12-26-2023, 11:56 AM
I have no idea how to fix this quickly other than adding talent. They've been pumping early picks into this defense for two straight drafts. This has come with a modicum of success, but something is lacking. I feel that they need to focus on the middle of the defense rather than the periphery. A strong up the middle defense, ie DT, MLB and safety seems to trickle to other parts of the unit.
This is all very non-expert opinion, but something I've always thought. Just look at last year. You had Reader, Wilson and the best safety tandem in the league up the middle. Hard to do better than that. They proceeded to lose their best corner in Awuzie, trot out Eli Apple and a green rookie in CTB, and have incredible success in the second half. Pass rush basically comes from one guy consistently in Trey, yet they get by with it. Hubbard and Murphy as well as Hill and briefly Ossai had their moments, but none are consistent threats to rack up sacks. Not yet for Murphy anyway.
Despite the previous paragraph, the defense still carried this team through some of the best regular season and postseason runs in it's history. All with really just one elite player in Hendrickson on the periphery,
They need to shore up D Tackle. Like right away, IDC if it's draft or FA. Reader has solidified this place in Bengal history in my mind, but re-signing him violates "the process". So did re-signing Bates or bell. I'm a process guy at this point, but maybe they need not be so rigid about it. This is especially true if no clear replacement is in place.
We've seen the consequences of the drop-off in safety play, and to some extent linebacker, but I don't think we've seen the full impact of the DTs falling off yet. We have one game without DJ and it was an absolute abortion. Oddly, they've weathered his absence well in past seasons, but not recently.
As for Lou, you kind of get into a nose-despite-face scenario. He himself foretold the impact of the losses of Bates and Bell. With Lou in house, Duke can help retool in a familiar system. If Lou leaves, how long until the defense acquires the personnel that a new DC needs to run another system? How to recent high picks fit under a new guy? There would be a lot at stake in that kind of overhaul, and I'm not sure it's worth the risk just yet.
This is all very non-expert opinion, but something I've always thought. Just look at last year. You had Reader, Wilson and the best safety tandem in the league up the middle. Hard to do better than that. They proceeded to lose their best corner in Awuzie, trot out Eli Apple and a green rookie in CTB, and have incredible success in the second half. Pass rush basically comes from one guy consistently in Trey, yet they get by with it. Hubbard and Murphy as well as Hill and briefly Ossai had their moments, but none are consistent threats to rack up sacks. Not yet for Murphy anyway.
Despite the previous paragraph, the defense still carried this team through some of the best regular season and postseason runs in it's history. All with really just one elite player in Hendrickson on the periphery,
They need to shore up D Tackle. Like right away, IDC if it's draft or FA. Reader has solidified this place in Bengal history in my mind, but re-signing him violates "the process". So did re-signing Bates or bell. I'm a process guy at this point, but maybe they need not be so rigid about it. This is especially true if no clear replacement is in place.
We've seen the consequences of the drop-off in safety play, and to some extent linebacker, but I don't think we've seen the full impact of the DTs falling off yet. We have one game without DJ and it was an absolute abortion. Oddly, they've weathered his absence well in past seasons, but not recently.
As for Lou, you kind of get into a nose-despite-face scenario. He himself foretold the impact of the losses of Bates and Bell. With Lou in house, Duke can help retool in a familiar system. If Lou leaves, how long until the defense acquires the personnel that a new DC needs to run another system? How to recent high picks fit under a new guy? There would be a lot at stake in that kind of overhaul, and I'm not sure it's worth the risk just yet.
