In defense of Lou's 21 and 22

[SunsetBengal]

Well, the Bates argument is a compelling one, but don't get lost on the idea that Bell was allowed to walk after the '22 season as well. Yes, I know that Bell is back with the Bengals this year, and is a mere cardboard cutout of his former self. However that does not change the fact that Bell was at the top of his game in '21 and '22. The defense went from having arguably one of the best Safety tandems in the league to basically scrubs, of course that's going to make a significant difference.

The question must be, why were the Bengals relying on scrubs and rookies to take over for a fantastic tandem? Why wasn't there at least one experienced Safety already groomed to assume a role?

Safety is just but one position, the same question can be asked of multiple positions on this team. My answer would be that either all of the guys they are adding to the team are lame and undevelopable, the coaching is incapable of bringing young talent up and elevating them to be all they can be, or maybe a little of both?

Either way, with Lou it's more than just the Safety position. What about all of the young DL and Edge guys that have arrived since he's been around? Why are none of those guys household names yet? Some might argue that Marion Hobby isn't getting his job done, and I agree. But why isn't Lou putting a foot in Marion's ass demanding better development of the talent that he's been handed?