PDA

View Full Version : Cincinnati Bengals v. New England Patriots Pre/During/Post-Gamethread - 10/01/06



WMR
10-01-2006, 03:02 PM
Bengals

VS.

Patriots
KEY MATCHUPS

OCTOBER 1, 2006

An NFL scout joins our roster of observers that includes a former NFL personnel head (The Guru) and a current NFL player personnel director (The Chief) as they break down Bengals-Patriots, a tight matchup in which they give a slight edge to the Bengals citing home field, the Pats offensive woes, and the Bengals’ younger athleticism.

“I just don’t think they’re going to be able to score to keep up with Cincinnati,” The Guru says. “New England just has no firepower on offense. They’re really searching for big-play people and they just don’t have them right now. If they can give Carson Palmer time, he should be able to attack that secondary with the receivers they have.”

The Chief: “The Bengals are catching the Patriots at just the right time because they’re in transition. They’ve always been a team that has set up the run with the pass and now that they’re struggling in the passing game, I think they’re going to have to take a step back and see where they are.”

The Scout: “The Patriots are a good, solid veteran team, but I think the Bengals have more athleticism.”

WHEN THE BENGALS HAVE THE BALL

QB Carson Palmer vs. Pats QB Tom Brady
Two of the best. They get to resume their Foxboro duel that got short-circuited when Palmer had to leave the Dec. 12, 2004 game with 202 yards in the middle of the third quarter and Brady finished up with 260 and two touchdowns in leading the Pats to a 35-28 victory.

Palmer and Brady are statistical twins. Check this comparison after their first 32 starts:

Palmer has completed 663 of 1,026 passes for 7,405 yards for a 7.2-yards per throw average, 56 touchdowns and 34 picks for a 90.4 passer rating.

Brady: 676-1,076, 6,939 yards for 6.76, 49 TDs, 30 picks for an 84.9 rating.

But QBs are judged on wins and losses, and no QB is better in the NFL in that than Brady. Brady is taking needless heat for his play last Sunday. But, hey, how would Palmer play if defenses took Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh away from him? Beware Brady even if he’s throwing to Mitt Romney. Under his leadership the Pats have gone 52 straight games without losing two straight and that’s why he’s a very dangerous man Sunday.



C Eric Ghiaciuc vs. Pats NT Vince Wilfork
It’s more like Bengals offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski vs. Pats head coach Bill Belichick, but Ghiaciuc is the guy that has to put into practice.

“Belichick is going to give you something different. You know it, and then the Bengals are going to have to adjust to it,” The Chief says. “One time he played us with two defensive linemen. He’ll throw the whole kitchen sink at you.”

That’s what the Steelers did last week and they got to Palmer for six sacks. That’s 10 the Bengals have allowed in the last two weeks, the bulk of which have come without the injured Rich Braham at center.

The Bengals are saying his absence isn’t a problem, but clearly a complicated defense and a loud crowd didn’t help Ghiaciuc. The hope is that a home game is going to help the communication that got garbled in Pittsburgh.

Plus, Ghiaciuc is dealing with a very large man in the 6-2, 325-pound Wilfork. The Broncos ran for 144 yards with 285-pound center Tom Nalen able to leverage the bigger man, but then Nalen is a 13-year Hall of Famer.

The Pats are known to switch out of a 3-4 to a 4-3, but The Scout says, “They just watched Pittsburgh get pressure with a 3-4 and I have to believe they’re going to leave a nose on Ghiaciuc."



LT Levi Jones vs. Pats DL Richard Seymour
The Bengals didn’t block him very often the last time they played (he knocked Palmer out for the season with a knee shot), but who does? Next to Denver corner Champ Bailey, he’s the second-highest paid defensive player in the league.

“When he wants to be, he can be a very dominating guy, an excellent player,” The Guru says. “Their front seven is very strong and that’s the reason this is going to be a tight game. The Bengals have their hands full there.”

The Scout says, “He can bull rush you, speed rush you, and do it from tackle and end.”



WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh vs. Pats CB Ellis Hobbs
The Bengals wideouts vs the Pats DBs should shift this game Cincinnati’s way. How beat up are the Pats in the secondary? They just signed corner Hank Poteat, a guy they’ve cut a couple of times and a guy the Bengals attacked a few times when he was in Pittsburgh. Hobbs has been hurt and barely practiced this week and if he does play his 5-9 frame is reminiscent of the physical advantage the 6-1 Houshmandzadeh had on Steelers corner Deshea Townsend last week.

Asante Samuel, New England's best corner, sometimes has trouble playing the ball, and the Pats have been scorched this season for touchdown passes of 73, 46, 32 and 83 yards. The Bengals are actually going to get more man-to-man opportunities than they did last week because Belichick doesn’t zone blitz as much as Pittsburgh’s Dick LeBeau.

Palmer is still waiting to fling one beyond 43 yards, his longest throw of this season and Chad Johnson is still without a plus 20-yard catch this season.

Of course, Belichick may not blitz at all to protect his secondary but know that he’ll have his DBs pounding on them. Composure may be the password running routes in the secondary this week.




WHEN THE PATRIOTS HAVE THE BALL

Pats RB Corey Dillon vs. FS Madieu Williams
OK, this isn’t just because they ended up getting traded for each other in the 2004 Draft. Williams was Cincinnati's best defensive player last week in Pittsburgh, changing the game with an end-zone pick and saving the game with an end-zone deflection.

The big charge is to stop the Pats running game because you know that’s what they’re going to do after hanging Brady out to dry Sunday night with 55 passes in the loss to Denver.

“It seems like every team we play, the week before they play us they have trouble running it and you know they’re going to try and do it on us,” said Bengals defensive tackle John Thornton. “We expect them to come at us.”

The Bengals believe Dillon has some left in a gas tank that turns 32 in three weeks. But he’s also left two out of the three games with injuries and he’s coming off his second injury-riddled season in three years, so he’d like nothing better than to show he can still do it on what used to be his playground.

“I think he’s still good, but they’ve also got a threat running the ball in rookie Laurence Maroney,” The Scout says. “He’s going to be a very good back. He is now. He’s fast, tough, and he’s got good contact balance. A good change-of-pace because Corey is still a power guy.”



SLB Caleb Miller vs. Pats TE Ben Watson
With Rashad Jeanty (foot) figuring to be inactive, Miller, this week’s Sports Illustrated cover boy, must hold up his 220 pounds in the running game because here they come. “The (SI) jinx only works on guys that people know who they are, so I’m all right,” Miller said.

A lot of people think what is going to win this game is the fact that the Bengals generate turnovers (11) and the Patriots don’t with their only one coming on an intercepted Hail Mary.

Belichick talked about the Bengals penchant for forcing it at length this week in Foxboro.

“They have a lot of guys that are looking for it. They’re breaking on the ball. They’re raking it out. Sometimes they’re not really so much as trying to tackle a man,” Belichick said. “A lot of times they try to tackle the ball. I think it’s something you have to have a real awareness for. I don’t think you can predict that it’s going to happen on this play or that play. It kind of depends on what position the defender is in, what kind of situation or opportunity he has as to how aggressively he's going to play it. When you watch the film you keep seeing it over and over again. I'm not saying you see it on every play, but you see it repeatedly. There are a lot of guys that do it. It's not just like sometimes it's just one or two guys. In this case, it’s just about everybody on the team you see doing it.

"They are covering one guy, but they're watching the quarterback and the ball is over here and a lot of times they really drop their guy or their coverage and go where the ball is. They have a good coverage package. They are more of a zone team than a man team. Again, if you’re a zone team, that gives you a chance to watch the quarterback more than being a man team. They do both. They have a nice mixture of zone, man, pressure. They stunt their front. They keep them stationary. They give you a lot of things to work on. It's not like you can count on, ‘Well, this is what they're going to do,’ because they have enough variety to keep you honest.”

Watson leads the vertically challenged Pats (they don’t have a receiver with a catch longer than 29 yards) with 11 catches, but he has no touchdowns and his longest grab is 34 yards. He’s a long way from Antonio Gates, but he can run. So can Miller and he’ll have to.

