A Blueprint With Green Tint

The primary goal for any offense is to score touchdowns. Sounds obvious enough, but it seems that the deeper football theory becomes, we lose sight of what matters the most. In football, and in so many other things in life, there exists a spectrum of opinion that ranges from conservative to liberal, or perhaps, from safe to risky. The safe crowd would rather protect the ball at all costs, sacrificing the primary goal of scoring touchdowns in order to decrease their chance of a turnover. The risky folk would counter that more aggressive shots at large chunks of yardage would ultimately produce enough points to render any turnovers suffered in the process obsolete.

An observer of the man may initially feel that Marvin Lewis falls heavily on the conservative end of the discussion, but there are various ways to look at the issue. In the Bob Bratkowski era, particularly in the early Carson Palmeryears, the deep threat became the Bengals' best weapon and propelled a struggling franchise to a vital foothold of respectability. Once that momentum crested, however, Brat persisted with the deep-ball system for years after, reaching the point of blatant predictability, only to watch it collapse altogether in the epic failure of 2010. Marvin would consistently raise the point of what he called explosive plays, which he defined as plays of 20 or more yards, when asked of his offensive priorities. This kind of evidence suggests that perhaps the head coach is not as fuddy-duddy as we may first imagine him to be.

On the other hand, Marvin has also talked at great length—and perhaps in a more passionate tone—about avoiding turnovers. Comparing the emphasis he puts on this priority to that of gaining big-yardage plays and scoring touchdowns rather than field goals, leads me to believe that our first instinct is probably closer to home by assuming he, generally speaking, would rather play it safe.

What helps balance this approach, as far as the Bengals are concerned, is their current play-caller, Jay Gruden. As a former quarterback in the Arena Football League and a member of a celebrated offensive family (thanks primarily to his brother, Jon), our instinct this time lean us toward thinking that Jay is a bit more of a gambler than Marv. That being said, Gruden's offense does not require a multitude of deep-ball attempts like Palmer's did. He runs the short-passing game, relieving the pressure from what many unfairly consider a rather pedestrian quarterback, while increasing it onto a growing stockpile of potent offensive weaponry.

Andy Dalton will still take some shots down field, but the evidence thus far suggests that throwing long is not his greatest skill and should not be overdone—lest the team forgets its lessons from the past. What has been promising this preseason has been the quick delivery of the pass when Dalton drops back and the variety of his targets. Using the middle of the field will be paramount this season with the expected increase of two-tight end sets and the emergence of Giovanni Bernard as an exciting dump-off play-maker. Mohammed Sanu is a tough player who does not mind contact, and, according to his scouting report and the limited glimpses of what we've seen this preseason, rookie Cobi Hamilton is yet another viable candidate on shallow crossing routes to maximize YAC and utilize the areas between the hash-marks. Then, when the safeties finally and begrudgingly take that extra step toward the middle, tired of all the cheap first downs they have given up to tight ends and running backs, A.J. Green has then acquired all the room he needs to make a difference in the game.

While scoring touchdowns is the goal for all offenses, getting the ball to Green, and doing whatever it takes to make that mission easier, is the overall thesis for Bengals specifically. Tyler Eifert gashing defenses on seams routes down the middle, Jermaine Gresham bruising his way over tacklers, Bernard slicing through the line with those crazy-quick feet, Sanu playing as an overgrown receiver who tires out his opponents, and Marvin Jones hoping someone forgets about him in coverage, and even BenJarvus Green-Ellis simply performing the dirty work of short-yardage and goal-line plays, are all there to compliment Green. Underneath his youth and seemingly tenuous knees is a mustard-colored jacket destined just for him. Not the prop that the mohawked Ochocinco trotted out after a touchdown, but the real thing. It is wrapped around his football essence and one can see it shine through multiple times a game. His talent cranks the hype machine and is the primary reason anyone would pick the Bengals to win the Super Bowl this season.

That isn't to say that he should be forced the ball; nothing on offense should be forced. His greatness makes for better complimentary players because he alone draws so much defensive attention. Using him as a decoy makes a lot of sense, but too much mental trickery of this kind can lead to outsmarting one's self, similar to what Gruden fell victim to last season in the Wild-Card loss. If his statistics lessen this season but the others do more than just carry their weight, enough touchdowns would then be scored to firmly establish a playoff spot. He doesn't have to lead the league in anything except demonstrating the impact that leads to wins.

Despite his arm-strength or accuracy or anything else, Dalton will try to stretch the field—more than what we saw last year—by sending Mr. Green deep. Green is good enough to compensate for poorly thrown deep-balls and his red-zone presence is positively terrifying. To not do so would be squandering not only A.J. Green's potential, but also the chances to fulfill offensive rule number-one: scoring touchdowns.

