Bengals bring back Maualuga

[JBandJoeyV]

Doesn't matter how many points they gave up. Houston drove up and down the field at will. They could have scored 40 points if they needed to. Houston dominated offensively. We couldn't stop them and get the ball back.

Not everything is about racking up a ton of points. It's about totally dominating and being in control of the game.

For a team that got dominated, we were one over throw from maybe winning the game.

Rey played awful that game. But If I recall a lot of the plays he gave up were 3rd down passing plays. If you get another linebacker or two that are good in coverage than Rey wont be in those positions, hopefully...

[Bengals1181]

For a team that got dominated, we were one over throw from maybe winning the game.

Rey played awful that game. But If I recall a lot of the plays he gave up were 3rd down passing plays. If you get another linebacker or two that are good in coverage than Rey wont be in those positions, hopefully...

 

 

and if you get a legitimate SS, you don't have your MLB guarding a WR in the slot.  A mismatch no matter the MLB.

[|SF2|]

True but as an outside linebacker you usually have less room to cover compared to middle lineband acker which should help Rey in coverage I'd hope.

Look, I don't have a problem with them moving Rey to SLB.  I hope he plays as well as he did 2 years ago which would be fine by me.  My problem is and always will be the fact the guy is INCONSISTENT as all hell.  He had a couple of very good games last year that gave me hope, then, he would have games in which it looked like he was trying to tackle Peko and Johnson by running into their backs.

 

I just want a Howard type player in that spot who doesn't do anything spectacular but just does his job game after game much like a Brad Jones or AJ Hawk do for Green Bay while Mathews gets all the press.  If Rey can do that at SLB, fine.   

[|SF2|]

draft posturing.  I think the Bengals are open to going MLB or WLB in the draft, and don't want to tip their hand at what they're going to do with Burfict.

 

 

I also think there's probably some legitimate concern about moving Burfict to the middle and him not being able to handle it.  Brooks and Maualuga didn't, and Thurman was a mess.  What they DO know at this point is Burfict at WLB works.

Totally agree here.  As much as I love how Burfect has turned it around, I have NO IDEA if he can play MLB at the NFL level yet.  Its been a long time since he has played WELL at that position, probably his sophomore year at ASU.   He is still VERY young as well and I have high hopes for him but its not the easiest position on defense.

[Jason]

How well regarded is Burfict in terms of the intellegence it takes to be the MLB (ie: being able to know all the assignments)? Never really payed attention to him on that regard from scouting reports.

 

He is considered very instinctive.

 

I also seem to remember Rey saying Burfict was further along than he was in his development, and at least 1 time Burfict corrected Rey on his alignment.

[Jason]

Totally agree here.  As much as I love how Burfect has turned it around, I have NO IDEA if he can play MLB at the NFL level yet.  Its been a long time since he has played WELL at that position, probably his sophomore year at ASU.   He is still VERY young as well and I have high hopes for him but its not the easiest position on defense.

 

I think they would know better how Burfict would do than a rookie they would draft.  I just don't see a rookie "quarterbacking" this defense.  I think it will be Rey or Tez in the middle.

[alleycat]

He is considered very instinctive.

 

I also seem to remember Rey saying Burfict was further along than he was in his development, and at least 1 time Burfict corrected Rey on his alignment.

What I remember, actually had seared into my mind, was Burfict, on countless plays, barking at Rey pre-snap to get him in the right spot.  That tells me all I need to know about both of them.

[|SF2|]

I think they would know better how Burfict would do than a rookie they would draft.  I just don't see a rookie "quarterbacking" this defense.  I think it will be Rey or Tez in the middle.

I don't think there is any doubt it will be one or the other unless Denver screws up again and accidently releases Von Miller and we sign him to a 5 mil a year deal.

[Jason]

The only argument I could see for leaving Rey in the middle is continuity at the position.  And hope and pray he gets better and more consistent.

