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Thread: Browns-Bengals Game Thread

  1. #1
    Smooth WMR's Avatar
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    Bengals v. Browns (bengal win + steeler loss = afc north title!!!)

    GAC let's get it on!!

    Bengals look to finish what they started
    By GEOFF HOBSON

    No “egg game.”

    The Bengals know they can’t afford to play like they did the last time the Cleveland Browns came to town in December with a division title on the line, when they produced that flat omelet in the last game of the 2003 season. So with the snow swirling Thursday at Paul Brown Stadium, head coach Marvin Lewis continued to apply the principles of a sweltering training camp practice of August.


    Houshmandzadeh
    “What is this? Game 13? We’re practicing like it's Game 1," said wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh before practice. "I think that’s a reason we are where we are. This is a different team. We went into that game thinking and hoping we can win. We go into this one knowing we can win.”

    With the No. 1 team on offense, the No. 1 turnover team on defense, and most importantly, four physical AFC North wins under their belt, this truly is a different team than two years ago.

    “I don’t think we’ll lay an egg like that,” said defensive tackle John Thornton. “That’s not what good teams are supposed to do. Cleveland is good enough to come in here and beat us. All I’m saying is good teams don’t lay eggs. I don’t know why we played like that. Nobody played well that day.”

    Lewis is making sure there is no let down against this Browns team that has four wins after the 8-7 Bengals lost a chance to finish with a winning record and push the Ravens for the North title against the 4-11 Browns two years ago. On Wednesday he appealed to the hot button that has pushed this team since the Oct. 23 loss to the Steelers.

    Get even more physical.

    “If you look at us in the first game against them, we were much more physical up front and that was a big difference in the football game than what we're playing now,” said Lewis of the 27-13 win over Cleveland in the opener. “We've got to go back to doing that. We have to do that. This is a good time to take a look at that, and reflect upon that and see, 'Boy, that's us.' And go back to that kind of mentality.”

    Thornton is talking about how Browns running back Reuben Droughns is the toughest back they’ve played all year and left tackle Levi Jones is bracing for the relentless play of Browns talented defensive lineman Orpheus Roye.

    “I think it all starts with the offensive and defensive lines,” said right guard Bobbie Williams.

    After the Bengals ability to be physical was questioned in the 27-13 loss to the Steelers, the Bengals have muscled through scores every time they’ve been in the red zone when the game was still in doubt. They have averaged 111 yards per game on the ground in their last three division games against top 10 defenses, and on Sunday they held the proud Steelers running game to less than 100 yards.

    But Lewis’s call to tighten it up even more seems to have found its mark. That’s another reason the Bengals are where they are. They buy into what Lewis tells them.

    “Droughns is probably going to be that third Pro Bowl back in my opinion,” Thornton said. “He’s having a tough year. He’s the best guy we’ve seen. The way he’s running now, he’s probably the best back we’ve faced.”

    Browns running game gets it going
    Droughns is running behind an offensive line that has impressed Bengals defensive line coach Jay Hayes with the rhythm it has displayed by staying intact as a unit in churning out a running game accounting for Droughns’s 4.3 yards per carry. Left tackle L.J. Shelton, right tackle Ryan Tucker, and center Jeff Faine have started all 12 games, with right guard Cosey Coleman starting all but one and left guard Joe Andruzzi all but three.

    If there’s one part of the Bengals that’s been consistently physical, it’s their offensive line, and they’re ready to do it again. How good has this line been? The Bengals are third in the NFL in allowing sacks per pass and are No. 12 rushing the ball despite playing eight of their 12 games against top 10 defenses.

    “We buy into it. We need to get physical. The back-to-basics stuff is so we don’t get knocked off course,” Jones said. “I feel like we’ve been very physical as a line. We could always be more physical.”


    Jones
    Jones knows that a Romeo Crennel defense lies in wait.

    “They’re going to have all 11 guys going to the ball and you know Orpheus Roye is going to be banging up in there all day,” Jones said. “We have to match their intensity and hopefully take it past that.”

    Williams feels like his unit has to step up again in a game against a defense that wide receiver Chad Johnson says “bends but doesn’t break.” Williams sees Crennel’s magic starting to work on a defense that has allowed only one team to score more than the 27 points the Bengals scored on them in the opener. In five of its eight losses, Cleveland has held a team to 20 points or less and has one shutout.

    “Linebackers like Andra Davis are starting to adjust to the defense. They’re beginning to look like the Patriots,” Williams said. “They’re very aggressive. It starts with them and we have to be up to that challenge.”

