SB Nation - Daniel Coats

Bengals Banter: OK, so we could be over-reacting to the lack of a passing game

Kirkendall — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 17:43:01 -0000

29 days ago: Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer (9) passes against the Oakland Raiders in the first quarter of an NFL football game, in Oakland, Sunday, Nov. 22, 2009.(AP Photo/Ben Margot)

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Alright. One last thing about the whole Bengals offense is struggling thing and we'll let it go. Vikings week is over. Hasta la vista, baby. What happened, happened. However, sitting on the couch, flipping through the channels of another Bruce Springsteen song, the idea Cincinnati has no momentum weighs heavily. What happened against Oakland, the Browns, the Lions, and the Vikings is meaningless. Because the Bengals biggest test comes against the Chargers. That can't influence the team, or us (the fans) heading into the biggest game of the year. Those games happened which led us to this point. But so did sweeps against the Ravens and Steelers and a win over a very strong Packers team that's coming into their own. Now, wipe all that away and focus on this week, where the Bengals still hold onto their own destiny for a bye week -- and homefield advantage against every team not named the Indianapolis Colts -- during the Wild Card weekend.

Meaningless note of the week: Carson Palmer has thrown for 110 yards passing or less in two of his past three games.

The question asking for Marvin Lewis' assessment on the passing game was asked Monday.

“We've got to do a better job of executing. We have to protect. We have to be in the right spots at the right depths and give the opportunity to the quarterback. And I think we've got to go back and do a better job of manufacturing some balls down the field. When we had our opportunities yesterday, they (Vikings) just happened to be in the right spots, and so the ball couldn't get there. But we've got to continue to do that and keep fine-tuned in that area, until we get some opportunities to make some plays. Yesterday for whatever reason, the luck wasn't in, the opportunity didn't match up. We had some good throws in there. But we have to do it consistently and all the time, and that will help.

“If you just turn it around, look at their offensive production yesterday. Their passing game was about 150 yards, and four balls to the backs that converted another 70. So in that kind of game, where neither team is really getting the ball down the field, we've got to make some hay with some of these other things that occur. We didn't execute our screens very well when we had them. We had opportunities there. Brian (Leonard) made a great run for our first first down, but there's got to be better execution around the board.

“All that being said, we're right where we wanted to be (in the standings). That's the exciting part of it. That's what this job is all about, and that's what the NFL is all about, and here we go.”

Coach speak. Yes. We never expect to have exciting information during a press conference. I mean, it's not like Lewis is going to slam his fist on the podium and say, "Damn it" and go into Dennis Leary style rant on Bob Bratkowski. He said the right things. Execute better, being the oldest talking point from a losing NFL coach since man discovered the wheel, BBQ ribs and corny Mentos commercials.

This one stuck out at me. "And I think we've got to go back and do a better job of manufacturing some balls down the field." My gut reaction? You're crazy. We have to bring back the vertical game? This has been an old complaint from Bengals fans this year. Slinging passes 50 yards would be great. And in truth, it doesn't really matter if they're completed. At least spread it out, make it possible that the Bengals can score a touchdown inside of five plays on a drive. No. Actually score a touchdown before reaching the dreaded red zone.

In two of his past three games, Palmer's longest completed pass went for less than 20 yards. Only twice has Palmer connected for a pass 50 yards or more... this year. Furthermore, of Palmer's 390 attempted passes, 153 have fallen incomplete. Here's a breakdown of those incompletes, courtesy of Stats, Inc.

Type	Number	% Incomplete	% Overall Passes
Passes Dropped	21	13.7	5.4
Poor Throw	54	35.3	13.8
Passes Defensed	42	27.5	10.8
Passes Hit at Line	5	3.3	1.3
Other	28	18.3	7.2
Intercepted	10	6.5	2.6

But we're not here to pile on. This isn't the point of this post. I mean, it's not like we could activate Jerome Simpson and BAM, we're the New Orleans Saints. There is no easy fix, says Carson Palmer.

“If there was one reason we’d fix it,” said Palmer of the passing game. “All we can do is continue to get better. There’s no quick fix or easy answer. We have to try to find things to tailor to our strengths and improve.”

Paul Daugherty speaks plainly. Bengals receivers are simply not getting open. "Right now, Carson Palmer is hitting eighth and slapping singles the other way. It’s not necessarily his fault, only his problem. Palmer doesn’t have the personnel, and the personnel he does have isn’t getting open very much."

And you think to yourself that Paul is right. How many times has Palmer forced passes to Chad Ochocinco this year in tight coverage?

Then questions were raised about Palmer's health Monday night. Are they protecting Palmer's elbow by calling shorter routes? Or is that merely a coincidence based on the fact that the offensive line isn't built to allow deeper developing routes? I do believe that if the Bengals offense doesn't explode, then the Bengals offensive coordinator will be in Cincinnati for how many games remain this season. And I'm not speaking in emotional outrage.

Clearly this offense is starting to come under fire for lacking a threatening passing offense. Joe Reedy writes, "A day after losing 30-10 at Minnesota, the biggest question on the minds of everyone remained – what has happened to the Bengals passing game?"

Palmer isn't convinced that there is a problem.

“We’re a team that throws it about 20 times and run it 30,” Palmer said. “Because of one loss we’re not going to go back to the drawing board or change our identity or freak out like everyone else outside of this locker room is doing.”

Fair enough. Let's take that approach and examine from the world-not-ending perspective. How many times has the lack of a passing game really bitten the Bengals? Against the Broncos, the Bengals were leading 7-6 with 38 seconds left against the Denver Broncos. Right. We didn't blow them out but we were in position to win before luck and the football gods smote the Bengals.

Cincinnati was leading Houston 17-14 at Half Time. In the second half, Daniel Coats and J.P. Foschi fumbled, Palmer was sacked once, threw two incomplete passes and a game-ending interception with 1:55 left in the game. And you can't really blame Palmer too much here, because he's trying to lead Cincinnati to at least two scores with two minutes left. You have to take risky shots. Cincinnati led the Raiders 17-10 before Oakland's Bruce Gradkowski led the Raiders on a game-tying touchdown drive that went 80 yards on 11 plays. Then Andre Caldwell fumbled on a kickoff return that led to Oakland's game winning field goal.

So maybe the lack of a passing game hasn't cost the Bengals as much as we dramatically think. We could attribute that to the loss against Houston and Minnesota. Maybe it's half and half. Something in the middle.

We want answers. We want reassurances. It doesn't make us less of fan, nor does it question our loyalty. We've been in this really long relationship with a bunch of rocky roads and sometimes we fight. In the end, there's nothing better than a Bengals Sunday and whether be it passing or rushing, we really don't care how, just win. Because really, that's all that matters.

Now, onto the Chargers...

Six-Pack of Hu-Dey: Time for a new contract extension for Marvin Lewis?

Kirkendall — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 17:11:27 -0000

Welcome to this week's Six-Pack of Hu-Dey. Today Jay McDonnell joins us. I (Josh Kirkendall, the Alpha Male) discusses why the Bengals should give Marvin Lewis a contract extension, why Leon Hall should be grouped with the league's elite cornerbacks and I ask whether the team's three-tackle rotation at right tackle should be changed.

Jay says that it's time to cut Daniel Coats, that it's time for Bob Bratkowski to become less predictable and that fans of our divisional foes (ah hum, the Steelers) should give a little respect to the Bengals this season.

Let's get to it.

The Bengals give Marvin Lewis another contract extension after this season. I believe in two things. If the moon had never existed, the complex living organisms that exist today simply don't exist either. I also believe that Marvin Lewis has developed a talent rebuilding teams. Theoretically, it would be nice that rebuilding projects were spaced out more with the Bengals and that the train keeps rolling year, after year, after year. Realistically, even organizations that pump out winners like the Patriots or the St... St... St... Steelers need periods to rebuild themselves. Marvin Lewis is now in his seventh season, finishing his second rebuilding project. This, just perhaps, could be his masterpiece.

After going 1-11-1 in 2008, the Bengals have remarkably won 13 of their next 16 games. These changes include, but are far from being limited to, a deep understanding of the team's personnel. Most notably, Lewis revised the team's entire philosophy to a powerful rush offense and a tremendously performing defense. This will be his second rebuilding project after taking on a team that was 2-12 in 2002 and delivering four straight non-losing seasons and a playoff appearance in 2005.

I really believe that Lewis, like any NFL player, is getting better every season. I'm not just talking about his record either. Controversy is being handled with ease. Adversity is a distant thing of the bitter past with this team. Even his draft picks are improving. And when the team is down and out (ala, 2008), they unified and matured like we've never seen, into this group that we're damned proud of in 2009.

Lewis' existing contract expires after the 2010 season -- the same time the CBA expires, which may be a factor in NOT giving him an extension. The Bengals' biggest mistake would be letting two people leave Cincinnati, namely Mike Zimmer and Marvin Lewis. Lewis could arguably be the most important of the two. After all, he's the face of this franchise.

Is it time to for Andre Smith to get his first start or is the three-tackle rotation working? Okay, I get it. Why mess with chemistry? Let's read into the facts. The Bengals are 9-3, sport the league's sixth best rushing offense and have allowed only 22 sacks (which is tied for eight-best in the league). Quite honestly, the Bengals offensive line is the most improved unit, of any unit, on this team. They deserve tremendous credit for the team's transition into one of the best AFC teams that's dismantled both teams that played in the 2008 AFC Championship game. Personal note: I still like writing that.

