(05-19-2017, 01:51 PM)Nate (formerly eliminate08) Wrote: Hard not to be excited about this D-line man. Good stuff on Billings, he is a smart young man to go along
with his super strength. That is the thing, if they don't double Billings it will be a mistake and if they don't
double Geno it will be a mistake. Pick your poison, either way it ends badly.

Clarke played decent too in limited snaps last year. Hell of a rotation and i actually think MJ might be a
very good backup, he just shouldn't be starting on passing downs unless it is only for batting down balls.

MJ is just not a good pass rusher, but Dunlap, Willis, Lawson, Geno are all very good pass rushers.

Losing Peko and Hunt and adding these guys was great for this team. Also like the backups in Glasgow,
Tapou, Hardison, DeShawn for the final spots. Stacked.

(05-19-2017, 02:30 PM)HarleyDog Wrote: Would love to see the OL surprise everyone as you guys suggest. Getting super stoked.

(05-20-2017, 12:33 PM)rfaulk34 Wrote: I don't mean to be a wet blanket, but you guys (not just you two) are doing what Bengals fans do every year. The closer the season gets, the more distant the memories of the previous year get. 

Still got Marv. Still got Mike. I would only advise you to temper your enthusiasm a bit so the fall isn't so hard. 

Just saying...

(05-20-2017, 12:33 PM)rfaulk34 Wrote: I don't mean to be a wet blanket, but you guys (not just you two) are doing what Bengals fans do every year. The closer the season gets, the more distant the memories of the previous year get. 

Still got Marv. Still got Mike. I would only advise you to temper your enthusiasm a bit so the fall isn't so hard. 

Just saying...

(05-20-2017, 01:16 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: Nah man, we hit the History Eraser button.  We're good..

(05-20-2017, 12:33 PM)rfaulk34 Wrote: I don't mean to be a wet blanket, but you guys (not just you two) are doing what Bengals fans do every year. The closer the season gets, the more distant the memories of the previous year get. 

Still got Marv. Still got Mike. I would only advise you to temper your enthusiasm a bit so the fall isn't so hard. 

Just saying...

(05-20-2017, 01:16 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: Nah man, we hit the History Eraser button.  We're good..

Nah sir, i remember everything.

(05-19-2017, 10:45 PM)HarleyDog Wrote: Good Lord son.ive been searching this guys name for 5 minutes and couldn't find it. It's Tupou. Lol (at least I think).

From NFL.com:

Overview

Tupou came from a football family where three cousins have played or are playing college football and his uncle, Viliami Mauau played at CU and with the Denver Broncos in the 1990s. He almost lost his right to complete his football career, however, after being charged with assault at a campus party in Boulder. That action cost him the entire 2015 season. Scouts were excited to see him that year after he garnered honorable mention All-Pac12 honors in 2014 (29 tackles, four for loss, three sacks). He had dropped 25 pounds before the 2013 season, and he started 12 games that year (34 tackles, three TFL), just one season after playing through a sprained ankle with the extra weight as a true freshman in 2012 (16 tackles, 4.5 TFL). Tupou finished his career on a high note, earning honorable mention all-conference accolades again in 2016 by making a career-high 45 tackles, four for loss, and two sacks.

Analysis

Strengths

Wide as a house. Squatty frame with big, strong legs. Can drop a heavy anchor and man his area of the turf. Centers struggle to get any kind of movement against him without help. Space-eater who can post and eat up the gaps. Good upper body strength to fend off shoulder or hip-torque moves to tilt him off balance.
Weaknesses

Might be playing a little too heavy. Stiff and slow. Has extremely limited area of effectiveness. Can be slow to unhinge from his block and pursue the play. Lacks functional lateral movement to stay on the play-side of the run. Slow out of stance and gets hooked by guards. No pass-rush value. Lacks ability to impact a game outside of his small area.
Draft Projection

Rounds 5-6
Bottom Line

Does one thing and one thing only -- eat up space. Doesn't have enough reactive quickness or even functional movement to find himself in many plays that aren't right at him, but his size and anchor gives him a shot with a team who values pure girth for early downs.
-Lance Zierlein

(05-20-2017, 06:45 AM)SHRacerX Wrote: Hardison is kind of a forgotten man.  Really liked him coming out of college and looked good early last year, but just couldn't stay healthy.  He is, essentially, in his contract year as well.  A former fourth rounder, he will surely get his shot this season.

And I completely agree about MJ.  The drafting of Lawson and Willis proves what most of us on here already knew, MJ offers little to no pass rush.  A solid run defender, but that is about it.  

Cue the "MJ was in the top 80% of DEs that farted near the opponent's QB" arguments.  

(05-20-2017, 04:42 PM)Nate (formerly eliminate08) Wrote: Great stuff Harley, thanks for that spot on analysis from Zierlein.

I don't know if i want him to make the team honestly, i like my D-lineman to both stop the run and rush the passer.

Tupou cannot rush the passer, unlike Atkins, Billings, DeShawn Williams and even Glasgow.

Peko was a space eater, eh. Raji was a space eater. They are good for taking up space.


Hardison has talent he just cannot get on the field and until he does he will be forgotten.