It’s a good test for the linebackers. With wide receivers Deion Branch and David Givens gone, the Pats do most of their work over the middle and on screens to running back Kevin Faulk. But Denver’s backers are so fast that the game plan was squashed.

“The Bengals linebackers aren’t slow,” The Scout says. “Maybe not as fast as Denver, but those guys like Brian Simmons and Landon Johnson can run, too.”


DEs Robert Geathers and Justin Smith vs. Pats LT Matt Light and Pats RT Ryan O’Callaghan
Geathers and Smith have four sacks and they’ll be trying to exploit a one-on-one matchup with Light and the inexperience of O’Callaghan. Light is a tough nut to crack because he’s a solid guy while O’Callaghan is not seen as a great in-space athlete in pass protection.

“But he’s a good player. We had a high grade on him,” The Chief says of the fifth-rounder from Cal, a smart guy who casts a 6-7, 330-pound shadow. “He’s not great in space, but you can’t go through him.”

When Smith or Geathers tries him, expect O’Callaghan to get some help in a double team. “It’s a solid O-line,” The Scout says.



DT John Thornton vs. K Stephen Gostkowski
Thornton, who knocked down a field goal last week for the third block of his career, faces a rookie who has had two field goals blocked in his first three games. Gostkowski, who has inherited the Pro Bowl shoe of Adam Vinatieri, hit a low liner on a 27-yarder that got blocked. Sunday night he had a 37-yarder blocked on a miserable field that was blocked by the Rolling Stones as much as the Broncos, thanks to their Gillette Stadium concert.

And now he’s got to be thinking because later in the game Belichick eschewed a 52-yarder and went for it on a fourth-and-one when he really needed three points.

“This kid will be good,” The Guru says. “But he’s not Vinatieri yet.”


from www.bengals.com

WMR
10-01-2006, 03:07 PM
Henry inactive

October 1, 2006

Despite coming off the two best games of his career, Bengals wide receiver Chris Henry found himself on the sidelines for Sunday’s game here at Paul Brown Stadium against the Patriots.

Head coach Marvin Lewis chose to deactivate Henry six days after he was reportedly in a car driven by Odell Thurman when the middle linebacker was arrested for driving while impaired.

Also inactive is starting strong-side linebacker Rashad Jeanty (ankle), giving Caleb Miller the start.

Henry, who already faces a possible suspension from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, was found with Thurman and fellow receiver Reggie McNeal hours after catching two touchdown passes in Pittsburgh last Sunday. In the game before that, Henry had the first 100-yard game of his career with 113 in the 34-17 win here over Cleveland.

Lewis also sat down McNeal for the second straight week since coming up from the practice squad.

Lewis’ decision on Henry was rendered easier by the presence of wide receiver Antonio Chatman, active for the first time this season Sunday after being hobbled by a groin problem since the first weekend of training camp. The 5-8, 180-pound Chatman, off a 49-catch season in Green Bay last season, is seen as a slot receiver and punt returner, but he has played in only one preseason game.

The Bengals could be seeing what life is going to be like without Henry when Goodell’s ruling comes down. There had been some gray area where Henry stood with the NFL after pleading guilty to a gun charge in Florida on top of his plea to marijuana possession in Kentucky. While two admissions would net a suspension, according to the league’s personal conduct policy, the two charges can also fall into two different categories with one governing substance and alcohol abuse and the other personal conduct.

But when Goodell visited Cincinnati last week, NFL vice president Joe Browne said that Goodell had the final say, and the new commissioner indicated that he would be tough with violators in a statement that didn’t bode well for Henry.

Goodell said the case had yet to reach his desk. If Goodell acts, Henry could be looking at a suspension of one or two games, and maybe more if his DUI case in Clermont County is resolved later this month. That’s the question now. Will Goodell act before the Bengals’ next game _ Oct. 15 in Tampa _ or wait until the Clermont case is resolved? And if he acts, will he follow through on a suspension?

WMR
10-01-2006, 03:08 PM
Bengals come in ranked #2 in ESPN's Power Rankings.

