D-Line roster move

[cincygrad]

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Seems like a solid move. He's old and at the end of his career, but he can stop the run and is a good clubhouse guy (former Walter Payton Man of Year nominee). This is about the best you are going to do on the open market.

 

[DanBengalfan]

nice that he was available

 

[Cincyfan78]

Looks like the kind of move that should have been made 2 games earlier, IMO. I realize that Hill and Rankins just went down, but knowing you were going to be down both rookie DT's, it would have made some sense to IR Jenkins, IMO, and sign this guy. Then worry about the roster gymnastics once Jenkins was cleared.

I'll be honest - Hill didn't do much for me last year, and hasn't really shown much this year. I would much rather move on with this guy and then both rookie DT's going forward....Hill is a nice rotational piece, but I think he's been over used the past year+ and that has driven his value down quite a bit.

 

[cincygrad]

Looks like the kind of move that should have been made 2 games earlier, IMO. I realize that Hill and Rankins just went down, but knowing you were going to be down both rookie DT's, it would have made some sense to IR Jenkins, IMO, and sign this guy. Then worry about the roster gymnastics once Jenkins was cleared.

I'll be honest - Hill didn't do much for me last year, and hasn't really shown much this year. I would much rather move on with this guy and then both rookie DT's going forward....Hill is a nice rotational piece, but I think he's been over used the past year+ and that has driven his value down quite a bit.

To be fair to Hill - It's pretty clear that he is at his best in a rotation. His first year here was terrrific, mostly because he was able to rotate with Obanjobi. I don't think a guy of his size can hold up with that many snaps per game. They've mismanaged him and asked him to do too much. I'm surprised he has been relatively healthy.

 

[DanBengalfan]

if the redskins don't run the ball, they stupid.

 

[Cincyfan78]

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if the redskins don't run the ball, they stupid.

Honestly - I don't know why teams don't just run....KC included. Make the Bengals show they can consistently stop the run....

 

[cincygrad]

Honestly - I don't know why teams don't just run....KC included. Make the Bengals show they can consistently stop the run....

The issue for teams is the Redzone. Lou does a good job of limiting damage which has been his primary strategy against KC. The reason it worked for NE is that they forced turnovers and 3 and outs. That lets you shorten the game and put the pressure back on the other team. If the Bengals move the ball, score and force their own turnovers, a running team isn't going to win. That's the one reason I have hope with this D. Last year, we struggled against the run AND we struggled with giving up explosives. If we continue to make teams drive the field, win some redzone battles, and limit explosives, we may end up looking crappy against the run on DVOA but we may end up being successful.

 

[Cincyfan78]

The issue for teams is the Redzone. Lou does a good job of limiting damage which has been his primary strategy against KC. The reason it worked for NE is that they forced turnovers and 3 and outs. That lets you shorten the game and put the pressure back on the other team. If the Bengals move the ball, score and force their own turnovers, a running team isn't going to win. That's the one reason I have hope with this D. Last year, we struggled against the run AND we struggled with giving up explosives. If we continue to make teams drive the field, win some redzone battles, and limit explosives, we may end up looking crappy against the run on DVOA but we may end up being successful.

Agreed - if the offense gets going running becomes an issue because you have to play keep-up.

But NE and KC made the games much closer than they needed against an offense that wasn't great by continuing to pass when they were chunking the run. Yes, the redzone becomes an issue - Lou has been good with this - but you are almost guaranteed 3pts running the ball 8 times of 10 on a drive until you reach the 20....but I digress....

Considering a few changes this year on defense, the injuries at DT, and the lack of rush from everyone not named Hendrickson - the defense has played about as well as you can hope (outside of the 14 missed tackles in game 1). As long as guys get healthy, I think the majority of the issues will start to self-correct. Better rotation at DT will help both against the run and the pass, a return of Murphy can help with the rush, hopefully, and as long as the offense starts to get in gear and score points - it will force teams to match, which plays into what Lou likes to do.