Given the Bengals talent at QB and WR—passing to set up the run makes more sense than running to set up the pass. I give Benson a ton of credit on a good comeback year and the offensive line has performed much better than I expected given the personnel changes over the past 2 years. Similarly, I do question our relatively predictable play calling and the seemingly one dimensional offense.

The great thing about Palmer (at least in 2005-2007) was he forced the defense to cover the entire field. That is the bonus of having a QB with a strong and accurate arm and of having quick sure handed receivers. This opens up the running game because it forces the DBs to play loose and deep out of fear of the big play.

The no huddle has its place, however, I do think the Bengals overused at times—sometimes grinding out the clock is the best thing and the Bengals failed to do that—particularly given the shortcomings of our defense in the past.

The Bengals have a renewed sense of purpose this year—establish the run, use it to control the game, and then use it to set up the pass. Is it because Brat simply believes that a run first offense is the best? (Because thats how “great teams” win?) Or are their other reasons?

If you look at the outcomes so far, the Bengals offense is quite mediocre. We are 13th in time of possession (at least we are over 31mins), 16th in 3rd down conversions, 14th in rushing yards/game,19th in passing yrds/game, 20th in pts per game. The question is “Why?”

I can’t help but wonder that it isn’t simply play calling—it may be that we have been pretty good up to this point at covering certain weaknesses. Namely, an inexperienced offensive line and no over the middle pass catching threat.

1. The offensive line—it has performed above expectations, but the line is clearly new at playing together (and I still think in transition—don’t be surprised if both Smith and Luigs find their way into the line up before year end) and offensive lines almost always take a few years to gel. Therefore, I don’t think an offensive packed with no-huddle plays and audibles is terribly practical unless you are ready for a bunch of missed assignments, Palmer on his back, and illegal procedure penalties. I just don’t think our line is up to it. I suspect our run first approach may be more developmental than strategic.

2. Defenses—It was either Lewis or Palmer that Denver was good at taking away the long ball and forcing us to run. This strategy against the Bengals isn’t new. Teams picked up on that in 2007. Run a cover two and force the Bengals to run. Our line began experiencing problems that year due to injuries and departures and we have yet to totally recover. Conventional wisdom remains—play the cover 2 against the Bengals and you can stifle their passing game.

3. Beating the Cover 2—Their are two ways to beat the cover two. One is with a strong inside running game. This forces the safeties up (reverse of what we were able to do in 2005-7), makes play action on first down a real treat, and opens up mid and deep passing lanes—hence our run first approach. Second, with a strong pass catching tight end (or running back for that matter) that can beat a linebacker over the middle. We know where we are with that one—run first it is!

I want a Palmer to have breakout game and would love to see us open up on someone. We may see it soon, however, I the Bengals overall offensive strategy will largely depend on what our offensive line is capable of doing. And if my suspicion is true—that we inexperience is a problem and we have yet to see the “final product”—we may keep a conservative approach all year.

cedric benson is the reason our offense moves the ball, and dropped passes are the reason our drives stall and our momentum is killed. benson is at the top of all NFL rushing stat lists, and our dropped passes are as well.

i do agree that bratkowski sucks miles of cock when calling the plays, but one thing i have liked so far is his commitment to the run game. until sunday’s game cedric benson was the leading rusher in the NFL and any time you have that guy on your team, you should give him the ball a lot. a hell of a lot more than 4 times in the second half (except not on an inside draw while trailing by 11 with under 3 minutes left). all Brat and his retarded gameplans…

in official stats (AFC ONLY) benson on the season has posted 531 yards (2nd), 127 ATT (1st), 4.2 YPC (3rd among RB with 70 ATT or more), 88.5 YPG (3rd), 4 TD (5th). *

according to football outsiders (ALL NFL), benson has 87 DYAR (6th), 573 EYds (3rd), 8.0% DVOA (10th, not so good, but not bad considering the defenses we’ve played against), and a 45% Success Rate (10th).**

my point is, cedric benson is a very good back on his way to a pro bowl season and we need to use him more… especially when trying to control the clock, set ourselves up for more 3rd and shorts, and NOT having palmer drop back 40+ times a game. plus with the amount of drops we’ve had, and the fact that more drop-backs means more vulnerability to palmer (a guy we simply cannot lose), a true commitment to the run game is absolutely essential. in the second half of the Houston game, benson only had 4 carries. FOUR CARRIES. and one of them was one of the most ill-advised plays in the history of football. we should have used benson way more than 4 times in the second half, and when brian leonard is healthy, we should be using him a shit-load too.

courtesy of NFL.com
*courtesy of footballoutsiders.com