10-05-2015, 08:31 AM
There are definitely a couple of things to look at here.
On one hand, as some have said already, the fact that we're doing very well in scoring defense is great and technically that's what matters at the end of a football game. You don't lose for giving up more yards if you have more points on the scoreboard.
However, I do believe there are some things to be concerned about. We need Iloka back at 100%. Reggie hasn't been playing at his usual level this season. Our LBs are still liabilities in coverage (for the most part). I'm not really worried about our CBs as much as some are, people need to realize that every CB in the league gets burned at some point, and it doesn't seem like our guys are getting lit up more often than the average corner in the NFL. Look at opposing teams in the red zone against us, how many times do they take shots into the end zone on our secondary? They usually go to the underneath routes to expose our LBs the same way as they do to march up the field, but that becomes less of a weakness on a shorter field, which the Bengals have been doing an excellent job at stopping at that point.
As long as we're blowing out teams and winning games in the fashion we have been, it'll be hard for me to get too concerned with much on this team. The Bengals look great this year, the only issue seems to be the defense giving up chunks of yards. That isn't really an issue until those yards start turning into too many points, which can definitely happen, but I won't be too upset until it does happen.
On one hand, as some have said already, the fact that we're doing very well in scoring defense is great and technically that's what matters at the end of a football game. You don't lose for giving up more yards if you have more points on the scoreboard.
However, I do believe there are some things to be concerned about. We need Iloka back at 100%. Reggie hasn't been playing at his usual level this season. Our LBs are still liabilities in coverage (for the most part). I'm not really worried about our CBs as much as some are, people need to realize that every CB in the league gets burned at some point, and it doesn't seem like our guys are getting lit up more often than the average corner in the NFL. Look at opposing teams in the red zone against us, how many times do they take shots into the end zone on our secondary? They usually go to the underneath routes to expose our LBs the same way as they do to march up the field, but that becomes less of a weakness on a shorter field, which the Bengals have been doing an excellent job at stopping at that point.
As long as we're blowing out teams and winning games in the fashion we have been, it'll be hard for me to get too concerned with much on this team. The Bengals look great this year, the only issue seems to be the defense giving up chunks of yards. That isn't really an issue until those yards start turning into too many points, which can definitely happen, but I won't be too upset until it does happen.
