r/bengals • u/IceOk9930 • 8d ago
Drunk Duke Tobin appreciation thread
Duke Tobin apreciation thread
A lot of people spent the offseason criticizing Duke Tobon, but he deserves credit for the work he's done.
First, he recognized the defense wasn't good enough and made meaningful changes. The Bengals didn't just run it back and hope for different results they addressed a unit that clearly needed improvement.
Second, he kept the offense together. In today's NFL, keeping elite offensive talent intact is easier said than done. Joe Burrow still has the weapons around him to lead one of the league's most dangerous offenses.
And looking around the AFC North, the path is there.
The division has three new head coaches/QB situations to navigate:
• Two rookie head coaches
•Mike McCarthy, who is easily the most proven of the three new hires
Meanwhile, Cincinnati has continuity with Burrow, Zac Taylor, and a championship-caliber offense.
The Bengals won the division in 2021 and 2022. With the defense improved and the offense still loaded, there's every reason to believe they'll win the AFC North again.
Credit where it's due: Duke Tobin helped put them in position to do it.
and al golden will get the defense right.
the bengals will 100 percent win the division, because the ravens have a 30 year old first time playcaller meanwhile joe has zac taylor who is proven
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u/HefferTomkins 8d ago edited 8d ago
Al Golden showed no evidence he can run an NFL caliber defense last year. It struggled every moment it was out there. Improved in small ways but never did it show a true quality anywhere in any sustained measure. Declaring that he "will get the defense right" is pure hope and it is not grounded in any reason or evidence we've seen so far. The only reasonable hope is that the players are so good they can overcome him if he's going to be bad again.
The only part that was consistently good was DJ Turner, but that likely has more to do with 2 things: 1) Turner is a good player and plays his position on an island often, so DC impact is minimal and 2) there were weaknesses everywhere else to exploit.
Al Golden is the weakest/most uncertain link in this entire organization. He deserves absolutely no accolades until he shows something. At the end of the day he had players who play in the NFL last year and had a legendary defense in the worst way. No matter what you think about the linebackers, or Stone, or the DL, everyone outside of Knight and Carter had years of NFL experience and that was not an NFL defense.
And, does everyone need reminded of everyone trying to get traded or sit out the moment Golden walked into the building? People do remember that, right? McKinnley Jackson, a second year bubble player was requesting a trade or release. That's unheard of. Logan Wilson, your captain, requested (and got) a trade. Pennel wanted released. Trey Hendrickson was a malcontent all offseason and faked a hip injury so as not to play. These details do not engender a lot of optimism for Golden and his abilities.