Wild Card Wrap Up

22 years ago the Bengals won a playoff game. If you are counting (and what Bengals fan isn’t), that is 8,037 days ago. The last time the Bengals won a playoff game: I was 9 years old, our TV had no remote, our house did not have central air, we had no cable, Nintendo (the original) was in it’s heyday, Super Tecmo Bowl (my favorite game of all time and the best football game ever made – with all due respect to electric football) had just been released, gas was about $1, and I lived in a 2 bedroom apartment with 2 parents and 4 kids. I am now 31 years old, have my own house with my own kids, equipped with central air, 3 TVs - all with remotes and Direct TV, Nintendo Wii, and gas is about $3.50. The only things that have not changed in that time: 1) Tecmo Super Bowl is still the best football game (and game as a whole) ever invented, and 2) the Bengals have still yet to win a playoff game.

It is painful to be a Bengals fan. Almost all my memories as a Bengals fan are of heartbreak and disappointment. My memories of the Bengals start with the 1988 Super Bowl (7 years old) and include the following notable heartbreaking games/plays:

• Tim Krumrie’s leg snapping, likely costing the Bengals Super Bowl XXIII
• Lewis Billups dropping (what would have been) a Super Bowl clinching INT
• The 49ers marching the length of the field to snatch Super Bowl XXIII from the Bengals with 34 seconds remaining
• Joe “F%#@ing” Montana to John “F%#@ing” Taylor
• Stanley Wilson being suspended for cocaine on the eve of Super Bowl XXIII
• David Klinger playing football
• Dave Shula, Bruce Coslet, and Dick LeBeau trying to coach
• Dan Wilkinson being a #1 overall pick
• Ki Jana Carter being a #1 overall pick and blowing his knee in his 1^st preseason game
• Charles Fischer blowing his knee in his first regular season game, never to play again
• Mike Brown instituting a loyalty clause in team contracts (compliments of Carl Pickens)
• Mike Brown letting Boomer retire
• Mike Brown turning down the entire Saints draft in order to pick Akili Smith
• Neil O’Donnell, Jeff Blake, David Klinger, Scott Mitchell, Akili Smith, Jon Kitna, and Gus Ferotte all being seen as saviors
• Gus Ferotte throwing a left handed pass (as a right handed QB) – which was intercepted and returned for a TD
• Kimo “F%#@ing” Von Oelhoffen breaking Palmer’s knee
• Eric Steinbach not blocking “F%#@ing” Von Oelhoffen
• Chad punching a coach at halftime (allegedly)
• Ifeanyi Ohalete trying his hand at tackle football
• David Pollack breaking his neck 18 games into his career, never to play again
• Mark Sanchez carving up the Bengals like Joe “F%#@ing” Montana
• Cinnamon (Shayne) Graham not being able to find the “All State” netting in any game of meaning
• TJ Yates up the Bengals like Joe “F%#@ing” Montana
• JJ Watt stabbing a ball out of mid air with his Heman sword and returning it for a TD
• Chris Crocker dropping game turning INTs
• Chris Crocker rubbing his butt along Arian Foster for 30 yards down the sideline

That my friends is just the tip of the iceberg of a steel trap memory full of Bengals history. Inside that steel trap however, is no recollection of the Bengals last playoff win. Maybe it’s just my memory’s way of saying it doesn’t believe it ever occurred. Either way, that is sad. There is an entire generation of Bengals fans that not only don’t remember that win, they weren’t even born when the Bengals last won a playoff game…some of those are of drinking age. Maybe that is the reason they have a problem selling out PBS, but that is for a different day. Saturday, was just another notch in the old Bengals heartbreak belt.

What I Did Like: 

Basically nothing. If this game were a tunnel, there were very few silver linings at the end of this one.

Leon Hall

The Leon Hall crow I have been eating the past few weeks tastes wonderful! I beat on him early in the year when he looked to be less than 100% (and I believe he was), but now that he is healthy, he actually looks better than he ever has. Over the last few weeks, when a big play was needed, it was Hall that stepped up. He had the pick that turned the Eagles game, the pick 6 to win the Pittsburgh game, and had the Bengals came back to win on Saturday, he would have had a pick 6 that won that game. It is good to see him back and if he can keep this up, I would love to see he and Kirkpatrick starting together next year.

