KEY TO DEFENSE

[Essex Johnson]

No doubt with the lose of both our quality safeties in Bates and Bell how well Hill Scott and Battle will
Be a big key in having a solid defense

[Stewy]

Thank you for that in depth, previously unrecognized and surprise observation.

[*rfaulk34*]

(07-20-2023, 05:19 PM)Essex Johnson Wrote: No doubt with the lose of both our quality safeties in Bates and Bell how well Hill Scott and Battle will
Be a big key in having a solid defense

A good pass rush is a secondaries best friend, along with LBs covering their guys. Pressure on the QB might be a better barometer to how well this defense is since Scott is a vet and Hill is very athletic and seems to be around the ball a lot. 

[Essex Johnson]

(07-20-2023, 05:44 PM)Stewy Wrote: Thank you for that in depth, previously unrecognized and surprise observation.

and thanks for your very empty response. I feel not enough has been talked about with losing both.. some seem to think Bates will not that be as big as a lose but when we lost Bell, the communication hole could be really big besides just the quality of playing the position , plus we don't have much experience in the replacements and ive read some others think the Dline and Corners is more important area which surprised me . 

[Soonerpeace]

Assuming Lou can wave a wand and be great there I think is naive. I certainly have confidence in the safety tandem playing good but I’m not a buyer that replacing Bell and Bates is as easy as some think. Before somebody spent that kind of money on them they got thoroughly vetted. Now I think Dax will shine but he’s got little experience at safety in the NFL. But I think our pass rush will be better and CTB better than Apple. So that’s the good news. I’m not predicting poor play just a work in progress.

[Stewy]

(07-20-2023, 06:00 PM)Essex Johnson Wrote: and thanks for your very empty response. I feel not enough has been talked about with losing both.. some seem to think Bates will not that be as big as a lose but when we lost Bell, the communication hole could be really big besides just the quality of playing the position , plus we don't have much experience in the replacements and ive read  some others think the Dline and Corners is more important area which surprised me . 

Empty response for a repetitive unoriginal, already discussed 50 times in other threads post, that is nothing more than your continued attempts for attention.

Like responds to like.  You're an expert on posting nothing.

[jj22]

I think it’ll be a rough transition. Probably see more points scored on them and more blown coverages then we are used to seeing. They’ll round out some by week 10. And then the hope is they’ll continue to grow. Bares and Bell weren’t Bates and Bell their first year starting. So it’s a transition.

Good news is Burrow (fingers crossed) will have a full offseason/training camp and the Offense is and should be capable of starting strong and carrying the team this year and through the playoffs. It’s time for them to if they want to be great. Can’t sleepwalk the first half. Going to have to live up to the hype and score 30 consistently.

Take some pressure off the safeties.

[casear2727]

(07-20-2023, 08:52 PM)jj22 Wrote: I think it’ll be a rough transition. Probably see more points scored on them and more blown coverages then we are used to seeing. They’ll round out some by week 10. And then the hope is they’ll continue to grow.  Bares and Bell weren’t Bates and Bell their first year starting. So it’s a transition.

Good news is Burrow (fingers crossed) will have a full offseason/training camp and the Offense is and should be capable of starting strong and carrying the team this year and through the playoffs. It’s time for them to if they want to be great.  Can’t sleepwalk the first half. Going to have to live up to the hype and score 30 consistently.

Take some pressure off the safeties.

Bates is a good player but he was by no means a ball hawk.  His last game he gave up both TDs.  I was never impressed with his tackling.

Von Bell is a good player but he was limited due to his speed.

These two were not interchangeable which made our defense easier to read.

I'm excited about the speed and athleticism of the potential interchangeable duo this year and I would be shocked if it took until week 10 until they get it together.

