in turning the other team into a one dimensional passing offense. Which allows the secondary and pass rushers alike to feast. It's pretty basic football logic. You can't never have too much pass rush.

(05-22-2015, 03:49 PM)nathan3748 Wrote: Bengals needs

A serious dose of moxie sure wouldn't hurt. Neither would a heavy injection of self confidence, both players and coaches.

I see a lot of people pointing to injuries, but that really wasn't much of an issue except for last year. Doesn't explain the bad playoff performances in 2011, 12 or 13. So I wouldn't pick health as a something the team needs.

(05-22-2015, 08:59 PM)Benton Wrote: Mauluga does ok considering he's tasked with coverage and protecting against the run behind a line that has been hit or miss the last few years in the middle. And that's not really playing to his strength. He wasn't a 'drop back, let the play develop and then make the right call' kind of guy, he was more proactive than reactive.

If we fix the dt position, mauluga will have a longer leash to make plays.

Agreed. He actually played fairly well against the pass, which had long been his Achilles Heel. I think he is solid as a MLB, but he needs to be replaced by Paul Dawson and Burfict in the nickel package. I love AJ to death, but I am not sure he has the speed any longer to cover the TEs and RBs out of the backfield. The success of the nickel, and the ability to get a pass rush out of the front four is the missing ingredient on this defense. The "return" of the rotation, depth with Sims, MJ, Hunt, Clarke, Hardison, Geno, Dunlap, and Gilberry should help this team tremendously.

On the offensive side of the ball, I would have to say that the biggest thing that was missing was depth at the TE position with guys that are not limited to one skill. They also needed depth at WR with more ability to get separation. I don't know if Alford can be that vertical threat they have been lacking since Henry passed (RIP), but the return of Marvin Jones and James Wright will help.

As I stated in another thread, the single greatest deficiency of this team is an attacking mentality on both sides of the ball. Blitz more than once a game. Take deep shots. Attack teams. Don't play to avoid mistakes. Conservative play has shackled this team for many years.

(05-24-2015, 04:44 PM)GreenCornBengal Wrote: He could have had 15+... but he had 8. So no, that doesn't make me ignorant of his play, it means he needs to improve on certain aspects of his game to become an upper echelon pass rusher. He certainly isn't top 5 in the league like you seem to think. He hasn't even hit 10 sacks once in his career. He is a good player, don't get me wrong, certainly not a problem on the team, but we all know he can play up to that 15 sack potential and hasn't yet!

I never said Dunlap was top 5 in the league. He is probably a top 10 edge rusher though.

He could be top 5 if he lives up to his potential as you say.

That is not average, that is pretty damn good.

(05-24-2015, 06:47 PM)fredtoast Wrote: People are too hung up on sacks.  Our pass defense was great last year.  Third fewest tds.  Third most interceptions.  Third lowest passer rating.

I agree we need to improve our pass rush, but it won't improve our team that much when we already have an elite pass defense.

Pass defense was ok. The flip side was a run defense that as bad as the pass defense was good. And our pass defense got tested because we gave QBs time to get plays off.

(05-25-2015, 11:14 AM)SHRacerX Wrote: Agreed.  He actually played fairly well against the pass, which had long been his Achilles Heel.  I think he is solid as a MLB, but he needs to be replaced by Paul Dawson and Burfict in the nickel package.  

Hadn't thought about swapping out with Burfict. Would be interesting. And I honestly don't know enough about Dawson to have an idea how that would work.

(05-26-2015, 03:47 PM)Benton Wrote: Hadn't thought about swapping out with Burfict. Would be interesting. And I honestly don't know enough about Dawson to have an idea how that would work.

Burfict has always been in the nickel, and usually it would have been Lamur playing back there with him. I thought Lamur started well, but once the team lost Burfict, it was almost like they lost Lamur as well because he wasn't diagnosing plays well and was missing tackles that he didn't miss earlier in the season.

I think the fact that Dawson played in a 2 LB scheme at TCU helps him be prepared for NFL nickel. He covered a ton of ground, yet was always quick to diagnose a run or a QB scramble and blow that up as well. I think he would be perfect in our nickel. Maybe Lamur and Dawson will be the nickel package? Dawson and Hawk? That is, until Burfict returns.

In all honesty a Head Coaching change