Adam Shefter/Chris Mortenson who? I bet those Mothership
Boys haven’t figured out a way to give you a game wrap up before the game has
been played! Shefty is still working the Twitter wire trying to figure out what
may probably possibly occur. Well, the ground pounding reporters here at 12 Oz
Prospective have managed to do what no network big wig could, we found Doc Brown
and his DeLorean and have managed to provide you the Bengals Giants wrap up
prior to kick off! BOOM! So, if you are like me, and you live in the “Blackout
Zone” and were not able to make it down to PBS for the game, no fear, you can get
the “Down Low” on the game prior to it happening, all while keeping your hard
earned cash in your pocket….we will call it the 12 Oz Stimulus Plan. So, pull
up your chair, grab your less than $7 beer, and enjoy the game…and then laugh
at the network yahoos in the pregame shows telling you what they think may,
possibly, probably, think, will happen, because their resources are inferior,
and they don’t KNOW what happened. We
do. So drink a few “12 Oz’s.” You are welcome!
Well, another “must win” game in the Marvin Lewis era, and
another game where his team fell short (27-24) thanks to untimely penalties,
costly turnovers, and poor game management. The loss likely ends the slim
playoff chances the Bengals still had and continues the 30 year drought since
they last had back-to-back playoff seasons (‘81-‘82). Despite the loss, there
were some positives (other than working on a higher draft pick), so we provide
those first:
What I Did Like
The Weather
While the game may have sucked, the weather didn’t!
AJ Green
Death, taxes, and AJ Green. We may as well just permanently affix
his name in the “What I Did Like” column. Earlier this week he talked about
some “holes” in the Giants secondary and he was correct (Samari Rolle can take
all the offense he wants, he still can’t cover Green). With Calvin Johnson less
than 100%, it is clear AJ Green is the best and most dynamic WR in the NFL.
Andrew Hawkins
Good to see Hawkins again. He had been quiet the past few
weeks and it seemed as if Gruden had forgotten about him. The Bengals offense
works better when Hawkins is effective.
Jermaine Gresham
Two straight weeks now Gresham contributed, and much like
Hawkins, the offense works better when Gresham is contributing….now, if he can
just get rid of the inevitable terrible drop per game!
Brian “First Down” Leonard
Leonard has troubles staying healthy, but I have seen enough
BJGE and all Leonard seems to do is get first downs. At this point, why not let
Leonard start and play him until he falls apart. Chances are, he will fall
apart while at least getting a first down.
OL Run Blocking
The OL actually did a pretty good job opening up holes for
the backs. For the first time since week 3, the backs had somewhere to go with
the ball. A re-emergence of the running game could really help Dalton.
Kevin Huber
Sure, the Giants have their Super Bowls. But, the Bengals
have a good punter! Advantage, Bengals.
Geno Atkins
Well, someone from the defense had to make it on this list.
Did he do anything to impress? Not really. But management says at least one
defensive player/coach/play needs to make the “Like” list. So….Geno Atkins
folks!
What I Did Not Like
The game. The defense. The coach. The Maualuga……
Rey Rey!
If missing tackles is the goal, Rey is a Pro Bowl player.
Something tells me it is not. The last time ol’ Rey Rey had a good game, ESPN
was a news organization. Rey is the opposite of AJ Green, he is a staple on the
“Did Not Like.” If that is a good thing, then Rey is good.
Game Management
Is there a worse game manager in the league than Marvin
Lewis? The answer is no. After 10 years as a head coach, one would think Marvin
would know that timeouts going into half time do not carry over. In his
defense, by mid 2nd quarter he is likely preoccupied with the
difficult decision of how condescending to be to the media after the game. When
you have that going on, how can you worry about timeouts and game management?
Challenge Flag Management
Prior to each game, Marvin Lewis should donate his 2
challenge flags to his Marvin Lewis Community Fund. At least that way they
would get some use and it would be his first effective use of the flags since…ever.
Pass Rush
Where have Michael Johnson and Carlos Dunlap gone? Could we
get an in stadium hotline number to call if anyone sees them, or have all of
those lines and resources been taken up by the “Jerk Line?”
Secondary
Yes, Reggie Nelson was out. No, that would not have helped.
This secondary is high on names and first round picks, low on productivity. Has
anyone seen Jason Allen? Is he dead? Speaking of dead, a dead guy would be a
better option at safety than Taylor Mays. At least with a dead guy at safety
you could scheme to compensate for a dead guys inability to cover, tackle, play
football in general.
P.S. Leon Hall, staying close to Victor Cruz when he is
salsa dancing is not the goal, it is creepy. Try staying close in coverage and
keeping your distance from another dancing man.
The Artist Formally Known as Manny Lawson
How many dead guys do the Bengals have on this defense?
Mike Zimmer
I like Zimmer. I do not like this defense. Zimmer seems to
somehow escape criticism. How? At some point and time, he needs to be held
accountable for the play of the defense. Stir the pot, replace some guys, wake
them up, something.
OL Pass Protection
Dalton may be added to the list of dead guys pretty soon if
his line doesn’t start blocking for him. The Giants have a good line, but that
was a week pass protection performance by the O-Line today. Maybe the Giants D-Line
could play RB for the Bengals, they seemed to do OK finding the holes to run
through. Hey oh!
Dalton
How tall is he? 5’6”? I swear I saw a Giants D-Lineman bat a
Dalton pass down with his thigh pad today. Not sure if they keep a stat on balls
batted, but I would put my lunch money on Dalton leading the league with balls
batted down. An inappropriate stat that no guy wants to lead the league in. Oh
yeah, and then there is the fact that Dalton now has thrown an INT in 10
straight games. While Marvin may not have the recipe for success, someone
should tell him throwing picks and having balls batted down is rarely in any
good winning recipe.
BJGE
Do you think BJGE runs into doorframes as often as he runs
into lineman? Maybe he needs his eyes checked. I liked this offseason signing
and after the first few games, I stood by the signing. It now seems I, and the
Bengals, whiffed on this one. Draft priorities (in no particular order): S, LB,
CB, RB. The only hole BJGE has identified through 9 weeks is the hole the
Bengals have at the RB position. See what I did there? Hey oh!
3-6 Record
In a year where expectations were high, Lewis and the
Bengals have fallen flat on their face. The worst part is the front part of
their schedule was filled with winnable games. Now they are in the midst of the
tough part of their schedule and looking like a high pick is a strong likelihood.
The only positive? Next year the Bengals will have low expectations and that
seems to be when Lewis does well.
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