One of those success stories on the line is Dennis Roland, who has come from undrafted free agent, to starting right tackle, to the biggest guy in human history to go into motion causing safeties and outside linebackers to say under their breath, "oh f**k." Also, in truth, Roland is an accomplished run blocker, if not one of the better run blockers on this team.

But where he's strong with the rushing offense, he's weak in pass protection. At times he appears slow against defensive ends with a quick inside step. This also leads to the lack of communication or awareness when a stunt brings an outside linebacker or safety on a blitz. Slowly Anthony Collins has quietly won more playing time, especially on passing downs.

From our understanding, Andre Smith's playing time is growing. They started him slowly with basic packages and plays. As they expand the playbook for Smith, he'll keep experiencing an increase in playing time. Cincinnati's use of the jumbo packages (putting three, sometimes four offensive tackles on the line) has led to Cedric Benson's best rushing this year. Whatever the Bengals are doing with the offensive line, it's working.

So the question is should the Bengals keep doing what they're doing, or should they give Andre Smith his first NFL start soon?

Should the national media put Leon Hall in the same class as Darrelle Revis? The other day I had a healthy helping of Hamburger Helper that did a Flozell Adams on my stomach. With an older copy of ESPN shouting "hey, I'll help you kill some time," I flipped to an NFL report. Like it was destiny, I kid you not. One of those reports called Leon Hall "the irreplaceable cornerback". Look at the numbers of the receivers that he's shutdown.

Week	Receiver	Att	Comp	Yrds	TD	YPA
1	Brandon Marshall	2	0	0	0	0
2	Greg Jennings	4	0	0	0	0
3	Santonio Holmes	3	1	18	0	6.0
4	Braylon Edwards	1	0	0	0	0
5/9	Derrick Mason	4	1	12	0	3.0
6	Andre Johnson	6	4	39	0	6.5
7	Devin Hester	3	2	28	0	9.3

As I said, it was an older copy so that's where the list ends. We could go on and presume that Hall is strictly covering the opposing team's best wide receiver, but that would be factually incorrect. Leon Hall mostly lines up on the left and the opposing offenses can shift wide receivers anywhere on the field. Furthermore, when the Bengals call zone, he's not always covering a receiver; rather a specific area on the field. However, we do know that in the past four games against the Steelers, Raiders, Browns and Lions, only two receivers gained 80 yards receiving or more (Santonio Holmes with 88 yards and Calvin Johnson with 123 yards).

The Jets' Darrelle Revis is widely considered the best cover cornerback in the league. He leads everyone with 28 passes defensed with five interceptions. Hall is second with 22 passes defensed and four interceptions. At the rate that Leon Hall is shutting down opposing wide receivers he should without a doubt be considered in the elite group of cornerbacks in the league.

Want to know the most scary part? Johnathan Joseph could theoretically be in the same elite group. Third in the league with 21 passes defensed and five interceptions, Joseph is developing a nasty habit of being one hell of a tackling cornerback -- kind of in the league of Charles Woodson. Well, close to it at least.

Would it be a stretch to say that the Bengals have the league's best cornerback duo?

A decision needs to be made about Daniel Coats. At the start of the season the kicking game struggled, which cost the Bengals valuable points, putting the game in doubt and forcing us to constantly check our blood pressure. When executing an extra point or a field goal, the snap was either too high or mishandled due to a bad snap causing Shayne Graham to get out of sync. This led to missed field goals or extra points, weighing heavily on the outcome of the game. So to solve the problem the Bengals released Brad St. Louis and brought in little known long snapper Clark Harris to take over these duties. This seems to have largely solved the problem with the kicking game.

At the same time another problem exists with Tight Ends not being able to catch the ball, specifically Dan Coats who has dropped more passes in the end zone than any other receiver on the team. When he does catch it, the ball is prone to squirting out only to see it recovered by the opposition. These drops and fumbles have cost the Bengals as much as Brad St. Louis ever did.

The Bengals set the standard by releasing the usually reliable St. Louis, sending a statement that poor play is not acceptable. But somehow, they see fit to hang onto a tight end that cannot catch a ball that hits him in his hands over and over again. Yes, the tight end position is thin with Ben Utecht being released and Reggie Kelly out for the season with a ruptured Achilles tendon. That however is no excuse for hanging onto a player that is extremely inconsistent and costing the team valuable points. J.P. Foschi seems to have taken on the opportunity and showed that he is not only able to block, but able to catch and hang onto passes. The precedent was set with the release of St. Louis; with Foschi showing his worth I think it is time for the Bengals to continue their message that mediocrity is not acceptable. Cut Dan Coats.

It is time for the predictable Bratkowski to become unpredictable. Despite the Bengals 9-3 record and mostly the same ingredients of an offense that once established a reputation as being an explosive offense in the past, the Bengals have only one game this season where they routed a team by more than 20 points. The defense has been the unit doing the heavy lifting while the offense seems to only do what is necessary to win the game. To some extent that is fine, until they run into an offense that is able to put up points and quickly (read: the Minnesota Vikings). There appears however to be a reason the offense has not been as explosive as first thought.

In this article published on Cincinnati.com, Bob Bratkowski acknowledges that he is “getting a little too ‘run on first down, run on second” in his play calling. Really? When did he find this out? How many of us see his play calling develop a pattern that causes teams to load eight in the box on a weekly basis? Does he not see this and want to make some kind of adjustment?

This kind of play calling makes the Bengals offense predictable allowing the opposing defense to load up the box, trying to force the Bengals to be one dimensional. But so far, teams have been unable to accomplish this on a regular basis. There is a thought process that you keep calling the same play until the defense stops it. I am not saying this should continue, but I am sure Brat does this because it works and he will probably continue to do this until someone stops it. However, since Brat has recognized this problem I hope he is able to adjust and open up the passing game showing opposing defenses that predictability is no longer an issue.

How about a little respect from our division foes? My wife and I live in an area that somehow seems to have more Pittsburgh Steeler fans then those who support the local team, the Washington Redskins. We work with several Steeler fans as well. These fans are as loyal as any. They will defend their team no matter the record and performance. But when the discussion turns to how the Bengals have surged ahead of the Steelers, they immediately run behind the 6 Super Bowl Championships and how they won two of the past four. They even cite how they qualified as a wild card team in 2005 and went on to win the Super Bowl, never mind the fact that Carson Palmer had his knee torn up by the Steelers.

The results of this season are not new to those fans; they have suffered through tough seasons following Super Bowl appearances dating back to 1996 against the Dallas Cowboys. Now that the Steelers are struggling and their fans are watching their playoff hopes fade, those fans seem to refuse to accept the fact the Bengals are the better team this season. The Steeler fans my wife and I have come across have shown a bit of arrogance and seem to expect to make the playoffs despite the heavy odds against them. With their current record of 6-6, a playoff appearance seems slim.

The Bengals have the AFC North pretty much sewn up with the magic number being one. Ask any Steeler fan though, and they will tell you how they are going to make the playoffs because of the soft schedule remaining. Well, I have some bad news for those Steeler fans that visit our fair web blog to read what we may have to say. The Steelers are not going to make the playoffs. After losing four straight games and giving up 4th quarter leads in three of those games, the vaunted defense has proved itself unable to protect a lead. This, of course, does not bode well for the defending Super Bowl Champs any chance their fans insist they still have to enter the playoff club in 2009.

Bengals put Chase Coffman on season-ending Injury Reserve with bone spurs in his ankle

Kirkendall — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 16:52:59 -0000

The Bengals officially signed Defensive Tackle Shaun Smith on Wednesday, tweets Joe Reedy. After hearing rumors and reports that he was in town and could sign, that became less of a surprise.

The real surprise?

The Bengals put tight end Chase Coffman on season-ending Injury Reserve. Josh Katzowitz writes that Coffman was suffering from bone spurs in his ankle. Coffman's placement on IR is no real loss, considering he wasn't active for any regular season games this year. However, the prospect that the Bengals would cut Daniel Coats -- because, for the love god, you have to cut Daniel Coats -- suddenly dimmed.

Bengals are playing winning brand of football with powerful rushing offense and dominant defense

Kirkendall — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 17:45:57 -0000

More photos » by David Kohl - AP

23 days ago: Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Rey Maualuga holds up a sign to fans after his team defeated the Cleveland Browns 16-7 in their NFL football game in Cincinnati, Sunday, Nov. 29, 2009. (AP Photo/David Kohl)

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While watching Sunday's game between the Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns, I had this feeling I've never felt before. By the second half I felt so confident that the Bengals were going to win this football game, that I stopped moaning about failed pass protection schemes or the play-calling. Oh, we're going to punt it so our defense can play? The same defense that hasn't allowed any team to gain 100 yards rushing in seven straight games? The same defense that's allowed a third down conversion rate of 22% in the three games leading up to Sunday? The same defense that's only allowed two touchdowns once in a game since losing to the Houston Texans?

Please, bring it.

There's no doubt that the offense is struggling to put up points. Since scoring 45 against the Chicago Bears, the Bengals offense has scored an average of 16.8 points per game. The ten points scored in the second quarter against the Browns is the first time the Bengals have scored double-digit points in any quarter since the 14 points in the first quarter against the Ravens on November 8. Carson Palmer went 12 quarters without throwing a touchdown pass before completing a four-yard pass to tight end J.P. Foschi in the second quarter against the Browns. Palmer's on pace to record 3,384 yards passing, which is only 500 yards more than his career low his first season as the team's starter (not including injury-filled 2008). Even then, he missed three games. His efficiency is down. His touchdowns are down. His yards-per-attempt is down (6.9).

