Quick little special sauce post today. Had some thoughts for things to watch for.
#24 and #21 on defense. Brandon Ghee and Pacman Jones. Two guys with all the upside in the world but have yet to touch the field on defense this year. Will be interesting to see what Jennings can do in a full time role too.
But Ghee and Jones are going to be the keys to whether or not we can continue this playoff run. They may start out slow this week since it is their first game this year, however they have the physical tools to keep us playing man coverage and keep this defense aggressive down the stretch.
On offense, it will be interesting to see what formations Gruden cooks up with AJ about 80% sure to be out. Marvin doesn't like to start players who couldn't practice so I doubt he suits up.
Look for more fancy personnel groupings and formations to make up for the talent drop. In particular watch out for Andrew Hawkins #16. He's a bit of a wildcard. He'll be playing the slot full time this week but they always dial up some interesting plays to get the ball in his hands in space so keep an eye out for him. I think he's going to surprise some people with his speed.
Last thing of note, if a WR has to step up in Green's absence I'm guessing it's going to be Caldwell. He's been Ravens killer before and he has the speed and consistency to make a difference after practicing on the outside all week.
Enjoy the game!
Friday, November 18, 2011
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
vs Stillers
I thought this week would be an angry post. I was so mad on Sunday I could have punched a 10 year old girl in the face if she was wearing a Ward jersey. For the first time since 2004 I didn't watch the game. I got up and left the bar after we went down 14 nothing and showed 0 signs of life. It looked like it would be a blow out for sure.
I was almost punished for my lack of faith. I ended up going back to the bar after we tied it up. I figured I'd catch the end of the game and then watch my Lions (oops).
By the way, I realize this is out of order, but I went to a new bar this week for the first time this season. There are too many stillers fans at the bar I usually go to. They clap and yell like they're at the god damn game and it's all I can do to not throw them out of their fucking chairs. It's only stillers fans too. What the fuck is wrong with those people? THE FOOTBALL PLAYERS ON THE TV CAN NOT HEAR YOU CLAPPING.
So anyway, I go into this deserted bar. Only two other football fans walk in a few minutes after us and one of them is a GOD DAMN STILLERS FAN. AND HE'S CLAPPING AT THE TV! I'm not saying all stillers fans are retards, but I would have have no problem pushing the button that teleports 90% of them into the middle of the ocean.
ANYWAY, football. I went back and rewatched the portions I missed. I couldn't watch the whole thing twice because I'd rather see the terrorists win than the stillers, but what I saw was encouraging. Getting down 14-0 and rallying to being 30 yards from tying the game at the end showed a lot of heart and talent. All of this without A.J. Green or Leon Hall too.
When A.J. went down it changed what the stillers did on defense. They weren't afraid of the deep ball so they were able to crowd the line more and sit on short routes. It's interesting because the top 3 receivers we had left Caldwell, Simpson and Andrew Hawkins, are all plenty fast. I would have liked to see more deep shots to those guys because they can all scoot. Regardless, A.J. has more indirect impact on the game than people might realize and it hurt us in the second half.
The Leon Hall injury is devastating. Not only for this year, but he may never be the same after an Achilles tear. In my mind that injury switched this season from a surprising playoff run, to the rebuilding year it was supposed to be. I'm sure we'll stay competitive, but I was really leaning on Pacman coming back and giving us 3 solid corners for the stretch. Quick aside here, I tweeted Adam Jones and he said he was cool with his fans calling him Pacman, but the media has to call him Adam. Pretty cool that he tweeted me back!
So the upside here is we get to see what we have in Pacman and Brandon Ghee, who was called up from the practice squad. Coach Lewis had some good things to say about Ghee who was cut because he never got a chance to get on the field due to injury more than because of his lack of talent. When he came out of college he was compared physically to J-Joe, so I'm excited to see what we have in him.
Who knows, maybe those two will step up, Kelly Jennings will figure his life out and we'll be able to do some of the same things on defense. However this is probably the position we could least afford to lose our top guy. Unfortunate how we went from possibly the most stacked team at corner in the NFL last year to only having 2 healthy ones left. Neither of which were on the roster last year either.
I was impressed with our ability to run the ball on the stillers. Both backs looked good but this was mostly on the O-line. They beat the stillers front 7 in the run game and the pass which was exciting. I'm confused as to why Benson is still the starting back though. It seems like he always gets whats there which is good, certainly, but B Scott can do that and make things happen on his own. He makes guys miss and still runs hard inside. Benson is still a good back but I'm willing to go on record saying that Bernard Scott is a better NFL running back than Cedric Benson. The carries are getting closer to 50/50 though so I'm ok with it.
Last thing before I give out awards, I hope Frostie Rucker gets a contract. He took a long time to get it together, but he is really a complete D lineman at this point. He does a great job on run downs from the end position and can generate pass rush from inside and outside. He's not going to go to any pro bowls but any team would be happy to have him in the rotation.
Two awards this week. The Surprisingly It's Not Your Fault They Lost award goes to:
Cornerbacks Kelly Jennings and Nate Clements.
I didn't realize that Leon went down half way through the game. Chris Crocker gets part of this award too because he played in the nickel back spot when we only had 2 corners left. While he got beat a few times, he never should have been one on one against Antonio Brown in the first place.
