Week 16: Bengals vs Vikings - The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

For the first time in franchise history, the Bengals are going to the playoffs 3 straight years, and this year, they sealed it with some authority – albeit against a very bad Minnesota team.

 

With a 42-14 whooping in the Jungle, here’s the Week 16 Good, Bad and Mostly Ugly…

 

The Good

Andy Dalton – Where is this Dalton more consistently? 27/38, 71.1% completion, 366 yards, 4 TDs, 0 INTs, 92.0 QBR and a 136.5 rating. This is the Dalton that I love and believe can lead the Bengals to a Super Bowl. If this Dalton shows up in the playoffs, the Bengals have a chance against anyone. When Dalton has time (like he did Sunday), he looks like a completely different quarter back. For all the hell Dalton has received this year (some of it valid), think about this: with 117 yards and 2 TDs next week, Dalton would set the franchise record for single season yards and TD passes.

 

Pass Protection – All quarter backs are better when they have a clean pocket. Few quarter backs seem to have the drop off that Dalton does when the pocket collapses. In the last 5 games, the Bengals line has allowed just 3 sacks and held the opponent to 0 sacks 3 times in the last 5. While Minnesota got 2 on Sunday, they were harmless sacks. If the line can keep Dalton clean, Dalton can win some big games over these next few weeks.

 

Defense – The defense did not play bad in Pittsburgh, but they never made a play either. They made lots of plays on Sunday, starting with the first series of the game when the Bengals had a strip sack of Cassel and returned it inside the 5. With 3 interceptions, 1 fumble, 4 sacks, 6 QB hits, 10 passes defensed and only 209 yards surrendered, the Bengals defense may have had their best game of the year. The Vikings ran 48 plays on Sunday. Two of those plays covered 71 yards (both TDs). The other 46 yards covered just 138 yards (3.0 yards per play).

 

Vinny Rey – Why does he not start? Every time the guy plays, he produces. In limited playing time, Rey had 1 tackle, 1 sack, 1 pass defensed  and 1 INT…which he returned for a TD.

 

Reggie Nelson – Nelson seemed to be everywhere on Sunday. His stats don’t accurately portray the impact he had on that game (5 tackles, 1 pass defensed) – Nelson helped getting pressure on Cassel and had a huge (and clean) hit on Simpson on the sideline.

 

Turnovers – Going into Sunday, the Bengals only had 1 turnover in their last 2 games – and that was a toss-up by Roethlisberger last week that was intercepted at their own 1 yard line and proved useless. On Sunday, the Bengals got the ball out early and often. The short fields the defense can create make this offense all the more dangerous.

 

QB Pressure – Cassel may not be a playoff caliber quarter back, but all quarter backs become very beatable when you get pressure on them. The Bengals had 4 sacks, 6 QB hits, 1 strip and forced 3 interceptions out of Cassel. The pressure was a welcomed sight after struggling the last few weeks to get pressure on the QB.

 

Team Preparation – I pounded Marvin for how the team came out last week and looked unprepared and unmotivated. That means I have to give him credit for the way they came out on Sunday. This Sunday, suffice it to say the Bengals looked ready from the time the coin hit the field turf. Forcing a turnover and a 3 and out in their first two defensive series and scoring a TD on their first offensive drive. A fast start sets the tone for the game and can bury a team before the game really starts. The Bengals saw this last week in Pittsburgh and they returned the favor this week to the Vikings.

 

Play-Calling (Offense and Defense) – Rarely does Zimmer call back-to-back bad (or less than stellar) games. After a questionable week in Pittsburgh, Zimmer came back strong against the Vikings. Even Gruden came out pretty good. If not for Gresham’s hands and inability to play within the rules of the game, the Bengals may not have been stopped on Sunday.

 

Brandon Tate – His one kick return was not pretty, but he had 2 punt returns for 27 yards (13.5 avg) and helped keep the offense rolling with his good punt returns.

 

Shawn Powell – 4 punts for 160 yards (40.0) is not great, but it also isn’t terrible, especially for a guy that has spent the last 2 months sitting on his couch watching football rather than playing it. The one long return the punt team gave up was a result of poor tackling (again) and not the result of a poor punt. Plus, Powell made it through the game without getting nearly decapitate…that is an improvement from last week.

 

Management – Rarely will you see praise heaped upon the Bengals front office, but they deserve it. That doesn’t mean we have to forget the 15 years from 1990-2004, but let’s recognize the changes they have made and the results they are getting. There are 5 teams in the NFL that have a current streak going of 3+ years in the playoffs – Ravens, Patriots, Packers, Broncos and your Cincinnati Bengals. If Baltimore and Green Bay fall short this week, the Bengals will be 1 of 3 teams with 3 straight years in the playoffs. I know, they are the only team on that list that has not won a game in the playoffs, but that isn’t my point. My point is, this management team has changed their philosophy. They have become one of the best drafting teams in the NFL, they work the cap wisely, and as a result, they have built a really good team with young talent and they haven’t compromised their future in doing so. Not many teams can say that. How do you feel about the Bengals 5 year outlook compared to teams like Denver, New England, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, etc? I feel pretty good. So, while I don’t do it often, here is my praise to the Brown family and their turning of a new leaf.

