HOW ARE BENGALS LOOKING AT LB ?

[kevin]

This is an honest question. How are our Linebackers compared to other teams ? I ask because I see no LB signings yet.

Bengals.com shows they have Marcus Bailey, Akeem Davis-Gaither, Germaine Pratt, Logan Wilson. Do those 4 sound like NFL teams fear taking the field against these monsters ? OR does this sound like swiss cheese defense ? YOUR CALL.

[CJD]

The linebacking corp 2021 may be the same story as the offensive line 2020.

The coaches will probably say "No, our young guys developed SO much over the off season. You'll see. We don't need to draft or sign anyone. Our young guys are going to surprise you."

Then they'll be below average to awful and we'll look foolish.

The one bright spot in this comparison is that being wrong about the quality of your LBs doesn't destroy your promising rookie QB's knee.

[Au165]

The linebackers are fine. They will potentially get another late guy or veteran to fill out the roster as I am assuming we will see more 3-4 looks so we will only need 2 off-ball linebackers on the field at any given time. They are all young guys and the team has said they are excited about their growth. Wilson showed flashes at times last year and I think the others will continue to grow.

Off-ball linebacker is really one of those positions that you don't have to be great at to have a good defense, but you can't be god-awful. We should be good enough there where they aren't a massive liability that derails any success as we have seen in the past.

[lone bengal]

I think we need to see if the young guys can play the jury is still out. Linebacker has just been moved to the back burner in our minds because we have so many more pressing needs. Wilson has the most promise but he played sparingly last year we need to see more. Davis-Gaither barley played and might turn out like every other LB we’ve drafted in the middle rounds. Pratt has been inconsistent at times and it’s a big year for him heading into year 3.

[Isaac Curtis: The Real #85]

We suck at LB.

Granted, maybe the young guys take a leap. Wilson showed some flashes. Pratt is poor. ADG did not show particularly well.

[Au165]

(03-24-2021, 10:36 AM)lone bengal Wrote: I think we need to see if the young guys can play the jury is still out. Linebacker has just been moved to the back burner in our minds because we have so many more pressing needs. Wilson has the most promise but he played sparingly last year we need to see more. Davis-Gaither barley played and might turn out like every other LB we’ve drafted in the middle rounds. Pratt has been inconsistent at times  and it’s a big year for him heading into year 3.

Wilson and ADG both played about half the total defensive snaps last year.

[XenoMorph]

(03-24-2021, 10:02 AM)kevin Wrote: This is an honest question.  How are our Linebackers compared to other teams ?   I ask because I see no LB signings yet.

Bengals.com shows they have Marcus Bailey, Akeem Davis-Gaither, Germaine Pratt, Logan Wilson.   Do those 4 sound like NFL teams fear taking the field against these monsters ? OR does this sound like swiss cheese defense ?   YOUR CALL.

No worries we got an extra 6th rounder this year i think

[Nicomo Cosca]

(03-24-2021, 10:42 AM)Au165 Wrote: Wilson and ADG both played about half the total defensive snaps last year.

Are you sure you weren’t looking at ST? According to Pro Football Reference it was much lower.

Wilson (32%)

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/W/WilsLo00.htm

ADG (30%)

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/D/DaviAk01.htm

[Au165]

(03-24-2021, 10:47 AM)Nicomo Cosca Wrote: Are you sure you weren’t looking at ST? According to Pro Football Reference it was much lower.

Wilson (32%)

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/W/WilsLo00.htm

ADG (30%)

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/D/DaviAk01.htm

Ahh, you know what I was comparing it to the defensive snap count of Bynes but then realized he didn't play all snaps. 

[Forever Spinning Vinyl]

They fixed the LB position in last year's draft unless you're one of these idiots that thinks you need to have 11 All-Pros on defense in order to play NFL football.

The biggest defensive weakness at the end of the Dalton era was 3rd down receptions by TEs or RBs because for years they've had by far and away the worst LBs in the league. Those 3rd down TE and RB receptions still happened last year but at a much lower rate than before. Opponents could call whatever they wanted for the first two downs knowing that if they could just by enough time for the TE to make his first cut on 3rd down, they would have a fresh new set of downs.

Pratt is not going to be Ray Lewis sniffing out plays and making tackles in the backfield but he has considerably improved in pass coverage from his painful rookie year. Wilson is going to be a Bengal for a long time and they RARELY have three LBs on the field at the same time so ADG will have time to grow into the role of Pratt's backup. Same with Bailey as Wilson's backup.

Too many people live in "The Now" and have no vision of what could be, only of what they currently know. Unless the Bengals draft a quality LB that falls into the 4th round, 7th rounder Bailey is already ahead of any 5th round or later LB because he's had the playbook for over a year and he knows what a season of NFL practice is like. Regardless if he played against them or not . . . he's already prepared for the Steelers, Browns and Ravens twice more than anybody they'll pick up in the draft.

