SB Nation - Bobbie Williams

Six-Pack of Hu-Dey: Manageable third downs and cutting out penalties and this offense will flourish

Kirkendall — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 21:46:29 -0000

I rode into work Wednesday on the butchered stretch of I-75 when it hit me, I haven't started this week's Six-Pack of Hu-Dey. Actually, I didn't even conjure up topics. So I busted chops, caused synovial fluid cavitation in my fingers, drank a cappuccino and did what I do best. Wing it. This week we take a look at the Bengals offense. No, no, we're not ripping them. We looked at penalties against the Vikings that stalled the offense, long third down situations, Laveranues Coles (lack of) contributions, the offensive line, Jerome Simpson's chance to play, and why it might be a good idea to open up the passing offense against the Chargers.

So, you know. Read on.

Bengals can't put themselves in third and long against the Chargers. Cincinnati's biggest struggle wasn't necessarily the passing game against the Minnesota Vikings. It was the penalties. It was the 57% third down conversions by the Vikings. It was a lot of things. But consider this for a minute.

Of the 14 third downs that the Bengals faced, seven of them were with nine yards or more to go. The Bengals converted one.

During the Cincinnati's ~~first~~ only touchdown drive, the Bengals moved the ball largely because of the successes on first and second down. With 7:58 left in the first half, Cedric Benson took a second-and-ten hand off and picked up seven yards off the left edge setting up an easy third-down conversion that was picked up after Andre Caldwell's seven-yard reception. With 5:30 left, Benson picked up another seven yards on first-and-ten, eventually setting up third-and-three that was converted after a five-yard reception by Caldwell. On the next play, Palmer hit Chad on a 15-yard pass for a touchdown.

This offensive line isn't designed to give Palmer a pocket for too long. And when you face third and long, you need good protection for deeper routes to develop.

Have to reduce drive-stalling penalties on offense. The biggest culprit to the offense's showing against the Vikings were penalties, penalties, penalties. On third-and-ten at their own 37-yard line in the first quarter, Bobbie Williams was flagged for a false start, pushing the offense back to third-and-15. Palmer was sacked and the Bengals punted. Still in the first quarter, third-and-nine at their own 31-yard line, Chad Ochocinco false starts putting the offense in third-and-14. Dump off pass to Brian Leonard for no-gain. Punt.

With 11:05 left in the game, Evan Mathis is called for holding which eventually set up a third-and-18 scenario. Palmer completed a 10-yard pass to J.P. Foschi and the Bengals punt. During the J.T. O'Sullivan led offense, the Bengals were called for 12-men on the field. No first downs. Punt. On possessions the Bengals didn't commit a penalty, the offense picked up third downs and moved the football -- even scoring points.

If the Bengals can stop committing penalties termed "mental mistakes", this offense can sustain drives, putting themselves into position to score. Also consider, the Bengals most complete game of the season against Chicago saw Cincinnati committing three penalties for 20 yards lost -- only one flag on offense.

Side-by-side comparison of penalties committed per game by the Bengals and teams they've faced. In parenthesis are yards lost to penalty.
Week	Opponent	Result	Bengals	Opponent
1	Denver	L, 7-12	4 (27)	6 (39)
2	Green Bay	W 31-24	13 (100)	11 (76)
3	Pittsburgh	W, 23-20	4 (30)	5 (51)
4	Cleveland	W, 23-20	6 (46)	5 (44)
5	Baltimore	W, 17-14	7 (39)	10 (76)
6	Houston	L, 17-28	4 (45)	7 (60)
7	Chicago	W, 45-10	3 (20)	6 (44)
9	Baltimore	W, 17-7	6 (40)	7 (80)
10	Pittsburgh	W, 18-12	7 (87)	5 (50)
11	Oakland	L, 17-20	8 (59)	3 (13)
12	Cleveland	W, 16-7	10 (75)	4 (30)
13	Detroit	W, 23-13	9 (75)	7 (45)
14	Minnesota	L, 10-30	11 (85)	9 (69)

Bengals should consider replacing Laveranues Coles in the starting lineup. Bengals starting wide receiver Laveranues Coles committed an offensive pass interference with 13:00 left in the first quarter (it was declined) against the Minnesota Vikings. Then he disappeared. NFL's Gamebook lists the number of times Palmer target Coles as "0". At first, it seemed that Coles was getting into the groove of things; between November 8 (Baltimore) and November 22 (Oakland), Coles caught 13 passes for 200 yards receiving -- by far, his best three-game stretch of the season. In his past three games, he's caught four passes for 49 yards receiving.

