While the old saying is true, a win IS
a win, but we all know that is not completely true. Some wins are better than
others. Some are better because of the way you play. Some are better because of
the opponent you beat. Sunday was some of the former (defensively), and all the
latter. The Bengals (offensively at least), did not play well. But, they beat a
4-0 Patriots team that takes the field every Sunday with a 3-time Super Bowl
winning QB and a 3-time Super Bowl winning coach. Regardless of injuries, that
is not just a win. That is a good win.
The Good
The Defense – We
will recognize the defense for specific plays later, but how good is this
defense as a whole? Missing their top CB (Hall) and arguably their best DE
(Johnson), the defense befuddled Tom Brady like he has never been befuddled
before. Brady was held to: 0 TDs for the first time in 52 games (last game of
2009); 47.4% completion – worst since a 27-24 win against Baltimore on
12/3…2007 (still had 2 TDs and 257 yards); a 52.2 rating – worst since a 20-10
win against the Jets (51.5), also in 2007 (12/16); and a 16.8 QBR – worst since
a 21-0 loss to the Dolphins 12/10….2006.
The DL – No
Michael Johnson, no problem. On Brady’s first drop back of the day, he was
sacked by Geno Atkins, and it wouldn’t get any easier from that point on. With
4 sacks and 8 QB hits, Brady never had time and never got comfortable in the
pocket. QB Pressure is the key to neutralizing any QB, regardless of how
prolific of a passer they are.
Wallace Gilberry
– Michael Johnson who? With Johnson out, Gilberry took advantage of the extra
snaps and ended the day with 2.0 sacks, 1 TFL, 3 QB hits and 4 tackles.
Gilberry has to be one of the best mid-season pickups in franchise history and
has been a vital part of this DL since being picked up off the streets in week
3 of 2012.
Chris Crocker –
Speaking of being picked up off the streets, how about Crocker? The last two
seasons may have been Crocker’s best. Maybe the key is to make him miss all of
training camp, watch the first few weeks from his couch, and then sign him with
fresh legs a few weeks into the season. Crocker’s presence in the secondary,
especially with all the injuries, has been immeasurable. He is almost making me
forget the disdain I had built up for him after the 2011 playoff loss…almost.
Going for it on 4th
and Goal from the 1 – Give Marvin credit, it took balls to go for it on 4th
and goal from the 1 yard line. Sure, all of us “arm chair coaches” like to say
it was an easy decision, but it wasn’t. The “Book of NFL Coaching” would tell
you that your defense is playing great, there is only 9:21 left to play, take
the FG, take the 9-3 lead and hope to hold them out of the endzone. Marvin of
past years may have done so. Sunday he didn’t, and it paid off. Good thing he
did, because the Patriots marched right down the field in less than 2 minutes
to the Bengals 1 yard line, and if not for an amazing goal line stand and
Marvin’s 4th and 1 call, we could easily have been talking about a
game the Bengals controlled all day long, yet found themselves down 10-9 with
about 6 minutes to play.
The Goal Line Stand
– Speaking of the goal line stand, how huge was it to see that defense stop the
Patriots on 3 straight plays from the 1 yard line? After taking what seemed to
be an insurmountable 13-3 lead with 9:21 to go, the defense allowed the
Patriots to go 75 yards, down to the Bengals 1 yard line in approximately 1
minute (30% of the Patriots offense for the entire day). There was a collective
“here we go again” at PBS. But then the defense did what they have done so many
times in this young season and they pulled off one of the most memorable goal
line stands in franchise history.
The Monsoon – Rarely
do the Bengals seem to get things to go their way. Sunday, the weather went
their way. With 1:48 left and the Patriots needing to go 65 yards with 1 TO for
a game tying TD, the skies opened up like I have never seen (at least in
person) at a football game. It was as if Mike Brown himself turned the faucet
on, making it nearly impossible for the Patriots to pass. If not for Crocker
jumping off sides on 4th down and a friendly roughing the passer
call (that only Tom Brady gets), the game would have likely ended sooner. And
then, as if scripted, the rain stopped just as quickly as it started…only to be
replaced by the collective tears of thousands of Patriots fans, 90% of which
were local bandwagon fans pretending to have some tie/connection to Bean Town.
Adam Jones INT –
It sealed the game, so it was huge from that standpoint, but weather aside,
what an amazing juggling interception. Add in the fact that it was done in the
torrential downpour, and it becomes that much more impressive.
The Bad
Play Calling – Gruden
is entering Bob Bratkowski territory for me. While not as predictable as Brat’s
offense, Gruden’s offense can certainly challenge Brat’s when it comes to
overall ineffectiveness. If you believe the issue with the offense is not
Dalton, then you have to be doing so while pointing at Gruden. Something is
wrong when an offense touting Green, Eifert, Gresham, Bernard, etc. goes 7+
quarters without a TD and is averaging just 17.6 ppg (taking out defensive
TDs), and that is with the defense setting them up on with numerous short
fields.