Geno Atkins

His stat line was unimpressive, but he was in the Houston backfield all night shooting the gaps and causing Foster to have to cut his runs back. Atkins may not have been the one making the tackles, but he was the one allowing others to make the tackles.

BJGE

BJGE was working on another quality game with 11 carries for 63 yards (5.7 ypc) and broke 2 nice runs, including a 29 yarder. With the game close all night and Dalton struggling, it would have been nice to see more of BJGE.

The Kicking Game

Not good when there are only 4 likes in the playoff game and 1 of the 4 likes has to do with the punter and kicker. Like he has since he got here in December, Josh Brown had another perfect showing and has to be in consideration to compete with Nugent neck year, especially given Nugent’s penchant for injuries. Huber also had a nice game and was the only player on the Bengals that consistently beat his Houston counterpart. Huber ended his night with 5 punts, 3 inside the 20, 0 touchbacks and 46.6 average…field position baby!

What I Did Not Like:

Where to begin? This was a true team/organization loss, so no one person was to blame for the loss as a whold. But, there were plenty of players and coaches whose individual performances of playoff suck collectively resulted in this “Team Loss.” Therefore I am going to list my dislikes, which are many, in order of who I blame most for the loss:

1) Jermaine Gresham

Mr. Gresham, ‘Come on Down! You are the winner of Saturday’s suck fest…don’t drop your trophy!” This may seem high given the games put in by Gruden and Dalton, but I am a firm believer that if Gresham makes the catch on the first drive, this game comes out differently. The Bengals couldn’t have scripted a better start for this game. The Texans offense had been struggling for weeks and the Bengals defense has a perfect first series and forces a 3 and out giving the Bengals great field position. The Bengals offense was also struggling and needed something to give them some confidence…Dalton especially. If Gresham makes that catch, that gives the offense a first down at midfield and about 15 yards from FG range. A scoring drive on their first drive would have: 1) Given the Bengals offense some confidence; 2) Got the Texans thinking ‘here we go again’; and 3) Quieted the fans. Instead, Gresham drops what was likely Dalton’s only perfectly thrown ball of the game, the Bengals go 3 and out themselves, and now the Bengals offense starts thinking ‘here we go again’ and they start pressing. Just for good measure, Gresham had a second drop later in the game and despite Gruden’s ingenious game plan of getting Gresham involved, Gresham finished the night with 2 catches for 7 yards.

 

2) Jay Gruden

The game plan on Saturday brought back flashbacks of Bob Bratkowski – this idea that the opponent is going to game plan for what you do best, so try and beat them with your secondary options. How does that make sense? How does any NFL OC take that approach? And how does any HC sign off on it? Andy Dalton confirmed the game plan after the game, “we were trying to get (TE) Jermaine (Gresham) the ball early. We were trying to get some of the other guys going, but we weren’t making plays.” Genius! The top two play makers you have are AJ Green and Andrew Hawkins, yet neither had a target in the 1^st half…I didn’t say neither had a touch, I said neither was even targeted. The Texans didn’t avoid their best player Foster. Their theory was: this is what we do best, if you can stop it, we will tip our cap. The Bengals couldn’t stop Foster. The Bengals on the other hand took the opposite approach and stopped their best player for the Texans. Not a surprise that once Gruden got Green and Hawkins involved, the Bengals started moving the ball. If Gruden believed the Texans were weak in the middle, why not exploit it with a fast and quick player that can catch (Hawkins). What a novel idea. Instead, Gruden elected to attack the middle with Gresham. Sure, Gresham is big, hard to bring down, has decent speed and good numbers, the only problem is he is your least reliable receiver. He looks he is trying to catch with two stone oven mitts – and according to Pro Foot Focus, was the lowest ranked TE on the year. Apparently Gruden was unaware of Gresham’s problems with catching easy passes and selected him (the lowest ranked TE in the NFL according to PFF) as the way to beat the Texans.

Despite his awful game plan, the Bengals were still in position to win the game. A in game adjustment to stick to what was working (the run game) may have allowed the Bengals to sneak out of Houston with a win. What is it with Gruden refusing to continue to use BJGE when he is working? See the Dallas game (and now the Houston game) for examples. BJGE was averaging 5.7 ypc (11 for 63) and broke 2 nice runs, including a 29 yarder. If you have a RB average nearly 6 yards a carry and the game is still close (check and check), why would you not keep feeding him the ball until the Texans showed they could stop him? Averaging 5.7 ypc and he gets 11 carries? Really? To pile on Gruden’s first half game plan, BJGE had 3 carries for 43 yards in the first half…if you have a back going for 43 yards on 3 carries, why the hell is he not getting more than 3 carries? The fact that the Cardinals and Eagles did not cancel Gruden’s interview after that game is amazing to me. If they would like Gruden as their head coach, I will drive him there.

