SB Nation - Brandon Johnson

Former Cards blow up in Week 12

Mike Rutherford — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 14:54:34 -0000

Literally. It was really disturbing.

--Chris Redman stepped in for an injured Matt Ryan and completed 23-of-41 passes for 243 yards and two touchdowns while leading the Atlanta Falcons to a come-from-behind win over Tampa Bay. He'll make his first start since 2007 this Sunday against Philadelphia.

--Elvis Dumervil notched two more sacks to extend his league-leading total to 14. He has nine sacks on 3rd down, which is already the sixth-best single-season mark in NFL history. The record is 11.

--David Akers drilled a 32-yard game-winner to lift the Eagles over the Washington Redskins. The made field goal was his 16th straight.

--Kerry Rhodes responded to being demoted from starting lineup for the first time in five years by notching a pair of interceptions in the New York Jets' 17-6 win over Carolina.

"I got the message," Rhodes said, standing on a chair so he could be heard by the throng of media. "The message was sent. Now, I am moving on and you're going to see Kerry Rhodes. The message was sent to me by Coach [Rex Ryan] and now I'm moving on. That's all it takes. You saw Kerry today and that's what you'll see."

--Former Cardinal linebacker/quote machine Brandon Johnson continued to fill in nicely for an injured Keith Rivers by recording eight tackles in Cincinnati's win over Cleveland He became a starter last year during week 7 and finished the year 112 tackles, second best on the team. Bengals blog Cincy Jungle says that Johnson's play makes Rivers's absence unnoticeable.

Six-Pack of Hu-Dey: Sign Mike Zimmer to a long-term contract as soon as possible

Kirkendall — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 23:59:31 -0000

Introducing to the inaugural edition to the "Six-Pack of Hu-Dey ", a selection of topics that we weigh in on. We hope to have this going weekly, but we'll need your help. If you have topics that you want examined or weighed in on, email them to me. Also, some veterans may recognize the spelling is actually correct. Hu-Dey beer once existed by Hudepohl Brewing Co.

Bengals need to sign Mike Zimmer to an extension as soon as possible. This is one of those topics that we tend not to examine simply because of the obviousness of the issue. You know, like John Madden saying football is played by football players or that Cincinnatians are from Cincinnati. But here's the truth. Mike Zimmer is coaching under the final year of his two-year contract. The Bengals need to sign Zimmer to a long-term extension as the team's defensive coordinator as soon as possible.

In 2007, the final year with Chuck Bresnahan as the team's defensive coordinator, the Bengals defense ranked 27th overall and 24th scoring. The Bengals signed Mike Zimmer in the offseason and the Bengals defense has steadily improved. In his first season, the Bengals total defense improved to 12th overall and 19th scoring. And through nine games in 2009, the Bengals have the 10th best overall defense, the second-best scoring defense and the league's second-best rushing defense.

With those accolades, Zimmer will be a hot head coaching candidate in 2010. Even if no head coaching opportunities are granted Zimmer, he could find himself a rich contract as a defensive coordinator with a powerfully rich team -- say the Washington Redskins. Give him a share of ownership with the team. Whatever. Zimmer will be the biggest free agent the Bengals have to sign back this offseason.

Brandon Johnson is the best backup player on defense. After Keith Rivers suffered a broken jaw during the seventh week of the 2008 NFL season, backup Bengals linebacker Brandon Johnson became the starting weak-side outside linebacker. He finished the season with 112 tackles, second on the team. Johnson's two picks also ranked second on the team and he was one of three defensive players in 2008 to record a sack and interception in the same season.

During the offseason, the Bengals offered Johnson a $1.545 million restricted free agent tender, which he signed on August 16. He waited a long time looking for another team willing to offer the Bengals second-round compensation if they signed Johnson. No takers.

Even though his overall numbers are down this year, considering he plays in mostly pass-obvious situations, Johnson's contributions for an injured Keith Rivers the past two weeks show that Johnson's play is no let-down by any means. He replaced Rivers in the third quarter against the Ravens and recorded a team leading nine tackles and sacked Joe Flacco 1.5 times. He leads the team with eight special teams tackles.

Anytime that Johnson is forced to replace Rivers, he not only matches Rivers' production, but he plays well enough to that Rivers' absence isn't as noticeable. Which brings us to...

If no collective bargaining agreement is created, then signing Brandon Johnson long-term isn't urgent. With all of that said, Cincinnati should still work on signing Johnson to a long-term contract after this year. Most likely, he'll look for an opportunity to start. And unless something happens from now until the start of free agency, more than likely, he'll find a place. In a perfect scenario, Johnson signs, plays the backup role one more season until Dhani Jones' contract expires. Then the Bengals could place Rey Maualuga at middle linebacker and place Johnson either on the weak-side or strong-side, based on the strengths of both he and Rivers.

That is, if the new Collective Bargaining Agreement is worked out and the same free agency rules apply.

There is a certain dynamic here. If the league doesn't replace the existing Collective Bargaining Agreement before free agency in 2010, then Brandon Johnson could be forced to stay in Cincinnati. Currently, the CBA says that players only need four accrued seasons to be an unrestricted free agent. In 2010, the CBA changes, based on the final year of the deal, in which players need six years to become unrestricted free agents. Therefore, Johnson would remain a restricted free agent and could be here for at least two more years.

The Bengals shouldn't start Andre Smith this year. What I think is astronomical is that the Bengals still haven't played their first round pick, Andre Smith. The current Bengals offensive line has played so well, that Smith has become a luxury rather than a necessity. Only time I can remember this applying is when the Bengals decided to bench Carson Palmer his rookie season in favor of developing him behind Jon Kitna.

The dynamic that Paul Alexander has created with this offensive line shouldn't be shuffled anymore than it already has been. As a unit, they've only allowed 14 quarterback sacks and have been a large part of Cincinnati's rushing success, which is ranked 11th in the NFL with 1,101 yards rushing.

Cincinnati's weakest part of the schedule is coming up at Oakland, Detroit and at home against Cleveland. Conventional wisdom may suggest that the team could take the opportunity to give Smith a start, at least, to see what we have. But the best solution might be to use Smith in a Dennis Roland/Anthony Collins role, which would essentially make Smith the third offensive tackle on rushing plays. This would allow Smith to ease himself into the speed and strength of the NFL, while not disrupting the cohesiveness that the Bengals offensive line already have.

Then again, there's working him in as an eventual replacement for Bobbie Williams at right guard...

Bengals now have to beat teams that they should beat. So, I'm a little melodramatic. But I strongly believe after sweeping the Steelers and Ravens (I'll never get tired of that term), with wins against the Bears, Packers and Browns, Cincinnati losing any of the next three games could run the risk of losing everything they've earned.

The next three games on the schedule are against teams with a combined 4-22 record (Oakland, Cleveland, Detroit). Losing any of those games not only hurts the team's legitimacy, as well as their confidence, but it would bring Pittsburgh right back into the mix. It's one thing to lose against a very good football team with a winning record. But they must beat teams that they should beat. That's what winning teams do.

Successes of others helps ease the fall of Antwan Odom's injury. Since Antwan Odom was injured against the Houston Texans, the Bengals defense has recorded 11 quarterback sacks (which includes the loss to the Texans). A large part of that success has come from the combination of Jonathan Fanene and Robert Geathers, recording a combined four sacks against the two divisional powerhouses Pittsburgh and Baltimore. Geathers has recorded sacks in back-to-back games.

More surprisingly is Frostee Rucker's successes dating back to Chicago where he his playing time increased because of Odom's injury. In that three game stretch, Rucker has a quarterback sack, an interception, a deflection and three quarterback hits.

Odom clearly set the season with seven quarterback sacks in the first two games of the season. The rest of the defense continues to follow suit.

Cincinnati Bengals beat the Pittsburgh Steelers with unsung heroes and a beautiful red zone defense

Kirkendall — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 18:00:51 -0000

by Gene J. Puskar - AP

about 1 month ago: Cincinnati Bengals' Bobbie Williams (63) leaves Heinz Field after a 18-12 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in an NFL football game in Pittsburgh, Sunday, Nov. 15, 2009. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

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It was a bar in Dayton that an odd fellow, let's call him William, struck up a conversation with me that began with typical fantasy football musings. He drafted Adrian Peterson. His reaction was like anyone else's when drafting a great fantasy football player -- telling EVERYONE. Confident of his chances, not requiring the debate of the rest of his fantasy football draft, the conversation took an expected turn. Everyone that knows me personally, knows that I could chit-chat Bengals all day long. But it's not just about Carson Palmer and Chad Ochocinco. Those are the superstars that everyone else knows. What's more to say about them? Carson just wins. Chad just finds dollar bills laying around, hoping that the ref can find the owner who lost the money. We'll talk how hard Abdul Hodge will smack you in the face on kickoffs. We'll reminisce how the monstrous Ahmad Brooks had every tool to become a super-stud linebacker. We'll agree that Rashad Jeanty is perhaps the most unknown contributor on this defense, since 2006.

It was never about who was right. That's never the way conversations go. It's just about talking about the thing that we both love. William was old enough to remember both Super Bowls as if watching it live. I was too young for Super Bowl XVI. Not Super Bowl XXIII. I've told the story of breaking my mother's lamp when John Taylor scored the winning touchdown more times than I can remember.

But William's mind was sore. Last season left a bitter taste in everyone's mouth. That angry feeling we had before Marvin Lewis' era had resurfaced. Our last conversations didn't detail the exponential growth we saw from the defense last year. It wasn't about Carson Palmer returning. It wasn't about Cedric Benson, who had the best three-game stretch of any running back in the final three games. It wasn't about the veteran free agents, nor the NFL draft in which many observers praised the Bengals selections.

He was mad. And he should be mad. This team was terrible in 2008. Few things could be said about them that actually made us feel good. And that anger carried over to 2009.

William suggested firing Marvin Lewis. I gave the people's eyebrow for good measure, showing my uncertainty while questioning the validity of the source. How could you? Why would you? Who would you replace him with? It really took me aback. His argument is that great coaches could deal with the amount of injuries this team suffered, and still go undefeated... if they were great. Alright. Who would you replace him with? Bill Cowher, he instantly says. Yep. Bill Cowher. He's proven to put great teams together with a core philosophy that lasted most of his tenure, he argues. Yea, but. Well, he's a former Steelers coach. He lowers his head. He knows the point I just made. He knows that level of crazy-talk, while fun at times, has no place here. Are you drinking again, William, I asked. No, he laughed. It wasn't Bill Cowher he was suggesting; but Cowher being a model of stability that this team needed. Understandable.

At this point, I've recovered enough to make sure my adult beverage had a one-way ticket in, assuring that the mist that exhaled from my nose during that conversation had no escape. My composure, solid. I told him, have patience. They did a lot during the offseason, and excuse or not, Palmer's injury last year was a big contributor for their struggles. Even so, they were a solid football team in the second half of the season. They sported a winning recorded in the final eight games in 2008, I argued. That momentum would continue. How can you be so sure, he asked. Well, I can't be. But there are positive things. There is momentum. We won't repeat 2008. I promise.

William thoroughly enjoyed Cincy Jungle. We talked about the Bengals a lot. But we also talked just about football. The Buckeyes. The Bearcats. High School. We even shared our own football war stories.

