01-15-2024, 03:15 PM
(01-15-2024, 02:52 PM)BengalsBong Wrote: I said the same thing I do not see us changing. That why we need to move Dax into the slot to get bigger and faster at that spot along with Dax's issue at coverage deep.
We rarely play 4-3 and all our linebackers are either soft which get run over by small RB I have seen 200-pound RB truck our 245- and 250-pound starters they are weak. The rest of our backup LB are 235 or smaller. We need a guy that won't get ran over Ray Lewis played at 240 pounds he did not get trucked it is the man on the field. We need a thumper not a guy the jumps on their backs and drags them down like a steer in a rodeo.
We have been playing 4-2 zone so long every team in our division knows us like a book as well as most of the NFL and it shows by how many yards we give up every year this has been an ongoing problem for years we count on turnovers to save our ass because we cannot stop anyone on D.
Cincinnati gave up the 7th fewest yards last year. In 2021, they gave up the 15th most but their total was right around league average. Now, this year, they were awful aside from turnovers but this hasn't been a problem for "years."
The vast majority, if not all NFL teams run primarily zone coverage. You'll see different styles. Some teams run cover two as their base, some run cover four. Some run cover three, etc. Playing zone coverage isn't an issue. It's a personnel issue, and part of the issue is that the secondary was incredibly young. Cincinnati had four starters in the secondary that had less than two seasons of experience, two being rookies. You have to let those guys get reps. You can't just give up on Dax yet because he made mistakes in his first season starting.
There are two issues in my eyes - the youth in the secondary and personnel on the defensive line. With Reader aging and having another major quad issue, Cincinnati really needs two new players in the middle of the line. Pratt and Wilson are both capable, talented linebackers but they need help in front of them.