And yet, the belief has always been that the Bengals have to rely on Palmer's arm to win. My cousin called me Sunday night and asked me, do we rely on Palmer anymore? If Palmer were to go down to injury for the season, how much would this team lose? We saw what happened last year. But as he observed, the team was built around Palmer and the passing game. It wasn't until late in the season that a Palmer-less offense started to become efficient by successfully rushing the football with a rising defense.

What if Palmer would go down this year? It would hurt, because defenses still gameplan the Bengals passing game; always a threat, always able to score from anywhere on the field. The truth is, this Bengals team is built to succeed without Palmer. This team is built to run the football. You can see that with the talent they have at running back. You can see that with an offensive line that's built to rush block first. How many Jumbo formations have we seen with at least one extra lineman? Did you see Dennis Roland going into motion against the Browns?

My point, as some may irrationally conclude, isn't anticipating an injury to Palmer. My point is that this team can win any football game, no matter who's playing. Carson Palmer is off? Well, the Bengals only have three running backs with 100-yard rushing games under their belt (how many teams can claim that?). The offense has no rhythm and can't pick up a first down? Oh, there's that defense again, who since allowing 28 points in the loss to the Houston Texans, have only allowed 11.2 points per game and, check this out, only 232.8 yards-per game.

As of this posting, the Bengals have the best scoring defense in the NFL.

I just checked that again.

The Bengals have the best scoring defense in the NFL, allowing 15.8 points per game. There's a chance that New England takes that lead after Monday Night Football. However, the Patriots will have to hold the Saints to ten points or less. Fat chance.

If this isn't the most complete team that the Bengals have fielded since the Sam Wyche era, then I'm afraid I'll never know what a complete team is. More people stand up on this team, contributing towards a winning brand of football than we've seen in ages. This team isn't built or about a single person. This isn't about how well Palmer does, or how he's supposed to put up 30 points a game. Sure, it would be nice if the offense exploded every week. What fan in this world in any sport wouldn't love that? But that's not the reality right now. They're not an explosive offense. They are an efficient offense that consumes the clock, converts third downs and wins field position.

And then there's the defense, whose scoring defense still ranks first in the NFL. I just checked again.

What do most people say about championship football? You win by running the football and stopping the run. Again, this defense hasn't allowed any team to gain 100 yards or more in seven straight games. The Bengals offense has rushed for 100 yards or more in eight of the season's 11 games. Furthermore, the Bengals rushing offense has recorded 150 yards or more five times and 200 yards or more twice.

Powerful rushing offense. Dominant defense. Isn't that championship football? If you're still not convinced, or have a Christmas list of concerns, let's go quickly gloss over some reminders. The Bengals are 8-3. The Bengals are 6-0 in the division. The Bengals have won 11 of the past 14 games. The Bengals have a three-game lead with five games left. The Bengals, as of now, would have the second seed in the playoffs, which means a bye during wild card weekend and hosting at least one home game. Furthermore, the Bengals are a fluke pass and a fumble away from being 10-1. It's that close.

Now, that is what we've been begging for for 20 years. Soak it in. Enjoy it.

Wait. You want Carson Palmer to throw more? With five games remaining, Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer is on pace to record 489 passing attempts. As disbelieving as this may sound, that's only 20 less pass attempts than he had during the 2005 season where the Bengals made the playoffs.

	2005	2009 *
Attempts	509	489
Completions	345	298
Completion %	67.8	61.0
Yards	3,836	3,384
Yards/Att	7.5	6.9
Touchdowns	32	22
Interceptions	12	11
* Projected

Admittedly, the issue isn't just Palmer, if one can even make that assessment. No. It's all the parts. It's the offensive line struggling on stunts and blitzes on the outside. It's receivers not catching passes, or penalties that negate 15-20 yard passing plays because someone was flagged for offensive holding.

Take Sunday's game. On the Bengals first play of the game, the situation is first-and-ten at their own 20-yard line. The offense lines up off-set I with Daniel Coats motioning right. Cleveland brings their front three with eight sitting in coverage. Andrew Whitworth latched onto Robaire Smith, who took an outside step while the left tackle was clipped by Bernard Scott going into his route, knocking Smith free. Palmer, barely completing a five-yard pass to Laveranues Coles, was knocked down by Smith. A few Bernard Scott runs and a first down later, the offense lines up off-set I, strong side left. Kamerion Wimbley lines up at left outside linebacker over Dennis Roland. Wimbley took an inside slant on Roland who clearly lost the battle within the first two steps. Bernard Scott tried to help, but in his mind, he had his own blitzer to worry about in Mike Adams. Wimbley tackled Palmer as the quarterback released the pass to Jeremi Johnson for a for a five-yard gain. Furthermore, Browns cornerback Eric Wright was called for defensive holding. First down.

Two drop backs. Twice Carson Palmer is on the ground. It wasn't that Palmer was on the ground all game -- NFL's Game Center shows he was knocked down six times. However, it shows that Palmer was pressured all game long, most of the time making throws he didn't want to make.

After Larry Johnson's consecutive first down runs (more on that later), Palmer takes the snap under center. Matt Roth sprinted from the outside linebacker spot and sacked Palmer for a four-yard loss. The problem here is miscommunication by the offensive line. Defensive end Kenyon Coleman slanted in, which caused Dennis Roland to move inward with the end. Typically, Roland should have handed Coleman off to Bobbie Williams and picked up Roth, the blitzing linebacker on the outside. Williams saw the problem and pulled out as quickly as he could from his guard position take out Roth on the edge. It was a split-second too late, as Roth sped rushed far enough that there was nothing Williams could do.

Sometimes the issue was miscommunication between Palmer and the receivers. On first-and-15 at Cleveland's 29 yard line, Palmer dropped back threw it to the right with no Bengals receiver in the picture frame. Coles' route went in while Palmer looked for Coles to go out.

But mostly, it was pressure -- whether it was really there or not.

On third-and-17 at the Browns 31-yard line, Palmer takes the shotgun snap, feels pressured on the edges and scrambles up the middle. The Browns only rushed three guys. Wimbley took a wide angle around Roland, who locked up with the defensive end six yards behind the line of scrimmage. Wimbley used his upper body strength to make continued progress -- it was like Roland really wasn't there -- showing up in Palmer's peripheral vision. That was enough for Palmer, who ran for 12 yards, finished with a terribly uncomfortable dive into the turf, setting up the game's first score of the day.

And sometimes you can only say, it was a bad throw.On third-and-five at Cleveland's 47-yard line with 14:02 left in the second quarter, Palmer takes the shotgun snap. With a great pocket, Palmer overthrows Coles, nearly picked by Brodney Poole. Bengals punt. On first-and-ten at the Bengals 34-yard line, Palmer drops back and feels pressure that wasn't there. He rushed the throw to Coles running a crossing pattern, which also fell incomplete.

And sometimes you just take the hit. With 9:12 left in the first half, the Bengals lined up first-and-ten at Cleveland's 42-yard line. Palmer faked the handoff to Larry Johnson. Dennis Roland locked up with Matt Roth, who bull-rushed Roland into the pocket. Palmer saw the pressure, moved up and sidestepped behind Roland. Kamerion Wimbley lined up at the right outside linebacker spot, latched onto Daniel Coats. Once he saw the play-action, Wimbley shrugged off Coats, readjusted to Palmer stepping up and leveled him. Palmer tried to make a throw to the left in an area without any Bengals receivers -- except for Chad Ochocinco about eight yards away. Intentional grounding. On the next play, Palmer watched defensive back Mike Adams come off the edge, unblocked. Palmer let go of the football well before he was ready, forcing a terribly underthrown football to skip to a waiting Laveranues Coles. On third-and-20, Palmer drops back. Protection was very good. He had time. However, being knocked around that much that early in the game causes one to have alarm bells violently ringing in ones head well before they should. Palmer takes off, reaching the line of scrimmage and throwing across the field to Coles in the middle of the field. Incomplete. Drive comes to a merciful end. Thank the lord. Bengals punt.

And sometimes there's nothing left to do. With 11:43 left in the third quarter, Palmer completed a third-and-six pass to Chad Ochocinco for a 15-yard gain. Wimbley came off the right side, using his speed to put Whitworth in a predicament. Either hold the hell out of the defensive end, or let him crush Carson Palmer. Whitworth held, negating a 15-yard pass and a first down. Cincinnati would punt after a six-yard screen pass to Brian Leonard.

As mostly everyone else, I would love for this offense to explode. However, sometimes you have to take what you're given. And the Bengals have been given a powerful rushing offense that's working nearly every week, whereas the passing offense is struggling mightily. So the question shouldn't be why aren't the Bengals throwing the football more. We already know why. It's because it's just not working right now and forcing it to work would be -- in the great words of Mr. Mackey -- "bad, mmmkay?"

Carson Palmer said it best after the game.

“We came in with the game plan that we wanted to take some shots, but they were going to play a certain way and against two shells and have two high safeties. We had a couple plays where we were going to take some shots, but on one of them I scrambled on for seven or eight yards, and the other we took a check-down. They weren’t going to come out of what they were doing defensively. They weren’t going to give us single high looks and let us throw the ball over their heads. They let us run for 200 yards. We stuck with the game plan once we figured out what their game plan was and kept pushing the ball.”