3) Andy Dalton

Under 50% (14/30), 127 yds, 0 TDs, 1 INT, and much more questions than answers. For the second year in a row, Dalton looked overwhelmed by the playoff stage and for the second year in a row, he could not take over and win a winnable game. A couple passes stuck out to me as to Dalton’s decision making and ability: 1) On 2 occasions (both 2^nd down) Dalton threw screen passes to BJGE – on both occasions, it was clear the defense was not fooled, BJGE had a man on him and nowhere to go – both passes resulted in negative yards (-6 and -3) and put the offense in 3^rd and long situations. Dalton has to be smart enough to throw those passes at the feet of BJGE and move to 3^rd down. 3^rd and 7 is better than 3^rd and 13 (keep in mind, those are 2 of his 14 compleitions); 2) On the last drive, 3^rd and 11, Dalton had Green open deep for what would have been a game winning TD to miraculously win a game they had no business winning. Instead he over threw Green, giving him no chance a making the catch. When you have AJ Green, the only thing you don’t do is overthrow him. He will always have the upper hand for a 50/50 ball. Give him a chance to make a play. To throw that ball where Green had no chance is inexcusable. 3) On the last offensive play of the game, 4^th and 11, the Bengals run a slant route short of the 1^st down marker (not sure why you call for a route short of the marker, but that is a different story). However, if you look at the replay, the play would have worked had Dalton thrown a good ball and led Jones…he did not. Instead, he threw behind Jones leaving Jones 3 yards short of the 1^st down and having to fight for the remaining 3 yards. Again, Dalton has to make that throw is he wants to be a Super Bowl contending QB. On wildcard weekend, Dalton was 8^th amongst the 8 QBs that played, in front of only Kirk Cousins and behind Joe Webb…yes, the Joe Webb, the Joe Webb that found out he was starting a few hours before the game, the Joe Webb that took exactly 0 snaps in 2012, the Joe Webb that had Michael Jenkins as his #1 receiver, the Joe Webb that now has as many postseason TDs as Andy Dalton.

Am I ready to give up on Dalton? No, but I am not sold on him either. Coming out of college, the knock on Dalton was arm strength, but accuracy was his strength. This year, his accuracy has been an issue too. Along with accuracy issues, his deep ball still lacks a lot, he looks uncomfortable under pressure, and he had a season long issue with turnovers. For me to be convinced that Dalton is a franchise QB, I need to see improvements in all of these categories, along with an ability to win in the playoffs. If these questions still linger after year 3, how much longer do you give him?

4) Rey Maualuga

Rey Maualuga spent more time chasing professional athletes on Saturday night than a Kardashian sister. According to Pro Football Focus (who ranked Rey last amongst all inside LBs in the NFL during the 2012 season) Rey gave up 3 first downs out of 5 balls thrown in his coverage. There was also a drop that would have made it 4. It seemed like all night long I saw Rey chasing someone around the field and never catching them. It seemed as though every pass that was completed was completed to Rey’s guy or in Rey’s zone. He did have one nice play in the run game, but for the most part, he looked lost in coverage and lost in general. Rey struggles tackling, shedding blocks, covering, getting to the QB and disrupting plays…all things you need your MLB to do. There was no noticeable difference when Skuta replaced him. If you are the MLB and there is not a noticeable difference when your backup comes in, that means either 1) your backup is also really good (I don’t think Skuta is), or 2) you are not very good. I would go with the latter.

5) Marvin Lewis

I know, he is the winningest coach in Bengals history (79), no Bengals coach has ever had 4 winning seasons, no Bengals coach has made back to back playoffs in 30 years, no Bengals coach has been to the playoffs 4 times, etc. But, we aren’t talking about a franchise with a rich history of winning. It’s not often the winningest coach in a franchises history has a losing record (79-84-1).

