Zimmer sets the standard for Bengals defense

[Bengals1181]

 

CINCINNATI -- Maybe I approached Bengals cornerback Adam Jones the wrong way after Sunday's win against Minnesota.

The Bengals had just finished off a 42-14 beating of the Vikings. Minnesota gained just 209 yards of offense and didn't convert any of the nine third downs it had or the two fourth downs it attempted. The Vikings had put up 48 points and 455 yards against Philadelphia the week before and even though it's been a less-than-stellar season for them, they're a team that has played good football over the last month.

The Bengals' defense made the Vikings look like a 4-10-1 team Sunday. It doesn't take a rocket scientist -- and I'm no rocket scientist -- to see that defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer's unit stepped up its game after a sub-standard performance in the second half against Indianapolis two weeks ago and then against Pittsburgh last week.

So, Adam, it looked like the tackling was betterâ¦

"Why do you keep saying that? We had one bad tackling game. We haven't been tackling bad the whole season," said Jones. "We're the most physical team in the NFL. We had one bad game tackling."

Jones is right.

That's why the second half against the Colts and the game against Pittsburgh were so noticeable. The Bengals weren't awful defensively against the Steelers. A lot of their numbers were good; the Steelers jumped out to a 21-0 lead because of Cincinnati special teams mistakes but managed just three field goals the last three quarters. Yet, there also weren't any momentum-changing plays that have become commonplace expectations of this defense.

The standard of playing defense for the Bengals is way up there. It's been talked a lot over the years about what it took to play defense for Pittsburgh or Baltimore. These are the kinds of standards the Bengals have for themselves. It's not a comparison to the Steelers or Ravens; the standard now is their own.

"Our motto here is being physical and tackle," said Jones. "We don't have corners who guard receivers like other teams. We have to tackle and Zim don't allow us not to tackle. Marvin (Lewis) either. We tackle. We had one bad week of tackling. It's not like we haven't been tackling all season."

It didn't take a rocket scientist to see that on Sunday against Minnesota the Bengals were back up to that standard.

"Our expectations are pretty high. We've got good guys on the team that know and take pride in doing things the right way," said Zimmer. "Sometimes you get out-athleted, it happens. When you're not in the proper position you give a player like (Adrian) Peterson or Antonio Brown a lot of room in space, they should win. It's like one-on-one in basketball. The guy is going to have chance to win. It is being in the right position, knowing where your help is and we did a nice job of that."

The Bengals held Peterson, Minnesota's All-Pro running back and owner of a rare 2,000-yard season a year ago, to 45 yards on 11 carries. Peterson is hurting with a bad foot but the Bengals never let him get any traction and he was never a factor in the game. When he had the ball, he had a lot of guys wearing stripes on their helmets around him.

As defensive end Michael Johnson explained it, if you see a team repeatedly having to make one-on-one tackles, then you're seeing a team that isn't playing sound defense. The Bengals have played a lot of sound defense this season.

"There's an attention to detail to everything we do," said Johnson. "You may not understand that, and that's okay if you don't understand that. It's really not for you to understand. Just sit back and watch and enjoy it."

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Zimmer joined the Bengals in 2008. The defense has been ranked no lower than 15th in total yards, including three seasons in the top seven. They're No. 5 in that category going into this Sunday's final game of the regular season against Baltimore. Those are good numbers but there is an attitude and process that produces the numbers season after season.

"It all started in 2008. That's when we started to play good defense," said defensive back Chris Crocker, who joined the Bengals mid-season that year. "It's no coincidence that's when we started this whole thing. That goes to show (Zimmer) is a heck of a coach. You can't discredit that. Whether people love him or hate him, he's a good coach."

You'll be hard-pressed to find anyone inside Paul Brown Stadium that doesn't love Zimmer. He's respected because of his honest, forthright nature with everyone. There is nothing phony about him.

Zimmer has different styles of talking to every player but the message is clear no matter how it's delivered: this is what we do, this is what we expect, so go out and play it this way to the best of your ability because that's why you're on the team. He's gotten great play from veterans like Crocker, Jones, Terence Newman and Wallace Gilberry -- players that other teams didn't want or thought were finished being productive players for one reason or another -- and the players the Bengals have drafted or signed as undrafted free agents since his arrival.

This could be Zimmer's last season with the Bengals. There will be job openings this offseason and he's sure to get interviews. His style might not suit every owner or every team but they have fit perfectly with the Bengals. It's given them a new standard.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

http://msn.foxsports.com/ohio/story/zimmer-sets-the-standard-for-bengals-defense-122313

[Jamie_B]

#6 D despite missing Geno and Hall.