Penalties – The
Bengals cannot continue to shoot themselves in the foot. The penalty line on
Sunday read: NE 0-0, Bengals 7-59. While I will say the Gilberry penalty was
crap, that still would leave 6-44, aka too many. At some point, penalties are
going to kill this team if they do not cut them out. The off sides on Crocker
sticks out from yesterday – it was unnecessary and just a bad play that could
have cost the team the game, as it extended the final drive. On a side note
though, I find it unbelievable that the Patriots had 0 penalties – some may say
they just play fundamental football, and while that may be the case, I do not
believe an NFL team can play a game without a penalty…unless of course you are
the Patriots or Steelers.
Orson Charles –
Why did they keep this guy over Conner? If he was active (which he was), and
they bring in Peko on the goal line (which they did), what purpose does he
serve? My guess is that in 2 weeks when Pressley is eligible to come off the
PUP list, Alex Smith gets cut, Charles moves to the 3rd TE and
Pressley is the true FB they have needed.
The Jekyl and Hyde
2013 Bengals – How does a team beat the Packers and Patriots, yet lose to
the Browns? And, as much as I love Mike Zimmer and this defense, I have to
wonder how a defense completely shuts down Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady, yet in
between those two games, they allow Brian Hoyer to navigate two 90+ yard TD
drives, including a game clincher? That, to me, screams focus and discipline,
and to me, that is (at least in large part) the fault of coaching.
Roughing the Passer
on Gilberry – Not sure if any other QB gets that call, but regardless, it
is becoming embarrassing how the NFL is calling the roughing the passer and
helmet-to-helmet hits. It has gotten to the point where the defensive players
get flagged no matter what they do. Yes, Gilberry’s hand did “graze” Brady’s
helmet, so by the letter of the law, it may be a penalty, but it was a “graze”
at most, it is not the typed of play the NFL is trying to cut out of the game,
and to make such a weak call in such a crucial situation is embarrassing.
The Ugly
Dalton’s Pick – Sure,
it was only his first red zone INT of his career and it ended up not mattering,
but that does not make it any more disturbing. 2nd and 7 from the NE
9, in chip shot FG range, Dalton has broken the pocket and has 4 options, 2 of
which are smart football plays, 1 of which saves the FG opportunity, and 1
which breaks every fundamental football rule: 1) throw the ball away or 2) tuck
it and run for a yard or two, 3) take a sack – hell, even a sack would have
still saved a FG, and 4) throw back across his body to the middle of the field.
Inexcusably, Dalton picked the 1 option which violated somewhere around 8 fundamental
football rules (option 4) – and not surprisingly, said option resulted in an
INT and a lost scoring opportunity. These are the types of mistakes a team
cannot afford from their QB if they want to make a deep run in January –
especially when the QB we are talking about is in his 3rd year and
has 39 starts (including 2 playoffs starts) under his belt. This defense and
these offensive weapons are good enough to raise a trophy in February, but in
order to do so, Dalton cannot continue to cost the Bengals opportunities.
Giovanni Bernard’s
Fumble – I don’t see Bernard as having any fumbling issues, but man was
this fumble huge. If he simply goes down with the ball still in his hands, the
game may be over. At worst, the Bengals can force NE to use all 3 of their time
outs, get to the 2 minute warning, and at worst make the Patriots have to try
and go 90+ yards in under 2 minutes with no timeouts. Luckily for Bernard, the
Bengals defense not only stopped Brady and the Patriots offense after the
fumble, they yielded a total of -5 yards on the drive.
The End of the Half….Again
– Have you ever seen a coaching staff struggle closing out a half/game like the
Bengals coaching staff? The Bengals shot themselves in the foot at the end of
the first half in Chicago (costing them the game) and they tried to do the same
at the end of both halves on Sunday. At the end of the first half, the Bengals
get the ball at their own 7 yard line with just 57 seconds left and a 3 point
lead, knowing the Patriots had all 3 TOs left, and that a first down ends the
half, the Bengals ran 3 straight times, killed a total of 20 seconds off the
clock, kicked a crappy punt and gave the Patriots the ball at the 50 yard line,
needing just 15 yards for a tying FG. Of course Brady got it. The game
management there was terrible, but more telling is the fact that the Bengals
obviously did not trust Dalton enough to throw the ball. That is concerning to
me and very telling of how they see Dalton at this point of his career. Then,
at the end of the game, Zimmer wanted to get in on the brain cramping. With a
10 point lead, under 10 to play, and the Patriots 76 yards from the goal line,
the only thing the Bengals could not afford was a quick score. So, Zimmer did
what he seems to always do with a lead, plays a soft defense. The Patriots went
75 yards in about 1 minute, and if not for an incredible stand at the 1 yard
line, would have let the Patriots pull within 3 with about 7 minutes left. I
just don’t understand why the Bengals seem to play a prevent-type, soft defense
when they get a lead. Why not stick with what was working? Going into that
drive, the Patriots had 160 total yards of offense in the first 50 minutes of
the game and the Bengals let them rattle off 75 yards in less than 3 minutes. I
just don’t like getting away from what got you the lead.
What it all Means:
The only thing that really matters is that the Bengals did
win and they now sit at 3-2, still tied for the division lead, tied for the 2nd
wildcard, and now have a tie-breaker win over a team they could find themselves
competing with for seeding or a wild card position. They now hit the road for 4
of their next 5 games, with a game next week in Buffalo that they really need
to have.
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