A FEW MO' THINGS, 9/24/12 EDITION
(Photo courtesy of The AP)
They go on the road and give up 213 yards rushing and 31 first downs while blowing a 17-point lead. While doing this, they commit eight penalties and lose the turnover battle in a game that was both close and high-scoring.
They get a whopping 2.2 yards a hit from the running back at the top of the depth chart, who fumbled the ball for the first time since the Bush Administration.
They often look utterly clueless against the option and appear completely on their heels on defense throughout an entire quarter.
And they play a game officiated by a crew who's qualifications to work NFL football games is rivaled only by my qualifications to fly a spaceship.
What a game. What a win.
For everything that went wrong yesterday, so much went right, from the added dimension to the playbook to the use of so many different offensive weapons, to a defense that spent the afternoon playing some its most physical ball yet, the Bengals overcame the Redskins, the refs, and themselves to get one of their most satisfying wins in years.
Let's not kid ourselves, the Redskins, for as much excitement as RGIII has generated, are still a good bet to finish last in the NFC East. The QB is still a rookie and he still doesn't have nearly enough tools around him. And their defensive issues were amplified without the availability of two key starters.
But still, how can you not be encouraged by what the Bengals did yesterday?
How can you not imagine the possibilities for an offense that's making use of so many different skill guys. AJ Green played maybe his finest game as a Bengal, Armon Binns is blossoming before us, Andrew Hawkins is turning into one of the most dynamic playmakers the team has ever had (Not a statement of hyperbole. Name for me five players like him in franchise history), making key contributions on both offense and special teams (Name for me five times the Bengals have executed on a punt they way Huber and Hawkins did late in the fourth quarter), Jermaine Gresham might be finding his role, and hell, Orson Charles of all people had one of the game's biggest catches.
And now they have two guys capable of delivering the ball.
If you're like me, you still can't believe it was the Bengals opening the game the way they did, with Mohamed Sanu's TD toss to AJ stunning both the 'Skins defense, and pretty much everyone who's followed this team for years.
We had the wildcat, we had end-arounds, we had fake field goal attempts (A call that I actually liked. Sixes were winning that game, threes weren't. The D was playing well to that point. Why not?), and we had one of the most imaginative offensive gameplans in years.
Imaginative playcalling has hardly been a Bengal hallmark.
Then there was Dalton, who's pick-six might have been the season's first remote-throwing moment, but who also made some of his best throws as a pro. The back-to-back passes to Charles and then to Green to set up Gresham's score were the kind of throws some doubted he could make.
And this was the kind of bounce-back most of us doubted the Bengals could make.
How many times have you seen Bengals teams let large leads get away and fail to respond? How many times have you seen the opponent's momentum snowball with the game getting away from the Bengals in the second half? As the Redskins and their option game erased the deficit, didn't you have that familiar sense of dread for the inevitable nut-punch loss that no franchise has been more identifiable with.
I did.
But instead of wilting they responded with two scoring drives, one of 80 yards, another of 72. Andy Dalton completed every one of his fourth quarter throws, coming through with his most clutch (clutchest? clutchiest?) game yet.
The defense did their part too. Yes, they failed to slow down the run game and at times looked silly against the option. And yes, they played a little too soft late in the game. But they pounded RGIII (tough dude, BTW), got a signature game from Michael Johnson, and got an instant upgrade the instant Carlos Dunlap dressed for the game. Johnson, Dunlap, and Atkins were nearly unblockable. The linebacker play was better, and aside from Terrence Newman's sheer stupidity, the secondary was good enough, not allowing the big plays that we saw against the Ravens and Browns.
They weren't great, but they were better. Most important, they were good enough.
This team still has plenty of improvements to make. The defensive numbers are still gory, their offense is still in its formative stages, and I still wonder what we'll see from both sides when the opposition gets tougher. But through three games, the Bengals have a loss in the game we thought they'd lose, a win in the game we thought they'd win, and now a win in a game that most thought was pretty much a toss-up.