Both of our remaining healthy corners played well enough for me to not notice when Leon went down until the second time watching through. While I can't tell exactly how well they did because I can't see the "all 22" angles (fuck you NFL) there were a few time Rapelithsburger had to hold on to the ball too long and you don't get 5 sacks on him without some good corner play.
I was certain that Leon had gone down at the end of the game because we never would have been in it without him. However, we were able to mount a comeback despite his absence. Good team defense.
The Not Your Fault They Lost Award goes to: Andrew Hawkins (aka Baby Hawk)
For those of you who don't get why he's called Baby Hawk, it's the younger brother of former Bengals DB Artrell Hawkins. I love this guy. He's fast, he's shifty, he makes tough grabs. I'm sure the coaches are wondering why they haven't been using him more this year. He should be the punt returner on this team.
When A.J. went down I was thinking "who the hell comes in now". I was stoked to find it was Baby Hawk. They moved Caldwell outside and used Hawkins in the slot where he made a few plays. He even smoked Polamalu on a corner route before A.J. went down and made a tough diving catch. Not a lot of receivers can say they smoked Polamalu one on one. I'll say it again, I love this kid. I hope he sticks on the team for a few years and finds an expanded role on both the offense and special teams.
Sorry I missed last week. Thanks for reading!
I was almost punished for my lack of faith. I ended up going back to the bar after we tied it up. I figured I'd catch the end of the game and then watch my Lions (oops).
By the way, I realize this is out of order, but I went to a new bar this week for the first time this season. There are too many stillers fans at the bar I usually go to. They clap and yell like they're at the god damn game and it's all I can do to not throw them out of their fucking chairs. It's only stillers fans too. What the fuck is wrong with those people? THE FOOTBALL PLAYERS ON THE TV CAN NOT HEAR YOU CLAPPING.
So anyway, I go into this deserted bar. Only two other football fans walk in a few minutes after us and one of them is a GOD DAMN STILLERS FAN. AND HE'S CLAPPING AT THE TV! I'm not saying all stillers fans are retards, but I would have have no problem pushing the button that teleports 90% of them into the middle of the ocean.
ANYWAY, football. I went back and rewatched the portions I missed. I couldn't watch the whole thing twice because I'd rather see the terrorists win than the stillers, but what I saw was encouraging. Getting down 14-0 and rallying to being 30 yards from tying the game at the end showed a lot of heart and talent. All of this without A.J. Green or Leon Hall too.
When A.J. went down it changed what the stillers did on defense. They weren't afraid of the deep ball so they were able to crowd the line more and sit on short routes. It's interesting because the top 3 receivers we had left Caldwell, Simpson and Andrew Hawkins, are all plenty fast. I would have liked to see more deep shots to those guys because they can all scoot. Regardless, A.J. has more indirect impact on the game than people might realize and it hurt us in the second half.
The Leon Hall injury is devastating. Not only for this year, but he may never be the same after an Achilles tear. In my mind that injury switched this season from a surprising playoff run, to the rebuilding year it was supposed to be. I'm sure we'll stay competitive, but I was really leaning on Pacman coming back and giving us 3 solid corners for the stretch. Quick aside here, I tweeted Adam Jones and he said he was cool with his fans calling him Pacman, but the media has to call him Adam. Pretty cool that he tweeted me back!
So the upside here is we get to see what we have in Pacman and Brandon Ghee, who was called up from the practice squad. Coach Lewis had some good things to say about Ghee who was cut because he never got a chance to get on the field due to injury more than because of his lack of talent. When he came out of college he was compared physically to J-Joe, so I'm excited to see what we have in him.
Who knows, maybe those two will step up, Kelly Jennings will figure his life out and we'll be able to do some of the same things on defense. However this is probably the position we could least afford to lose our top guy. Unfortunate how we went from possibly the most stacked team at corner in the NFL last year to only having 2 healthy ones left. Neither of which were on the roster last year either.
I was impressed with our ability to run the ball on the stillers. Both backs looked good but this was mostly on the O-line. They beat the stillers front 7 in the run game and the pass which was exciting. I'm confused as to why Benson is still the starting back though. It seems like he always gets whats there which is good, certainly, but B Scott can do that and make things happen on his own. He makes guys miss and still runs hard inside. Benson is still a good back but I'm willing to go on record saying that Bernard Scott is a better NFL running back than Cedric Benson. The carries are getting closer to 50/50 though so I'm ok with it.
Last thing before I give out awards, I hope Frostie Rucker gets a contract. He took a long time to get it together, but he is really a complete D lineman at this point. He does a great job on run downs from the end position and can generate pass rush from inside and outside. He's not going to go to any pro bowls but any team would be happy to have him in the rotation.
Two awards this week. The Surprisingly It's Not Your Fault They Lost award goes to:
Cornerbacks Kelly Jennings and Nate Clements.
I didn't realize that Leon went down half way through the game. Chris Crocker gets part of this award too because he played in the nickel back spot when we only had 2 corners left. While he got beat a few times, he never should have been one on one against Antonio Brown in the first place.
Both of our remaining healthy corners played well enough for me to not notice when Leon went down until the second time watching through. While I can't tell exactly how well they did because I can't see the "all 22" angles (fuck you NFL) there were a few time Rapelithsburger had to hold on to the ball too long and you don't get 5 sacks on him without some good corner play.
I was certain that Leon had gone down at the end of the game because we never would have been in it without him. However, we were able to mount a comeback despite his absence. Good team defense.