    Jones said Wednesday was a spirited type of camp practice because “guys were flying to the ball and running around,” yet he also joked, “But I didn’t get into a fight so it really wasn’t like training camp.” Known as one of the team’s toughest men, Jones said, “make sure you write that any fight I’ve ever been in at camp, I didn’t start.”

    Lewis doesn’t want his guys fighting, but he wants fight in his guys. The snow hit about an hour into practice and it was going good for about an hour before they came in, which seemed to suit the mentality Lewis is seeking.

    “What snow?” Lewis asked.

    There were no hints that he is moving Friday’s practice indoors. It looks like PBS, snow or no snow.

    “We’re fine,” he said, which is how Houshmandzadeh saw it.

    “If you ask me,” Houshmandzadeh said, “every practice is like this.”

    Which is why they’re getting ready for this week’s version of the AFC North title game in the snow.


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  3. #2
    Making sense of it all Matt700wlw's Avatar
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    Re: Bengals v. Browns (bengal win + steeler loss = afc north title!!!)

    Bengals. AFC North title. Bengals. AFC North title.

    Wow, it's been a while!!! How sweet it sounds!!

  4. #3
    So Long Uncle Joe BoydsOfSummer's Avatar
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    Re: Bengals v. Browns (bengal win + steeler loss = afc north title!!!)

    Twelve points is a big spread, I think muh Dawgs will cover.
    0 Value Over Replacement Poster


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    Re: Bengals v. Browns (bengal win + steeler loss = afc north title!!!)

    It should be no problem for the Bengals. The weather might be a factor - flurries and in the 30's.

    I look at the Browns-Bengal games alot like the OSU-Michigan games. Regardless of the records it's always a good game. The players get up for this one.

    We didn't play a bad game in the season opener. It was 27-13, but the Browns shot themselves in the foot quite a bit and had two TDs called back for stupid penalties. The punt return for a TD that was called back was a bogus call too.

    But both offenses moved the ball up and down the field. I expect that today too. We just can't keep settling for FG's.

    But again - the Bengals shouldn't have any problems. Our secondary is injury depleted. If the weather is a factor, I look for both teams to run the ball more.

    Charlie Fry versus the Bengal's secondary could be interesting. Edwards is out, but he only played in 2 series in that first meeting. The Browns are expected to use multiple receiver sets with Northcutt and Cribbs replacing Edwards.

    The Brown's secondary is pumped about facing Johnson, and really want to shut him down. They shut him down last year, but he caught 9 passes for 91 yds in the opener this year. So that may be the interesting "contest" to watch and what Crennel will do.
    Last edited by GAC; 12-11-2005 at 06:01 AM.
    "In my day you had musicians who experimented with drugs. Now it's druggies experimenting with music" - Alfred G Clark (circa 1972)

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    Re: Bengals v. Browns (bengal win + steeler loss = afc north title!!!)

    There is a terrific article in the Enquirer this morning about Paul Brown. Those of us that have been around long enough to relate to his impact on both Cleveland and Cincinnati will understand why that common thread makes these especially emotional games. (I stiall hate Art Modell for firing PB not to mention moving the team to Baltimore.)

    Rooting for the Bengals (as I have since '72). They've come so far to be this close.

    Rem

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    Re: Bengals v. Browns (bengal win + steeler loss = afc north title!!!)

    Quote Originally Posted by remdog
    Rooting for the Bengals (as I have since '72). They've come so far to be this close.

    Rem
    What do you mean you're rootin' for the Bengals? You're from Parma you traitor! The Browns Backers union shall hear about this transgression.
    "In my day you had musicians who experimented with drugs. Now it's druggies experimenting with music" - Alfred G Clark (circa 1972)

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    Re: Bengals v. Browns (bengal win + steeler loss = afc north title!!!)

    The Tale of the Tape

    WHEN THE BENGALS HAVE THE BALL
    RT Willie Anderson vs. LE Orpheus Roye

    The Bengals' best vs. the Browns' best. Two 10-year vets banging it out in a smashmouth game on a dreary offensive line day. The 6-4, 305-pound Roye is having a Pro Bowl year no one knows about. The 6-6, 340-pound Anderson is having a Pro Bowl year everyone can see because his offense is ranked No. 1.

    Roye is coming off his third nine-tackle game of the season, and got credited for two sacks against Jacksonville, but his M.O. is being a point of force against the run. Anderson is leading the Bengals offensive line through a marvelous stretch in which it has allowed just nine sacks in the last seven games in a run that began against a Titans team that was leading the AFC in sacks on Oct. 16. Five of those games came against teams in the top 10 in sacks per pass.