About two months ago, William died of cancer. I'm going to miss talking to him about football. About the Bengals. But what really makes me sad, is that we won't be able to tell him that the Cincinnati Bengals swept the Steelers and Ravens, have a two-game lead in the AFC North with a 7-2 record. It would have been sweet to watch the pessimistic Bengals fan morph back into an bouncing anxious Bengals fan honestly optimistic that they could win any game on the schedule.

Hey William. We just swept the Steelers. You'd be proud.

The award for Offensive and Special Teams player of the game specifically designed to award Bernard Scott. We wrote briefly about Bernard Scott's ventures yesterday. He not only returned a kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown, but several runs late in the game moved the ball forward and helped Cincinnati kill 4:20 off the clock, setting up Shayne Graham's third field goal of the game. Scott also recorded a 21-yard reception.

Think that's it? Scott recorded 206 yards on kickoff returns, giving him 260 yards total on offense and special teams. Bernard Scott isn't the powerful between the tackles runner that Benson is right now, but Scott's speed and acceleration is impressive. With 3:05 left in the game at the Pittsburgh 35-yard line, Cincinnati lined up on second-and-five, Scott accelerated around the right edge, picked up five yards and the first down. This forced the Steelers to use two timeouts, and took another minute off the clock.

Carson Palmer didn't struggle. He did what the Steelers allowed. It was true. Most of Palmer's passes were off target, mostly high. There were some plays that Palmer felt rushed and threw the football early. In the second quarter alone, Palmer completed only two of seven passes for 30 yards. But Palmer's struggles didn't last. In the second half, Palmer's efficiency returned. He completed 10 of 13 passes for 98 yards passing. In the fourth quarter alone, Palmer completed six of seven passes for 54 yards -- including a big third-down 17-yard pass to Brian Leonard. This guy puts it together when it matters the most.

More importantly, Palmer didn't take more than what the Steelers gave him. He didn't commit a turnover. He threw passes that weren't risky. If he was getting sacked, he allowed it, not trying to do the impossible and threw the football up. No, he didn't win this football game. That's not how we beat the Steelers and I doubt that will be true next year, or the year after that. Nor did he lose the game. To me, Palmer didn't struggle. He did only what he could.

Including the big 17-yard pass to Brian Leonard that converted a third-and-five, Palmer completed a deep 16-yard pass to Laveranues Coles down the left sidelines that pushed the Bengals to Pittsburgh's 24-yard line. Palmer completed back-to-back passes for eight yards after a Brian Leonard one-yard run, setting up an easy 32-yard field goal for Shayne Graham to give Cincinnati a 15-12 lead with 7:29 left in the game. Cincinnati largely went into kill-the-clock mode with six minutes left in the game. Scott shined here. Palmer attempted only one pass -- an eight-yard pass to Laveranues Coles with 3:53 left in the game that gave the Bengals their third first down. Thanks to Bernard Scott and a scramble by Palmer where he totally forgot how to slide gracefully, Shayne Graham converted a 43-yard field goal to give the Bengals an 18-12 lead.

No. This wasn't the Palmer we saw against the Bears. Or early against the Ravens. But this isn't the same Bengals either. If Palmer only throws for 178 yards passing, doesn't record a touchdown and the Bengals win, you'll take that.

The Bengals won because they have a defense that wins games. With all of the talk about an inconsistent offense with star-power players, the truth of the matter is the Bengals defense is the biggest reason the Bengals have swept the Steelers and Ravens, own the tie-breaker against both teams and sit in first place at 7-2. It's the defense. Sure the offense has helped. But nothing with the consistency and confidence this defense has right now.

With 1:49 left in the game, the Bengals have an 18-12 lead. Pittsburgh has one timeout left and plenty of time to pick up 67 yards for the game-winning touchdown. Ever since we lost to the Denver Broncos, that little place in the back of my mind that anything could happen, gets really big. Most defenses in this situation tend to go into prevent, with one goal in mind of not allowing the game-winning touchdown. Not Bengals defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer. He blitzed. He had his guys in coverage smothering route runners. Roethlisberger didn't have time for deep routes to develop, though he tried to wait. Brandon Johnson pressured Roethlisberger on first down, forcing the incomplete. Chris Crocker and Johnathan Joseph shutdown their guys on respective plays. On fourth down, Roethlisberger was assaulted by Frostee Rucker and Michael Johnson, who forced the quarterback to make a desperate throw that landed several yards away in the middle of nowhere.

Bengals football. Three knees. Bengals win!

Even though this sealed the win, I don't believe this is where the Bengals won the football game. Aside from the final score, here's the most important stat of the game. Four times the Steelers entered the red zone. Four times, the Steelers settled for field goals.

Pittsburgh looked to score a touchdown on their opening possession. They recorded three first downs, including a third-and-13 conversion on a 15-yard scramble by quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. The Bengals this year have struggled defensively when the game starts. And trust me, struggle is a relative term. They're simply not forcing three-and-outs on the opening possession of the game. A little greedy? So. On the first drive, the Steelers recorded three plays of 11 yards or more, reaching Cincinnati's 15-yard line. After that, the bend-but-dont-break defense, stood their ground.

On first down, Johnathan Joseph broke from his cornerback spot to close a rushing lane on the right edge, preventing what could have been a touchdown run for Mendenhall. Instead, two-yard gain. On second-and-eight at the Bengals 13-yard line, Roethlisberger spread out the offense in shotgun, he rolled out left and threw a shovel passed to Heath Miller for another three-yard gain. Third-and-five with 4:50 left in the first quarter, Chinedum Ndukwe sprinted to the line of scrimmage as Roethlisberger received the snap. Ndukwe found a wide open lane on the right, threw his arms up and knocked down the pass. Steelers drive stalls and Pittsburgh takes a 3-0 lead on a Jeff Reed 28-yard field goal.

Pittsburgh would go on to punt on the following two possessions -- including a three-and-out. With eight minutes left in the first half, the Steelers began their second red zone assault. After a 10-yard run by Mendenhall, Roethlisberger throws two incomplete passes. On third-and-10 at the Bengals 36-yard line, Roethlisberger, under pressure rolls left and finds a crossing Santonio Holmes for a 21-yard gain. He follows that up with another 10-yard gain. Three of the Steelers first five plays on this drive picked up 10 yards or more. They were picking up chunks again.

But not for long. With their backs to the endzone, the defense foams at the mouth. First-and-ten at the Bengals five-yard line. Mendenhall gets the carry, shifts to the right, where Chris Crocker shot through the line of scrimmage, taking out Mendenhall for a three-yard loss. On second-and-eight, Morgan Trent ran step-for-step with Santonio Holmes on an out-route towards the back left pylon, easily knocking the pass down. After a timeout that must have conjured up some crazy magical touchdown play, Jonathan Fanene sacks Roethlisberger, forcing Jeff Reed to convert a 33-yard field goal. That's two red zones appearances by Pittsburgh. That's two forced field goals.

Cincinnati's offense went three-and-out.

Pittsburgh gets the ball back with 2:52 left in the first half. The Steelers move until Heath Miller was called for offensive holding. After an incomplete pass to Mike Wallace, the Steelers line up second-and-twenty at the Steelers 24-yard line. Roethlisberger watches Wallace run a deep seam route and lightly presses the "B" button, floating a rainbow pass. A millisecond before the pass arrives, Ndukwe hooked Wallace's left arm, forcing another incomplete. Flag. Defensive pass interference and a 46-yard penalty. Ndukwe knew it. He didn't bother complaining.

After an 11-yard pass to Moore, the Steelers enter the red zone. The Bengals defense foams at the mouth. With :59 seconds remaining, the Steelers line up first-and-goal at the Bengals eight-yard line. After Geathers recorded the team's fourth sack in the half, Roethlisberger was forced to pick up 17 yards for the touchdown. On the first pass, Roethlisberger overthrew everyone in the end zone. On the second pass to Santonio Holmes at the back right pylon, Johnathan Joseph grazed the floating football with a fingernail, causing football enough redirection that Holmes couldn't adjust. Jeff Reed converts the 35-yard field goal.

Bengals force a third field goal on Pittsburgh's third red zone appearance.

Pittsburgh would be shutout of the red zone until there was 2:51 left in the third quarter. After five plays in which the Steelers started at midfield, Pittsburgh lines up at the Bengals 13-yard line. The score is tied at 12. This is big. After Hines Ward's eight-yard reception, the Steelers run three times, including a quarterback sneak, to pick up the first down at the Bengals 11-yard line.

On the ensuing play, the Steelers are flagged for offensive holding. After that, it was the same script that had been played all day. Five-yard dump pass to Mendenhall. Incomplete pass batted down by Jonathan Fanene, who came unblocked and would have sacked the quarterback, at the line of scrimmage. On third-and-15 at the Bengals 16-yard line, Roethlisberger, overthrows the football to Mike Wallace, running towards the left sidelines in the endzone.

Bengals force a fourth field goal on Pittsburgh's fourth, and final, red zone appearance.

Say hello to Morgan Trent. The story of a great day for the team's third best cornerback. When we talked about Morgan Trent after the NFL draft, I wasn't encouraged. It wasn't so much what I've seen -- I really don't remember him playing at Michigan much. It was Wolverine fans who weren't giving us glowing reviews. Then again, what did you expect from a guy who was drafted in the sixth round, for a position that we believed was set, save for building solid depth.

To describe Trent this year would be to say that he's as solid as they come. And against the Pittsburgh Steelers, he made plays. While the Steelers were driving on their first possession of the game, Pittsburgh lined up second-and-eight at the Bengals eight-yard line, threatening to score. Morgan Trent, lined up over Santonio Holmes, sat in the wide receivers hip, following his break towards the back left pylon. Just as it seemed that Holmes created enough space for the touchdown reception, Trent accelerated just in time to knock down the its-not-a-touchdown pass. Jonathan Fanene ended Pittsburgh's threat a play later with a quarterback sack.

On the Steelers opening drive in the second half, Ben Roethlisberger targets Hines Ward on third-and-two at their own 40-yard line. Roethlisberger, in shotgun, throws over the middle. Morgan Trent, trailing Ward on a crossing pattern, flipped his hand up at the inaccurate pass and knocked the football back towards the line of scrimmage where Frostee Rucker intercepted the pass and returned it to the 14-yard line. The Bengals would tie the game soon after.

With 7:15 left in the game, Bengals leading 15-12, Pittsburgh lines up first-and-10 at their own 27-yard line. Roethlisberger throws a deep pass over the middle. Morgan Trent outran Holmes on the deep pass and "got in the way", slowing Holmes progress. On the following play, Roethlisberger throws a quick pass to Holmes on the right. After the reception, he only picks up seven yards, thanks to Trent's great open field tackle. The significance is that the Steelers had three yards to go for the first down and Roethlisberger threw an incomplete pass on third down, forcing the Steelers to punt.

If you weren't encouraged by Morgan Trent's play before Sunday's win, you should be now.

