Paul Daugherty: keep it together bengals

Monday, October 30, 2006

keep it together bengals

The worst thing about the loss yesterday was the sniping afterward. Good teams pull together in bad times. Is this a good team? The coaching staff is very careful not to single out players for criticism. Marvin Lewis goes so far as to take blame for things that arent directly his fault... we saw that Sunday when he took the blame for taking a stupid timeout on a kickoff. Quotes from Willie Anderson and Rudi Johnson intimated that the play-calling stunk. Really? The Falcons were 27th against the pass. The Bengals' passing game is among the best in the NFL. Allegedly. So you're supposed to pound Rudi between the tackles all day? The difference on offense yesterday was Carson Palmer's inability to hit Chad Johnson deep down the left sideline on the first play of the 2nd half. It was symbolic of the entire passing game which, for whatever reason, has been disappointing all year. That's not coaching.

So here's a suggestion: If you're as dominant upfront as Anderson said they were, do a better job on blitz pickup. Meantime, let the coaches coach. Do your job, before the season spins out of control.

12 Comments:

at 11:56 AM

Anonymous said...

The Bengals really need to focus on Carson's timing issues with TJ and Chad. It doesn't matter what play is being called if the routes aren't being run or if Carson is unable to put the ball in his receiver's hands.

at 1:14 PM

Anonymous said...

Personally, I've always thought they'd limp through the first half of the season and make hay in the second half when Carson gets back his timing with Chad, etc.

keep in mind, it looked very likely that anthony wright would be running the offense for a game or three, so we're probably much better off than we'd be if that had happened.

This is a second-half team, they need to keep it together and make their late-season push. So long as they can manage to stay a couple games above .500, they should be able to make it as a wildcard team.

at 1:31 PM

Anonymous said...

pd, palmer is having a great year. He is 7th in passing rating. He has thrown only 4 picks (11 td/4 int) and yet is tied for 5th in sacks. I think we know where the problem is.

at 2:12 PM

Anonymous said...

It was the defensive play calling that gave the Bengals little chance of winning. You rush 3 players on 3rd and 16? No pressure on QB makes for easy 3rd down conversions especially if it is Michael Vick. Offense was OK, enough points to win, could be better, but the defensive play calling was less than stellar and cost the Bengals this game.

at 5:30 PM

OrangeD00d said...

The sniping is getting old, I agree. Last week, we heard from players that the coaches weren't opening it up enough. Were playing too conservative. Now, we are hearing from players that the Bengals aren't conservative enough. They're opening it up too much, when they should be running the ball more.

Here's what I think. Run or pass, how about shutting your pie-hole and getting a freaking hat on somebody?

at 8:13 PM

Anonymous said...

The sense of doom is really strange; last year the Bengals were 5-2 at this point, having lost to two playoff teams (Jacksonville and Pittsburgh, like Atlanta and New England this year) and barely eeking out a victory over Texas (the equivalent in terms of effort, if not results, to the Tampa Bay game). From 5-2 they went to 11-3. The defense looks better than last year, and the offense is starting to click. A victory yesterday would have put them in great position, but if the playoffs started to day I believe they'd win the tiebreaker for the last wild card spot. Given the injuries and off-season turmoil, 4-3 is a decent record.

But one small complaint: if Lewis' mantra before Carolina was "attack," why not try the on-side kick this week? Vick was unstoppable Sunday, so why not see if your special teams had some magic?

at 8:23 PM

Anonymous said...

I think the post-game sniping was ludicrous. Mike Vick beat us, pure and simple. He played as well as any visiting QB has played here since Elway or Marino in the 80s.
Chip Lapp
Kenwood

at 5:29 AM

Anonymous said...

Maybe I'm the first and only person to say this in Cincinnati. Marvin Lewis is NOT a GREAT NFL head coach. He simply is NOT. His teams are not ready to play defensively--which is supposed to be his strong suit. They are unable to pressure any quarterback and they're terrible against the run. This is Year 3 of the Marvin era. Now, it's his fault.

Also, I'm tired of the "smirk" in press conferences. His rosy public persona is long gone for me. "We're fine" he tells this town. No we're NOT. After Baltimore beats our butts, we'll be a .500 ball team. Why? We have the same team from last year.

Last year, the lucky Bengals benefitted from a weak schedule and a bunch of unforced turnovers. This year, when the Bengals need to line it up on both sides of the ball and play football, they are woefully inadequate.

The love affair with Marvin is over. This town is in so hungry for a winner of any kind, Marvin has gotten a free pass on being a mediocre head coach.

Message to Marving: STOP SMILING after losses. Hate to lose! Hate it!

at 8:17 AM

Anonymous said...

The biggest problem with Sunday's offense was the lack of balance. No problem with all of the passing, but you have to balance that to some degree with the run. The great teams always have, always will. Having said that, there is no doubt that Rudi would have a greater opportunity to cram it down their throats had the defense been able to get off the field. Bottom line, they ran 12 or so plays in the entire second half. While I wouldn't characterize the defense as having played poorly, they clearly did on 3rd down. I think the assumption was made that Vick would revert back t0o being his erratic self after th eway he played against Pittsburgh. Considering his track record, I too would have made that assumption. All of those singing his praise right now as if he's arrived are fooling themselves. Michael Vick is no Carson palmer, nor will he ever be. He lacks consistency, which leads to little succes in the NFL. Doubt it? Look at his numbers and then get back to me. Yes, he's a good quarterback and yes he was better than Palmer on Sunday. In the long run he will be remembered as the dynamic QB that he is, not a champion. Palmer has a much better shot at that. If the Bengals don't afford the Ravens with the same generosity that most of their opponents have thus far they Bengals will beat them, decisively. The only competition we have in our division is ourselves.

at 8:30 AM

Anonymous said...

Anon 2:12......The majority of teams only rush 3 on 3rd and long. That is not a "Bengals" idea, it is a league wide trend. You rush 3, drop your LB's and make the QB beat you with a good throw. Vick was playing out of his mind on Sunday. He made the throws and runs that were needed to beat us. If we blitzed him, he would have run right past our LB's like he did all day.

at 11:08 AM

Anonymous said...

Anybody who says Marvin lewis isnt a good coach or suggest Marvin lewis should be on the "hotseat" is a complete idiot and example #1 of why Cincinnati has the "reputation" it has. What next, marvin lewis is an old 30? Marvin Lewis dosent coach the same way Pete Rose hustled. i garuntee this guy is probably a Marge scott supporter also.

at 9:29 AM

Anonymous said...

Paul:

The problem with the Bengals is quite simple:

1. The injury to Braham has REALLY messed up the O-line--Palmer has no time to throw and they can't make holes for Rudi...

2. The run defense is AWFUL -- especially on 3rd down. They can't stop the run unless they bring in safetys or get lucky with a blitz. Sam Adams isn't doing the job we paid him for.

Until those 2 things are fixed, the Bengals are .500 at best.

What confuses me is that Lewis was touted for his defense! The defense under Marvin has gotten arguably worse (especially against the run) every year he has been here. They were actually better against the run under LeBeau!

Any feedback would be welcome!

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Monday, October 30, 2006

keep it together bengals

12 Comments: