12-04-2024, 05:29 PM
(12-04-2024, 05:06 PM)Frank Booth Wrote: You see a lot of people bashing Lou because his 2 best seasons, 21 and 22, "werent even all that good".Most of us see it as an FO/Tobin/MB issue which it is. But ownership won't take responsibility. Not signing Bates mattered; poor drafting and development mattered. I don't know how you fix this except that MB "sees the light", fires Tobin, hires Bellichek as GM.
Yet I never see anyone mention that these 2 seasons were Jessie Bates' worst 2 years in the league. He even went on record saying his head wasnt into it because of his contract situation.
So those 2 years in the regular season, the Bengals got a compromised Bates. Bates played around or just below league average those 2 seasons.
And in those 2 seasons, the Bengals had the 17th best scoring defense, and the 6th best scoring defense. May I remind you that this was with Bates playing well below his standard.
Look at how great Bates has been outside of 21 and 22. He is an all pro caliber Free safety. This isnt even a question.
The 21 and 22 playoffs got those all pro version of Bates. Bates absolutely turned it on come the postseason. That defense turned into a juggernaut.
Now lets go back, people are bashing Lou's 2 best seasons as being sort of average...
How do those 21 and 22 defenses look with Bates playing uncompromised? Pretty damn good. I'd venture to say the Bengals defense wouldve been considered elite in 2022, and the 21 defense would flat out just be good instead of "little below average".
Keeping these facts in mind, the whole argument about the "underwhelming-ness" of Lou's best years sort of go out the window. And how does the narrative around Lou change if Bates wasnt playing it safe because of his contract problems those 2 years...
My final thoughts: I really dont know if this is a Lou issue. Now has he adapted with these downgrades? Idk. But I truly do think that it could be a long term mistake by firing him after this year. Thats just me though. It's a question that I cant even truly figure out. I get youre supposed to fire guys after horrid performances like this, but Im really not so sure.
