Crushed Again: Cincinnati Bengals Lose 27-7 To The New York Jets
by Josh Kirkendall on Aug 21, 2011 10:06 PM EDT
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PrintIf you were to ask me the basic question on whether this team improved since last week, my honest answer is split into two reactions. The offense did score a touchdown and the first team defense vastly improved over their effort. On the other hand, it's hard to support that theory simply because of the way Cincinnati's first team offense embarrassingly failed to dodge the adversity of Sunday night that included the pelting first quarter rain. Andy Dalton struggled early on, missing his mark every conceivable way. Then much like a starting pitcher that struggles in the first inning, Dalton settled down and threw much more accurately, as if he settled down and allowed the game to come to him. Unfortunately the sums didn't equal the whole, with his receivers stricken by a lack of concentration failing to grab makeable receptions.
Even so, Dalton's first five pass attempts that went incomplete with two interceptions sprinkled in like a salt to increase the flavor, shifted into a decent passing performance of eight completions on his final 14 attempts. Though none were touchdowns, Dalton did complete four passes on third-and-long situations that resulted in first downs. Improvements. Small as they might be, and as horrible as the process might seem, playing time should eventually tip the scale in favor of experience against mistakes.
The passing defense didn't quiet growing concerns, allowing Mark Sanchez and Greg Mcelroy to combine for 232 yards passing and three touchdowns, completing 18 of 29 passes for a combined quarterback rating of 121.6. Though the defense did post two quarterback sacks on Sunday (DeQuin Evans and a shared sack between Clinton McDonald and Manny Lawson), the team has gone eight quarters without a take-away.
In two preseason games, the Bengals have been outscored 61-10.
The Bengals will take Monday off and spend Tuesday and Wednesday preparing for their Thursday night game against the Carolina Panthers at Paul Brown Stadium.
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they will only improve
if they cut that loser fred bennet
Of course clements got beat on the first drive and then missed a tackle.
sadly better
I have decided i’m going to tell myself that andy dalton will play more like the second quarter than to the first this year, the defense will look tough like they did in the first half, and what our second and third stringers did in the second half never really happened
by whodeydoc on Aug 21, 2011 10:15 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
Did you ever wonder what it was like to be that guy getting drug around by a running horse?
Sure. Everyone has a plan, until they get punched in the mouth - Mike Tyson
I think this team has
a very good shot at being the worst team in Bengals history. That’s with everybody healthy.
Take out a Leon Hall or a Whit and they have a decent shot at winless 2011.
by occams_tiger_teeth on Aug 21, 2011 10:16 PM EDT reply actions
Epic
Losing is what I see. One or two wins is likely. Zero wins is quite possible.
by BENGALS69 on Aug 21, 2011 10:41 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
read this post then the one beneath it.
shut up.
by Doc Scratch on Aug 22, 2011 12:15 AM EDT up reply actions
we have got to get a backup qb
Wow, our backups look horrible…even for backups….we have to look for something or go after Prior…why not…
I'm actually somewhat encouraged
Despite a terrible start the starters left only down 10-7 (Plax scored on a back-up).
Defensive line looked great, DB’s we tackling and covering well. We still need to figure out our TE coverage.
Oline looked much better in pass protection.
Dalton looks like he was progressing after another very bad start to the game. Bad playing conditions as well as his receivers letting him down a little early didn’t help either and I don’t really see that being a consistent problem going forward.
Michael Johnson, Reggie Nelson, and Jason Shirley stood out!! My last obsevation was that eventhough little Hawkins won’t make this team I thought he played his a$$ off.
Other positives
-Maulauga might be a beast for many years to come.
-Boling played very well.
-Dalton looks poised, only the second INT was his fault.
-Our safety play is quite well considering our lack of star power in that position.
What do you do when there's no way out? Find a way to get deeper in it.
Oh I forgot
One more positive. It’s not Brat calling the plays and the play calling was pretty descent tonight
meh
so far looks like a dink and dunk offense… that goes back to Kitna days…
by occams_tiger_teeth on Aug 21, 2011 11:50 PM EDT up reply actions
I agree. It’s hard to project a game when the starters play so little, and the team is trying to work on different schemes and scenarios as much as they are working on trying to win the actual game. The pass coverage needs to get figured out, and the O-line needs to generate a little more push in the middle (LG, C, RG) but the defensive from 7 looked great, and the WR’s were getting open.
