I've never seen a Bengals team this mentally tough, and physical. Simply incredible. This team is going to be one hell of a tough out come playoff time, I guarantee that much.
I've never seen a Bengals team this mentally tough, and physical. Simply incredible. This team is going to be one hell of a tough out come playoff time, I guarantee that much.
What particularly impresses me is that many of the names you hear getting it done on D are the same names that have been here when the D was poor. Zimmer has found a way to get through to guys like Peko, Fanene, Geathers, Brandon Johnson and Ndukwe and brought out their potential. It's not like the Offensive line, which has seen significant changeover in the past two years to the point where I don't know much about these guys at all.Originally Posted by KoryMac5
I just hope Mike Brown is saving up to give Zimmer a nice fat raise at the end of the season. It would be nice to have a good defensive coordinator for more than one season.
Wear gaudy colors, or avoid display. Lay a million eggs or give birth to one. The fittest shall survive, yet the unfit may live. Be like your ancestors or be different. We must repeat!
I thought Ben was lucky to get out of the game with only one interception. The secondary covered the receivers like a blanket all day leaving Ben little choice. Some of those sacks could have been picks if he'd thrown it and even so he had quite a few questionable throws get batted around. Statistically, the two teams were almost dead even across the board except for two things; The kickoff returns (all the Bengals returns were longer) and interceptions. (Ben=1, Carson=0) All in all, an excellent game.
"This field, this game, is a part of our past. It reminds us of all that once was good, and what could be again." -- Terence Mann
I find it hard to believe Zimmer won't get SERIOUS consideration for a head coaching job after the season. The man deserves it. And I definitely want to keep him, but on the same hand, he deserves to be a head coach and I'd be happy as hell for him.
He may get serious consideration from his current team. Mike Brown has already approached Lewis about an extension. Lewis reportedly wants to wait until the season is over. Could get interesting in Cincy.
If you have a losing record at Reds games, please stop going.
I would want to wait too if my team was putting together a Super Bowl-type season. His pay day at the end of the year will be huge compared to what it would have been a couple weeks ago. He is signed through 2010 and given the support that Brown has showed Marvin during the tough years, I'd be shocked to see him leave.
I agree.
The offensive line has more impact on the running game than the running back does.
I would still rather have Cedric Benson busting the ball between the tackles than Bernard Scott. Scott is probably more likely to break a big one down the sidelines though.
What a fun game to watch today.
My neighbors are die-hard, obnoxious Steelers fans (even though they are life-long Cincinnatians) that love to rub it in when the Steelers beat the Bengals. They will have to keep their cakeholes shut for a while now. So I have that going for me, which is nice.
They are also primarily draft choices who might also be maturing and the light came on all at once. The main difference is the secondary. They have just been magnificent.
They have played better this year although I've seen some flaws, however not today they played like you'd hope a secondary would play. A game the defense needs to continue to build on. If we stay healthy and continue to play defense like that I like our chances against anyone NE & Indy included even Minny and N.O.
"You can't let praise or criticism get to you. It's a weakness to get caught up in either one."
--Woody Hayes
Well, some of these guys have been around for quite some time. Fanene has 5 years, Geathers 6 yrs (same NFL experience as Tank Johnson and Antwan Odom), Peko 4 years, Brandon Johnson 4 years. If you ask me, 4-6 years is a long time to mature in the NFL.
Very true on the secondary though, but I think part of the difference with the team this year is that the guys on D seem more focused on playing their role rather than trying to make the big play. The guys in the secondary are focused on covering their man rather than trying to read the QB to try and jump the route for the big interception. Likewise, the guys on the DL focused on staying in their lanes, which kept Roethlisberger contained and allowed them to close up holes on running plays. In the past, guys like Geathers and Peko had a tendency to try to run around their blocker to get to the QB. The blocker would push them right past the QB and end up opening a hole in the pocket for the QB to have a clear view downfield. It would be interesting to see what's really helped them
Wear gaudy colors, or avoid display. Lay a million eggs or give birth to one. The fittest shall survive, yet the unfit may live. Be like your ancestors or be different. We must repeat!
