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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