The Offensive Armchair: What Worked and What Didn't

When I think of coaches brainstorming about the upcoming season, I always picture a darkened meeting room-either really late or really early in the morning-where bleary-eyed, middle-aged men groan on about how to fix what went wrong the year before.   This may not be the case at all.  Perhaps these meetings are mid-day and chipper affairs where the coaches blather on about their solutions to the others with gusto and verve.

Either way, or more likely somewhere in between, what they logically must do in any case is review last year in order to prioritize exactly what needs fixed for the next.

The volumes of Andy Dalton coverage, opinion and analysis have already grown robust after three rollercoaster seasons, so it will be brief here.  Andy is a mid-level pro at his position and his strengths and limitations have been rigidly defined.  Seemingly, he has already maximized the majority of his potential and his overall career grade is shaping up somewhere in the B- range.  Perhaps a different offensive philosophy that removes some focus from Dalton by relying more on the run could help disguise some of his weaknesses, but a Drew Brees-like development for Andy Dalton now appears to be only fantasy.

The targets around him remain the source of intrigue for this offense.  It's like a finely crafted armchair, meticulously designed for a great quarterback to kick his feet up, win multiple Super Bowls and recline into the Hall-of-Fame, but somehow went to Dalton instead, whose feet don't touch the ground and seems adolescent when he sits in it.

One of the chair's legs is now Giovani Bernard, who is suddenly relied upon to change games with his rabbit-out-the-hat playmaking ability.  He was spectacular in his rookie season, but not dominant.  With all the razzle-dazzle he brings, he is not without cracks.  Perhaps it isn't his fault that he's hard to complete passes to.  The man can't help how short he is, hell, it's part of the reason the Bengals drafted him, but it complicates Andy Dalton's life when he throws to him.  I don't know how to fix this without blaming passing accuracy, but Gio dropped a few too, and his focus to look the ball all the way in to his hands may be lacking just enough to need some attention this spring and summer.

Another leg is, of course, the majestic A.J. Green. There is a shared sense that A.J.-despite putting up terrific number in his first three seasons-has yet to reach his ceiling.  There are times when he takes over games and his ability to make the difficult plays look routine is breathtaking and innate, yet he could still do more.

This line of thinking has a double edge, though.  In order to feed Green more, the others become less involved and some balance is sacrificed.  No one wants a chair that's got one fat leg and three skinny ones.  And like Bernard, Green too could still tighten his game up some.  He is graceful and elegant with terrific body control and fast-twitch muscle fibers, but there are times when his routes look lazy and his hands appear less than automatic.  While he doesn't need to be the brute-like receiver of say, Anquan Boldin or Brandon Marshall, perhaps adding ten pounds of muscle could help when freeing himself at the line of scrimmage, I'm not sure.  I don't think we need to see more A.J. Green catches, but I think we should see more efficiency when he is targeted.

The third leg, at least last year, was shared by the tight ends.  Tyler Eifert and Jermaine Gresham were used evenly and combined for over 80 catches.   With the topic of efficiency in mind, though, Gresham has proven to be a difficult player to rely on.  Without knowing the advanced statistics of what each scored on each play of the season, I can tell you that for yet another year, Gresham was called for too many penalties, dropped too many passes and fumbled too many times.  He is a physical monster who possesses each quality NFL teams desire, except concentration.

Because of this, and because each are first-round picks, Eifert should garner more focus in the passing game and Gresham should be limited to more of a blocking role at this point in his Bengals career.  We saw Eifert's ability to come down with the jump ball during his touchdown catch in Detroit.  He did this consistently at Notre Dame and should be given more of these chances.  He was drafted for his hands, explosiveness, and intelligence-exactly the qualities that are keeping Gresham from being great (though he can be explosive at times).  Eifert should become his own chair leg to this offense in 2014.

The last leg is always the offensive line.  This one was not only reliable, it actually strengthened when its best player moved spots.  The shift from left tackle to left guard for Andrew Whitworth not only showed his versatility and professionalism, but also reinforced my opinion that he is a better guard than tackle.  Whitworth is a top-notch tackle, don't get me wrong, but his ability to be a pulling guard is perfect for his size and foot speed.  The future of Anthony Collins with the Bengals is unclear at the moment-he may out-price the team on the free-agent market-so drafting a left tackle early and keeping Whit at guard feels like a Bengals move, and a sensible one at that.  I still harbor concerns about Kyle Cook's durability and longevity and would like to see the club address the position's future sooner than later, but the unit remains one of the league's best and is coached by one of the team's mainstays in Paul Alexander.

