Maualuga playing better at 240 lbs

[EnglishBengal]

Don't know if anyone read (can't remember where) but Maualuga shed a ton of weight over the last few weeks - like 20 lbs - and it is not a coincidence that he is playing his best ball of the year at this point. Heck he even held up in coverage against the GIants well enough. But what gets me is why didn't the coaches get him down to 240lbs sooner (he's always been at least 250lbs), like when he first came out of college, he may have become more of a force sooner in his career as a result. This has been a bit of an oversight by the coaches in the previous years of Rey's NFL life imo.

[Bengals1181]

[quote name='EnglishBengal' timestamp='1352992015' post='1180893']
Don't know if anyone read (can't remember where) but Maualuga shed a ton of weight over the last few weeks - like 20 lbs - and it is not a coincidence that he is playing his best ball of the year at this point. Heck he even held up in coverage against the GIants well enough. But what gets me is why didn't the coaches get him down to 240lbs sooner (he's always been at least 250lbs), like when he first came out of college, he may have become more of a force sooner in his career as a result. This has been a bit of an oversight by the coaches for the previous years of Rey's NFL career imo.
[/quote]


I've been wondering the same thing. Guenther yesterday stated

[quote][color=#393939][font=arial, sans-serif][size=3]"I think Rey felt like he needed the extra weight in the running game," Guenther says. "I told him the NFL is going in a different direction. It's more of a passing league. You have to cover the backs and tight ends."[/size][/font][/color][/quote]


My question is, why was its Rey's choice to add 15lbs in the first place? Shouldn't that be up to the coaches and trainers? Aren't they given weight ranges they have to stay in?

[Squirrlnutz]

Somewhere in the same article it also said Rey had never played in the nickel package until Howard got hurt. Perhaps it wasn't in their plans for him to play there a lot this year so they allowed him to bulk up?

[Bengals1181]

[quote name='Squirrlnutz' timestamp='1352992731' post='1180897']
Somewhere in the same article it also said Rey had never played in the nickel package until Howard got hurt. Perhaps it wasn't in their plans for him to play there a lot this year so they allowed him to bulk up?
[/quote]

I'm still trying to wrap my head around that comment. If true, it means either 1) they didn't play a single down of nickel last year, or 2) when they did, they had no one on the field with the headset in their helmet on those downs, which I doubt.

[Squirrlnutz]

Good point, I feel like he was out there all of last year too I just took his word for it.

[Bengals1181]

[b] Maualuga gains by losing 20 pounds[/b]

[b] Lighter size, bigger results for Bengals linebacker[/b]

[color=#2C2C2C][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=4]
At first, Rey Maualuga didn’t believe linebackers coach Paul Guenther when he said Maualuga needed to drop weight in order to elevate his performance. Nearly seven weeks later, Maualuga and the Bengals are noticing a lot of improvement.

After dropping 20 pounds, Maualuga has seen better results on the field. Going into Sunday’s game against Kansas City, he is coming off one of his best all-around games, with 13 tackles, including 11 solo, in last week’s 31-13 win over the New York Giants.[/size][/font][/color]
[color=#2C2C2C][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=4]Said Guenther: “I think it is his best game since he’s been here. Certainly as (middle linebacker). He played some good games as a rookie at (outside linebacker). Overall there was very little error. He made good plays and covered well.”[/size][/font][/color]

[color=#2C2C2C][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=4]Maualuga has led the team in tackles throughout the season, but his play hasn’t reflected it. Before the Week 3 game at Washington, Maualuga weighed 265 pounds. He was also out of shape after only playing four snaps in the preseason due to a knee injury he suffered in the first preseason game.[/size][/font][/color]

[color=#2C2C2C][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=4]One reason Maualuga carried the extra weight since moving to the middle is that he thought it would make him more effective in stopping the run. It ended up having the opposite effect. He couldn’t get off blocks and was slow in reacting in space. There were also plenty of times when he was knocked off balance by opposing linemen.[/size][/font][/color]