They always say it's difficult to sack Ben Roethlisberger. The situation is second-and-eight at the Cincinnati 25-yard line with 7:42 left in the first quarter. Ben Roethlisberger lines up in double-tight end formation with a single-back. He fakes the handoff to Rashard Mendenhall, who targets the gap between center and left guard. Bengals defensive end Jonathan Fanene, lining up at right defensive end, remains at the line of scrimmage playing the run. Once he figures it's a pass, he breaks outside, actually losing his balance. Tight end Matt Spaeth uses Fanene's momentum and pushes him into the ground. Fanene, roughly a yard from Roethlisberger, lunged and twisted the quarterback's left leg to record the game's first sack.

Bernard Scott had just given the Bengals a 6-3 lead on a 96-yard touchdown return on kickoff. On the ensuing drive, with 3:36 left in the first quarter, the Pittsburgh Steelers lined up second-and-seven at their own 35 yard-line. Roethlisberger motioned Mendenhall out, leaving an empty backfield. After a three-step drop, Roethlisberger pump faked right, looked left, when Dhani Jones delayed a blitz. The Bengals had covered all of the Steelers offensive linemen, allowing Jones to come unblocked, sacking Roethlisberger for a seven-yard loss. On the following play, Santonio Holmes caught a 14-yard pass for the first down. Marvin Lewis said, "bull crap." He threw the challenge. The officials determined the spot was two yards too generous, forcing the Steelers into fourth-and-two. Pittsburgh punts.

Pittsburgh lines up third-and-goal at the Cincinnati eight-yard line with 4:54 left in the first half, threatening again. The Steelers had just called a timeout and were working up some crazy play that guaranteed a touchdown -- that's what teams do during offensive timeouts I think. Roethlisberger sets up in shotgun. Fanene lined up at the right defensive tackle spot. At first, Fanene was stuffed at the line of scrimmage. The Bengals secondary forced Roethlisberger to hold onto the football. After a few seconds, Fanene found a way around the guard, sacking Roethlisberger for a seven-yard loss.

Under a minute left in the first half, the Steelers were driving to the Bengals eight-yard line. Roethlisberger lines up in shotgun and empty backfield. He looks left, pump fakes, braces for Robert Geathers, who nailed the quarterback without even being touched by any blockers. Roethlisberger threw two incomplete passes after that and the Steelers are forced to kick a field goal.

Rushing defense comes up big again. Cincinnati came into Sunday's game with the league's second ranked defense, allowing an average of 83.9 yards per game. Cincinnati limited Rashard Mendenhall, Mewelde Moore, Ben Roethlisberger and Willie Parker to 80 yards rushing on 18 attempts.

Rushing offense was effective in spots, but they were always persistent. Not a bad annoying either. The Bengals rushing offense was stuffed and stifled throughout much of the game. They made some plays, but as a unit, they only recorded 61 yards rushing. The thing is, they didn't stop running the football, rushing 29 times. That's commitment to the run.

Driving nowhere. The Bengals defense forced the Steelers offense into four three-and-outs. More importantly, the Bengals defense in the second half forced an interception, three punts, a turnover on downs and a field goal.

Third down domination. The Bengals defense has only allowed four conversions in the past 25 third down situations (16%).

Points allowed domination . The Bengals came into Sunday only allowed 16.9 points per game, ranked fifth in the NFL. They've not allowed a point in the third quarter for three straight games. During that same three-game stretch, Cincinnati has only allowed 12 points in the first half and 17 points in the second half.

What we know. The Bengals win over the Steelers is huge. You know that. Everyone knows that. It's a mark in the division and an introduction to the league that this team is legit. Now, the Bengals enter a stretch of potential trap games. Knowing the maturity of this team, I like our chances. Still, as William would quickly remind all of us, we've seen them fall in games they should have won too many times before. Aye.

Bengals have eight players on Injured Reserve; Cincinnati has players to fill those roles

Kirkendall — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 16:41:15 -0000

Remember last year? I know, I know. Why bring up terrible memories of a team that started the season on an eight-game losing streak. Why bring up terrible memories of a team that actually finished a game in a tie causing the entire NFL world to shouting, asking why ties in the NFL? I remember when the active report came in during the fourth week of the season against Cleveland, seeing that Carson Palmer was inactive. It took weeks for me to fully comprehend the implications of Palmer's injury. I was in denial.

This week gave us a few reminders of how much better this team is, in terms of talent and pure luck, which is (if people want to admit it or not) critical to team's successes in a season.

The Bengals placed two players on Injured Reserve this week with arm injuries; wide receiver Chris Henry and safety Roy Williams. This brings the total to eight players on injured reserve since the start of training camp.

Player	Position
Antonio Chatman	WR
Chris Henry	WR
Reggie Kelly	TE
Ben Utecht	TE
Matt Sherry	TE
Antwan Odom	DE
Dan Santucci	C
Roy Williams	S

On November 28, 2008, the Bengals had just put Andrew Whitworth and Scott Kooistra on injured reserved, the 20th players lost for the season due to injury. In fact, I mused at the time that the Bengals could nearly fill out a starting lineup with players on Injured Reserve.

Oh, what a difference a year makes.

While the Bengals can't come close to filling out a starting roster, the biggest difference this year is that the team's depth is strong enough to replace those injured players -- except for maybe Tight End -- and lose limited production. Chinedum Ndukwe, the guy replacing Williams in the starting lineup, has 17 career starts. In the first game he started this season against Cleveland, Ndukwe recorded seven tackles and a quarterback sack. Against Houston, Ndukwe recorded a season-high 11 tackles. Along with Brandon Johnson, Ndukwe recorded a quarterback sack deep in the fourth quarter against Baltimore. NFL.com ranks Ndukwe fifth on the team with 35 total tackles.

Chris Henry is a loss in terms of taking advantage of match-up problems. However, through eight games, Henry only caught 12 passes -- then again, he averaged a team high 19.7 yards-per-reception. Based on the talent and depth chart ahead of him, Henry's loss, in terms of overall production, isn't very significant. The Bengals will likely replace Henry with the receiving committee of Maurice Purify and Jerome Simpson; two unproven players that could surprise/disappoint us.

Antwan Odom is perhaps the biggest injury this team has suffered. Through the first two games, the Bengals recorded nine quarterback sacks -- seven from Odom alone. After going down to injury against Houston, the Bengals production hasn't slacked much -- they've recorded five quarterback sacks in the past two games with the following combination of defensive players: Frostee Rucker (1.0), Brandon Johnson (1.5), Robert Geathers (1.0), Michael Johnson (0.5), Jonathan Fanene (0.5), Chinedum Ndukwe (0.5).

Even though Odom's injury was the biggest this team has suffered, in terms of season production coming to a premature end, the team's tight end spot was decimated by injury. However, there was never really any expectation that tight ends would become vital in the passing game, save for pass protection. J.P. Foschi and Daniel Coats are reasonably good when it comes to rush blocking and the biggest difference between the Foschi/Coats tight end era compared to the Kelly/Utecht era is the dropped passes -- admittedly, there's been a few but fortunately, they're not targeted as much.

Two of the biggest improvements this year over the 4-11-1 team in 2008, is that injury isn't crushing the team's chances and the depth chart is as strong as its ever been during the Marvin Lewis era. And the injuries suffered this season hasn't hurt the team's overall production.

Keith Rivers leaves on crutches. MRI shows it's not a season-ending injury

Kirkendall — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 02:24:35 -0000

More photos » by Ed Reinke - AP

about 1 month ago: Cincinnati Bengals receiver Chris Henry (15) grimaces after injuring his left forearm in the first half of an NFL football game against the Baltimore Ravens, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2009, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Ed Reinke)

Browse more photos »

You'll have your bumps and bruises in most NFL games. In fact, many people say that when teams avoid major injuries, they're simply luck. And the avoidance of major injury is often credited for a team's season long success.

While beating the favored Baltimore Ravens 17-7 to complete a season sweep, the Bengals suffered their share of injuries that won't be cured with a pack of ice and rubbing dirt on the wound.

Chris Henry suffered a broken forearm on a 20-yard reception with 14:13 left in the second quarter. When asked if the injury is season-ending, head coach Marvin Lewis said “I don’t know that.” On the Bengals second possession, with 6:49 left in the first quarter, Evan Mathis injured an ankle and gingerly walked to the lockerroom. He didn't return. Johnathan Joseph and Robert Geathers were injured and missed a few snaps, but later returned. In Geathers case, he recorded a late fourth quarter sack that forced the Ravens to go for it on third-and-19 with 2:16 left in the game.

Keith Rivers left the game early in the third quarter after a Kevin Huber punt. Listed as out with a calf injury, Rivers didn't return. The Bengals tweet that Rivers left Paul Brown stadium on crutches, but an MRI says that it's not a season-ending injury. A more optimistic view is that he returns next week. But why? Brandon Johnson filled in for Rivers, recorded 1.5 sacks and finished with five tackles. If it takes time, then take it. The win over Baltimore actually gives the Bengals breathing room for at least a wild card spot. Then again, Johnson isn't much of a downgrade from Rivers.

Luckily this team has enough depth at most positions to supplement injuries. For example, when Mathis left, the Bengals were able to insert Nate Livings. Did you notice the change? As things go, if you don't notice the offensive line, then they're doing great. When Rivers left, Johnson only had a frickin' awesome second half.

We should learn more about Mathis and Rivers later this week.

Can anyone beat the Bengals when they put it together?; Maualuga's production has dipped, somewhat

Kirkendall — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 14:37:11 -0000

Against the Bears, the Bengals, who have a ton of depth at wide receiver, were supremely confident. Evan Mathis hinted the same thing.

“You could see it in guys’ eyes,” he said. “Every guy next to me was ready to go, and wanted to keep the ball moving no matter what. We got a two- then three-touchdown lead and nobody relaxed. It doesn’t mean the game is over. We still went after it with max effort.”

We've known that these guys have the talent; it's always a matter of putting it together. No more drive-stalling penalties, drops or turnovers. Give it to your play makers (Chad Ochocinco) and keep pounding the football (Cedric Benson). And when they played their best game of the year, their most complete game of the year, when they bring their A-game, this team appeared invincible.

Even though Rey Maualuga was nominated for NFL Defensive Rookie of the Month in September, there's other rookies making a bigger impression on Scout.com NFL Rookie Rankings. Last week, he was ranked 14th. This week, he dropped to 17th with Scout.com saying "Maualuga's production over the last couple of weeks has suffered..." Maualuga has 30 tackles his year, which ranks sixth among rookies. His two forced fumbles ties him with Brian Cushing, Aaron Curry, Everette Brown, Malcolm Jenkins, Kaluka Maiava for most among rookies. I would agree that Maualuga's production has gone down, but only because the last two opposing teams choose to pass 64% of the time, which lowers tackle production among the front seven anyway. But it also limits Maualuga's playing time if the opposing team is showing a passing formation; Brandon Johnson is on the field in nickel packages.

The Bengals invited three players on Thursday for a workout: running back Jehuu Caulcrick, fullback Bill Rentmeester and Tight End Michael Matthews.

Geoff Hobson interviewed Marvin Lewis, who now calls this a nine-game season.

Chad Ochocinco's #1 Top Ten on the Late Show: "I thank the Lord every day that I don’t play for the Lions."

Who Dey Fans say if you want to buy a ticket to next weeks showdown between the Bengals and Ravens, then don't let other influences make the choice for you.

