Week 10: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

You know things are going bad when even Kevin Huber is struggling. Instead of ending the Ravens season, the Bengals gave them a breath of life, something I hope they don’t come to regret.

 

Here’s the Week 10 Good, the Bad and the Ugly…

 

The Good

Vinnie Rey – There wasn’t much positive about Sunday, but Vinnie Rey was one positive. As the MLB in Maualuga’s absence, the 3^rd year player came up with a team leading 15 tackles, 3 sacks, 1 INT, 3 passes defensed and 3 tackles for a loss. Rey Maualuga who? Chew on this for a moment – in 1 game, Rey matched Maualuga’s 5 year sack total! My guess would be the Maualuga will get his starting position back when he is healthy, but should he? I would say no.

 

Run Blocking – One of the most overlooked parts to the game on Sunday was that the Bengals line had a pretty successful day run blocking (except on the critical short plays). BJGE and Bernard were averaging 4.0 and 4.1 respectfully on 23 carries…which begs the question of why they only ran 23 times to 51 passes.

 

Successful Hail Mary – As a Bengals fan, I have never seen a successful hail mary pulled off by my team. As a Bengals fan, it figures that the hail mary only ties the game…which the Bengals go on to lose. The life of a Bengals fan.

 

The Defense – Without their best CB, DT and starting MLB, the Bengals held the Ravens to 189 yards and forced 3 turnovers on the road. That is getting it done. There were 134 yards of penalties, but on some very questionable calls.

 

Marvin Lewis’s Aggressive Calls – They may not have gotten the first downs, but I like Marvin going for it on 4^th down on the opening drive and in OT. I like the tone it sets with the team and I like the confidence it shows in his offense (though maybe misplaced) and his defense. However, I do not like the play calls on the 4^th down – but that is not Marvin’s fault, that is Gruden.

 

The Bad

Where to start? The tough question here is what constitutes just Bad and what constitutes Ugly?

Reggie Nelson’s PI – Let it be known, I thought that was a bad call – yes he didn’t turn around, but I didn’t see enough contact to justify a PI call. With that said, it was a killer penalty that was completely unnecessary. 1) the one thing the Ravens can do, is go deep – so the safeties should have been guarding against that all day; 2) the Ravens run game sucks, so why were Jones and Nelson caught looking in the backfield? Rice was averaging 2.7 ypc on the year – he averaged 1.7 ypc on Sunday – so why the hell were Jones and Nelson worried about Rice carrying the ball? 3) every football fan over the age of 2 knows that when there is a possible momentum changing turnover around midfield, 90% of the time, the first play after the turnover is a deep ball – that is not scientific, but it is likely close; 4) apparently there are two situations where a flee flicker works: Tecmo Bowl and games in which Reggie Nelson is playing safety.

 

Andrew Hawkins – I was excited to get him back, though I expressed concern as to where he fit in and if he provided anything more than Sanzenbacher. Now being back for 2 games, Hawkins has 2 touches: a 10 yard catch and a fumble on an attempted end around. The fumble came on 1^st down of a drive where the Bengals had good field position (35 yard line) and promptly put them in a 2^nd and 13 hole – leading to a quick 3 and out. I don’t know how he recovered that ball (so I do give him credit for that), but if he is going to be in there for “cute” plays, he better be able to produce. 

 

Not Going for 2 at the End of Regulation – I know it may seem crazy, but why not? The Bengals had no business winning that game. The offense showed no ability to sustain a drive. Dalton was in the midst of possibly the worst game of his career. So what would make you think they could sustain a drive in OT long enough to win the game? I see why Marvin didn’t go this route – and I don’t blame him – but I also wouldn’t have blamed him for trying to steal the win. With the hail mary, all hell had broken lose. The Bengals were as high as they had been all day. The Ravens were as low as they had been all day. The Bengals had the mental edge. The Ravens were in shock, they were fighting with each other and they were not ready to defend a two point conversion. At home, you go for the tie. On the road, go for the win. The Ravens just saw their season flash before their eyes and the Bengals had the chance to finish them off. Instead, they let them get off the mat, go to their corner and regroup. Not a terrible choice, but I think the wrong choice.

 

The Ugly

Where to start?

Gruden – Gruden is quickly getting into the Bob Bratkowski category. Creative is fun, but isn’t even necessary – and in fact is counterproductive if you can’t pull it off (see wheel route to Bernard on 4^th and 2). I am simply asking for play calls that put your team in a favorable position to sustain drives. That means not running QB sneaks on 4^th and 1. That means not running wheel routes on 4^th and 2’s in overtime. That means using your best short yardage back in (BJGE) in short yardage situations. That means not throwing deep to anyone not named Green (Sanu) in critical 3^rd and 2’s when you are down 14 in the 4^th quarter. That means on 3^rd and 3’s not throwing the deep ball to Dane Sanzenbacher (Miami). Get the point?

