Markus Bailey

[*ochocincos*]

Bailey was doing well in college prior to his ACL injury that basically wiped out who whole final season.
I do think he did ok last year, now 2 years removed from his ACL injury.
I'd like to see him play more than 300 snaps on defense before I anoint him one of the guys who really solidifies the LB room though.
But if he does come along well this season, he could help provide insurance in case Pratt walks next offseason.

[Dr.Z]

(06-27-2022, 09:45 AM)fredtoast Wrote: He wasn't buried behind Bachie this year.  With ADG out Bailey played more snaps than Bachie against the Raiders and Steelers before getting injured himself against the Chargers.

Bachie did play well off the bench, but then he also missed the end of the season with an injury of his own.

I'd say it is a toss up between them.  I like the Bailey pick because of how well he played in college before getting injured.  But Bachi has a very similar story.  In his sophomore and junior seasons at Michigan State he had 202 tackles, 16.5 TFL, 3.5 sacks and 4 ints.  He was playing even better as a senior before getting suspended for PEDs the middle of his senior year.

I don't care which one wins out.  I guess I like Bailey better because we drafted him, but I got nothing against Bachie.

Pretty much my thoughts exactly. If I had to label one of the two as having a slightly higher ceiling it might be Bailey. As fans, hopefully they both make it a nice problem to have in trying to decide who’s better.

[Forever Spinning Vinyl]

(06-27-2022, 01:26 PM)bengalfan74 Wrote: For sure

I'm just hoping Bailey develops into what I think he can be and we have some decent depth at LBer for a change. A bunch of the last several seasons we've been bad at LBer and had little to no depth.

Hoping that's in the past 

Outside of Burfict, the Bengals have been a boatload of meh at LB for a long, long time. Easily their weakest "All-Time Best" of all of their position groups. Committing 4 draft picks in two years to only two starting positions pretty much locked it up for awhile.

Remember . . . just a few short years ago, almost every third down and medium or less was just a TE on a crossing route, a slant or a dump off to a RB. The growth of Pratt and ADG helped slowly turn that weakness into a strength before ADG's injury indirectly led to Tre Flowers earning TE Killer status.

[*bengalfan74*]

(06-27-2022, 07:41 PM)Forever Spinning Vinyl Wrote: Outside of Burfict, the Bengals have been a boatload of meh at LB for a long, long time. Easily their weakest "All-Time Best" of all of their position groups. Committing 4 draft picks in two years to only two starting positions pretty much locked it up for awhile.

Remember . . . just a few short years ago, almost every third down and medium or less was just a TE on a crossing route, a slant or a dump off to a RB. The growth of Pratt and ADG helped slowly turn that weakness into a strength before ADG's injury indirectly led to Tre Flowers earning TE Killer status.

I have no intention of getting a Marvin debate going, that's history. But for considering himself the LBer whisperer he didn't do very well picking them. Odell Thurman might have been a great one but..... Keith Rivers was ok until Whines Hard put an end to him. Maualuga was just ok. 

I'm not trying to predict Bailey is gonna be Zach Thomas 2.0. I'm simply saying if he or some of the others can turn it up a notch we might finally have a decent LBer corps with our starters and some decent depth.

[*Nate (formerly eliminate08)*]

(06-27-2022, 06:34 PM)Dr.Z Wrote: Pretty much my thoughts exactly.   If I had to label one of the two as having a slightly higher ceiling it might be Bailey.   As fans, hopefully they both make it a nice problem to have in trying to decide who’s better.

I too agree with you and Fred on Bachie. Always liked him at Michigan State and was surprised when we were able to pick him up
and he hadn't done much in the NFL. Bachie always stood out to me as the best LB on a very good Spartan's Defense.

When Logan went down for a few games last year Bachie filled in admirably. Good depth at LB, same with Bailey.

[Cat-Man]

(06-27-2022, 10:31 AM)grampahol Wrote: I don't remember a time the Bengals had 5 solid LBers much less 3.. I wonder what the odds all 5 make it through the 17 game season all healthy.. I think the odds are better that my coffee cup will learn the fly on it's own power, but I could be wrong..
I like em all..  I hope one or more rookies come through as well.. Hicks, Wells? Any ideas? both are CFA's..

Going all the way back to 2001, the Bengals had Brian Simmons, Takeo Spikes, Adrian Ross, Steve Foley and Canute Curtis.  Was that the last decent 5 man rotation?

[*bengalfan74*]

(06-28-2022, 02:37 PM)Cat-Man Wrote: Going all the way back to 2001, the Bengals had Brian Simmons, Takeo Spikes, Adrian Ross, Steve Foley and Canute Curtis.  Was that the last decent 5 man rotation?

Probably

We've had a couple decent years since then but overall we've been fairly weak at LBer ever since.

[Forever Spinning Vinyl]

(06-28-2022, 09:45 AM)bengalfan74 Wrote: I'm not trying to predict Bailey is gonna be Zach Thomas 2.0. I'm simply saying if he or some of the others can turn it up a notch we might finally have a decent LBer corps with our starters and some decent depth.

I was only comparing them on being undersized and reading the game well. If I said he reminded me of a Falcons mid-level LB you most likely wouldn't know the reference. 

And trust me. I'm THRILLED that our LB room is now up to average/below average and I am fully accepting of Bailey being a backup on an at best mediocre group. Any growth of the room after that is a plus after having one of the weakest LB corps in the NFL for awhile.

[*bengalfan74*]

(06-28-2022, 08:15 PM)Forever Spinning Vinyl Wrote: I was only comparing them on being undersized and reading the game well. If I said he reminded me of a Falcons mid-level LB you most likely wouldn't know the reference. 

And trust me. I'm THRILLED that our LB room is now up to average/below average and I am fully accepting of Bailey being a backup on an at best mediocre group. Any growth of the room after that is a plus after having one of the weakest LB corps in the NFL for awhile.

Oh I get it and agree. I was just trying to let the guys who go off the deep end know. Probably I shouldn't care LOL.

[mhbsavant]

For the first time, in a long time, I love the Bengals Linebacker situation:

Wilson: What can I say, he BALLED out!
Pratt: Stepped up, was disruptive, and you can count on him to be around the ball
Gaither: Speed backer, and if it wasn't for the injury, I think he would have continued to play well
Bailey: Also made some plays - formed DB, expecting him to step up a little more too.

[*Nate (formerly eliminate08)*]

(06-28-2022, 10:38 PM)mhbsavant Wrote: For the first time, in a long time, I love the Bengals Linebacker situation:

Wilson: What can I say, he BALLED out!
Pratt: Stepped up, was disruptive, and you can count on him to be around the ball
Gaither: Speed backer, and if it wasn't for the injury, I think he would have continued to play well
Bailey: Also made some plays - formed DB, expecting him to step up a little more too.

I watched the beginning of the SB yesterday at lunch. Logan Wilson made 2 great stops on the Rams first drive. This guy takes
great angles and tackles very well. Also Ossai could be playing some Linebacker at times and takes great angles when going after
the RB. Yeah, I love our LB situation for the first time in forever too. Great times. These guys are all young and will get better.