THE PISTONS Wrote:Maybe more.

The sad thing is...IF the coaching stays the same, Bates will likely regress. We've seen that happen a lot.

I'd say that Bates was the surprise of the draft though. He was supposedly good against the pass but a poor tackler. I'd say he was pretty good in both areas.

Safety is one position where I think we're ok. (Yeah people complain about Williams, but he's adequate minus some missed tackles here and there.)

Agreed on Bates he is one of the lone bright spots of this pathetic season along with Boyd and Mixon. Didn't think good football players could come from Wake Forest lol. 

(12-29-2018, 01:04 AM)lone bengal Wrote: Agreed on Bates he is one of the lone bright spots of this pathetic season along with Boyd and Mixon. Didn't think good football players could come from Wake Forest lol. 

Indeed. Agreed on all accounts.

You should post more Lone Bengal. You say a lot of things that I'd say.

When I go on my hiatus from posting, maybe permanent hiatus after the game Sunday...it will be nice having you around.

(12-29-2018, 01:08 AM)THE PISTONS Wrote: Indeed. Agreed on all accounts.

You should post more Lone Bengal. You say a lot of things that I'd say.

When I go on my hiatus from posting, maybe permanent hiatus after the game Sunday...it will be nice having you around.

Thanks appreciate it , even when I don’t post im in here everyday. I’m from New England so it’s good to get some perspective from Bengals fans, something I can’t do where I currently live. It’s the complete opposite over here every team is a serious championship contender. Hiatus from the Bengals is not a bad thing sometimes.

(12-29-2018, 01:20 AM)lone bengal Wrote: Thanks appreciate it , even when I don’t post im in here everyday. I’m from New England so it’s good to get some perspective from Bengals fans, something I can’t do where I currently live. It’s the complete opposite over here every team is a serious championship contender. Hiatus from the Bengals is not a bad thing sometimes.

I’m also a big Celtics fan. My god it’s the total opposite from being a Bengals fan. They have a great tradition, 17 champions, n every year they will sign a free agent or trade for one. They do what ever it takes to win. The Bengals. Not so much

(12-28-2018, 09:43 PM)THE PISTONS Wrote: Really, if you value PFF...all of our tackles outside of Geno grade out low 70's.

Billings will be like other players on the Bengals and have a career year in his contract year after doing little...sign a large contract...then regress to the mean.

Hope not, i want to see this guy become that dominant Vince Wilfork type next to Geno before Geno retires.

(12-29-2018, 12:38 AM)lone bengal Wrote: - The linebackers are terrible even when all healthy
-The defensive line was supposed to be the strength of the team and it was bad even when Lawson was healthy, plus he can't help in stopping the run he's a pass rusher only.
- 3 first round corners and they have zero picks between them which is embarrassing
- Zero creativity on defense

Need new coaches everywhere but damn is Haslett terrible?

(12-29-2018, 12:51 AM)lone bengal Wrote: Bates has some decent ball skills at safety, but watching the rest of the secondary try to make a play on the football is brutal. If I had to guess I would say we have dropped at least 10 ints this season ?

Bates was better than i thought he would be as a rookie and tackled much better than i thought.

I think he can be our future Steeler killer like Reggie was if we get a decent DC.

We really need to fight perception vs reality when it comes to the draft this year. All of us would love a plug-and-play linebacker or tackle to fix an obvious need. Reality is the best player available with the Bengals pick is likely to be a defensive lineman with as much quality as that position has in the draft.

Let's not fool ourselves to think that we're better than we are on the defensive line. The front office is a mess but it's their job to get this roster in position to take that defensive lineman if they are the best available player instead of a lesser player at a need position.

(12-29-2018, 03:25 PM)phil413 Wrote: We really need to fight perception vs reality when it comes to the draft this year.  All of us would love a plug-and-play linebacker or tackle to fix an obvious need.  Reality is the best player available with the Bengals pick is likely to be a defensive lineman with as much quality as that position has in the draft.

Let's not fool ourselves to think that we're better than we are on the defensive line.  The front office is a mess but it's their job to get this roster in position to take that defensive lineman if they are the best available player instead of a lesser player at a need position.

We are pretty good on the defensive line though especially when Lawson comes back. I could see us drafting an edge and a 3 T later in the draft but first might be slightly early for that. Although I will say I would love to get Dremont Jones or ED Oliver if there. Also love Allen as a prospect.

(12-27-2018, 09:05 PM)Catmandude123 Wrote: Geno has five sacks in two games. That means he has five in the other thirteen games. Carlos has one in the last seven. They had thirteen between them in the first eight games and only five since. Four of those five sacks since game eight came against the Raiders. When your top d-lineman disappear for half the season the whole defense is going to suffer.

Playing from behind makes sacks a lot harder to get.  Playing without Lawson hurts too. He didn't get many sacks but several of his pressures resulted in big plays for other guys.

The things that really hurt this team were:

1. Awful LB play.
2. Austin misusing our CBs.  They are press man guys and we played too much zone.
3. Horrible tackling.
4. Injuries

Tackling needs to made at first contact. Every great defense does this.

(12-29-2018, 05:30 PM)Jason_NC Wrote: Playing from behind makes sacks a lot harder to get.  Playing without Lawson hurts too. He didn't get many sacks but several of his pressures resulted in big plays for other guys.

The things that really hurt this team were:

1. Awful LB play.
2. Austin misusing our CBs.  They are press man guys and we played too much zone.
3. Horrible tackling.
4. Injuries

They were not playing from behind against Pittsburg and Ben threw it 46 times. Not one sack. Go ahead and make all the excuses you want the d-line was horrible.