[color=#2C2C2C][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=4]The game at Washington was another indicator that Maualuga needed to lose weight. With temperatures in the upper 80s, the fourth-year player was winded by the fourth quarter and had a hard time making the play calls.[/size][/font][/color]

[color=#2C2C2C][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=4]“I think that was 90 percent why he wasn’t doing things the way we wanted him to, was fatigue,” Guenther said. “You’ve got to get up off the ground, call the huddle, call the adjustments and play good. Now he’s doing it.”[/size][/font][/color]

[color=#2C2C2C][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=4]Guenther hammered the point home by showing Maualuga film from his rookie season, when he played lighter, and from this season.[/size][/font][/color]

[color=#2C2C2C][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=4]Losing the weight also became a necessity after Thomas Howard, who was the team’s leading tackler last year, was lost for the season due to a knee injury. Maualuga was going to be playing a lot more in nickel packages and was the most experienced linebacker remaining. With Howard’s injury, Maualuga and Vontaze Burfict are often the nickel linebackers, while Emmanuel Lamur and Dan Skuta have also seen some snaps.[/size][/font][/color]

[color=#2C2C2C][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=4]“Coach Guenther will joke around and ask who the heaviest linebacker in the room is now. Now there isn’t that huge gap (in weight) anymore,” Maualuga said. “It’s a different league. It’s not smashmouth. There’s no need to be that big anymore. I’ve still got enough speed and can be physical enough to be able to come down and hit someone.”[/size][/font][/color]

[color=#2C2C2C][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=4]With the lighter frame, Maualuga has looked better in pass coverage the past couple of weeks and has matched up better against tight ends and running backs. He has also been more vocal in practice after head coach Marvin Lewis’ comments a couple of weeks ago challenging him to be more assertive.[/size][/font][/color]

[color=#2C2C2C][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=4]Another thing that has helped is Guenther has Maualuga playing farther off the line of scrimmage. After playing close to the line early in the year, Maualuga is now 5-6 yards behind the line and can do a better job of reading and reacting to the play.[/size][/font][/color]

[color=#2C2C2C][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=4]Maualuga and the rest of the defense will be in for a challenge this week in stopping Kansas City’s run game. The Bengals are ranked 20th in the league against the run, while the Chiefs have the top-ranked run game in the AFC.[/size][/font][/color]

[color=#2C2C2C][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=4]They also have what might be one of the deeper running back groups in the league. Jamaal Charles is fourth in the AFC with 734 yards, while Peyton Hillis and Shaun Draughn have also received their share of carries.[/size][/font][/color]

[color=#2C2C2C][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=4]Charles has three 100-yard games, including last Monday in Pittsburgh, where he had 23 carries for 100 yards and a touchdown in an overtime loss.[/size][/font][/color]

[color=#2C2C2C][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=4]“Charles is very fast and slick out of the backfield. If we don’t get a hand on him we can’t have him running full speed through the holes and to the outside of the perimeter,” Maualuga said. “Their offensive line is very good and I kind of see out of them what Houston ran based on their line coming off the ball and block.”[/size][/font][/color]

[color=#2C2C2C][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=4]The last time Charles faced the Bengals, he ran for 102 yards on 24 carries, with two runs of 10-plus yards. The Bengals have allowed two backs to go over the century mark this season – Cleveland’s Trent Richardson and Pittsburgh’s Jonathan Dwyer.[/size][/font][/color]

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20121114/SPT02/311140107/Bengals-Maualuga-gains-by-losing-20-pounds-?odyssey=mod

[mongo]

[quote name='Bengals1181' timestamp='1352992202' post='1180894']
My question is, why was its Rey's choice to add 15lbs in the first place? Shouldn't that be up to the coaches and trainers? Aren't they given weight ranges they have to stay in?
[/quote]

I'd guess they can make recommendations, but not ultimatums on something like that. Rudi slimmed down, Carson bulked up, and Thornton refused to add anything but muscle.