Where the passing offense struggles, the rushing offense flourishes. Let's realize a few things. Cedric Benson has missed back-to-back games and the last 10 quarters. He's still in the top ten with 859 yards rushing. Benson's getting healthy again and when he returns, he's going to run with very, very fresh legs. If that's not scary exciting, then I don't know what scary exciting means. Actually, I don't know what scary exciting means anyway.

Benson has missed the previous two games. What have the Bengals done in Benson's absence? They've averaged 193.5 yards rushing -- which is the best two-game stretch all season. Let me put that further perspective. Before Oakland, the Bengals had the league's 11th best rushing offense, averaging 122.3 yards-per-game. With a Monday Night Football game left, the Bengals are now ranked seventh, averaging 135.3 yards-per-game. They've jumped four points in the rankings, and added 13 yards to their average.

All without Cedric Benson. In the great words of Cleveland, "that's nasty."

But as impressive as Bernard Scott was last week, Larry Johnson's performance against the Cleveland Browns was great. And guess what? It wouldn't have happened with the great effort by the Bengals offensive line.

On third-and-one at the Bengals 44-yard line with 8:34 left in the first quarter, Cincinnati lines up double tight end single back formation. Palmer does his funky right-handed exchange to Larry Johnson. Within the first frame after the ball is snapped, the Bengals offensive line had opened a hole at the point of attack. Daniel Coats and Andrew Whitworth sealed the right side. Bobbie Williams turned Shaun Rogers. Kyle Cook neutralized Cleveland's inside linebacker and the left side of the offensive line eliminated any trailing defenders protecting cutback lanes. Johnson squeezed through the hole between Williams and Whitworth on the right, dodged a tackle by Abram Elam and fell forward for a ten-yard gain and the first down.

On the next play, Johnson gets the handoff. Andrew Whitworth sealed the inside linebacker. Bobbie Williams and Kyle Cook slowed the defensive end and tackle respectively while Jeremi Johnson punishes the outside linebacker for the gull of trying to make a play in the backfield. Johnson sidestepped behind Jeremi, cut back to the right behind Williams' block and ran down the right hashmark for another 12 yard gain.

On second-and-ten at the Bengals 34-yard line with 10:59 left in the second quarter, Palmer hands the football off to Johnson. Cincinnati lined up big-formation with Andrew Whitworth outside of Dennis Roland at right tackle and Anthony Collins at left tackle. Every offensive lineman had a hat on a defensive player. The secondary made first contact on Johnson about eight yards past the line of scrimmage. On the next play, Johnson picked up another seven yards thanks to a kick out block on Wimbley by fullback Jeremi Johnson.

Even Bernard Scott had his moments. After Nate Livings was called for offensive holding, the Bengals were pushed back to their own 27-yard line with first-and-twenty. Every offensive linemen had a hat on a Browns defender. Not just that, the line was pushing back the Browns defense and not allowing the defender to shrug off the block. And it was Jeremi Johnson, once again, who made the initial block that kicked out an outside linebacker looking for glory on a stop in the backfield. Scott fought off a Mike Adams attempted tackle for ten yards, picking up 21 yards and a first down in the process.

When stargazing, you finally find the star named Andre Smith. The problem with watching the offensive line during a live game, is that you don't always know who is in the game before the snap. More than any team, the Bengals employ a rotation with their offensive tackles that no two plays will have the same personnel on the line. On the first play of the second quarter, the Bengals lined up at Cincinnati's 48 yard-line on first down. Andre Smith made his first appearance (that we could tell) at right tackle with Andrew Whitworth on Smith's outside shoulder. Kenyon Coleman was Smith's guy. At the snap, Smith rose and sat in pass protection, ready to receive Coleman, who was very slow off the ball. Smith allowed Coleman an outside move, keeping pace with the defensive end, who even resorted to a spin move. Good job, ol' rook. The play, however, did break down after outside linebacker David Bowens blitzed up the middle. Bobbie Williams did pick him up, but Bowens had already won the battle simply with a quicker step to the outside. Palmer sprinted down the right sidelines for a five-yard gain.

Smith would make sporadic appearances throughout the game. While not noticeable, he made quality blocks.

On first-and-ten at Cleveland's 32 yard-line, Smith lined up at right tackle with Whitworth on his outside shoulder. Smith attacked Robaire Smith with Bernard Scott coming from behind. While Andre didn't move Robaire, the Browns defender wasn't able to make a move on the runner either. Scott picked up 11 yards on the play. On the next play, the Bengals called a sweep to the left away from Andre Smith, who slowed Robaire's progress down the line of scrimmage, looking at the second level for any unsuspecting linebacker to break in half. Good day, ol' rook.

It's my firm belief that this is the most complete Bengals squad that Marvin Lewis has ever put together. It might be the best squad in 20 years of Bengals football. They are winning with a strong rushing offense and a powerful defense. There's things to fix. There always is. But I believe that this Bengals squad can beat any team in the NFL this year because their strengths always dictates championship football. Perhaps I'm banging the homer drum. I've done that before and I'm not afraid to show how proud I am of this squad. So I'm enjoying it. It hasn't happened a lot in my lifetime.

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.

Presenting the CincyJungle Bengals Midseason Awards

Kirkendall — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:00:40 -0000

More photos » by Rob Carr - AP

2 months ago: Cincinnati Bengals' Bobbie Williams (63) celebrates after they defeated the Baltimore Ravens 17-14 during an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 11, 2009, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Rob Carr)

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It's not that I actively bash Peter King. I find his view that the Bengals are a sideshow at a circus to be somewhat irritating. But in the end, my feeling about the national media is trivial. They don't pay obsessive attention to the Bengals day-in and day-out with teams like the Patriots or Cowboys, or players like Brett Favre, or Brett Favre, or Brett Favre around. It is what it is, and I leave it at that.

However, King did release his Midseason All-Pro team on Tuesday and while no Bengals player was listed, it got me thinking. Do the Bengals have one player that's above all else in the league?

The first player that comes to mind is Cedric Benson. King lists Chris Johnson as the league's best running back in 2009. That's a fine choice. But in my opinion, if you're a player that's deserved of being the best player at that position, then you should be on a team better than 2-6 and better than the 23rd best scoring offense in the NFL.

Other than that, I have a hard time replacing any of our players to King's list. Maybe Benson would fit better as Comeback Player of the Year rather than Brett Favre. But if Favre is considered for an award, you better believe he's getting the hardware. I just don't know exactly where Favre went. Didn't he play the entire season last year? Maybe it's the fact he came back. Get it? Comeback. Yea.

With that in mind, and with the first-half over -- can you believe we're already at the half-way point? -- I'd like to present this year's CincyJungle Midseason Awards.

The Cincinnati Bengals MVP. Being an MVP isn't just about stats or even earning weekly awards. In football, it's much more than that. In football, it's about heroics. It's about leadership. It's leading your team towards success and victory.

One of the knocks on Carson Palmer's career is that he hasn't been known for engineering come from behind victories. In fact, it seemed like if everything wasn't perfect, Palmer struggled. His old passing statistics in previous seasons were beautiful and glorious, but the Bengals needed one last thing from Palmer. He needed to lead the Bengals to victory, no matter the odds.

And boy, did he make that impression early.

Down 6-0 with 6:21 left in the fourth quarter, Palmer engineered an 11-play, 91-yard drive in 5:43 to take a 7-6 lead over the Denver Broncos during opening weekend. The Bengals ended up losing anyway on, well, you remember. Nonetheless, Palmer was foreshadowing. The Bengals were down 20-9 entering the fourth quarter against the Pittsburgh Steelers. In the past, the Bengals typically laid down at this point against Pittsburgh. So in somewhat surprise fashion, Palmer completed 10 of 17 passes for 96 yards in the fourth quarter. With 5:14 left in the game, Palmer engineered a 16-play, 71-yard drive that ended with a four-yard touchdown pass to Andre Caldwell. And on that drive, Palmer converted two fourth-downs to keep the game alive; a five-yard pass to Laveranues Coles and an 11-yard pass to Brian Leonard.

Against the Browns, the Bengals really struggled. Palmer most of all. With 6:38 left in the game, the Browns took a 20-14 lead. Palmer led a drive that went 70 yards on 10 plays to tie the game at 20. If it wasn't for a blocked Shaun Rogers point after touchdown (or a misfired snap by Brad St. Louis that caused Shayne Graham to hesitate), the Bengals likely win this game in regulation. Instead, with 3:23 left in overtime, Palmer captains the offense to Cleveland's 13-yard line on 13 plays. Shayne Graham converts the field goal with seven seconds left in the game for the win. Not only did Palmer put together a drive to tie the game, but he had to follow that up with a drive that setup the game winning field goal. What's more impressive is that Palmer and everyone else were way off their game and still came through at the end.

With 2:15 left in the game, the Cincinnati Bengals offense starts at their own 20-yard line, down 14-10 against Baltimore. Again, Palmer leads an 11-play, 80-yard drive in under two minutes to take a 17-14 lead with 22 seconds left in the game. I suppose we can thank the Ravens for a few timely penalties. Regardless, Palmer found Andre Caldwell running a seam down the middle, catching the 20-yard pass to win the game.

Palmer has largely improved as the season has worn on. Since the overtime win over the Browns, Palmer has recorded a passer rating of 80 or better -- 90 or better in the past two games, including a 146.7 against the Bears -- and an 8-2 touchdown to interception ratio.