I saw very little improvement tonight.
The best player that the Bengals put on the field tonight was Kevin Huber. Unacceptable. This was not the follow-up that fans hoped for—scoring four more points and letting up 7 less off of a 34-3 beatdown isn’t improving much at all.
by Anthony Cosenza on Aug 21, 2011 10:32 PM EDT reply actions
We have a low scoring, ball control, definisively minded, dink and dunk team.
7-10 was not a bad place to leave off. With starters playing there was a very real chance to win that game. Slow and ugly grind-it-out wins. If you aren’t ready for that type of play you shouldn’t watch the games this season.
that was 2009. that worked.
we’re going back to that. i’m not worried at all.
by Doc Scratch on Aug 22, 2011 12:16 AM EDT up reply actions
I'm not opposed to watching a dink and dunk/ball control offense with good defense
what we’re seeing is none of the above. The starting QB has 3 INTs in one full game with no TDs. The two top RBs tonight combined for 2.5 yards per carry. The starting defense has let up roughly 21-24 points in 2-3 quarters.
Weather and injuries are somewhat reasonable excuses, but the fact of the matter is that the youth is showing up and the execution hasn’t been there in the first two games.
by Anthony Cosenza on Aug 22, 2011 12:46 AM EDT up reply actions
The starting defense has let up roughly 21-24 points in 2-3 quarters.
But in defense of the defense, look where they are starting from. When the opponents start on your side of the field it’s hard not to give up some points.
if the offense could hold onto the ball a little longer and not keep giving the opponents such short fields, the defense would look much better from a points allowed standpoint.
oh God!
I don’t care how easy our schedule is, I see 4 wins. Our offense just isn’t good. Simple as that.
we don't know that yet
its a completely renewed offense in abysmal conditions. Give it time chicken little.
Carson's cheerleader
by Throw the ball on Aug 21, 2011 10:40 PM EDT up reply actions
Also,
they weren’t trying to win.
Andy Dalton: An American Hero
by Pardon_My_French on Aug 21, 2011 10:49 PM EDT up reply actions
Its plain
Dalton should not start in 2011. He needs a year or two to learn the NFL game. This season will get out of control quick unless they sit Dalton and give Gradlowski the starting gig. Jets toyed with the Bengals today. Dalton will be wasted if he has to start this season.
by BENGALS69 on Aug 21, 2011 10:38 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
where is your reasoning here?
dalton is looking good for a rookie. He isn’t making the throws yet,but he IS making the right reads and that’s the hard part.
Carson's cheerleader
by Throw the ball on Aug 21, 2011 10:41 PM EDT up reply actions 2 recs
I'll list the reasons
Dalton came from a spread offense at TCU and needs a year at least to learn the NFL game.
Dalton’s arm strength is not NFL ready, he needs time to grow his arm.
Dalton will get the crap kicked out of him if he starts this year. Its awful already when teams are playing very basic defenses, yet he’s thrown 3 INTs. It will get far, far worse in a couple weeks when the regular season starts and the defenses become more mysterious to the young lad.
Finally you have been paying attention to these games right? Dalton has been ineffective in both games when the defenses are aren’t showing even their C game.
I'll list the responses.
1. So did Sam Bradford. His performance gave the Rams a 6 win differential last year. Dalton’s no Bradford but this is a moot point.
2. And?
3. I don’t care.
4. New offenserookie QB+rookie WR and a WR with 3 games started under his belt.
by Doc Scratch on Aug 22, 2011 12:18 AM EDT up reply actions
You forget that Dalton has
looked awful in two games. Even his coach called his play last week somewhat of a debacle.
Please child. Comparing Bradford to Dalton is an insult to Bradford. Bradford has a canon for an arm whereas Dalton’s arm is barely NFL adequate at this point.
Dalton can be a good NFL QB. Just not this year, maybe not even next.
I blatantly said Dalton is no Bradford.
