A 12th Ranked Defense

I was listening to Ken (Micro) Broo on Sunday morning on 700WLW and he was discussing the Bengals 12th ranked defense with Jarrett Bell of USA Today.  It got me thinking...what exactly were those stats that got the Bengals ranked 12th overall in defense (purely based on yards allowed). 

Mike Brown's Bengals were very quick to point out in their letter to club seat holders that, along with a healthy Carson Palmer, the 12th ranked defense is key to the great turnaround in 2009.  However, this was after three defensive performances against Washington, Cleveland, and Kansas City...and after the Bengals were firmly locked out of the playoff picture.  Now, I'm not knocking Mike Zimmer at all.  He did a heck of a job this season with a defense that admittedly had spare parts for most of the season.  I'm not making excuses for the guy, but he is the type of coach the Bengals need...never satisfied, a hard ass, and someone who demands excellence.  But, since the Bengals are so excited to point out their revamped defense, let's take a hard look at how this squad did this season. 

(Please keep in mind that under Mike Brown, the Bengals have ONE season...ONE...with more than eight wins.  If history is the best predictor of the future, and the Bengals have not done anything to change what went wrong in 2008, how can they expect us to believe that the Bengals will have 9 or more wins in 2009?)

Here are a few notes on the final defensive stats of the season:

- Bengals finished with 325.5 yards allowed per game.  The team 11th in total defense was the Colts (310.9/game).  A difference of 14.6 yards per game (pretty significant difference)

Following the Bengals, here is the order (place/team/yards per game) of the teams within that 14.6 ypg threshold of the Bengals:

13. 49ers, 326.0

14. Bills, 326.1

15. Dolphins, 329.0

16. Jets, 329.4

17. Jaguars, 330.9

18.  Panthers, 331.2

19.  Cardinals, 331.5

20.  Packers, 334.3

21.  Bears, 334.7

22.  Texans, 336.6

23.  Saints, 339.5

As you can see, the Bengals were in that 'muddled middle' territory.  While I don't have the figures, I'd bet a Frisch's hot fudge sundae that the Bengals were 20th or worse in the league before their final three meaningless games. 

Some other notes:

- The Bengals were 24th overall in 3rd down success rate (43 percent).  The Steelers were #1 with a 31 percent success rate.

- The Steelers, Ravens, and Eagles were 1-2-3, respectively in yards allowed this season.  They also were all playing yesterday...as luck would have it.

- The Bengals were 19th overall in points allowed per game (22.8).  Again, this was helped by their final three games (13, 0, 6)...as opposed to the three games prior (27, 34, 35).  The Steelers (13.9), Titans (14.6), Ravens (15.2), Eagles (18.1) and Giants (18.4) were in the top 5.

I realize that the offense has to control the ball more via the running game in order to help the defense...but my point is that our defense still needs a lot of work.  Having the Bengals claim that their problems are solved by having a defense that is 12th overall is extremely misleading.  Based off what we know of this franchise...they are convincing themselves that last season's defensive effort was acceptable (which is ridiculous).  

Like Troy Blackburn once said..."If we're about average in the NFL, that's fine.  That's good enough.  You aren't going to do much better than that in Cincinnati."

I can't imagine Dan Rooney is waking up with those thoughts this morning...

Comments

[Mike]

I just want to open this up for discussion. I want to know how people feel about Leon Hall. I thought that he was a decent pick (when we couldn't get Revis) based on his college career. The first year was mediocre at best, but he was a rookie, so I let it slide. But I actually think he's gotten slightly worse since then. I've been to all but 1 of the last 2 season's home games, and I can't count the amount of times that he was either burned or WOULDN'T TURN AROUND to see the ball. It was obvious that opposing quarterbacks would try to exploit this. But, that said, it seems that the media and fans like him. What's the deal?! Is it just because of the few picks he had against abysmal offenses toward the end of the season? I do know that he'd be better if we had an effective pass rush, but I don't see that happening any time soon. Thoughts?