 

4^th Down Play Calls – aka Gruden Issue #2: I don’t have a problem with Marvin going for it on 4^th down. In fact, I like it – it is very “un-Marvin.” I do have a problem with the plays that are called in these situations.

Example 1 – Opening Drive: On 4^th and inches, I like the QB up the center’s butt call. On 4^th and a full 1 yard+, that is a terrible call. Worse off, even if that is your call because you are trying to hurry up and catch the defense off guard (which the Bengals seemed to be doing), if the refs take forever setting the ball (which they did), call a timeout and change the play (Marvin even admitted they should have done this).

Example 2 – Overtime – For the second week in a row, I can’t blame Marvin for passing on the FG: 1) it is a 50 yard FG in the wind – the same wind which Nugent missed a 42 yard FG in earlier in the game; 2) a miss would have given the Ravens the ball at their own 40, just 30 yards from a game winning FG; 3) a great punt would pick up just 25 yards of field position – an average punt may get you just 13 yards of field position; 4) a FG doesn’t win the game – a TD does; 5) the head coach has to trust that the OC will call a play that at worst gets 0 yards and turns the ball over at the 33 – not a call that sees the offense lose 11 yards and give the ball back at the 44. Hence why I blame Gruden, not Marvin. I start with the 3^rd and 2 call. BJGE is essentially a specialist on this team – he specializes in short yardage. You have 2 plays to get 2 yards – put Peko in and run it twice with BJGE. If you decide to go another route and leave yourself with a 4^th and 2, a screen pass/wheel route is not the way to go. It is a play that either nets you the 1^st down or loses yardage (if the defense is playing the right defense). The Ravens called the right defense and the result was the latter. Why not call a play that gives your QB some options depending on what the defense gives you? A read option? A roll out? On a 4^th down play, why would you ever call a play that dictates where the ball goes regardless of the defense?

 

Dalton’s 51 Passes – aka Gruden Issue #3 – No quarterback in the NFL has thrown the ball more than Andy Dalton (383). Let me repeat that: no quarterback has thrown the ball more than Andy Dalton. Not Manning (369), not Brees (363), not Brady (340), not anybody. That is simply inexcusable and goes to the poor play calling of Gruden. Even worse is the fact that the Bengals have been in so many close games, meaning there is no reason to have so many throws. Dalton is not the type of quarterback that is going to excel throwing the ball 50+ times. He is most effective when he has a running game and can pick and choose his spots to throw. Yet Dalton has thrown 50+ times twice this year and thrown 40+ 5 times! All five games were close games and did not dictate throwing the ball so much. In those 5 games, the Bengals are 2-3. In the 5 games where Dalton throws less than 40 times, the Bengals are 4-1 (Chicago).  In games when Dalton throws the ball 30 times or less, the Bengals are 3-0. Coincidence?

 

Andy Dalton In General – I have long been one of the what seems like few Dalton supporters, but he makes it awfully easy for his detractors to criticize him and awfully hard for his supporters to keep supporting him. Was the loss all his fault? Certainly not. But, he had a HUGE hand in it. Where is the Dalton of October 1-30? How does a QB go from a 3 game stretch of 11 TDs and 2 INTs and follow it up with 2 TDs and 6 INTs? And 1 of those TDs was on a hail mary which really doesn’t count! Coming into the game, the Ravens had 4 interceptions in 8 games. Dalton threw them 3. All 3 of which were absolutely terrible throws and the 1^st of which lead directly to the Ravens 2^nd TD and 17-0 lead. The 2^nd messed up great field position (1^st and 10 at Cincinnati 42). And the 3^rd (which was another terrible throw), was a miss of a wide open Green that would have given the Bengals a first down in easy chip shot FG range (15 yard line). Even on completions, Dalton was putting the ball where his receivers couldn’t get YAC, he missed a TD to Eifert on a poorly thrown ball, and 91 of his 274 yards and 1 of the TDs, were pure luck – the deep ball which Green saved him on, and the hail mary. Without those two luck plays, Daltons numbers are 22-49 for 183 yards and 1 TD. Coming out of college, Dalton’s strength was supposed to be his accuracy, but I have not seen that to be the case so far in his 2.5 year career.