The Not Your Fault They Lost Award goes to: Andrew Hawkins (aka Baby Hawk)
For those of you who don't get why he's called Baby Hawk, it's the younger brother of former Bengals DB Artrell Hawkins. I love this guy. He's fast, he's shifty, he makes tough grabs. I'm sure the coaches are wondering why they haven't been using him more this year. He should be the punt returner on this team.
When A.J. went down I was thinking "who the hell comes in now". I was stoked to find it was Baby Hawk. They moved Caldwell outside and used Hawkins in the slot where he made a few plays. He even smoked Polamalu on a corner route before A.J. went down and made a tough diving catch. Not a lot of receivers can say they smoked Polamalu one on one. I'll say it again, I love this kid. I hope he sticks on the team for a few years and finds an expanded role on both the offense and special teams.
Sorry I missed last week. Thanks for reading!
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
At Seattle
Who Dey? Can you believe how many games we've won already? I re-watched the game last night and I've got a ton of stuff so I'm going to just jump right in.
I'll start off with a couple shout outs to guys I saw playing well that you may not have noticed. Chris Presley, our starting fullback, has looked really good so far. He almost always finds a guy to get a hat on and does a great job of not only popping the defender on contact, but sustaining his block. The run game wasn't very good but he was certainly not the problem. Even caught a first down pass to boot.
Cedric Peerman has been noticeably good on special teams. I was happy to see him get some snaps on offense, though unfortunately no touches. A few times he was lined up at running back with Leonard in as a fullback. Cool personnel change up but never really provided anything.
I'd love to see Peerman get 2-3 touches per game. He's fast and he's elusive, he's active every game for special teams so you might as well let him contribute on offense like they do with Andrew Hawkins (baby hawk).
The tight ends played well this week in Gresham's absence. Donald Lee had some really clutch catches and didn't show up in the run game (which is a good thing for tight ends). Cochart has yet to really contribute as a pass catcher but I think we may have found another Reggie Kellyesque type tight end. Certainly not to that extent yet, but I'm very impressed with his blocking, particularly pass protection. He did a great job of keeping guys off of Dalton and sustaining those blocks for a ridiculously long time for a tight end.
The D tackles stood out to me as well. It seems Like Geno Atkins gets at least 2-3 plays per game where you say "wow". He could be a budding pro bowl player. Then again he could be at his ceiling. But he's so quick and his motor is so strong, he makes splash plays in both the run and pass game with some regularity. Pat Sims also looked pretty good, especially against the run. I saw him split a double team like man and make a play on Lynch that was very impressive. Peko was good as always. I didn't realize how much DT Fanene and Rucker actually play, even on early downs. Those two are true defensive linemen. Not tackles, not ends. Just put them wherever you want and that'll make plays.
I paid particular attention to the defense while watching through the game again. I noticed a lot more interesting alignments and personnel than I realized they ran. The Bengals base D is a 4-3 but it still gets pretty exotic which I think is really cool. Here is some neat stuff I noticed.
Because of match-up problem type guys, particularly TEs that run like WRs, some teams have adopted a "Big Nickel" personnel group. The Bengals are one of those teams. This week they used 4 DL 2 LBs and 2 CBs and 3 S quite a bit to combat the 3 wide no huddle the Seahawks were using.
They used Nelson at SS, Gibril Wilson at FS (did you know he was on the team? I almost forgot too) and Crocker in the slot. I haven't been a Crocker fan but he played really well this week.
Its because of Crocker that they can make this quite versatile. He blitzes fairly well, he can man up on lesser slot receivers and does an adequate job in run support. Not great at anything but not bad at anything either.
Anyway, that is probably the least interesting thing they did. At different times I saw both Peko and Geathers standing up over the A gap kinda milling around the line of scrimmage before the snap while still having 4 guys in a 3 point stance. I saw Michael Johnson, one of our best pass rushers, dropping into coverage more than a few times. I think that experiment with him at SAM backer his rookie year has paid off in versatility at this point. He's athletic and long enough to not be a liability in coverage as long as they don't ask too much of him.
There was one play specifically where they brought 7 of 8 guys on the line and the only guy that dropped off was Johnson. I would NOT expect that if I was an offensive lineman.
Last thing I noticed is that while Reggie Nelson still makes occasional mental errors, he is bringing a lot to this defense right now. He saved the touchdown on the last play of the half. He read run quickly and was the only guy available to stop Lynch from getting in.
I think my favorite thing they do with Reggie, and they've been doing this a bit over the past few weeks, is blitz one of the outside corners and instead of playing zone behind it like most teams do, they have Nelson come down and man up on the WR. When I've seen it the QB and WR read the corner blitz and throw hot, only to have an athletic Reggie Nelson drop the WR where he stands for short or no gain. He started a few games at corner for Jacksonville before they sent him over here and he has the man to man skills to do it.
The one sour note I saw on offense after re-watching was the guard play. Both Williams and Livings were just awful in pass protection. The tackles, backs and TEs held up pretty well but the guards just couldn't handle their guys one on one. I wouldn't be upset if the Bengals spent high draft picks on 2 guards this year because both of them are a problem in the pass game. Which hurts me to say because I love Bobbie Williams. That being said, they were both decent in the run game.
Quick rundown of how Dalton played.