With all of that said, I still don't think we've seen the best of Palmer yet.

For his late-game heroics and leadership, the 2009 Midseason Team MVP is Carson Palmer.

Offensive Player of the Midseason: An offensive player of the midseason means you're the best offensive player on the team. Even though Carson Palmer was the Cincy Jungle MVP, an argument could be made that he's not the team's best offensive player. We know where this is going, don't we?

It's hard to go against Cedric Benson. His 837 yards rushing ranks second in the NFL. He's scored a touchdown in six of the season's eight games. Eight times he's picked up gains of 20 yards or more (tied for third) and 35 of his rushes have picked up first downs. If not for Benson, many things don't turn out the way they do. Because of the threat to run on nearly every down, Palmer isn't dealing with overloaded secondary packages. Because of Benson, the Bengals can finally become like-minded in the general success of this division by rushing the football first.

Not only is he the best offensive player of the year, but Benson could be awarded the Comeback Player of the Year as well as Best Free Agent signing of the year.

Defensive Player(s) of the Midseason: If it wasn't for Antwan Odom's injury, he'd be the guy. It's hard to vote against anyone who picks up seven sacks in the season's first two games. I honestly wouldn't have a problem if you were to make that choice today. However, I'm going with the cornerback duo of Johnathan Joseph and Leon Hall. Combined for eight interceptions -- one returned for a touchdown -- the Joseph/Hall combination picked off Joe Flacco four times, largely contributing to the season sweep against one of the league's powerhouses. Johnathan Joseph's interception return for a touchdown against Pittsburgh in the third quarter gave the Bengals their first touchdown of the day and largely swung momentum into the Bengals favor that led to an unlikely (at the time) win over the Steelers on September 27.

Leon Hall (16) and Johnathan Joseph (15) rank in the top-four in the NFL with most pass deflections. Hall's 41 tackles rank third among all cornerbacks in the league; behind Cedric Griffin (48) and Champ Bailey (45). Both cornerbacks are already close to achieving career-high numbers this year.

The cornerback duo's play (and health) this year have enabled Mike Zimmer to employ different packages that keep opposing offenses guessing. Thanks to two former first round picks that are starting to play on their respective islands as we had hoped they would.

The Award for lowest expectation turning into team's greatest pride and Award for Comeback Unit of the Year. When the Bengals finished last season the offensive line was in turmoil. Palmer and Ryan Fitzpatrick had no protection and the Bengals rushing offense largely failed because the offensive line couldn't open lanes. Once Anthony Collins and Nate Livings joined the starting group because of injury, the line started stabilizing. But the question was strong enough in everyone's mind this offseason to be concerned. Kyle Cook replaced Eric Ghiaciuc, who wasn't offered a contract. Anthony Collins moved to right tackle. Andrew Whitworth moved to left tackle. Bobbie Williams stayed home. Nate Livings resumed left guard duties he earned at the end of last year.

I remember thinking at the time: there are no new faces! All of these guys were around last season. What makes me think they'll improve anything?

If we could nominate an entire unit for comeback unit of the year, it would be the Bengals offensive line. Even though Carson Palmer is on pace to be sacked 24 times this year, the Bengals offensive line hasn't just performed well above expectations, they've flipped all of us off and laughed for not believing. No one expected what they're doing now. No one expected that Palmer would only be hit 24 times (not sacks, being hit) through eight games.

Then there's the offense's 4.3 yard-per-rush average, which ranks 13th in the league. There's Cedric Benson, who doesn't exist if not for this offensive line; the same offensive line that helped Benson break gaudy defensive rushing streaks that the Ravens were riding.

This offensive line isn't the best in the league. But who cares? This offensive line is why the Bengals’ offense is playing as well as they are. And no one expected that.

Award for Best Team Performance of the Midseason. Anytime you win a game by 35 points, you had a damn fine game. Cincinnati took a 31-3 lead into halftime behind four Carson Palmer touchdown passes against the Chicago Bears. Cincinnati finished with 448 yards of total offense and the defense held the Bears to 279 yards on their way to a 45-10 victory.

Award for Winning The Big Game. Even though the Bengals swept the Baltimore Ravens, contestant in last year's AFC title game, the Bengals win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in week three was significantly bigger.

Award for Biggest Team Letdown of the Midseason. Awards are generally not handed out for disappointing feats. But I had to mention this for two reasons. The way Cincinnati dealt with adversity and how dangerously hard this team could fall if they play down to their opponents with a very weak stretch on the second-half schedule.

One could argue the team let down against the Houston Texans, losing 28-17. However, the Texans have a winning record this year, aiming for a wild card spot in the playoffs and nearly pulled off an upset over the Indianapolis Colts on November 8. Of their four losses, only one was lost by more than a touchdown. My pick for Letdown Game of the Year goes to a game that the Bengals actually ended up winning. Odd, eh? Coming into the game, the Cleveland Browns had the league's worst offense and 30th ranked defense. Other than it being an in-state rival, there was no reason why the Bengals couldn't obliterate one of the worst teams in the NFL. We were superior on offense. We were twice as superior on defense. Instead, the game was close. The Bengals played down to their opponent. Derek Anderson threw for 269 yards. Jerome Harrison rushed for 121 yards. J.P. Foschi and Daniel Coats were the team's leading receivers and Cedric Benson -- the guy that rushes for 100 yards against the Ravens defense -- only gained 74 yards through nearly five quarters.

The Bengals needed nearly 75 minutes to win this game, which is a signal of their growing (and impressive) level of maturity and ability to succeed through adversity. But if we had lost this game, it would have been a terrible loss.

Award for greatest third down conversion in team history. This isn't so much of importance as it is an example of how karma can play a role in games. The 31-24 win over the Green Bay Packers didn't start well at all. Carson Palmer had thrown a five-yard touchdown pass to Laveranues Coles on the team's first offensive drive of the game, taking a 7-0 lead. Aaron Rodgers answered with a three-yard touchdown of his own. Palmer threw a pick and the Packers scored another touchdown to take a 14-7 lead. Quan Cosby returned a punt 60 yards that setup an eventual one-yard quarterback sneak to tie the game at 14. Bengals force a three-and-out. On the second play of the next possession, Charles Woodson returns an interception for a touchdown, giving the Packers a 21-14 lead.

On the next possession, the Bengals line up at their own seven-yard line on third down. The first down marker sits at the 41-yard line. What do most teams do on third-and-34? Hope a screen pass or draw is unexpected enough to gain as many yards as possible. After catching a short dump pass out of the flats, Daniel Coats takes off. About 11 yards short of the first down marker, Cullen Jenkins knocks the football out of Coats' arm and it (the football, not Coats) bounces forward 15 yards where Laveranues Coles pounces and recovers the fumble. First down.

You knew the football gods smiled upon the Cincinnati Bengals that day when Green Bay only scored three points and Antwan Odom was on his way to having a career day (five sacks).

Nominations for Acid Reflux.

Brad St. Louis
Daniel Coats

Rookie of the Midseason. The Bengals had a good draft in the spring. Several players are contributors now, like Rey Maualuga, Michael Johnson, Morgan Trent and Bernard Scott. Jonathan Luigs may factor in the offensive line next season, depending on if the Bengals bring Bobbie Williams back.

But the rookie that's really contributed is a fifth round pick from the University of Cincinnati. With a tremendous ability to turn the field, Huber could be the team's Special Teams Player of the Midseason. His first five career punts landed inside the 20-yard line.

		Punts	In-20	Avg.	Long
2008	Kyle Larson	100	28	39.5	57
2009	Kevin Huber	49	13	43.7	61

He's averaged over 45 yards/punt in four games. Only 45% of his punts were returned. And in every game save for one he kicked at least one 50-yard punt. It might seem sad that we're awarding our Rookie of the Midseason Award to a punter, but that would only mean you haven't seen him punt.

However, we have to also acknowledge that Rey Maualuga could easily win this award. He's recorded 30 tackles, two forced fumbles and a quarterback sack. If you go with Maualuga, that too would be a fine choice.

Now it's your turn. This is where the community takes part. What do you think of the awards? What other awards would you create and hand out? Discuss.

Holmes: Chase Coffman's long awaited pro debut could be on the horizon

Kirkendall — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 04:39:16 -0000

We have had as many posts about fullbacks on Tuesday as we have had all of last season. So that just means we need to update our Tight End position file for the 20th time since August. Here's the quick background version. Reggie Kelly and Ben Utecht injured for season, Daniel Coats becomes starter, J.P. Foschi signed off the street. Coats disappoints and Foschi becomes the team's first team Tight End.

And of course, there's Chase Coffman.

Like the team's fullbacks, Coffman was a major storyline on Hard Knocks. And it wasn't very endearing. In fact, it was down right embarrassing for the rookie. Even though he made the 53-man roster, Coffman has yet to make his NFL debut; largely because he's still developing his blocking skills -- something that Coffman rarely did as a tight end with Missouri.

Dayton Daily News' (yes, they have a Bengals story) Carlos Holmes writes that Coffman's "long awaited pro debut could be on the horizon." Holmes believes that the Bengals could insert Coffman sooner rather than later because the position hasn't been very productive.

Coffman has used his time wisely working on becoming a better all-around player. The tight end hits the weight room religiously each day and continues to study hard in an effort to improve his overall game. The one area he is working the hardest to improve is his blocking skills.

