Q: What does it take for the Bengals defense to be a threat for other teams with potent offenses like Indy, Pitt, Cleveland, etc...? My other question is with all the young talent on defense, how good should they be?
--Michael K., Cincinnati, OH

MICHAEL: In honor of the late Tim Russert: Pass Rush, Pass Rush, Pass Rush.

When was the last time they had one that consistently struck fear and the quarterback at the same time?

1981, but hardly a man is now alive in Bengaldom that remembers that famous Super Bowl day and year.

You can have all the good corners you can get (and, yes, the Bengals haven't had many in the two decades since Eric Thomas and Lewis Billups), but they can cover for only so long.

The most disturbing stat that came out of '07 (right next to 3.7 yards per carry) is they were dead last in sacks per pass.

It's how they made a journeyman like Derek Anderson into a Pro Bowler and a benchwarmer like Shaun Hill into a journeyman. It's how they turned the up-and-down Ben Roethlisberger into a pure pocket money passer and turned Peyton Manning into an interactive Hall of Fame exhibit.

Heck, give Hillary Clinton time to throw in this league and she'll find a few more super delegates over the middle.

You have to hit the passer and the Bengals didn't.

There were reasons for it and you know them ad nauseam. The inability and/or inefficiency to blitz with young corners. The devastation of the linebacker corps. The lack of a huge man mountain in the middle.

But you have to give Marvin credit. He emphasized pass rush right away in the offseason and he followed through by getting one of the top pass rushers on the market in Titans defensive end Antwan Odom and hired a defensive coordinator in Mike Zimmer that has a rep for blitzing effectively out of three- and four-man fronts.

That said, it's a two-way street. You do have to cover and so you have to like the way that Zimmer jumped all over the DBs this spring to press and stay close to the receiver, and not give up the easy completion. He must have kept rewinding the tape of the loss in Pittsburgh, where Hines Ward kept running the 9.5-yard buttonhook on third-and-nine.

And that's not to say they haven't been coached to do it. The DBs have been a very productive group under Kevin Coyle and Louie Cioffi. In the last five years the Bengals have led the NFL in turnovers, and the DBs have been a big player in that. Maybe the coverage looks tighter when the QB is under the gun. But remember the two-way street. How many times have you seen Robert Geathers and Justin Smith just miss a sack because there was someone running wide open?

Zimmer's desire to blitz is why he is so intent on his corners playing bump-and-run, and although it's early, he seems to feel like Johnathan Joseph and Leon Hall can do it.

With those two guys, this secondary looks like it has the potential to rival the SWAT team of 20 years ago. Safety Chinedum Ndukwe has David Fulcher's size and Marvin White has similar range and hunger, so let them strap it on.

Certainly with athletes like Odom and Robert Geathers at end they've got some pass-rushing skills, but they're going to need help as they continue to seek the man mountain and a long-term running mate for Keith Rivers at middle linebacker.

They're not the '85 Bears. Or the '81 Bengals for that matter. But they've got more young and promising pieces than they've had in some time.

Of course, potential and youth in the NFL just gets you a Reebok deal. You need a lot more to get the ring.


*** Gold Star for Slobson - nice analysis. I could do without the metaphors, but he makes the point some of us have been making for 20 years...

"The American Cancer Society says uninsured patients are 60 percent more likely to die within five years of their diagnosis."

Old Hobknob must be reading heavy here on old MikeBrownSucks.com as even he is contributing to the off season political talk.

"Well, it ain't braggin' if it's true
Yes sir, yes sir
It ain't braggin' if it's true
Muhammad Ali said that
Back when he was a young man
Back when he was Cassius Clay
Before he fought too many fights
And left his brain inside the ring"

They need another quality end to rotate, another middle backer, and another DT (if Sims is actually good that would be a huge help, I don't see it happening).

"*** Gold Star for Slobson - nice analysis. I could do without the metaphors, but he makes the point some of us have been making for 20 years..."


Yeah, but he's still a puzzy. He sounds like Gretto in the fact that he really doesn't wanna call out team management--and still likes the feel of his head up Mike Brown's azz. Overall, I'm not impressed.

And calling Hall and Joseph the SWAT Team is hilarious. No friggin' way.





"So he got fired? Big deal. It's happened to the best of us. So he got kicked out of his house by his 400 lb'ed wife?!?!? That's probably better for him anyways."-OldSchooler on ChrisMBHater's absence

Falc,

Considering he is paid by Mikey, I dont think he will ever criticize Mikey.

Regardless, this is the first time I think Slob-knob has ever "criticized" the lack of a pass rush without some qualifier.

With this idiot, I will take what I can get. My rationale is that if Slobson realized it, perhaps (just perhaps) Mike-hole does too...

psych...

"The American Cancer Society says uninsured patients are 60 percent more likely to die within five years of their diagnosis."