11-04-2019, 06:39 PM
(11-04-2019, 06:08 PM)Bengalholic Wrote: They had a rough year defensively in 2010, but the prior year, they had the #4 defense in the NFL (6th in points) and the year after signing those 3 FA's (when Howard missed 15 games and Lawson had far less snaps) the defense was even better, ranking 6th overall and 8th in points, than the first year with them. While both were solid in their first year, I think you may be overvaluing their overall impact just a bit.
Howard and Lawson, in particular, were very Bengal-esque signings...and it's how the Bengals have almost always approached free agency (bargains and discounts) with few exceptions.
Howard had lost his starting job with the Raiders going into 2010, getting demoted to spending the year on special teams. That really hurt his negotiating power in free agency, which helped the Bengals land him on a 2 yr - 6.5m deal.
Lawson didn't quite get the interest he expected in free agency and settled on a 1 year deal with the Bengals.
I think Howard’s drop in production was because Oakland had switched to a 3-4 and Howard wasn’t a good fit which was why he was available to the Bengals. In my opinion, he was an upgrade over Keith Rivers. Clements was a down grade from JJ. Manny Lawson was maybe adequate in the run game, but wasn’t good at rushing the passer, and a liability in pass coverage.