They're 2-1 with plenty of flaws, but with back-to-back wins in spite of them. Bad teams lose because of, good teams win in spite of. Regardless of what the Bengals have won in spite of these last two weeks, their record resembles that of a good team much more than that of a bad one.
-I could drone on about the replacement refs. We saw it in Washington yesterday and if you watched games from around the league, you saw it elswhere.....
These guys are incompetent.
In DC yesterday, we had a runoff that wasn't. We had the wrong yardage assessed on an unsportsmanline penalty that was never explained publicly. We had indecisiveness after both Dunlap's forced fumble and the onside kick (Mike Shanahan has had better days. First, he blows through his timeouts with the carlessness of a college kid with a credit card, then he calls for an onside kick with more than three minutes left...that it almost worked didn't make the call the right one...had no timeouts left to challenge the call that they'd illegally touched it and more or less cost his team field position during the game's final drive.), no synergy between the crew and the clock operator, and general confusion at the end of the game.
We had the 49ers getting two extra replay challenges. We had the Titans getting 12 free yards on a drive that would lead to the eventual game-winning field goal. We had three helmet-to-helmet hits not flagged as so in Pittsburgh v. Oakland. We had an incompletion that should have been a catch that was reviewed and still ruled an incompletion. We had the debacle that was the second half of Baltimore/New England. And we had the disaster that was Atlanta/Denver.
Look, I know everyone is tired of hearing about this, and I know these guys are doing the best they can. But this is becoming a problem. The integrity of the game is being threatened here, with games being worked by men who simply do not have the qualifications to officiate NFL games. The delays are interminable, the rules are being confused, and these guys simply have no contol over the games they're working. It's laughable.
I've spent almost zero time reading about or following whatever it is the league and the refs are fighting over, because I don't care. But Roger Goodell can reach into his desk and find enough money to appease the real refs. The regular officials make their share of mistakes, but their work is hardly ever a blight on the sport. What we're seeing from these guys most definitely is.
-Red. Zone. Channel. I watched NFL games for nearly 30 years without Red Zone. I don't know how. I don't want to experience NFL Sundays without Red Zone ever again. I watched three overtime endings at once yesterday. I popped over to Red Zone during breaks in the Bengals game and had a feel for everything that was going on around the league. I'm to the point where I can't fathom sitting there stuck watching one game on Fox or CBS, especially on Sundays like yesterday.
-This guy is pretty good.
(Photo courtesy of Getty Images)
-Other Perspectives....
From Peter King of SI.com....
The rookie from Rutgers should frame Sunday's NFL gamebook, the one with "QB 12 M.Sanu'' where Andy Dalton's name should be in the lineup of starting players. Offensive coordinator Jay Gruden drew a play up this week with Sanu as the shotgun quarterback and Dalton spread wide left, practicing it for the first time Wednesday. "I noticed when teams played the Wildcat against the Redskins, they lined up in cover zero [safeties crowding the line of scrimmage, corners with no safety net over the top], and I thought we might able to do something with Mohamed because of his arm.''
Sanu played quarterback at South Brunswick (N.J.) High, then went to Rutgers, where he was eventually moved to receiver. He did throw 18 college passes out of the Wildcat formation, so he had some experience. So when Gruden called the play on the first snap, A.J. Green was supposed to take a corner with him, with no safety help, and that's exactly how it played out. "I was supposed to throw the ball as far as I could throw,'' Sanu told me after the game. "I knew I could put it right on him.'' Sanu wound up and threw the ball 49 yards in the air. As he said, he put it right on Green, who caught it in stride. It looked so easy. "I can tell you,'' said Gruden, "he didn't throw it that good in practice this week." But it only counts when it counts.
From Chris Burke of SI.com...
Green continues to establish himself as one of the league’s best weapons — and he sent a statement to the Redskins early Sunday, hauling in a pass from fellow receiver Mohamed Sanu, who lined up in the wildcat, and taking it 73 yards for a score. Green finished with nine catches for 183 yards, part of a balanced aerial attack by Cincinnati that kept Washington’s defense on its heels in a 38-31 win.