[*SHRacerX*]

(07-20-2023, 05:19 PM)Essex Johnson Wrote: No doubt with the lose of both our quality safeties in Bates and Bell how well Hill Scott and Battle will
Be a big key in having a solid defense

Sure, they are younger, but they are all (except Battle) faster than Bates and Bell.  I think Dax having a "red shirt" year was great.  He got little bits of play all over the field.  I think Lou knows exactly what he wants from those guys and if they continue to buy in, they will be very solid in the back end.

For me, the most exciting thing about the defense is the depth on the defensive line.  Sure, your starters are Hubbard, Reader, Hill, and Hendrickson, but just at DE, you have an ascending Ossai, first round pick Murphy, and then a battle royale for the final DE spot, but a hybrid like Sample or maybe even Gunter or Basham will be fighting to make the roster.  

The depth inside isn't as strong, but still solid with Tupou and Carter.  Carter really impressed me down the stretch and has reportedly added some more good weight and will push for more playing time.

The best defenses have insane depth and rotation to keep guys fresh and breathing fire every snap.  The Bengals took some huge strides to becoming a deeper, more-talented unit.

FWIW, I could also still see them bringing in a veteran 3T for a mid-tier dollar amount.  Another last-minute trade a la Billy Price?

[XenoMorph]

(07-20-2023, 05:19 PM)Essex Johnson Wrote: No doubt with the lose of both our quality safeties in Bates and Bell how well Hill Scott and Battle will
Be a big key in having a solid defense

A big key to help these guys out... will be Long Sub stained drives by the offense to help keep them off the field

[kalibengal]

(07-21-2023, 09:07 AM)SHRacerX Wrote: Sure, they are younger, but they are all (except Battle) faster than Bates and Bell.  I think Dax having a "red shirt" year was great.  He got little bits of play all over the field.  I think Lou knows exactly what he wants from those guys and if they continue to buy in, they will be very solid in the back end.

For me, the most exciting thing about the defense is the depth on the defensive line.  Sure, your starters are Hubbard, Reader, Hill, and Hendrickson, but just at DE, you have an ascending Ossai, first round pick Murphy, and then a battle royale for the final DE spot, but a hybrid like Sample or maybe even Gunter or Basham will be fighting to make the roster.  

The depth inside isn't as strong, but still solid with Tupou and Carter.  Carter really impressed me down the stretch and has reportedly added some more good weight and will push for more playing time.

The best defenses have insane depth and rotation to keep guys fresh and breathing fire every snap.  The Bengals took some huge strides to becoming a deeper, more-talented unit.

FWIW, I could also still see them bringing in a veteran 3T for a mid-tier dollar amount.  Another last-minute trade a la Billy Price?

I think a slight under radar thing to watch is how Zach Carter performs , the fact they didnt try and draft or sign anyone and how he bulked up to 300#. If he can provide anything close to what Larry O gave us on inside pass rush that will change alot of things on the D and coverage. 

[Isaac Curtis: The Real #85]

(07-21-2023, 12:44 AM)casear2727 Wrote: Bates is a good player but he was by no means a ball hawk.  His last game he gave up both TDs.  I was never impressed with his tackling.

Von Bell is a good player but he was limited due to his speed.

These two were not interchangeable which made our defense easier to read.

I'm excited about the speed and athleticism of the potential interchangeable duo this year and I would be shocked if it took until week 10 until they get it together.

Agree. 

The new safeties have a lower floor but a higher ceiling. We have 3 extremely athletic guys + Battle (whose straight line speed is actually pretty good). There will be some bumps early, no doubt. I bet we figure a way to get Thomas on the 53 to mentor them. However, I think the CB position is stronger with Chido's return, more CTB experience, and adding Turner. I also expect Murphy and an improved Carter to help the pass rush. 

Plus, we will be less predictable as Hill, Scott, & Battle can all play multiple roles. 


By PO time, I think we will be stronger.

[*ochocincos*]

(07-20-2023, 05:19 PM)Essex Johnson Wrote: No doubt with the lose of both our quality safeties in Bates and Bell how well Hill Scott and Battle will
Be a big key in having a solid defense

It will take probably into the regular season before we start seeing the safeties fully adapt.
It's rare to see both starting safeties depart at the same time.
Luckily, Hill has had a year in this offense, which should help, but both Battle and Scott are brand new.

