Bengals1181 Posted January 2, 2014 Report Share Posted January 2, 2014 CINCINNATI -- It takes a little bit more time, but Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer likes reviewing practice video this way: every player, every position, all in one room, answering his questions not only about their own assignments but everyone else's, too. Bengals coach Marvin Lewis, a former d-coordinator himself, sometimes had done it that way before Zimmer arrived in 2008. Zimmer, a longtime Dallas Cowboys assistant then on his third job in three years, believed he had no choice with a roster that wasn't exactly full of stars. "I knew the way that we could play good and win was by playing good collectively," Zimmer told USA TODAY Sports recently, sitting in his office at Paul Brown Stadium. "We had no Pro Bowlers. We had nothing like that. We've always really stressed the team concept of things. "The other thing was, I figured if they weren't good here on defense and I was going to get fired, I was going to do it my way." Six years later, the Bengals' defense has gone from one of the NFL's worst units to one of its best. They finished the regular season ranked third in the league in yards allowed (305.5) and tied for fifth in points allowed (19.1) – their third straight year in the top 10 in both categories. Zimmer credits those group film sessions, rather than breaking into position groups, as a factor in helping the Bengals stay on course through a series of injuries that didn't disrupt their path to an AFC North title and Sunday's wild-card playoff home game against the San Diego Chargers. "It's just a focus that we have and we've been competing (together) so long that it made us, as a defense, that much better," Bengals middle linebacker Rey Maualuga said. "When someone goes down, the second person can step up and not lose a step." The Bengals lost their best cover linebacker (Emmanuel Lamur), a veteran end and leader (Robert Geathers) and a key nickel contributor (Taylor Mays) before the season's midpoint. The biggest hits came in Weeks 7 and 9, respectively, when top cornerback Leon Hall suffered a torn Achilles and Geno Atkins – one of the NFL's best defensive tackles – blew out a knee. "In both those two games, we didn't play as well, especially after they got hurt," Zimmer said. "It's like, 'Oh, man, what are we going to do?' That initial shock is really a hard thing to (overcome). Luckily, we've got good guys. They're smart guys." They're talented guys, too, from standout ends Michael Johnson and Carlos Dunlap to Vontaze Burfict, who has emerged as one of the NFL's most productive outside linebackers. Second-year pro Brandon Thompson is no Geno Atkins, but the Bengals have gotten by. They're also patching things together on the back end, getting surprisingly serviceable play from the post-prime likes of Terence Newman and Adam Jones. Another 30-something, James Harrison, has held up in the transition from 3-4 pass rusher to 4-3 outside linebacker. "If you just get a group of guys to buy into his system and execute it, you can be a hell of a defense, man," nose tackle Domata Peko said. "One thing I love about our defense is that Coach Zim holds us accountable. If you're messing up, he's not going to have your ass in there." To Zimmer, who appears in line for his first head coaching job at age 57, it's all about figuring out what those players can do and trying not to make them do something else. That lesson goes back to Dallas, where he was on the staff from 1994 to 2006 and coordinated the NFL's No. 1-ranked defense in 2003. Coach Bill Parcells' re-retirement sent him to Atlanta, where he was on staff during the Bobby Petrino disaster, and to Cincinnati a year later to take over a defense that ranked 27th or worse in four of Lewis' first five seasons. "When I was first coordinating in Dallas, I'd come in on Monday and say, 'This dumb guy did this, and this dumb guy did this,'" Zimmer said. "And then I figured out they weren't the dumb guy – I was the dumb guy, because I was trying to be so smart that the players couldn't do what I was asking them to do." That's one more reason he wants the linebackers to know how the defensive linemen are playing their blocks, or where the cornerbacks are placing their leverage. If everyone understands the total concept, it's easier to focus on the specific role Zimmer has carved out for each individual. "We're just playing football," Maualuga said. http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/2014/01/01/nfl-cincinnati-bengals-defense-zimmer/4281805/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BronxBengal Posted January 2, 2014 Report Share Posted January 2, 2014 . "When I was first coordinating in Dallas, I'd come in on Monday and say, 'This dumb guy did this, and this dumb guy did this,'" Zimmer said. "And then I figured out they weren't the dumb guy – I was the dumb guy, because I was trying to be so smart that the players couldn't do what I was asking them to do." That's one more reason he wants the linebackers to know how the defensive linemen are playing their blocks, or where the cornerbacks are placing their leverage. If everyone understands the total concept, it's easier to focus on the specific role Zimmer has carved out for each individual. "We're just playing football," Maualuga said. Zimmer is a leader and I honestly can say I admire his coaching style. Leadership is a commodity that is in shortage today. I am equally impressed on how the players respond. Zimmer will be successful has a head coach and I would hate to see him leave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bengals1181 Posted January 2, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2014 If they don't already, I'd like to see the offense start doing film study together. It would surely cut down on a lot of the miscommunication going on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie_B Posted January 2, 2014 Report Share Posted January 2, 2014 If they don't already, I'd like to see the offense start doing film study together. It would surely cut down on a lot of the miscommunication going on. i cant imagine that they see the D doing it and the O not, that would surprise me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zins30 Posted January 2, 2014 Report Share Posted January 2, 2014 i cant imagine that they see the D doing it and the O not, that would surprise me This is kind of random but reminded me of something. Was at my first home game last weekend and I thought they announced the D starters individually, but didn't announce any O. Is that true or did I just miss something?? Do they usually do that? PS - The Stadium and city (at least the Banks area) are pretty nice. I've been to Buffalo, Philly and Detroit to see the Bengals play and this was the best experience I've had. Could have just been that I was part of the home team crowd and not getting booed repeatedly.... but I thoroughly enjoyed the game and atmosphere. The Bengals are 3-0 this season when my wife and I are in attendence - wish we could make it for the playoff game but one trip from NY is enough for us... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Posted January 2, 2014 Report Share Posted January 2, 2014 This is kind of random but reminded me of something. Was at my first home game last weekend and I thought they announced the D starters individually, but didn't announce any O. Is that true or did I just miss something?? Do they usually do that? PS - The Stadium and city (at least the Banks area) are pretty nice. I've been to Buffalo, Philly and Detroit to see the Bengals play and this was the best experience I've had. Could have just been that I was part of the home team crowd and not getting booed repeatedly.... but I thoroughly enjoyed the game and atmosphere. The Bengals are 3-0 this season when my wife and I are in attendence - wish we could make it for the playoff game but one trip from NY is enough for us... They only announce one unit. That is league-wide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zins30 Posted January 2, 2014 Report Share Posted January 2, 2014 They only announce one unit. That is league-wide. Interesting. Never noticed that before. So do the Bengals alternate O/D for games or has it been D all season? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThurmanMunster Posted January 3, 2014 Report Share Posted January 3, 2014 Interesting. Never noticed that before. So do the Bengals alternate O/D for games or has it been D all season? alternate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khatmandude Posted January 3, 2014 Report Share Posted January 3, 2014 If they don't already, I'd like to see the offense start doing film study together. It would surely cut down on a lot of the miscommunication going on. i cant imagine that they see the D doing it and the O not, that would surprise me I can tell you 100% that the offense does NOT do it this way....they do not review tape together....they do it by position groups whereas the defense reviews together, led by the voice of Mike Zimmer. I too would like to see the offense do it the same as defense. It just makes sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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