05-19-2015, 05:05 PM
(05-19-2015, 04:00 PM)Hammerstripes Wrote: The big difference is where he was getting his sacks. In a 4-3, as a defensive end, you better be able to get consistent pressure and sacks. He was never that guy here, and not worth the money.
In a 3-4, his sack totals were pretty good, hence the reason why he was viewed as a better player in SF.
People always forget that they tried him out at LB and he didn't live up to the contract. When they moved him inside, he was much better.
Then why do so many people love Michael Johnson? Who is essentially a poor man's Justin Smith as a 4-3 DE.
His best years as a Bengals aren't on Smith's level, and Smith did it with none of the talent (Geno and Dunlap) on the DL to help him out.
Yet people love him.
It's because fans expected a 10+ sack guy from Smith and that wasn't him. Fan expectations and poor coaching ruined his perception around Cincinnati.
If they had used him they way they used DEs later on (especially under Zimmer) and fans had more access to his Mizzou tape, fan perception of him would be much, much different.
