Post-game Open Thread: Bengals letdown against the Houston Texans 28-17
by Josh Kirkendall on Oct 18, 2009 4:00 PM EDT
in Game Recaps
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PrintCincinnati's offense and defense simply died at half time. Neither unit came out in the second half with any mind to win this football game. Receivers dropped passes. Fumbles and three-and-outs killed the Bengals while the defense, playing a majority of the entire half, allowed chunks of yards to the Texans offense. Matt Schaub threw for 392 yards and four touchdowns. Steve Slaton recorded 147 yards total, including 102 yards receiving.
The Bengals made an effort for a comeback but with it far too late. With so little time remaining, there was just too much of a need to throw risky passes. And Palmer threw a risky pass on the first play after the two minute warning, throwing the football over the middle with two defenders underneath. The rookie Brian Cushing intercepted the football ending the football game and the Bengals four-game winning streak. As a team, the Texans recorded over 470 yards total while the Bengals broke the 250 total yards barrier with the closing minutes in the fourth quarter.
Was this a let-down game? Was it that the Texans were simply a better team?
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Uh, and it's greg Gumble calling the game.
“It was a 30-17 lead!” Greg, that’s only a 13 point deficit.
We did a lot of bad things in the second half
First was totally scrapping the run game ala The Broncos game. We are very suspect against the pass, but atleast we’re shutting down the run for the most part. The TE situation is becoming the new Long snapper situation, better fix it fast it just cost us the game two fumbles and some drops.
What a throw.
That’s big time from Favre. I don’t like the guy, but that’s clutch.
"If it wasn't this, it'd be something else."
I don't really hate Favre.
I just hate the coverage he gets. If he were on cincy, he’d be my favorite player ever.
"If it wasn't this, it'd be something else."
whoa. They're still losing.
Wait until they put some points on the board here. He’s ended too many games by throwing interceptions.
He's a god for what he's done other than this game
How about the 49ers game and the 400 some odd tds 63,000 yards. Give him some respect.
Was I disrespecting the career of Brett Favre?
If you have watched him consistently over the course of his career, you know he’s ended a lot of games in failed comebacks too. So don’t start saying “I knew he wouldn’t let his team lose” until the points are on the board.
You notice that after the long pass, they ran the ball three times.
Hey, look at Brett Favre
Isn’t it nice to see a quarterback who can get his ass out of the pocket and still not give up on the play?
Tight Ends
J.P Foschi and Daniel Coats were awful in this game. they fumbaled the ball twice on key drives for us. i think it is time for Chase Coffman to get some snaps on passing plays
Don't forget L. Coles and A. Caldwell dropping some balls too.
Bengals could have won in a shootout. They just came to the game with a jammed handgun today.
"Ryan, Things in here don't react too well to bullets." - Marko Ramius
they've been aweful all season
not like this is an off week for either of them. they aren’t starters in the nfl. this is one of the few teams that would allow either of them to start.
the fact coffman can’t push them down the depth chart scares the hell out of me. how dumb could chase possibly be if can’t push “can’t catch” coates out of the number one spot. and really “roster fodder” froschi is entrenched at the number 2 te slot? this guy would be on a practice squad if not for the bengals.
we need a starting TE terribly.
From my point of view, this is what happened today
Houston played its game plan to perfection. We didn’t take away any weapon – the 3 guy we knew we had to worry about were Andre Johnson, Owen Daniels, and Steve Slaton. We did not tackle. We let the weapons make plays all day.
On offense, we had a great second quarter. But that’s the only quarter we played well at all. The first quarter was marred by 3 awful blocking penalties that killed drives. In the second half, more bad things happened. Daniel Coats and Foschi’s fumbles were equally terrible. Carson was not finding his wide receivers. 3 and outs were rampant. At the end of the game, it sounds like the interception was pretty awful too. Not that chances of winning were great, but that was the third bad turnover that took potential points off the board for us. A lot of our problems came at midfield – penalties, turnovers, whatever.
The running game never got going. Cedric Benson had only a few carries – something like 15 – on the entire game. The offensive line failed against the 4-3 front, and no one was getting to the second level to take DeMeco Ryans out of plays. Outside of that, Mario Williams made our tackles look abysmal.
The defense, meanwhile, was awful. Most of Houston’s big plays came on dump-offs and poor tackling and poor block shedding led to big plays. Two interceptions were dropped, and the Texans fumbled the ball out of bounds a couple times too.
We lost the field position game too. They started drives between the 35 and 40 all day, and we were, at best, starting around the 20.
No one played well for the Bengals today outside of the second quarter.