[Kevin]

I think Leon Hall is turning out to be a decent pick(or a really good one if you are Mike Brown.) He definitely struggled his rookie season and the beginning of this past season, but I thought he really turned the corner the last half of this season. When Joseph got injured, Hall had to guard the opposing team's best WR and did a pretty good job. I think fans also like Hall because he can actually tackle someone. That's a good trait to have if you are a defensive player, although the Bengals haven't seemed to recognize the fact that it helps when your defensive players tackle someone.

[The Real Tyke Beasly]

First, thoughts on the article. I agree we need to improve, mostly with the front 4. However, when looking at the stats I noticed we were 8th in plays from scrimage. That tells me the defense was on the field way to much. (also watching the games tells me this) The only team that finished with a higher ranking and more plays from scrimage was the Titans. Part of the reason we faired so well in the last three games was because the offense was sustaining drives and the defense got to rest a bit. (I'll give you the fact the teams sucked too.) My point is, bash Mike Brown, bash the lack of an O line, but give the defense credit for what it had to go through this season.

In regards to Leon Hall...I'm in the middle. On one hand I've seen him make some great reads and consequently good plays on the ball. I have also seen him jump the first move in a double move and get burned trying to make a play. On the plus side he likes contact and hitting people and can tackle well. On the negative side, he sometimes goes for the big hit and doesn't wrap up leading to extra yardage. Overall, I'd say he is a 6 or 7 out of 10. He is agressive and plays fast. That, plus inexperience, can lead to mistakes, but also big plays. If you cut him some slack for being a rookie, it shouldn't change in his 2nd season. He hasn't gotten worse, but he's not Deion Sanders and learning to play cornerback in the NFL doesn't happen over night. I think he will continue to improve and be one of the better corners we've had here in a long while.

[Matt]

Look the problem is when you get ZERO pressure on the quarterback your CB's can only cover for so long. That is why they look bad at times. Get pressure on the QB and we would all be talking how good J-Joe and Hall are.

[Ben]

12th in defensive yardage isn't bad, but tied for 2nd last in the league in sacks is awful. Two players finished with more sacks than our team.

[Bolshevik Bengal]

Hall is OK. He might even make a Pro Bowl or two in his career, which for DB's is all about getting picks. I reality, he tackles well and fills a LOT harder against the run than any Bengal's DB in recent history, but he is a liability in pass coverage. However, if we had more consistent safety play and ANY pass rush, it wouldn't be as big of a concern. So, overall, I like Hall--he tries hard, he's a good guy off the field, and he's an over-achiever. Look, if the Patriots can win games with Hank Poteat, we can win with Leon Hall. Fix the front seven--especially the pass rush--and Hall will be good.

J-Jo, on the other hand, has All-Pro talent. Get him healthy and back in the lineup.

[AJ]

I don't know if we can fully judge Leon Hall, or any of the other CBs, yet, as we all know, the secondary is only as good as the pass rush - and lets face it, while our D is improved, they still couldn't put enough pressure on QBs, which means that the CBs were hung out to dry.

Hall is fine. I don't see him as a CB to put on the opposing team's #1 guy, but we have J Joe for that. We just need to get a line that gets pressure and forces the QB to throw - then the interceptions will follow.

[Big D]

Jason, you're up one delicious sundae. But it's even better than that. After week 16 (Cleveland), they had the 21st ranked defense in yards allowed. And as you said, after week 17 (Kansas City), they were all the way up to #12.

That's right. They jumped 9 spots in the last game of the season by holding the almighty Chiefs to 220 yards.

[Red Scourge]

Am I missing something? Didn't we have more than a few games where the opposing team had such a large lead at halftime that all they had to do was play ball-control to ease out a win? When your opponent is more worried about time off the clock than running up the score, you probably won't see huge down-the-field passing plays. This can give a misleading YPG stat.

[NOendINsight]

Is that Troy Blackburn comment legit? I know we say some things on here but if that really is the case I will throw up in my mouth.