I'm personally not expecting they perform well in September, but I do expect they should be playing well into the second half of the season.

As others have said, if the addition of Murphy and the growth of Carter and Ossai does boost the pass rush, that's going to just make the secondary look better because it's less time for the receivers getting open.

[*bengalfan74*]

(07-20-2023, 05:59 PM)rfaulk34 Wrote: A good pass rush is a secondaries best friend, along with LBs covering their guys. Pressure on the QB might be a better barometer to how well this defense is since Scott is a vet and Hill is very athletic and seems to be around the ball a lot. 

Bingo

How well the Dline and whoever's blitzing disrupt the opposing QB is directly connected to how good the secondary looks, married at the hip. And it's not just pure sacks. It's hurries, hits, batted balls, moving QB off his spot, disrupting the timing of plays. 

I'm sure hoping, like others have said, our D starts getting more consistent pressure on QB's this year. The secondary will like it as well. 

[*Nate (formerly eliminate08)*]

(07-20-2023, 05:59 PM)rfaulk34 Wrote: A good pass rush is a secondaries best friend, along with LBs covering their guys. Pressure on the QB might be a better barometer to how well this defense is since Scott is a vet and Hill is very athletic and seems to be around the ball a lot. 

Yes, Ossai growing into a great pass rusher and the addition on MM would do wonders for our new Safety duo. Really like Jordan Battle
if Brick Scott doesn't play great coming off of the injury. Battle is smart with great instincts and I also like Tycen Anderson from what I 
saw of him last year. I think between our pass rush getting better and the talent Lou and our Secondary coaches have to work with we 
will be more than fine once chemistry is found. Should take a few games though, so the pass rush needs to help them out and we will 
need to score some points unlike early last season where Burrow was hurt and our OL was entirely new pretty much.

[sandwedge]

I think we could see 3 safeties at anytime. With their speed I could see Lou blitzing the safeties more.

[*Synric*]

I would like to see some of these Defensive Linemen they have been drafting over the last 3 years take a step forward in their development

Trey Sam and BJ have played alot of snaps the past couple seasons.

[*SHRacerX*]

(07-21-2023, 10:12 AM)kalibengal Wrote: I think a slight under radar thing to watch is how Zach Carter performs , the fact they didnt try and draft or sign anyone and how he bulked up to 300#. If he can provide anything close to what Larry O gave us on inside pass rush that will change alot of things on the D and coverage. 

No doubt.  Not sure if they will try Myles Murphy rotating inside as well.  I also think Sample might take a step.  He's progressed nicely and is a very solid run defender when outside.  

[sandwedge]

(07-22-2023, 10:44 AM)SHRacerX Wrote: No doubt.  Not sure if they will try Myles Murphy rotating inside as well.  I also think Sample might take a step.  He's progressed nicely and is a very solid run defender when outside.  

I think Sample is our most underrated player on the roster. The guy isn't flashy, not great, but is good at what he does, which is depth. You don't hear about him that much just steady and keeps getting better

[*Nate (formerly eliminate08)*]

(07-22-2023, 10:44 AM)SHRacerX Wrote: No doubt.  Not sure if they will try Myles Murphy rotating inside as well.  I also think Sample might take a step.  He's progressed nicely and is a very solid run defender when outside.  

Murphy is so strong, he could definitely be a force on the inside on passing downs. What a great pick.

MM will make an immediate impact barring injuries IMO.

(07-22-2023, 11:54 AM)sandwedge Wrote: I think Sample is our most underrated player on the roster. The guy isn't flashy, not great, but is good at what he does, which is depth. You don't hear about him that much just steady and keeps getting better

Yes, I forget about Cam Sample at times myself, but anytime he is on the field he is doing something good from what I have seen.

He is a good run stopper and a good pass rusher, just solid.