That's what you have to say though, isn't it?
Especially to the media. You can’t just give up on a team that’s still above .500 and on top of the division. You can say whatever you want tomorrow watching film, but you’ve got to keep a level head. This team is not terrible because we lost by 11. We are not the Browns (thank God.)
"If it wasn't this, it'd be something else."
No we're not.
As long as Palmer is starting, we’re way better off than the Browns.
"If it wasn't this, it'd be something else."
Jesus man
We lost one game in five weeks, how about we support our team win or lose. Palmer is way better than Anderson lets just say that. And if you don’t believe that god help you.
Jesus, this isn't your high school team.
I’m not being unreasonably critical. Why do I have to baby them?
The irony is that the BEngals were lauded all year for being mentally tough
and they really got rattled today, causing them to lose the game. This one stings, but hopefully they’ll return to that desparate team that won four games in a row. It’s all about desparation with this team. They are not gonna win by coasting – they are not that kind of team on either side of the ball.
"Ryan, Things in here don't react too well to bullets." - Marko Ramius
I say this about the texans all the time as well...
When the Texans execute, they are as good as any team in the league.
However, this is only the second game of the season where they executed for 4 quarters of football.
To take that next step you have to be a team that executes consistently. TheTexans just haven’t done that.
"An open mind is like a fortress with it's gates unbarred and unguarded."
The ROSENFAIL : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAKAKE-uq-8&feature=related
by TexansForever on Oct 18, 2009 4:15 PM EDT up reply actions
texans looked good today
capable of beating almost any team in the league. slaton needs to be used like that every week.
+1
the Bengals needed to play a perfect game today, since the Texans played so well. I still believe the Bengals could have won this game had they not shat the bed at critical times. The Defensive line injuries killed us today too – Slaton and the O-line were deadly when it counted. That said, this is not a bad loss if the Texans put it together like this every week. Please beat up on Manning – I’m so tired of his commercials.
"Ryan, Things in here don't react too well to bullets." - Marko Ramius
How can he be on the hotseat when they are 6-0
by smoormandiddy on Oct 18, 2009 4:37 PM EDT up reply actions
owner is facing selling the team/moving the team
if the vikes can’t get a stadium deal in minny, the owner doesn’t want to be bound up in a long term contract with his head coach. and hasn’t been in love with the results childress has given him thus far. its going to need to be a special season in minny for childress to survive. 1 and out in the playoffs will be the boot.
The Texan's were the better team today
Bottom line-Our Defense could not stop them. Losing Peko and Odoms was big.
I think you're right. We got no pressure on Schaub after that.
"If it wasn't this, it'd be something else."
At PALEWOOK
Math Lesson for PALEWOOK Since you couldn’t understand what I was saying about Schaub, I will try to explain it without the use of poly-syllabic words and/or sentences with more than one idea.
This Year. Schaub top 3. Touchdowns. Yards.
Last Year. Schaub hurt. Schaub miss 5 game. Schaub throw 276 yards per game. As starter, Schaub top 5.
Now I know the idea that as a starter he has been in the top 5 across categories is difficult for you to digest, but it remains a fact.
Last year he ended up in the low teens OVERALL because he missed 5 games.
Comprende amigo? Or is the math still getting to you?
"An open mind is like a fortress with it's gates unbarred and unguarded."
The ROSENFAIL : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAKAKE-uq-8&feature=related
shouldnt that be: me entiendres, mi amigo?
if you’re gonna be a bear, be a grizzly baby.
"I have found me a home"
+1
Except for the platoffs part. I would rather they make the playoffs. Sorry man couldn’t resist :)
by KenAnderson'sTurfToe on Oct 18, 2009 5:12 PM EDT up reply actions
Dhani Jones looked bad today too.
He missed a ton of tackles throughout the game. Can Jeanty play his position?
"Ryan, Things in here don't react too well to bullets." - Marko Ramius
He stuffed Slaton for two losses behind the line of scrimmage...
…you still need him till Rivers steps up, for me.
Not pretty today, boys. Today was the fullfillment of the letdown we saw against Cleveland two weeks ago.
No reason the Bengals couldn’t have hung with this team today. They let up. Again.
Tough break for you guys today
Very hard to win a game when you lose your two best defensive linemen before the first quarter is over. Good luck the rest of the way. Hope they aren’t too banged up.
- Rivers McCown, From Mom's Basement
Could next week's game be the biggest this season?
