Rebuilding the Defense First is the Key to Success

[Fan_in_Kettering]

(11-11-2019, 10:54 AM)fredtoast Wrote: Biggest mystery is disappearance of Carlos and Geno. They are healthy and they have dropped off too quickly for it to be just "age".

But Geno and Carlos just have to win moreone-on-one battles. They have looked bad this year.

Part of this decline, I think, is bad coaching. In fact, bad coaching is ubiquitous all across the Bengals’ organization. Fred is right on this point, though. Where have Geno and Carlos been? First of all, they get blocked by two people each a lot. The other lineman only require a single block to be controlled. The other factors I see in their decline include losing Domata Peko to Denver and the lack of rotations on the defensive line.

Domata Peko took up two blockers on every play and it’s not a coincidence that the Bengals’ run defense got a lot worse the moment he left for the Broncos. When Peko absorbed two blockers it was easier for Atkins and Dunlap to make more plays.

Remember rotations? Mike Zimmer rotated lineman in and out during the entire game so they would be fresh in the fourth quarter. The Bengals don’t do that anymore.