Week	Opponent	Target	Catches	Yards	Touchdowns
14	Minnesota	0	0	0	0
13	Detroit	4	2	25	0
12	Cleveland	9	2	24	0

For the season, Coles has caught 50.8% of the passes thrown to him with two games in which he was completely shutout (Baltimore part 1 and Minnesota).

Would it be a stretch to say that perhaps the Bengals should consider replacing Coles in the starting line up?

Bengals should consider opening the passing game up early against the Chargers. There's rumblings that the Bengals might try to open the passing game against the San Diego Chargers this week. If there's a week that the Cincinnati Bengals wanted to prove that they have a potent passing attack, why not this week? We're not too opposed to experimenting with new things during ultra-critical games or anything. It changes the pace. Breaks routine and predictability. Furthermore, the Chargers sport the league's 21st rushing defense and their rushing offense is 31st in the league. Both are ideal matchups for what the Bengals have done all season.

So if the Bengals elect to go happy-pass offense, they could do that early, reverting to what's worked all season if happy-passing offense falls flat on its back and still have a chance to win.

But there is one concern when conjecturing this possibility. San Diego scores a lot of points and they generate big passing plays. If the Bengals defense can't stall the Chargers offense early this Sunday, then the Bengals may have no choice but to open up the passing game -- this time, not by choice. What's the old phrase? Force them to play your game?

Will Jerome Simpson finally make his season debut against the Chargers? There's more than a good chance that Jerome Simpson will get on the field Sunday, apparently. Geoff Hobson writes very matter of fact:

With the Bengals now down to five receivers, it should mean that Jerome Simpson is going to be active for the first time this season Sunday in San Diego.

Simpson hasn't been active through the first 13 games this season. He was active in eight games in 2008, playing in six , catching one pass for two yards. And if I recall correctly, that reception was made against Pittsburgh and he was hurt on that play. The debate between Simpson and DeSean Jackson has been of the rage from some; Jackson was still available when the Bengals drafted Simpson. I hope Simpson absolutely blows us away so that debate will shut down -- oh, and plus it would be awesome if he did anyway.

Below is a maddening fiery of Tweets by Lance McAlister (note that the world of tweets forces one to use unorthodox abbreviations).

From Marvin Lewis "he's got a chance to give us a shot in arm" | "he's got to contribute on sp teams and blocking" | "he's had an urgency of details in his practice habits...with us trying to rest chad and l.c." | "his athletisim and seed is limitless"."it all must be channeled in right direction"

From Carson Palmer: "i'm not sure of timeline to get him on field, hopefully its sun. He's a vertical threat like andre" | "he's come along way, didn't know a ton of fb when he got here, he'd just played" (translated: He's come a long way, didn't know a ton of football when he got here).

However, Joe Reedy tweets that the coaches "want to see how Jerome Simpson does in practice this week before making the final decision to make him active on game day".

Based on performance, this offensive line is better than league average... sometimes. So I had a really tough time coming up with a sixth topic. Trust me, this stuff isn't easy (note: if you have a subject for the Six-Pack of Hu-Dey email me). But I really wanted to focus on the offensive line for an offensive-only (or is it only offensive?) Six-Pack. Instead of coming up with a topic and ranting, I decided to do something else. Throw something against the wall and hope that something sticks.

Cincinnati's offensive line is ranked 9th in the league, allowing 23 quarterback sacks. Furthermore, Palmer has only been hit 50 times this year, which is also within the top ten of least amount of times the quarterback has been hit. Cincinnati's offensive line -- notably Andrew Whitworth and the flavor of the week at left guard -- has opened up enough room for running backs to pick up 10 yards or more on the left side, 26 times (second in the league). All of this incorporating one of the league's most inexperienced offensive lines this year -- combined, the Bengals have 201 career starts on the line -- 26 teams have more combined starts.

