Schlegel Out, Thornton and Kelly Doubtful and drafting Lewis' defense

by Josh Kirkendall on Nov 9, 2007 4:33 PM EST in Analysis

Reuben Frank goes into detail about the Bengals recent draft picks intended to improve a poor defense. In reality, after the picks were made, the defense has only gotten worse -- with several variables.

All defensive draft picks during Marvin Lewis era.

Year	Round	Position	Player	Notes
2003
	4	DB	Dennis Weathersby	Gone
	5	LB	Khalid Abdullah	Gone
	6	DT	Langston Moore	Gone
	7	DE	Elton Patterson	Gone
2004	Round	Position	Player	Notes
	2	DB	Keiwan Ratliff	Gone
	2	DB	Madieu Williams	Starter
	3	LB	Caleb Miller	Starter
	3	LB	Landon Johnson	Starter
	4	DT	Matthias Askew	Gone
	4	DE	Robert Geathers	Starter
	6	DB	Greg Brooks	Gone. Failed physical.
2005	Round	Position	Player	Notes
	1	DE	David Pollack	IR
	2	LB	Odell Thurman	Suspended
	7	DE	Jonathan Fanene	Ineffective
2006	Round	Position	Player	Notes
	1	DB	Johnathan Joseph	Starter
	3	DE	Frostee Rucker	Ineffective/Often injured
	4	DT	Domata Peko	#3 DT
	5	LB	A. J. Nicholson	Gone
2007	Round	Position	Player	Notes
	1	CB	Leon Hall	#3 CB
	3	DB	Marvin White	#3 SS
	6	DT	Matt Toeaina	PS
	7	DB	Nedu Ndukwe	#2 FS

Anthony Schlegel Out

With Schlegel out Sunday against the Ravens, the Bengals will start Landon Johnson at middle linebacker -- their fourth this eight-game season. Who will play weak-side? Not even Marvin is sure. Also, John Thornton and Reggie Kelly are doubtful (you can find status report there, too).

Two bad teams playing Sunday

Don Markus examines the company the Ravens are in. The company name? Disappointing.

The Ravens have plenty of company in their mediocrity. After losing to the Colts in the Super Bowl, the Chicago Bears benched quarterback Rex Grossman earlier this season and are still floundering at 3-5; the New York Jets, considered one of the league's up-and-coming teams a year ago under coach Eric Mangini, are down-and-out at 1-8; and the San Diego Chargers, a league-best 14-2 last season under Marty Schottenhiemer, are a middling 4-4 this season under Norv Turner. At 4-4 going into Sunday's home game against the Cincinnati Bengals (2-6), the Ravens are not close to being the biggest bust in the league this season. Nor are their struggles that shocking to those who recall what has happened in Baltimore for several years.