What I Did Like
A Win
It
wasn’t pretty, but it was a win. And a win, based on the improbable
Indianapolis and Pittsburgh wins, was essential. San Diego’s record is not much
different than KC or Oak, but SD had to win Sunday and is a much better team
than KC and Oak. At the start of the season, hell, even 4 games into the
season, many projected SD to win the AFC West. This is a SD team that had
Baltimore beat last week and was up on Denver 24-0 at half. So, to go to the
west coast (where the Bengals typically struggle) and win, against a quality
team, in a game that SD had to win to keep their season alive, was huge. Going
into Sunday, it looked as though a win would allow the Bengals to gain ground.
Even though they didn’t gain ground, losing a game on Pittsburgh and Indy would
have put the Bengals on the Brink. Give Marvin and the coaching staff credit.
BJGE
Make
it 3 straight games now of 100+ yards for BJGE, something he had never done in
his career. Again, he looked good and again, he broke a few longer runs,
including a 41 yarder. What makes it more impressive is that SD came into the
game ranked 5th against the rush. In 12 games, the Chargers have
allowed 2 100 yard rushers: BJGE and Trent Richardson. Backs that failed to get
100 against SD? McFadden, Chris Johnson, Michael Turner, Jamaal Charles (2x),
McGahee (2x), Doug Martin, and Ray Rice. To say 100+ by BJGE against this
defense was impressive would be an understatement. While the passing game is
still the Bengals strength, their offense is much better when the running game
is clicking.
Creative and Gutsy Play Calling
Going
for it on 4th and 9 from the SD 35? Who is coaching this team and
what has he done with Marvin ball? Either way, I like it and the team seems to
be responding. While the pass was incomplete, a defensive holding was called,
giving the Bengals a first down and ultimately leading to a TD. While there
were a few 4th and shorts in SD territory later in the game I would
have liked to see the offense go for, I like that Marvin is trusting his team
on some of these 4th down situations. Also, remember how the first
few weeks (during their last winning streak), we raved about Jay Gruden’s
creativity? On Sunday it looked like Gruden has woke back up. Nice to join us
Jay. The Tecmo Bowlesque reverse flee flicker worked well and was nice to see a
wrinkle in the offense.
Return of Hawkins
While
Hawkins does not give Gruden the size, hands, and flexibility that Sanu gives
him, he provides some things others cannot, i.e. screens, shiftiness, trick
plays (see above). Hawkins will not make us forget about Sanu, but his return
will lessen the blow of Sanu’s injury.
Pressure in 2nd Half
Not
sure what they did so differently in the second half, but in the first half the
defense got zero pressure on Rivers. In the second half they got 4 sacks and
were all over him….and I liked it. The defensive line is the strength of this
team and when they are playing at the level they were in the second half, it
hides issues in the secondary and LB corp. Mark it down boys and girls, I gave
the Bengals credit for making a noticeable adjustment at the half.
Carlos Dunlap
Dunlap
had 2 sacks on Sunday giving him 4 for the season. While he may not have the
sacks that Atkins and MJ have, he is creating sacks for those guys. This DL was
not getting the pressure on the QB until Dunlap came back. Since then, this DL
has been one of, if not the best, DL in the NFL.
Geno Atkins
After
.5 sacks on Sunday, Atkins now has 9.5 sacks in 12 games…from the DT position.
Hands down the most underrated player in the NFL. I am not sure how much longer
his deal runs, but the Bengals would be wise to lock him up long term sooner
rather than later.
Reggie Nelson
While
he didn’t separate the guy from the ball on every hit Sunday, he had some big
(and clean) hits over the middle and a great tackle for a loss on 3rd
down. This defense seems better with him and Crocker playing safety.
Nick Lachey
What?
How does Nick Lachey make this list you ask? Normally I don’t give flying
endorsements to boy band members. However, when boy band members are die hard
Bengals fans and get kicked out of the opposing teams’ stadium for
getting into a confrontation with opposing fans, then I am all for them.
Prior to this game, I was impartial on Nick Lachey. After this story, I am
Pro-Nick Lachey!
What I Did Not Like
Andy Dalton
Dalton
had gone 3 games without at pick. He was going to throw a pick at some point.
The disturbing part about Dalton’s picks are when/how they come. After having a
great first drive, Dalton threw a pick 6 to give up the lead – this was
Dalton’s 4th of the year! That was the issue with Palmer. Every QB
is going to throw picks, but you have to limit, if not eliminate, the pick 6’s.
