Drippin' Off the Meat Grinder

There are six teams in the NFL that are identically built: Baltimore, Buffalo, Chicago, Jacksonville, Tampa Bay and Tennessee. They’re made up of strength and patience. They make you want to quit. They sock you in the face over and over again. I call it grind-house football.

It’s an old philosophy built around field position. Field goals win games if the other team can’t cross the 50 yard line. Watching grind-house offenses can be slow and boring. Expect to see lots of hand offs and check downs, tight end catches and (gulp) double-reverses. Throws are to be kept to a minimum and fumbles are punishable by death. Punts are ok, missed field goals are not.

Playing grind-house defense is simple: Keep people in front of you and make tackles. The front four are good enough by themselves to not require fancy linebacker and safety blitzes. The secondary doesn’t get beat deep and linebackers don’t miss tackles.

Good special teams play is essential for a successful grind-house style. Dangerous return men can change the ol’ battle for field position in a hurry. Buffalo, thought to be the best special teams unit in the NFL, pulled off a classic, guy-acting-like-he’s-going-to-the-bench-when-he’s-really-not fake field goal for a touchdown last week, adding to a punt return touchdown earlier in the game for the Bills

Last week we were treated to a heaping spoonful of grind-house by the Ravens. This week we meet the Ravens older brother, the Titans. Tennessee outslugged the musclebound Jaguars 17-10 in Week 1 at Jacksonville. The defensive line is super aggressive, and is led by the Panzer tank, defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth. Big Al snacked on the Jags offensive line last week with two sacks, while the Titans racked up seven for the game. If Eric Ghaicuic is the cupcake he appears to be when I rewatch the games in slow motion on my DVR, than he is literally going to be mauled by a wild animal on Sunday. Poor guy.

If that wasn’t enough, linebacker Keith Bullock is the kind of guy you think of when you think about army tattoos. They both seem old fashioned tough. His tackles cause fumbles and his trash talking cause headlines. He and Ray Lewis are the same linebacker breed. Bullock requires some attention when game planning the Titans.

On the plus side, the Titan secondary is vulnerable. Lil’ Finnigan had no chance of covering Chad in last year’s game and watched him operate a CBS camera as a result.

Tennessee will hand off to the quick Chris Johnson and/or the bulldozer-type runner LenDale White, as many as 35 times in a close game. Johnson likes to run off tackle and the Titans’ wide outs look to be really good blockers to facilitate that. White is an up-the-middle runner who is difficult to tackle.

With Vince Young out with a knee problem and a severe contusion to his ego, the immobile Kerry Collins will look to throw quickly to avoid moving. He does have a strong arm, and if he has time, he will test the secondary deep. Their receivers are average at best, but the tight end Bo Scaife ended with 106 yards on six catches last week.

Considering they have a quarterback who moves like Han Solo in carbonite, I would assume we might want to blitz pretty heavily. No need to double team any of the receivers or play prevent zone on this offense. Linebackers, especially Rivers, need to stay at home and bring people down. I was disappointed with the angles our tacklers were taking on ball carriers. Bad angles end up with a group of defenders chasing down runners instead of one player stopping a play upon impact. The defensive line needs to win the surge at the line of scrimmage more regularly. For Peko and Thornton, it comes down to pushing the player in front them backwards. If they fail, opposing runners find yards and we give up another third-and-short.

The Titans pack a wallop. They want to slug it out into the tenth round and apply the knockout at the bell. They’re battle hardened, grind-house. Like a ten hour arm-wrestle. I expect them to be angry and intimidating. I expect the Bengals to be shaken and punked.

Titans 20, Bengals 9

Mojokong - Death Proof

The Longest Season

The point of emphasis the Bengals decided to focus on this training camp was becoming more physical. Being able to run the ball and stopping third downs were two issues the coaching staff insisted on improving. The 2008 training camp t-shirt this year even had the word “PHYSICAL” printed on the back. Yet when describing Sundays game another word came to mind:

Soft.

Not only did the Bengals’ offensive line get tossed around, the defense allowed 221 rushing yards and went limp on too many important third downs. The Ravens had the ball for more than 12 minutes longer than Cincinnati. Joe Flacco ran for a 38 yard touchdown in slow-motion!

