5 hours ago
(6 hours ago)PDub80 Wrote: I am in no way upset at ZT. His team has lost 3 1 score games.
I think Lou should go. I have never been in love with this nickel based zone defense. The league seems to have figured it out, it seems way too complicated for the young guys, & the players he wants (Bengals have drafted defense horribly) aren't cutting it.... But ZT is very loyal and I don't see Lou getting the axe any time soon. And, really, for 2024 it's way too late for that.
The lack of development of young defensive guys warrants a change, let alone the absolutely bizarre games from the defense we've seen over the years.
I don't think ZT is the problem. I think the league has figured out his DC & Lou hasn't been very evolutionary on what he's doing. The sun has set on him.
This isn't really very descriptive, though. Every team does this, not just Lou. Nickel is just a personnel package that is ran to match three wide receivers (typically). All NFL defenses run majority zone coverage. Or, the vast majority of them do. It takes elite CB talent to even think about going majority man coverage, and strong pass rushers. Lou's defense has multiple looks they provide depending on offensive personnel. In heavy sets, they have showed everything from a 3-4 front to 5-2 fronts.
Lou is a creative DC on the X's and O's side. He has had some really good players, too. However, at some point, you have to have dudes on that side of the ball to make something work and the Bengals don't really have that right now. They have an atrocious defensive line outside of Hendrickson, solid linebackers and safeties that seem to be just a step behind. They have talent in the CB group. This isn't a super talented defense. When they were a more respectable defense, they had Bates in center field, arguably the best S in the league. They had a nice pass rush duo with Hill and Larry O. Awuzie was playing at a high level.
All this to say that saying you don't like his "nickel based zone defense" is akin to saying something like "I don't like Lou because he is an NFL defensive coach." You're going to see defenses running a lot of nickel and a lot of zone on every team in the league.