Overall he had an efficient day. He did an excellent job of sliding around in the pocket and bailing out at the right time when there was pressure. Specifically on the long TD to Green. I'm confident that would have been a sack if Carson was still our QB. But Andy bought some time, stepped up and threw a good enough deep ball. Another 2 yards would have been nice because AJ smoked Earl Thomas and a short throw let the safety catch up and contest the catch.
Quick side note, Earl Thomas is awesome. If that were any of like 95% of the other safeties in the league that play wouldn't have been close. A.J. had him set up and Earl didn't start to flip his hips until Green was even with him and heading down field. Thomas got his direction changed REAL quick and kept up as well as anyone could there.
The first INT was on Dalton, AJ and bad luck. Green was well covered so AJ probably shouldn't have thrown it up there but with AJ on the other end, its usually worth a shot. AJ and the defender went up for the ball an if that safety isn't in the perfect spot it falls harmlessly to the ground.
The second pick though was all on Dalton. A.J. was goooooone. Had like 3 steps on the dude and Andy just strait under threw that ball. Hopefully in time his deep ball placement will get a little better as it seems he still doesn't realize how fast this NFL athletes are yet. I've seen him throw farther so I don't think he was maxing out on this throw.
Other than that, he missed about 2 wide open throws yet still had a really good day all in all.
Whew, sorry for being long winded. Anyway, awards.
This week's Not His Fault They Lost Award goes to: Carlos Dunlap...again...
Don't blame me for the repetition, blame him for continuing to pop off the screen when I re-watch the game. He had the sack, sure, but he dominated the man across from him all day. He was really impressive in the run game especially. He single handedly blew up at least 3 runs and I was even more impressed with him standing up Carpenter, who is a big man, several times.
The line-up can say whatever it wants, Carlos is the starting LDE for this team and is already well above average in this league.
I had a hard time with the Surprisingly It Wasn't His Fault They Lost award this week. It had more to do with Seattle not being scary anywhere than my faith in the Bengals positions. It was between:
Nate Clements: I just don't think he's very good and I knew he was going to get Sidney Rice occasionally on his side. However I'm not sure a pass was completed against him all game. Leon got picked on more than him, however that could be a product of Zimmer protecting Clements.
Chris Crocker: Talked about this before. Good game for a player I don't trust.
Brandon Tate: He has been far too dancy so far. He has been ok, but I think with the blocking he has gotten he should have had a better year. When Pacman got his return and just slammed it into a seam, you saw what happened. He would have scored if he hadn't blown a wheel (hamstring) making a guy miss earlier in the return. He'll be ok by the way, he didn't literally blow out his hammy. Will probably be out week or two.
But glory hallelujah, he finally got a punt return and just went. He took off like he can, found a seam (thank the blockers Brandon!), shook a tackle and scored.
So not because he had the best performance, but because I had the least faith in him, Brandon Tate gets the Surprisingly Not Your Fault They Lost award for this week.
Seems silly that it's the not your fault they lost award while we're kicking this much ass doesn't it?
Anyway, skipping the Not your fault they lost young buck award this week because the whole GD team is made up of young bucks. That and I've already rambled on way too long.
Thanks a TON to anyone who read this far. I don't know if anyone actually reads these but big thanks to anyone that does.
Till next week, (please pardon this part, but I'm far too excited about how well we've done)
Who Dey! Who Dey! Who Dey think gonna beat them Bengals? Noooooooody!
I'll start off with a couple shout outs to guys I saw playing well that you may not have noticed. Chris Presley, our starting fullback, has looked really good so far. He almost always finds a guy to get a hat on and does a great job of not only popping the defender on contact, but sustaining his block. The run game wasn't very good but he was certainly not the problem. Even caught a first down pass to boot.
Cedric Peerman has been noticeably good on special teams. I was happy to see him get some snaps on offense, though unfortunately no touches. A few times he was lined up at running back with Leonard in as a fullback. Cool personnel change up but never really provided anything.
I'd love to see Peerman get 2-3 touches per game. He's fast and he's elusive, he's active every game for special teams so you might as well let him contribute on offense like they do with Andrew Hawkins (baby hawk).
The tight ends played well this week in Gresham's absence. Donald Lee had some really clutch catches and didn't show up in the run game (which is a good thing for tight ends). Cochart has yet to really contribute as a pass catcher but I think we may have found another Reggie Kellyesque type tight end. Certainly not to that extent yet, but I'm very impressed with his blocking, particularly pass protection. He did a great job of keeping guys off of Dalton and sustaining those blocks for a ridiculously long time for a tight end.
The D tackles stood out to me as well. It seems Like Geno Atkins gets at least 2-3 plays per game where you say "wow". He could be a budding pro bowl player. Then again he could be at his ceiling. But he's so quick and his motor is so strong, he makes splash plays in both the run and pass game with some regularity. Pat Sims also looked pretty good, especially against the run. I saw him split a double team like man and make a play on Lynch that was very impressive. Peko was good as always. I didn't realize how much DT Fanene and Rucker actually play, even on early downs. Those two are true defensive linemen. Not tackles, not ends. Just put them wherever you want and that'll make plays.
I paid particular attention to the defense while watching through the game again. I noticed a lot more interesting alignments and personnel than I realized they ran. The Bengals base D is a 4-3 but it still gets pretty exotic which I think is really cool. Here is some neat stuff I noticed.
