Bengals1181 Posted November 5, 2013 Report Share Posted November 5, 2013 Zimmer: “If We All Play Good Together, We’ll Still Be A Good Defensive Team” Posted by Dan Hoard on November 4, 2013 – 10:46 pm If you know anything about Mike Zimmer, you know that he’s not about to say “Woe is me” after injuries ravaged his 5th-ranked defense. Even after losing Geno Atkins, Leon Hall, Robert Geathers, and Taylor Mays with season-ending injuries, the Bengals defensive coordinator exudes confidence. “Obviously we can’t replace some of the talent we’ve lost, but we can play really good as a team,” said Zimmer. “We can do our job, we can play really hard, and we can make sure that we understand all of the situations and those kinds of things. This is the NFL and this isn’t the first time that this has happened. I take it as a great opportunity and a great challenge to get this group of guys to play really good defense.” Still, the loss of Atkins will force Zimmer to make changes since the two-time Pro Bowler is the best interior pass rusher in the NFL and helped the Bengals consistently get pressure on the quarterback without constantly having to blitz. “Obviously we won’t have the same pressure that we had with Geno with just three guys or four guys, so we’re going to have to manufacture it a little bit more. That will be our challenge as coaches – to try to find ways to still create pressure on the quarterback. “It hurts because there were a lot of times where schematically we were trying to put Geno in one-on-one situations. Now we won’t be doing that quite as much. We’re going to have to turn to our ends and try to find situations where we can get them into one-on-one matchups.” The bulk of Geno’s playing time figures to go to second-year pro Brandon Thompson who was in for 36 snaps in Thursday’s loss at Miami. Like Atkins, Thompson is freakishly strong as evidenced by this YouTube clip of him bench-pressing 495 pounds. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIYmCE8IogA “I look at it as an opportunity,” Thompson told me. “It’s my chance to showcase my talents and what I bring to the table. It’s hard losing a player like Geno. He’s probably one of the best defensive tackles in the NFL if not the greatest. I’m not going to be able to replace him, but I’m going to come in and do what I do. I’m rough in there and I’m going to do whatever I have to do to get to the ball.” “Whoever is playing in place of Geno is going to step up and make plays – I can tell you that for sure,” said Terence Newman. “That’s how good our depth is on the line. “It’s a great challenge. Geno is a great player. He’s one of the best in the league at his position. He’s one of the best defensive players in the league period. It’s a great blow, but like I said, it’s an opportunity. Whoever is in that position is going to try to step up and make his presence felt.” As a rookie with Dallas in 2003, Newman was part of a Zimmer-coached defense that finished number one in the NFL in yards allowed and second in points allowed despite not having a dominant pass rusher (Greg Ellis led the team with eight sacks). “We had a great group of guys that were unselfish and did what they were supposed to do,” said Zimmer. “They played really hard, and played really smart, and I think this group can be like that. Obviously we still have more talent than we probably did when I was in Dallas. Collectively if we all play good together, we’ll still be a good defensive team.” Zimmer was named the NFL Assistant Coach of the Year in 2009 when the Bengals finished fourth in the league in total defense despite not having a Pro Bowler on that side of the ball. “When I first got here, we obviously didn’t have the talent that we have now and we played pretty good,” said Zimmer. “I take a lot of pride in getting 11 guys to do their job, and do it as well as they can, and playing great team defense. I do feel like we have a nucleus of guys and we have some other good players that can go in there and play well.” I’d love to hear from you at Dan.Hoard@Bengals.nfl.net If you Twitter, you can follow my tweets at http://twitter.com/Dan_Hoard And I’m on Facebook at www.facebook.com/dan.hoard.1 http://blogs.bengals.com/2013/11/04/zimmer-if-we-all-play-good-together-well-still-be-a-good-defensive-team/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cincity Posted November 5, 2013 Report Share Posted November 5, 2013 Get back Still, Maualuga, Boley, and play Ghee a little more in the slot, this unit will be fine… It will need big contributions from Hunt and Still in order to be once again considered Championship caliber. I really think Dunlap needs to start playing out of his mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texbengal Posted November 5, 2013 Report Share Posted November 5, 2013 Get back Still, Maualuga, Boley, and play Ghee a little more in the slot, this unit will be fine… It will need big contributions from Hunt and Still in order to be once again considered Championship caliber. I really think Dunlap needs to start playing out of his mind. It's still a very