Coffman struggled with blocking assignments throughout training camp and the learning experience has been humbling.

“I knew it was going to be tough,” he said. “I think it kind of surprised me because it’s not as easy as one may think. There’s nothing easy about playing at this level. There is a lot of technique involved along with everything else.”

Several weeks ago, Marvin Lewis said "I’ve got to make sure those guys who suit up on Sunday can fulfill covering those kicks and doing all those things Chase didn’t do a whole lot of at the University of Missouri." What Lewis, who likes Coffman's progress, is pointing out is that he still needs to work on things he didn't do with Missouri -- like everything other than running, catching, breathing and watching South Park reruns.

So we find it hard to believe Holmes is speaking with any authority; merely pointing out speculation based on disappointing play of the team's tight ends.

Once he gets his blocking technique down, there's still high hopes for Coffman, who could add a frighteningly new dimension to a Bengals passing offense that's only ranked 18th in the league.

Dropping passes costs Daniel Coats a starting gig; Paul Alexander loves his offensive line

Kirkendall — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 15:34:07 -0000

More photos » by Charles Krupa - AP

4 months ago: Cincinnati Bengals tight end Daniel Coats, right, drops a pass as he is pressured by New England Patriots linebacker Shawn Crable, left, in the first half during their preseason NFL football game in Foxborough, Mass., Thursday, Aug. 20, 2009. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

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If one could sing a song about Bengals tight ends, it would be a country song. One position on the Bengals roster that's been the most tragic and frustrating, has been Tight Ends. Reggie Kelly and Ben Utecht were lost early during Training Camp. Daniel Coats, at the time on the outside looking in, was promoted as the starting Tight End by default while the Bengals signed J.P. Foschi off the street -- if for anything to add bodies to the depth chart. Chase Coffman hovered, not really making an impression on the Bengals, or even the fans. He's still hovering while he learns to block; or at least ready enough to take a special teams role.

Daniel Coats has 12 receptions, which ties a career-high that he set during his rookie season in 2007. But it's not the receptions that he's noted for. It's the drops and fumbles. As a result, J.P. Foschi has been promoted over Coats on the team's depth chart. Foschi has eight receptions on the season for 74 yards receiving and a touchdown (all career highs already). Note: Foschi's one touchdown is one more than Coats.

Foschi has impressed CincyJungle far more than Coats has; which could illustrate how unimpressive Coats has been. But I'm not sure if the Bengals will limit Coats' playing time as much as one would think. When the Bengals lined up Two-Fullback formation in the backfield, like a diamond with Jeremi Johnson and Coats side-by-side, the rushing offense was scary good.

A new business tradition: when you don't make money, try everything you can to make less of it. I'm not exactly sure how I should react to the Dayton Daily News' coverage of the Cincinnati Bengals. It's not that they've shut down coverage entirely. When the Chickster left -- they still have the Chickster's Twitter account on their front page -- I've found myself visiting DDN less; we've linked to their stories few and far between since. Tom Archdeacon writes Bengals related stories, but he's not really on the beat persay and most of the headlines are AP written stories. I can't tell you the last time I saw Carlos Holmes on DDN -- note: he could be on there, but the fact that I can't find him speaks measures. DDN does have a blog, but it's more like a collection of news stories, rather than opinion. But hey, I can't be too upset. After all, they do promote Cincy Jungle through Blog Burst just fine. Speaking of one DDN piece, I want to know, is this the definition of a bandwagon fan?

I grew up a Cincinnati Bengals fan, but lost interest over the years because I always felt owner Mike Brown treated the club as if it were his personal fantasy football team...

But the Bengals’ 5-2 start has gotten my attention. Carson Palmer is still one of the best quarterbacks in the league and he has surprised me with his mobility. After tanking last season, Chad Ochocinco appears committed this year (maybe the Bengals were right in not caving to his trade demands).

Moving on.

Offensive line coach Paul Alexander said of his offensive line, "To be honest with you, they’re beyond my expectations right now and unfortunately it’s made me greedy because now I’m shooting for the moon and they can be even better."

Loved this Geoff Hobson piece about center Kyle Cook, in which Carson Palmer says, "He’s a mini Richie the way he’s going." Richie is, of course, Rich Braham, long-time offensive lineman for the Bengals that was so good, he became the measuring stick for all centers on the team.

Speaking of Chick Ludwig, he expects the Bengals to offer Marvin Lewis a contract extension if the team makes the playoffs this year or next. Lewis' contract expires after the 2010 season.

Joe Reedy writes, "One obvious improvement in Palmer’s game has been his mobility, both in and out of the pocket." He's been rolling out, sometimes on purpose, sometimes because of the pass rush, finding open receivers. And when he's not finding open receivers, he's taking off. Carson Palmer has 44 yards rushing, which ranks third on the team. Furthermore, he's only three yards away from tying a career-high 47 during his sophomore season in 2004.

Under Marvin Lewis, the Bengals are 1-4-1 after the Bye Week -- they haven't won after the bye week since beating Baltimore 34-26 at PBS.

Kevin Huber comes from a family of kickers, ranging from sisters playing soccer, to his father punting for Xavier university and his brother punting in high school and Mount St. Joe.

And finally, a friend of mine recently became a grandmother. Her son, a former quarterback with Dayton Christian school, had a healthy baby boy a few months ago. Mother, father and grandmother are all doing great. Here's father and son, wearing their Bengals gear with pride.

If you have stories or pictures you want to share, you can send them to me, or create a FanShot.

Bengals beat the Bears 45-10: Finding the perfect angle; why a changed Sunday Morning isn't a cause for superstition

Kirkendall — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 14:11:56 -0000

More photos » by Ed Reinke - AP

about 1 month ago: Cincinnati Bengals running back Cedric Benson (32) flexes his muscles after scoring a touchdown against the Chicago Bears in the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2009, in Cincinnati. Kyle Cook, left, and Anthony Collins, top, join in. (AP Photo/Ed Reinke)

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When I woke up Sunday morning, I had an unexplained urge to change my Sunday morning routine. Instead of making coffee, taking a shower and cracking my knuckles anticipating the day's challenges, I left the house as soon as I hooked the sleepy crud out of my radish-shaded eyes. I stopped at a gas station and picked up a cappuccino. I love French Vanilla. It was fat free, meeting the requirement for my new healthy regiment that was burdened on me by something other than self preservation. But I decided to gamble. I was ready to take the bumps. My bruises always heal quickly. I picked up some Krispy Kreme donuts and it made -- almost -- everyone happy. I don't care for Krispy Kreme, but I did throw a chocolate glaze into the microwave for 15 seconds. I'm still rubbing my arm.

It was all in part to change my Sunday morning routine. I didn't think that way at the time, of course. It's occurring to me now, while the October cold forced a violent closure of our over-sized sliding glass window. Come to think of it, I've been involved in football for a long time. As coaches say, if you're going to foul someone, foul 'em big. I should have went all-out and bought a buffet-style order at McDonalds. But hindsight is a meaningless human act, and thus I moved on.

However, in my world, this doesn't equate to some acquisition of superstitious behavior, like Wade Boggs and his fried chicken, just because one action led to another. Admittedly, the day turned out completely different. I was allowed to watch several early football games. My ass imprint on the couch went un-fluffed for nearly seven hours. I ate a salad with French and bacon dressing. I had Sloppy Joe's in a bowl, with sour cream and shredded cheese. Crazy. Right? That's a damn fine meal. If I were any crazier, I would have went out and bought my Merit Fitness 725T Treadmill. Then there's the Bengals, who were obviously affected by my changed Sunday morning routine. I'm not superstitious; nor narcissistic for that matter.

Some called it a must-win. Others weren't so urgent. Here's the thinking. If the Bengals lose, they'll go into the bye week with a two-game losing streak, no momentum (at least positive momentum) and two tough division games against the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers afterward. If the Bengals win, they'll go 5-2 heading into back-to-back series finales against the two powerhouses of the division after the bye week. Even if they lose both games, they'll still have a winning record and the Bengals hit the easiest stretch on their 2009 schedule to rebound. After losing to the Houston Texans last week, the question this week was: can the Bengals find their focus? We've been saying for weeks that we're still waiting for the perfect game. Perhaps saying the game least flawed would be more realistic. So, why not lower the expectation and just hope that the Bengals get their kind of unimpressive through three quarters to pull out the win in the fourth quarter mojo back?

And the irony of many complex questions in life, it takes time for a complete answer to materialize. The Bengals have always played that way. The original question: who are these guys? The follow-up question: can they sustain this? The current question: will they put together the complete game? They wait, wait, and wait until it's time for them to strike. They have yet to take a game into their own hands, not playing down, or up, to their competition. They have yet to play to their capabilities. We've felt that way all season. We know this offense can, and will, explode. But when? In classic Jack Bauer, "we're running out of time."

So how do you angle a story that accurately describes how the Bengals played against the Bears on Sunday?

Maybe the word is owning, or pwning. An example of that would be the Bengals 45-10 win over the Chicago Bears Sunday. In the first half, the Bengals offense accumulated 292 yards of total offense. Cedric Benson hit the 100-yard rushing marker before half time -- then he lost three yards bringing his total down to 98 yards. Chad Ochocinco, with five minutes left in the first half, caught eight passes for 103 yards receiving. Carson Palmer completed 15 of 17 passes for 183 yards passing and four touchdowns -- all to different receivers. Psst. You and I know the truth. Everything today changed after I bought a cappuccino as soon as I woke up this morning. I still don't believe in superstitions though.