From John Clayton of ESPN....
...the credit should go to Bengals offensive coordinator Jay Gruden, who called an incredible game. For what he has done developing Dalton and a young receiving corps in Cincinnati, Congress should launch an investigation if Gruden doesn't get a head-coaching job next year. The guy is brilliant. Gruden's unit put up 478 yards and 38 points. Overall, the Bengals had seven plays of 22 yards or more Sunday. In the past two weeks, the Bengals have had five touchdowns of 40 yards or more. Dalton proved he was special last season in helping the Bengals make the playoffs as a wild-card team, but he wasn't known for having a particularly strong arm. This year, he's averaging 9.1 yards an attempt and 13.3 yards a completion.
Before the season, head coach Marvin Lewis talked about "chunk" plays. The Bengals are getting big chunks. They now have three pass-catchers averaging more than 17.3 yards a completion.
"Everyone was saying, 'Who is your second receiver?'" Lewis said. "I kept saying we have four of them, and they are really good."
Everyone knows Green is a young superstar. He had nine catches for 183 yards and a touchdown against the Redskins. But Gruden and Dalton got the rest of the young group involved. Starter Armon Binns had three catches for 63 yards and a touchdown. Tiny slot receiver Andrew Hawkins had two catches for 66 yards and a touchdown. Tight ends Jermaine Gresham and Orson Charles combined for six catches, 89 yards and a touchdown.
Dalton was sensational. He completed 19 of 27 passes for 328 yards and three touchdowns, giving him a 132.9 quarterback rating and giving Gruden a perfect coaching rating. This is an exciting team.
From Will Brinson of CBS Sports.....
Great, creative playcalling day for Jay Gruden, whose offense scored a pair of touchdowns out of the wildcat. But Cincy's defense is a major concern. They can't slow anyone down, even with a 14-point lead. Benjarvus Green-Ellis had a TD, but also a stinker of a day with 17 carries, 38 rushing yards and his first career fumble.
From Clark Judge of CBS Sports...
A week ago, coordinator Mike Zimmer admitted he was so disappointed with his unit that "every aspect of it surprises me." I can't imagine he feels much better today, though the Bengals just held off Washington. Through three games Cincinnati has hemorrhaged 102 points, and that's not good for any coordinator's resume. But give the Bengals this: They produced six sacks and stiffened when they had to on Washington's last drive. What's more, look at their next three games: They play Jacksonville, Miami and Cleveland, and that's guaranteed to help.
-Oh yeah, the Reds clinched the division on Saturday afternoon. I was compelled to blog yesterday morning. What was awesome about this weekend was the atmosphere in the park on Friday and Saturday, among the best ever on Friday, and slowly building to a crescendo on Saturday afternoon. Last night was quiet, a little too quiet because as people yelled "wooo," it became more and more annoying.
I'm officially over the woo.
My pictures from Saturday aren't very good, but what the hell.....
-Will anyone remember last night for anything other than it being the Denis Phipps Game?
-Getting homefield in the NLCS is worth playing for. It is not worth running the team into the ground for. You'll see some guys in the lineup that you'd prefer not to. There's a method to what they're doing.
That said, with the Giants having gotten hot (had won six straight before yesterday) and having closed within three, keeping homefield advantage in round one is more important than finishing with the best record in the league.
-Fan in me wants to hammer Fox Sports Ohio for their royal f-up on Saturday. Broadcaster in me who's been responsible for broadcasts going off the air doesn't want the bad kharma.
-Here's a pretty epic fight in the parking lot after the Bengals/Redskins game. And we wonder why people don't want to go to NFL games as much.
-Here's some jackwad making a toast at Oktoberfest....
-Artell Hawkins has this afternoon off. He returns next week. I'm on every day starting one week from today. As for today, I'm interested in the direction the show takes....Reds or Bengals? We'll find out starting at 3:04 on ESPN1530. Here's some jackwad on some video he obviously taped a month ago asking you to be at the Reds game tomorrow night. Buy tickets here.