No Chris Henry will hurt big-time, but somebody/something has to wake this kid up.

WMR
10-01-2006, 04:34 PM
Initial Bengals possession results in a FG.

3-0 Bengals

WMR
10-01-2006, 04:37 PM
Kevin Kaesviharn and Madieu Williams in on the coverage as the Pats are unable to convert a 3rd and 3 on their first possession.

WMR
10-01-2006, 04:51 PM
TOM BRADY INTERCEPTED BY TORY JAMES.

Bengals football!!

WMR
10-01-2006, 04:52 PM
END OF 1st QUARTER:

Bengals 6 - Patriots 0

WMR
10-01-2006, 05:10 PM
Lawrence Maroney - TD

Bengals - 6
Pats - 7

Falls City Beer
10-01-2006, 05:15 PM
I imagine the Pats probably win this by a touchdown. As someone else said, "when's the last time the Pats lost two in a row?" Was it 2000?

WMR
10-01-2006, 05:16 PM
i think it was 2002

WMR
10-01-2006, 05:21 PM
Bengals can't get ANYTHING going. 1 for 6 on 3rd downs.

WMR
10-01-2006, 05:31 PM
25 yd. pass -- Brady to Gabriel

Bengals - 6
Patriots - 14

WMR
10-01-2006, 05:35 PM
Another possible 3rd down conversion goes by the wayside...

Bengals 1 for 7(!) on 3rd downs this half.

WMR
10-01-2006, 05:36 PM
Chad Johson limps to the locker-room with under a minute remaining in the half.

Thanks again to you and your idiocy, Chris Henry.

Falls City Beer
10-01-2006, 05:36 PM
Another possible 3rd down conversion goes by the wayside...

Bengals 1 for 7(!) on 3rd downs this half.

I'd like to see the Reds ape the New England/Atlanta Braves model: the ability to will themselves to victory even when the personnel is lacking. That's the winning formula; it's nebulous but it exists. The utter refusal to lose.

WMR
10-01-2006, 05:38 PM
I'd like to see the Reds ape the New England/Atlanta Braves model: the ability to will themselves to victory even when the personnel is lacking. That's the winning formula; it's nebulous but it exists. The utter refusal to lose.

Yep, they've got 'it.'

It doesn't seem quantifiable, but they sure have 'it,' whatever 'it' is.

WMR
10-01-2006, 05:41 PM
Halftime:

Bengals - 6
Patriots - 14

Patriots will receive the ball to start the 2nd half.

traderumor
10-01-2006, 05:42 PM
Bratkowski or Carson have seemed to fall in love with the dink and dunk. How about throwing a few balls downfield, esp. today when the line is winning the pass rush battle. Kaesviharn didn't hurt us last week, but it seems Brady knows what to do with him this week.

Joseph
10-01-2006, 05:56 PM
This games not even as close as the score, at least thats how it feels while watching.

WMR
10-01-2006, 05:56 PM
This games not even as close as the score, at least thats how it feels while watching.

TOTALLY agree, Joseph.

My question: When will Jonathan Joseph supplant Tory James as the other starting CB? He's truly slow as molasses.

WMR
10-01-2006, 05:59 PM
MISSED FG by Pats.

Good field-position for Bengals.

HUGE.

C'mon now, let's get something positive!

WMR
10-01-2006, 06:05 PM
Carson Palmer looking AWESOME on this drive.

32 yrd. completion under INTENSE pressure to Housh-yo-mama highlight of drive.

1st down on the 1 yrd. line!

WMR
10-01-2006, 06:06 PM
TD RUDIIIIIII JOHNSON!!

New ballgame!!!

WMR
10-01-2006, 06:06 PM
Extra-point converted by Graham

Bengals - 13
Patriots - 14

Joseph
10-01-2006, 06:08 PM
I feel better now. :)

Playadlc
10-01-2006, 06:12 PM
The Bengals D -line is getting absolutely manhandled.

WMR
10-01-2006, 06:18 PM
When did the NFL become a no-contact league???

Joseph
10-01-2006, 06:19 PM
Apparently this week.

