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The Bengals defense...
...picked off Matthew Stafford twice.
...sacked Matthew Stafford twice.
...had many tackles for loss.
...held the Rams to only 43 rushing yards.
...held every individual Ram receiver to under 100 yards — including Cooper Kupp.
...only allowed 23 points.
+++
This Super Bowl loss is NOT on the defense.
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Didn’t allow more than 24 points to an opponent.
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The defense played great in all the playoff games. Hopefully they can keep this squad together while adding another piece or two. Lou did a heck of a job this year.
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They came so close to blowing up that 4-1 on the rams last drive. This would have been a legendary performance if they had. To shut down mahomes and then this offense.
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Hell of a playoff run for sure
“History teaches that grave threats to liberty often come in times of urgency, when constitutional rights seem too extravagant to endure.”-Thurgood Marshall
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Yep, Lou killed it this year. I am stunned by how good this defense was most of the year and especially in the playoffs. Never thought he had it in him but that whole unit deserves a ton of props. They were the reason we made it to the super bowl, not the offense or Joe even though he played great in big moments.
We should be able to keep that unit mostly in tact. Add a healthy Ossai and maybe a FA and another rookie or two who can contribute and they could be even better next year. Feels like they really gained confidence this postseason even above what they had from playing so well all year. Just carrying that to next year will be huge.
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Logan Wilson- 9 total tackles (3 TFL) Despite BS call had perfect coverage on Kupp on the 3rd down play on the goal line.
DJ Reader- Is a man in the interior stuffed the run all day, added a TFL and a sack
BJ Hill- has possibly become our top FA to retain
Jessie Bates- Earned himself a decent payday
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What impressed me most about Amaruno was
1) the bengals d got better as the year went on and better against better teams. This is amazingly impressive. Does anyone remember the disaster against the jets in September. To be this good now shows he is a great teacher in getting his players to learn and get better
2) in game adjustments to completely shut down the chiefs and almost the rams. From a a tactical level his scheme adjustment to call the right play at the right time we’re superb. This is the biggest part of winning in the nfl imo.
3) the bengals d were just an amazing tackling team. Very little yards after the catch. He and his position coaches have really drilled in fundamental football into these guys and they execute perfectly
Unfortunately none of the above can be said about Zach Taylor as an offensive mind
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Lou and the D were wonderful. Zac and the O were anything but.
If you see something suspicious, say something suspicious.
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Our only "weakness" was the lack of a speed rusher. Whit and Havenstien are custom made to stop rushers such as Hubbard and Hendrickson. It's also why our DEs were so useful in the running game (they don't loop). Hopefully Ossai can help and I'd like to see us take at least one speed rusher in the mid-rounds of draft.
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