LB is not a strength, but it is no longer a glowing weakness. I'm not surprised at all that they haven't gone after a LB in FA. Let the young'ns grow into their roles. Look at what that same approach did for Rex Burkhead. He was allowed to improve every year without fighting off potential replacements every season and has become a very reliable NFL RB.

[Sled21]

Lou said Wilson will be taking over the starting MLB position this year. Pratt and ADG are continuing to improve. I hope they re[sign Bynes to help them. But the linebackers biggest problem last year was the Dline. Hopefully that is fixed.

[PDub80]

(03-24-2021, 11:03 AM)Forever Spinning Vinyl Wrote: They fixed the LB position in last year's draft unless you're one of these idiots that thinks you need to have 11 All-Pros on defense in order to play NFL football.

The biggest defensive weakness at the end of the Dalton era was 3rd down receptions by TEs or RBs because for years they've had by far and away the worst LBs in the league. Those 3rd down TE and RB receptions still happened last year but at a much lower rate than before. Opponents could call whatever they wanted for the first two downs knowing that if they could just by enough time for the TE to make his first cut on 3rd down, they would have a fresh new set of downs.

Pratt is not going to be Ray Lewis sniffing out plays and making tackles in the backfield but he has considerably improved in pass coverage from his painful rookie year. Wilson is going to be a Bengal for a long time and they RARELY have three LBs on the field at the same time so ADG will have time to grow into the role of Pratt's backup. Same with Bailey as Wilson's backup.

Too many people live in "The Now" and have no vision of what could be, only of what they currently know. Unless the Bengals draft a quality LB that falls into the 4th round, 7th rounder Bailey is already ahead of any 5th round or later LB because he's had the playbook for over a year and he knows what a season of NFL practice is like. Regardless if he played against them or not . . . he's already prepared for the Steelers, Browns and Ravens twice more than anybody they'll pick up in the draft.

LB is not a strength, but it is no longer a glowing weakness. I'm not surprised at all that they haven't gone after a LB in FA. Let the young'ns grow into their roles. Look at what that same approach did for Rex Burkhead. He was allowed to improve every year without fighting off potential replacements every season and has become a very reliable NFL RB.

Inactually really like the current Bengals roster at LB. Not sure what all the negativity is about. The LB position is now 3rd in terms of positional impact on an NFL defense.

[bengaloo]

I cant help but to think with another year under their belt and a DL that is somewhat healthy and stocked with better depth, the LB's will look better. We were very thin at both DL and CB last year. That doesnt help a group of young LB's. This year will be different, imo.

[*ochocincos*]

(03-24-2021, 10:02 AM)kevin Wrote: This is an honest question.  How are our Linebackers compared to other teams ?   I ask because I see no LB signings yet.

Bengals.com shows they have Marcus Bailey, Akeem Davis-Gaither, Germaine Pratt, Logan Wilson.   Do those 4 sound like NFL teams fear taking the field against these monsters ? OR does this sound like swiss cheese defense ?   YOUR CALL.

The Bengals have one of the worst LB groups in the league, but they are all young and developing. There is optimism for Wilson, Pratt, and ADG. We didn't get to see much of Bailey.

It wouldn't surprise me to see a cheap vet LB signed and/or a Day 3 draft pick just to fill the LB room for depth.

[J24]

I really like our LB core this year. Particularly Wilson I think he will be a star!

[fredtoast]

It is not dreaming to expect NFL players to improve from their rookie season. Most players do. So Wilsonand ADG should be better this year.

[grampahol]

I think, although whaddoiknow?, Baily will improve quite a bit considering he was coming off an injury in college. When was the last time the Bengals signed a college player with a preexisting injury? OHHHH..I remember.. That one didn't work out so well.. 

[Joelist]

I expect a Bynes re signing. What I would REALLY like is for us to drop the 2 LB scheme nonsense and either use a 4-3 or a 3-4.

[*Synric*]

Germaine Pratt flip flipped from his 2019 season in 2020.

When Pratt took over the MLB spot in 2019 he was a quality run defender having one of the highest run stop % in the NFL (2nd) but he was young and struggled in coverage like young linebackers tend to do...

In 2020 Pratt looked like a solid coverage linebacker but his run defense dropped big time most likely because the heavy rotation of new players that either werent in training camp or took a bare minimum of reps.

Defense is alot simplier than most fans realize.

[kalibengal]

(03-24-2021, 01:16 PM)Synric Wrote: Germaine Pratt flip flipped from his 2019 season in 2020.

When Pratt took over the MLB spot in 2019 he was a quality run defender having one of the highest run stop % in the NFL (2nd) but he was young and struggled in coverage like young linebackers tend to do...

In 2020 Pratt looked like a solid coverage linebacker but his run defense dropped big time most likely because the heavy rotation of new players that either werent in training camp or took a bare minimum of reps.

Defense is alot simplier than most fans realize.

I like our youngins and I think Wilson will develop into a long time starter. As for ADG, Im not as down on him as most are on this board. HIs speed and coverage skills flashed at times and he showed he can be a effective blitzer in the right scheme. I do however think we need to either resign Bynes or another savy VET Alpha Dog LB.  IMO