There are of course others that make up the chair, and outside of BenJarvus Green-Ellis, I was pleased and approved of how often they were used.  With Marvin Jones establishing himself as a viable number-two, the receiver pecking order seems to have worked itself out.  I am perhaps in the minority, if not alone, in thinking that Green-Ellis should have been leaned on more down the stretch of last season.   While he provides little in the way of fireworks, his drought-horse approach works in the winter elements and wears down opposing defenses while stabilizing an otherwise volatile offense.

Perhaps Hue Jackson will perform some alterations to the piece that make Andy Dalton more comfortable in it.  Perhaps the soles of Dalton's feet will next year rest squarely on the ground rather than dangle idly as he takes control of his team.  Or perhaps the natural patina, worn from use, must first appear on the chair before it is perfect.   I haven't sat on anything like it, so I would have no idea, but I will keep a close eye on it, standing outside the window.

Mojokong-crafter of literary furniture.

Something Old, Something New

This week was one of immediate change. Many are disappointed by what's occurred, already jonesing for Mike Zimmer to change his mind and come back, and the next Bengals team will be coordinated by different men, but like or not, we are all moving forward with this.

And what's to cry about, honestly? We all knew Marvin was not getting fired, nor moving upstairs to GM. We knew Zimmer and Jay Gruden were serious head-coaching candidates based on numerous interviews each has had in the past. Most agreed they deserved their shot and wished them the best when they earned their chance.

The selections to replace the two were the least-surprising decisions available. Those who follow closely, or even remotely, know that Mike Brown is as loyal as a bloodhound to his people. He would rather go with someone he knows and feels he can trust, sometimes negligently so, rather than bring in outsiders, and in this case he followed suit, promoting from within to fill both positions.

Let's not pretend, however, these guys aren't qualified for their new jobs. Hue Jackson is a veteran to this game. He was a terrific play-caller in Oakland who featured a creative run-game and a dynamic fullback in Marcel Reece. Players like Jacoby Ford, Jason Campbell and Darren McFadden enjoyed their career's best stretches with Hue. He gets to sit in the captain's seat to an offense with payloads of young talent. He knows the personnel better than any other candidate and lacks the softness some of us perceived in Gruden at times.

My only concern with Jackson is the big-shot syndrome. Hue Jackson appears to consider himself a very cool guy, a beacon of proven knowledge. He has coached high-level football for decades and knows a whole universe of game elements I may never learn, but getting in the faces of players doesn't always go well and can sometimes lead to some division among the ranks. I still don't the know details, and maybe never will, but I remember there being rumblings of a fight between Chad Johnson and Hue Jackson at halftime in the 2005 Wild-Card game. Chad is a renown hothead, and if it happened, we give the adult points to Hue on that one, but perhaps other personality-types may have defused the situation before it got out of hand, who knows?

I'm not saying Hue Jackson is going to come in and fight his players or make them feel bad, but I thought the team chemistry last year was tremendous for the Bengals and we have seen the catastrophes of a sour locker room before. Marvin's group management has perhaps extended a bit further than last year with Hue more in the forefront, but this all seems like me making an issue out of nothing, so we can ignore it for now.

As for Paul Guenther, it feels like he is as deserving of his new post as Zimmer is head-caoching in Minnesota. He's been with the team since 2005 and has commiserated with a lot of successful football people during that time. This is not a case of cronyism run amok, other teams were sniffing around on him as their own coordinator too. Dues were paid in the case of Pauly G.

These men aren't schleps that Mike Brown thought he could save a buck on. They're seasoned and ready to do a great job. I think they deserve a fair shot before we start hunting around for our pitchforks and lanterns.

What else is nice about them being internally promoted is the sameness mixed with the newness.

Learning a new terminology in regards to football plays is apparently a monster academic undertaking for NFL players. When they are used to one language, their brains have a hard time picking up a new one, so neither side has to worry about that.

As for the differences, something should change after three straight playoff losses. After all, the phrase "three straight playoff losses" indicates a great deal of success mixed with consistent disappointment. Blow up the whole thing? Hardly necessary. Add a fresh, but not alien, perspective? Yes, let's try that.

Hue wants to run the ball more, and I do too. Giovani Bernard is an immediate fan favorite and his ability to do damage in the passing game is fun, but late in the season, his rushing totals became too small and many of his attempts were kind of worthless. Even passing to him proved difficult, as Andy Dalton had a hard time connecting with the tiny target. BenJarvus Green-Ellis still has a lot to offer as a compliment to the other backs in the stable, and was forgotten in the playoff game to the Chargers despite a nice showing on his eight attempts. And a third back should be mixed in to some degree this upcoming campaign as well. Perhaps they simply didn't trust Cedric Peerman to carry the rock last year, but he only saw action in blow-out minutes. A multi-back approach doesn't need to be limited to just two. McFadden will be on the market this spring and will come discounted in the scratch, dented and injured section of the free-agent store. I would welcome a third style of ground-game kung fu and extend the ways to kill defenses even further with McFadden in the mix.