[|kennethmw|]

The only argument I could see for leaving Rey in the middle is continuity at the position.  And hope and pray he gets better and more consistent.

 

Personally, I think they will move him to SAM, but you have to be sure that Taze can handle the middle.  If Taze can get everything down in the Minicamps, He'll move over. 

[HaydenM]

I'm just glad Maualuga is back.

Don't really care where he plays. I'll leave that up to the coaches. That decision probably won't be made until we actually know what other LBs will be on the roster next year. Then hey can decide what the best fit is for everyone.

Maybe find a good cover LB like Lamur and put him at SAM so our starting SAM can be on the field for more than 38% of the plays

[Squirrlnutz]

Loving how this thread is progressing, especially how some think we are actively getting worse by keeping him.  Not even remaining static, but actually getting worse.

 

We give up 400 yards in a playoff game and everyone of them is Rey's fault.  Like, every single one.  

 

How many sacks did we have in 2012?  Did we finish in the top 5 for the league? And we had how many in the playoff game?  But its all Rey's fault he couldn't cover anyone on 3rd down...which I'm not even sure they had any third downs?  Did they?  Rey faces the wrong direction and falls down if the snap count is too loud so certainly they managed 10 yards every two plays.  

 

Oh, they had 17 fucking third downs of which they converted half.  How much money are we about to commit to our DL in the next 12 months?  11M already, 50-60M for Geno, 30-40M for Dunlap?  Yet none of them could step up and get us off the field in a critical spot?  Where is their berating? Oh that's right its all Maualuga's fault, he should have covered everyone.

[alleycat]

Loving how this thread is progressing, especially how some think we are actively getting worse by keeping him.  Not even remaining static, but actually getting worse.

 

We give up 400 yards in a playoff game and everyone of them is Rey's fault.  Like, every single one.  

 

How many sacks did we have in 2012?  Did we finish in the top 5 for the league? And we had how many in the playoff game?  But its all Rey's fault he couldn't cover anyone on 3rd down...which I'm not even sure they had any third downs?  Did they?  Rey faces the wrong direction and falls down if the snap count is too loud so certainly they managed 10 yards every two plays.  

 

Oh, they had 17 fucking third downs of which they converted half.  How much money are we about to commit to our DL in the next 12 months?  11M already, 50-60M for Geno, 30-40M for Dunlap?  Yet none of them could step up and get us off the field in a critical spot?  Where is their berating? Oh that's right its all Maualuga's fault, he should have covered everyone.

Let me just throw a wrinkle into this for you.

 

Rey was our Defensive captain, no?  The captain.  And that guy tells us, frankly, that he just shit the bed in that game.  Now, this is after his ongoing, rather public struggles with confidence.  And of course, if you can read body language at all, you can see it all over Rey during the game.  What's more, I believe (IIRC) he even got hurt for a brief spell during that game, which has strangely, consistently happened to him in games where he's getting his ass handed to him (happened a lot more in his first years).  

 

Did the whole defensive effort fall short?  Absolutely.  But how could it not when the guy who plays the position at the Center of your defense is getting mercilessly butt-fucked on national TV and his only response is to pout?  The Texans took control of that game because they took control of Rey, and the saddest part of all was how easy it was - and how similar it was to the last time they played him.

[mullichicken25]

Did the whole defensive effort fall short?  Absolutely.  But how could it not when the guy who plays the position at the Center of your defense is getting mercilessly butt-fucked on national TV and his only response is to pout?  The Texans took control of that game because they took control of Rey, and the saddest part of all was how easy it was - and how similar it was to the last time they played him.

 

But from what i gather reading this thread, Rey was garbage all year...why then was the rest of the defense able to play at such a high level all season?

 

You can't have it both ways.