Because of match-up problem type guys, particularly TEs that run like WRs, some teams have adopted a "Big Nickel" personnel group. The Bengals are one of those teams. This week they used 4 DL 2 LBs and 2 CBs and 3 S quite a bit to combat the 3 wide no huddle the Seahawks were using.
They used Nelson at SS, Gibril Wilson at FS (did you know he was on the team? I almost forgot too) and Crocker in the slot. I haven't been a Crocker fan but he played really well this week.
Its because of Crocker that they can make this quite versatile. He blitzes fairly well, he can man up on lesser slot receivers and does an adequate job in run support. Not great at anything but not bad at anything either.
Anyway, that is probably the least interesting thing they did. At different times I saw both Peko and Geathers standing up over the A gap kinda milling around the line of scrimmage before the snap while still having 4 guys in a 3 point stance. I saw Michael Johnson, one of our best pass rushers, dropping into coverage more than a few times. I think that experiment with him at SAM backer his rookie year has paid off in versatility at this point. He's athletic and long enough to not be a liability in coverage as long as they don't ask too much of him.
There was one play specifically where they brought 7 of 8 guys on the line and the only guy that dropped off was Johnson. I would NOT expect that if I was an offensive lineman.
Last thing I noticed is that while Reggie Nelson still makes occasional mental errors, he is bringing a lot to this defense right now. He saved the touchdown on the last play of the half. He read run quickly and was the only guy available to stop Lynch from getting in.
I think my favorite thing they do with Reggie, and they've been doing this a bit over the past few weeks, is blitz one of the outside corners and instead of playing zone behind it like most teams do, they have Nelson come down and man up on the WR. When I've seen it the QB and WR read the corner blitz and throw hot, only to have an athletic Reggie Nelson drop the WR where he stands for short or no gain. He started a few games at corner for Jacksonville before they sent him over here and he has the man to man skills to do it.
The one sour note I saw on offense after re-watching was the guard play. Both Williams and Livings were just awful in pass protection. The tackles, backs and TEs held up pretty well but the guards just couldn't handle their guys one on one. I wouldn't be upset if the Bengals spent high draft picks on 2 guards this year because both of them are a problem in the pass game. Which hurts me to say because I love Bobbie Williams. That being said, they were both decent in the run game.
Quick rundown of how Dalton played.
Overall he had an efficient day. He did an excellent job of sliding around in the pocket and bailing out at the right time when there was pressure. Specifically on the long TD to Green. I'm confident that would have been a sack if Carson was still our QB. But Andy bought some time, stepped up and threw a good enough deep ball. Another 2 yards would have been nice because AJ smoked Earl Thomas and a short throw let the safety catch up and contest the catch.
Quick side note, Earl Thomas is awesome. If that were any of like 95% of the other safeties in the league that play wouldn't have been close. A.J. had him set up and Earl didn't start to flip his hips until Green was even with him and heading down field. Thomas got his direction changed REAL quick and kept up as well as anyone could there.
The first INT was on Dalton, AJ and bad luck. Green was well covered so AJ probably shouldn't have thrown it up there but with AJ on the other end, its usually worth a shot. AJ and the defender went up for the ball an if that safety isn't in the perfect spot it falls harmlessly to the ground.
The second pick though was all on Dalton. A.J. was goooooone. Had like 3 steps on the dude and Andy just strait under threw that ball. Hopefully in time his deep ball placement will get a little better as it seems he still doesn't realize how fast this NFL athletes are yet. I've seen him throw farther so I don't think he was maxing out on this throw.
Other than that, he missed about 2 wide open throws yet still had a really good day all in all.
Whew, sorry for being long winded. Anyway, awards.
This week's Not His Fault They Lost Award goes to: Carlos Dunlap...again...
Don't blame me for the repetition, blame him for continuing to pop off the screen when I re-watch the game. He had the sack, sure, but he dominated the man across from him all day. He was really impressive in the run game especially. He single handedly blew up at least 3 runs and I was even more impressed with him standing up Carpenter, who is a big man, several times.
The line-up can say whatever it wants, Carlos is the starting LDE for this team and is already well above average in this league.
I had a hard time with the Surprisingly It Wasn't His Fault They Lost award this week. It had more to do with Seattle not being scary anywhere than my faith in the Bengals positions. It was between:
Nate Clements: I just don't think he's very good and I knew he was going to get Sidney Rice occasionally on his side. However I'm not sure a pass was completed against him all game. Leon got picked on more than him, however that could be a product of Zimmer protecting Clements.
Chris Crocker: Talked about this before. Good game for a player I don't trust.
Brandon Tate: He has been far too dancy so far. He has been ok, but I think with the blocking he has gotten he should have had a better year. When Pacman got his return and just slammed it into a seam, you saw what happened. He would have scored if he hadn't blown a wheel (hamstring) making a guy miss earlier in the return. He'll be ok by the way, he didn't literally blow out his hammy. Will probably be out week or two.
But glory hallelujah, he finally got a punt return and just went. He took off like he can, found a seam (thank the blockers Brandon!), shook a tackle and scored.
So not because he had the best performance, but because I had the least faith in him, Brandon Tate gets the Surprisingly Not Your Fault They Lost award for this week.
Seems silly that it's the not your fault they lost award while we're kicking this much ass doesn't it?
Anyway, skipping the Not your fault they lost young buck award this week because the whole GD team is made up of young bucks. That and I've already rambled on way too long.