 

Andy Dalton’s Pocket Presence – The offensive line was not great yesterday, but at least 2-3 of the 5 sacks were a result of Dalton holding the ball way to long. A QB has to have an internal clock, and at times, it seems as Dalton does not. And, with the exception of Carson Palmer and Drew Bledsoe, have you ever seen a QB that seems so uncoordinated when the pocket breaks down?

 

Giovani Bernard- This may be rough for a guy that had 95 total yards and 1 of the 2 TDs, but to run backwards on the 4^th down play and lose 11 yards is inexcusable. Sure, he did it against Miami, but he has to be aware of the situation he is in. Taking a 2 yard loss in that situation may have saved the game as the Ravens struggled to get far in to FG range. The Bengals don’t get to OT without Bernard, but they may have lost in OT because of him.

 

AJ Green – Again, it may seem harsh for a guy with 8 receptions for 151 yards and a TD, but what seems to be overlooked is Green’s inconsistent effort and what seems like a refusal to defend against interceptions. How many interceptions does Dalton have over the last 2.5 years that could have been prevented by a little effort by Green? Maybe the one on Sunday Green couldn’t have caught, but doesn’t he need to try? Maybe he tips it and keeps it from being picked. Maybe his jumping distracts the defender enough that he drops the pick. Maybe neither, but it just seems at times Green gives up and hurts the team. There was at least 1 other ball (poor throw) that almost got picked on Sunday which Green gave a poor effort on. The INT before half in Miami could have been prevented by Green and lead to what would turn out to be a huge FG. The first INT in Chicago could have been prevented by Green and that one lead to a TD (in a game the Bengals lost by 3). He also dropped a perfect pass in Chicago that lead to an INT and prevented an easy 3 points. I am just saying, if his name was Chad, we would be all over him for this. And, speaking of drops, unbeknownst to Mike Mayock, the NFL leaders in drops have 7 (6 players). Next at 6? AJ Green. One of which may have cost them the Bears game and one of which may have cost them the Miami game (and did lead to the series that injured Atkins). I like Green, but he himself has expressed his need to work on his body language. I think he needs to also work on his effort being consistent.

 

Mohamed Sanu – Speaking of inconsistent, Sanu has had some really solid games and then he turns in a back to back games filled with drops and critical penalties.  

 

Pass Protection – While not all 5 sacks were the fault of the line, Dalton was under way too much pressure on Sunday and in critical situations – 4^th and 1 on 1^st drive and 3^rd and 2 in OT – the line let the team down.  

 

The Lack of a FB – The Bengals have struggled on 3^rd and 4^th and shorts and I have to think some of that is a result of not having a FB. Orson Charles is not a FB…even the Bengals coaches realize that. Have you ever noticed that in the few situations where the Bengals use a FB, the only guy they NEVER put at FB is their “FB?” When they need a FB, they put in Peko, or Smith, or Eifert, or anyone with a Bengals jersey not named Charles.  

 

Nugent – At the beginning of the year, I said they kept the wrong kicker and should have stuck with Josh Brown. I continue to stand by that. While this is the first game one of his misses cost the team the game, he nearly cost them the game with misses against GB, Buf and Det – his game winning FGs in Buf and Det are not needed if he makes the earlier kicks. 76.5% does not cut it for a kicker and you can see that Marvin’s confidence in him is questionable as he has passed up long game winning FG tries in back to back weeks. Nugent’s FG% ranks 25^th out of 32 kickers – Brown 13/15 (86.7%) ranks 15^th. Ask yourself this, with the game on the line, how confident to you feel with Nugent?  

 

The Referees – I hate complaining about refs, but that crew yesterday was brutal – and unfortunately for Bengals fans, they were one-sided brutal (with the Bengals on the bad end). I thought the PI on Nelson was very weak at best. The late hit on Burfict was a joke. The horse collar on Dunlap was a joke. And the penalty on Sanu was also a poor call. That is 89 yards worth of bad penalties against the Bengals. And then they missed a blatant PI on the deep ball to Sanu. The drive after the Nelson PI, they missed a PI when the DB hit Green clearly before the ball was there. Then they picked up the flag on a Baltimore PI which replay showed should have been a PI. It was just all around poor officiating. Not the reason the Bengals lost, but certainly didn’t help.

 

Dan Dierdorf – How CBS justifies this guy’s salary is beyond me. His telecast accuracy makes a weatherman seem like a psychic. You would think for the money he is paid and the free time he has on his hands (not to mention a 13 year NFL career), he might be able to learn the rules of the game. At least twice on Sunday he stated a rule blatantly wrong , and about 5 times he proved his eyesight is also fair game for questioning.