 

Rey either sucked all year implying that his performance had a minimal effect on the overal defensive performance of the team, or he performed adequately all season and everyone's on his balls about one terrible game

[Dautcom08]

Who says the MLB has to be the "quarterback" on the defense?  Or the captain or calling the plays?  I remember back when Brian Simmons would be calling the plays for the defense after TKO left.  IMO any one of the LBs can do that as much as they move around pre-snap anymore.  Could give those duties to Tez and keep him where he's at.

[B.A.B.]

Some of you retards still in here jerking off for mediocrity. Just one terrible game? Lmao. Sure, lets pretend he had just one. anyways, It was during the fucking playoffs. Hell of a time to channel your inner pee wee player.

[alleycat]

But from what i gather reading this thread, Rey was garbage all year...why then was the rest of the defense able to play at such a high level all season?

 

You can't have it both ways.

 

Rey either sucked all year implying that his performance had a minimal effect on the overal defensive performance of the team, or he performed adequately all season and everyone's on his balls about one terrible game

Go back and read my posts throughout the year. 

 

Rey. Sucked. All. Year.

 

Did he have a few splash plays?  Yes.  But all in all, he was very subpar from what you want from your MLB.  

 

The hilarity of all of this is that, during the year, whilst I was constantly taking a giant shit on Rey, so many people around here got their panties in a bunch and said it wasn't true.  You can talk about taking bad angles, overrunning the cutback lane, not covering RB's and TE's all you want, but just because some of us see the nuances in the game instead of just the big picture, well, that doesn't mean that when it all get's laid bare, it's going to be any easier to show those of you who can't what's happening.  But when the nuance becomes the big picture, you can be sure we'll say "I told you so." 

[Tigris]

Some of you retards still in here jerking off for mediocrity. Just one terrible game? Lmao. Sure, lets pretend he had just one. anyways, It was during the fucking playoffs. Hell of a time to channel your inner pee wee player.

 

I can remember specific plays where Rey just bounced off a guy, totally missed a guy (Foster), was outran, appeared to give up on an outside run (by RGIII specifically). I don't remember totally shitty games from the guy though except for the Houston game.

[|SF2|]

But from what i gather reading this thread, Rey was garbage all year...why then was the rest of the defense able to play at such a high level all season?

 

You can't have it both ways.

 

Rey either sucked all year implying that his performance had a minimal effect on the overal defensive performance of the team, or he performed adequately all season and everyone's on his balls about one terrible game

The defense did NOT play at a high level ALL season.  That is nonsense.  We gave up 27 points and 435 yards to Cleveland at home game 2.  We gave up an average of over 400 yards our first 3 games.    Zimmer made the necessary adjustments but the reality is he had NO option at MLB unless he put Lawson or Burfect in there which were not good options at the time.

 

Rey played well in some games and HORRIBLE in others.  His lack of consistency is the reason I want him gone, nothing more.

[scharm]

Pete Damilatis‏@PFF_Pete
Rey Maualuga earned a -29.7 @PFF grade last season. That's the 2nd-worst we've ever given an inside linebacker.#Bengals

 

It did well because of our defensive line, Hall getting healthy, Burfect stepping up, Reggie Nelson playing well and Newman stepping into a time machine and playing great at 34.  Anyone who thinks the defense played well because of Rey needs their head examined.

 

Still, Houston torched us for 420 yards and much of it was due to Arian Foster running circles around Rey and forcing our safeties to step up and cover for him.  The TEs ate our lunch in that game deliberately picking on Rey.  The grade above speaks for itself.

 

And yet Zimmer wants him back.   What a fucking idiot. 

[Squirrlnutz]

Go back and read my posts throughout the year. 

 

Rey. Sucked. All. Year.

 

Did he have a few splash plays?  Yes.  But all in all, he was very subpar from what you want from your MLB.  

 

The hilarity of all of this is that, during the year, whilst I was constantly taking a giant shit on Rey, so many people around here got their panties in a bunch and said it wasn't true.  You can talk about taking bad angles, overrunning the cutback lane, not covering RB's and TE's all you want, but just because some of us see the nuances in the game instead of just the big picture, well, that doesn't mean that when it all get's laid bare, it's going to be any easier to show those of you who can't what's happening.  But when the nuance becomes the big picture, you can be sure we'll say "I told you so." 

