Why Don't They Blitz

Why don’t the Bengals Blitz More?


We get so very tired on watching our guys in stripes routinely get marched down the field by the other team’s offense. We long for a big play on defense, or at least a few good pressures. Why won’t Chuck and or Marvin blitz?


Rest assured that Marvin and Chuck do see what is going on, and I sincerely doubt if they are happy. Frankly, they are probably blatantly unhappy. So why not blitz? Well let’s examine the blitz for a moment.

Blitzing generally means that your corner backs are playing man to man with maybe the free safety in deep center field to prevent total disaster. Have you guys who are crying for more blitzes watched the Bengals corner play this year? Tory James was obviously collecting his last few NFL pay checks, and that is about all. Deltha O’Neal looks like he was wanting out as well. It has been long speculated that he is deep in Marvin’s dog house, probably never to return. Jonathon Joseph is a rookie who played very well this year. Like all rookies Jonathan will make rookie mistakes. He will bite on double moves, and get screened off on crossing routes, its part of the deal. Dues will be paid in the NFL.

So if we blitz, we are putting our faith in two guys who played like sissys all year and a talented but inexperienced rookie with Madieu over the top. This is a recipe for disaster.

The second point is that if you blitz it is paramount that you get to the quarterback. Consider at one point every starting linebacker was out due to injury or suspension. Consider that the guys that we drafted so highly a few years ago to be our line backing core for the next 5 to 7 years will probably never suit up in stripes again. Consider that Brian Simmons is in his last few years, and maybe has seen the best side of his career. Do you really have faith in Landon Johnson, Caleb Miller, Ahmed Brooks and the rest to get the job done? Frankly, when one considers the loss of Pollack and Thurman, the prospect of going to the 3-4 is laughable. Yes we can send Dexter upon occasion, but the safety blitz is a risky endeavor with corners this freaking bad. Frankly, the Bengals had better draft another corner number one, and then at least the secondary would be set for a while.


So why don’t’ they do something. Don’t they see it? Yeah, they do but when you have guy quit on you, you’re left with very little choice. Suffice it to say that O’Neal, James, and the under talented Corey Sawyer clone, Keiwan Ratliff, need to be given their walking papers as soon as possible. Kaesviharn has been a great Bengal, but he should probably be too expensive in free agency for the Bengals to keep. Thanks Kevin, we hope you do great, and get your big pay day.

Lastly, do you ever see the Bengals separate a guy from the ball by making a thunderous hit on defense? We have to be the softest hitting defense on the NFL. Who really bring the wood beside Dexter Jackson? Robert Geathers upon occasion can lay someone out, but it is not the norm. Is this an issue, I dare say it is. It could not be fixed in season. I am sure Marvin being a defensive hard nosed guy, was livid. He will adjust his team. He and Bresnahan could not have known that the starting corners were going to quit on them and that the starting linebackers would be out a good deal of the time.

There is a lot to fix, Marvin will fix it.