Rey Maualuga declared the regular season starter at strong-side linebacker
by Josh Kirkendall on Sep 7, 2009 12:33 PM EDT
in Analysis
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In a not so surprising move Monday morning, the Bengals will be starting Rey Maualuga over Rashad Jeanty at outside linebacker when the Bengals kickoff the season, tweets the official Bengals Twitter account (I'm not sure how to phrase all of that... just seems, weird). Furthermore, I'm not surprised that Chris slobbers over any Bengals player that might don a UK t-shirt.
In truth, the only reason that this may come as a surprise, is that it's being announced so early. But we knew it was, as Mr. Smith says, inevitable. After hearing on Hard Knocks that linebackers coach Jeff Fitzgerald and defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer say that Maualuga has to start because it makes the defense better, you knew Rashad Jeanty's role as the team's strong-side starter would come to an end. Jeanty, who ranked 4th on the team with 97 tackles, becomes one of two linebackers that will start the season on the bench after recording a combined 209 tackles a year ago.
As for Maualuga, he finished the preseason with 11 tackles, eight of them against the St. Louis Rams when he got the bulk of his preseason playing time. He missed the game against the Saints due to injury and against the Patriots he made several good plays, including one on a screen; which is important because we've never been able to defend against the screen.
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Outstanding.
Just terrific news. I don’t think I’ll ever not be excited that we picked this guy up. What a steal in the second round.
who do you rate ahead of them? are you talking overall depth or just starters? i don’t know that i rate anyone ahead of them based on just starters, except for maybe baltimore.
Depth...
And potential. The Ravens (and the Steelers) set the standard, so that puts at least third. But I’m satisfied they can stand toe-to-toe with the rest of the AFC.
i think it’s difficult to compare apples-to-apples with the steelers, based on the different requirements of the linebacker position between the defenses; consider that in a 3-4 defense like the steelers use, robert geathers and michael johnson would both be considered outside linebackers, and i think that gives us the depth edge when you throw in rivers, maualuga, and jeanty.
against the ravens, i think it’s pretty even, because ray lewis doesn’t have too many years left, and other than suggs their linebacking corps is a relative unknown at this point. besides, we stole their secret weapon, jeff fitzgerald (just kidding, but i am damn glad he’s our linebackers coach).
okay, so i’m fudging things a bit, but if there’s one area of this team that has my complete confidence right now, it’s our linebackers.
Like they had a choice.
Think they’d make $41 million guaranteed quarterback ride the bench? My god, it could be a disaster.
Blogger at CincyJungle.com -- SB Nation Cincinnati Bengals blog.
by Josh Kirkendall on Sep 7, 2009 12:58 PM EDT up reply actions
Not only is he talented-but he will be playing with a huge chip on his shoulders
with more experience (maybe at MLB) one day he will be a player other teams game plan for.
stay healthy
The defense is primed to play some real tough football and Rey is a big part of it. With Rivers, I see trouble for many teams. IF Bengal’s karma does not strike, then lets have some fun- Johnson the next “Freak” followed by big hitters at all levels of defense. There will be some awesome shots landed this year. Who’d a thunk, the Bengals laying people out
Who'd a thunk that the Bengals might theoretically lay people out?
Pretty much everyone that visits this site.
Rey's ROY Prospects just got a lot better
Starting him means more looks each game and more chances to make bit plays. That said, we have a great rotation to keep the backers fresh during the game.
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