Week 9: Bengals v Dolphins: The Good, the Bad andthe Ugly

In order to make sure all the 4-letter words were out of my system, I had to wait 3 days to type this article. Not sure this game could have gone any worse. The loss, while painful, could be with stood. The loss of Geno Atkins, while it does not suddenly jeopardize this team’s ability to win the division and make the playoffs, it most certainly jeopardizes their chance to go deep in the playoffs.

Before we get into the Good, the Bad and the Ugly, let’s settle something. The non-attempted FG in OT. If you are in the camp blaming Lewis for not trying a 57 yard FG in OT, I have two words for you… “stop it!” You would be the same person chastising him if he went for it and Nugent missed. Nugent’s career long is 55 yards. Sure, he hit a 54 yard FG earlier, but he is 9/19 (47%) in his career from 50+, he would be kicking on a slick field, you already beat the odds with him making the first one and a miss on this one would have given the Dolphins the ball at their own 47 yard line, needing just 20 yards to get into makeable FG range and going against a defense missing Atkins and Hall. At the end of regulation, try it. In OT, that would be a pretty stupid decision and one which would have fans calling for his job if it backfired – even you “kick the 57 yarder guy.”

 

With that said, let’s take a look at the Good, the Bad and the Ugly…

 

The Good

In a game like Thursday, not much falls into the good category, there was at least one, and he stands about 5’8” (with cleats)

 

Giovani Bernard – My favorite RB ever was Barry Sanders and few were as distraught about his early and abrupt retirement as I. No one made a 5 yard loss so exciting to watch. Since his retirement, all I have ever wanted is to see is another RB – hell just another run - like Sanders. I never have…until Thursday. Call it sacrilegious, but that 35 yard touchdown run by Bernard was very Sandersesque. This guy is exciting to watch and hopefully he doesn’t have to miss any time with the rib injury. With him in the game in the 4^th quarter, I believe the Bengals win that game.  Either way, he needs to be a bigger part of the offense.

 

Marvin Jones – Every time he touched the ball, something good happened. His 4 catches for 66 yards would have been 4 for 100 yards and 1 TD if not for Gresham’s inability to legally block. Of Jones’ 4 catches, 2 were 3^rd down conversions, and both 3^rd downs were of 8 yards plus.  

 

 

 

The Bad

Believe it or not, there wasn’t a lot of bad…because it all fits into the ugly category.

BJGE – BJGE continues a very disappointing year. Facing the 19^th ranked run defense, BJGE saw 21 carriers (just 1 less than his season high) yet compiled just 72 yards (3.4 ypc). 1 of those went for 14, so his other 20 went for just 58 (2.9 ypc). That just doesn’t cut it. Most disappointing, has been his ability to convert 3^rd and 4^th and short situations (his supposed strength). After failing last week on a 4^th and goal from the 1, BJGE had a 3^rd and 2 and a 3^rd and 1 opportunity on Thursday and failed to convert on both.

 

The Ugly

Andy Dalton – Somewhat ironic that Dalton had just been named the offensive player of the month earlier in the day (they may want to ask for that trophy back). Just as you started to think Dalton was back on track, he has a game like this one. 3 INTs (1 in chip shot FG range returned 92 yards for a TD), 1 fumble and 1 safety taken (to end the game). More frustrating were the situations. Pick 1: Again, just before half, Dalton throws a pick on a pass he should never throw, which results in end of the half points (big in a game that goes to OT eh?). Pick 2: The decision and play were fine – in fact, if he leads Jones, it may be a first down or a TD. The pass was terrible and resulted in a 10 point swing (minimum). Pick 3: This one was not Dalton’s fault – it was a perfect throw – but would have given the Bengals a 1^st down at the Dolphins 10. Safety: Dalton has to know where he is on the field and has to see a rusher that is right in front of him. He should have just dove to the ground and let Huber punt. By my count, that means Dalton gave the Dolphins 12 points and cost the Bengals at least 6, maybe 10. Think that 18 point swing could have been useful?

 

Jay Gruden – The Bengals may have had 465 yards of offense, but this may have been Gruden’s worst game. In crucial, short conversion situations, Gruden kept dialing up long pass plays…which kept ending with the ball laying on the turf and the Bengals offense going to the sideline. Sometimes I think Jay Gruden is Jay Gruden’s own worst enemy. He out thinks himself and the defensive coordinators thank him for it. Given the matchup problems that the Bengals present, Gruden should be able to convert 3^rd downs without sending a WR streaking up the sideline and hoping Dalton can hit him.