However, as good as they've performed -- and let's face facts, their body of work over the course of the season has been tremendous -- they've also struggled. On 430 rushing plays, 41 have gone for negative yards -- only three teams have more negative yardage rushing plays. On the other hand, the Bengals are one of the best teams on short-yardage to-go distances, converting 78% of their runs to the left, 70% up the middle and 79% to the right -- all three are inside the top ten in the NFL.

Football Outsiders ranks the offensive line as the league's 10th best, with an adjusted sack rate of 5.6%. Since I don't automatically assume you know what Adjusted Sack Rate means, here's the explanation from Football Outsiders. And another if you're quest for knowledge is epic.

Teams are ranked according to adjusted sack rate, which gives sacks (plus intentional grounding penalties) per pass attempt adjusted for down, distance, and opponent. Pass blocking stats are explained further here. Our sack totals may differ slightly from official NFL totals depending on the league's retroactive statistical adjustments.

What's more surprising is the team's Adjust Line Yards of 4.04, which is ranked 18th. So technically, Football Outsiders ranks the Bengals pass protection better than their run blocking. I'll let that sink in for a moment while you guys think to yourself, "BULL CRAP."

I agree that the offensive line has appeared to struggle in recent weeks. But they only allowed one sack to the league's best pass rushing defense (Minnesota) and are still the league's sixth best rushing offense. They still deserve a huge bulk of the credit for this season's successes.

Five Good Questions with Cincy Jungle

Gonzo — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 14:58:28 -0000

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the moment you've all been waiting for. . .the return of Five Good Questions! (We had actually set something like this up with the folks at Revenge of the Birds this past weekend, but real life kept interfering and prevented it from taking place.) However, this week I got to exchange some questions with Josh Kirkendall, the head man over at SBNation's Cincinnati Bengals' blog, Cincy Jungle. I know there's already an "Ask a Norseman" FanPost over there, courtesy of Grime (thank you very much), but I had a chance to exchange a few questions with CJ as well.

So, here are the questions I sent Josh's way. . .and the questions that Josh sent me for answering are now available right here. And away we go!

1) The Bengals have been one of the NFL’s surprise teams this season. Going into the season, did you think that the team had this sort of potential, and what part of the team has been the biggest surprise to you?

This is always a tough question, not because I don’t know the answer; rather there are so many variables that combined into making this team the most improved through 12 games in NFL history. But the biggest surprise has been the Bengals offensive line. Bobbie Williams was the only returning starting lineman that played the same position he played in 2008. Two starters were undrafted free agents a few years back and were molded while on the team’s practice squad. A third undrafted free agent, Dennis Roland, rotates with Anthony Collins and Andre Smith at right tackle as well as plays tight end during jumbo formations where the Bengals sometimes have four offensive tackles on the line

With so many changes, you wouldn’t expect the Bengals to have a rushing offense with three running backs who have combined for seven 100-yard rushing games and in the top-ten for least amount of quarterback sacks allowed. Bar far, the improved offensive line has gone a long way to from taking a last ranked offense in 2008 to one of consistency and stability in 2009.

2) You can’t talk about the Bengals without talking about Chad Ochocinco, who has already declared that when (not if) he scores this week, he’s going to get the Vikings’ mascot involved in the celebration. As a Bengal fan, what do you think of Eight Five’s antics and how does the fan base at large feel about them?

Bengals fans have a give and take relationship with Chad. Most of us just laugh and move on. Nothing he’s done this year has negatively impacted the Bengals and most players in this league realize that Chad is a jokester. As a fan, I stopped taking his antics seriously long ago and found myself enjoying them more than anything; he’s a far better player when he’s having fun and honestly, if he scores touchdowns, I don’t care what he does. Yea, it would be nice if he confirmed to the old school frame of mind. But that’s not the reality. So you take what you can and when he scores touchdowns, you just let his other antics be. Compared to other players whose antics involve the law, Chad’s are trivial at best.

3) Ever since blowing out the Bears and going on their bye week, the Bengal offense has appeared to be a bit out of sorts. What do you chalk this up to, and what do you think they’ll try to do against the Vikings to get the offense back on the right track?