 

IMO the sticking points are two fold:

A.  How important is good MLB to a defense's success?

B.  What is the difference between what you want to see and what the coaches want to see?

 

If MLB play is crucial to the success of the Def, then you're dead wrong claiming he was shitty all year long or you're claiming our defense was actually bad and total yardage ratings are worthless.  If its not crucial...then what are we arguing about?

 

What if the most important tool to our defensive success in 2012 (provided you think we were successful based on my previous statement) is not actually the MLB making tackles for a loss or INTs but aligning all 11 guys correctly and making sure the DL knows their job on a play and the back 7 know their role?  I mean is it even remotely possible that Rey contributed to our success by correcting a DL aligned in the wrong spot who then went on to make the play?  The people that vehemently argue that he doesn't belong in the NFL never criticize his ability to line people up...almost as if they have no idea what he is doing in that capacity so they ignore it and criticize a missed tackle.  

I remember vividly the Dhani Jones days.  Day in and day out this place was on him for being too slow, too old, tackling 5 yards down field etc.  We believed there were more talented LBs surrounding him and they all deserved to play MLB over him.  Yet Zim kept on saying there is more to playing that spot than just making tackles and that Dhani was far more valuable to the defense for the organization he brought to the defense on the field.  I'm saying this because to some degree this has to be going on with Rey.  

 

How do we laud our defense at all if Rey's not allowed to claim some of that success for himself?

[alleycat]

In Rey's defense, I thought he played much better as he lost weight.  Let's face it, during the middle of the season the guy looked like he was running in mud.  My worst moments from him, though, were those where he would tiredly pursue a ball carrier, then let up as said carrier got to the out of bounds line - and then kept on running right past him. 

 

Rey has a whole lot of quit in him, and that's the scariest thing of all.  I guess taking some MMA fists in the face may help, but it didn't seem to do much for Keith Rivers - except shatter his wrist and punch his ticket out of here.

[scharm]

The defense did NOT play at a high level ALL season.  That is nonsense.  We gave up 27 points and 435 yards to Cleveland at home game 2.  We gave up an average of over 400 yards our first 3 games.    Zimmer made the necessary adjustments but the reality is he had NO option at MLB unless he put Lawson or Burfect in there which were not good options at the time.

 

Rey played well in some games and HORRIBLE in others.  His lack of consistency is the reason I want him gone, nothing more.

 

That's different than what've you stated before.  You are running in circles.     In the end it wasn't a failure.  It's really this bias and the need to be proven "right" that has you rooting for failure of a player on your so called favorite team.

[alleycat]

How do we laud our defense at all if Rey's not allowed to claim some of that success for himself?

I'm not saying he can't claim ANY success, I'm just saying he's not good and we can seriously upgrade and to rely on him is a fools errand.
 
As for his role in alignment, well, I think you'll remember how far off track we were as a team last season - and then Crocker came in right about at the same time that Burfict started directing some traffic.  In fact, it's quite clear that as far as alignment and overall football intelligence, well, that's one of Rey's greatest liabilities.

[scharm]

But from what i gather reading this thread, Rey was garbage all year...why then was the rest of the defense able to play at such a high level all season?

 

You can't have it both ways.

 

Rey either sucked all year implying that his performance had a minimal effect on the overal defensive performance of the team, or he performed adequately all season and everyone's on his balls about one terrible game

 

Truth.   The above is the exact reality.   If Rey is such a weakness then the unit as a whole should not be able to perform to the level they did. 

 

The truth is Rey is an average player and for some reason the arm chair GMs are going to harp on a sample size less than 100 to feed their narrative.   When in fact the end result, the owners of the result, and independent evaluators all disagree with them.