WMR
10-01-2006, 06:20 PM
Ooh, that was UGLY tackling.

Maroney TD

Bengals 13
Patriots 21

max venable
10-01-2006, 06:21 PM
When did the NFL become a no-contact league???

No kidding. IT'S FOOTBALL FOR CRYIN' OUT LOUD.

WMR
10-01-2006, 06:27 PM
UGH.

Take the delay to set yourself up for a better punt on FOURTH AND 2???

I HATE THAT CALL.

WMR
10-01-2006, 06:28 PM
At least we get a fortunate bounce, Patriots will take over on their own 6.

deltachi8
10-01-2006, 06:29 PM
gotta stop the run.

Playadlc
10-01-2006, 06:30 PM
The Bengals defense is still a joke.

This is one of the worst defensive performances I have seen in a while.

They are getting absolutely shredded.

Falls City Beer
10-01-2006, 06:30 PM
Wow. What a butt-whippin.

Joseph
10-01-2006, 06:30 PM
They are just abusing the Bengals on both sides.

WMR
10-01-2006, 06:31 PM
Dexter Jackson, we miss you.

WMR
10-01-2006, 06:32 PM
Tom Brady playing the Bengals like Liberace tickling the ivories.

WMR
10-01-2006, 06:34 PM
End of 3rd quarter:

2nd and goal for the Patriots

Bengals 13
Patrions 21

Almost nothing has come easily today.

WMR
10-01-2006, 06:38 PM
Field goal good by Pats.

Bengals 13
Patriots 24

Joseph
10-01-2006, 06:41 PM
That should about do it right there.

MrCinatit
10-01-2006, 06:42 PM
We are being shown how to play the game today.

WMR
10-01-2006, 06:43 PM
Hmmm... that might do it.

Palmer fumbles, Patriots ball, inside the 15.

WMR
10-01-2006, 06:45 PM
Now THAT really sucks.

Corey Dillon TD.

Ballgame.

KronoRed
10-01-2006, 06:51 PM
Another fumble, getting ugly down by the river.

Joseph
10-01-2006, 06:54 PM
I haven't been impressed by New England, just embarassed by the play of the Bengals.

Playadlc
10-01-2006, 06:55 PM
I haven't been impressed by New England, just embarassed by the play of the Bengals.

You should be. The Patriots are just a better football team.

traderumor
10-01-2006, 06:57 PM
Hard to believe that is the same team that was shutout at home by Denver last week.

Sam Adams is really proving to be no help at all. I think his knee is hurt but he's suiting up every week.

Good to see Corey Dillon is still a class act. I know they love him in New England, but I just really can't stand the dude, and he showed why yet again today. He's displaying like he was a major player in our butt whooping.

The D is still not ready for prime time. We have no linebackers, none. As soon as I saw us starting Caleb Miller today, I knew it was trouble.

But I guess this butt kicking is so bad, you just write it off as a bad day and move on.

traderumor
10-01-2006, 06:59 PM
You should be. The Patriots are just a better football team.I wouldn't let one game color my perception of NE. They were just shut out at home by Denver last week. One week makes a season for neither team. I do have concerns with our O-Line, Palmer's fumbling (which is O-Line problems) and our D is still not improved.

traderumor
10-01-2006, 07:01 PM
Dexter Jackson, we miss you.That's part of the story. One that is probably not fixable this year is the linebacker position. Pollack's injury and Odell's stupidity has clinched that.

traderumor
10-01-2006, 07:05 PM
On the mental level, it appears that the Pats came to town with something to prove and the Bengals didn't have an answer.

WMR
10-01-2006, 07:17 PM
FINAL SCORE:

Bengals 13
Patriots 38

Ouch.

macro
10-01-2006, 07:30 PM
The Bengals defense is still a joke.

Yes, it is.


This is one of the worst defensive performances I have seen in a while.

You'd be hard-pressed to find one worse, although I've seen just as bad out of some other teams recently.


They are getting absolutely shredded.

Yes, they are.

If they had gotten on any sort of high horse from reading their press clippings and the "power rankings" that people put out, this should bring them down a notch or two. They've got two weeks to think about what just happened.