Offensively, they’ve moved the football. Cincinnati’s offense has recorded 300 yards or more of offense in five of their past six games. But obviously, yardage isn’t translating to points. The red zone production is clearly down. Since scoring six touchdowns in seven red zone appearances against the Bears, the Bengals have scored five touchdowns in 16 red zone appearances in the five games since.

I think a lot of that has to do with broken pass protection schemes. I said earlier the unit that’s surprised me the most is the Bengals offensive line. However, they’ve struggled as of late giving Palmer a padded pocket. As a result, Palmer is being hit as, or after, he throws the football, often causing him to rush his throws or to just leave the pocket altogether.

Cincinnati is moving the football just fine, but we haven’t finished drives. And they could be looking to do that this weekend against the Vikings. Against a defense strong against the rush, the Bengals could gameplan an offense that stretches the field. However, we thought that against the Lions, Browns and Raiders and Palmer is still on a streak of not throwing for 300 yards or more in 16 straight games.

4) Who is a member of the Bengals that most Viking fans probably haven’t heard of that will have an impact on the outcome of this Sunday’s game?

Jonathan Fanene. He’s a defensive end that rotates some as a defensive tackle during third-and-long situations. He’s the guy that replaced Antwan Odom earlier in the year as one of the primary pass rushers. He only has five sacks, but one hell of a motor. Last week, rookie Michael Johnson tipped a Matthew Stafford pass at the line of scrimmage that fell into Fanene’s hands, scoring a touchdown. I would also keep your eye on rookie punter Kevin Huber. He can turn the field position game with just one kick from nearly anywhere on the field.

5) What are the keys for the Bengals this Sunday, and how do you see this game playing out?

It would seem to me that both teams have a point to make Sunday. After 12 games, the Bengals have only beaten one team that a winning record at this point (the Packers). Cincinnati needs to see how they stack up against one of the best teams in the NFL. The Vikings, it would seem to me, are in a similar boat, after losing by 13 to the Cardinals.

With both teams sporting a good rushing offense and a great rushing defense, this game is going to end with bloody noses. This is going to be a physical game, and that’s the way that Cincinnati needs it to go to beat the Vikings.

Thanks to Josh for taking the time to answer these questions. We'll have more as the day goes by, so stay tuned!

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

22 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)

Browse more photos »

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

More photos » by Ed Reinke - AP

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Coats' mistake scorecard.
Drops: 1
Fumble: 1

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sage advice from Mo Egger for new/returning Bengals bandwagon fans:

A Pragmatic Bengals Fan — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 13:37:20 -0000

This is just brilliant satire from our friend Mo Egger's blog over at The Homer. You'll see it was posted a couple of days ago due to the fact that he refers to Brad St. Louis as a current Bengal, but I'll parenthetically repair that. With Mo's permission I lovingly repost this piece that gave me more than one belly laugh yesterday when I read it. Hit the jump to read one of the best things I've read in a while.

-This week, and for a while until the team falters, the number of Bengals bandwagon fans you'll see will increase. I like bandwagon fans. The more people that want to talk about my favorite team, watch games, tailgate, the better. To an extent, we're all bandwagon fans. Your interest in a team or sport ebbs and flows depending on the success of whom your rooting for.

So if you're a bandwagon fan, new to the 2009 Bengals, welcome. We're glad to have you and we hope you're here for a while, though we know we're just a loss or two away from seeing you leave our lives for a while. Let's enjoy the time we do have. Let's go through a couple of things....

First, let's get rid of that "2005 AFC North Champions" shirt. You need some new gear. That shirt isn't gonna help you blend in. It's been four years, and besides, a team from the Bengals' division won the title that year. Keep it as a keepsake if you must, but don't wear it.

Same for the lame "Two Johnsons and one big Willie" shirt you bought about four years ago. There's a Johnson still on the team, his name is Brandon. Rudi's gone, his effectiveness slipping probably around the time you checked out, sometime late in 2006, injured in '07, cut before last year. He's looking for a job. Chad is still here, but he doesn't go by "Johnson" anymore. He's "OchoCinco" now. And Willie's gone too, blown out before last season. Bobbie Williams, who was actually here when you last wore the orange and black, is the wise-old one on the offensive line.

