Battle of Ohio Round 1 Goes to the Bengals

What I Liked

While the Bengals had their moments, this was certainly not a pretty win or a win that built a whole lot of confidence in the fan base. But, it was a win, and a very important division win.

WRs Not Named AJ Green

Look, we know what we are going to get from AJ Green, however, coming into the season, we did not know what we would get from the other receivers. Suffice it to say, they have stepped up. Andrew Hawkins has been the most explosive weapon on the Bengals team so far and I thought Armon Binns had a very nice game yesterday. Binns made some tough catches (one on the sideline) and showed the ability to take a hit over the middle (should have been a penalty and I can’t believe he was back in afterward). And lastly (you may want to print this, as it may be the only time I compliment him), even my whipping boy from last week, Brandon Tate made a nice run and catch on Dalton’s deep ball! Still would like to see a Jermaine Gresham sighting sometime.

Andy Dalton

Dalton looked a little off in the first half and was the victim of a few early drops. He missed a few open receivers, and took a few sacks where he hung onto the ball too long. But, in the second half, the passing attack really began to click. The TD pass to Tate was placed perfectly and the TD to Hawkins was a great job by Dalton to keep his eyes downfield and find Hawkins. Rolling right and throwing against your body is normally a recipe for disaster, but Dalton executed perfectly. The receivers also helped him out with the yards after catch. Hawkins TD looked like Barry Sanders in Super Tecmo Bowl and AJ Green had a nice move on the goal line to shake his defender and walk in for the first offensive TD of the game. Dalton also orchestrated a clutch final drive which ate up nearly 5 game minutes and resulted in the final FG. All in all, Dalton had a big game with 3 TDs, 318 yds, 128.2 QBR, 77% completion. His only mistake was a poorly thrown ball at midfield which was tipped and picked. This was the type of mistake this team can’t afford, as it could have been costly because at the time, the Bengals had the game in hand, up 14 and with the ball – this led to a Cleveland TD and let Cleveland back in the game.

Adam Jones

Brandon Tate, that is how you return punts. Make the first man miss and then get up the field. If he can stay healthy, Jones is an incredible weapon in the return game. He is shifty, has great vision and speed, and he gets up field right away. 

Kick Coverage

Josh Cribbs is one of the most dangerous returners in NFL history. Over the past few years, Cleveland has won a few games they had no business winning simply because Cribbs made a big play on special teams. Yesterday, he was held in check and it was the other return man, Adam Jones, that caused the game to turn.

Big Offensive  Plays

3 TDs of 20+ yds. Good to see the offense making big plays and taking shots down field. This open things up for BJGE.

Offensive Line

Normally, when a line gives up 6 sacks, it is not a good day. However, most of the sacks given up Sunday were due to coverage and Dalton holding onto the ball too long. This is a young line with a new center and they have held up well against two tough defenses. They should only get better as the year goes on.

BJGE

Did he have a lot of yards? No (75 yds). He didn’t even have a great average (3.6). But, what I did like was his hard running and picking up the tough yards. One thing I that has impressed me with BJGE is he rarely gets stopped for no gain. He hits the hole hard and seems to always get a yard or two. There isn’t a lot of dancing behind the line like we have seen in the past. Oh yeah, and he can also catch. 3 catches for 30 yards.

Vincent Rey and Vontaze Burfict

I thought they filled in well for Thomas Howard. Rey had 3 solos tackles (same as Maualuga) and 1 sack…which is equal to half of Maualuga’s career total!

Reverse Defense!

I actually saw a Bengals defense stop a reverse! If you have watched the Bengals over the past 20 or so years, you know that a reverse is almost always good for 10+ yards (just like the TE on the other team is always open).

What I Did Not Like

Like I said, this was a win, but it wasn’t pretty.

Defense as a Whole

This defense can’t be this bad can they? They were a top 10 defense last year, but 71 points and 869 yards (617 through the air) does not bode well. Week 1 I was willing to chalk it up to just playing a better team who was fired up for a home Monday Night opener. This week though? The Browns? Weeden? Weeden had 4 INTs last week and a 5.1 QBR. For those unfamiliar with the QBR, let’s just say, that ain’t good. The Bengals defense turned Brandon Weeden into Tom Brady. 322 yards, 2 TDs, a QBR of 114.9 and 0 INTs. That is a rapid improvement that even Melky Cabrera can’t explain! Let’s take a look at the defensive players who stood out with their suck on Sunday:

Leon Hall

At least he is consistent. Hall had a brutal opening night last week. It didn’t get better in week 2 against a lesser QB and lesser set of WRs. Hall was repeatedly beat and seemed to just be chasing guys around the field. 3 plays stuck out to me with Hall: 1) early in the game, Hall was beat deep, made up the ground and dropped the INT, 2) on a 3^rd and 3, Hall was beaten bad by Massaquoi over the middle for 15-20 yards, and 3) Hall was flagged for a personal foul for helmet-to-helmet contact (arguably a bad call, but, a penalty was called)

Michael Johnson

He did have a sack, but he also had an open shot at Weeden and swiped for the ball. I don’t have a problem swiping for the ball…in fact I like it. What I do have a problem with is he missed the ball and Weeden. Go for the strip, but not at the expense of missing the tackle.

Rey Maualuga

I have seen enough (or not seen enough) of Maualuga, and I hope Zimmer is thinking the same. Don’t let his stats fool you (10 tackles), Maualuga had a brutal game as far as tackling (2 missed tackles led to both of Richardson’s TDs), coverage and overall getting the defense lined up. Not hard to see who got the better of who in this game between Maualuga and Richardson. Richardson had 109 yards, 2 TDs and made Maualuga look silly on both TDs. Worse yet, Maualuga looked like he wanted nothing to do with tackling Richardson. The middle LB is the QB of your defense. He is supposed to line them up, lead and inspire and he is failing miserably, as is his defense. According to Maualuga, the defense is "a little shaky" (http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20120916/SPT02/309160053/Bengals-hang-34-27-win-against-Browns?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Bengals). No Rey, we have been watching the games, your defense is not "a little shaky," it flat out sucks right now. Maualuga looks (and sounds) lost on the field and I wouldn’t be surprised if we see a change this weekend at middle LB.

One coach I have a lot of faith in is the defensive Coordinator, Mike Zimmer. I do not expect this defense to continue to play this way and I do not expect Zimmer to stand pat as it struggles. Look for some changes in the lineup this week, most notably, at middle linebacker.