09-09-2019, 07:14 PM
(09-09-2019, 06:32 PM)Fan_in_Kettering Wrote: Oh yes. Lou Anarumo surprised me yesterday; I'm talking Piers Morgan watching Susan Boyle sing on Britain's Got Talent for the first time type of surprised. That defense! It was amazing -- and it's only the first week of the season.How far is Kettering from Olympia?? I wanna be invited to that dinner!
Most of you on here wax eloquently about offense: Passing schemes, running lanes, jet sweeps, screens, etc. Zac Taylor is well on his way to installing what may become one of the NFL's most explosive offenses but since I'm a defense guy, let's ruminate a bit about Lou Anarumo and the Cincinnati defensive staff because they came very close to holding Seattle to only two scores in their own house which is unheard of. Even limiting the Seahawks to 21 points at home was an impressive feat and the sports media has taken notice.
First of all, I saw tackling; you know, real wrap and-and-drive form tackling. Nick Vigil's stick against Chris Carter was epic. Let's look at run statistics next. The Seahawks had 72 yards on the ground. This is due to improved tackling for the most part but also due to the outside linebackers making edge rushes nearly impossible.
Stunts? What stunts? Prior to Lou Anarumo coming to Cincinnati I hadn't seen defensive line stunts since Mike Zimmer was here. The Seattle offensive line was banged up but what the Bengals did to disrupt their pass blocking with stunts was great. Russell Wilson was running for his life and the Bengals sacked him four times and hurried him more often than that.
Okay, the linebackers could have played a smidge faster but they are much speedier than last season already. In 2018 you could time their 40 yard dash with a sundial. The secondary is vastly improved already and they're going to get better as the new defensive schemes "gel."
Lou Anarumo is definitely creative. I saw formations composed of 5-2-4, 3-4-4, 4-3-4, 4-2-5, and 3-3-5. It was almost like Cincinnati changed defensive schemes every series and sometimes they would switch between plays. This is going to be exciting to watch as the season progresses.
So, if anyone knows how to contact Lou Anarumo, tell him Fan-in-Kettering will treat him to a big Italian dinner at Mamma DiSalvo here in Kettering and we can even speak Italian if he wants. Mamma DiSalvo isn't New York quality Italian food. It's better.
Seriously now, Game 1, Cap't Lou blew expectations out of the water! Hell, the whole coaching staff did for that matter! DL was beastly and the LBs where playing like their hair was on fire. The DBs were good for the most part, but there wasn't really anything to get excited about. Jackson had his problems and Dre, don't get me started, had his also.