As for Guenther, I don't know how he will be different from Zim. How could we know? He seems like an intense dude, and I would surmise that intense dudes like to blitz more than the relaxed guys (Leslie Frazier, for instance), but that's complete speculation. He gets the pair of injured stars back next year in Geno Atkins and Leon Hall, he gets a developing megastar in Vontaze Burfict, and he likely gets a fairly high draft pick to work on. I wouldn't go as far to say that this defense can take care of itself no matter who is calling the shots, but I do feel like this group is far more advanced than your average defense and is hardly a rebuild job.

Because the Bengals are the experiment that we constantly monitor, it will be exciting to analyze the changes these two men will bring about. Can they push the team over the top and get a playoff win? Only time will tell, but they have as good of a shot as any. Many still blame Marvin Lewis, but the program he runs is turning his underlings into head coaches and is making the playoffs every year. The problem last year was a devastating second half, one that Marvin had little options to salvage. It was a meltdown of decision making, but not his decisions. Removing him might be a positive, but is not currently warranted. The change of philosophy the two new coordinators bring is the perfect balance of change and consistency. I feel good about this.

Mojokong-snowglobed.

The Shame of it All

What gets lost in all the power and glory of football is the shame.  There is tremendous shame in football.  There is mostly football shame in Cincinnati.

I know the coaches felt the hurt more than the cold in their bones on Monday.  It wasn't supposed to go down like that this year.  It was built with better stuff than that; it was tested.  And yet there you have it.  Not only another first-round loss, an absolute ass-kicking in the second half of that game.  Their guys got pushed and rattled and beaten, all their perceivable powers neutralized in thirty minutes.  The personnel was right, the schemes were working and the arrow was up all throughout this season.  It was up, dammit!

They likely faced themselves in the mirror today wondering if they will ever have a roster like this again in Cincinnati.  The last two years were building blocks and that was okay, but this was the year.  This year the Bengals were really gonna....

Then there are the players.  Yeah, most of them are coming back and yeah they will have another year of experience and yeah they will probably be good again next September, October, November and December, but how many Januaries do they have left in them?  Perhaps because of their youth and early playoff regularity, this group may not realize the scarcity of that special winter-time occurrence.  A winning culture matters and the definition of winning increases as the culture improves.  So far, this team's culture is mired in not-good-enough.  I don't mean to say they are without quality leadership and disciplined mind frames.  They just aren't good enough.

Next are Bengals fans.  Not an attractive fan base, this gang will often get surly on the first negative play and take a while to shake it off.  They are a scorned bunch who perpetually feel like asses for being fooled again.  They live with daily self-doubt and think the rest of the league picks on them and their team.  When they meet outside of Cincinnati, they are astonished to have found the other, and feel an immediate bond in their shame.

Then there is the city itself.  The people of this city are reeling for a meaningful victory.  Cincinnati has a kind of inferiority complex already, being a one-time big city and now a "small market" place.  Any time Ohio is mentioned in the movies or on TV shows, it's always Cleveland that's represented and never Cincinnati.  People think our chili is gross.  Our pro teams don't advance in the playoffs.  We don't feel like winners.

Which is crazy when you think about it.  You and I have no effect on the games.  We hope a certain group of humans performs better than another group at a very physical sport.  We hope they are better because they represent the place we live, but in reality, their representation of us is only the name on their uniforms.  With two or three exceptions, none of these players or coaches come from Cincinnati (and even two or three seems kind of high).  Almost all of them are in the one-percentile in athletic capabilities, so they aren't representing us in that sense either, and the poorest of the bunch gets paid ten times more than your average Cincinnatian.  But we hate it when we are mocked after our specific athletic group of rich outsiders comes up short against similar groups from similar far-away places.

The uglier side of this fan shame manifests with people threatening players with black-hearted vulgarities on social-media channels and screaming for coaches to be fired, but most people just absorb it, digest it and move on pleasantly enough to their fellow humans, but not without a small twinge of defeat that never truly goes away.  Over time, this feeling hardens into indifference, and many passionate fans become casual observers out of self-defense.  This is partly why the area struggles to sell out games and is why these people are always one shrug away from not giving a shit.