They say a team takes on the persona of the coach. Marvin seems to lack fire, lack passion, lack a feel for game/clock management, looks confused, and looks overmatched against top teams. That is exactly how I would describe the way the Bengals looked Saturday and every playoff appearance under Marvin. The question about Marvin is: does he look like a coach that can lead this team to the Super Bowl? If the answer is no, then why keep him? I believe the answer is no. The fact of the matter is Marvin has led the Bengals to 4 playoff appearances and is 0-4. Only 1 coach in NFL history has more playoff appearances without a victory (Jim Mora). Not only are they 0-4, they have looked completely unprepared and embarrassingly bad in all 4 losses. Inside that 0-4 is 0-2 against rookie QBs. Inside that 0-4, only 1 of loss was to a QB who had a playoff victory (Roethlisberger). Inside that 0-4 was 2 home games. Inside that 0-4 is 54 total points scored (13.5 ppg) – only 47 of which were by the offense (11.75 offensive ppg). Inside that 0-4 was an offensive game plan to get Jermaine Gresham involved and essentially ignore AJ Green and Andrew Hawkins. Marvin doesn’t make the offensive game plan, but he oversees the guy who does and he signed off on that ingenious plan (the plan that generated 6 offensive points). In his press conference he looked deflated and unsure of how to handle himself, not qualities you want from your leader. Bill Parcells once famously stated that you are what your record says you are. Well, Marvin is below .500 (79-84-1) and 0-4 in the playoffs.

6) Defensive Line

With a franchise record 51 sacks (2^nd in the NFL) the strength of the 2012 Bengals was the DL and their ability to put pressure on the QB and stop the run (ranked 6^th). To win Saturday the Bengals needed to pressure Schaub and stop Foster. They did neither, and therefore it is no surprise they lost. The Bengals ballyhooed DL managed 0 sacks on Schaub, just 2 QB hits, and allowed Foster to go for 140 yards on 32 carries….playoff recipes for losses. Coming into the game the Texans had surrendered 10 sacks in the last 3 games and I felt the Bengals DL had the advantage over the Texans OL and would be the difference in this game. Without the DL dominating, the Bengals didn’t have much of a chance. Unfortunately Atkins was the only guy in the Bengals front 7 that seemed to be aware of when and where this game was being played.

 

7) Offensive Line

The OL had struggled ever since the return of Kyle Cook and Saturday was no different. They only gave up 2 sacks, but Dalton struggles with pressure and he was pressured all game long, especially up the middle. The OL seemed confused by what the Texans were doing and somehow seemed to be unaware of where Watt was at times. Worst of all was again Kyle Cook who seemed to be blocking no one or being pushed into Dalton and not much in between. If the Bengals want to help Dalton, they should start with resigning Smith and finding a new center.

8) Mike Brown

You might be asking what the hell Mike Brown had to do with that loss. I would tell you a lot. Winning is a culture and starts from the top. If you could perform average or slightly below average at your work without fear of losing your job, how motivated would you be to get better? Do you think Marvin felt like there would be consequences for losing his 4^th playoff game in 4 tries? The Eagles fired Reid with a record of 130-93-1, 10-9 in the playoffs, 4 NFC Championship appearances and a Super Bowl appearance. The Bears fired Lovie despite a record of 81-63, 3-3 in the playoffs, and 1 Super Bowl appearance. Marvin is 79-84-1, 0-4 in the playoffs and his job is not up for debate. That is what Mike has created. Marvin knows his job is safe. The players know their jobs are safe (look at how despite being greatly outplayed by Robinson, Cook stays in the lineup). When winning is not the goal, you get mediocrity. The Bengals under Marvin have been mediocre.

This was yet another frustrating end to another frustrating Bengals season. The season would have to be deemed a success and failure all at the same time. A success in the fact that they made the playoffs and finished 7-1 over their last 8 to do so, but a failure in the fact that they had a goal to win the division and couldn’t do so. They lost 3 games they had no business losing (Cleveland, Miami, Dallas), 2 at home, any of which would have given them the division and a home playoff game against the Colts or Ravens rather than an away game against the Texans and a failure because despite the late rally to make the playoffs, they failed yet again to win once they got there. This team is good enough that making the playoffs is not considered good enough anymore. They need to win, and until they do, their seasons will be failures.

Stay tuned for the 2012 season wrap up and continue to follow for Bengals offseason news and stories, along with stories regarding Bearcat basketball and Reds baseball!