06-29-2021, 09:44 AM
(06-29-2021, 01:57 AM)fredtoast Wrote: He played like crap last year BEFORE tearing his achilles tendon in week 16.
Anyone who thinks our LBs are "garbage" should check out these numbers from last year.
Kwon.......667 snaps...57 tkls....3 TFL....1 sack....2 QB hits....0 int
Wilson.....343 snaps....33 tkls....4 TFL....1 sack....2 QB hits....2 int
I'm not sure what these numbers have to do with establishing whether or not our LB corp is garbage. I only see a comparison between our best LB and Alexander.
The fact of the matter is Kwon Alexander has at times been an very good LB. There's no denying that. Our team hasn't had one of those in quite awhile. He's also only 26 years old. And the Bengals depth at the position is poor.
Fwiw, here are the 2020 PFF ratings for Alexander, and the Bengals LB's.
Alexander - 58.6
Wilson - 54.7
Pratt - 41.5
Davis-Gaither - 40.5
Markus Bailey - 32.6
I don't put a lot of stock into PFF to provide exact ratings/rankings but I do think they can be useful in getting a ballpark idea of the level of play.So if you believe that Alexander played like "crap" then how could you come to any other conclusion than our LB's are garbage? (If he's crap then what are they?)
More importanty, there's no question 2020 was bad year for Alexander. He was coming off an injury in 2019, and he was traded mid-season. He also was right in the middle of a mega-deal, which may have affected his motivation. That's something that wouldn't be an issue on a 1 year prove-it deal.
Perhaps settling into a new system in the offseason, rather than trying to pick it up in week 6 will do wonder for him? Perhaps the fact he's playing for a new contract might motivate him? Perhaps he looks more like the player he was in his first two years than he did in his last two years? Of course maybe he's not worth the risk. Maybe the Bengals would better off pocketing that 5 mil or so and not even trying to improve the position.
PS Don't think I didn't notice you intentionally leaving out forced fumbles and fumbles recovered from your stats. I know you did that on purpose. But hey, you've got arguments to win.
