Carlos Dunlap talking like he is no longer the starter at DE. Sounding quite frustrated here on Zoom.

— Paul Dehner Jr. (@pauldehnerjr) October 8, 2020

 

Carlos Dunlap says the depth chart has shifted and he's not starting this week. #Bengals
"We've got a good gameplan. I'd like to be a part of it."

— Jay Morrison (@JayMorrisonATH) October 8, 2020

 

Dunlap said: "You would think common decency would be something like that. ... Evidently I didn't make enough tackles in the run game." #Bengals

— Laurel Pfahler (@LaurelPfahler) October 8, 2020

Carlos Dunlap on Bengals defense: "I have to figure out the madness that they are doing." #Bengals

— Tyler Dragon (@TheTylerDragon) October 8, 2020

(10-08-2020, 02:28 PM)Bengalholic Wrote:

Carlos Dunlap talking like he is no longer the starter at DE. Sounding quite frustrated here on Zoom.

— Paul Dehner Jr. (@pauldehnerjr) October 8, 2020

 

Carlos Dunlap says the depth chart has shifted and he's not starting this week. #Bengals
"We've got a good gameplan. I'd like to be a part of it."

— Jay Morrison (@JayMorrisonATH) October 8, 2020

 

I'm all for it. Carl Lawson is playing at a really high level right now and if he proves himself he and Sam Hubbard are the future. Dunlap almost was traded last year from what I was told, I could see a team like Dallas or Seattle looking to add him before the deadline.

But but... everyone says he’s a PFF superstar when you criticize Dunlap and PFF is always right !

(10-08-2020, 02:30 PM)lone bengal Wrote: But but...  everyone says he’s a PFF superstar when you criticize Dunlap  and PFF is always right !

He is a 55 on PFF, not sure who is saying he is a superstar.

Dunlap has been a very good player for us for a long time, but he is getting older and Lawson seems to be playing at a higher level this year. This could end up being better for both of them and the entire defense. Coming in with fresh legs as primarily a pass rusher might actually help him. He aint no spring chicken at this point. I'm sure its frustrating, but this is the NFL. Youth eventually wins out over the older vets.

Bengals don’t know how to demote vets.

you don't put in the effort at practice and it comes back to bite you. Carlos is one of the best when he wants to be. But, he has always been inconsistant

Perhaps they felt like Dunlap might need this for some motivation. We saw last year when his production was night and day the first half and the second half. Right or wrong, the motivation element has followed Dunlap throughout his career.

— Paul Dehner Jr. (@pauldehnerjr) October 8, 2020

He lead the team in tackles against Philly and was coming off a 70 performance against the Jaguars. While Lawson is better than him at this point I see no point in humiliating Dunlap by publicly benching him and honestly he still going to be playing a ton still; So what was the point in doing so?
All they had to do was tell Him that they are going to limit his snaps and this wouldn't be a big deal at all.

(10-08-2020, 02:31 PM)Au165 Wrote: He is a 55 on PFF, not sure who is saying he is a superstar.

And Lawson is like 70+ pff isnt he?

I love Carlos but its time to do something different. Maybe this lights a fire under his butt.

(10-08-2020, 02:40 PM)J24 Wrote: He lead the team in tackles against Philly and was coming off a 70 performance against the Jaguars. While Lawson is better than him at this point I see no point in humiliating Dunlap by publicly benching him and honestly he still going to be playing a ton still; So what was the point in doing so?
All they had to do was tell Him that they are going to limit his snaps and this wouldn't be a big deal at all.

we've only heard one side of the story.  Maybe, they've been warning him all along and this is the culmination of it

(10-08-2020, 02:35 PM)THE Bigzoman Wrote: Bengals don’t know how to demote vets.

Maybe Carlos is aware now that Lawson and Hubbard are out performing him he will kick it up and stop loafing. Not sure it's the Bengals job to hold his hand or any other vets for that matter.

Dunlap has been hot garbage to invisible at best this year. Maybe he should stop crying and try to play better.

So one thought I had, I saw Dunlap say "They got a great gameplan for stopping the run this week, I just wish I was part of it". I wonder with Geno back (potentially) if we could see a more tradiional 3-4 look standing Hubbard and Lawson up to play more of an outside contain on Jackson with Covington/Rader/Geno playing as the down linemen? To me the timing of this seems interesting coming off the team performance last week, which makes me wonder if it is schematical as much as performance. He mentions he will still be a 3rd down rusher, which is most likely from a more traditional four man front.

(10-08-2020, 02:31 PM)Au165 Wrote: He is a 55 on PFF, not sure who is saying he is a superstar.

When some fans criticized him for not playing well some people referred to his great PFF ratings from last season saying he was one of our best defensive players. Not saying he’s a bad player but he’s been somewhat overrated in my opinion. Had some big games against some bad teams but dosen’t seem to make big plays when we need him too. Big picture he’s not part of the future of this team long term.

They should trade him (along with Green, and Atkins), but they won't because the FO really doesn't know how to stockpile picks like a team who "builds through the draft". This won't end well. But maybe it's a sign of the vets not returning next season (and them getting nothing for them).

I like the move, but I don’t like how they handled it. Zac has been preaching the importance of communication since the day he was hired. Much like they mishandled benching Andy last year, I don’t see very effective communication happening.

As much as I've liked Dunlap over the years, I'm happy another DE has done enough to even be considered as the starter.
We should want young guys pushing these old vets, especially if the vet is under-performing.
For too many seasons we've seen the team having to rely on Dunlap and Atkins to get any kind of production. Michael Johnson too back before he went to TB.

Think of all the DL draft picks they made since Atkins/Dunlap/MJ excluding Lawson and Hubbard:
- Moch (bad)
- Still (bad)
- Thompson (meh at best)
- Hunt (bad)
- Clarke (bad)
- Hardison (bad)
- Billings (solid NT but not a great pass rusher, replaced with Reader)
- Willis (bad)
- Glasgow (meh)
- Andrew Brown (we'll see, but not there yet)
- Wren (we'll see, but not there yet)
- Kareem (we'll see)

When I first read the headline of this thread I thought Carlos had injured himself somehow. I guess if he's not getting the job done it's time to grab some bench and maybe start others in his place. As mentioned above maybe it will light a fire in him to play better but it could be a matter of "father time" catching up with him.

#Bengals edge rusher run stop percentage this year (run snaps):

Carl Lawson (58): 10.3%
Sam Hubbard (89): 9.0%
Carlos Dunlap (73): 6.8%
Khalid Kareem (21): 4.8%

Via @PFF, stop constitutes tackle for offensive failure.

Those would be your key numbers in a decision like this.

— Paul Dehner Jr. (@pauldehnerjr) October 8, 2020

 

Starter or not, you're still going to see a ton of reps as a defensive lineman on most NFL teams. To say he's not part of the gameplan seems a little misleading. I'm a Dunlap fan, and still am, but you have to imagine that this is probably his last year in stripes.