Given the choice, WDR would rather have Daniel Snyder than Mike Brown as an owner. Snyder bought the Redskins in 1999. Since 1999, the Redskins have won .467 of their games (78-89) compared to Brown's .404 clip (67-99-1) during that same timeframe. Just for kicks and giggles, since Marvin Lewis was hired, the Bengals have won exactly .500 (51-51-1) while, during that same time frame, the Redskins are .437 (45-58). Furthermore, the Bengals have never finished last in the division -- one first, two seconds, three thirds.

Houston Texans 28, Cincinnati Bengals 17: When the protagonist still has two options

Kirkendall — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 02:00:57 -0000

More photos » by Ed Reinke - AP

2 months ago: Houston Texans tight end Owen Daniels (81) is pursued by Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Leon Hall (29) in the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 18, 2009, in Cincinnati. Daniels caught two touchdown passes. Houston won 28-17. (AP Photo/Ed Reinke)

Browse more photos »

In every story there's a protagonist. And while on some quest, the protagonist hits a point in which everything falls apart. In Lord of the Rings, Frodo was finally consumed by the ring. In Star Wars, Luke Skywalker lost his hand, learned that the galaxy's terror was his own father and Han Solo had just been frozen in carbonite. Apply your favorite story. The protagonist always loses hope at some point. Whatever could go wrong, goes wrong. Most of the time it's unexpectedly. Perhaps it was when they weren't focused on the bigger objective. Maybe that's what happened with the Bengals. Maybe they lost focus. Maybe the picture was bright with the grand prize that was deceptively within reach. "We got caught up in whether we were going to challenge or not challenge and a lot of other things that didn’t really matter, instead of just playing football," head coach Marvin Lewis said after the game. "Not focusing got us out of the game, particularly in the second half. We had guys running onto the field looking over their shoulder at me instead of playing football."

So maybe the Bengals lost focus. Were they looking forward? Were they thinking of what they accomplished, believing that they'd beat Houston no matter what? The Texans played a great game. The Bengals were soundly beaten. When Matt Schaub threw the football, he threw good passes to wide open receivers. When the Texans offensive line fired off the football, they were driving the front seven. Instead of playing like boulders, the Bengals defense stood like feathers, catching blockers, rushers and receivers. The offense? Please. They drove a little bit. Mother would be proud. But they were \ shut out in three of the four quarters. In the third quarter, the Bengals offense ran nine plays and averaged 2/3rds of a single yard per play. We had receivers dropping passes. We had tight ends dropping passes and fumbling the football. We have veteran leaders on the offensive line committing drive killing penalties.

How can you not say the Bengals loss was a matter of just losing focus?

Is that an excuse? No. Of course not. You lose, you lose. Find a reason for it other than not repeating your mistakes is a fools way of making an excuse. Holding. Tripping. Fumble. Fumble. Drops. Incomplete passes. Missing that one block. Whatever it was, the Bengals committed it. You're more than welcome to say the problem is play calling. But until I actually get past the point of saying the Bengals players aren't shooting themselves in their own foot, I can't go there yet. You could have the God of Football calling plays. He's only as good as his players. When they fumble, trip, hold, drop then exactly what could the God of Football do? Bob Bratkowski is hardly the God of Football. But he's dealing with the same smelly crap.

Another indirect consequence is that the Bengals nearly didn't sell out. And perhaps they technically didn't. It wasn't just the fans that bought the remaining tickets. It was Chad Ochocinco and Motorola. So what do the people think that paid the money they were hesitant to pay? Additionally, what about those that received a free ticket through the promotional efforts, think about the Bengals after this. Think if they didn't want to pay before would pay for tickets now?

In an effort to not underscore the Texans win, Houston does match up well against the Bengals. The only way to defend Andre Johnson is hoping he loses focus. Their receivers so wide open, that it was almost like they knew our coverages. Our zone coverages tends to back pedal so much that running backs like Steve Slaton records 100 yards receiving.

Should the Bengals have beaten the Texans? Do the Bengals look better than the Texans on paper? Does even bothering to answer those questions really matter?

Here's what we do know. The Bengals share first place now with the Pittsburgh Steelers. They have the Chicago Bears, the Baltimore Ravens and Steelers on tap. The season could very well be lost as it could be won in the next month.

Bengals defense put good defense description on lay-away. It didn't take long for the Houston Texans to fire out against the Bengals defense. On the first offensive play for the Texans, Matt Schaub looked to the right on a play-action wide receiver screen. Andre Johnson caught the football and completed a 59-yard pass play to the Bengals 29-yard line. Four plays later, the Houston Texans attempted to kick a field goal when Antwan Odom penetrated Houston's line and blocked the attempt. Dodged a bullet there. Right? Problem with guns is that there's more bullets.

On the Texans first two drives, Houston ran 17 plays for 145 yards total. Matt Schaub completed seven of his first 10 passes of the game for 119 yards passing, including a touchdown pass to Owen Daniels to finalize Houston's second drive that went 11 plays and 68 yards. The Texans passing game found several opportunities for big plays, wide open receivers and a tight end that killed the Bengals -- especially when the defense blitzed. Steve Slaton caught a bubble screen to the left on the Texans third drive of the game. Following several blocks, the running back ran 38 yards untouched into the endzone to give the Texans a 14-7 lead midway through the second quarter. Through the first three drives, the Texans ran 24 plays for 220 yards total.

On third down, Michael Johnson, playing defensive tackle, penetrated the middle to knock down a pass intended for Andre Johnson with 4:51 left in the second quarter, forcing a three-and-out. On the ensuing possession, pressure forced Schaub to throw the football away with 2:30 left in the first half on third-and-two.

After the first three drives of the game, the Texans went three-and-out twice and Matt Schaub threw an interception. In the second half, the Texans scored a touchdown on their first three possessions, with three punts and a fumble during the rest of the half.

Houston Texans in the first half.
First Three Drives: 24 plays, 220 yards total and two touchdowns (and a blocked field goal)
Last Three Drives: 10 plays, 18 yards, two punts and an interception

When we learn that penalties are bad, mmmkay? The Bengals offense was cursed, plagued or whatever you want to call it, by a series of penalties on their first two drives which killed several big plays. More importantly, penalties killed drives in which the offense was moving the football. It was Andrew Whitworth's holding that stalled the Bengals first drive that negated a 15-yard bubble screen to Laveranues Coles as the Bengals threatened at mid-field to start the game. It was the Bobbie Williams (tripping) and J.P. Foschi (holding) that put the Bengals in second-and-21. The Bengals were unable to overcome the yardage deficit. Before the penalties, the Bengals offense was approaching or at mid-field. In both instances, the Bengals were forced to punt.

Thanks to Chad Ochocinco, Cedric Benson, and the absence of drive killing penalties, the Bengals offense completed a drive with a 10-yard touchdown by Cedric Benson. The offensive line buried the cutback lane and Benson, being patient, cutback behind the offensive line where a gapping tunnel led to daylight and a tie ball game.

What is it with the two-minute offenses? When there's less than two minutes left in a half, we can be certain of one thing. The Bengals offense will move the football. After an eight-yard and one-yard run by Benson, Carson Palmer picked up the first down on a quarterback sneak. With 1:35 left in the half, Chad Ochocinco runs down the left hash mark and Palmer throws a deep pass, hitting Chad in stride for a big 50-yard pass to the eight-yard line. After an incomplete pass to Chris Henry, Laveranues Coles runs down the back of the endzone to the right. Carson Palmer rolls out to the left, finds Coles redirecting to the left, tip toeing the back of the endzone, catching Carson Palmer's pass giving the Bengals a 14-14 tie with 0:48 left in the first half.

What is it with the two-minute defense? The Texans worked to pick up chunks of yards with less than a minute left in the half to record points at half time to take the lead. With :18 left in the half, Matt Schaub throws a tall pass to intended for Kevin Walter. The problem is, Walter is short and the pass fell into the stomach of Chris Crocker, who returned the football to the Houston 41-yard line. With nine seconds left in the half, Carson Palmer completed a nine-yard pass to Daniel Coats. With three seconds left in the first half, Shayne Graham connected on a 50-yard field goal to take 17-14 lead into half time.

Other than that, the offense simply didn't perform. The Bengals punted on four of their first five possessions in the first half. The Bengals offense did explode for ten points with 2:19 left in the first half. However, that was, as we say, all she wrote for the offense.

Quarter	Plays	Yards	Result
1	7	30	Punt
1	4	39	Punt
2	8	64	Touchdown
2	3	3	Punt
2	3	4	Punt
2	6	69	Touchdown
2	2	9	Field Goal
3	3	14	Fumble
3	3	-3	Punt
3	3	-5	Punt
4	3	6	Punt
4	2	12	Fumble
4	7	54	Interception

When a clever defensive play turns into a embarrassing defensive play. Steve Slaton ran off the left edge with 14:19 left in the third quarter. Leon Hall wrapped Slaton, twisted him around so the running back fell on Hall. Of course, this was planned. Because the football was stripped and Hall recovered the fumble. Hall planned it this way, that tricky cornerback. However, Houston challenged the play and Slaton's right knee hit the ground before the football came out. Texans keep the football.

Later on the drive, with 11:31 left in the third quarter, Matt Schaub play-fakes right, rolls out left and finds Jacoby Jones wide open in the endzone. Chris Crocker, who was trailing the wide receiver by a good seven yards, became a suspect in the question, "who the hell's fault was that?" It appeared that Johnathan Joseph handed Jones over to Crocker and Crocker never bothered to follow Jones until he realized that Joseph was sitting in a zone. It was already over.

Coats' mistake scorecard.
Drops: 1
Fumble: 1

While the Bengals are driving in the second quarter, at Houston's 22-yard line with 12:27 left in the second quarter, Palmer tosses the football to Daniel Coats crossing the field. A sure-catch typically means an embarrassing miss for Coats. The football rattled in Coats' hands momentarily before falling incomplete. Early in the third quarter, Palmer finds Coats who picks up five yards on the pass. As he's falling down, the football comes lose and the Texans have the football at mid-field. Is Coats a liability at this point?

Thankfully, in both situations, Coats mistakes didn't cost the football team. After his dropped pass, the Bengals eventually scored on Cedric Benson's 10-yard touchdown run. After his fumble and a 13-yard pass to Kevin Walter, the Texans didn't pick up another first down and punted. However, it didn't worked out for the Bengals offensively on the ensuing drive. Conner Barwin sped-rush off the edge, beating Dennis Roland and sacking Carson Palmer for a nine-yard loss, forcing the Bengals to punt after going three-and-out.

A story about a screen pass that led to an 11-point deficit. Steve Slaton caught six passes for 102 yards receiving, most of them on screen passes. With 3:51 left in the third quarter, Matt Schaub throws over the middle to running back Steve Slaton on a called screen pass on third-and-nine. Slaton picked up 27 yards and a first down. After Chris Browns' four-yard run, Schaub completes a seven-yard touchdown pass to Owen Daniels giving the Texans an 11-point lead, 28-17.

Laveranues Coles drops the pass and team's chances. With 13:34 left in the fourth quarter, down by eleven points, needing to put together a drive that, at the very least, lowers the deficit to within a possession, the Bengals lined up at the Cincinnati 25-yard line with four yards to go on third down. Palmer, for some misguided reason, throws to Laveranues Coles, on the right running a slant. Coles drops it. The Bengals punt and time is running out.