So while Gruden will not be a free-wheeling gambler the entire season, he will also not likely resort to the mundane or predictable in his approach. Marvin Lewis has tremendous influence over everyone in that building, but he also unassumingly trusts Gruden to be a professional and hopefully resists the temptations of meddling too much in his offensive coordinator's system and style. I expect the Bengals to emphasize to the supporting cast the importance of achieving yards-after-catch, particularly when catching the ball in the middle of the field. Again, success in this area would then force the defense away from Green in order to stop it and that's when you use the All-Pro as a back-breaker. The philosophy and the theory are there, now it's up to the humans involved to execute it.

Mojokong—the microbial masterpiece.

Planet Brown

If nothing else, Mike Brown is a fascinating human being. Over the years, my opinion of him has come full circle.

When I was a kid, I didn't think about him. Kids don't typically think too much about who owns their favorite team. As a teenager, I grew to dislike him thanks largely to my Dad explaining the details of the stadium deal to me. As a young man, I hated him and would stay awake at night thinking of ways to forcibly wrestle control of the team away from him. Into my thirties, however, I softened on him. Now, I'm just mildly curious about him in general.

As an owner, he is firmly of the "old guard". He fights for his small-market share and rarely goes along with the other owners when voting on league policy. He is the poster-boy of what a penny pincher looks like, and I get the sense he is not well-liked among his peers.

As a football executive, his overall body of work is putrid. For long stretches of this facet of his career, he barely maintained a standard of professionalism. The team he fielded led by the coaches he hired acted more as a minor-league team dressed in NFL attire than anything close to resembling "the bigs". For years, he notoriously skimped on his scouting department and whole decades of losing were squarely blamed on this fact alone. To his credit though, recent drafts have gone swimmingly for the Bengals and is a major reason why the team looks so formidable today.

As a person, however, the guy simply seems weird. Based on the minimal behind-the-scenes looks that Hard Knocks has given us regarding the personality of the enigmatic millionaire, it seems safe to say that Mike Brown lacks what I would describe as healthy social skills. His interactions with other people seem strained and uncomfortable and he seems like he was raised by robots rather than humans. Maybe his dad was too much of a big-shot to raise a well-balanced son. Perhaps not living up to his father's legacy stressed the man to the point of becoming a complete oddball-the speculation is endless.

This personal quirk of his was on display Tuesday night during the second episode of this year's Hard Knocks. While dining with three unnamed fossils at the Bella Luna, a man, presumably one who worked there, asked the football owner about Margus Hunt. Mike Brown gave a reply, but as he did so, he didn't look once at the man who asked him the question but rather kept his eyes fixed to one of his fellow diners as he expressed concern that Hunt may not easily assimilate socially with his teammates.

It's this kind of subtle yet pervasive weirdness that makes it hard to defend the man to anyone, really. How can we like an owner who doesn't act like a person?

Another thought-provoking element of his response to the restaurant's owner was that Brown harbored these concerns about Hunt's ability to be comfortable on the team, yet he drafted him in the second round. I know that Brown has shed his self-made moniker as a redeemer and that he is only going to obtain people he feels are solid citizens, but I would be surprised if he hadn't worried about Hunt on an American football team before drafting him. It's this kind of paradox thinking that keeps me baffled by Brown's decision making.

Speaking of Hunt on the Bengals, I get the sense that he could become bored with football soon and I can see why Brown is worried about him. My knowledge about the situation is extremely superficial as I have no inside scoop about anything concerning Margus Hunt, but he does seem to be treated as an outsider and not making friends on the team could absolutely become a problem if it's true. We all knew he would be a raw player with supreme athletic ability and he has clearly impressed those around him with some of the things he can do, but if football stops being fun, Michael Johnson's perceived replacement might become a much murkier picture to predict.

As for Brown, though, I do attempt to defend him from time to time. I am convinced that he is an intelligent guy. I think the direction he steers his team is a bit self-serving and his mom-and-pop model of business is a dinosaur in the professional sports industry, but I also think he really does want to win. Underneath the desire to win, though, is the dogged determination to do things his way. Again, I don't know Mike Brown at all or his way of thinking, but I think he would rather fail running his business his own way than to succumb to outside pressure or imitate his competitors. If putting his family in front-office jobs keeps the team from winning, then that is a shame, but he may be able to sleep better at night knowing he has set them up comfortably. And honestly, the future of the team looks bright despite the nepotism going on inside Paul Brown Stadium.

