A lot of people have written the guy off, and rightfully so. This weeks game against the Saints is a 'prove it' game for Austin IMO.

If he can slow down the Saints offense ANY, it will be marked improvement from the first half of the season. It's weird to say this, but holding the Saints to under 31 would be a victory in my eyes for the defense.

Doesn't matter how they do it, whether they improve on 3rd down, or just find a way to cause some turnovers. ANYTHING will be a win.

I'm going with about a 6.7% chance this actually happens, BUT, it would definitely instill some confidence moving forward if this Defense can force at least 1 (please 2 or more) punts.

Despite W or L, what would be a 'victory' for Austin and the D in your eyes this upcoming weekend?

Honestly, the problems this defense has had - I don't know what's a player issue and what's a coach issue. I'm seeing missed tackles, missed assignments, and all around confusion on who needs to be where. It's almost as if Austin and the players are not on the same page.

While Austin really can't be truly blamed for the missed tackles (these guys are professionals for crying out loud ), his overall scheme is way too soft and ineffective. His scheme lives and dies by turnovers, and unfortunately it's not exactly working. We saw this a little over a decade ago with Chuck Bresnahan. I've been worried since the preseason that Austin was a Bresnahan clone and he's done nothing since then to change my mind.

The sooner Austin goes, the better.

The Saints score 34.9 points per game...keep them under 35 and I'll give a thumbs up.

(11-05-2018, 04:18 PM)GreenCornBengal Wrote: A lot of people have written the guy off, and rightfully so. This weeks game against the Saints is a 'prove it' game for Austin IMO.

If he can slow down the Saints offense ANY, it will be marked improvement from the first half of the season. It's weird to say this, but holding the Saints to under 31 would be a victory in my eyes for the defense.

Doesn't matter how they do it, whether they improve on 3rd down, or just find a way to cause some turnovers. ANYTHING will be a win.

I'm going with about a 6.7% chance this actually happens, BUT, it would definitely instill some confidence moving forward if this Defense can force at least 1 (please 2 or more) punts.

Despite W or L, what would be a 'victory' for Austin and the D in your eyes this upcoming weekend?

This DC is a marvin lewis clone,it will not admit he is wrong and thinks all he does is correct.Listen to this,there is NO WAY that the bengals will win this upcoming game,they are going to get super embarrassed, in front of their own fans; no doubt.Our team is just not that good and will not and cannot compete with top teams,and this saints team is super bowl ready and showing it. We have no pass rush by the front four,they are toast,billings and willis are not getting it done.billings I thought would be a stud,he gets pushed around big time.the nfl is so strong by the top teams,the bengals just cannot compete with them.I see and 8 and 8 season and it could be worse.

I’m not a big Austin fan but I’m not sure how to measure the x’s and o’s vs. lack of talent in the failures. The LB coverage seems more of a talent issue to me. There were many times that the D has been positioned well and have dropped easy interceptions. Throw in having a DT go down, LB’s go down, a DE go down, CB’s go down. I’m not really defending Austin but it isn’t all on him.

(11-05-2018, 09:44 PM)Circleville Guy Wrote: I’m not a big Austin fan but I’m not sure how to measure the x’s and o’s vs. lack of talent in the failures. The LB coverage seems more of a talent issue to me. There were many times that the D has been positioned well and have dropped easy interceptions. Throw in having a DT go down, LB’s go down, a DE go down, CB’s go down. I’m not really defending Austin but it isn’t all on him.

I tend to agree.  Guys missing tackles, lack of LB abilities, underperforming NT, and not finishing on interceptions while in position aren't really on him.

Those all lead to tons of yards given up and more opportunities for the opposing offenses.

Until yesterday, the Rams looked pretty much invincible. In the 1st half, the Saints had them so discombobulated that they were pushing/shoving, on the verge of blows. If the Bengals can keep them under 35, it will be a truly good showing.

(11-05-2018, 09:56 PM)BengalsRocker Wrote: I tend to agree.  Guys missing tackles, lack of LB abilities, underperforming NT, and not finishing on interceptions while in position aren't really on him.

