Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Grading the Bengals 2013 Season


With the Super Bowl over and done with, let’s take one last look back at the Bengals 2013 season and grade their performance before moving on to the offseason.

 

Quarterback: B

Many will think this is too high of a grade for Dalton, but that sentiment is mainly based off his poor performance in the playoff game. While his playoff debacle has to come into play with the grade, his overall year cannot be overlooked. As frustrated as Bengals fans were with Dalton this year, he did set the franchise record for touchdowns (33) and yards (4,296) and, regardless of how you feel about him, that is impressive. Along with the franchise record for touchdowns and yards, Dalton also set personal records for rating (88.8), QBR (58.8) and YPA (7.33) and for the third year in a row, improved his win total (11) and division standing (1st). If not for another playoff disaster and career high 20 interceptions, Dalton would have earned an “A” or “A+”. Instead, he settles for a “B”… and a lot of fan concern going forward.

 

Running Backs: B-

Giovani Bernard had a good rookie season but never was used to the fullest of his abilities, and although the running backs numbers were impressive - nearly 2,000 all-purpose yards and 15 touchdowns out of the top 2 backs – much like Dalton, the numbers don’t tell the whole story. Despite nearly 1,500 rushing yards from BJGE and Bernard, they only averaged 3.7 YPC, were plagued by inconsistencies all year and never were able to control a game. Most frustrating had to be their inability to get going on the same day. BJGE and Bernard are great compliments to one another, but the Bengals never seemed to be able to get them going together and that held the offense back. Though a lot of those issues (and this grade as a whole) can be blamed on the offensive coordinator not knowing how to effectively use the running game, the backs have to take some of the blame as well.

 

Wide Receivers: A-

AJ Green was AJ Green and could essentially role out of bed and get an “A”, but the most important development in the passing game in 2013 was the emergence of a true #2 receiver. Marvin Jones ended up 2nd on the team with 10 TDs, tied with Larry Fitzgerald and Wes Welker. The only thing keeping this group from an “A” or “A+” was the disappointing season of Mohamed Sanu, Hawkins missing most of the year with an injury and Jones’ periodic disappearances – despite his impressive numbers, Jones had 6 games in which he had 2 catches or less (0 catches (2), 1 catch (4), 2 catches (2)) and 4 games of single digit receiving yards. In 2014, the Bengals need more consistency from Jones and the other receivers.

 

Tight Ends: D

The Bengals 2013 tight ends had to be the most disappointing position on the team. I fell for it hook line and sinker and continued to predict it each week - all year long we kept hearing about the mismatches that would be created with the 2 tight ends the Bengals had. New England Patriotesque. The Bengals were going to be so dynamic be with the 2 tight end sets …except it never came to fruition. Gruden, as he did with the running game, never seemed to figure out how to effectively use the 2 tight ends to his advantage. Gresham and Eifert combined for 85 catches, 906 yds and 6 TDs. 11 tight ends (including Miami’s tight end Charles Clay) had 6 or more TDs by themselves and neither Gresham or Eifert finished in the top 20 in yards for a tight end (22 and 24). Gresham tied for 23rd amongst tight ends with 4 TDs and Eifert tied for 32nd with (among others) the soldier himself – Kellen Winslow. In fact, 46 tight ends had as many or more TDs than Eifert, meaning either Eifert was not as NFL ready as we thought, or Gruden grossly underutilized him. We shall find out next year. Either way, the Bengals need more from their tight ends (especially Eifert) in 2014 if they want to realize the dynamic potential of their offense.