 

 

The Bad

Unlike last week, the “Bad” and the “Ugly” was very limited. I guess that is to be expected in 42-14 victories.

Dre Kirkpatrick – I have to keep reminding myself he is basically a rookie with just a few games under his belt, but he is starting to feel like a bust. There is a transition to the NFL speed and schemes, etc, but covering and tackling is the same at all levels and right now, Kirkpatrick looks bad at both. On Sunday he was abused on a double move by the lethal combo of Jarius Wright and Matt Cassel, and later in the game, he was beaten badly by the Pro Bowler Jerome Simpson – if not for a poor throw by Cassel, that would have been the second deep TD of the game given up by Dre. Regardless, he should have been called for PI because he assaulted Simpson before the ball got there. I will give him a bit more time, but Newman can’t get back soon enough.

 

Explosive Plays – While the defense played well as a whole, I didn’t like seeing them give up two touchdowns of 30+ yards (36 and 35). If not for the back of the endzone, Wright and Patterson may still be running. The Bengals have been great at limiting big plays this year, but 2 by the Vikings is concerning because against good teams, an entire game of good defense can be wiped out by 1 explosive play like that. Concerning when entering the playoffs.

 

The Run Game – I predicted we would see our first 100 yard rusher yesterday against the Vikings 20^th ranked run defense…I couldn’t have been more wrong. BJGE combined for 25 carries and just 44 yards (1.76 ypc). That is brutal against a good run team, let alone a bad one. After all my excitement about the improvement in the Bengals run game with Whitworth at guard, the last two games have brought me back down to earth. I believe the issue with the run game is more a product of the play calls than the line and the running backs. I don’t think Gruden calls solid run plays.

 

Injuries – How many more injuries can this team withstand? They are already without their best defensive lineman for the year (Atkins), their best DB for the year (Hall), their other starting DB is out with a knee injury (Newman), Harrison is still out with a concussion, and now on Sunday, they lose Burfict and Eifert for the rest of the game with injuries. This is a deep team (further proof of the job management has done), but at some point, a team cannot take any more injuries without a significant drop in play. The Bengals, I feel, are getting dangerously close to that point.

 

 

The Ugly

Jermaine Gresham – The Bengals continue to use Gresham, they need to have a “Gresham Rule”: if he catches the ball, he must give himself up prior to contact or get out of bounds. If he fails to do either, he is removed from the game. If he gets a penalty, he is also removed from the game. I have never, in my life, seen a guy so careless with the ball. Most of that is on Gresham for not being smart enough to secure the ball and part of that is on coaching for not addressing the issue. Gresham now has 3 lost fumbles on 49 catches…or 1 every 16 catches. However, 4 of those catches are for touchdowns and likely 15+ have seen Gresham run out of bounds, meaning Gresham probably fumbles once for every 10 touches (and this doesn’t count his near fumbles/those overturned for being down). Yes, he caught a TD pass Sunday, but it does it really matter? His fumble likely cost the Bengals at least a FG and directly lead to the Vikings game tying TD which let the Vikings back into the game (at least for a moment). If the fumble wasn’t bad enough, he added 2 more penalties to his resume. That gives him 9 penalties on the year (plus 1 that was declined), 4 pre snap penalties and an average of 5 penalty yards per game. Only 6 players in the NFL have more penalties that Jermaine Gresham. Can his free agency start effective today please?

 

Kick and Punt Coverage – The coverage itself wasn’t terrible, but the tackling was. Sherels’ 22 yard punt return was solely the result of missed tackles and Patterson had a field day running through arm tackles. Not a comforting sight the week after the special teams disaster in Pittsburgh. P.S. Can someone teach Nugent to kick the ball out of the endzone or hire a kicker that can?

 

Lack of FB – Orson Charles finally played Sunday. Not at fullback of course, but on special teams. The only reason I know that is not because he made a good play, rather because he got a penalty. Probably the first time he has had an announcer call his name all year. Probably was the highlight of his illustrious career so far – not saying much for a guy who is a professional football player that spends more Sundays keeping Hue Jackson’s car temperature at 71 degrees exactly than he does running plays – not too hot, not too cold Orson.  As the temperature dips, he becomes more and more irreplaceable…to Hue at least.

 

The Announcers – Could Dick Stockton and Ronde Barbe have seemed any less interested? On the opening drive of the game, when the Bengals sacked Cassel, stripped the ball and ran it back to the 4 yard line, I thought the play had been called dead because of the lack of enthusiasm from Stockton. It was like he was announcing two 4-10 teams…or a funeral. Apparently Dick Stockton has one tone of voice…really $%@ing boring! FOX must not care how they spend their money, because for the money they pay Stockton and Barber, you would think they could find two guys more interested in the game.