The Bengals six drives of the second half: Three three-and-outs, two fumbles and an interception.

When tired turns to anxiety to anger. With 13:18 left in the game, the Houston Texans started a drive that consumed nearly seven minutes off the clock. Tick, tock. I laid on the couch, started feeling sleepy. Should I take a nap? If the Texans score a touchdown on this drive, they take an 18-point lead. If the Bengals hold the Texans to a field goal, Cincinnati will still need to score two touchdowns and hold the Texans to a quick three-and-out. Either way, I'm not feeling it. I'm tired. I was up all night and I woke up early.

Tick, tock. Sleepy. Steve Slaton takes the hand off on second-and-18, has the football stripped by Robert Geathers and after the football bounces around for a bit, Brandon Johnson recovers. Bengals football. There's a chance. A touchdown, two point conversion and a field goal. Tie ball game. Not necessarily in that order. After a quick six-yard pass to Cedric Benson, J.P. Foschi catches a second-down pass, gets turned around and tackled. When the pile didn't break immediately, you knew there was trouble. Foschi fumbled the football and the Houston Texans recovered. Three emotions within a minute, and all that changed is that I'm laying on the couch again... pissed.

Whatever we think, all that matters is that must Bengals march on. What usually happens when we, you and I in our daily lives, are kicked to the ground, refuse to stand up and pout about it? Absolutely nothing. The Bengals were punched in the mouth Sunday. Now we'll now how "mature" the Bengals are. Will they rebound, fight twice as hard? Or will they bitch and moan about how they were beaten by a 2-3 team after beating the Packers, Steelers and Ravens? Now, we'll see what this team is made of. Now we'll see if this team can find their focus again.

Bengals First Quarter Review: Saying satisfied like only Billy Dee Williams can

Kirkendall — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 20:27:55 -0000

Ah, another week in which Bengals fans (us) are granted an extension of a beautiful luxury having a win under our belts. Not just win, mind you. A division win. Do you know the impact of that? The Bengals are the only team in the division with a 2-0 record against the division.

AFC North Standings Through Four Games in 2009
Teams	Record	PF	PA	Div.	Conf.
Baltimore Ravens	3-1	124	80	1-0	3-1
Cincinnati Bengals	3-1	84	76	2-0	2-1
Pittsburgh Steelers	2-2	85	78	0-1	2-1
Cleveland Browns	0-4	49	118	0-2	0-3

The Bengals have allowed the least amount of points than any team in the division; Cincinnati's 76 points allowed is better than 11 AFC teams. You have to admit, that's like Rice Krispie treat covered in chocolate and peanut butter, or jamming out to an old school Guns N' Roses song where you actually think that you're as smooth and cool as Slash. As we noted earlier, the Bengals have started 3-1 only four times dating back to 1990; three times during the Marvin Lewis era, which includes this year's heart-stopping indigestion-filled (and in some cases, chain-smoking) season. So far we're a quarter of the way through the season and it's appropriate that we dive into quarterly reviews.

I've never subscribed to the school that you can grade a team using a variety of letters when summarizing the first four games of a 16-game schedule. When you got graded in school, the letters had meaning behind them. They are letters that fall within a range of numbers that represents the percentage of properly answered questions. When we use letters grading football teams, it becomes a little too arbitrary; they don't have any substance behind them. I don't mind others that do it. I really don't. Live and let live, I always say. It's their thing and we're but a small gear in the blogging world. But I don't like using them. Instead, we're taking a new approach with a grading system that goes outstanding, satisfactory, nervous, and terrible. I'm sure our system goes without saying, which is the most innovative and detailed system to date.

CARSON PALMER. There's two arguments with Carson Palmer. There's the ineffective through most of the game, Carson Palmer. Then there's the Carson Palmer that routinely puts the Bengals into position to win the football game. His numbers have been very ordinary and he's yet to eclipse the 300-yard passing mark. However, after beating Cleveland, Palmer is on the good side of a touchdown-interception ratio again. I've never been a believer in grades but I do subscribe that Carson Palmer is the Harvey Dent of NFL quarterbacks. This is why I have to grade Palmer on two levels. He's made me nervous during the game, but outstanding when it comes to winning the game.

Most important note: 3-1 when starting as team quarterback.
Stat of concern: on pace for a career low 57.7% completion percentage.

RUNNING BACKS: Grade: Satisfied. It's hard to argue with results. Through four games this season, the Bengals have racked up an impressive 491 rushing yards -- averaging 122 yards-per-game. Averaging 4.4 yards per-carry on 84 attempts, Cedric Benson alone has rushed for 367 yards -- 91.8 yards a game (which may be a result of a lack of carries lately, his average since the Denver game is nearly 4.8 yards per carry). Benson has done a good job consistently gaining yards, but he hasn't quite been explosive. His longest rush this year is for 23 yards (the touchdown against Pittsburgh). Interestingly, Benson has had exponentially more success rushing to the left side, averaging over 6 yards per carry. Up the middle and to the right, Benson is averaging between 1 and 3.5 yards per carry - that's just not very good, but this is a criticism of the right side of the O-line, that could surely benefit from the return of an in-shape Andre Smith. The rest of the running backs have been pretty decent. Jeremi Johnson hasn't been glaringly bad in the run blocking game, and hybrid back Brian Leonard has epitomized clutch - mostly as a receiver out of the backfield. Rookie Bernard Scott has flashed his talent early this season, but his big runs are also going to the left side of the line. He's been good when he's been used, but that's been rare. Scott has also been promising in the return game. I give this group a passing grade of satisfactory bordering on "good", but not outstanding. They don't get an outstanding mark from me because they aren't producing enough. That may or may not be their fault, though.

Most important note: 122 rushing yards a game is good news. If we can get Andre Smith working into the rushing game on the right side of the line later this season, that number could improve. We might finally be a solid rushing offense.
Concern: The concern is really with offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski and the offensive line. Brat has been too reliant on the pass (especially in the Browns game), and the right side of the offensive line is not opening holes for running backs.
- Jake (jsl413)

WIDE RECEIVERS

Ochocinco through first four games
	Rec.	Yrd	TD
2009	17	258	3
2008	11	116	1
2007	28	495	3
2006	18	201	1
2005	26	374	3
2004	20	297	1
2003	21	370	3
2002	18	221	1

Chad Ochocinco
Ranking: Outstanding
Chad is officially back. After a horrific 2008, Ocho has returned to the form that makes him one of the better receivers in the NFL. Not only is he talking the talk, he's walking it as well, something his three touchdown catches indicate quite well. Whether Chad is Lambeau leaping or being held back from Cleveland's Dawg Pound, Ocho is once again a terror for opposing defenses and fans alike. Sure, he's had a drop or two so far, and the fact he and Carson haven't fully integrated the long ball is cause for concern, but the flea-flicker play against Green Bay proves it's still a viable option. Maybe now they can use it a little more. Currently, Chad is on pace for a 68-catch, 1000-yard, 12 touchdown season. While I would expect the touchdown numbers to perhaps shrink, the opposite is true for his catches and receiving yards. Welcome back Ocho. Now go tweet your day away.
- Chris (IFChris)

Andre Caldwell.
Ranking: Outstanding/Satisfactory
Introducing the Bengals second leading receiver, yard/receptions-wise. Granted, I think many of us expected to see Laveranues Coles or Chris Henry here, but obviously, Caldwell has something to say about that. Caldwell, even though he's more of a slot-receiver, is proving to be a reliable number two to Chad's one. Caldwell has six more catches than Coles and eleven more than Henry. He's on pace for a 64-catch season, which would be a personal record, and would eclipse his before-this-season-started career total by 37 catches. The only reason Caldwell doesn't get an "Outstanding" is for that ugly fumble he had against Cleveland on Sunday.
- Chris (IFChris)

Laveranues Coles.
Ranking: Nervous.
Currently, Coles ranks third in the NFL with three dropped passes, something that does not inspire a great deal of confidence. When he was signed by Cincinnati, he was expected to fill the shoes left behind by T.J. Houshmandzadeh, however, it seems that job as gone to Caldwell. Coles can still get open and judging by last season's stats, he's still a very capable receiver; which is why I haven't completely given up on him. As long as Coles can keep his hands on the ball when Palmer throws it his way, we'll all be fine. Last season, Coles collected almost 900 yards and seven touchdowns. If he gets near that kind of production for the Bengals, his ranking would quickly move to the "Outstanding" neighborhood. Until he stops dropping the ball, however, his signing is going to be a disappointment.
- Chris (IFChris)

Chris Henry.
Ranking: Nervous.
After a brilliant preseason, I think all of us expected Henry to show the league just how good he can be. Alas, that has not been the case. Currently, the following Bengals (besides the ones listed above) have more catches than the one they call "Slim" -- Daniel Coats (8), Brian Leonard (11, Leonard is actually the third-leading receiver, catch-wise, on the Bengals), and Cedric Benson (6). Further, Henry is tied with J.P. Foschi, who has five. So what does this say about Slim? Is he not working hard enough or is something just not clicking? Or is it that Caldwell is simply outplaying him? Before the season started, Henry was looked at as the best deep threat on the Bengals offense, so what gives? Should the Bengals be using 4-wide sets more than they use 3-wides? Or is Henry -- who has thankfully stayed out of trouble -- simply the odd man out in a Ocho/Coles/Caldwell trio? As you can see, there are a lot more questions than answers here, and until we have a larger portion of the season to work with, I'm tempted to change Slim's grade to an "Incomplete."
- Chris (IFChris)

OFFENSIVE LINE. Grade: Satisfied. We could recap all that's happened in the past calendar year. We could say that the Bengals offensive line in 2008, with Levi Jones, Eric Ghiaciuc and Stacy Andrews were the "weakest links". Football Outsiders ranked the Bengals offensive line as one of the worst offensive lines in football. But we won't. Why dig up history when there's a better future, just over there, behind the mole hill. No, that's not the mole hill. That's the Bengals 2009 offensive line (was that a bit corny)?

Andrew Whitworth slides to left tackle. Nate Livings and Evan Mathis work time at left guard. Kyle Cook wins the job at center, with rookie Jonathan Luigs always in the background looking for playing time. Bobbie Williams and Anthony Collins holding down the right side of the fort with a WWE entrance soon coming for first-round pick Andre Smith. I won't call the offensive line Outstanding. But I'm more than comfortable to say that they've clearly been satisfactory -- and improving each week.

	Sacks	Yrd/Rush Avg.	Adj. Line Yards *	Adj. Sack Rate *
2008	12	3.46	3.22 - 32nd	8.6% - 27th
2009	9	4.5	4.33 - 10th	6.5% - 23rd

* Stats by Football Outsiders

Quarterback Sacks from D-Line
Antwan Odom	8
Jonathan Fanene	1
Pat Sims	0.5
Robert Geathers	0.5

DEFENSIVE LINE. Grade: Satisfied. Through four games, the Cincinnati Bengals defensive line are leading a pack of wolves that's recorded 12 sacks as a unit this year. Ten of those sacks have come from the defensive front four. Antwan Odom, the guy that will sack you at Krogers for taking the last box of Wheat Thins, not only leads the team with an NFL-high eight sacks, he's also the leading tackler on the defensive front. Against the Browns, Robert Geathers returned a fumble 75 yards for a touchdown (boy, that kind of sounded like an after-thought, didn't it?).

