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!
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