Dalton has a very good defense, but they can’t help keep the team in the game
if they aren’t on the field.
Brandon Tate
Adam
Jones is 3rd in the NFL averaging 15.3 ypr. Brandon Tate is 16th
averaging 8.9. Brandon Tate has 4 fumbles, 1 lost. Jones has 0 and 0. So why the
hell has Tate had 19 attempts to Jones’ 18? Mind boggling. Jones is a weapon at
PR, Tate is a liability. Oh yeah, and then there are kickoff returns. I am
waiting for Tate to try and return a kick that goes out of the endzone. Why is
Tate granted so much leeway for his poor kickoff decisions? According to
ESPN.com
(http://espn.go.com/nfl/statistics/player/_/stat/returning/sort/yardsPerKickReturn),
26 players qualify for kick return stats. Only 8 have an average worse than
Tate’s 24.9. Take into account that he is usually starting from 8 yards deep,
and that is an average starting position of the 17 yard line. Not to Brandon
Tate and Bengals coaching staff, a touchback gets you to the 20 and lessens the
chance for injuries. Just sayin.
Jermaine Gresham
Look
who is back! Did he have a TD. Yup. He also had a 10 yard holding penalty
negating about a 20 yard run by BJGE (essentially a 30 yard penalty) and he a
fumble at the SD 43 yard line as the Bengals were driving to tie or take the
lead. It ended up not costing them because Novak missed the FG, but the guy
constantly makes critical mistakes. Gresham is tied with Whitworth for the most
penalties on the team – 3 false starts, 5 holds. Wow.
Marvin Jones
Game
1 of replacing Sanu as the #2 WR = fail. Dalton had 1 INT. Marvin Jones had the
other. Down 13-10 in the 3rd, Dalton threw a perfect pass to Jones
on 3rd and 10 and Jones let it go right through his hands, off his
facemask, and into the hands of Cory Lynch. Had Jones held on, the Bengals
would have had 1st and 10 at the SD 20. A FG would tie and a TD to
take the lead. While I am certainly not giving up on him just yet, game 1 was
not a good start.
Penalties
Critical
penalties can be overcome against weaker teams. Against good teams, they will
kill you. On Sunday, the Bengals had 4 such penalties: 1) with the game tied
10-10, the Bengals stopped the Chargers on 3rd down, except Michael
Johnson was offside. SD then converted the 3rd and 5 and went on to
kick a go ahead FG. 2) Whit’s holding on 3rd and 4 from the SD 39
with the game tied 10-10. The Bengals ended up having to punt. 3) Manny
Lawson’s block in the back on Jones’s punt return. 4) Gresham’s hold we talked
about before, wiping out BJGE’s nice run.
Blowing good Field Position
Down
13-10, the Bengals had drives 4 straight drives which started at their own: 37,
40, 44, and 45. In those 4 possessions, the Bengals totaled 2 first downs (1 by
penalty), 0 FG attempts, and 0 points. On their 5th consecutive
chance with good field possession, they finally scored what would turn out to
be the game winning TD.
Cedric Peerman Injured
Peerman
was becoming a good change of pace back and will be missed in the running game.
The biggest impact of this injury, however, will be felt on special teams.
Peerman is an excellent special teams coverage player.
Lack of Pressure in 1st Half
While
the DL made up for it in the first half, where were they in the first half? Did
SD’s screen plays throw them off that much?
Letting a Bad Team Hang Around
Bad
teams get more and more dangerous the longer you let them hang around (see Cle
and Mia for good examples in 2012). The Bengals did the same with SD on Sunday
and at times, looked like they could be in trouble of suffering what would have
been a crushing loss.
Lions and Ravens
Two
things became very clear to me on Sunday: 1) the Lions are a poorly coached and
poorly disciplined team that is greatly underperforming their talent – Andrew
Luck is good, but allowing him to erase a 11 point deficit with less than 3
minutes remaining, in your home, is bad. 2) the Ravens are not a Super Bowl
contender. The once proud Ravens defense lost, at home, to Charlie Batch and
Jonathan Dwyer. Not to Joe Flacco: If you want to be looked at as an ‘Elite’ QB
like you claim you are, stop losing at home to Charlie Batch.
Conclusion
The
Bengals did not gain ground like many thought they would, but more importantly,
they did not lose ground either. The Bengals have a very winnable next two
games and the week 16 matchup in Pittsburgh looks like it may be a playoff play
in game.
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