Fred just proves over and over that stats don't tell the whole story. Watch the damn game.

(05-20-2017, 12:55 AM)The Caped Crusader Wrote: Burfict was the best linebacker in the NFL the last 9 weeks of the season...and that was him out of shape...look out NFL

(05-20-2017, 12:33 PM)rfaulk34 Wrote: I don't mean to be a wet blanket, but you guys (not just you two) are doing what Bengals fans do every year. The closer the season gets, the more distant the memories of the previous year get. 

Still got Marv. Still got Mike. I would only advise you to temper your enthusiasm a bit so the fall isn't so hard. 

Just saying...

(05-21-2017, 09:33 AM)SHRacerX Wrote: Your wet blanket can't douse my fire.  And don't apologize, as I completely get the tentative nature of so many fans.  It has been earned over years of Lucy pulling the ball away and we go flying through the air yelling AAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!  I get it.  It just isn't my nature.  When I am in...I am all in.  I don't know how to do something half-assed.  

(05-21-2017, 09:52 AM)HarleyDog Wrote: That Hore!

(05-21-2017, 09:33 AM)SHRacerX Wrote: Last time I checked, the Bengals were rolling at 8-0 and Dalton had a QB rating over 100 with Marv as coach and Mike as the owner.  What happened?  Injuries and a lack of depth at key positions.  Team is healthy, and better prepared for injuries with outstanding depth at key positions.  

Your wet blanket can't douse my fire.  And don't apologize, as I completely get the tentative nature of so many fans.  It has been earned over years of Lucy pulling the ball away and we go flying through the air yelling AAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!  I get it.  It just isn't my nature.  When I am in...I am all in.  I don't know how to do something half-assed.  

(05-21-2017, 12:16 PM)rfaulk34 Wrote: The last time you checked was a season and a half ago? 

(05-20-2017, 01:16 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: Nah man, we hit the History Eraser button.  We're good..

(05-20-2017, 05:49 PM)SHRacerX Wrote: Haha....you nailed it.  I am just afraid of the banhammer so I didn't name names.  Of course, you knew who I meant when it comes to defending MJ.  

MJ is a really, really good guy and was a solid part of our defense for some time, but he just seems to have lost a step or two and doesn't have much of an inside counter move.  He just (seemingly every time) takes a wide arc and gets ridden 10 yards upfield.  Just because the QB sometimes scrambles in to him after he was taken out of the play was luck not skill.

I have always said:  show me what you are made of when it matters most.  Geno hasn't always been one to blow up a guard and kill a QB at critical moments.  I love the guy, but if you look when his sacks come it isn't always at critical times.   One guy that always seemed to make really big plays at big moments was Reggie Nelson, but a lot of that was the result of pressures and he was able to make teams pay.  Dre Kirk has actually had some big moments.  MJ simply isn't impactful at the key moments.  Solid run defender, but that is about it.  I can't wait to see what this new crop of young, tough DEs/LBs can do on the outside.

(05-22-2017, 08:41 AM)SHRacerX Wrote: Ok, last year the team had Marv and Mike and they lost their starting TE and #1 WR for an extended number of games.  They had injuries to ALL FOUR TE/HBs.  They lost their best RB, who was also their best receiving threat out of the backfield.  They lost two key players from their draft before the season even started.  They had a new OC.  They had a kicker lose three games (two Nugent, one Bullock) because they missed chip shot FGs and extra points. 

6-9-1 isn't a record to be proud of, but if you look at Dalton throwing 4,250 yards and just 7 INTs with that squad, I am beyond excited to see what he can do this next year.

I know that "injuries happen", but if our kicking game doesn't totally implode, they very well might have made the playoffs which is increidble considering everything else that happened. 

(05-22-2017, 03:12 PM)rfaulk34 Wrote: Look at your post and then take just a second and realize that you have to make 14 of those excuses for Marv and his merry band of Bengals. One for each season he's been here and hasn't produced even a single playoff win. 

Fourteen.

(05-20-2017, 12:33 PM)rfaulk34 Wrote: I don't mean to be a wet blanket, but you guys (not just you two) are doing what Bengals fans do every year. The closer the season gets, the more distant the memories of the previous year get. 

Still got Marv. Still got Mike. I would only advise you to temper your enthusiasm a bit so the fall isn't so hard. 

Just saying...

(05-20-2017, 12:33 PM)rfaulk34 Wrote: I don't mean to be a wet blanket, but you guys (not just you two) are doing what Bengals fans do every year. The closer the season gets, the more distant the memories of the previous year get. 

Still got Marv. Still got Mike. I would only advise you to temper your enthusiasm a bit so the fall isn't so hard. 

Just saying...

(05-23-2017, 11:41 AM)Luvnit2 Wrote: TY for your concern. Since we are handing out advice, I will give some to you.

Negativity is a curse and living in a world of it creates more negativity and is counter productive to success. Focusing on optimism brightens may day so when some barriers (negatives) arise it is easy to get through it due to all of the optimism in other area of my life I remain focused on daily. In short, I am Loving it (LUVNIT2) and have no issues if my team does not succeed after a brief mourning period.