It’s just that the point is moot. Dalton can make good reads and he has accuracy. Those are two things that most rookie QBs do not have. He’ll probably struggle at first, just like he is now, but expecting a rookie to come in and set the world on fire is just unreasonable.
I don't think you grow your arm at his age
his arm is what it is.
Joe Montana didn’t have a plus arm.
The whole point of the Bill Walsh system was to make a winner out of a QB who could move his feet and be accurate/have good timing.
It’s rare for rookie receivers to be among league leaders; but Dalton’s got almost nobody else to pick from. A good game plan would have him throwing to Coffman and Gresham quite a bit down the middle (not dink and dunk routes but try to go straight down the field)… but the reality is you will be hard pressed to find an example of a less experienced bunch of skill players being thrown together, lately.
There’s no point playing Gradkowski. They should play LeFevour if they don’t play Dalton. I feel sorry for the guy, cause he’s stuck with a bad situation.
by occams_tiger_teeth on Aug 22, 2011 12:25 AM EDT up reply actions
Dalton looks better than Gradkowski at this point.
What do you do when there's no way out? Find a way to get deeper in it.
Diagree
Dalton should start, he started off poorly but it’s only his 2nd NFL game and the Jet’s supposely have one of the better defenses in the league. He’s just going to keep improving as he goes along. Also after loosing last week the Jets were trying to make a statement (blitzing, etc.) and in the end the starters really went out only down 10-7 (Plax scored on a back up).
Nonsense
the Jets played their defense at a simple level. Dalton was clueless against it. What do you think will happen against their “A” team defense?
Sit Dalton and start Gradkowski now. Let him be a crash dummy while Dalton learns the game the same way CP9 did….on the sidelines.
Not quitting on Dalton yet
He had a rough start, but if Green catches that pass instead of turn it into a pick then who knows how things would have turned out. These guys are still establishing chemistry. I saw a lot of miscommunication and bad routes. That will get better with time. Oh, and they were playing the Jets…a pretty established team compared to the Bengals, wouldn’t you say? Corners could use some work…eager to see what Pacman brings to the table and if he can stay healthy.
and to top this off
living in florida looks like a hurricane is headed my way, so i guess i will have to evacuate to cincy and go to the game thursday.
by bengalinflorida on Aug 21, 2011 10:58 PM EDT reply actions
Hurricane Brown
you’ll be viewing the aftermath
by occams_tiger_teeth on Aug 21, 2011 11:47 PM EDT up reply actions
The Bengals will take Monday off and spend Tuesday and Wednesday preparing for their Thursday night game against the Carolina Panthers at Paul Brown Stadium.
I found this article on Yahoo about the game Thursday night….
by Oregonbengalsfan on Aug 21, 2011 11:10 PM EDT reply actions
they looked kinda good
Without the drops dalton would have better numbers. But he played pretty decent for the most part. The d looks good, a few small improveable things but nothing big. Reggie nelson has looked really good these past 2 games so I’m excited to see him this season. Boling and smith looked good. Green needs to make catches, for the 4th overall pick he sure didn’t look like it. The backups looked lost on defense other than Shirley and skuta.
by JCompton41 on Aug 21, 2011 11:20 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
I'll give Green a pass because of the conditions
But I sure as hell don’t want to see him play like that again. This is the guy that’s supposed to have two gluesticks for hands.
by Paul Cannon on Aug 21, 2011 11:26 PM EDT up reply actions
i dont give a reciever passes for playing in rain
If I drop a pass in rain in practice I might not play in the game, come the weekend. And im in a semi pro where I pay to play! This guy is the 4th overall pick, he needs to catch them. Not saying I don’t like green, obviously he is insanely talented, and a game like this probably won’t happen again, but that’s annyoing to watch your 4th pick drop ball after ball.
by JCompton41 on Aug 21, 2011 11:32 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
I'm not saying you're wrong, because Green should have caught some of those passes,
but we’re talking about really sloppy conditions that affect route running, timing and visibility in an offense that’s still learning to walk. Plus they were playing one of the best pass defenses in the league — in their own stadium — while Green was being covered by Revis or Cromartie. Throw in the fact that some of his drops were from some not well thrown balls and I think you have to cut the guy a little bit of slack. He’s a rookie too, after all.
