2013 Bengals Discussion (Part 3)

[RiverRat13]

I should have read the whole transcript before my last post so I could have included this admission by Dalton that he called the pass, not Gruden:

That first-and-goal call at the one-yard line, can you walk us through that?
“Yeah, I got a little greedy, and tried to take a shot. I didn’t throw it how I wanted to, and should have ran it in or handed it off.”

[George Foster]

No Excuse for the Bengals next Sunday. A west coast team coming into a cold Cincinnati in January. The Bengals beat them in San Diego... No excuses...

Dalton has to eliminate some of his bone headed decisions as well. He is a great talent, but his judgement is lacking. WAY to many interceptions in the last couple of games. Very seldom does a team win in the playoffs when they lose the turnover battle. PROTECT THE BALL.

[Stray]

I just hope we're close to a 50/50 run pass split next week. If we are we'll win easily.

[HeatherC1212]

I'll be on vacation through the first two weeks of the playoffs this year and in a fun sort of irony, I'll actually be in New England (Boston to be exact) if/when the Bengals beat SD and then have to play NE in their house the next weekend. I will proudly be wearing my Bengals gear all over the city that day even though I won't be able to go to the game. WHO DEY!!!!

[5TimeWSChamps]

Just bought tickets for Sunday. Section 249, Row 22

[Yachtzee]

I should have read the whole transcript before my last post so I could have included this admission by Dalton that he called the pass, not Gruden:

That first-and-goal call at the one-yard line, can you walk us through that?
“Yeah, I got a little greedy, and tried to take a shot. I didn’t throw it how I wanted to, and should have ran it in or handed it off.”

It's 4th quarter and less than a yard for the TD. They needed to not just score but run the clock. If Dalton can't figure that out then in those situations, you need to take the decision out of his hands on those plays. Even if the Bengals pound it up the gut 4 plays and turn it over on downs, you've run a bunch of time off the clock and force the Ravens to go 99 yards for a TD. Dalton needs to thank the defense for bailing him out.

[Brutus]

A philosophy that really doesn't make any sense. I was glad to see Gruden bucking the trend and run a play that will score, not worrying about "deserving" a TD. For example, he ran the read option with Dalton in short yardage today multiple times. Regularly running the ball up the middle in short yardage is lazy.

It's lazy but at the end of the day it's still the best bet.

To be honest, though, in that situation, it's not just about playing percentages; there's no doubt in my mind running it up the gut is the highest percentage play. However, like was mentioned, if the Bengals run it up the middle and get stuffed three straight plays, so what? At least they'd have run off almost two more minutes of game clock. At that point in the game, it's a win even if they had to settle for a field goal (or go for it on 4th & 1 meaning the Ravens would have to go 99 yards).

[GAC]

I'm down here in Gatlinburg with the family. Yesterday I got tired of fighting Moms with kids in strollers at the Aquarium and told the wife/kids to take their time, but I've had enough and will meet them outside. There was a catina next door, so I wondered over there and met up with a couple Bengal fans from Dayton. They're frantically going through the channels trying to find the Bengal's game. I felt for the guys, but the only games you were getting down here were the Titans and Falcons.

I guess they shouldn't have planned a vacation on such a key weekend! LOL

I still think this Bengals team can win the AFC. Now someone can correct me if I'm wrong .... but the Bengals face SD next week, then NE, then Denver ... and I'm going on the assumption that those teams would win their respective games since they are the favorites, so I'm simply throwing out this scenario.

Whether it's been mentioned on here or not .... and irregardless of your offense's performance .... what impresses me about this Bengals team is their DEFENSE.

You beat SD away, and now have them at home where you are 8-0. That there speaks volume. Being at home, I think the Bengals will win.

As for the Patriots and Denver? .....

You've beaten NE once this year, but this is the play-offs. And Tom Brady is, well, Tom Brady. But this years Pats team is not as strong as in previous years. They have their weaknesses. Their defense is bottom tier. In Foxboro you may have to worry about Brady (to some degree).... but your biggest concern may be the refereeing crew. Ask any Brown's fan! LOL But you can beat them!

Denver and Manning will be a bigger test. Especially in Denver. Their offense, especially passing game, is top tier. But the Bengal's pass D is #5 in the NFL. You're' going to have to find a way, IMO, to put some pressure on Manning and try to throw him off his game. And Thomas and Decker will be a test for the Bengal's secondary.

On the other side of the ball.... both teams have solid rushing defenses; but Denver's pass D is not good (27th in the NFL).

If it gets that far, you guys can beat both NE and Denver IMO.

Dalton is going to have to be on his game. He can't make bad nor bone-head decisions, putting to much pressure on himself, trying to force the issue.

I called my brother yesterday, the pessimistic Bengals fan, after the Bengal's win yesterday. He was sounding more optimistic, but still had to throw in a "We'll see brother. Marvin Lewis has never won a post-season game".

I think that changes this year (and maybe more then one)

Here's a Brown's fan saying - "GO BENGALS!"

Us Ohia boys have to stick together!

[bucksfan2]

I actually thought Dalton played a damn good game, with the exception of a few throws. The first pick was an ok throw that Jones got his hands on but the defender popped it up for an easy int. Those are throws that that the WR needs to make. The second and third INT were just bad throws, throws Dalton can't make going forward.

As for the last INT too much is being made of. I think both Dalton and Green were trying to pad stats at that point. I have no problem with that. I thought they should have given the ball to BJGE 4 times and run him up the guy, but I do like trying to embarrass a division rival at home.