Those all lead to tons of yards given up and more opportunities for the opposing offenses.

The Bengals have played against some major offenses so far this season. They've faced Ryan, Mahomes, Roethlisberger, Newton, and Luck (to be fair it was his first game back in a couple  of years). But that doesn't excuse their poor run defense. Until they can figure out a way to button that up they are going to continue to get shredded. 

(11-05-2018, 09:56 PM)BengalsRocker Wrote: I tend to agree.  Guys missing tackles, lack of LB abilities, underperforming NT, and not finishing on interceptions while in position aren't really on him.

Those all lead to tons of yards given up and more opportunities for the opposing offenses.

It’s really an ugly combination of things and it makes it hard to fairly look at Austin. Obviously though, It’s easiest to just point the finger at him. I was initially in the replace Austin during the bye week, I now think that it’s way deeper than that.

The good news is Burfict is out. We went downhill upon his return.

Spoiler Alert : He won't.

Only way we win this game is if our offense can score 50 and we might still lose.

(11-06-2018, 01:09 AM)Bengalitis Wrote: The good news is Burfict is out. We went downhill upon his return.

Having to trot out scrubs like Hardy Nickerson Jr who don’t even belong in the league is NOT good news.

You guys are funny. I ask for what would be a 'victory' for Austin this week and the responses are "NO CHANCE IN HELL IT WILL EVEN HAPPEN".

BLEAK OUTLOOK.

ALL I WANTED WAS SOME HYPOTHETICAL OPTIMISM!!!

As i said in the original post, very slim chances we see positive improvement. BUT, what type of performance this weekend would make you second-guess your notions about Austin. That is all I'm asking.

(11-06-2018, 11:10 AM)GreenCornBengal Wrote: You guys are funny. I ask for what would be a 'victory' for Austin this week and the responses are "NO CHANCE IN HELL IT WILL EVEN HAPPEN".

BLEAK OUTLOOK.

ALL I WANTED WAS SOME HYPOTHETICAL OPTIMISM!!!

As i said in the original post, very slim chances we see positive improvement. BUT, what type of performance this weekend would make you second-guess your notions about Austin. That is all I'm asking.

Hold the 3rd down conversions under 50%

Don't allow a single 3rd and stupid, 22 or something !

Don't look like the coverage is clueless on what they're doing.

If he has another terrible gameplan he needs to be in the talks of being fired

(11-05-2018, 04:18 PM)GreenCornBengal Wrote: A lot of people have written the guy off, and rightfully so. This weeks game against the Saints is a 'prove it' game for Austin IMO.

If he can slow down the Saints offense ANY, it will be marked improvement from the first half of the season. It's weird to say this, but holding the Saints to under 31 would be a victory in my eyes for the defense.

Doesn't matter how they do it, whether they improve on 3rd down, or just find a way to cause some turnovers. ANYTHING will be a win.

I'm going with about a 6.7% chance this actually happens, BUT, it would definitely instill some confidence moving forward if this Defense can force at least 1 (please 2 or more) punts.

Despite W or L, what would be a 'victory' for Austin and the D in your eyes this upcoming weekend?

1.) Sack Brees three times
2.) Hold the Saints under 40% on third downs
3.) Hold Saints under 300 yards passing

(11-06-2018, 03:34 PM)Jakeypoo Wrote: 1.) Sack Brees three times
2.) Hold the Saints under 40% on third downs
3.) Hold Saints under 300 yards passing

#1 seems possible
#2 seems unlikely but very slim chance could happen
#3 seems impossible!


If they accomplish this, it would be amazing.

The defense seems so reliant on Turnovers that I don't see that happening against Brees. Also, the Saints don't give up many sacks.

(11-06-2018, 03:34 PM)Jakeypoo Wrote: 1.) Sack Brees three times
2.) Hold the Saints under 40% on third downs
3.) Hold Saints under 300 yards passing

We'll be lucky to do #3 in the first half!!!