I count myself among the masses who felt the shame on Monday.  I felt it Sunday afternoon as the clock wilted away like an iceberg in the Arctic Ocean. I simmered in my seat and fiddled with my hat a lot as I replayed each Dalton turnover in my head.  I vented to the room about Jay Gruden being outcoached after halftime.  I went outside and pretended I could see Mike Brown in his tower, laughing at me.


If this is Mike Brown's fault, though, he is only guilty for employing the men beneath him.  While he was the easy target of the past, MB hasn't done much to complain about recently.  Perhaps he still lacks the gumption necessary to be shrewd and occasionally fire those he counts as friends, but his football operations have been proficient and his organization has enjoyed a prolonged string of quality regular seasons.  A major decision looms around the future of the team's quarterback position, but that is another story for another day.  For now, the blame should be redirected from the owner's box.

We might as well cut to the chase and blame Andy Dalton for the third consecutive Wild-Card loss on Sunday.  He lost that game.  He did.  The others weren't their best, but he was a disaster in the second half and he matters the most.  We know what Dalton can do well.  When things are going as planned, when the offensive line is keeping him mellow and in rhythm, when the defense shows the looks he expects, things come up roses.  He makes a lot of nice throws and surprises me a couple of times a game with his abilities, but then a wrinkle surfaces, something he didn't account for, and the whole operation falls apart.

There are only about eight really good to great quarterbacks in the game.  Then there are good, average and random quarterbacks that make up the rest.  Dalton has always vacillated between good and average and he remains there today.  The playoffs have proven that it takes a high-level of professionalism at the quarterback position to advance in the contest, but this team either tried tricking themselves into thinking that they had a high-grade QB or that the rest of the team was strong enough to hide their problems.  All it took for San Diego was to flush him out of the pocket for one half to crush the season.  I think a lot of folks want to see Dalton be a game-manager, but he isn't that kind of a guy.  He's either high-flying or hard crashing.  He's either throwing four touchdowns or four picks.  He's either Good Andy or Bad Andy.

The coaching staff certainly failed to make the adjustment in the second half the way the Chargers did, and it was hard to hear San Diego players say after the game that they saw no surprises from the Bengals and knew what was coming.  This is an all-star coaching staff of respected men who have had little to no playoff success.  At what point do those two things not correlate anymore?  I like both coordinators and their schemes, I like the program Marvin Lewis runs and felt he improved on his game management skills this season.  I like Hue Jackson and his moxie, and the Hayes brothers seem to know the game, but until all these guys win something we might remember in 20 or 40 years, we will die having forgotten about them, or worse, be pained by their memories.

Yes, shame is everywhere in this football town.  It takes nine months to fully rev the engines again and allow the spring of hope to fill us once more and it will happen again, but one can't help but worry that the chances will dry up like it did in the wretched past.  We don't trust that we will continue to enjoy year after year of divisional championships and playoff berths like some cities seem to do.  Our desperation heightens with our limitation of days.  Yet remember, dear desperate soul, that these men do not represent us; we represent ourselves.  A great city, a great life, a great person is rarely defined through football, at least to the average joe.  Root for them, yes, of course, but don't be ashamed when your hope is not satisfied.  We are not losers because of the outcome of Wild-Card weekends.

We always hear that the same group of individuals is never completely replicated from one year to the next.  There will certainly be changes in 2014, but we have yet to learn how dramatic they will be.  Will all the same coaches come back next season?  Will the new draft picks include a young quarterback?  What free agents fit this team?  Only time will tell.  Until then, try not to stress about it.  Enjoy the playoffs because you enjoy watching good football.  Revel in the warmer weather sure to come in a few months.  And when Bengals time rolls around again, remember who dictates your life and your shame.  You do.



Mojokong-an ape of many interests.

Wild-Card Preview: Here For Good Reason

There is no reason to worry. These Bengals are built for this game. They have created this moment for themselves and tomorrow they will seize it.

Over the past four years, Cincinnati has stockpiled talent all over their roster and is now perhaps the deepest team in the league. A large part of that credit rests with the front office for identifying quality players, the rest goes to the coaches for consistently developing them.

All of this good stuff has landed the Bengals back in the playoffs for the the fourth time in five years, but for the first time, they were expected at the playoff party. There will still be the huge masses of doubters on Sunday who stand with their arms crossed and ask, "Well?" After all, they have never won one of these affairs with Marvin Lewis, and to many, seeing is believing.

Yet I am not interested in the beliefs others have of Marvin Lewis and Andy Dalton. I have seen both men grow at their position this season and each are respected professionals among their peers. The Bengals beat quality teams on a regular basis in 2013 (something that was lacking the previous two campaigns), they have been incredible when playing at home and it's a Sunday afternoon game which means the routine for the players stays the same. Outside of superstition, there is no valid reason to think the Bengals can't win their Wild-Card game on Sunday.