Actually a lot of players you loved when you were last a fan are gone. Justin Smith has moved on. So has Landon Johnson, Levi Jones, Chris Perry, Madieu Williams, and Eric Steinbach, just to name a few.

Carson is still the quarterback, though he's just now rounding back into form after missing most of last year, when you were wondering why people still went to games and figuring out ways to scalp some Colts tickets.

Remember how much fun you had saying "Houshmandzadeh?" Yeah well, he's not here either. The fun name to say is "Maualuga." (MAH-WUH-LOO-GA)

The crazy hair guy is Domata Peko. Defensive line. Where John Thornton used to play. Shayne Graham is still on the team. He hangs out at 2009's place for the pretentious, Bootsy's. Speaking of Bootsy's, he's so 2005. Crack Sauce is the new Bootsy.

Oh yeah, and speaking of pretentious, Paul Brown Stadium still has luxury suites, football domain of the pretentious and bandwagon jumpers alike. I'm sure if you find your way to PBS, you'll be bee-lining the suites. Give the other a-holes my best. Ask how many people had to be laid off the retain it and how many of their company's lower-salaried workers get to enjoy it.

Also, when you last left us, our men were running up quite the arrest tally. Most of those fellows involved aren't here anymore. Odell Thurman has moved on the something called the UFL (I'd explain that concept, but your head would explode). What may surprise you is that Chris Henry is still here, and believe it or not, acting every bit the model citizen.

Marvin Lewis is still the coach. Mike Brown is still the owner. You won't understand why most of us still can't stand him despite the team's record. Perhaps you do your shopping in Butler County.

Let's see, who else might you be looking for? David Pollack? Neck injury forced him to retire. Sam Adams? Biggest free agent bust in team history, though he was possibly a worse owner than nose tackle. Owned a team called the Jungle Kats that played Arena Football. Actually, he might've been a worse owner than Mike Brown. Torry James is gone too. Replaced by Leon Hall. He and Jonathan Joseph are forming quite the duo in the defensive backfield. Cedric Benson is the new Rudi, wearing number 32. He's doing quite well. However, screams of "Ceeeed" are not repalcing "Ruuuuudi." Just yell "go!" when he carries it. There's also this newcomer named Andre Caldwell...he's been money late in games, caught the game-winning TD passes against both Baltimore and Pittsburgh, which since you might have been rooting for the Steelers at the time, is probably something you remember.

Brad St. Louis is now the object of our frustration. He's the long snapper. (Note from Craig, here's the reference to St. Louis I wrote about earlier. When this was posted two whole days ago he was still a Bengal.) Actually he was the long snapper when you were last with us, but you didn't know who he was because no one knows who the long snapper is if he's good, which he is not. You'll hear some grumbling about a guy named Andre Smith too. He was the Bengals' first round pick this year. He weighs as much as your Prius.

Anyway, welcome back to the bandwagon. It's great to have you. Throw on your new Bengals t-shirt (iron out the folds) or your Maualuga jersey and settle in for the season. At least until they lose two in a row.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

WIDE RECEIVERS

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

* Stats by Football Outsiders

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

So, how did Sunday's game shake out?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Momentum. The Bengals have gobs and gobs of it.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Previewing Cincinnati's Visit To Lambeau

Mitchell_M — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 19:28:19 -0000

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It may have been ugly, but our beloved Packers started off the season the right way with a thrilling comeback against Chicago, 21-15. Whether you classify it as two great defensive performances or two awful offensive ones, the only important thing is that Green Bay is 1-0 in the division and tied with Minnesota for the NFC North.

This week, Green Bay has a significantly less imposing challenge in the Cincinnati Bengals. Do not take this statement as a sign of arrogance, because Cincinnati is still a dangerous team with weapons on offense and talented defenders; dangerous enough to exploit the weaknesses Green Bay exhibited on Sunday night.

Cincinnati is 0-1 after losing on a comically fluky 87 yard TD from Kyle Orton to ~~Brandon Marshall~~ ~~Leon Hall~~ Brandon Stokely. They kept Denver in check for most of the game, and Carson Palmer guided the offense on a 11-play drive ending with Cedric Benson scoring the go-ahead TD with 38 seconds left. They were one ill-tipped pass away from winning, and I'd bet they feel that they have something to prove this week.

While they still have players with character issues, terrible luck, and their less-than-stellar reputation to shake off, these Bengals are no pushovers. Let's look at the main matchups for Week 2.

CIN rushing vs. GB defense: Cedric Benson is infamous for two things: vastly underperforming his fourth-overall draft status, and the second-most notorious boating incident in the NFC North's recent history. But all that aside, he is starting out on a tenuous path to redemption with the Bengals. After coming away from his legal troubles unscathed, the Bengals signed him in Week 5 of 2008 after DeDe Dorsey went on I.R. He was eventually promoted to starter, and helped propel the Bengals to a 3-0 finish behind his 423 all-purpose yards. Benson continued to display promise against Denver with 108 all-purpose yards and a 1-yard score.

At 5'11", 225 lbs, Benson uses his size to push his way through running lanes. He is also agile enough to prevent defenders from getting a clean look at him. His speed is above-average at best, but he's refined enough between the tackles to eat up yards at a respectable pace. Backing up Benson is Brian Leonard, a former draftee of St. Louis (and a proud Rutgers product). Leonard is not as strong as Benson, but he is by far a better athlete.

Up front, Cincinnati boasts a starting line comprised of players that I have never heard of (from left to right: Anthony Collins, 6'5", 315; Bobbie Williams, 6'4", 345; Kyle Cook, 6'3", 312; Evan Mathis, 6'5", 295; Andrew Whitworth, 6'7", 335). Whitworth and Williams are the unit's best players; the other three have very little scouting information at all. However, a minor X-factor here is the recent reactivation of rookie Andre Smith, who I assure you I have never heard of. Ever. Period. Will he play after holding out for most of training camp, promptly breaking his foot after signing the deal, and getting added to the roster today? I doubt it; his conditioning is nowhere near where it should be.

As for Green Bay's defense, we got a good look at what the 3-4 can do to corrall a well above-average RB like Matt Forte (55 yards on 25 carries). Green Bay only gave up 86 yards rushing as a whole, including 5 stops behind the line. While they certainly won't maintain the outstanding 2.8 ypc allowed all season, the run defense seems to be off to a good start. Johnny Jolly, Cullen Jenkins, and Ryan Pickett were constantly disrupting the offensive line, the linebacker rotation worked like a charm, and B.J. Raji should be able to play at least a dozen snaps.

Advantage: Green Bay. There's simply too many ways for the Packers to plug running lanes against Cincinnati's lackluster offensive line.

CIN passing vs. GB defense: Carson Palmer really hasn't been the same ever since Kimo von Oelhoffen accidentally shredded his knee in 2005. While he made a full recovery and has been starting since 2006, his mobility (which was already suspect) took a nosedive. If he gets time in the pocket, Palmer can make any throw to any receiver at any time. He is outstanding at reading coverages, going through progressions, looking off safeties, and following through on throws. But the minute the pocket collapses, Palmer gets himself into trouble. This was evident in the Denver game, as Palmer was sacked 3 times, losing 26 yards, and threw two interceptions in the game. He managed to pull the team together for what could have been a winning drive, showing that he certainly has the ability to get it done. But if he doesn't look like the second coming of Drew Bledsoe, I don't know what does.

At receiver, the Bengals took a hit when T.J. Houshmandzadeh chased the money all the way to Seattle. They replaced him with the slightly underrated Laveranues Coles, and they still have Chris Henry and Chad ~~Johnson~~ Ochocinco. They also added Chase Coffman in the draft, who will be a decent receiving option at TE. Cedric Benson is able to create out of the backfield as well.

The Green Bay pass rush made life hell for Jay Cutler, forcing 4 interceptions, several more incompletions, 2 sacks, and 9 QB hits. However, Cutler was still able to find Earl Bennett, Desmond Clark, and Devin Hester for some nice completions (including Hester's TD). If Nick Collins is struggling with injury, as he was for a few series, the defense immediately becomes more passive and conservative in its playcalling. Thankfully, Collins was afflicted with cramps, which should not persist. Atari Bigby has a slightly more serious issue to deal with, but he's not exactly an adept coverage safety.

