fredtoast Posted January 16, 2017 Report Share Posted January 16, 2017 Starting with the defensive backfield. I always thought that our 5th CB played at leasta few snaps a game, but in '16 Chykie Brown only played 2 snaps. Here are our top 4 CBs, Pac.........1058 (of 1087 total defensive plays) Dre..........974 Shaw.......618 Dennard..334 Both Dre and Dennard missed a game this year, and when Shawn Williams did not play against the Ravens he was replaced mainly with Shaw/Dennard. Fejedelem only played 9 snaps (of 68) at Baltimore and Smith missed that game with injury also. Still it is clear that we play 3 CBs on a large majority of our defensive snaps. We averaged 68 defensive snaps per game, so 2 CBs would account for 136 per game. But our top 4 CBs played 2984 snaps which works out to 186.5 per game. If Jackson is healthy this year where does he get snaps? Is Shaw big enough (6-1, 198) to play more at safety? Shawn Williams looked good in '15 so I had not problem with letting Neslon leave in free agency. I actually like Nelson a lot, but no team can keep all of its stars. Every good team has to let some older players go in favor of younger talent at some point, but Williams struggled a bit early in the season. The Bengals obviously don't have a lot of faith in our back up safeties. Derron Smith only played 102 snaps (43 in the Buffalo game where Williams first got injured) and Fejedelem only played 40 (20 in one game against the Eagles) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fredtoast Posted January 16, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2017 LINEBACKERS Dansby.......781 Burfict........674 (in only 11 games) Vinny Rey...591 Maualuga...326 (14 games) Vigil...........111 No one else had more than 3 Vigil played 75 of his 111 snaps the last three games when Maualuga was out. For a few years I defended Maualuga because he was not as bad asmany people claimed, but with as few snaps as he plays now he just costs too much to keep around. I also don't think dansby will return. When we signed him I thought he was exactly what we needed i.e. a LB who was good in pass coverage, but he was a huge disappointment. If neither Maualuga or Dansby return that will leave a huge hol in our LB corps. the other LBs we have on on roster (Flowers, roach, Dawson) are not rookies so I do not expect any of them to suddenly improve dramatically. Since 4-3 LBs are one of the cheaper positions to fill in free agency I could see us signing one or two. Except this time I could see us signing some younger guys instead of ancient stop-gap guys like Harrison, Hawk, and Dansby. I also expect us to use a high draft pick on a LB. It really is the thinnest position on our team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fredtoast Posted January 16, 2017 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2017 DEFENSIVE LINE DE Dunlap...........839 DE M. Johnson...831 DT Geno Atkins...779 DT Peko.............593 DT Sims.............408 DE Clark.............373 DE/DT Hunt........321 DT Williams........ 57 (in just 4 games 12-15) I'd like to see us get back to an 8 man rotation. Basically it was just 7 last year. We were incredibly lucky with no injuries to any of our D-linemen this year. Peko is another guy I defended because he was not as bad as many people claimed, but after a very solid '15 season he is starting to show his age. And we have veterans all over our roster, so we don't need him around just for his "locker room presence" (especially after that stunt he pulled in the Steeler playoff loss). I like the flashes DeShawn Williams but with both Peko and Hunt being free agents I could see us signing a free agent and drafting a DT. DT is another position that is not that expensive to address in free agency. The wildcard here is Marcus Hardison. It will be interesting to see how he develops and returns from injury. Michael Johnson was not that bad in '16. He did not have a lot of sacks, but he was very productive in many other areas (tackles, tipped passes, QB hurries). No way he is going anywhere. But I would like to see us get a pass rush specialist and have him split snaps with Johnson the way Geathers and Dunlap used to do. Edge pass rushers are extremely expensive in free agency so I would not be surprised to see us take one in the first or second round. Clarke is no star, but he will be back. He is solid as a back up. Hunt has been one of the most mocked Bengals, but blocked kicks can win games. If he is even half way decent as a third down rusher from the DT position I have no problem bringing him back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-Dub Posted January 16, 2017 Report Share Posted January 16, 2017 3 hours ago, fredtoast said: If Jackson is healthy this year where does he get snaps? Think of him as insurance for Pac's "situation(s)". Good chance Pacmeh misses a game or two, at least. He may not be on the roster, same goes for DreK as a free agent. How much WJ3 plays may be up to him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-Dub Posted January 16, 2017 Report Share Posted January 16, 2017 2 hours ago, fredtoast said: Peko Should've been in about a 60/40 rotation, ideally. Billings would've helped. Bring him back on the cheap so he can catch a TD out of the FB spot & retire a Bengal. As far as the WC game goes, the refs lost control of it when they ignored the hit on Gio. I still think if Marvin steps up there, gets himself ejected before his player does if that's what it takes to get their attention, it's a W. Hopefully they can put it behind them because it definitely left a mark this season. Suspending Burfict when the Stooler sideline is pulling hair... I'm hoping they cross the line in the AFCC game. If there is a line? Anyway. it'll be an interesting Bengals offseason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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