Thanks a TON to anyone who read this far. I don't know if anyone actually reads these but big thanks to anyone that does.
Till next week, (please pardon this part, but I'm far too excited about how well we've done)
Who Dey! Who Dey! Who Dey think gonna beat them Bengals? Noooooooody!
Thursday, October 20, 2011
THE TRADE!
Damn it! Ok ok, I'm back. Well played Bengals organization. We all knew I'd come around, I just thought it would be next season. This trade (at least on the surface) shows true change and a commitment to winning, which is all I've ever wanted from the Bungs.
To clarify, the players and coaches have always been committed to winning under the Marvin regime, but ownership was certainly not. This is well documented.
For anyone who doesn't know, Carson Palmer, the retired player who was useless to the Bengals, was traded to the Oakland Raiders this week for a 1st round pick in 2012 and a 2nd round pick in 2013 which could be elevated to a 1st rounder if the Raiders make it to the AFC championship game in either year,
Bananas. Absolutely Bananas. Wonderful stuff. Trades like this just don't happen in the NFL. I think Al Davis might have Tupac'ed this deal (done it from the grave. I cite the example below). Seems like something his crazy ass would do right?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eLABXmjySE
By the way, can we talk about out of the frying pan and into the fire? Carson wanted out of the Bengals because it was a dysfunctional organization. Is there a worse (recently) franchise he could have gone to? I know the crypt keeper is dead (Oakland rejoices!) but you're going to a team with basically no draft in 2012 and a depleted one in 2013. Enjoy that CP.
By the way, love or hate Carson, if you're Bengals fan you should be rooting against the Raiders every for the next two years. I've got nothing against the Raiders and I actually wish the best for Hue Jackson, but the worse they do the higher we pick!
Anyway, this post is just to let everyone know I'm back and I'm stoked. I'll pick it back up after the bye week.
To clarify, the players and coaches have always been committed to winning under the Marvin regime, but ownership was certainly not. This is well documented.
For anyone who doesn't know, Carson Palmer, the retired player who was useless to the Bengals, was traded to the Oakland Raiders this week for a 1st round pick in 2012 and a 2nd round pick in 2013 which could be elevated to a 1st rounder if the Raiders make it to the AFC championship game in either year,
Bananas. Absolutely Bananas. Wonderful stuff. Trades like this just don't happen in the NFL. I think Al Davis might have Tupac'ed this deal (done it from the grave. I cite the example below). Seems like something his crazy ass would do right?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eLABXmjySE
By the way, can we talk about out of the frying pan and into the fire? Carson wanted out of the Bengals because it was a dysfunctional organization. Is there a worse (recently) franchise he could have gone to? I know the crypt keeper is dead (Oakland rejoices!) but you're going to a team with basically no draft in 2012 and a depleted one in 2013. Enjoy that CP.
By the way, love or hate Carson, if you're Bengals fan you should be rooting against the Raiders every for the next two years. I've got nothing against the Raiders and I actually wish the best for Hue Jackson, but the worse they do the higher we pick!
Anyway, this post is just to let everyone know I'm back and I'm stoked. I'll pick it back up after the bye week.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Friday, September 23, 2011
Week 2 - At Denver
This one was a heart breaker. I don't know why I ever get my hopes up. You'd think I would have learned by now. Denver was a shitty team to begin with, throw in all the injuries and I thought this was a perfect match-up.
The more disappointing the loss the longer its going to take me to put up my post so that is why this one waited till Friday. I'm sure no one is interested at this point anyway so I'll keep it quick.
The story of this game was 3rd down for the Bungs. They went like 1 for 11 or some awful crap like that. They couldn't convert a 3rd and short to save their lives and good teams don't fail there. I watched a few of the 3rd and short plays and I couldn't really put my finger on any one player that got them beat. The play calling was good. They ran (hallelujah!) and used play action but just couldn't get it done. They didn't get much push but no one got smoked either. I think Benson may have been a little *too* patient instead of slamming the ball inside. You just need 1 yard big guy. Pick a crack and hit it with yo bad self.
When Brian Leonard wouldn't find the first down marker on a screen in the 4th quarter, you knew the Bengals were having a bad fucking day.
Also, that "play" where Clements and Crocker retarded themselves all over Eric Decker? Embarrassing. I couldn't bring myself to watch the whole game again but from what I remember, Decker was not open and Orton heaved it up anyway. Clements somehow lost track of the ball and the receiver while Crocker came sprinting across the field so he could fall down somewhere near the play and be no help whatsoever. The two most veteran guys on the team making the dumbest play of the day, together, united in futility.
Just found it. Title says it all.
http://denver.sbnation.com/denver-broncos/2011/9/21/2440078/eric-deckerl-broncos-bengals-touchdown
Anyway, Dalton was awesome. I was going to give him an award but he missed a few key throws on a 3rd and short early in the game and on the last drive when Simpson was wiiiide open on 3rd and about 8 I believe.
Only one award this week, and the 2nd Not His Fault They Lost award of the season goes to:
A.J. Green. Did you see the catch?
http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-videos/09000d5d8225ad04/Green-five-yard-TD?r_src=ramp
You're welcome. What a freak. He played a solid game overall. Impressive for a rookie's 2nd day on the job.
If we win this week (banking on the west coast to east coast sluggishness) look for a post at a more relevant time!