I think the Bengals will show what kind if team they really are next week. How they respond to a loss (with poor execution and painful injuries) will reveal if they are the mature team they claim to be. That being said, dear god I hope at least Peko is ok.
by zacko76 on Oct 18, 2009 4:44 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
i only hope
they rally after this loss like they did after week 1.
and please, get chris henry more involved.
Won't ever happen
We’ll stay the course, Coats and Foschi play good in Practice so, you know Marvin won’t make a change until it’s too late.
Suppose so
Only thing saving Coats is he can block
Not sure he makes too many NFL rosters
Foschi had his chance tonight, dropped it
Yep, but Odom and Peko out...
…and despite the Fanene sack, he looked poor
Next up. Frostee Rucker. All of a sudden the front four look limited.
Get Jason Shirley off the practice squad.
He’s originally a DT. At least he knows the defense.
"Ryan, Things in here don't react too well to bullets." - Marko Ramius
TEs exposed
I’ve been saying i for years, we need a receiving TE. The Texans exposed us. They cover all our receivers and leave the weakest links open, i.e. the TEs. WHERE is CHASE COFFMAN? i’ve heard he’s hurt and then i hear he’s not making the team b/c he can’t block or remember the playbook. Anyone know what is really going on with the rookie? Carson obviously can’t check down to the TE. He has no faith in them, thus he’s telegraphing his passes and looking for Caldwell and Ochocinco. This is why he’s throwing so many picks. Coles has bricks for hands and was a huge waste of money. If we had a decent TE, we might be able to get this offense going. If not, watch our Tight Ends become our Loose Ends.
Don...
Great post. Anything for a Rodney Holman, even a Tony McGee. They banked on Utecht, which made sense, but the drop-off is mammoth. Coats is only still on the roster as he’s the closest thing to Reggie Kelly. Foschi is the closest thing to Utecht. Neither are the answer – but this was known already.
Schobel, Stewart, Sherry, Coffman….
Hell pitch a trade to the Texans.
We have Daniels (Pro Bowl), Dreesen (starter anywhere else, GREAT hands), and the rookie James Casey who is incrediby athletic.
None of our other guys see much time because Daniels is so darn good, but they would start on most other teams.
It’s actually kind of strange, being that deep at tight end….overkill.
"An open mind is like a fortress with it's gates unbarred and unguarded."
The ROSENFAIL : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAKAKE-uq-8&feature=related
by TexansForever on Oct 18, 2009 6:00 PM EDT up reply actions
I blame this one on the coaching staff
The team looked unprepared. It was like everything the Texans did was a surprise to our D and we didn’t know how to take advantage of a pretty weak Texans D. Terrible effort overall.
Offense: Run Benson
Has to get 20 touches per game
Second half, the Bengals were completely outcoached, especially on offense
Aron Kampan/Zack Miller
Is there anyway we land both?
by ak513 on Oct 18, 2009 5:44 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
win some, lose some
Everybody who thought we were going 15-1, raise their hands.
Yeah, that’s what I thought.
Bring on da Bears. They suck.
Not so sure about that. If the Fartcons torch them the we might have a chance. I’m cheering for them to beat the Fartcons down tho because it would be very nice for us to have them coming off a big win (and hopefully able to get them in “let down” mode themselves) when we face them next week.
Their offense isn’t bad. It’s not 2007 Patriots / 2006-08-09 Saints / etc awesome, but its by no means horrible. But their D is showing signs of having trouble, so if our D keeps it close we do have a shot in that game. But by no means will it be a gimme game.
det did not nearly beat pittsburgh
looking at the final score itself is a little deceptive. Pitt was up 28-13 at the start of the 4th quarter and held on to win. Detroit had a longshot chance to TIE the game late, but they never had a chance to win the game.
Bears have won 3 straight. Underestimate them at your own risk.
I'm not underestimating anything
and yeah, check the score yourself, Pitt did let Detroit back in. Bears have no No. 1 to shut down and Forte is garbage. Their D is over-rated. Bears have won crap. Next week is a walk. Write it down.
your reply makes little sense
I obviously did check the score of the game, and it was not as close as you’re making it sound. Pittsburgh gave up a TD while playing soft prevent defense. They were hardly in jeopardy of losing the game. By your own standards, Cincinnati’s performance against Cleveland (a team as bad as Det), is more indicative of a “crap” team.
Cincinnati got blown out by a 2-3 team, and you’re arguing that it’s going to be a walk against a 4-1 or 3-2 team? Silliness.
You mean the same crap team
that put up 14 on the Steelers after barely managing 6 against Buffalo?
Silliness? Watch us kill the bears next week.
Bottom Line...
