I'm not as panicky as most. The score looked a lot worse than it really was. Bengals turned the ball over twice in the first 5 minutes. After that, it was essentially over.
The Good:
Williams and Smith blocked really well. Opened up several holes for Benson and they pass-pro'd well.
Benson ran hard and with a purpose. Sniffed out the holes well.
Green and Simpson are dynamic. Just hope we can exploit them as we should. Toss in Shipley and Gresham and we have an elite pass-catching unit.
Reggie Nelson looked really good and, Leon Hall, even though he was burned twice, was in single coverage both times and there is no NFL CB who could have done a thing about either TD, and I still say Burleson was out on that 2nd TD.
The Bad:
Andy Dalton looked pretty bad....I know, rookie QB, first game, poor protection, etc. I get all that. But he made some poor reads and what bothers me the most is that he's still throwing off that back foot. He's got to cut that out.
Our defensive front got no pressure on their QB's.
Our offense as a whole only mustered up 3 points. Nugent missed a FG.
The Ugly:
Livings and Cook may as well have been turnstiles out there. Both of them collectively could not block Suh.