There will be a day when I will attempt to write a book about the man and maybe speak to him myself. I would then have a better insight into what I am writing about today. I also would like to collect every statement he has ever given in public to analyze and attempt to understand exactly what planet he may hail from, but until then, I will remain convinced that he is pretty much a socially-awkward son-of-a-legend who probably has had a hard time making genuine friends throughout his life. So despite our feelings about the football side of things, it seems safe to say that Mike Brown is probably not on the short-list of folks you would like to hang out and drink a beer with.

Mojokong-drunk with speculation.

Marvin's Chance of a Lifetime

Marvin Lewis has been at this for a long time, but, in the grand scheme of things, he has little to show for it.  In the NFL universe of parity and power shifts, one might think that it's merely a matter of time before statistics and probability point toward Lewis and his men reaching the promised land.   Yet math alone will not guarantee this.  Fate is a cruel mistress and there have been scores of examples of other men never reaching a championship despite living a lifetime of professional football.

Marvin is sage and wise but he is still not a winner. He has endured a variety of problems, distractions and setbacks that have kept him from the top.  He could probably dish up heaps of worthwhile excuses for previously failed campaigns, but he would never do that.  He should accept the praise that he deserves for breathing new life into a franchise that had plummeted into a decade of darkness and despair during the 1990's, but he equally deserves the blame for wallowing in mediocrity since his arrival in 2003.  He knows what has happened in the past hasn't been good enough.  While he and others would likely say something to the effect that not winning the Super Bowl translates into a failed season, I disagree.

Most times, teams and organizations achieve success in stages.  His current staff of players and coaches have done well to make the playoffs in consecutive years-a milestone in and of itself-but simply attending a party doesn't make you the life of it.  I have been proud of the group for growing into their success, but effective growth does not stagnate, and not reaching the next rung on the playoff ladder would now become a glaring disappointment.  Marvin should not worry about what we think-and knowing anything at all about the man, he certainly doesn't-but there should be a tremendous amount of personal pressure boiling in his cauldron.  If winning meaningful postseason games matters to him, then this year is paramount to his professional life.

There is still a chasm of opinions in the media regarding the men in stripes. Read Pete Prisco and you will walk away envisioning Andy Dalton hoisting the Lombardi Trophy while confetti accumulates on his championship ball cap.  Read Adam Schein and you might expect Cincinnati to be on the clock with the first pick in next year's draft.  Overall, however, most of the prognosis by media professionals is rather positive.

And for good reason.

Looking at this roster, one has to ask themselves: what's not to like? If you are one of those hung up on the limitations of Andy Dalton then there is little more to say about that.  He is not the best at his position and likely never will be, but I do not agree that that precludes him from ever winning a championship.  If you are bothered by the Andrew Hawkins injury and the lack of proven production by the supporting members around A.J. Green then you have a more valid point to your criticism, but by and large, the combined talent of the offensive weaponry seems ample, albeit crude.  If you point to the unknown starter at safety opposite of Reggie Nelson then you're just nitpicking and trying to be argumentative and most of us don't have time for that.

There have been other times when the city of Cincinnati has revved up its excitement regarding its football team only to have those high hopes squashed almost immediately (2010 season, "Batman & Robin").  Then there have been times when we braced for the worst only to be pleasantly surprised in the end (2011, "Red to Green").   Because of this wild unpredictability and emotional scaring of the past, Bengal fans are cautious and apprehensive entering into this season.  Whether he admits or not, I am convinced that Marvin Lewis feels the same way.

I can't say the same about his players though. Because of Hard Knocks, we get an inside glimpse of the team and its personality.  They do not appear stressed or overwhelmed.  They do not appear aloof or narcissistic.  They seem to enjoy each other and the game and go about their business with a quiet confidence.  The core has been together long enough to know what the league is like, but not long enough to experience burn out or succumb to the extreme pressure of the game.  If games were won and lost by attitude alone, the Bengals might go undefeated, but this is a much deeper competition than that.

One can detect a much more palpable sense of urgency by the coaching staff.  They realize that they have developed a possible power house but they also realize how tenuous of a monster that can be.  Unlike the players, they do not have a lifetime ahead of them and the chance to good, really good, comes around sparingly.  The fact that the coaching staff has been in place together for a few years only adds to the excitement and pressure to make this year special.  That urgency will make for an arduous road, even if success is achieved, and these men will be very tired by the end no matter what the outcome of the season turns out to be.

Quality drafts, productive development of young players, continuity of a well-respected coaching staff and a perceptible decline by their divisional rivals opens the door to glory more than ever for Marvin and his Bengals.  To say he will be fired if the team fails to win or even make the playoffs isn't likely when looking back on the history of the team's ownership, but to say he missed out on the best chance of his life to truly become a winner in his field might be dead on.  No matter how you spin it, this season is a critical chapter in Bengals history. Much of Marvin's legacy is hinged on its outcome.

Mojokong-back from the rings of Saturn.