8 minutes ago, MichaelWeston said:

FWIW Zimmer was bad this year. 

Getting old

I also wanted Zac to go, but I can be made happy if we get a real hard ass as a DC. Saleh is probably top of my list from the guys mentioned here. 

2 minutes ago, MichaelWeston said:

Because he was excellent with the 49ers

 

This goes right to the disgreements you and I have. When you have a healthy Christian McCaffery it makes you look good. The talent matters. (This is why I think Lou is a scapegoat and will be successful elsewhere when he gets players again)

 

 

1 minute ago, Griever said:

 

 

Can't fire the owners, unfortunately...

4 minutes ago, Jamie_B said:

 

This goes right to the disgreements you and I have. When you have a healthy Christian McCaffery it makes you look good. The talent matters. (This is why I think Lou is a scapegoat and will be successful elsewhere when he gets players again)

How can Anarumo be a scapegoat when he was a major player in assembling the talent to fit his scheme? It wasn't Anarumo's fault that the Bengals let Bates walk in free agency. But it was Anarumo's fault when he was given a fairly long list of affordable safeties to replace Bates and he chose Nick Scott. Anarumo had made the decision that he wanted the fastest secondary possible, then when the communication was bad, he decided he preferred experience over athleticism to limit the big plays. Of course the Bengals defense continued to give up plays, partly because of a lack of athleticism.

I want an ass kicker DC who wears his hat backwards, chews, is divorced at least twice, and drives a Ford Raptor with plates that say '3NOUTBTCH'

25 minutes ago, dex said:

Do we even know who makes these hiring/firing decisions for the Bengals? Is it Tobin? Is it Taylor? A small committee? 

Burrow

25 minutes ago, Jamie_B said:

 

This goes right to the disgreements you and I have. When you have a healthy Christian McCaffery it makes you look good. The talent matters. (This is why I think Lou is a scapegoat and will be successful elsewhere when he gets players again)

Players dont make you last in the league 

15 minutes ago, dex said:

How can Anarumo be a scapegoat when he was a major player in assembling the talent to fit his scheme? It wasn't Anarumo's fault that the Bengals let Bates walk in free agency. But it was Anarumo's fault when he was given a fairly long list of affordable safeties to replace Bates and he chose Nick Scott. Anarumo had made the decision that he wanted the fastest secondary possible, then when the communication was bad, he decided he preferred experience over athleticism to limit the big plays. Of course the Bengals defense continued to give up plays, partly because of a lack of athleticism.

 

 

Im not in disagreement about the roster building part, Im in disagreement that his scheme was a problem. 

Just now, MichaelWeston said:

Players dont make you last in the league 

 

Tell that to Bill Belichick

1 minute ago, Jamie_B said:

Im in disagreement that his scheme was a problem. 

What parts of his scheme did you like and what did you not like? Do you feel that he was able to modify his scheme to suit the players we have? What changes did you see in the last 6 weeks that made them more effective?

And Carousel begins...

 

 

22 minutes ago, LostInDaJungle said:

What parts of his scheme did you like and what did you not like? Do you feel that he was able to modify his scheme to suit the players we have? What changes did you see in the last 6 weeks that made them more effective?

His scheme was overly complicated and only worked with the best safety in the league. Thats not a good system. 

13 minutes ago, Griever said:

 

Thanks, Griever.

 

Here are 2 particularly damning paragraphs from the article:

 

Many have pointed to Cincinnati letting high-end veterans such as Jessie Bates III and DJ Reader as pivotal reasons for the defense's downfall. Losing elite players is never ideal, but the Bengals' plan to replace them were just as bad. Anarumo was always heavily involved in both free agency and NFL Draft plans for the unit.

Anarumo had input on free agent whiffs such as Nick Scott, Geno Stone, and Sheldon Rankins. Eight top-100 draft picks were spent on defense from 2022-2024. Out of Dax Hill, Cam Taylor-Britt, Zach Carter, Myles Murphy, DJ Turner II, Jordan Battle, Kris Jenkins Jr., and McKinnley Jackson, how many of them can be considered building blocks for the future? Maybe a couple? That's not good enough.

 

 

4 minutes ago, MichaelWeston said:

His scheme was overly complicated and only worked with the best safety in the league. Thats not a good system. 

If people are going to say the scheme was fine, I'd like them to tell me what they liked about it.

If you tell me Applebee's is gourmet cuisine, I'm going to ask you you why you think that.

33 minutes ago, LostInDaJungle said:

What parts of his scheme did you like and what did you not like? Do you feel that he was able to modify his scheme to suit the players we have? What changes did you see in the last 6 weeks that made them more effective?

 

We've seen the scheme work when he had the talent to run it. Not sure how anyone can not see this.

2 minutes ago, Jamie_B said:

 

We've seen the scheme work when he had the talent to run it. Not sure how anyone can not see this.

Agree and no one in the nfl defends mahomes better but if he was in on decisions for players then I could see why

5 minutes ago, dex said:

Thanks, Griever.

 

Here are 2 particularly damning paragraphs from the article:

 

Many have pointed to Cincinnati letting high-end veterans such as Jessie Bates III and DJ Reader as pivotal reasons for the defense's downfall. Losing elite players is never ideal, but the Bengals' plan to replace them were just as bad. Anarumo was always heavily involved in both free agency and NFL Draft plans for the unit.

Anarumo had input on free agent whiffs such as Nick Scott, Geno Stone, and Sheldon Rankins. Eight top-100 draft picks were spent on defense from 2022-2024. Out of Dax Hill, Cam Taylor-Britt, Zach Carter, Myles Murphy, DJ Turner II, Jordan Battle, Kris Jenkins Jr., and McKinnley Jackson, how many of them can be considered building blocks for the future? Maybe a couple? That's not good enough.

 

 

 

 

This part I agree with, that part can not be ignored. 

 

The part I disagree with is that he isn't a good coach.

 

A bad talent evaluator? Ok I agree. 

 

A bad coach? Nope

Jay's take:

 

Who Are Some of the Top Options To Replace Lou Anarumo As Bengals Defensive Coordinator?

Jay Morrison | 37 Minutes Ago

 

https://www.si.com/nfl/bengals/who-are-some-of-the-top-options-to-replace-lou-anarumo-as-bengals-defensive-coordinator-01jgy442rnvp

3 minutes ago, Jamie_B said:

 

We've seen the scheme work when he had the talent to run it. Not sure how anyone can not see this.

So... You don't feel that he was able to modify the scheme to fit the players we had? I mean, sure, Jesse Bates can make all of those Cover 1 calls look better... His scheme only works with pro-bowl level players?

Cant confirm but someone said Golden makes 2M in Notre DAme and we paid Lou 1.2

6 minutes ago, Jamie_B said:

 

 

This part I agree with, that part can not be ignored. 

 

The part I disagree with is that he isn't a good coach.

 

A bad talent evaluator? Ok I agree. 

 

A bad coach? Nope

He's a good coach and a good guy from Staten Island 

13 minutes ago, LostInDaJungle said:

If people are going to say the scheme was fine, I'd like them to tell me what they liked about it.

If you tell me Applebee's is gourmet cuisine, I'm going to ask you you why you think that.

There isn't a stat that says it was a good system. It was always overly complicated mess that worked for 1 full season and one playoff run out of 6 seasons.