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Originally Posted by tredadda
Their defense was off this year and they were on the outside looking in for a playoff spot WITH Burrow and those weapons. Cincinnati in the Burrow era always leaned on their defense which has moved backwards. Wait until they have to pay Chase as well. Gonna be very hard to keep a solid defense on the field, along with a line that doesn’t prematurely end Burrow’s career.
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One thing most people outside of Cincy isn't going to notice is that, while they do lean on the defense, if they need to get in a shootout they're capable. Zac and Burrow both taylor (no pun intended) their play and play calling to the score. They already have several guys on rookie contracts that have a good amount of snaps, who will step in when guys like Reader and Awuzie are gone.
Jesse Bates was brought up earlier and Dax is is at least on par with what Bates did here and better in some areas. Any decline in the back end had to do with Nick Scott's play. Jordan Battle is the starter now, so the back end will get better. They're a bit short on pure pass rushers as Miles Murphy hasn't shown a whole lot yet and everyone's favorite Ossai has been pretty quiet this year.
The defense, while never up there in numbers before, has been noticeably worse this year, but when Burrow was healthy they were doing some damage before the Texans game. I can't see any reason why they wouldn't continue to be a top 5 team in the next few years, as long as they realize the line still needs fixed. Other guys are already in place. A decent run game wouldn't hurt either.