However, all of that said, I'm hesitant calling this defensive front outstanding. Maybe it's because we set the benchmark so high with Carson Palmer's late game heroics. Still, the defensive front, while it's played well, still lacks a constant pass rush and there were noticeable rushing lanes against the Cleveland Browns, who came into the game with a 71.3 yard-per-game rushing average (29th in the NFL).

Linebackers	Tackles
Keith Rivers	29
Dhani Jones	25
Rey Maualuga	19
Brandon Johnson	16
Abdul Hodge	3
Rashad Jeanty	3

LINEBACKERS. Grade: Satisfied. Our linebackers in 2007 consisted of Lemar ~~Parrish~~ Marshall, Landon Johnson, Caleb Miller, Andre Frazier, Anthony Schlegel and Rashad Jeanty. If it wasn't for the Ravens linebackers, the Bengals linebacker unit would still be bad. Several were lost early in the season, which opened a spot for crazy journey man (quite literally) Dhani Jones. Two years later, Jones is one of the leaders on defense and the most consistent tackler. They put guys like Keith Rivers and Rey Maualuga around him giving the team a promising trio of linebackers to start the season. Beyond that, the Bengals have two backup linebackers in Brandon Johnson, who plays in nickel packages and Jeanty who each recorded over 100 tackles last season. In terms of Maualuga, the rookie strong-side linebacker has forced two fumbles and a sack along with his 19 total tackles.

SECONDARY. Grade: Nervous. The Bengals secondary has been challenged much of the season, allowing 242.3 yards passing per game. They are 26th in the league. The secondary has had its issues preventing big plays, allowing 17 passing plays of 20 yards or more -- most in the NFL. Much of the blame could be brought on because of the team's safeties defense against slot receivers; hasn't been very good. It could also be softer coverage, worried about the 40-yard strikes instead of the 20-yard variety. Furthermore, Johnathan Joseph's two interceptions this season are the team's only interceptions through four games.

I think Leon Hall and Joseph have played well above satisfactory levels when defending the pass. And Joseph more so against the rush. However, I think outside those two cornerbacks, the secondary has work to do; especially against the pass.

Kevin Huber in 2009
Punts:	30
Long:	61 yards
Avg.	42.9
Net Avg.	35.8
Inside-20	10

SPECIAL TEAMS. Grade: Nervously terrible yet sometimes outstandingly satisfied. It took you a couple of times to re-read the grade, didn't it? It's complicated. Kevin Huber has been outstanding. Shayne Graham has been ordinary. The kickoff return teams is 25th in the league and the punt return team ranks in the top-five. Brad St. Louis is still on the team. It's almost like you have a good, a bad, a middle, a good and then another bad. Really. Is there a more roller coaster unit in the NFL than the Bengals special teams? So how do I grade the entire unit? Can one do such a thing? I'm nervous every time the Bengals attempt to kick. I yawn when the kickoff return team, you know, returns. Huber is the only punter in the known galaxy that actually makes me pump my fist and Quan Cosby is the first guy that returns punts on this team that makes it a realistic dream he could return it for touchdown.

What do you guys think? Where are we at the quarter point of the season?

Game Rewind: Bengals beat the Packers with momentum, karma and Antwan Odom

Kirkendall — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 19:27:02 -0000

Here's the facts through two games. The Cincinnati Bengals lost on a fluke last-second 87-yard touchdown deflection to Brandon Stokley. Before that, the Bengals offense put together a game winning drive that spanned over 90 yards to take the lead. In the world of shoulda/coulda, the Bengals should have won that game. However, they didn't. And we're not harping on the BS at PBS to remind you that it, in fact, did happened; at least not with ESPN and CBS around to remind us. There's solace. It took a fluke play to beat us. Even though we lost, starting the season at 0-1, if teams have to say that they beat us on a fluke play, then fine. They couldn't do it any other way.

Enter week two, where the Bengals defense was far superior than the 24 points showed. Charles Woodson's interception gave the Green Bay offense the ball at the Bengals 11-yard line. Sure, the defense could have held. And most of the afternoon, they did. However, the defense couldn't pick up for Palmer's mistake; who also threw a pick-six to Woodson. Damn Woodson. Never liked him. He's a Michigan guy, you know.

What's far more encouraging -- like miles more encouraging -- is even though Palmer made two mistakes that led to points for the Packers, the Bengals offense was as good as we've seen it in a very long time. Credit the Bengals offensive line for Benson's sixth career 100-yard rushing performance. In fact, the 141 yards rushing he recorded against the Green Bay Packers is his second best career effort -- his best being a 171-yard effort against the Cleveland Browns. Also something else to consider, Benson has four 100-yard rushing performances in 14 games as a Cincinnati Bengal. He only had two in 35 games as a Chicago Bear.

Carson Palmer's two interceptions were bad; in fact, scary bad. However, he rebounded beautifully. After throwing his second interception to Charles Woodson that led to a pick-six, Palmer completed 10 of 15 passes for 153 yards and two touchdowns for a quarterback rating of 139.7. Laveranues Coles rebounded nicely also after last week's performance. He didn't drop passes and a large part of the team's successful rushing attempts was a result of great blocking by Coles. Oh, and he recovered a fumble on perhaps the most important (and chaotic) drive of the game after Coats fumbled the football on third-and-34.

The fact is this. The Bengals are here to play football and they're playing it well. Offensively, we struggled against the Broncos. There's no logic in denying that. Against the Packers, they established great sustaining drives. Defensively, what can you say? Rey Maualuga and Antwan Odom played miles above expectations and Roy Williams, while he not flashy, cleaned up a lot of messes left by the Bengals front seven. Williams is playing good football, as is Jonathan Fanene, Tank Johnson, Leon Hall and Johnathan Joseph.

With great momentum now established with the defense and a fire lit up with the offense, we're playing the Pittsburgh Steelers at a great time, who lost with a last second field goal to the Chicago Bears; a team beaten by the Green Bay Packers.

So, how did Sunday's game shake out?

The Drive that set the Bengals offensive tempo. Raise your hand if you thought backup Tight End J.P. Foschi would be called upon for the team's first offensive play of the game. The Bengals lined up double Tight End formation with Foschi on the left. Running vertical for ten yards, he cut in and Palmer hit the Tight End for a 12-yard gain. Say what you will about Foschi, but he catches the football.

On three of the next four plays, Cedric Benson picked up 12 yards. First-and-15 (Coats was flagged for a false start) at the Bengals 44-yard line, Benson ran behind Anthony Collins and Andrew Whitworth, who lined up outside Collins at Tight End. Evan Mathis destroyed his guy, driving him back, forcing him away from the play. Kyle Cook doubled down with Bobbie Williams on a defensive lineman, then chipped off for a linebacker. Each lineman had a hat on a defensive player while Benson picked up 12 yards. On the next play, Mathis, Whitworth, Dennis Roland and Daniel Coats dominated the left side of the line, giving Benson enough room to pick up another 12 yards. After Chad Ochocinco picked up 11 yards on a pass, Benson ran off the right edge. Cook and Collins took out the linebackers while Mathis neutralized the nose tackle and Bobbie Williams took out the defensive end. Benson's biggest benefactor on this play was great blocking by Laveranues Coles and Chad Ochocinco. Neither of their guys made the stop and Benson picked up another 12 yards.

After a four-yard run, Carson Palmer faked the handoff on second-and-five at the Green Bay five-yard line. The result was tremendous. Linebackers stepped up expecting the run and ended up colliding with offensive linemen. Laveranues Coles, lining on Daniel Coat's outside hip on the right side of the line, ran a skinny post and converted the touchdown for the game's opening points.

Establishing the Bengals offense as a rushing team with dominating offensive line play, as well as tremendous patience and overpowering strength when Benson lowered his shoulder pads, the offense set a tempo to run the football. This is what the coaches envisioned when they decided to make the Bengals more of a rushing offense. The question is, could they sustain it.

The Drive of defensive mistakes that led to the Packers first touchdown. We hate bringing up criticisms during a win. But we're also trying to tell a story of how the game played out. In order to describe that on the Packers' second possession, we have to point out that several defensive mistakes played a large part of Packers tying the game. We're also not meaning to limit the good plays that the Packers ran; we're a Bengals blog with a Bengals point of view. So that's how we approach things.

With 10:33 left in the first quarter, the Packers were hell bent on responding to the Bengals seven-play touchdown drive with a sustaining drive of their own. After allowing a quick six-yard pass to Donald Lee, back-to-back eight yard runs by Ryan Grant and an incomplete pass, the Packers lined up third-and-two at the Green Bay 42-yard line. Spencer Havner lined up outside the right tackle with Tight End Donald Lee outside Havner. Rey Maualuga lined up over Lee, while Dhani Jones remained in the middle. At the shotgun snap, Lee ran a short crossing pattern over the middle. Maualuga ran with him while Dhani tried to cut him off. With both linebackers covering Lee, Havner ran uncovered over the middle and Aaron Rodgers completed the 21-yard pass. We're not coaches, nor do we know exactly what was called. But we have a hard time believing that both linebackers were supposed to cover Lee while Havner ran uncovered over the middle. Our guess, however, is that Maualuga was supposed to let Dhani pick up Lee and stay with Havner. Hey, rookie mistake. It happens.

On third-and-two at the Bengals 29-yard line, Rodgers completed a 16-yard pass to James Jones. Brandon Johnson was called for roughing the passer, and the Packers were given another seven yards. Johnson was clearly keying off Rodgers, watching his eyes, or waiting for him to rollout. When Rodgers was forced out of the pocket, he rolled to the right, Johnson took off after him and drilled him after releasing the football.

On first-and-goal at the Bengals six-yard line, Chris Crocker blitzed. No one accounted for him so he had a free shot on Rodgers. Without the football being in a throwing position, Crocker elected to jump really high anyway. Rodgers easily side-stepped the likely sack and scrambled for a positive gain. On the next play, Rodgers completed a three-yard touchdown pass to Donald Driver. We call 'em like it is. And the touchdown pass was simply a great throw and a better catch.

The momentum shifts and the Bengals look dire. There was a period in the game in which the feeling started reverting back to old; like getting the wind knocked out of you and failing to rise above adversity. On the Bengals second offensive possession of the game, Carson Palmer looks for Chad Ochocinco running a seam down the right sideline. There was only one way this pass would be completed. With Charles Woodson on Chad's hip and Nick Collins sitting underneath, Palmer had to air it out and let Chad sprint under it. Instead, Palmer threw a wickedly underthrown pass. Maybe he thought that Chad was going to run a hook route. However, if that were the case, then this is just a terrible decision by Palmer; remember, two defensive backs were sitting underneath. Palmer threw it anyway and Chad didn't have a chance to make a play on the ball when Woodson turned, picked off the pass and returned it 22 yards to the Bengals 11-yard line.

After a short seven-yard completion to Grant, the running back took the handoff, waved at Robert Geathers getting horse collared around the neck -- a terribly missed holding call -- and scored the Packers' second touchdown. Take note: with 2:26 left in the first quarter, the Packers just recorded their final offensive touchdown. On the kickoff, Andre Caldwell sat in the back of the end zone making little effort to pick up the ball before watching it roll out of bounds for the touchback. At this point I'm thinking, boy, they look like they had the crap beat out of them already. They're done. Forgive me. I've seen it too many times before to not have that thought go through my mind.

