Next question: Linebackers
Not counting first-round draft pick Keith Rivers, the Bengals have nine linebackers under contract as of today.
UPDATED: They had 11 this morning, until they announced early this afternoon that they've wavied Anthony Schlegel and Roy Manning.
Assuming Rivers signs on time, which he says he will, the Bengals might take 10 linebackers to training camp.
They are: Darryl Blackstock, Ahmad Brooks, Eric Henderson, Rashad Jeanty, Brandon Jones, Dhani Jones, Corey Mays, Rivers and Odell Thurman.
Question: Who are the six of seven who open the season on the roster? And give me your two-deep, for example -- MLB: Odell Thurman / Ahmad Brooks
Remember, special teams plays a part in the decision of which players will earn backup jobs.
(And thanks again for all of the thoughtful input.)
SLB:
MLB:
WLB:
posted by Mark at 9:42 AM
15 Comments:
at 5/01/2008 10:07 AM 
davisbm49 said...
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at 5/01/2008 10:08 AM 
crab42 said...
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at 5/01/2008 10:29 AM 
NKY RYGY said...
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at 5/01/2008 10:41 AM 
Anonymous said...
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at 5/01/2008 10:59 AM 
T'roothBtold said...
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at 5/01/2008 11:16 AM 
Hal Incandenza said...
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at 5/01/2008 11:17 AM 
engelj06 said...
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at 5/01/2008 11:45 AM 
Chapper said...
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at 5/01/2008 12:26 PM 
Big O said...
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at 5/01/2008 12:45 PM 
Pleaser said...
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at 5/01/2008 12:45 PM 
Anonymous said...
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at 5/01/2008 1:04 PM 
James said...
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at 5/01/2008 1:15 PM 
Anonymous said...
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at 5/01/2008 2:04 PM 
Popcan said...
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at 5/01/2008 2:12 PM 
Anonymous said...
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Post a Comment*SLB -- Jeanty/Blackstock/B. Jones
MLB -- Brooks/Thurman
WLB -- Rivers/D Jones
MLB: Brooks/Thurman/Schlegal
WLB: D Jones/Rivers/Schlegal
SLB: Jeanty/Blackstock
I think Blackstock will play due to special teams. I think Schlegal is a better linebacker than Mays or Maxwell but their special teams play might give them an edge.
Beginning of the season...
SLB- Jeanty,Henderson
MLB- Brooks, Thurman
WLB- Rivers, Jones, Blackstock
Starting lineup by week 3...
SLB-Brooks
MLB-Thurman
WLB-Rivers
SLB: Brooks, Jeanty, Blackstock,
MLB: Rivers, Thurman, Jeanty
WLB: Thurman, Jones
Hybrid: Henderson- Fits the mold of what Fitz ran in BMore (ala Thomas and Suggs). Will earn roster spot because he can back up both LB and DE. Neiter Fanene or Rucker are truly pass rushers, and Henderson would be one if anything happened to Odom or Geathers.
I agree with bburton359---- Henderson is in that mix somewhere...
I think bburton has the right idea.
SLB - Brooks, Jeanty, Blackstock
MLB - Rivers, Brooks, Mays
WLB - Thurman, Jones, Rivers
Hybrid LB/DE - Henderson
I think they keep 7 LB, with Henderson being an LB/DE if he meets expectations. I think they put Rivers at MLB to be the quarterback of the new "D". Since the defensive scheme will be new this year, he will be as familiar with it as anyone.
SLB:Jeanty/Henderson
MLB:Brooks/Rivers
WLB:Jones/Thurman
I could see Rivers becoming the starter by midseason. I think Thurman will be moved to outside linebacker due to his time out of the league and the new helmet radios on Defense.
SLB: Brooks/Jeanty
MLB: Thurman/Schlegal
WLB: Rivers/Jones
Rivers starts somewhere. He is the first pick and face of the defense. Thurman is too good to sit. If Brooks stays healthy, he could cause problems for people at the SAM. I could see Thurman and Brooks swapping spots. Brooks has more size and could be better in the middle
SAM: Jeanty, Brooks, Henderson
MIKE: D. Jones, Thurman
WILL: Rivers, Mays
There are a couple variables with this scenario. I only put Jones in the middle if Brooks, Thurman or Rivers can't make the plays there. I keep Mays based on the special teams play last year. I might like Blackstock better by the end of training camp. This also puts our future corps in position I would like to see them start next year: Brooks-SAM, Thurman-MIKE, Rivers-WILL.
SLB: Rivers
MLB: Schlegal
WLB: D Jones
These are probably the only guys with common sense.
Brooks on the Strong side... Thurman in the middle... and Rivers on the weak side... of course this is all contingent on Odell still being able to play, being in shape, understanding the playbook well... he was out of position constantly in '05 and that caused turnovers AND big plays for the opponent...
Jones-Thurman-Blackstock
Rivers-Brooks-Thurman
Jeanty-Brooks-Henderson
WLB is Thurmans position once he gets his legs, but to start off the position belongs to Jones. Blackstock will add a rush linebacker job but will mostly be special teams.
OK it seems clear they will play Rivers in the middle. Brooks will be the primary back up since he played there most recently, but Thurman has experience there as well for the 3rd string.
Again, this position is ticked to be Brooks long term, but for now Jeanty is the starter. Henderson can provide special teams depth and can rush the passer.
The long term goal of the Bengals should be WLB-Thurman, MLB-Rivers, SLB-Brooks, but it won't happen right away. Thurman needs to get up to speed and Brooks needs to fully recover from his injury before they get greenlighted as starters.
This is what we will likely see with the LBs. Rivers will likely be MLB. Scouts claimed that his specialty is stopping the run and that is important at LB. Also, outside Dhani, Rivers looks to be the smartest LB of the group. This makes him best suited to calling plays. John Thornton was on the radio recently and he said that after talking with Rivers, he thinks that he has a shot to come in right away and be captain. That captain should be the MLB.
Odell will move outside. He was an excellent MLB, but he was not all that disciplined with the scheme. Odell would fair better outside where he can just unleash his athleticism and make plays. He is also the best cover LB on the team and that should work well outside.
There will be a mad scrum at SLB or rush LB (whatever they will call it). Look for Brooks, Jeanty, Blackstock, and Henderson to get looks there. This will be a similar role to what the Raven did with Boulware, Thomas, and Suggs.
SLB: Thurman/Jeanty/Henderson
MLB: Brooks/Thurman
SLB: Rivers/D. Jones/B. Jones
Mark,
If Odell is what he was 2 years ago (wishful thinking I know) just think how quick the Bengals will be off the ends? Thurman, Rivers, Odom, Geathers. Brooks is going to be a load up the middle along with Sims. The secondary is going to keep getting better. I still question this smaller fast defense against the run but its a start!
This is going to be one of the more interesting competitions to watch in training camp. Out of this whole group, only Dhani and Jeanty played a significant number of snaps for the Bengals last year.
And on top of that, there is a new DC and a new LB coach this year, and a new scheme.
So in effect, there are basically NO incumbents, and every LB spot is completely up for grabs! That should make the whole group work that much harder.
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