Advantage: Push. Green Bay has the talent to shut down opposing offenses, but Carson Palmer is just too good and has too many options. If the Bengals' offensive line falters, then this swings in Green Bay's favor by a wide margin.

GB rushing vs. CIN defense: On the one hand, Ryan Grant is healthy, the offensive line has a group of five established starters, and the oft-ineffective zone blocking scheme has been scaled back in favor of a more useful man-up scheme. While they certainly didn't blow anyone away with their run game, Grant exceeded my expectations with 61 yards on 16 carries, including a few 10+ yarders (one of which was called back by holding). Allen Barbre, for all his pass blocking struggles, actually shines as a run blocker, and the decision to start Jason Spitz over Scott Wells has proved to give the team more pop between the tackles.

On the other hand, the Cincinnati defense kept the Denver Broncos (usually a great running team) to 75 yards with no attempt going for more than 14 yards. The recent additions of Rey Maualuga and Roy Williams, combined with Keith Rivers' return from injury, have turned the Bengal defense into much more than just a paper tiger (lol, pun). Granted, the main reason the Broncos were so inept at rushing the ball was because Cincinnati was stacking 8 men in the box all day long, and Kyle Orton's deep ball is so erratic he literally needs help from opposing cornerbacks to complete a long throw.

Advantage: Push. If Cincinnati puts 8 men in the box, then they'll keep Green Bay under 100 yards rushing. But that would probably be a stupid thing to do, because...

GB passing vs. CIN defense: Leon Hall and Jonathan Joseph are good coverage corners. Not great, but good. Chris Crocker is solid if unspectacular in pass coverage. But there's a weak link in the Bengals' secondary. A huge weak link. Two words: Roy. Williams. Roy L. Williams, to be exact, but the only thing the middle initial does is differentiate him from Roy E. Williams, because it sure doesn't help him cover receivers.

Don't get me wrong, Williams is excellent in run support. Even Troy Polamalu isn't as adept at breaking through blocks and making tackles near or behind the line of scrimmage. But he's awful in pass coverage. How bad? He needs to regularly be subbed out for Chinedum Ndukwe on passing downs. He reportedly lost nearly 25 pounds in the offseason to help improve his speed and quickness, but I don't think any amount of weight loss can make up for the massive amount of suck that has cursed Williams ever since he came into the league. I cannot wait for one of our receivers to be matched up with him on a deep route.

Their pass rush is better than advertised. Antwan Odom managed 2 sacks on Kyle Orton, with Jonathan Fanene adding another. This group isn't well known for their pressure, but they're not exactly starved for talent either; Tank Johnson and Dhani Jones are both effective at getting to the quarterback. It helps that they drafted Michael Johnson in the third round, a DE out of ~~Texas~~ Georgia Tech that Brandon may have been pining for with Green Bay's second round pick.

Green Bay struggled mightily with Chicago's pass rush, which kept them from getting anything going in the passing game until the end of the fourth quarter. Four sacks and several additional hits kept Aaron Rodgers out of his rhythm, and both Donald Driver and Jordy Nelson were struggling with drops. However, Rodgers was able to avoid any costly mistakes (discounting the safety, which was partly his fault) and showed off decent escapability when he had an opening. He made the throws he needed to make, and it came together at the end. I expect his deep ball to be much improved by Sunday.

Advantage: Green Bay. Antwan Odom is no Adewale Ogunleye, and Rodgers and company (should have) learned from his struggles against Chicago. If Cincinnati tries to stack 8 in the box, expect Rodgers' deep ball to be much better calibrated than in the opener.

Preliminary verdict: I'm not one for predictions, so I won't waste your time with picking a winner and an arbitrary final score. I can say that Green Bay matches up very well with the Bengals and, if they can force Carson Palmer into mistakes (a tall order), contain Chad Ochocinco and Cedric Benson (a slightly shorter order), and take advantage of openings in the defense (a much more reasonable expectation), the Packers are in good shape to take the win.

Poll

What outcome do you see for Week 2 vs. Cincinnatti?

Big GB win.

954 votes

Close GB win.

373 votes

Too close to call.

20 votes

Close CIN win.

102 votes

Big CIN win.

47 votes

Ochocinco will pull a stunt.

67 votes

1563 votes | Poll has closed