The more disappointing the loss the longer its going to take me to put up my post so that is why this one waited till Friday. I'm sure no one is interested at this point anyway so I'll keep it quick.
The story of this game was 3rd down for the Bungs. They went like 1 for 11 or some awful crap like that. They couldn't convert a 3rd and short to save their lives and good teams don't fail there. I watched a few of the 3rd and short plays and I couldn't really put my finger on any one player that got them beat. The play calling was good. They ran (hallelujah!) and used play action but just couldn't get it done. They didn't get much push but no one got smoked either. I think Benson may have been a little *too* patient instead of slamming the ball inside. You just need 1 yard big guy. Pick a crack and hit it with yo bad self.
When Brian Leonard wouldn't find the first down marker on a screen in the 4th quarter, you knew the Bengals were having a bad fucking day.
Also, that "play" where Clements and Crocker retarded themselves all over Eric Decker? Embarrassing. I couldn't bring myself to watch the whole game again but from what I remember, Decker was not open and Orton heaved it up anyway. Clements somehow lost track of the ball and the receiver while Crocker came sprinting across the field so he could fall down somewhere near the play and be no help whatsoever. The two most veteran guys on the team making the dumbest play of the day, together, united in futility.
Just found it. Title says it all.
http://denver.sbnation.com/denver-broncos/2011/9/21/2440078/eric-deckerl-broncos-bengals-touchdown
Anyway, Dalton was awesome. I was going to give him an award but he missed a few key throws on a 3rd and short early in the game and on the last drive when Simpson was wiiiide open on 3rd and about 8 I believe.
Only one award this week, and the 2nd Not His Fault They Lost award of the season goes to:
A.J. Green. Did you see the catch?
http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-videos/09000d5d8225ad04/Green-five-yard-TD?r_src=ramp
You're welcome. What a freak. He played a solid game overall. Impressive for a rookie's 2nd day on the job.
If we win this week (banking on the west coast to east coast sluggishness) look for a post at a more relevant time!
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Week 1 - At Cleveland
Alright! I'm back. I'm going to make an effort to write up EVERY GAME this year. I'll try to get the games re-watched by Tuesday night and get the post up by Wednesday or Thursday.
I've only had a chance to watch about a quarter of Browns game again so this will be abbreviated.
Feels pretty good to start off with a win right? Wasn't pretty, but I'll take it however I can get it. I was convinced the game was over when Dalton went out. The Browns gave us a little help in the 4th quarter though and the defense was stellar all day minus a few big gains on some odd looking plays and it was enough.
So lets get right to it. I thought Dalton looked sharp. I know he's supposed to have a weak arm but there wasn't a damn thing wrong with it on that 22 yard bullet to Gresham in the first quarter. Last year on the NFL replay I could post clips but they changed the UI, I'll keep trying to figure it out for you guys. Anyway, I was pissed Dalton went down, more because I wanted to evaluate him than anything else.
I've heard people talking about how Joe Haden shut down A.J. Green. I'm not big on "should haves" in football cause there are a lot of variables but for reals A.J. should have had at LEAST 3 touchdowns. I know you're probably thinking I'm being a super homer here but I think these were pretty clear so I don't feel bad about using "shoulda's".
1st shoulda been TD - On the first drive, A.J. cold smokes Haden to the front pylon and is waiting for the ball. Dalton was late seeing it allowing Haden to recover and bat the ball away, making people think he's awesome. (I'm not saying he isn't, just wasn't on that play)
That reminded me of the college clip they kept showing where Haden was in a short zone and picked off a ball in front of A.J. that was all on the QB. Nothing any receiver could have done. That's not Haden winning the match-up, that's the QB making a mistake.
2nd shoulda been TD - A.J. pulls a sweet double move on Sheldon Brown on the second drive and is going to be wide open in the end zone. He ran a slant hook then spun around and took off deep. Brown knows he's cooked so he does the smart thing and just grabs on, not letting the receiver get the free touchdown. The penalty was called and helped set up a TD.
3rd shoulda been TD - Late in the 4th Green is one on one with Haden who tries press coverage. A.J. makes him miss entirely on the jam and takes off on a fly route. Haden grabs on and gets towed down field making Green come up a few yards short on the pass. Holding wasn't called and if I had not already resigned to defeat when I saw Dalton was hurt I would have flipped shit right in the bar. Refs blew that call pretty bad. Luckily the football gods made up for it when the Browns broke the defensive huddle late and A.J. got a free TD.
Anyway, this year's first Not His Fault They Lost award goes to - Marvin Lewis.
I believe there were only 3 penalties on the Bengals and I'm pretty sure none of them were pre snap. Thank sweet baby jesus! For the most part they looked disciplined on both sides of the ball. That 4th quarter free touchdown the Browns gave up looked like some Bengals shit but we were the ones on the other side of it with the quick snap. I'm not sure if it was called before hand or not but both Green and Simpson took off strait down the field when they saw they weren't being covered.
The fact that the team was able to rally and keep their shit together when Dalton went down, also a credit to Marvin and Gradkowski in my option.
So, for keeping his young team together and creative 3rd down defensive packages (that may have been all Zim) the first award goes to Marvin.
OhByTheWay, I REALLY want to get in to the cool 3rd and long defenses that the Bengals used but I don't have time right now. Hopefully they do it all year and I can talk more about them then.