solid D, and getting the other guys back will help, no doubt. I'm anxious to see who out of the lesser-used guys is going to step up - I think Thompson will be fine, but guys like Still, Boley, Dre, Ghee, etc. will have to do more. That said, I agree - Carlos needs to play better. Awesome strip he made last week, but otherwise he didn't do a lot, especially on the pass rush against a guy he should have beat up in Clabo. MJ needs to step it up from last week, too… he didn't do much either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turningpoint Posted November 5, 2013 Report Share Posted November 5, 2013 I do find this crap funny, our best DT at one point in the Marvin Lewis Era, was Tony Fucking WIlliams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orange 'n Black Posted November 5, 2013 Report Share Posted November 5, 2013 I do find this crap funny, our best DT at one point in the Marvin Lewis Era, was Tony Fucking WIlliams. The Bengals went a loooooong time without any DTs that were worth a shit... I still remember how excited everyone got over fat Sam Adams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HairOnFire Posted November 5, 2013 Report Share Posted November 5, 2013 The Bengals went a loooooong time without any DTs that were worth a shit... I still remember how excited everyone got over fat Sam Adams. I can't speak for the posters here, but please refrain from painting everyone with a broad brush. I got tons of crap on my old board for hating from the start the months long pursuit of Sam Adams. Flat out didn't want him, thought it was too much money to pay, and when the Bengals ignored me at every turn I consoled myself by writing about a million jokes about how Adams would end up breaking every toilet in Paul Brown Stadium. Nutshelled, when shopping for Dline help I'm not interested in anyone, including a DT, who can't rush the passer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldcat Posted November 5, 2013 Report Share Posted November 5, 2013 I can't speak for the posters here, but please refrain from painting everyone with a broad brush. I got tons of crap on my old board for hating from the start the months long pursuit of Sam Adams. Flat out didn't want him, thought it was too much money to pay, and when the Bengals ignored me at every turn I consoled myself by writing about a million jokes about how Adams would end up breaking every toilet in Paul Brown Stadium. Nutshelled, when shopping for Dline help I'm not interested in anyone, including a DT, who can't rush the passer. Sam Adams could crush the passer....isn't that close enough? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HairOnFire Posted November 5, 2013 Report Share Posted November 5, 2013 Sam Adams could crush the passer....isn't that close enough? Then why didn't he? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Dr Tarzan| Posted November 5, 2013 Report Share Posted November 5, 2013 As fat and old as Adams was, he still had the incredible "quicks" off the ball, he just didn't have the strength to finish anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JC Posted November 5, 2013 Report Share Posted November 5, 2013 Daryl Gardener's been spotted at the airport.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HairOnFire Posted November 5, 2013 Report Share Posted November 5, 2013 As fat and old as Adams was, he still had the incredible "quicks" off the ball, he just didn't have the strength to finish anymore. True enough, and saying he wasn't the player he had been in Seattle 10 years earlier kinda makes my point. Really happy we're not chasing those types of players anymore. Much rather roll the dice on a Bilukidi or some other unproven unknown who lacks experience but can run like a huge deer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HairOnFire Posted November 5, 2013 Report Share Posted November 5, 2013 Daryl Gardener's been spotted at the airport.. Rumor has it the Bengals were set to sign ex-Toronto Argo DT Matthias Askew but unfortunately Askew drove over the curb when parking his car outside of PBS and was last seen being repeatedly tasered by Cincy police. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Posted November 5, 2013 Report Share Posted November 5, 2013 Sam Adams, by the time he got here, still had a great first step. Sadly, he didn't have a second or third. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueridge Posted November 5, 2013 Report Share Posted November 5, 2013 this team is going to find out if they can win without geno atkins. I think they can. its all about the young guys stepping up and the vets leading by example. for one thing,i am really glad we have a card-carrying hardass like james Harrison out there. the injury situation is adversity,for sure, but the bengals seem to play better when people start to count them out. our players are tough. so are the coaches.btw, tony Williams was a pretty good player until he got cheap-shotted on MNF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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