Yet, it wasn't just the offense. The defense held the Bears to 71 yards of total offense before Chicago recorded a field goal on a nine-play, 70-yard drive to close the first half. Leon Hall picked off two passes. Chris Crocker tipped a few passes and intercepted the team's third interception. Morgan Trent is a hitter. Michael Johnson is everywhere, from defensive line to outside linebacker in coverage. Dhani Jones and Rey Maualuga were as amped as I've seen them all season. Tank Johnson was noticeable inside. Then there was Frostee Rucker, who sacked Jay Cutler and recorded another stuff on the quarterback that wasn't officially a sack.

No, I have a better way of describing Sunday's win.

The Cincinnati Bengals beat the holy shit out of the Chicago Bears. There. Simple. Descriptive. Easy to remember.

Remember this date? September 16, 2007.

On Sunday, Carson Palmer recorded touchdown passes. The last time he recorded that many touchdowns as a six-touchdown performance against the Cleveland Browns on September 16, 2007. That was also the last time the Bengals scored 40 points or more.

Stat of the Game: Bengals only committed three penalties for 20 yards lost. Both are season lows.

They called it Benson Bowl 2009. They should have called it "Benson will run through you because he's a pissed off maniac bowl". Cedric Benson played against his old team, the Chicago Bears. Did you know that? There's some animosity there; mostly, it seemed, from Benson. There's definitely motivation. How does Benson say hello to his old mates, who he claimed wasn't a revenge game? Does he take Lovie Smith out to dinner, or have orange juice during bible studies with Lance Briggs? No. Benson, not thinking revenge, followed his lanes, rolled over people, side-stepped potential tacklers like Lance Briggs who tried a kung-fu leg sweep while he was laying on the ground. In all, Benson records a career-high 189 yards rushing (5.1 yards-per-rush) and a touchdown -- the third straight game with a rushing touchdown. Benson's 37 rush attempts fell one short of a career high 38 against the Cleveland Browns on December 21, 2008.

Breakdown of Benson's rushing per quarter
	1st Quarter	2nd Quarter	3rd Quarter	4th Quarter
Yards Rushing	70	28	54	37
Rushing Attempts	8	12	8	9
Yards/Rush	8.8	2.3	6.8	4.1
Long	23	14	26	14
Touchdowns	0	0	0	1

Benson was nasty good during the team's first two possessions, which set the tempo for the Bengals offense. On the team's first possession, Benson picked up 32 yards on four carries. Bengals scored a touchdown. On the team's second possession, Benson picked up 38 yards on four carries. Bengals scored a touchdown. If such a thing existed, you could seriously consider giving Benson the first quarter game ball.

And thus, a controversial, yet meaningless award. I believe that giving the game ball to Cedric Benson is a good choice. Not only for the emotional factor of playing against his old team, Benson had a career game. He's just not my choice for player of the game.

I'm giving my player of the game award to the guy that's responsible for five touchdowns. Five. Touchdowns. In the first half, Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer completed 15 of 17 passes for 183 yards passing. For the first time in the historic Chicago Bears franchise, someone threw four touchdowns in the first half. Palmer actually only made throws in the first three quarters, taking a break in the closing minutes of the game. In each of the quarters he played in, Palmer recorded a passer rating of 130 or better -- and it was 150 or better through the first two quarters.

Furthermore, Carson Palmer's passing on third downs was flawless. He completed all seven passes (which went for first downs), threw for 81 yards passing and recorded three touchdowns. Making it happen on third down is critical. And Palmer was perfect. Well, next to it. His quarterback rating on third down was 154.5. And of those third downs, only one was shorter than five yards to go. So the Bears defense knew that the Bengals were passing. And yet, Palmer and the passing offense came through.

	1st Quarter	2nd Quarter	3rd Quarter	4th Quarter
Yards Passing	76	107	50	--
Touchdowns	2	2	1	--
Completions	6	9	5	--
Attempts	7	10	7	--
Passer Rating	151.5	150.8	131.0	--

Like I said, Benson is a worthy choice. But my choice for Player of the Game goes to Carson Palmer.

Marvin Lewis versus the NFC North: 6-0

Bengals Drives				Bears Drives
Drive	Plays	Yards	Result	Plays	Yards	Result
1	8	77	Touchdown	8	26	Punt
2	8	80	Touchdown	3	-2	Punt
3	7	63	Touchdown	5	35	Fumble
4	12	66	Touchdown	2	12	Interception
5	4	6	Field Goal	9	70	Field Goal
6	9	61	Touchdown	10	33	Interception
7	7	53	Touchdown	4	21	Interception
8	12	49	Downs	8	60	Touchdown
9	3	7	Punt	3	7	Punt
Bears had two drives that went one-play while the first half and the game concluded.

Stat of the Game II : Bengals converted 67% (8/12) of their third downs.

If you say trends are meaningless, the Bengals offense says you're meaningless. On the first play of the game, Carson Palmer fakes the handoff to Benson, with Dennis Roland lined up at tight end, and hits Chad Ochocinco for a 19-yard gain. On the following play, the Bengals lined up with two fullbacks in the backfield, Jeremi Johnson and Daniel Coats, and handed off to Benson for a seven-yard gain. After an incomplete pass, Carson Palmer threw over the middle to Chris Henry for another 17 yards. Palmer hands off to Benson, who turns the right edge, runs down the right sidelines for a big 23-yard gain. The Bengals tried Wild Cat with Carson Palmer lined up wide left, and Cedric Benson taking the snap and gaining only three yards over the middle. Note: They never run the Wild Cat again. On third-and-eight at the Chicago Bears nine-yard line, Carson Palmer looks left, rolls out right and throws a floater to Chris Henry at the back of the endzone. Touchdown. And thus the slaughtering begins.

Stat of the Game III: Bengals had seven Red Zone trips. They scored six touchdowns.

Even special teams was special. A sad look at corny headlines: Johnny Knox came into Sunday's game averaging 33.7 yards per kickoff return. Against the Bengals, Knox averaged 21 yards per return with a long of 28 yards, which was five yards below his average. In fact, Knox didn't equal his kick return average once, returning kickoffs for 25, 23, 20, 12, 25, 18 and 28 yards. Also of note, Clark Harris didn't fumble a long-snap and Shayne Graham didn't miss a kick. How special is that?

Stat of the Game IV: The Bengals came into Sunday's game having given up a league-worst 25 passing plays of 20-yards or more. Against the Bears, the Bengals gave up one -- a 26-yard pass to Earl Bennett.

When Frostee Rucker warms up, he just chills your ass. With 1:02 left in the first quarter, the Bears lined up first-and-ten at their own 29-yard line. Jay Cutler dropped back, looked over the middle, rolled out right when Frostee Rucker sacked the quarterback for a ten-yard loss. After a quick six-yard pass to Matt Forte, Cutler fumbled the snap and Rucker tackled the quarterback soon after recovery for a limited gain. Technically, it's not a sack. Technically, Frostee Rucker will find you and technically he will tackle you.

Because the snap was fumbled and because Cutler never made an attempt to appear like anything more than a quarterback freaking out, finding yardage with his legs, Rucker was credited with a stuff rather than a quarterback sack. For the entire game, Rucker nailed Cutler at least three times, which doesn't include the quarterback sack.

Models and cheerleaders should go after offensive linemen. Because they're awesome. I've never hidden that watching the trenches is my favorite part of any NFL game. That's where football is, and forever will be, at its purest form. And if you don't think that the Bengals offensive line didn't play their best game of the season, you're nuts. That's right. You're nuts.

The Bears defense came into Sunday's game sporting the league's sixth best rush defense, allowing only 88.4 yards rushing per game. After rushing for only 46 yards against the Houston Texans, the Bengals offense recorded 215 yards rushing and a 4.8 yard-per-rush average. When you have deeper routes developing that the Bengals called on Sunday, you need quality, and sometimes extended, pass protection for those routes to develop. Not only did Palmer have all day to throw the football, he was only knocked down twice.

The Bengals offensive line should get as much, if not a majority, of the credit for the Bengals 448 yards of total offense.

Stat of the Game V: Bengals recorded 30 first downs (11 rushing, 16 passing and three via penalty).

Who do they think they are? When the Bengals win a big game, I get irritated at the ballsy nerve ESPN and NBC have by talking about other teams. When the Bengals lose a game, any game, I take a nap.

Remember when Chad Ochocinco used to be called Chad Johnson? It was reported heading into last year's regular season that Chad Johnson legally changed his last name to Ochocinco. All he got was a career low, both on the field and all of the bravado off the field. In 2008, Chad never recorded a 100-yard game and only four touchdowns. In fact, he went 18 straight games without a 100-yard game before recording 103 yards receiving against the Houston Texans last week.

Chad Ochocinco caught ten passes for 118 yards receiving and two touchdowns the following week against the Chicago Bears. In fact, he caught ten of the 11 passes thrown his way. The last time he caught ten passes or more was November 25, 2007 during a 35-6 win over the Tennessee Titans. Even more significant, Chad recorded his first back-to-back 100-yard receiving games since early 2007 when he recorded 209 yards against the Browns and 138 against the Seahawks.

So maybe the curse of changing last name to wacky catch-phrase of Spanish numerical system is finally dissolving.