Yachtzee
10-01-2006, 08:33 PM
Sorry everybody, it's my fault.

I finally broke down and got Sunday Ticket. Figures they would lose the first day I have it.

GAC
10-01-2006, 09:00 PM
All I can say is Maroney - Wow!

traderumor
10-01-2006, 09:18 PM
In the big picture, when the schedule was handed out, dire predictions were made, esp. with the health of Palmer, so 3-1 is good, esp. with two road wins and division wins in the hip pocket.

But then, the D is still crappy and our linebacking corp has got to be near the worst in the league with the current bodies we have.

Heath
10-01-2006, 09:35 PM
All I can say is Maroney - Wow!

I think I'm wearing a Browns shirt to work tommorrow :D

Cedric
10-01-2006, 10:54 PM
If you can't get even a decent pass rush you aren't going to win much in the NFL. It's gonna be a long season if someone doesn't step up in the front seven.

MWM
10-01-2006, 11:00 PM
I said the same thing earlier today regarding the pass rush. But I wouldn't say it's going to be a long season as much as a quick exit from the playoffs. this year's defesnes is better than last year's, but only marginally and not enough to say they're a good defense. They're still a liability. Quite honestly, they miss Odell Thurman. They won't admit it, but he was their best defensive player last year. They're too easy to run on as well. This is a playoff team, but not a Super Bowl team. They remind me of the Colts from 2-3 years ago. They're one good dfensive end and one good linebacker from being a Super Bowl team. I'm still a little irritated at Marvin for the Chris Perry pick. And now not having Pollack (freak injury) means two of the last three first round picks are not contributing at all to this team. It's tough to plu a hole as wide open as the Bengals defense without getting performance from top round draft picks.

Caveat Emperor
10-01-2006, 11:43 PM
You should be. The Patriots are just a better football team.

I'd disagree with that. This Patriots squad is slow on both sides of the football. If the Bengals could've gotten their heads out of their behinds and blocked effectively, they should've run up and down the field on these guys.

Bengals problem is twofold -- they're extremely soft at linebacker and nobody they have playing right now is gap-filling on defense. They're getting gashed by big runs because they don't have linebackers filling holes at the line of scrimmage and stretching plays out. It's all north-south running, and it's killing the team.

Second, they're missing Rich Braham as the anchor on the offensive line. With the more exotic defenses (Pittsburgh, NE), his experience is needed to call protections out and keep the line focused on assignments. Plus, they've been much more susceptible to pass rushes up the gut, which forces Palmer one direction or the other in the pocket and into the arms of a DE.

Good news, though -- you get the Bucs next week, and they've looked depressingly hideous the first 4 weeks of the season. :(

WVPacman
10-02-2006, 12:01 AM
Lets go Redskins!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh sorry guys I must be in the wrong thread.:D

deltachi8
10-02-2006, 02:48 AM
I said the same thing earlier today regarding the pass rush. But I wouldn't say it's going to be a long season as much as a quick exit from the playoffs. this year's defesnes is better than last year's, but only marginally and not enough to say they're a good defense. They're still a liability. Quite honestly, they miss Odell Thurman. They won't admit it, but he was their best defensive player last year. They're too easy to run on as well. This is a playoff team, but not a Super Bowl team. They remind me of the Colts from 2-3 years ago. They're one good dfensive end and one good linebacker from being a Super Bowl team. I'm still a little irritated at Marvin for the Chris Perry pick. And now not having Pollack (freak injury) means two of the last three first round picks are not contributing at all to this team. It's tough to plu a hole as wide open as the Bengals defense without getting performance from top round draft picks.

The Bengals also need a NT/DT worth a damn...Sam Adams is not that and has not been for a couple years now.

max venable
10-02-2006, 07:12 AM
Isn't it amazing how we can be so high on the Bengals one week (after they beat Pittsburgh) and then so down on them the next?

macro
10-02-2006, 08:47 AM
Isn't it amazing how we can be so high on the Bengals one week (after they beat Pittsburgh) and then so down on them the next?