If I could have picked a team to play it either would have been the Dolphins or Chargers. Get one of those warm weather teams and force them to play in Cincy. Miami had a better D but SD has Rivers. In the end I am happy that the Bengals went all out yesterday and pounded a team that way playing for their playoff lives. They beat up the Ravens like the Ravens used to beat the Bengals. Hopefully there won't be a letdown next Sunday and hopefully Andy decides to keep those two bad throws away.

[Sea Ray]

I actually thought Dalton played a damn good game, with the exception of a few throws. The first pick was an ok throw that Jones got his hands on but the defender popped it up for an easy int. Those are throws that that the WR needs to make. The second and third INT were just bad throws, throws Dalton can't make going forward.

As for the last INT too much is being made of. I think both Dalton and Green were trying to pad stats at that point. I have no problem with that. I thought they should have given the ball to BJGE 4 times and run him up the guy, but I do like trying to embarrass a division rival at home.

If I could have picked a team to play it either would have been the Dolphins or Chargers. Get one of those warm weather teams and force them to play in Cincy. Miami had a better D but SD has Rivers. In the end I am happy that the Bengals went all out yesterday and pounded a team that way playing for their playoff lives. They beat up the Ravens like the Ravens used to beat the Bengals. Hopefully there won't be a letdown next Sunday and hopefully Andy decides to keep those two bad throws away.

I guess I'm harder on Dalton than some. For example, on that throw to Jones, you got to remember the situation. It's first and 10. Not 3rd and long. You don't throw a jump ball on your first play from scrimmage. That's just not good football. Ditto for the one on the goal line late in the game. If those plays aren't wide open you throw it away and you regroup for 2nd down. Flacco had one InT tipped and another was on 3rd and long and worked like a punt. None of Dalton's were in those categories

[bucksfan2]

I guess I'm harder on Dalton than some. For example, on that throw to Jones, you got to remember the situation. It's first and 10. Not 3rd and long. You don't throw a jump ball on your first play from scrimmage. That's just not good football. Ditto for the one on the goal line late in the game. If those plays aren't wide open you throw it away and you regroup for 2nd down. Flacco had one InT tipped and another was on 3rd and long and worked like a punt. None of Dalton's were in those categories

First play of the game I believe. That play was probably scripted and Dalton probably got the match up he liked. It wasn't the best throw but it definitely was a ball that could have been caught.

As for the late game INT I don't have a problem with the decision. Dalton got greedy and I am ok with that. It wasn't the best throw, but if you want to pad your stats up 17 in the last quarter of the regular season then go for it. I would hope/imagine that the play calling would be different in a playoff game.

[Sea Ray]

First play of the game I believe. That play was probably scripted and Dalton probably got the match up he liked. It wasn't the best throw but it definitely was a ball that could have been caught.

As for the late game INT I don't have a problem with the decision. Dalton got greedy and I am ok with that. It wasn't the best throw, but if you want to pad your stats up 17 in the last quarter of the regular season then go for it. I would hope/imagine that the play calling would be different in a playoff game.

I have no problem with either "throw", just the decision to throw it. On the first play he should have seen that Jones was covered and checked down or thrown it away. It was unnecessarily risky to throw it up for grabs.

Ditto on the goal line play. You pound that into the line a few times before you ever take that risk. My problem with Dalton is not physical. It's with his risk management. There are times to take risks but yesterday was not one of them. We had them beaten in all phases of the game. All we had to do to win was to go toe to toes with 'em. The only way they could stay with us is if we give them TOs

[hebroncougar]

I guess I'm harder on Dalton than some. For example, on that throw to Jones, you got to remember the situation. It's first and 10. Not 3rd and long. You don't throw a jump ball on your first play from scrimmage. That's just not good football. Ditto for the one on the goal line late in the game. If those plays aren't wide open you throw it away and you regroup for 2nd down. Flacco had one InT tipped and another was on 3rd and long and worked like a punt. None of Dalton's were in those categories

Jones had the ball, and got outmuscled for it. That isn't on Dalton. That goal line throw was just a stupid, stupid play. Especially on first down.

[top6]

Bengals are saying there are 10,000 tickets available, and there are still good seats available on the web site. I really doubt this game comes that close to selling out. I guess that would have been the only positive to playing the Steelers.

[traderumor]

We're talking less than a yard and the line was doing well. At that distance all the line needs to do is fall forward and it's in the end zone. It's a little different if it's 2-3 yards and the line needs to open a hole that can be plugged by a linebacker. The only pass play I call in that situation is option where I tell the QB to only throw if the coverage is blown and you've got a wide open receiver. Otherwise run it yourself or throw it away. There is no reason to try to throw into coverage when it's 1st down and the yardage is so short.

I'd note the read option was most successful when Dalton ran the ball himself, so it ended up being run rather than pass. For a team that seemed to do very well with the run today, they seemed to do very little of it.

I like to mix it up, whether a few feet or a few yards. I'll never begrudge an attempt to mix it up on the goal line after watching your philosophy make things much harder than it ought to be or fail from predictability, even if some times the riskier play doesn't work out (which is why it is being discussed). I can recall several 3rd and 1's up the middle from various places on the field being stuffed this season with the mentality of "you don't deserve it if you can't get a yard" philosophy. Some have been game changers. I was glad to see them mix it up several times on short yardage instead of mindlessly plowing into a scrum and hoping for the best.