And thus, Chad Ochocinco gets an award for himself. Outside the high school and college sob stories about making it into the NFL, rarely do sports figures prove everyone wrong. I'm talking about having already made it, doing things to make us conclude that he's worth too much trouble, only to have our minds changed about them later. Chris Henry would apply. Of all the things that we said in the offseason and last year about Chad Ochocinco, there's no one more deserving of a fanbase-wide apology than Chad. Maybe not an apology. After all, he forced us to conclude those things. Maybe forgiveness. In five of the seven games this season, Chad has recorded 89 yards receiving or more. His five touchdowns receiving leads the teams, as does his receptions (39) and yards receiving (573). In fact, Chad leads nearly every statistical receiving category. Except for drops. We know who that is.

So maybe in two weeks, when the Bengals host the Baltimore Ravens, I'll go out for another cappuccino in the morning. French Vanilla. Fat Free. I like it. It's not like I'm getting all superstitious or something. Maybe I should get the donuts too.

Week in Review: Bengals must play the rest of the season like it's the playoffs

Kirkendall — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 16:23:54 -0000

More photos » by David Kohl - AP

2 months ago: Cincinnati Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis breaks into a smile after the Bengals scored against the Houston Texans in the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 18, 2009, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/David Kohl)

Browse more photos »

Carson Palmer is calling Sunday a must-win. Hasn't it seemed like we've called every Bengals game a must-win this year? Beating Denver was a must-win to prevent another eight-game losing streak out of the gate like last season. We've called Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Baltimore must-wins for their division implications. Now, we're calling the Bears a must-win. And this could be the best example of that.

If the Bengals beat the Bears Sunday, Cincinnati heads into the bye week with a 5-2 record, regaining some momentum, still controlling their own destiny. After that, the Bengals host Baltimore and travel to Pittsburgh in back-to-back weeks. If, and that's always a big if, Cincinnati wins the next three games, they control their own destiny. After that three-game stretch, the Bengals play the Raiders, Browns and Lions. Now, we're 10-2 with the Vikings, Chargers, Chiefs and Jets to close out the season. So maybe the Bears isn't just a must-win. Maybe the Bears is the first of three-straight must-win games if the Bengals are going to make a championship run.

On the other hand, if the Bengals lose Sunday, they head into the bye week with a 4-3 record, a two-game losing streak, no momentum with games against the Ravens and Steelers on tap. Now, suggesting that the Bengals will win the next three, I believe, is a bit hopeful. The Steelers and Ravens, looking to take control of the division, will make it very hard on the Bengals. With that thought in mind, the Bengals beating the Bears could be the difference between having a winning record and a losing record by November 16. And realistically, if the Bengals are going to survive the rest of the season, they need to be assured of a winning record in case Baltimore and Pittsburgh have their revenge.

Furthermore, the Bengals can't go into the bye week on a two-game losing streak and no momentum. So is Sunday a must-win? I think so. If we were in any other division, I think the urgency is reduced a tad. But we know what the Steelers and Ravens can do and the Bengals will have to do everything they can to keep themselves from falling too quickly by two teams that could easily win out their games in which they're not facing each other -- which we've seen both teams do before.

We've heard the expression before by teams that make incredible runs to the playoffs and I believe it applies right now. The Cincinnati Bengals playoffs starts this Sunday and a loss could mean elimination.

Defensive line injuries could take a toll. Will they step up? Even though Domata Peko didn't practice on Wednesday and Thursday, it appears that the team's best defensive tackle will go on Sunday after fully participating during Friday's practice. Surprisingly he's listed as probable.

“Right now it’s feeling great,” Peko said. “I’m excited. I want to get out there and be with my dudes against Chicago but if it ain’t right I’m not going to go.”

This is great news at a time when the Bengals defensive line suddenly felt short-handed earlier this week. We lost Antwan Odom. Tank Johnson had missed two straight against Cleveland and Baltimore before returning against the Texans recording a season-high four tackles and a quarterback sack. Pat Sims was listed on the injury report this week with a bicept injury; he's also probable. What's worse is that due to illness, Jonathan Fanene missed practice on Thursday and Friday. Fanene, who's listed as questionable, could be giving way for rookie Michael Johnson. The Bengals also needed depth. After Odom went onto injured reserve, Cincinnati signed Orien Harris back.

With all the injuries and illnesses on the defensive line, guys like Robert Geathers, Michael Johnson, Tank Johnson and Pat Sims will have to step up.

They're calling it Benson Bowl. The local media is calling it "Benson Bowl." Benson isn't thinking of revenge, but he's motivated. Since joining the Cincinnati Bengals, Benson has found happiness. He feels accepted and says that his "Dreams are coming true." Benson also claims that the Bears were "blackballing" him when the Bears organization, from Benson's point of view, screwed him over.

"Even the Bengals told me all the things, that they would call and inquire about me and get nothing but negative things. Just that I didn't work hard, that I was I guess a prima donna or I didn't work hard on the field, just wasn't focused, just anything negative that they could say, it was said. I'm sure that contributed largely to me not getting picked up right away."

I like Benson a lot. He's a hard worker and gives the Bengals the best running back they've had since Rudi Johnson's prime. The Cedric Benson in Cincinnati isn't the same Cedric Benson in Chicago. However, you have to wonder why Benson is going off about what the Bears may or may have not done to Benson. Even though he probably felt insulted, I believe Benson should take some responsibility for what happened in Chicago. The off-the-field issues were a result of his own actions, not the Bears. From my understanding, Benson didn't like sitting behind Thomas Jones and older reports suggested that Benson made things just as tense in the lockerroom as others made it tense for him. So I'm not so sure if Benson is totally blameless about what happened in Chicago. But in truth, whatever actually happened while he was with the Bears, is meaningless now.

What does matter is that the Bengals need Benson to rebound after his season-low 44 yards rushing last week. And just for fun, here's our post on the day Benson was signed in 2008. Re-read some of your comments and tell me how he's changed minds.

Just how far away is Coffman from playing? Indirectly, Chase Coffman became a leading discussion. After back-to-back weeks of watching tight ends drop passes and fumble the football, the Bengals rookie tight end is still inactive. It will be telling if this week Coffman makes his debut, or if the Bengals are still refusing to reduce Daniel Coats' playing time. J.P. Foschi hasn't been bad, but he's not the tight end that the Bengals need. It's clear that the offensive philosophy was to use the tight ends more this year in the passing game, but it's not working out. Two fumbles by tight ends against Houston was one of several explanations to the Bengals loss. The dropped passes are ridiculous.

Why isn't he playing? What we hear is that Coffman isn't ready. He doesn't play special teams well and he's still struggling to become an NFL Tight End after a college career where he played more like a wide receiver.

Maybe Coffman will become something special in the Bengals offense. Time will only tell. The problem is that the Bengals are one game away from either fighting for the division after the bye week, or sinking. If the Bengals beat the Bears Sunday, they'll once again fight Baltimore and Pittsburgh for division supremacy. If the Bengals lose to the Bears, they run the risk of going 4-5 (quickly) if they don't beat Baltimore and Pittsburgh, which would end their chances of controlling their own destiny.

Of course, Coffman isn't the reason for all of that. But the Bengals desperately need better tight end play than what we saw the last two weeks if they're going to keep making a run.

And apparently the Bengals view it that way. It was reported earlier in the week that the Bengals attempted to trade for Dallas Cowboys tight end Martellus Bennett, which Dallas declined. Bennett isn't the type of tight end to fill the gap until Coffman is ready. He's the type of tight end that could become the future, which left the question, what about Coffman?

The Return of the Giant. Andre Smith's return, or actually making a debut, is happening. This week, Smith practiced on Wednesday, though it was only non-contact drills. On Thursday, Smith practiced limitedly, but had contact. On Friday, Smith practiced fully. Furthermore, Smith claims he dropped his weight to 330 pounds and most observers are saying he's "noticeably lighter."

All indications are, while still out this week against the Bears, that Smith will make his debut against the Baltimore Ravens on November 8 after the bye week. Unless Dennis Roland and Anthony Collins utterly fail against the Chicago Bears, it's unlikely that Smith starts against the Ravens. Knowing how the coaching staff has worked in the past, it seems more likely they'll ease Smith in during running downs in big packages, lining up at tight end, or weak-side tackle on big formations.

Something else needs to be observed here. When the Bengals rush the football to the right, they are actually one of the worst rushing offenses in the league. The following is a chart of the team's directional report on rushing plays by NFL Game Statistics and Information System.

	LE	LT	LG	Center	RG	RT	RE
Avg. Gain	6.0	5.17	7.0	3.86	2.39	3.3	3.14
NFL Rank	11	10	3	18	27	24	28

Is there where we prove something? I've always agreed that Bengals offensive coordinator makes questionable calls. However, I always say that the players need to perform first and foremost. Last week was an example of an offense that lacked focus. Now, I'm going to make some people happy; or at least give them direction in their complaints.

As you saw in the chart above, the Bengals are clearly a better rushing offense to the left between Andrew Whitworth and the combination of Nate Livings and Evan Mathis at left guard. The issue here is that the Bengals are rushing the football outside the right guard more than rushing between the strength of their offensive line on the left. The next chart is broken down to three directions. Up the middle, which is between the two guards. And outside both guards on the left and right.

Dir.	Left (outside LG)	Between LG and RG	Right (outside RG)
Plays	41	61	53
Yards	226	250	171
Avg.	5.5	4.1	3.2
Note: Six rushing plays are unaccounted for.