 

AJ Green – It bugged me that Mike Mayock said “you don’t see that happen often” when referring to Green dropping an easy ball. Unfortunately, you do. In Chicago, he dropped a ball that cost Dalton an INT and cost the Bengals the game. He had a bad drop last week. And his drop this week can’t be measured as far as what it cost the Bengals. First, it cost them a first down in Dolphins territory, so it may have cost them points. But, more importantly, it cost them Atkins. I am not saying Atkins injury is Green’s fault, but the fact remains, Atkins tore his ACL on that Dolphins drive. If Green catches that ball, the Bengals drive continues and the Bengals defense is on the sideline and as a result, Geno may still be on the Bengals sidelines. Also, while Dalton’s first pick was a poor decision and even poorer throw, Green was in position to break it up and he made a poor effort to do so. Unfortunately, this too is a common occurrence for Green. Often times, when Dalton throws a bad ball, Green makes a lack luster effort to break up the INT. It happened in Chicago and lead to a TD, and it happened Thursday, leading to a FG. Both scores were the difference in the game. So, while it is great that Green had 11 catches for 128 yards, it was his way too common drop and poor effort to break up an INT that stuck in my mind.

 

Mike Zimmer – How can a guy call such a good and dominant game and then constantly fall apart at the end of halves when his defense is needed most? It happened again Thursday and cost the Bengals the game. The Dolphins got the ball with just 1:24 left, needing 45+ yards and having only 1 TO, Zimmer let the Dolphins go 57 yards (7 yard sack) in 1:03 seconds, including converting a 2^nd and 17 from their own 17 yard line. Even worse, Zimmer’s defense gave up the only thing they couldn’t afford to give up…the sideline. On the game tying drive, the Dolphins completed 6 passes and the Bengals let them get out of bounds and stop the clock on 4 of those passes. If the Bengals simply protect the sidelines, the clock runs out on the Dolphins.

 

Run Defense – An offense averaging just 89.1 ypg ran for 157 on the 8^th ranked rushing defense. Wow.

 

Adam Jones – After possibly his best game as a Bengals, Jones followed it up with one of his absolute worst. Is it just me, or does it seem like every big play in the pass game anymore is occurring with the guy Jones is covering?

 

Jermaine Gresham – No player angers me the way Gresham does. If leading the team in penalties isn’t bad enough, it seems as though his penalties do nothing put take points off the board and kill drives. In the last 3 games, Gresham has taken 10 points off the board with a penalty. Oh yeah, he also had another big drop on a ball that hit his face and a play that would have given the Bengals a 1^st down. Yawn.

 

Mohmed Sanu – With 5 minutes left in the game, tied 17-17, Dalton threw a perfect pass that hit Sanu right in the hands. A catch puts the Bengals at 1^st and goal with less than 5 minutes to go. Instead, Sanu let it hit off his hands and go right to a Dolphin. One of many plays that cost the Bengals this game.

 

Terrence Newman – Prior to the Buffalo game, he was having a great year, but twice in the last 3 weeks, when the only thing the defense cannot do is let the WR get behind them, Newman has done just that…twice (Buffalo and Miami).

 

The Right Side of the Offensive Line – Cameron Wake put on a clinic on Thursday night against Smith and Zeitler. Up until Thursday, the line had played well. Everyone forgot about the backup AC being in because it was Smith and Zeitler, not the backup, that were getting abused.

 

Marvin Lewis Defending Gresham – I don’t care if he thinks it was a bad call or not, Gresham has not earned the benefit of the doubt and certainly has not earned the right to be defended for boneheaded plays that cost the team…it is exactly why it continues to happen. Lewis can say it wasn’t a hold all he wants, and while he may be right, all I know is I was watching the game with 3 other people, and when that play occurred,  before the flag was thrown, all 4 of us were cursing Gresham because we all saw what sure as hell looked like a hold. Either way, nothing is going to change is Lewis is going to make excuses for his players.

 

Injuries – A few weeks ago, the Bengals had one of the healthiest teams in the NFL. Now they have the most cap money on the IR in the NFL (Atkins and Hall). While this defense is deep, Atkins is the best DT in the game, and no defense can fill that void. The Bengals now have their best CB and best DL on IR and are missing their starting LB for weeks. The Bengals defense can still be strong, but the offense will be relied on much more now with Atkins and Hall out.