Why should there not continue to be an abundance of touchdowns against San Diego? Because Dalton throws too many picks, you say?

Last week the offense felt unstoppable even with four interceptions and won convincingly. The weeks before that showed that if it's a pick-free day for Dalton, games become silly blowouts. Those are big wins either way. This offense is purring and exploding with points at PBS.

The Charger corners should be worried. The Bengals have 31 flavors of variety in their offense. They can find mismatches in their mismatches. Sometimes they are guilty of overdoing it and killing themselves with needless complexity or getting too cute, but in general, the offense outsmarts its opponents. San Diego has no one who can adequately cover A.J. Green. They can double him, but that's when the supporting cast goes for the jugular. Marvin Jones has emerged this season as a very serious NFL wide receiver. When Dalton sees Jones in single coverage, he takes his chances. Jones has tremendous concentration which allows him to make extremely difficult catches, or at least come close practically every time. Another player hitting his stride recently is Andrew Hawkins. After coming along slowly from injury, Gruden has featured him more by using his blazing quickness in space. The sheer speed of these three players puts a lot of pressure on the Charger corners, and that says nothing of their other rich abilities.

The linebackers should be even more worried. Their collection of 3-4 linebackers are typically overgrown and therefore perhaps not all that fleet of foot. If they find themselves covering in any single man situation, they are an easy target. Giovani Bernard is seeing more action in the passing game, but his small self has proven to be at times a difficult object to throw to. Nonetheless, if Bernard sees that Mante Teo is lined up across from him, seam routes to the end zone would seem in order. If it isn't the backs, the dynamic tight-end duo is giving defenses headaches with their length and speed. Jermaine Gresham was vilified for his poor play in last year's playoff game and I especially hope to see a good game from him to cleanse that lingering negativity many fans still harbor in him.

Marvin Lewis said that his team is best when it remains aggressive, so I would look to see Dalton challenge the Bolts through the air all day. He might throw a pick or two, but he is playing with a lot of confidence in his abilities and looks pretty comfortable in the only pro offense he's ever known. They collectively play like a college offense in that it seems like the scheme itself scores the points rather than the players. Sounds crazy, I know, but at times it feels like every play works with this bunch.

The Chargers can play offense too, and they have seasoned veterans in key areas, but the difference is the defense they will face. While the Zim Clan seems a bit less dominant up front getting in the quarterback's face these days, they remain a fundamentally sound group that stays disciplined, trusts each other, and focuses on their keys. This week it's imperative that they set the edge and control the flats when San Diego is passing.

Danny Woodhead and Ryan Mathews get a ton of cheap yards on dump off throws into the flats. They are both capable receivers and they prove to be hard to tackle on the outside-especially Woodhead-therefore the Bengals linebackers need to get out to the flats quickly and at least slow these men up for gang tackles. Take away this seemingly innocuous element to their offense, and I think you force the Chargers to punt at least three more times.

No one is worried about Vontaze Burfict doing what he has to do, and Vincent Rey has shown himself to be excellent in coverage, but Rey Maualuga knows (or should know) that defenses are coming after him. He was another goat to last year's loss, and can also redeem himself for a long time with a nice game, but it's important he finally make the big play. I know he has been much improved this year by simplifying the game and not trying to do too much, but in college he was a play-making machine, looking like a larger Troy Polamalu on a regular basis. On the pro level, though, he always seems a second or two late in making the game-changing impact.

I look for Philip Rivers to take into account of Maualuga's whereabouts on a regular basis and attack him when he can. But then I look For Rey to meet the challenge and make the big play. I think the Chargers will move the ball successfully but find it hard to reach the endzone, just like in the first game. Ryan Mathews won't enjoy a huge day because the Bengals are good tacklers and that alone pretty much takes care of Mathews. Ladarius Green is still the scariest matchup on the team, and Zimmer will have to scheme to limit his explosiveness, and Keenan Allen will make teams pay with his quickness and big-play potential but I think Rivers gets harassed out of his game just enough to keep the Chargers frustrated with settling for field goals and coming up short.

This is the game we've all been waiting for; the one to feel good about for a change. The Chargers are a decent team. They closed out the regular season nicely and should feel good about a lot of their younger players and their new head coach. The playoffs, though, are the true litmus test of teams, and the Bengals are simply more fortified for this kind of action. There is nothing more they could have done this season to strengthen their case any further. They have the right players, the right coaches and the right venue to win. Now it's simply a matter of seeing it happen.

Bengals 35, Chargers 21

Mojokong-faith in facts.