 

I'll be shocked if he isn't a head coach next year

[unleashed]

I really thought Iloka was going to be the weakest link that would be exposed this year but Zim really knows how to plug guys in that do their job.

I really hope there's some way he sticks around.

[The_Joker]

#6 D despite missing Geno and Hall.
 
I'll be shocked if he isn't a head coach next year

Seems like the teams are leaning towards offensive guys...

[Jamie_B]

Seems like the teams are leaning towards offensive guys...

Lets hope

[Phatcat]

I think Dallas could be the best match for Zimmer. Historically bad defense.

[dex]

I think Dallas could be the best match for Zimmer. Historically bad defense.

Could be lying, could change his mind...but Jerry Jones talks like Garrett's job is safe playoffs or no playoffs.

[ColorChanginClique]

Detroit needs a coach like Zimmer. But hopefully with everyone looking for the next offensive guru to be their new head coach, he'll stick around here.

[Big Alice]

Detroit needs a coach like Zimmer. But hopefully with everyone looking for the next offensive guru to be their new head coach, he'll stick around here.

Detroit's the LAST team that would hire Mike Zimmer. They're not going to replace one asshole, no previous head coaching experience, defensive coordinator with another one.

[ColorChanginClique]

Detroit's the LAST team that would hire Mike Zimmer. They're not going to replace one asshole, no previous head coaching experience, defensive coordinator with another one.

 

I don't think they would, I meant they need someone like that based on how everyone is reporting the Lions have been run under Shwartz. Just because they're both defensive guys doesn't mean they're all that similar in terms of quality of coach.

[coup000]

Another Zimmer note:

 

How the Bengals managed without Geno Atkins

 

While we're on the subject of injuries, I can't remember going into playoff time with a circumstance like what we have in the AFC right now: each division winner has a franchise player (or three) on injured reserve. Denver (Ryan Clady, Von Miller), New England (Vince Wilfork, Jerod Mayo, Rob Gronkowski), Cincinnati (Geno Atkins, Leon Hall) and Indianapolis (Reggie Wayne) have had to adapt accordingly. And the Bengals' approach for replacing their highest-paid -- and perhaps best -- player has them playoff-bound ahead of Sunday's game against Baltimore.

Going into Halloween night in Miami, the Week 9 matchup in which Atkins tore his ACL, the Bengals ranked eighth in total defense (322.5 yards allowed per game), eighth against the run (97.3 yards per game) and 11th in pass defense (225.3 yards per game). Remarkably, in the two months since losing its monster in the middle, Cincinnati has improved to fifth in total defense (311.1 yards per game), ranking sixth against both the run (99.8 yards per game) and pass (211.3 yards per game).

 

 

"The first part is getting over the initial shock," said Bengals defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer on Thursday. "The players know when a guy is a super player, so part of it is just getting over it. Then, the next part, what we try to do is not just make sure the players we bring in to replace them are being used to their strengths, but also that we're accentuating other good players: (Carlos) Dunlap and (Michael) Johnson, (Domata) Peko and (Vontaze) Burfict.

"We don't worry about the past. We tried to isolate Geno a lot. Well, now that's done, and we have to find ways to use other guys in a way where they can become a factor."

In their base defense, the Bengals have moved Brandon Thompson, a 2012 third-round draft pick, into Atkins' spot, asking the former Clemson defensive tackle to play the role of 325-pound run-stuffer. On third downs and in long yardage, James Harrison is seeing the bulk of Atkins' snaps, though in a little bit of a different role. Zimmer said the scheme hasn't needed to be adjusted at all on run downs, but the Bengals have become a little more exotic in passing situations.

The key hasn't been to try to turn one player into Geno Atkins. It's been to piece things back together by using each player within his own limitations.

"Yeah, we asked more (of Thompson), but by the same token, we're not asking him to do things he can't do," Zimmer said. "We understand he's not the pass rusher Geno was, and we can't expect the same production, pass-rush-wise. So it was, 'Here's what he does good, he can contribute doing that, and he'll work on his pass-rush technique and help there when he has to.' It'd be crazy to think we could make him into Geno Atkins."

And so the Bengals have survived. With the AFC North locked up, they have a chance to atone for past playoff failures.

Zimmer's success adjust to Atkins absence underscores why a lot of NFL folks think Zimmer will become a heck of a head coach someday; he's able to evaluate his own players and maximize every one of them within the context of his scheme. That's pretty much what coaching is, right?

[Jason]

 

 

"Why do you keep saying that? We had one bad tackling game. We haven't been tackling bad the whole season," said Jones. "We're the most physical team in the NFL. We had one bad game tackling."

 

Well, one game and 2 plays.  :lol: