06-08-2024, 02:00 PM
(06-08-2024, 01:36 PM)KillerGoose Wrote: It's been 11 years since Zimmer was here. I am not sure anyone is going to have a strong enough memory to remember what exactly Zimmer was doing. I do think that Zimmer's defenses were more difficult to face and I view him as a better DC.
My vague memory says this, scheme wise...
Zimmer - Played more man coverage and blitzed more often. Was more aggressive and confusing on the back end. Zimmer's defenses were more difficult to read pre-snap. They were also chock full of strong pass rushers. This is really all I remember without going back and watching.
Lou - Plays cover three as his base coverage, runs a substantial amount of single high in general. Requires a good center field safety. Not as aggressive, blitzes significantly less and attempts to force teams into mistakes by limiting big plays. Highly opportunistic defense, coaches players to strip the ball and hunt turnovers but gives up more yardage.
Very different styles, also likely guided by very different roster construction. I personally prefer Zimmer.
The Bengals d-line was a perennial joke before Zimmer arrived. He performed a miracle finding those d-linemen (MJ, Geno, Dunlap) and molding them into a top unit. Before him, the front 7 was a liability, even with alleged defensive guru Marvin Lewis overseeing things. The Bresnahan defenses were the things of nightmares.
