Peter Schrager thinks the Bengals see a ‘WINDOW’ after new defensive additions 😤 | NFL Live

0:00 On NFL Live, Bengals headcoach Zac Taylor spoke this afternoon on the impact

0:04 of the additions that Cincinnati has made on defense this season.

0:09 I think it has been an impact that he's

0:13 I was shocked that he was here every day,

0:15 you know, right after we traded for him.

0:17 That he just chose to jump right in and and not miss a day initially.

0:21 I think when you you get access to a a tremendous

0:24 player like him like Jonathan Allen like Boye

0:28 Mafe in addition to all the guys up front

0:31 that were have already been in the system um young guys,

0:33 older guys, um it's just exciting.

0:36 And and you know, the um just a to add reinforcements to the trenches

0:42 like that is is good for a guy that calls plays on offense, too.

0:45 Okay, Peter, shameless plug time.

0:48 Uh you had Zac Taylor on The Schrager Hour last week.

0:51 Um what was your biggest takeaway though from that conversation?

0:54 That they made a very concerted effort to spend

0:57 money on the defensive side of the ball.

0:58 Obviously, the Dexter Lawrence trade is huge,

1:00 but when you add in Jonathan Allen and Brian Cook and Boye Mafe,

1:04 this was them telling the rest of the world we see

1:06 a window and we think this is where we need to beef up.

1:09 What was fascinating that I didn't realize until I spoke to Zac,

1:13 they have 11 starters returning on offense.

1:17 So, they kind of were like, we feel pretty good here.

1:20 And then in the draft,

1:22 they went and got Cash Howell who was the SEC Defensive Player

1:25 of the Year to add on to that list of players that they had.

1:27 But when it came down to it, the Dexter Lawrence trade was as follows.

1:30 They wanted a defensive tackle.

1:32 They looked at the draft, there was no one worthy of the 10th overall pick.

1:36 So, they went one for one and they said we'll pay

1:37 an extra bunch of million dollars to bring in Dexter Lawrence.

1:40 The hope is that they have a veteran defense that can now

1:44 compete with three other teams in that division who have new head coaches.

1:50 This should be one of the most improved defensive lines in football.

1:53 And granted, it It 32nd in pass rush wins, so the bar is not particularly high.

1:59 Uh Uh but Peter's right about Dexter Lawrence.

2:01 I mean, even in last year being a down year and he played through some injuries,

2:04 he was still the second most double-teamed defensive tackle in the NFL.

2:08 Boye Mafe, who they signed from Seattle, is a really complete edge.

2:11 He's very [music] good against the run, very consistent.

2:14 We're going to see if he can contribute more in the pass rush with more snaps.

2:17 And then I think on the back end, you know,

2:18 that the Bryan Cook signing kind of flew under the radar,

2:20 but he is a competent safety.

2:22 [music] And they've got some talented young

2:24 corners after moving back Hill to the perimeter,

2:25 I really thought his play improved.

2:27 [music] If I have one question about this defense,

2:29 I I do still think this linebacker group is a big question mark and a concern.

2:34 But realistically, given how good the Bengals offense is and should be,

2:37 all the defense has to be is average.

2:39 And when I look back at the depth chart,

2:40 I actually think they are capable of meeting that mark.

2:45 Yeah, I mean, clearly it's they needed to focus on the defense

2:49 with how it performed a year ago, and they have.

2:51 And I think all all of us expect them to be better.

2:54 The concern I have just organizationally,

2:56 when when you add Joe Burrow health-wise, he's been in the league 6 years.

3:00 He's started the entire season just three times in 6 years.

3:04 That that's half of the time he's been in the league.

3:06 And in that stretch, they've only had double-digit wins twice.

3:10 It's just not been a good organization,

3:13 and and a lot of it has been because the quarterback can't stay healthy.

3:16 And some of it is, you know, things outside of his control or, you know,

3:21 injured or sick at the beginning of the season or, you know,

3:24 an ACL injury that is a long period of time, a thumb injury.

3:28 It just feels like in in some ways for me,

3:30 it feels like Matthew Stafford early on in Detroit.

3:34 While there's talent on the team, and you think,

3:36 "Wow, this team could be really good.

3:38 They could be really good.

3:39 This quarterback is definitely Super Bowl caliber quarterback." But like, man,

3:43 they just they just organizationally can't get it done,

3:47 can't be competitive with the elite organizations in the league.

3:50 That's just what it's starting to feel like

3:53 to me with Burrow's era in in Cincinnati.

3:56 That's an interesting combo.

3:57 Of course, later everything worked out for Stafford,

4:00 but that was because of a change in location.

4:04 And this just in NFL live news from Adam

4:08 Schefter [music] and international game update from the Disney upfront.

4:11 The Cincinnati Bengals and the Atlanta Falcons will play week nine Sunday,

4:17 November 8th in Madrid, Spain.

4:20 [music] That will be taking place on NFL Network,

4:24 Shraegs, the second game in Madrid.

4:28 Your thoughts?