This is the second straight game where the backups just didn't look good.
In particular, all of the second string offense, and the second string secondary. It’ll be nice to get Adam Jones and Brandon Ghee back. That should help a lot.
Your 2011 bengals = Dumpster fire
Hi fans it Brandon Roy.
And ME.....LaMarcus Aldridge
by Derftron on Aug 21, 2011 11:30 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
The preseason really doesn't matter
I know people say this all the time but I’m glad that they are making these mistakes now rather than later. The thing in my mind that it always goes back to is that the Lions went 4-0 in the preseason before going winless in 2008. In one of those games, Jon Kitna (their starter at the time) had at least one game with a perfect passer rating. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Detroit_Lions_season#Preseason)
There are positives to take from the game which is good. There are plenty of negatives as well but we won’t know how things truly are until the regular season starts. I’m sure this season is different because the lack of the OTAs and whatnot but every team has that issue. Things will get better and we have a decently easy schedule this season so we might be surprised.
sort of
The Lions beat the Bills in the last game; the Bills played exactly one of their starters. And they stink.
The Lions beat the Browns in game 3, that’s a team that finished 2008 4-12. In the preseason game Brady Quinn started. He finished the game with a 66 QB rating.
The Lions beat the Bengals in game 2, Carson Palmer barely played, and the game was tied at half so it was scrubs on scrubs that decided it.
So it’s easy to see how even a terrible team can eke out some lucky wins in the preseason, and a good team can lose if they aren’t playing their starters.
One of the major bad things about that team was Jon Kitna was the best they had at QB, and then he got hurt, and they played Dan Orlovsky, who is a pretty poor imitation of Jon Kitna. So that’s bad.
So far this year: The Bengals are playing their first team guys quite a bit, and their first team guys look embarrassing at the start of the game.
The Bengals have an abysmal preseason history actually!
Years with winning preseason records in the entire history of the Bengals franchise:
2006 (after the playoff appearance)
1988 (went to Super Bowl)
1984
1977
1976 (went 10-4, missed wild card)
1975 (went 11-3 lost wild card)
1974
1973
1971
1969
Half of all the years this franchise had a winning preseason record were coached by Paul Brown himself. They’ve had 3 winning preseasons since Jimmy Carter was elected President.
by occams_tiger_teeth on Aug 22, 2011 12:17 AM EDT up reply actions
Riddle me this
List the times when Dalton and company dominated the Jets starters or the Lion’s starters?
On the other hand, Dalton was a basket case for the most part against Detroit and the Jets. As Gruden said, Dalton wasn’t a “total debacle” last week. He wasn’t a total debacle this week either.
Just a partial debacle, almost a debacle. Nearly a debacle. And so on.
The 2011 Cincinnati Bengals highlight film:
Not quite a debacle.
by occams_tiger_teeth on Aug 22, 2011 12:26 AM EDT up reply actions
Blooper highlights
on offense anyway
"At the very end, somebody took a dump right where I stood in the dugout every day." Dusty Baker
Half-Empty or Half-Full?
I am forcing myself to go half-full on this one. While I generally agree with all the naysayers here – it’s still the preseason and these games aren’t added to the final standings.
The Dalton-led offense did have one nice drive and the offensive line held the Jets to one sack. Hopefully, the offense can build on that in the dress rehearsal with the Panthers this week.
Let's just wait and see
I’m currently deployed to Afghanistan so I don’t get to watch the games but have a few thoughts:
1. Many people felt this same way in 2009 and we won the division. In 2010 everyone thought we were going to explode and had a legitimate shot at the SB and we went 4-12. People love the NFL because the ball never bounces the same and there are always surprises. That is why I will stay optimistic until the Bengals get into the regular season and prove otherwise (hopefully they won’t).
2. Preseason is for evaluating the players, not game planning for your opponent or game planning to win the games. Zimmer is not employing his entire defensive package and Gruden is calling plays to evaluate his talent, get Dalton and the young receivers work, and to see where the teams strengths are. In the season you’ll see a better game plan and the starting units operating together. Both coordinators were using different combinations of players to see how those players reacted against the opponents first team. Fred, “Which way did the WR go”, Bennett isn’t going to play with the 1’s. Boling just might (hopefully).