Behind a powerful rushing effort, the Bengals pick two first downs before settling in at their own 48-yard line when the second quarter starts. False start on Chad Ochocinco. Offensive holding by Andrew Whitworth. With first-and-25, Palmer throws two incomplete passes to Laveranues Coles (ball tipped by Clay Matthews) and Chris Henry (pushed out of bounds before landing in-bounds) setting up a third-and-25 (good god). Brian Leonard caught the screen pass, decided not to wait for his blockers and only picked up six yards.

The momentum shifts again and the Bengals capitalize. With fourth-and-19 at their own 39-yard line, Kevin Huber crushed a 61-yard punt for touchback. Along with a holding call on the Packers, Green Bay's offense starts at their own 10-yard line. After picking up eight yards on first down, Ryan Grant runs the football twice for no-gain; thanks to Pat Sims, Tank Johnson and Domata Peko. The Bengals defense holds and Quan Cosby trots onto the field.

After hauling in the punt, Cosby started working the blocks, moving to his left while several Packers players converged into a group in the middle. The blocking was too easy; the Bengals just had to maintain the wall on their right. Cosby returned the punt 60 yards to the Green Bay six-yard line. Thanks to Evan Mathis' false start, the Bengals have first-and-goal at the 11-yard line. Benson eight yards. Benson two yards. Carson Palmer touchdown run.

Now the Bengals tie and the momentum they lost early in the game has been recovered. Things look swimmingly. So much so, the Bengals defense was on fire. On first down, Rey Maualuga nailed Rodgers from behind on a blitz, forcing the football out. The Packers recovered the football, but not their momentum. After a (thank god) shoe-string tackle by Fanene, the Packers were called for a false start setting up third-and-20. Rodgers received the shotgun snap, looked around, and felt Robert Geathers closing in. Rodgers shifted up into the pocket and threw a low incomplete pass to Donald Lee. Packers punt.

Momentum. The Bengals have gobs and gobs of it.

And then she walked out the door without a kiss goodbye leaving our hearts broken. Bengals have the football at their own 41-yard line with 8:31 left in the first half. Cullen Jenkins took an inside step on Andrew Whitworth, who obviously misunderstood that big guys can move left AND right, and sacked Carson Palmer. On the next play, Palmer in shotgun, thinks that Charles Woodson is somewhere else other than where he is. Daniel Coats lined up inside slot on the right. With a quick five yard up, Coats ran out. Woodson drooled like a predator in the wild. Palmer made the throw to Coats, aiming towards the right sideline. Woodson stepped forward, caught the pass and spiked the football after scoring the Packers third touchdown in the game.

Momentum, who was once a friend earlier, is now a bitch.

And then Karma said "hello, everyone". If Brandon Stokley's reception to beat the Bengals was the fluke play of the year, then you have to admit that the Bengals third touchdown drive came with some serious luck. In fact, we could call it the lucky as hell drive of the year. Well, whatever you want to call it, it was one of the wildest things I've seen; I had an IV afterwards. The offense started strong, picking up a first down on a four-yard third-down reception by Laveranues Coles. Then Benson rushed for no-gain. Andrew Whitworth negated a 10-yard gain by Benson with offensive holding. Clay Matthews mimicked Jenkins and took an inside step on Whitworth (clearly he's struggling on that move) and forced Palmer out of the pocket, who slipped. Mathews was credited with the sack; the second allowed by Whitworth in the first half. Then the Bengals failed to snap the ball in time, losing an additional five yards on a delay of game foul.

Let me recap for you. Holding, sack and delay of game forced the Bengals to the seven-yard line, losing 24 yards in the process; that's like a quarter of the football field.

So the Bengals lined up third-and-34 with 3:38 left in the half. They do what most NFL teams do; a screen pass or a draw to pick up as much yards as possible in the hopes to salvage some field position in the battle of field positions. Bengals called Tight End screen to the left. Palmer connected with Daniel Coats, who somehow had tons of running room. Kyle Cook, Evan Mathis, Andrew Whitworth and Laveranues Coles made great blocks. Coats is still running. But so is Cullen Jenkins. The 305 (yea, right) defensive lineman ran down our Tight End, slapping the football out of his hands. The ball rolled forward another 10-11 yards and Coles, ever the opportunist to redeem himself after last week's performance, pounced on the loose football.

Bengals recover. Bengals get first down. Bengals fans try to close their dropped jaws. That crap never happens for us. So forgive us if we're speechless for about five minutes.

Thankfully, the Bengals offense didn't harp on it. In fact, just to show we can be awesomely deceptive after converting third-and-34 like it's nothing, Bob Bratkowski calls a flea flicker. When Benson tossed the football back to Palmer, most of the Packers defense had stepped up. Chad Johnson was wide open. Andre Caldwell was even more wide open. However, Palmer underthrew Chad, who had to come back for the pass. He spun around, picking up more yards; a total of 44 yards on the play. The Packers were also called for roughing the passer.

I'm shocked. Two plays ago, we were sitting at our own seven-yard line. Now, we're on Green Bay's five-yard line with 2:41 left in the half. Since the Bengals need to fill their quota of three offensive fouls on a drive, Bobbie Williams was called for holding. After a short pass to Andrew Caldwell and a two-yard run by Cedric Benson, Palmer completed an easy pass to a wide open Chris Henry at the back of the endzone.

There's god. There's country. There's Antwan Odom. The drive that Chris Crocker buys Odom dinner. With 1:12 left in the first half, Aaron Rodgers attempted a deep pass to Donald Driver. Bengals safety Chris Crocker collided with Driver a microsecond before the football arrived. Crocker was called for defensive pass interference. On the next play, Driver ran vertical for ten yards before breaking out. Crocker slipped when Driver broke, giving the wide receiver plenty of room to make the reception and pick up additional yards after the catch. After that, Crocker was in the dog house. It was his second pass interference and he wasn't showing himself to be the world's greatest nickel cornerback. After James Jones watches an Aaron Rodgers pass go threw his hands, the Packers lined up second-and-ten at the Bengals 34-yard line. They were already in field goal range.

Antwan Odom lined up at right defensive tackle. The center took on Odom, who slanted inside. Odom pushed the center aside and started running upfield. Chad Clifton was surprised to see Odom crossing his face and didn't bother placing a hand on him. It was like that scene in Band of Brothers where Captain Speirs crosses the German lines to update a unit that was cut off from communications. The Germans didn't fire at Speirs, simply shocked he was running through their lines. After five seconds in the pocket, Odom got to Rodgers and recorded the first of five sacks in the game. As much as I pumped about the sack, you had to give credit to the Bengals secondary. Rodgers couldn't find anyone and Odom put an end to the quarterback's survey.

The result was bigger than just having a sack for a team starved of pressuring the quarterback last season. The Packers lost 11 yards on the play. On the next play, Rodgers did everything he could to pick up a chunk of yards to make the field goal attempt easier. On third-and-21, Rodgers rolled with the moving pocket to the right. Nothing there. He moved to the left. Nothing there. Pat Sims and Odom were hunting and nearly sacked him. Rodgers got out of it, unleashed an eight yard pass to Donald Lee. Mason Cosby attempted the 55-yard field, but missed wide left.

Even though Chris Crocker gave up 42 yards (ironic, since that's also his number, right?) on a pass interference and a completion, Antwan Odom saved him by forcing the Packers to lose 11 yards on a sack, knocking them out of a reasonable field goal attempt.

The gambler likes to gamble. Not Odom. He just likes to sack people. After the Bengals were forced to punt to kickoff the second half, the Packers worked on converting their third downs. Third-and-nine, Jordy Nelson caught a third down pass for 11 yards. First down. With third-and-seven, Rodgers scrambled for 15 yards. First down.

However the Bengals weren't without their gambles. Rodgers completed a 26-yard pass to Driver when Johnathan Joseph tried to jump the route. It didn't work out and Driver picked up most of his yards after the reception. I don't mind the gamble. Not one bit. You win some. You lose some. Thankfully, after losing this one, Odom appeared on the dusty road with a six-shooter. First-and-ten at the Packers 42-yard line with 10:15 left in the third quarter, Antwan Odom made slight contact with the left tackle, and cut inside. It was almost like Whitworth was blocking. Odom dropped Rodgers, who held onto the ball a bit long again, thanks to the great coverage in the secondary.

Unfortunately, the sack didn't force the Packers to punt -- the Zen master gets the best of this one. Instead, Rodgers completed an eight-yard pass to James Jones and scrambled for 15 yards on third down; Robert Geathers flushed him out. On first-and-ten, Rodgers completed a five-yard pass to Grant. BALL! Rey Maualuga hit Grant, forcing the football out. Pat Sims recovered the ball and the Bengals offense trots out on the field. Zen masta'.

The Drive when the Bengals converted four third downs and won the game. While chaos keeps things interesting, routine keeps things simple. Like picking up yardage on first and second down making third downs manageable. Then you convert those manageable third downs. WIth 8:16 left in the third quarter, the Bengals picked up three yards on a pass to Coats and six yards on a Benson run setting up third-and-one. Enter Dennis Roland. Eight yard run by Benson. Exit Dennis Roland. Another three yard run by Benson, a one-yard run by Bernard Scott setting up third-and-six. Palmer completes an eight-yard pass to Andre Caldwell. First down.

Exit routine, enter chaos. Benson loses two yards, Palmer throws an incomplete pass to Chad, who obviously weren't on the same page -- Chad ran a post, Palmer threw a fade -- setting up third-and-12. Palmer finds Chad in the middle of a wide-open hole in the zone, picking up 23 yards. First down with 2:39 left in the third quarter. The Packers committed a neutral zone infraction. The Bengals were called for a false start. In other words, two fouls were called on separate plays and the clock was still at 2:39. Talk about losing time we'll never get back. After Benson lost another yard, Palmer tried to give Coats a bone, running towards the left pylon, wide open down the goalline. Pass goes through his hands. Along with his fumble earlier in the game, you have to wonder how long Coats has before the coaches don't bother to give the Tight End the football anymore.

Fortunately, it didn't matter. On third-and-11 at the Packers 13-yard line, Chad Ochocinco sprinted off the line of scrimmage towards to the front right pylon. Then he changed direction, running a post over the middle. With tons of separation, Palmer fired a low pass to Chad, who was forced to go down for it, rolling into the endzone.

Technically, they didn't win the game with this drive. The game wasn't over until the clock expired -- boy, that's a Yogi Berra comment if there ever was one. However, the Bengals took a 28-21 lead and never look back.

The day that Chuck Norris started making up Antwan Odom facts. Even with two sacks in his pocket, Odom wasn't close to being finished. In fact, Odom recorded a sack on the next three Green Bay possessions. With 12:38 left in the game, the Packers lined up first-and-ten at the Cincinnati 31-yard line. Odom pushed aside the tight end blocking him, ran right around Ryan Grant and tracked down Rodgers with his awesome wingspan. Rodgers threw two incomplete passes and the Packers punt. With 8:46 left in the game, the Packers line up second-and-ten at their own 33-yard line. Odom ran upfield, cut inside the offensive tackle and sacked Rodgers. Rodgers threw an incomplete pass and the Packers punt. With 3:12 left in the game, the Packers line up third-and-eight at their own 17-yard line. Odom worked outside and then cut in, nailing Rodgers for a four-yard loss. Packers punt.