4:29 It kind of feels like we're at free

4:30 agent frenzy or the NCAA tournament selection show.

4:33 We're getting news as we get here.

4:35 This is cool.

4:35 I I I think last year was the was

4:38 a good welcome to Spain moment for the NFL in Madrid.

4:40 Bernabeu Stadium is one of the greats in the world and it had

4:43 this big renovation in 2024 where they put in this 360 video scoreboard.

4:48 It houses 85,000 people, but I think the big thing here to me,

4:52 the NFL sent the Bengals to London in 2016 and 2019 and it was like, whatever.

4:58 The NFL choosing the Bengals for this game tells

5:01 me that the league really believes in this franchise

5:04 and that maybe they are one of the state-of-the-art

5:06 teams that we're going to showcase the league with.

5:07 So, really cool stadium, really cool country,

5:10 and really cool fan base that we're all putting together.

5:12 Falcons versus Bengals.

5:14 Yeah, we're going to see nine international games.

5:16 Sunday mornings are going to be a lot of fun coming up.

5:19 All right.

5:20 One team we do know a lot about their schedule,

5:22 and that is the Dallas Cowboys because so

5:24 far three of their games have actually been announced.

5:28 A week one match up against the Giants,

5:30 in week three they [music] take a trip to Brazil to face the Ravens,

5:34 and then obviously they're going to play on Thanksgiving Day,

5:37 and that game is going to be against the Eagles.

5:40 And when they take the field for this upcoming season,

5:43 it will feature a new look defense bolstered by a host

5:47 of off-season signings and a pair of first-round [music] draft picks.

5:51 Caleb Downs, Malachi Lawrence, a new DC and Christian Parker.

5:56 Last season they ranked last in the NFL in points and passing yards allowed.

6:01 [music] So, Tim, who's going to be the biggest difference-maker on that defense?

6:07 Well, I think Rashan Gary's going to have a massive impact.

6:10 They needed an edge rusher.

6:11 They traded Dorance Armstrong away at the start of the season.

6:13 So, I do think that that's a big impact.

6:15 And then I think Caleb Downs, um you know,

6:18 by all accounts because of where he's going

6:20 to play and the impact that, you know,

6:21 a guy that's um you know, kind of playing in space, can tackle, can cover.

6:26 Um you know, it's kind of an easy easier position to have an immediate impact.

6:31 So, I really like the the moves that Dallas

6:34 has made this off-season on the defensive side.

6:36 You mentioned Christian Parker.

6:38 Kind of a young up-and-coming coach that um I

6:41 know that they have high expectations for there in Dallas.

6:44 And then when you combine that with what I and many others believe is going

6:49 to be one of the best offenses

6:51 in the game because of their talent at wide receiver,

6:54 because of uh you know, who their quarterback is.

6:57 I think Dallas, who we talk about seemingly a lot every single off-season.

7:03 Look, they they really you know, I guess when I look at it,

7:07 I think they have one of their better teams that they've had in recent memory.

7:11 And so, for that, the optimism and all the talk

7:14 this time of year really is not for nothing.

7:17 I think it it's going to matter

7:18 in a division that should be very winnable for them.

7:21 Yeah, listen, uh Tim, they're currently the second favorites to win

7:25 the NFC East at DraftKings Sportsbook.

7:27 They are plus 225.

7:29 Dallas coming off back-to-back seven-win seasons.

7:32 [music] Obviously, the favorite in this division has to be the Eagles.

7:37 They won the last two NFC East [music] titles.

7:40 The last team to win three straight, yes, it was the Eagles.

7:43 They won four in a row [music] from 2001 to 04.

7:46 So, Mina, have the Eagles made all the right

7:49 adjustments this off-season to put them right back in contention?

7:54 Yeah, I think they characteristically made a lot of smart moves,

7:57 especially compensating for some of the holes

8:00 that existed or sprung up on defense.

8:03 The biggest problem last year on that defense, and there were very few,

8:05 was one of the three best defenses in football,

8:07 in my opinion, was the second cornerback position.

8:10 Go out and get Tariq Woolen, who has some highs and lows, perhaps,

8:14 but let me tell you that is an upgrade

8:16 and he will get his hands on the football.

8:18 And then the trade for Jonathan Greenard I absolutely loved.

8:21 You know, I think they wanted to retain Jalen Phillips,

8:23 but Greenard is a fantastic consolation prize because he's

8:26 such a good fit for that Vic Fangio defense,

8:29 which likes to play with light boxes.

8:30 He's very good at setting an edge.

8:32 He will get pressure when Jalen Carter eats up those double teams.

8:36 So, I do think they did enough to maintain pace with that defense,

8:40 which, given how good they were last year,

8:43 well, that should be enough to compensate

8:44 for any issues early on with the offense.

8:46 Yeah, top five in scoring defense the last two years.

8:48 Again, they have yet another new OC.

8:51 We'll see what happens with Jalen Hurts.

8:52 We'll see what happens with Brown.

8:54 But, it looks like they got that defense locked down.

9:06 [music]