Different defense by any other name
By GEOFF HOBSON
June 17, 2006
Posted: 7:50 a.m.
With the microscope on Carson Palmer’s rehab and the telescope on the character issue, the Bengals defense again finds itself laboring in the wings of what has been a quietly optimistic spring.
“I’ll tell you, this is the deepest defense talent-wise since I’ve been here,” said end Justin Smith as he completes his sixth mandatory minicamp Saturday at Paul Brown Stadium. “Look at what we can do on the defensive line and it’s like that all throughout the defense.”
In the end, the Bengals tweaked the No. 28 defense in the NFL with the same names instead of overhauling it with that massive 3-4 reconstruction. But they know the differences better be as huge as the addition of big Sam Adams in the middle of their defensive line. And they think they are.
“It better be different. It’s no secret in the last five or six games we stunk it up,” said linebacker David Pollack. “The offense carried us on their backs. It’s a lot of the same names, but it’s another year together and that makes a difference.”
The names may be the same, but a different chemistry can be heard bubbling underneath them. Bryan Robinson thinks there’s a better understanding of themselves and the scheme, and compares it to what happened when he went from Chicago to Miami in 2004 and helped the Dolphins raise their defensive ranking to No. 8.
“The guys are accepting their roles and there’s not so much bickering,” Robinson said. “I think guys see the bigger picture. Last year everything was so focused on starting fast and getting to the playoffs. We’ve done that. Our goals have got much bigger than that. Now it’s, 'Finish what we started.’ ”
Robinson, the textbook-solid 33-year-old veteran, is a good place to start. One projected Opening Day lineup has him moving from left tackle to left end with Adams anchoring his Pro Bowl presence into the tackle spot. It's a natural move for Robinson, since he played primarily end during his first several seasons in the league, most notably with the 13-3 Bears in 2001.
That means Justin Smith moves back to right end, his spot for the first four years of his career, and Robert Geathers, after starting all 17 games at right end, goes back to his rookie role of coming off the edge on second-and long, and third-and-long.
“I don’t think any player would like it,” Geathers said of the switch. “I think I can play all three downs. But I want to do what’s best for the team. I’m here for that.”
It looks like it’s also best for Geathers. He has enthusiastically dropped about 15 to 20 pounds from last season, and is back to his rookie weight of 265. No more, it appears, lining up at tackle on passing downs, which Robinson can do.
“Robert found out; he got worn down a lot inside,” Robinson said. “This will help him. He can focus on what he does and go back to that rookie year (3.5 sacks in the last nine games).”
It also means that Smith is going to flop ends according to the situation, “which I like to do," he said, and the Bengals can be versatile with Adams in the middle on first down and Robinson in there on passing downs.
Adams says not to worry
At 33 and off a stretch of three run-stopping Pro Bowls in six seasons, Adams has some people nervous because he’s only working on the side with strength coaches Chip Morton and Ray Oliver and no one will say what his injury is.
But the guys he’s going to play with aren’t worried.
“Sam came out in what? 1994? That’s when I got out of high school,” said fellow tackle John Thornton. “He’ll be there when we get ready. He’s been through it all before. He’s sitting in there in the meetings with us, and, I’ll tell you, he’s excited.”
The locker room can’t but help feel Adams’s magnetic big-time presence. Here’s a guy that was the eighth pick in the draft, has been the heart of a Super Bowl championship defense, and jolted Pro Bowl linebacker Takeo Spikes when he left Buffalo this past offseason.
“You want to see where I am?” Adams asked a reporter inquiring about his status. “Line up across from me and you’ll see.”
He has looked explosive bouncing around Morton and Oliver like ping pong balls and head coach Marvin Lewis says Adams is going to be ready for the July 29 start of training camp.
“This,” Robinson said, “isn’t his first rodeo.”
Adams smiles when he hears the other linemen talk about how the run defense is routinely criticized. Clearly, he likes the challenge of doing for this defense and linebackers what he did in Buffalo the past three seasons.
“We’ll see," he said.
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http://www.bengals.com/news/news.asp?story_id=5301
Lets take a peek at the new defense ...
Lets take a peek at the new defense ...
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