    The Browns aren’t much of a sack threat (they are the league’s fourth worst in generating sacks per snap), but Anderson’s guys can do more than protect the passer. In the last three division games against a No. 2 defense twice (the Ravens) and the No. 8 Steelers, the Bengals have consistently run it in the tight spots. They’ve scored nine touchdowns in 12 red-zone trips that didn’t end in a kneel down, with six coming off line smashes that includes an eight-yard shovel pass to rookie wide receiver Tab Perry up the middle.

    And the Browns are very good in the red zone, where they are ninth best in the NFL at preventing touchdowns. You can sense the tough, Patriotic mindset settling in.



    RB Rudi Johnson vs. MLB Andra Davis

    This is Johnson’s kind of bang-it-slog-it game. The Browns figure to take away the Bengals’ long passes with a Cover Two defense which Johnson must exploit to take over the afternoon. Cleveland is struggling in the running game. But they’ve only given up four 100-yard games, starting with Johnson’s season-high 126 yards in the opener.

    Johnson loves the AFC North games. His two 100-yard games have come against the rivals, and he had two more taken away on three negative carries late in the game. In the five North games, he’s averaging 100 on the nose, 71 against everyone else.

    If it’s getting colder, it must be Rudi Time. In the four November and December games, he’s averaging 96 per game. In his last 13 games in November, December and January, he’s averaging 104.




    WR Chad Johnson vs. Browns head coach Romeo Crennel

    Crennel is truly one of the finer defensive minds of his generation and he has a track record of stopping sleek offenses like the Bengals. When his Patriots were faced with the scorched-earth Rams offense four Super Bowls ago that did Bengal-like damage with three receivers, Crennel and head coach Bill Belichick responded by flooding the field with defensive backs and getting physical with the Rams receivers. The formula took Belichick from NFL Record and Fact Book anonymity to Mount Rushmore in the time it took the Pats to finish off the Rams, 24-21.

    Of course, the Bears, Ravens and Titans all tried to get physical with Johnson in key junctures of games and have been burned for touchdowns or long passes this season. The Browns have allowed only 15 touchdown passes in 12 games this year, but since the Bengals have added the No Huddle as a staple in the three games after the bye, the Bengals have used it to spring Johnson for two touchdowns of at least 54 yards.

    But if the Browns want to make the Bengals nickel and dime it out of the No Huddle, they can do that, too. Last week against the Steelers, Cincinnati had three drives of at least nine plays for 10 points. And when the Bengals pretty much called off the No Huddle in the red zone, or near the goal line, they scored four touchdowns once they got inside the 20.




    WHEN THE BROWNS HAVE THE BALL
    SS Ifeanyi Ohalate vs. RB Reuben Droughns
    Ohalete
    The Bengals know exactly what they’re getting with a rookie QB on the road in bad weather and a rugged back (5-11, 215 pounds) closing in on the best season by a Browns running back since Jim Brown’s last sprint in “The Dirty Dozen.”

    Ohalete has taken the brunt of Bengaldom’s wrath lately with two highly visible missed tackles in the last couple of weeks, the first one a whiff on Colts tight end Dallas Clark’s 56-yard play and the other a miss last week of Steelers wide receiver Quincy Morgan that turned into a 25-yard touchdown instead of merely a 10-yard pickup on third-and-six.

    “He knows he's got to do a better job of tackling,” Lewis said earlier this week. “He's had a couple of opportunities in the open field to make tackles and get the guy on the ground. Those so-called SportsCenter hits don't quite cut it. Your job is to get the guy on the ground. We've allowed two explosive touchdowns that should never have happened because we don't make the tackle there in the open field on the receiver. Those things need to improve. He's got to work hard at that. We have to as a football team.”



    LE Justin Smith vs. QB Charlie Frye

    Frye is making his second NFL start after last week’s impressive debut in the first half melted in Jacksonville’s five sacks as Frye appeared to hang on to the ball. The Bengals are wary of Frye’s athleticism and his ability to throw on the run. Smith is part of the battalion that has to contain him and make him throw his rookie mistakes from the pocket toward a secondary that has an NFL-high 26 interceptions. Frye has thrown just 32 NFL passes, so that numbers game can’t be comforting for the Browns.

    One of the reasons Frye may hold on to the ball and make him vulnerable to Smith’s rush is he doesn’t have a lot of options downfield. The guy he threw his two touchdowns to last Sunday, rookie wide receiver Braylon Edwards, is done for the year with a torn ACL. Frisman Jackson, the big guy replacing Edwards, hasn’t scored a touchdown since the Bengals botched a short crossing pattern and turned it into a 68-yard touchdown pass in the opener that still stands as the longest pass against them this season. Antonio Bryant has some speed, but he, Jackson, and Dennis Northcutt have just 1,246 yards combined this season, barely ahead of Chad Johnson’s 1,139.