3. I love grind it out football with a smash mouth running game and strong defense. People like this pass happy offense like GB, but old school, smash mouth football is normally what wins championships. You get a St. Louis or GB or Indy every 5 years or so, but its normally those teams that can control the clock and play great defense who win championships. That’s why I like the direction of this team.
4. I do think we are lacking quality depth at certain positions so we will be more reliant on the starters staying healthy than other teams. We need to be aware of the cuts made around the league to try and improve our depth.
5. Dalton is showing that he doesn’t get rattled and settles down nicely. The longer he is in the game the stronger he gets. That is good news for the regular season when he’ll play a full 4 quarters. Further, it also shows that the more games he plays the more comfortable he’ll get. Right now he is still a rookie and he has to learn to control his adrenaline and nerves to start a game. Also, it isn’t just Dalton starting slow, many of the rookies are but it seems Dalton is taking the brunt of it.
6. By all accounts of game reviews and looking at stats, Maualuga is going to be an all pro this year and I think the more havoc he wreaks the better our OLB’s and D-line will play. Look at Ray Lewis. His impact is not just in tackles and making plays. Those OLB and D-linemen play much better when he is in there. None of the OLB who have left the Ravens for more money ever duplicated their success with the new team. More than any FA or draftee, this move will pay the biggest dividends for this team.
7. With more sacks comes better secondary play. I really believe this team is built to harass the QB like no team the Bengals have had over the last 10 years. Once Zimmer has his packages together with the game plan in place I think this team will have a lot of QB’s running for their lives. This will allow the corners to be more aggressive and help keep down the threat of the long ball. We need Dunlap to be healthy (I’m wondering why they didn’t clean out the knee the first week of TC) and we’ll be fine. Johnson has grown, Atkins is a beast rushing from inside, Lawson seems to be getting comfortable and I think teams are going to have a problem accounting for Maualuga coming on blitzes just like he did at USC.
8. I’m not sure there is a safety or LB who can cover Gresham or Coffman running down the seem. We should see a lot of big plays from these guys. Brat would never utilize the TE in this way, even after our D got burnt over and over by the same play. Our TE’s are too big for safeties and to fast and athletic for LBs. Cochart looks like a bruiser as a blocking TE so I ‘m hoping he makes the team. Scaife just hasn’t shown much.
Just a few thoughts/observations. Hopefully, the Bengals will get their starters back healthy in time for Carolina and I would like to see Gruden and Zimmer put together a game plan and let the starters play into the 3rd quarter.
Thanks for your service, Wood98
I also don’t put any credence in the final score of preseason. I’d like to see more scores, sure, but this is a very young team.
This preseason game I felt much better about how the 1st string D played. Secondary is still a little shaky, but I hope they can get it together.
The 1st team O-line played a lot better. Boling got some great time in and I think he did really well, but we’ll let the stats geeks let us know for sure.
Dalton, you’re doing good kid. Try not to win the game in the first 15 minutes. Score: yes. Turnovers: NO
Sure. Everyone has a plan, until they get punched in the mouth - Mike Tyson
Thanks! Wood98!
I was at the Chicago air show this weekend. It’s a great reminder of the professionalism and capabilities of our military. You’re part of a great team doing great work. Take care of yourself.
We need to be patient with this team. I think you correctly identify some key points. This is basically the 4th week this offense has been together and there is a steep learning curve. Give them some time. This preseason schedule isn’t easy either. They basically have 2 practices between games this week and don’t look for much improvement. We are seeing Zimmer’s vanilla version as well. Also the offense has put the defense in tough positions early. I think our defense can be pretty good this year if the offense can just stop making mistakes that put them in impossible positions.
Then much like a starting pitcher that struggles in the first inning, Dalton settled down and threw much more accurately, as if he settled down and allowed the game to come to him
So Andy Dalton is Edinson Volquez…the only problem is by the time Volquez is done pitching in the 1st inning, the Reds have basically lost.
If your QB starts every game by tossing 2 passes to the opposition before he tosses any to his own receivers, then he’s definately a Volquez :-)
by ephram on Aug 22, 2011 7:43 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs
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