Bengals tidbits

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

NFL notebook
Bengals hire Zimmer to shore up defense

Wednesday, January 16, 2008 3:15 AM



From staff and wire reports
Veteran NFL coach Mike Zimmer is the latest man hired to fix the Bengals defense, a feat that has eluded the franchise for most of its existence. He arrives with plenty of experience under his belt and plenty of room for improvement on the field.

The Bengals ranked 27th of 32 teams in yards allowed and 24th in points allowed in 2007. They have ranked among the bottom half of the league in yards allowed in 20 of the past 23 years.
Zimmer was unavailable for comment yesterday. He will be introduced as the team's new defensive coordinator during a news conference today in Paul Brown Stadium.

Continued.....

[BengalsAndBucks]

Drafting Sedrick Ellis would go a long way towards shoring up this D.

[billmac91]

or any defensive player. Period.

[Best Buckeye]

Originally Posted by billmac91

or any player that doesn't wind up in jail. Period.

Fixed that for you Bill.

[GoBucks89]

Story about Zimmer from the official team site.

No one hopes more than Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis that the third time is the charm.

"I haven't gotten this right once before," Lewis said Wednesday when he introduced Mike Zimmer as his third defensive coordinator. "We needed to make a change. We needed to have some fresh life, some new life. I think that's important."

Lewis is asking the 51-year-old Zimmer, a 15-year NFL veteran to give the defense what apparently he didn't get from Leslie Frazier in 2003-2004 and Chuck Bresnahan the past three seasons.

"An identity for our defensive football team," Lewis said.

LINK

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

Bengals
A familiar spot for Zimmer
Coordinator made Cowboys defense shine without stars
Thursday, January 17, 2008 3:14 AM
By Scott Priestle


THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Al BehrmanAssociated Press
Mike Zimmer likely will have to improve the Bengals defense without adding any major players to it.



CINCINNATI -- In 2001, Mike Zimmer developed a reputation as a bright defensive mind by building a stout defense out of players largely lacking reputations. Those Dallas Cowboys featured Darren Woodson, Dat Nguyen, Dexter Coakley and assorted spare parts, but they finished fourth in the NFL in yards allowed.

Continued...

[sandgk]

Another hire by the Benagls on the coaching staff - Linebackers coach Jeff FitzGerald lured way from the Ravens.

CINCINNATI (AP) -- Jeff FitzGerald was hired by the Cincinnati Bengals on Wednesday as linebackers coach, a role he held at Baltimore the last three seasons.
FitzGerald follows former Atlanta Falcons defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer to the Bengals as coach Marvin Lewis works on a struggling defense. The Bengals missed the playoffs the last two seasons.

Four Ravens linebackers -- Ray Lewis, Bart Scott, Terrell Suggs and Adalius Thomas -- were chosen for the 2006 Pro Bowl and the Ravens have been among the NFL leaders on defense throughout the decade. Last season, the defense ranked second against the run (79.3 yards per game) and sixth overall (301.6 yards per game).
(more)

Perhaps FitzGerald's first project is keeping Odell Thurman's noze clean (and to the grindstone).
Light at the end of the tunnel of NFL Purgatory for Odell Thurman?

CINCINNATI (AP) -- The NFL cleared linebacker Odell Thurman to resume working out with the Cincinnati Bengals on Saturday, a step toward reinstatement from his two-year suspension.
Thurman will be allowed to work out with the training staff at Paul Brown Stadium. He's hoping for full reinstatement before the team's minicamp in April.

"We see it as a positive," agent Safarrah Lawson said Saturday in a phone interview. "It's an opportunity to get reacclimated with the team, to work with the strength and conditioning staff in preparation, hopefully, for minicamp and training camp."
Lawson said Thurman has to continue meeting guidelines from the league to get reinstated. He thinks that working out with the Bengals staff will help Thurman, who wasn't allowed to be with the team.
"It will mean a lot to him to be in an environment with teammates and the supervision of the coaches," Lawson said. "It will give him more structure. It helps with his recovery."
A second-round draft pick in 2005, Thurman showed immense promise as a rookie. He started 15 games at middle linebacker, led the team in tackles and tied the team rookie record with five interceptions.