    WR Tab Perry vs. KR Josh Cribbs

    A true Golden Flash out of Kent State, Cribbs is a good match in this all-rookie battle. Perry is coming off his AFC Special Teams Player of the Week award that came courtesy of his 94-yard Red Badge of Courage return in Pittsburgh, but his most important job Sunday may be tackling the 6-1, 192-pound Cribbs.

    Perry is a staple of the Bengals kick cover team ranked second in the NFL, and they have to get to Cribbs in a hurry. He has two 150-yard plus return games, his most recent two weeks ago when he averaged 31 on five returns in Minnesota. He returned one for a 90-yard touchdown in the Oct. 23 game against Detroit on his way to 152 yards. Wide receiver Kevin Walter, one of the men who helped spring Perry’s 94-yarder as well as his 46-yarder last week, compares Cribbs to the 6-3, 220-pound Perry.

    “Both guys are fearless and are going to take you on physically,” Walter said. “They’re big, and they get to you fast.”

    Walter on why the Bengals are so good covering kicks and have consistently been among the league leaders in tackles inside the 20: “We compete among ourselves. I want to be the first guy down there. I want to make the tackle. We all want to be the best at it.”

    At the moment, it’s a heated competition for that overall special teams tackling crown: Walter and Perry lead with 14 each, but linebackers Marcus Wilkins (13), Hannibal Navies (12), and safety Anthony Mitchell (12) are right there.

    Perry is eighth in the NFL with 25.9 yards per return and Cribbs is 13th at 24.3. But there are three rookies ahead of Perry in Houston’s Jerome Mathis (No. 2), Tennessee’s "Pac Man" Jones (No. 5), and Jacksonville’s Derrick Wimbush (No. 6).



    Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis vs. The Intangibles


    The greatest NFL rehab job in recent memory is on the verge of completion. Everyone agrees. Lewis has done virtually everything right and now his team has to follow through on one of the foundations he built the program: Finish.

    Finish blocks. Finish plays. Finish practices. Finish games.

    Now the Bengals have to finish this division run Sunday at 5-1, which gives them the tiebreaker and virtually their first division title in 15 years because the magic number will be one with three to play.

    But they are coming off their most emotional win in the 44 games of Marvin Mania to a cold home field against a team that has a punishing running back and nothing to lose. The Bengals could see everything but a drop kick.

    Lewis has been brilliant in getting this team loose and fast and not playing with the chains of ghosts.

    Now, he has to finish, too.

    (from www.bengals.com)

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    Goober GAC's Avatar
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    Re: Bengals v. Browns (bengal win + steeler loss = afc north title!!!)

    Yep
    Last edited by GAC; 12-11-2005 at 12:30 PM.
    "In my day you had musicians who experimented with drugs. Now it's druggies experimenting with music" - Alfred G Clark (circa 1972)

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    Browns-Bengals Game Thread

    OK. I'll start one.

    Nice start for my Browns. Stopped the Bengals on their initial drive, and then put together a nice scoring drive. Frye looked good rushing for the TD.

    7-0 Browns
    "In my day you had musicians who experimented with drugs. Now it's druggies experimenting with music" - Alfred G Clark (circa 1972)

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    Re: Browns-Bengals Game Thread

    Geez! Great run D there Brownies.

    Rudi made that look easy.

    7-7 game
    "In my day you had musicians who experimented with drugs. Now it's druggies experimenting with music" - Alfred G Clark (circa 1972)

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    Re: Browns-Bengals Game Thread

    Palmer INT by Davis.

    A pass and a run, and it's 1st and goal at the Bengals 8.
    "In my day you had musicians who experimented with drugs. Now it's druggies experimenting with music" - Alfred G Clark (circa 1972)

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    Re: Browns-Bengals Game Thread

    Looks like you're going to have to take out Rudi if you want to win this game, GAC. He is running at will. Whoever will is...

  14. #13
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    Re: Browns-Bengals Game Thread

    This is shades of last years 59-49 game.

    Rudi with 110 yard rushing with 9 minutes left in the 2nd.

  15. #14
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    Re: Browns-Bengals Game Thread

    Rudi Johnson has 110 yds on 11 carries in the 2nd quarter - totally unreal!
    "In my day you had musicians who experimented with drugs. Now it's druggies experimenting with music" - Alfred G Clark (circa 1972)

  16. #15
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    Re: Browns-Bengals Game Thread

    So far, QB ratings....

    Frye - 131.3
    Palmer - 4.2

    That won't last though

    Good stop by the Brown's D to hold them to a FG

    14-10
    "In my day you had musicians who experimented with drugs. Now it's druggies experimenting with music" - Alfred G Clark (circa 1972)


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