The first Surprisingly It Wasn't His Fault award goes to - Clint Boling, Rookie RG
This poor guy had to step in for Bobbie Williams against some big SOBs in Ruben and Phil Taylor. From what I saw he actually held up really well and even got some movement in the run game. Looks like this guy could be the real deal at either guard.
Finally the Not Your Fault Young Buck award goes to - Colin Cochart, Rookie TE
I don't think he had any catches but he looked great at blocking which is encouraging. Every run play I saw him in he was making a key block and executing it well. He was a big part of that late 4th quarter TD run by Benson. He came flying inside and sealed the hell out of the edge to help open up that giant hole Ced had to run through.
Last thing I wanted to mention. Mid way through the first quarter the Browns tried to run right and Fanene made Joe Thomas look like a bitch when he knifed through on an inside move and wrecked the Hillis in the backfield. Was awesome to watch and a brutal hit. I'm so glad they resigned him. This Blog is going to be way better once I figure out how to post links to the plays...
Sorry it was so short this week! I can tell I rushed through this one, I hope you can't Enjoy the win Bengals faithful! Will be back next week!
I've only had a chance to watch about a quarter of Browns game again so this will be abbreviated.
Feels pretty good to start off with a win right? Wasn't pretty, but I'll take it however I can get it. I was convinced the game was over when Dalton went out. The Browns gave us a little help in the 4th quarter though and the defense was stellar all day minus a few big gains on some odd looking plays and it was enough.
So lets get right to it. I thought Dalton looked sharp. I know he's supposed to have a weak arm but there wasn't a damn thing wrong with it on that 22 yard bullet to Gresham in the first quarter. Last year on the NFL replay I could post clips but they changed the UI, I'll keep trying to figure it out for you guys. Anyway, I was pissed Dalton went down, more because I wanted to evaluate him than anything else.
I've heard people talking about how Joe Haden shut down A.J. Green. I'm not big on "should haves" in football cause there are a lot of variables but for reals A.J. should have had at LEAST 3 touchdowns. I know you're probably thinking I'm being a super homer here but I think these were pretty clear so I don't feel bad about using "shoulda's".
1st shoulda been TD - On the first drive, A.J. cold smokes Haden to the front pylon and is waiting for the ball. Dalton was late seeing it allowing Haden to recover and bat the ball away, making people think he's awesome. (I'm not saying he isn't, just wasn't on that play)
That reminded me of the college clip they kept showing where Haden was in a short zone and picked off a ball in front of A.J. that was all on the QB. Nothing any receiver could have done. That's not Haden winning the match-up, that's the QB making a mistake.
2nd shoulda been TD - A.J. pulls a sweet double move on Sheldon Brown on the second drive and is going to be wide open in the end zone. He ran a slant hook then spun around and took off deep. Brown knows he's cooked so he does the smart thing and just grabs on, not letting the receiver get the free touchdown. The penalty was called and helped set up a TD.
3rd shoulda been TD - Late in the 4th Green is one on one with Haden who tries press coverage. A.J. makes him miss entirely on the jam and takes off on a fly route. Haden grabs on and gets towed down field making Green come up a few yards short on the pass. Holding wasn't called and if I had not already resigned to defeat when I saw Dalton was hurt I would have flipped shit right in the bar. Refs blew that call pretty bad. Luckily the football gods made up for it when the Browns broke the defensive huddle late and A.J. got a free TD.
Anyway, this year's first Not His Fault They Lost award goes to - Marvin Lewis.
I believe there were only 3 penalties on the Bengals and I'm pretty sure none of them were pre snap. Thank sweet baby jesus! For the most part they looked disciplined on both sides of the ball. That 4th quarter free touchdown the Browns gave up looked like some Bengals shit but we were the ones on the other side of it with the quick snap. I'm not sure if it was called before hand or not but both Green and Simpson took off strait down the field when they saw they weren't being covered.
The fact that the team was able to rally and keep their shit together when Dalton went down, also a credit to Marvin and Gradkowski in my option.
So, for keeping his young team together and creative 3rd down defensive packages (that may have been all Zim) the first award goes to Marvin.
OhByTheWay, I REALLY want to get in to the cool 3rd and long defenses that the Bengals used but I don't have time right now. Hopefully they do it all year and I can talk more about them then.
The first Surprisingly It Wasn't His Fault award goes to - Clint Boling, Rookie RG
This poor guy had to step in for Bobbie Williams against some big SOBs in Ruben and Phil Taylor. From what I saw he actually held up really well and even got some movement in the run game. Looks like this guy could be the real deal at either guard.
Finally the Not Your Fault Young Buck award goes to - Colin Cochart, Rookie TE
I don't think he had any catches but he looked great at blocking which is encouraging. Every run play I saw him in he was making a key block and executing it well. He was a big part of that late 4th quarter TD run by Benson. He came flying inside and sealed the hell out of the edge to help open up that giant hole Ced had to run through.
Last thing I wanted to mention. Mid way through the first quarter the Browns tried to run right and Fanene made Joe Thomas look like a bitch when he knifed through on an inside move and wrecked the Hillis in the backfield. Was awesome to watch and a brutal hit. I'm so glad they resigned him. This Blog is going to be way better once I figure out how to post links to the plays...
Sorry it was so short this week! I can tell I rushed through this one, I hope you can't Enjoy the win Bengals faithful! Will be back next week!
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