Well, yesterday I was unable to watch the Bengals,
and of course, yesterday was the first time in the last 5 weeks they resembled a
watchable football team. In anticipation of the black out, I wrote a blind
pre-game wrap up on what was going to occur yesterday, so, let’s review the
tape and see how I did on my “Blacked Out” predictions:
What I Did Like
The Weather
What I predicted:
While
the game may have sucked, the weather didn’t!
Verdict: I was spot on.
AJ Green
What I predicted:
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.
Verdict: Correct. Green was Green: 7
catches for 85 yards, including a 56 yard TD catch which set the tone early. I
will however say I was incorrect on the Rolle I cited. It was Antrel Rolle, not
Samari. Samari/Antrel, Tomato/Tomauto. As bad as he was, he should be happy I
got his name wrong. Either way, Green was correct. There were plenty of holes
in the Giants defense.
Andrew Hawkins
What I predicted:
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.
Verdict: I am giving myself credit
for this prediction. He was not a huge part of the game plan, and 3 catches for
16 yards is hardly “back,” but, he did have a nice TD catch that gave the
Bengals a 14 point lead very early in the 1st quarter. That was his
1st TD in 6 weeks, therefore, I believe this was a correct
prediction.
Jermaine Gresham
What I predicted:
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!
Verdict: Like Hawkins, quality over
quantity. He did not have a statistically impressive game, 3 catches for 15
yards, but, like Hawkins, he had a TD. Gresham and Hawkins don’t need 100
yards/game, they just need to be effective enough to make teams respect them
and pull some of the emphasis off of Green. Yesterday Gresham and Hawkins did
that, and the result was a 31-13 drubbing of the defending Super Bowl Champs.
Brian “First Down” Leonard
What I predicted:
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.
Verdict: Well, you can’t be right on
all of them. 4 rushes for 4 yards, 0 catches, and 0 first downs is hardly Brian
“First Down” Leonard esque. While I was wrong on his effectiveness and
contributions, I would argue with BJGE going for only 50 yards on 15 carries,
Leonard (if healthy) should have seen more touches.
OL Run Blocking
What I predicted:
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.
Verdict: Wrong again (I complimented
and criticized the wrong parts of the o-line in my blind wrap up). 76 yards on
28 carries for a 2.7 ypc average is hardly effective, let alone good. The run
game still is struggling mightily. Yesterday it did not hurt the Bengals
because they got up big so quick, but when the game is close, they need to be
able to keep the defense honest with the run game.
Kevin Huber
What I predicted:
Sure,
the Giants have their Super Bowls. But, the Bengals have a good punter!
Advantage, Bengals.
Verdict: Boom! 4 punts for a 48.3
average and 2 inside the 20. Nailed it!
Geno Atkins
What I predicted:
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!
Verdict: This is correct because he
is Geno Atkins. He may not have had any sacks or eye-catching plays, but he did
have 2 QB hits and I have a hard time believing Atkins presence didn’t help out
on the 4 sacks the Bengals piled up against the Giants.
What I Did Not Like
What I predicted:
The
game. The defense. The coach. The Maualuga……
Verdict: Wow. If being wrong is
good, then I am good!
Rey Rey!
What I predicted:
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.
Verdict: Well, for once, I was wrong
on this one….sort of. Rey had a pretty good game (especially by Rey standards).
12 tackles, 3 solo and 1 pass defensed! However, the missed tackles I predicted
did come true…in fact on the very first play of the game. While the Bengals
need more plays from Rey, they can survive with these types of games.
Game Management
What I predicted:
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?
Verdict: Correct. While game
management rarely came into play yesterday because of how early the Bengals
jumped out to a big lead, Lewis still made some decisions, which could have
cost the Bengals had this been a close game. Example: Tate’s fumbled punt– Adam
Jones took the prior punt 68 yards down to the Giants 11, and Lewis puts Tate
back for the next one? Is there a rule Jones cannot have more than 1 good punt
return per game? Was he worried about Jones getting tired (if so, play him less
on defense - he is more valuable to this team on special teams)? And more
importantly, what has Tate ever shown in the punt return game to warrant
replacing Jones? It was karma that he fumbled. It could be argued Lewis should
have kicked a FG at the end of the 1st quarter, but I think we are
being over critical there. We chastise Marvin for not being aggressive, so we
can’t criticize him in that situation where a 48 yard FG on a windy day is
hardly a “Give Me.”
