The positives I see

[Bengalfan4life27c]

The D could be 2 or 3 players away from being elite with a healthy Reader and a pass rusher. Bates and Logan Wilson are playing real well. The Offense needing 2 more Olineman we are set with Burrow Mixon Tee and Boyd. Just get rid of Taylor and get a real head coach we could compete right away.

[Rubekahn29]

(12-06-2020, 10:07 PM)Bengalfan4life27c Wrote: The D could be 2 or 3 players away from being elite with a healthy Reader and a pass rusher. Bates and Logan Wilson are playing real well. The Offense needing 2 more Olineman we are set with Burrow Mixon Tee and Boyd.  Just get rid of Taylor and get a real head coach we could compete right away.

I think we need another fast WR. I love Boyd and Tee, but they are possession, contested catch WR. We absolutely need some speed. I think D needs some elite DL and it will improve tremendously. 

[Clark W Griswold]

“The D could be 2 or 3 players away from being elite”

Unfortunately those 3 defensive players would have to be Reggie White, Lawrence Taylor and Deion Sanders (in their primes)...

[*Nately120*]

(12-06-2020, 10:29 PM)Clark W Griswold Wrote: “The D could be 2 or 3 players away from being elite”

Unfortunately those 3 defensive players would have to be Reggie White, Lawrence Taylor and Deion Sanders (in their primes)...

Are we talking Tecmo Bowl Lawrence Taylor, or "main event versus Bam Bam Bigelow" Lawrence Taylor?

[BengalChris]

(12-06-2020, 10:07 PM)Bengalfan4life27c Wrote: The D could be 2 or 3 players away from being elite with a healthy Reader and a pass rusher. Bates and Logan Wilson are playing real well. The Offense needing 2 more Olineman we are set with Burrow Mixon Tee and Boyd.  Just get rid of Taylor and get a real head coach we could compete right away.

I'm sorry, but I believe I can find 5 upgrades to the OL. The team has added 4 OL this year (if you count Williams actually playing some) and the damn thing isn't any better and the same culprits still created havoc this season.

The D is a mess scheme wise.

There needs to me more than 2 WRs who can play. I see the need to add 3 new WRs.

 

[Tiger Teeth]

(12-06-2020, 10:43 PM)Nately120 Wrote: Are we talking Tecmo Bowl Lawrence Taylor, or "main event versus Bam Bam Bigelow" Lawrence Taylor?

Or, maybe he means the Madden Elite Lawrence Taylor?

[CJD]

(12-06-2020, 10:07 PM)Bengalfan4life27c Wrote: The D could be 2 or 3 players away from being elite with a healthy Reader and a pass rusher. Bates and Logan Wilson are playing real well. The Offense needing 2 more Olineman we are set with Burrow Mixon Tee and Boyd.  Just get rid of Taylor and get a real head coach we could compete right away.

I appreciate the optimism.

I think our defense is closer than it appears. If we could get an actual pass rush here and there, WJIII, Bates and Bell would be a great secondary core to build out from. We still don't really know what Waynes is so maybe he will add to that secondary as well. Alexander and Phillips are also decent players, especially in the slot, and could make spot starts as required. Our Linebackers are also not...horrible. I think Wilson has the most potential among the group, but ADG had a few good plays yesterday and could grow more as time goes on. Pratt is a mixed bag if I've ever seen one, but he's got the athleticism to be great.

I don't know if we're 2 or 3 players away from being elite, but I think we're a decent pass rush away from being respectable.

As far as offense goes, it's all about the offensive line. I really hope they take it seriously this off season because, as you said, Burrow, Higgins, Boyd and Mixon is a fantastic core to build around. If we draft Sewell and then land a Thuney or Scherff at guard, then we may be on our way to being a top 10 offense. We were averaging somewhere around 23 points per game with Burrow at QB, and 5 30 point games in 9 starts, which is impressive for a rookie led offense. With further development, I think averaging 25 to 30 points per game would not be an unreasonable result with Burrow at the helm, which would put us right up there in the top half of the league.

If we get rid of the coaches and get some legitimate talent there, who knows, we may be 2021's versions of the 2020 Miami Dolphins.

[bengaloo]

We have a lot of positives. We have a solid young team with a lot of talent. We just dont have the kind of coaches who know how to get the best of them. A really good coaching staff could've done way more with this roster than our lame ducks have done.

[*ochocincos*]

(12-06-2020, 10:07 PM)Bengalfan4life27c Wrote: The D could be 2 or 3 players away from being elite with a healthy Reader and a pass rusher. Bates and Logan Wilson are playing real well. The Offense needing 2 more Olineman we are set with Burrow Mixon Tee and Boyd.  Just get rid of Taylor and get a real head coach we could compete right away.

This is assuming WJ3 and Lawson are kept, right?
Even if so, Reader isn't going to make that much different without more pass rushers. He's not a pass rushing specialist. The most total pressures he's had in a season was 12, which was last year. For comparison, Andrew Billings had 13 in 2018. So Reader is really just a prototypical run-stuffing DT.
Having Waynes healthy would help coverage compared to all the other guys they are putting outside opposite of WJ3, but he's not a stellar guy in coverage either.

Realistically, the Bengals need another edge rusher and interior rusher, probably another LB if they keep WJ3 and Lawson. But even then, they aren't going to be "elite."
Their LB performance is just terrible overall.
They might be in the 10-20 range, which is an improvement over what they have been, and is sufficient if the offense can be Top 10.

What this defense really needs to do is implement a more aggressive scheme that more often sends 5 rushing the passer.