At First Glimpse

Many times, football is used metaphorically with war. I have a friend in the army who’s been shipped off to Iraq a couple of times. Before he went, the army sent him to Louisiana where they set up a simulated Iraq for the troops to train in. Football is not war- it’s fun and nobody dies - but nonetheless, that’s kind of what the preseason is like: training with live fire.

The nice thing about training is that there’s no reason to get excited one way or the other. The breakdowns and mishaps can be identified and corrected before it matters, and any success is expected and need not be ballyhooed or celebrated just yet. I urge the fans to view these games as simple evaluations of what we’re working with, and as the great Douglas Adams persistently reminded the world, don’t panic.

Let’s get the gripes out of the way first.

Tackling is the first word that comes to mind. We as weatherbeaten Bengal fans can attest to, poor tackling is the fastest way for a hopeful season to end in ruin. Marvin White looks to be a big hitter but he can’t ankle tackle. Peko’s expectations have gone up 30 million times after signing his lucrative off-season contract, and wiffing on tackles-for-loss just won’t do. Daryl Blackstock had some tackling issues, David Jones has some coverage issues and Ahmad Brooks was invisible.

Offensively, I was a little underwhelmed by our receivers and back-up quarterbacks. While I like seeing Fitzpatrick run when he doesn’t find an open man, he looks to be confused when dropping back to pass and seems like he uses his legs more out of necessity. Third-stringer Jeff Rowe didn’t look ready either. Jordan Palmer couldn’t generate any yards.

As for the good stuff?

I’m very pleased to see Chris Perry running so hard. Our offensive line works best with a cutback runner, and that’s exactly what a healthy Perry brings to the table. We know he has good hands, and his touchdown run last night looked like those Steven Jackson Nike commercials from last year. To watch him break a tackle, drag a guy to the goal line, then stretch the ball into the endzone for a score , should relieve the collective anxiety Bengal fans feel about the running game this season. If Rudi can be even an inkling of his former, productive self, the change of pace between the two could take a lot of pressure off of Carson and his receiving mates. There’s still Kenny Watson who runs like a frog bouncing to the next lily pad (Aaron Thomas- Arnold). And we may even end up with DeDe Dorsey’s open field style of running to give the Bengals a full compliment of backs to play with in ‘08.

The O-line looks worry free, and Utecht appears to have some serious pass catching ability. I have little concern with our offense if we can run the ball even a little bit.

Is it me, or does Keith Rivers look bigger than he’s listed? Here’s a player to get excited about (I know I wrote not to get excited, but with Rivers I just can’t help it). The guy can close out runners trying to turn the corner, fill the gaps up the middle, and (insert Dick Vitale voice here) flat out tackle, baby! While Brandon Johnson continues to impress when he gets the reps, it won’t be possible to keep Rivers off the field Week 1 in Baltimore. I also noticed rookie safety Cory Lynch being in the right places and making plays.

What I like best about this team so far is its mentality. In years past with Marvin, we bought into the hype that we were a good team. Before Marvin, we bought into the hype that we were an awful team. Now, there is no hype either way. We’re considered a pretty average team whose random and humdrum. For once in the last five years, no one is looking at us.

Sunday against Detroit will be the next evaluation under live fire. Let’s remain stoically patient until then and assume our coaches are making the necessary improvements. Work on your game face before you move on to your war face.


Mojokong - Release the hounds!!