Challenge Flag Management
What I predicted:
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.
Verdict: N/A. I do not recall Lewis
challenging any plays on Sunday. The Bengals are better off because of it.
Hopefully he did what I suggested and donated his red flag to his charity fund.
If so, I was correct and Bengals fans are happy.
Pass Rush
What I predicted:
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?”
Verdict: Completely wrong…and I am
OK with that. The Bengals pass rush was all over Eli with 4 sacks and 8 QB
hits, resulting in 2 INTs and 1 fumble. Dunlap was back to being Dunlap (1.5
sacks), Gilberry continues to show he deserves playing time (1 sack, 1 FF), and
even Geathers got a sack.
Secondary
What I predicted:
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.
Verdict: I couldn’t have been more
wrong. Maybe Reggie Nelson needs to stay hurt. In his absence, the Bengals
secondary had 1 INT (the other was the D-Line) and 4 passes defensed and held
Eli to 215 yards and a 56.0 QBR. Of course, much of that is a direct
correlation to the pressure generated by the D-Line. With a good pass rush, any
secondary can look decent…ask the Giants fans how much better their secondary
looks when their D-Line is terrorizing the opposing QB like they normally are.
The Artist Formally Known as Manny Lawson
What I predicted:
How
many dead guys do the Bengals have on this defense?
Verdict: Correct. According to cincy
jungle, Lawson was only on the field for 12 of the 73 defensive snaps. He
had 1 tackle. Lawson has not been playing much of late and the Bengals seem to
be going with just 2 LBs. Either way, when Lawson does get on the field, no one
seems to notice…or care.
Mike Zimmer
What I predicted:
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.
Verdict: My apologies to Mr. Zimmer….at
least for this week. Yesterday this defense looked like the defense many fans
and experts expected in 2012. If it can play like this the next 7 weeks, this
team may still have a shot.
OL Pass Protection
What I predicted:
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!
Verdict: I was wrong. I said the run
blocking would be good and the pass blocking wouldn’t hold up against the Giants
DL. It was the opposite. The Giants have the best pass rushing DL in the NFL
and the Bengals O-Line held them to 0 sacks and 1 QB hit on 30 drop backs. That
is a job well done.
Dalton
What I predicted:
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.
Verdict: Starting to like the taste
of crow. I don’t believe he had any passes batted down, and he definitely had 0
INTs. Dalton must have heard my criticisms and not only had his first game of
the season with 0 INTs, he had his first 4 TD game of his career. Roadhouse!
BJGE
What I predicted:
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!
Verdict: Correct. 15 carries, 50
yards, 3.3 ypc. Not effective. By all accounts BJGE is a great guy. By all
accounts he should not be a starting RB.
3-6 Record
What I predicted:
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.
Verdict: Incorrect. I didn’t think
the Bengals would win this game, and quite frankly, wasn’t sure Lewis could win
a “must win” game. Well, they did, and he did. Congrats to both, I couldn’t be
more happy to be wrong about something.
Overall
I was good on the positive
predictions, but way off on the negatives. I have never been so happy to be
wrong about something as I was yesterday. If all it takes for this team to play that way is for me to talk bad about them, I will gladly help out. At 4-5 in a weak AFC, the Bengals
playoff chances are still alive - barely, but alive nonetheless. The question I
have is ‘where the hell was that all year?’ That team we saw, er, heard about
yesterday would have beaten the Dolphins, Browns, Steelers, and possibly the
Broncos. That team yesterday would have sold out the stadium. And, that team
yesterday would be sitting pretty at 8-1 or 7-2 at worst, looking at two very
winnable games the next two weeks in KC and Oakland. Let’s hope that is the
team we see the rest of the year, because if so, maybe the 2012 season won’t be
lost after all.
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