What I did like
Not a
whole lot to like when your team loses by 31 points on national television, but
there were a few things that stuck out:
BenJarvis Green Ellis
91 yds on 18 carries and a touchdown. Those are pretty good
numbers by themselves. What is more impressive was the way he got his yards.
Remember how successful Cedric Benson was on 3rd and 4th
and short? Yeah, neither do I. BGJE was the opposite last night. He was getting
tough yards against a really good and physical defense. The guy was running
angry, something we haven’t seen on a consistent basis since Corey Dillon.
Andrew Hawkins
This guy was a great addition last year and a guy I think was
greatly underutilized. It appears that in the offseason Jay Gruden realized
there is a place in this offense for an extremely fast, quick and elusive
receiver. Who knew? It seemed like anytime the ball got in his hands, it was an
automatic 5+ yards.
Offensive Line
Were they great? No. But, this is more based on circumstances and
expectations. When playing in Baltimore, with a rookie RG, a first year LG and
a C that has been with the team just a week, no false starts and 4 sacks on 41
drop backs is not terrible, especially when you are behind and the defense
knows you have pass. Also, the run blocking was impressive. BJGE carved up the
Baltimore defense for 91 yds on 18 carries (5.1 ypc), that ain’t bad, no matter
what the circumstances.
What I did not like
Where to
start? In no particular order:
Leon Hall
Provided nothing to the defense…though he provided plenty to the Baltimore
offense! I don’t know if his achilles is still bothering him, but he was
repeatedly picked on, and repeatedly beat. Leon Hall has now been in the league
for 6 years, he is highly regarded as a good CB, yet the idea of turning around
to find the ball in the air seems like a foreign concept to him. What I believe
to be the nail in the coffin, was the TD to Pitta. Hall, the Bengals supposed “best
corner”, was matched up with Baltimore’s second TE and got beat. With Pitta
turned, staring at the ball coming in, Hall, who could have made a play on the
ball, never once turned. He also dropped an INT that Flacco gift wrapped to him
and had a crucial pass interference called on him - though replay shows it was
a terrible call, we aren’t going to cut any slack to Hall on this night.
Taylor Mays
Not much else to say about that. There is a reason San Francisco was willing
to part with him…the same reason Jeromy Miles replaced him late in the game.
Rey Maualuga
When the Bengals drafted him in the second round of the 2009 draft, I thought
they had gotten a steal. What they got was a LB that 32 other teams did not
want. In 46 career games, he has amassed a total of 6 forced fumbles, 3
interceptions, 231 tackles, and 2 sacks…the same amount of times he has been
arrested. Other than the 2 arrests in 3+ years, those are pretty pedestrian
stats at best for a linebacker. Last night Maualuga spent most of the night
doing his best Kevin Hardy impression and getting cleared out of the screen by
anyone wearing a purple shirt. On Ray Rice’s TD, Maualuga watched it from his
ass after being blown up by a Ravens OL. At this point I would rather see Dan
Skuta or Vontaze Burfict in the middle.
The Defense as a whole
The game started with a 52 yard completion to Torrey Smith (over our boy Hall) and went downhill from there. The 3 sacks and 4 QB hits are misleading. Joe Flacco seemed to have all day in the pocket and looked way to comfortable. Joe Flacco has shown in the past that he will make mistakes when pressured, the Bengals defense never rushed him to force those mistakes.Brandon Tate
As a late roster addition last year after the Patriots dropped him, he
has been the kick returner and punt returner in name only. I could care less
what his averages are, I am only concerned about his penchant to make poor
decisions regarding when and when not to field punts and take kicks out of the
end zone. Last night was a perfect example when Tate inexplicably decided to
return a kick 9 yards deep in the corner of the end zone. His decision was so
poor and surprising, his mate in the back (Peerman) didn’t even get out to
block for him. Not surprising, Tate went down short of the 10 yard line. Punt
returns should be the job of Hawkins or Adam Jones. Kick returns should be
between Peerman, Hawkins, Scott and Jones. Tate provides nothing.
Jermaine Gresham
Nice of him to show up for a couple garbage catches at the end of the
game. Gresham is one of the most frustrating Bengals of recent memory. A first
round pick at 6’5” 260 lbs, he is about the same size as Gronkowski and Graham,
yet far less productive. While some of that has to do with offensive
philosophies, it is amazing how often he disappears. Without a proven number
two WR, the Bengals need him to take pressure and coverage away from Green.
Last night he did neither.
Marvin Lewis
Hands down the worst coach in the league when it comes to managing the
game and challenging calls. Exhibit 1- May
not have mattered, but how does he not challenge the Green catch which would
have given the Bengals a first down inside the Ravens 20? While I don’t trust
these replacement refs to overturn the call, it appeared to be a catch and
appeared to be worthwhile of a challenge…he has made far worse challenges in
the past. Exhibit 2 - Coming out of the half, down 7, the Bengals drive to the
Baltimore 1 yard line. Up until this point, they weren’t in the game. All the
sudden, they have the chance to make a statement, go for it on 4th
and Goal from the one and tie it up. What do they do? Take the easy way out and
kick the FG. Game over. The Bengals never got close to scoring after.
The Refs
These guys are bad. By no means did they cost the Bengals the game…the Bengals
were able to do that on their own. However, they did not help. Blunder 1- I am
no ref, but the Boldin TD catch, by the rule, was not a catch. The rule states
that the catch must be controlled through the ground (a rule which cost the
Bengals last year in Baltimore). Replay clearly showed that Boldin did not
control the ball through the ground…well, clear to all but the guy that went
under the hood. Blunder 2 – Leon Hall’s phantom PI call. The one good play Hall
made was called PI. Replay again showed text book coverage. No hand around
body. No contact before the ball got there. While it is possible the refs did
not believe Hall to cover that well (understandable), this was a terrible call
that extended a drive which led to a TD. Blunder 3 – The “Unnecessary Roughness”
penalty called on Webb when he hit Dalton. This was laughable. Webb hit Dalton
in the only spot the rules allow (above knees and below shoulders) and while
the ball was coming out of his hands. In fact, the hit actually made the ball
come out as it did. Last I checked, hitting the guy with the football is
allowed.
There was
probably plenty more, but I don’t get paid enough to continue.
No comments:
Post a Comment