:laugh: Yep, and I'm guilty as charged. But at least this is the NFL, where there are only 16 games. It's much sillier when we see a similar reaction following a loss in a 162-game schedule.

guttle11
10-02-2006, 09:57 AM
Is it 2002 already?

U-G-L-Y!

Never has a team needed a bye so badly. Help us Dexter Jackson, you're our only hope!

The Bengals defense will be fine once Dexter gets back. I don't think a lot of people realize just how bad Kaesviharn is. He can't tackle. He can't step up in the run game. They can't blitz with him in there because he can't cover man to man. Him being in there completely changes the defensive gameplan from agressive, to reactionary.

You can't do that against the Pats. You have to blitz and pressure Brady. They simply weren't able to do that with Kevin K in there.

And Carson may have played his worst game as a pro. He had plenty of open guys, he was just off with his timing and was overthrowing the sideline passes all day.

One game does not a season make. The Patriots aren't that good, and the Bengals aren't that bad. The Bengals got whopped, time to man up or shut up. Remember what happened after Pittsburgh popped them at home in the regular season last year? I think they'll be allright.

CrackerJack
10-02-2006, 11:29 AM
I can't blame Carson too much for yesterday - his 0-line was atrocious...again.

The Bengals' were playing yesterday without 5 of their top six picks from the last two seasons. At some point that's going to come back and haunt them, and it did. Unfortunately only three of those picks were absent due to injury, technically. (although Frostee was a little of both - but he was IR'd due to one of his court cases supposably getting a lot worse for him)

flyer85
10-02-2006, 12:06 PM
had a bad game coming off an emotional win over the Steelers. It happens, it was just one game.

The bengals have some warts but so does every other team.

macro
10-02-2006, 01:49 PM
Can Carson perhaps learn to hang onto the ball a little better? Some fumbles are unavoidable. Is that the case with the six he's had in the past two games?

Tony Cloninger
10-02-2006, 03:25 PM
A comment made by Rudi Johnson.....saying that maybe they are not as good as they think they are......pretty much sums up an attitude about this team that still does not seem to realize that they haven't won anything yet.

They had a great pre-season but the injuries are starting to take a toll....and they did not play that great in 2 of the 3 wins.

This reminds me of 1974......coming off the division win in 1973 (10-4 over PITT).....they bomb Cleveland in the home opener......than lose to a bad SD team with 2nd year QB Dan Fouts going 99 yards after being down 3rd and 10 from the 1.......and scoring a TD with about 2 minutes to go.

They lost their LT Vernon Holland in that game.

They go 3 straight wins...and then let OAK go about 70 yards with no TO to win the game 30-27 with a TD with ) seconds left on he clock....on a sweep, no less.

After that it was all downhill with injuries and dissesion ( they traded Bill bergey to PHI due to his signing a future WFL contract....and their was a mini-strike in pre-season which divided that team)

They lost their starting Center in Bob Johnson around game 8 (sound familiar?)
They lost RB Boobie Clark (900+ yards in 1973) with a broken hand in Game 10.
They had already lost Essex Johnson (Think James Brooks) before the season and he barely played when he was healthy (about 2 games)

CrackerJack
10-02-2006, 04:03 PM
Can Carson perhaps learn to hang onto the ball a little better? Some fumbles are unavoidable. Is that the case with the six he's had in the past two games?

Sure he needs to. But I wanted to make sure people put blame on the 0-line where it belongs as well - no one ever seems to in this town.

They overrate this 0-line time and time again, they are overpaid and overrated, unfortunately.

traderumor
10-02-2006, 04:16 PM
Sure he needs to. But I wanted to make sure people put blame on the 0-line where it belongs as well - no one ever seems to in this town.

They overrate this 0-line time and time again, they are overpaid and overrated, unfortunately.The offensive line is underperforming early in the season. But you don't run and pass the ball with the effectiveness that the Bengals did last season without the line performing at a high level.

Hoosier Red
10-02-2006, 05:15 PM
Does anybody see Ahmed Brooks playing yesterday as a good thing?

I've got to think if they can get him up to speed it will really help the depleted LB corps and give approximately the same production we were hoping for from Pollack.