 

Offensive Line: B-

This was the most complicated grade of the season. In the run game, the line earned an “F” as only 4 teams had a lower YPC average than the Bengals pitiful 3.6 (Pitt, NYG, Jax, Balt). However, when it came to pass blocking, the Bengals would have gotten an “A” as only 2 lines (Den, Det) allowed their quarterback to sample the grass more than Dalton (29) – take away the 10 sacks they gave up in back-to-back games in Miami and Baltimore and they surrendered just 19 sacks in the other 14 games. As a whole though, the line has to average out to a “C”…however, they have to be given credit for their ability to perform through injuries. At one point in San Diego, with the injuries to Zietler, and Boling and issues with Smith, the Bengals had one opening day starter (Cooke) in their original position and yet they gave up 0 sacks and ended 1 yard shy (164) of a season high in rushing yards (165). Hence the “B-“ grade. If they can get him back for the right price, I would like the Bengals to resign Anthony Collins and keep Whitworth at LG because the line was a much better line with those two on the left side. With Hue Jackson calling the plays in 2014, you can expect a better run blocking unit and as a result, more consistency from the running backs.

 

Defensive Line: A

Speaking of overcoming injuries, in 2013 the Bengals defensive line continued to be the strength of this defense - and one of the top lines in the NFL - despite losing their starting LE before the season (Geathers) and the top DT in the league (Atkins) half way through the season. The Bengals displayed their D-Line depth by finishing 5th against the rush, 10th in sacks, 5th in PPG and 3rd overall. Call me crazy, but had Atkins not been injured, I believe the Bengals would have gotten at least the 2 seed and would have been playing in at least the AFC Championship game. One good thing to come from Atkins injury was the development of Thompson (and possibly Still) showing his/their ability to play an important role in the defense – if not start next to Atkins in 2014. Should the Bengals lose Johnson in free agency (and I fully expect them to), this line is deep enough and good enough to withstand the loss and still be one of the best in the league.

 

Linebackers: A

Going into the season, I had a lot of concern about the linebacker position. I liked what I saw from Burfict in 2012, but coming into the season he was just a 2nd year player with less than a full year of starting under his belt; I thought the resigning of Maualuga was a terrible decision and I questioned what Harrison had left in the tank; the preseason injury to Lamur and early injury to Mays was cause for a lot of concern for the linebacking position. However, every player played above my expectations and that is impressive. Burfict became a Pro-Bowler and led the NFL with 171 tackles. Maualuga did not hurt the Bengals like he did in 2012 and to be honest, played pretty well (which is saying a lot coming from me). Harrison wasn’t an impact player, but at this point in his career, I did not expect him to be. And Vincent Rey stepped in for Maualuga and quite frankly was the 2nd best linebacker on this team. If the Bengals bring back Rey (and I think they will) and get a healthy Lamur and Mays back, this could be a very strong unit in 2014,

 

Cornerbacks: A-

Speaking of the ability to excel in the face of big injuries, in 2013 the Bengals corner backs epitomized the “next man up” mantra as they rotated starters quicker than Jennifer Lopez rotates husbands. Despite losing their best corner for the year just 6.5 games into the season and losing their other starter (Newman) for the last 5 games, the Bengals still managed to finish 5th in passing defense and finally got some playing time and production out of Dre Kirkpatrick. While Kirkpatrick still has some work to do, he and Adam Jones proved that they can both still be solid starters in this league, giving the Bengals 4 starting caliber corners on one team. However, as age and injuries begin to creep up on Newman, Hall and Jones, the Bengals should be looking to take a corner fairly early in the 2014 draft.

 

Safeties: A+

Sometimes grades are not only based on performance, but on expectations. If the tight ends were the most disappointing group in 2013, the safeties had to be the biggest (and most pleasant) surprise in 2013. While Nelson is one of the more solid safeties in the NFL, Iloka came in as a huge question mark with zero NFL experience, and with injuries to Nelson, the Bengals had to once again summon Crocker off his couch. Iloka managed to hold his starting position all year long and between the 3 safeties, the Bengals got 167 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 5 interceptions, 3 forced fumbles, 3 fumbles recovered, 21 passes defensed and 1 touchdown. That is quality production from the safety position regardless of who your safeties are, but extremely good production for a group that came into the season as the biggest question mark on the roster.

