Post#5 » by Icness » Tue Feb 5, 2008 1:48 pm
I think Lewis is one of the worst coaches in the league, no secret there. Here's why:
--Poor gameplan management. The Bengals are one of the easiest teams to prep for because they're running the same sets and schemes all the time. Esp. defensively, where they almost never vary the gameplan based on the opponent.
--Inaiblity to control his players. Yes he drew soem bad eggs, but other teams have guys with the same iffy character and other than a couple of prominent instances, those guys get reigned in by the coach and the team. Not in Cincy, where Lewis' lack of people skills created an environment conducive for chaos.
--Lewis is allegedly a defensive guru, but the defenses in Cincy have consistently not performed to the level of the talent. This is not a D devoid of talent; Geathers and Smith are a pretty good DE tandem, Brooks has talent, Joseph has talent, both rookie safeties last season are impressive, even Hall and O'Neal have flashed strong potential at different times. This is more macro than micro to me, more long-term than short term. He got away with not scheming well and not teaching/player development well in Baltimore because that was a special collection of some truly amazing talent. His Cincy units have needed more hands-on guidance, more teaching, more designs that play to their strengths. Lewis has not done any of that.
--Special teams, which I believe is a strong reflection upon the head coach. They've consistently stunk under Lewis. It's not the best way to track, as Dungy's teams have traditionally stunk too, but with all the athleticism and speed on this team, they shouldn't be in the bottom 3rd in pretty much every ST category every year.