Odom completely took this game over on defense, recording three sacks in the fourth quarter. Granted, it wasn't against Chad Clifton. But is it Odom's fault that the Packers' coaching staff offered no help for Daryn Colledge, who started the game at left guard? The Packers were forced to punt on the three straight drives that Odom recorded a sack. In fact, the Packers didn't pick up another yard after each sack.

The drives that almost made grown men cry. With 1:51 left in the game, down by 10, Aaron Rodgers moved the football with a completed pass to Lee for 11 yards. He scrambled twice for 25 yards before throwing an incomplete pass to Jennings. With :51 seconds left, sitting at the Bengals 27-yard line, the Packers elected to convert the field goal to get within one possession. The field goal is made and the Packers are down 31-24.

After the Packers recovered the onside kick -- more like no one on the Bengals hands team gave one damn about recovering the football -- Rodgers threw two incomplete passes before hitting Finley for 22 yards. Rodgers stopped the clock, with a spike, with :17 left in the game. Instead of trying to hit the sidelines with no timeouts, Rodgers throws a deep pass over the middle to Donald Driver for 25 yards. Tick. Tick. Tick. Expire. Game over. Bengals win. The Packers tried to get to the line of scrimmage to run a final play. However, Ed Hochuli points out that the clock expired, also offering that since the Packers weren't set, they would have been called for a presnap foul, which also includes a ten-second run off. So if there was time, it wouldn't matter.

The game the Bengals won. It's true. The Bengals won the football game with many thanks to momentum, some luck, and awesome clocks. However, they're coming. You know who they are. Put the women and children to bed. They're coming... and we'll be ready for 'em.

If you look at the Cincinnati Bengals roster, you have to ask yourself, is this team better than 2008?

Kirkendall — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 17:59:11 -0000

Relatively surprised by the lack of overall reaction from other fan sites, I had hoped for an idea of what others thought about the team's 53-man roster. Maybe some expected the look we received Saturday afternoon, thus electing to play off the analysis. Others could be sitting by, waiting for the practice squad announcement, as well as any changes after the Bengals make claims on the waiver wire; as well as possibly signing veterans; not that the practice squad has anything to do with the 53-man roster the Bengals will have heading into the regular season. And then maybe some are simply too disgusted to logically differentiate how the Bengals look this year, compared to last year, that led to a 4-11-1 season.

I've often chalked up last year as a season in which the Karma gods said, "it's your turn" to have a bunch of things happen that you won't recover from -- such as losing the starting quarterback, a disgruntled receiver, over 20 guys on IR (many of whom were starters), aging players where their body's are breaking down, etc. I know. It's an excuse. Excuses don't change the fact the Bengals started last year 0-8 and finished with the worst ranked offense in the league (note: we had a better record than Cleveland, so that's cool). That also doesn't mean the Karma gods won't point at us again in 2009. Perhaps it's our turn again. Carson Palmer goes down, the offensive line continues to struggle and the rushing offense becomes the biggest disappointment after high expectations. The defense has to bail us out, and historically speaking, that's not something we're capable of believing. Then again, if you believe in balance, all the went wrong last year, is righted. Palmer retains his title as the God of Golden Arms, the rebuilt offensive line comes through and Cedric Benson resumes what he did in the final three games last year -- averaging 154 yards from the line of scrimmage per game. Oh, and last year's 12th ranked defense with added personnel, makes a run at the top ten. Hey, anything could happen, right? After all, the Bengals are playing a much weaker schedule than they were in 2008. And in the division, during the past two even numbered seasons, the Baltimore Ravens struggled (6-10 in 2005, 5-11 in 2007) and the season after winning the Super Bowl in 2005, the Pittsburgh Steelers missed the playoffs. We can only hope for trends.

Will the Bengals make a run this year? That, like most things in life, is totally unpredictable. And no one predicted that quarterback Carson Palmer would miss 12 games in 2008. However, I believe that the Bengals will be far better this year than 2008. You can see that if you take a position by position look at the roster.

Quarterback - Saying that Palmer is returning assumes he won't get hurt again in 2009. And I won't say that durability issues are starting to become worrisome with our starting quarterback. The fact is, injury forced him to miss 75% of the regular season last year and this year's preseason (though mostly out of caution and additional time for rehabilitation during needless preseason games). The foundation of where the question is more answerable, points towards the team's backup quarterback. If Palmer goes down again, do you believe J.T. O'Sullivan is a better passer than Ryan Fitzpatrick? Some could point to this years preseason and answer yes. O'Sullivan also has a history of being a decent performers in some regular season games. Others will point to the same collection of arguments saying that Fitzpatrick had a good preseason in 2008 and J.T. O'Sullivan also has a history of being a disaster in some regular season games.

Running back - Let me remind you of last year. Chris Perry and Rudi Johnson had decent offseasons which fooled enough people into believing that both would mimic their incredible one-two combination in 2005. Johnson was hurt through the preseason and subsequently released. Perry never recorded more than 75 yards rushing and through six games in which he recorded 10 rushing attempts or more, he averaged three yards or more in only two games.

This is what you have to ask this year, adjusting your mindset into a comparitve analysis of where we were last year: Is Cedric Benson a better option than Chris Perry? Is Bernard Scott a better option than Kenny Watson? Is DeDe Dorsey in 2009 a better option that DeDe Dorsey in 2008? I suppose if he plays more than four games this year, that answer is yes.

Wide Receiver and Tight End . T.J. Houshmandzadeh leaves and Laveranues Coles arrives. This, to me, isn't the argument. Chad Ochocinco is far more motivated to play this year and he looks to play two combined Pro Bowl seasons in 2009. Chris Henry looks like he did his first two seasons where he recorded 15 touchdowns; along with his total life change in which you get the feeling that you can finally trust him. Even if you're asking for a comparison between two wide receivers (Houshmandzadeh and Coles) to see if the position is stronger, I believe looking at Chad and Henry's motivations clearly makes the position stronger alone.

Tight End on the other hand, is different. I do believe the position is weaker. I won't go on what we expect out of Chase Coffman, he's a rookie. We won't know until the season plays itself out. Reggie Kelly and Ben Utecht going down hurts the position, because two rookies are manning the position with Daniel Coats, who benefited greatly after Kelly went on IR because he was fighting for a roster spot with Coffman as the team's third Tight End. Now Coats, having the perfect scenario of two injuries playing out to make a roster spot, is now the team's starter. This will be the second time in two seasons he became the default starter because of injury.

Offensive Line. Not only is this the most critical for the team to improve upon, it's also one of the more dramatically changed compared to the starting lineup last year against the Baltimore Ravens.

	2008	2009 *
LT	Levi Jones	Andre Whitworth
LG	Andrew Whitworth	Nate Livings
C	Eric Ghiaciuc	Kyle Cook
RG	Bobbie Williams	Bobbie Williams
RT	Stacy Andrews	Anthony Collins

* Projected

I believe while we've improved at left tackle, we've dropped at left guard; Livings is replaceable at best. I also believe it's obvious that we've improved at center, while as of right, we're kind of pushing at right tackle. However, I'm too hesitant to actually say if we're improved or worse. Apart of me wants to say we are, because of the changes in perseonnel. However, another part of me just isn't sure.

Defensive End. Oddly enough, this position holds the same personnel this year as it did last year with one exception; Michael Johnson, who did not record a single sack during the preseason. In fact, this group only recorded two sacks in four preseason games; Robert Geathers sacked Tom Brady and Frostee Rucker had a sack, forced fumble and fumble recover.

This is where I believe we improved (albeit only slightly). Antwan Odom entered last year with a bum ankle, having been carted off at the start of Training Camp when he suffered the injury. He missed four games in the season and recorded three sacks on the first year of a well-paid contract. During the offseason, he gained bulk without losing the speed. Geathers looked great in the preseason, aggressively fighting blockers against the run and pass. I believe he's the best overall defensive end on the roster. Fanene has always been solid and can play both end and tackle. The biggest chance that the Bengals took was holding onto Rucker for one more season. It's not that he lacks talent; he just lacks the ability to stay healthy.

Defensive Tackle. John Thornton went into semi-retirement after this year, Jason Shirley converted to an offensive linemen and Michael Myers wasn't re-signed. The Bengals responded by replacing all of them with Tank Johnson. The Bengals will go into the regular season (as of this post) with three defensive tackles, likely using Rucker and Fanene in rotation. Is the position improved, worse or is it a push? I think this has everything to do with Sims, who led the team with three quarterback sacks during the preseason and led all defensive linemen with 13 total tackles. It's with my belief that he, not Tank Johnson, made a convincing argument to start opposite Domata Peko. The question though, is the position stronger than it was last year? I believe it is.

Linebackers. Think of it this way. Brandon Johnson recorded 112 tackles and Rashad Jeanty recorded 97 tackles last year. They ranked second and fourth respectively on the team. And there's a shot that neither will be starters against the Denver Broncos. Keith Rivers will retake his spot as the team's weak-side linebacker and it's evident that the Bengals coaching staff wants to start Rey Maualuga over Jeanty on the strong-side. Having two guys that combined for 209 tackles just shouts to the heavens that the Bengals strongest position, in terms of depth, is linebackers. The team's starting middle linebacker, Dhani Jones, is coming off a season in which he led the team with 165 tackles.

Compared to last year, the Bengals replaced Darryl Blackstock with Maualuga and Mays with Abdul Hodge, who led the Bengals with 18 tackles (13 solo) this preseason. Furthermore, if you watched the way Rivers played this year, he already looks far superior last year. He's quicker, stronger and far more aggressive than he was last year. He has the potential to be a multiple Pro Bowler. It's my belief that the Bengals linebackers is the strongest position on defense.

Secondary. Simeon Castille, Dexter Jackson, Herana-Daze Jones, Corey Lynch and Marvin White all have something in common; all were with the Bengals in 2008 when the season started; none are with the Bengals in 2009. Replacing those five are Geoffrey Pope, Morgan Trent, Chris Crocker, Roy Williams and Tom Nelson. I believe cornerbacks is improved, mostly because Johnathan Joseph and Leon Hall look better this year than last. Morgan Trent lacked a solid pedigree with the Michigan Wolverines that makes us conclude we've improved the position with Geoffrey Pope as a filler. The Bengals could even look at upgrading the position from now until the season kicks off on the waiver wire or on free agency.

As for safety, we appear better. The questions are; is Tom Nelson better than Corey Lynch and is Roy Williams better than Marvin White? Chris Crocker is obviously an improvement, considering he could be one of the team's secondary leaders.

Special Teams. Kyle Larson. Kevin Huber. Set. Serve. Match.

The roster as it is, isn't perfect. No roster in the NFL could possibly be perfect. However, that isn't the question. The debate right now is: Is the 2009 Bengals better than the 2008 Bengals?

Poll

Simple poll question. Do you believe that the Bengals roster in 2009 is better than the roster in 2008?

Yes

490 votes

No

40 votes

530 votes | Poll has closed