 

Kicker: C-

Some would point to his 18/22 and multiple game winning field goals and say he had a pretty good year. Those people would be wrong. Tough grading? Hardly. Nugent’s 81.8% accuracy was good enough to tie him for 23rd out of 32 kickers, or the 25th percentile. When testing to get in to colleges, the 25th percentile don’t exactly receive a lot of college offers and often end up at junior colleges…if they are lucky. What does that have to do with Nugent? Nothing really, just a roundabout way of saying he did not have a good year.

 

Punters: B

This is an average grade and really should be broken down as Huber “A” and post Huber “C”. Prior to having his face rearranged, Kevin Huber was having a Pro Bowl caliber season. It is safe to say the punters that replaced him will never approached a Pro Bowl caliber level of play.

 

Kick Returner: B

It takes a lot for me to hand out compliments to Brandon Tate, but believe it or not, Tate was 9th in the NFL with a 26.1 average...though it is worth keeping in mind that they count the yards coming out of the end zone.

 

Punt Returner: B

Even more shocking was Tate’s 9.3 punt return average which was 13th in the NFL. He even had a few punt returns that saved/won games. Like it or not, Tate had a pretty good year.

 

Head Coach: C

Despite another playoff loss (0-5 now), Lewis has to at least get credit for getting the team to 11 wins and a division title. Normally 11 wins and a division title would at least get you a “B” but not for Lewis. Not with a team who many considered (and rightfully so) a legitimate Super Bowl contender. Not for a coach that has taken his team to the playoffs 3 straight years only to start his team’s offseason 4 hours after the playoffs kicked off in each of those three years. Not for a coach that shows an ability to succeed in the regular season only to fall apart in the postseason. So while his regular season effort was a “B” or “B+”, his postseason effort was “D” effort at best.

 

Offensive Coordinator: C+

Like Lewis, Gruden deserves credit for what he has done – most notably take a rookie QB with no training camp and get 9 wins and 20 TDs out of him in the first year, 10 wins and 27 his second year, and a franchise record 33 and 11 wins in his third year. However, he also oversaw an offense that forced Dalton to throw so much that 20 interceptions also accompanied his 2013 stat sheet. He oversaw an offense that tied for 27th with 3.6 YPC despite a talented running back duo. He also conjured up a 2012 playoff game plan designed to get the ball to Jermaine Gresham instead of AJ Green. He repeatedly failed in short yardage situations and even admitted to overthinking them. And he also was the coordinator that had Dalton throw the 8th most passes in the NFL – something that should never happen. Despite the offenses growth under Gruden, it was time for Gruden to go. Dalton may have fit Gruden’s system, but I am not sure Gruden’s play calling fit Dalton…or the Bengals for that matter.

 

Defensive Coordinator: A

This had to be one of Zimmer’s best performances. Sure, it may have been his most talented group, but he only had that group for 6-7 games. Zimmer’s ability to keep the defense playing at a top 5 level despite losing the top DT in the NFL and their top corner back was impressive. Every time they lost a player (even Atkins) it seemed like they didn’t even lose a step. That can be attributed to Zimmer and his hard-nosed attitude – and that is what the Bengals will be missing with Zimmer in Minnesota. Hopefully Guenther can keep this attitude going.

 

Special Teams: C+

Here are the Bengals rankings in the following categories:

Kick Return Avg: 13th

Punt Return Avg: 15th

Kick Coverage: 15th

Punt Coverage: 12th

FG Percentage: 23rd

Net Punting: 15th

Their average ranking across all 6 categories? 15.5 out of 32 teams. That is about as average as average can be. Brandon Tate had a decent year, but I would still like to see the Bengals find an upgrade at the kick and punt returner position. Huber had a good year until his injury. The coverage teams were average and Nugent had some big kicks and big misses. All in all, a very average year for Darrin Simmons and crew.

 

Season as a Whole: C

Going into the season, I predicted this team to win 11 games and win the division, which is exactly what they did. I also said that a season that ended without a playoff win would have to be considered a disappointment. It did, and therefore it was. A “C” is a disappointing grade and seems to fit this team well.

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