Before this week, i thought we needed to go 2-2 on our stretch of Texans-Bears-Ravens-Steelers. That would have put us at 6-3 with games against the Browns, Raiders, Chiefs, and Lions left on our schedule. So we lost the first game of our stretch, we just need to go 2-1 in our next three. Bengals lose, move on. No use dwelling on it.
We’re 4-2 with wins against the Steelers and Ravens. We are still in first place.
yeah...
i got pretty upset with the guys i watched the game with. it isn’t easy being the only level head to a bunch of guys saying “season’s over”, “hang ‘em up, we’re screwed”, etc…
hell, we have as good a shot at making the playoffs as we would had we won.
Zimmer
There is no doubt that our defensive MVP last year and this year is Zim. Our defense goes as Zim goes. Is it possible that with all that is going on in his life right now his heart wasn’t in it? I think so. If Zim comes out flat, our defense is flat as well. Zim is on a hangover. It’s understandable. Let’s hope he recovers soon.
There were a LOT of uncalled penalties in that game. A few against the Bengals too… I think… but not remotely as many as should have been called against the Texans. If every play that should have been a penalty had been properly called I think the Texans would have had maybe 50 yards total offense by the end of the game. OK, maybe 150, but still, they wouldn’t have been remotely close to 400.
But like the Ravens basically said a few weeks back, if you do your job first then whatever the refs screw up doesn’t matter. And we didn’t do our jobs.
is their O-line coach
the same one that use to be coaching Denvers O-line? You know notorious for the crack backs.
drops.
good lord we had a ton of them. who knows what would have happened if we kept some of those drives going. once again, i wish henry got his number called more, but no matter how you shake it up, our receivers have to do a better job catching the football.
Coats, Caldwell, Coles
Everybody was dropping passes.
by pedro_oliveira on Oct 18, 2009 8:17 PM EDT up reply actions
coats dropped some of the easiest balls you can imagine.
he was wide open and practically standing still on one of them. in the second half, i think we had dropped passes on 4 consecutive third downs. i might not be recalling correctly.
The drops did not help
But losing Odom and Peko, the former potentially for the year is pretty damn galling. Would not be a Bengal season without a few injuries, we are suffering because of a lack of production from the TE spot but have not exactly gone out of our way to change this, we also missed Brian Leonard on third downs.
Gave up on the run pretty quickly too, playcalling was as piss poor as usual but yeah, the injuries hurt more than anything else.
i think we might have a difference of opinion on what killed us for this particular game (drops for me)
but losing odom will definitely hurt us the most for the rest of the year. NBC confirmed that he’s out for the year, so that blows…
John Thornton said
Steve Slaton was the type of back we have problems with, so it proved. Shifty guys hurt us, we bit so hard on play-action all day it wasnt funny. Some of the tackling at LB/DB is shockingly bad but there again it is for the entire NFL not just the Bengals.
Really hope the front four can remain a force but if the injuries are as bad as first reported this could be back to 08 pressure on the QB.
Coats was poor today
But too difficult to say he lost us the game. We found new and interesting ways to fumble the ball but too many times we had players isolated, one fumble, I think it was Foschis, it was him v five defenders.
Coats vs. Foschi
A fumble is a fumble. Coats’ many fumbles had no excuse (may be lack of concentration or this guy simply loses it when he gets hit). Perhaps Foschi’s fumble had a better explanation but if I had 5 defenders on me, I would hold on to the football and go down. Why take the risk to have the football ripped away. Play smart football. No the right place to be hero.
As a positive
Pretty much everything that could have gone against us did, injuries, turnovers, players not playing up to expectation or worse, the TEs living down to their reputation, calls.
Perhaps it was the football gods evening things out, we had some luck in our four wins,
Texans had a good game
Sometimes you have to give credit to your opponents. Schaub was good and in sync with his receivers. We have to ask ourselves whether the Bengals were too psyched out on shutting down the opponent’s top receiver (writers have got to stop piling praises on the players because they think they are in heaven) and ended up covering nobody. Or perhaps the Bengals secondary is just not as good as we think (I believe this is the answer). We had Schaub yesterday, but top rated QBs like Favre, Brady, Brees, etc. will simply pick the Bengals apart. With Odom and Peko injured, linebackers yesterday were not impressive at all. Coats fumble killed the drive and the momentum. Bengals need to smarten up and they cannot rely on last minute heroics in every game because it ain’t going to happen often. Is Chris Henry on a one catch per game quota and he is done for the game? Bengals did not establish their running game and chew up some key possession minutes. That is the best way to keep Schaub off the field.
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