Something else I loved about the game. . . Carson Palmer remained calm throughout the game and didn't force any long throws to receivers and risk an interception. I think in years past, if the game had been this close, you might have seen Palmer try to get the big score to open up a lead. Against a team like the Steelers, that can often lead to a big turnover. Instead, Palmer seemed to work for field position and avoid the mistakes. To me that says he trusts the defense to stop the other team. On that last drive, my main concern was turning the ball over and allowing the Steelers to tie it up or take the lead. Instead, Palmer got them into field goal range so that Graham could put them up by 6. Would I have liked them to score a TD? Of course. When they chose to run it on the last play before the field goal, I was hoping Palmer would opt for a quick screen or slant to take advantage of the blitz the Steelers were showing. But for some reason, I just felt like a field goal would be okay. I just knew the D would hold.
Wear gaudy colors, or avoid display. Lay a million eggs or give birth to one. The fittest shall survive, yet the unfit may live. Be like your ancestors or be different. We must repeat!
On that last drive the Bengals were not worried about the clock. They moved the ball down the field and put points on the board. The old Bengals would have tried to work the clock down.
On the Steelers last possession the old Bengals would have gone into the Prevent Defense and allowed the Steelers to run 12 yard sideline routes one after another. The new Bengals kept doing what they had done all day -- pressure the quarterback and cover the receivers tightly.
I think they are actually learning how to win. Closing out a win against a good team is very difficult and the Bengals have blown many a late lead over the years. They seem to have more of a killer instinct this year.
You don't know how impressed I was to finally see a defensive coordinator not call off the dogs in that situation. That impressed me so much that Zimmer kept blitzing Roethlisberger on that last possession. Finally someone who gets it. Don't change the game plan with two minutes left.
"No matter how good you are, you're going to lose one-third of your games. No matter how bad you are you're going to win one-third of your games. It's the other third that makes the difference." ~Tommy Lasorda
David Fulcher, Eddie Edwards, Tim Krumrie say hello.
But I agree- this team is showing some nails. It's refreshing to see a defense that doesn't give up the game on the last possession. They just kept pounding away at Big Ben. He was over matched.
Next Reds manager, second shooter. --Confirmed on Redszone.
After watching this game, I have to say I honestly believe this team is capable of reaching the Super Bowl. A few things:
1. This entire draft class should be moved up to A+ if it hasn't already. It was already an A based on talent, but they are performing like they deserve it. Rey Maualuga, Michael Johnson, Bernard Scott, and Morgan Trent have all been exceptional. This may be the best Bengals draft class since they drafted Carson Palmer.
2. I still think this team needs to sign another backup at RB. Scott has performed well, but I don't know how he would function as an every down back. At the rate things are going, I fear we will lose Cedric Benson before the season is over. I mentioned in another thread about signing Larry Johnson for the rest of the season. Even with the minicircus he would bring, Mike Brown has been known to roll the dice on troubled players (even Cedric Benson), and I think a fresh start splitting carries and backing up Cedric would help get his value up to where he could land a bigger contract with another team next season.
3. The Bengals definitely need to win the next three games with absolutely no letdown. It is entirely possible that even with beating the Steelers and Ravens twice and possibly beating Cleveland again that the Steelers could go 13-3 and we finish 11-5 or 12-4. I'm not looking forward to playing Minnesota and San Diego in back to back weeks, although that will be the real test.
4. Speaking of the Steelers, even though we swept them, I don't want to play them again in the playoffs. It's going to be extremely difficult beating a team three times especially when your entire season is on the line. As much as I would love to see it happen especially living in Steeler country, I really don't want to chance it.
5. Indianapolis is beatable. If we can pressure Manning for the entire game and confuse him like we did Big Ben, I would really feel good about our chances if we played them in Indy for the AFC Championship.
Posting Permissions
|
Board Moderators may, at their discretion and judgment, delete and/or edit any messages that violate any of the following guidelines: 1. Explicit references to alleged illegal or unlawful acts. 2. Graphic sexual descriptions. 3. Racial or ethnic slurs. 4. Use of edgy language (including masked profanity). 5. Direct personal attacks, flames, fights, trolling, baiting, name-calling, general nuisance, excessive player criticism or anything along those lines. 6. Posting spam. 7. Each person may have only one user account. It is fine to be critical here - that's what this board is for. But let's not beat a subject or a player to death, please. |
Reply With Quote