I remember the front office signing defensive lineman to long contracts this off-season in order to generate more of a pass rush. That didn’t happen. I also recall replacing a slow running back who couldn’t generate any yards with, apparently,... another slow running back? And then there’s that certain lineman who was undoubtedly laughing to himself as he watched his former mates look far worse than they ever had with him.

What I don’t remember seeing is DeDe Dorsey touch the ball. Or a quick out pass to Chad to get him into the game. Or Carson adjust to a three-step-drop when the defensive pressure was obviously not going to relent. Or Eric Ghaicuic winning a battle inside.

How many years must we bitch about Bratkowski? Predicting his play calling is like predicting when the light turns green.

“It’s third and one, Bob, whad’ya think?”

“Up the gut.”

“Now it’s fourth and one, what now?”

“Up the gut.”

Why is he employed? He has taken a rare crop of talent and strangled the life from it with the stale, suffocating style of play calling he insists on. He has made Carson a worse player, he’s limited the ultra-explosiveness of Chad, he is currently wasting the talent that still exists within the offensive line and he may have ruined Rudi’s career.

One can’t help but wonder what actually takes place during practice. What’s our bread and butter play?

Fourth and one at the Ravens 25 yard line, down by seven points, seven minutes and some change left, time to run the bread and butter play. Palmer hands off to Perry who runs up the gut for a loss of a yard.

Here’s what Carson said about that play:

"That's a nine out of 10 play," said Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer. "Usually we make that nine out of 10 times. That's our bread-and-butter."

I’m not sure what is more disheartening: the fact that a run up the middle is our bread and butter play, or that we can’t gain yards on it, even if it is.

As previously griped about, there is no direction to this team. Who are our leaders? Carson? He guaranteed we beat Baltimore in our next meeting, that doesn’t make you a leader. He’s Captain Brightside who says things like, “The good news is that it’s only Week 1.” Thanks, Carson.


Mojokong - It’s only week one.

Stepping into the Great Unknown

Week 1 Preview:

Oh, cruel irony, must the Bengals face Willie Anderson eight days after releasing him? Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome has reportedly met with him today about joining the divisional rival and aiding an inexperienced offensive line there. With the off-season retirement of comparable legend, Jonathan Ogden, Willie could provide the same leadership and guidance that Ogden once fulfilled. It’s also safe to say that Big Willie knows our team inside and out and gives Baltimore the ultimate scouting report on us. If I were new Ravens coach John Harbaugh, I would let Willie talk into the headset that communicates signals to the defensive captain’s helmet. He could recognize every formation we line up in and is an expert on our tendencies. The mistake of letting him go could become quickly magnified.

Outside of that dreadful possibility, the Bengals match up well against a banged-up, inexperienced Ravens squad. Rookie Joe Flacco has been anointed their starting quarterback and running back Willis McGahee has been bothered by a knee problem all preseason. Bengal killer Ed Reed has a nerve issue in his shoulder and neck and told a Baltimore radio station that if the injury required surgery, it could be career-threatening. Defensive veterans like Trevor Price, Chris McAllister, Patrick Surtain and even Ray Lewis are all in the twilight of their careers. They have serious concerns at wide receiver and have been searching for a play maker in that department for years. Wide out Mark Clayton has the speed to be that kind of player but came away without a touchdown last season.

Still, there are some players to game plan against in Baltimore. One is Todd Heap. The pro-bowl tight end is the perfect safety-valve for a rookie quarterback. He runs excellent routes, has sure hands and is a legitimate red zone threat. Safeties and linebackers are going to have to play him close and make tackles when he gets the ball.

Another player to think about is rookie running back Ray Rice. Rice from Rutgers is a power runner with decent speed. He’s a nice compliment in the running game and gives Coach Harbaugh some solace if McGahee can’t give it a go Sunday.

On defense, outside linebacker Terrel Suggs is always a handful for Levi Jones. Sometime he beats Jones one-on-one. Other times, his presence alone makes the difference. When he and defensive end Price load up one side in their 3-4 defensive set, it proves difficult for our blocking scheme to pick up the blitz from the opposite side. Safety blitzes are dangerous in those scenarios and the blocking emphasis goes to the running backs and tight ends. It’s essential the Bengals pass protection handle the exotic blitzes the Ravens have worked on all summer. Keep our boy off the turf and intact.

The Ravens have three big d-lineman, Suggs on the outside and Ray Lewis in the middle. If those players are consistently neutralized, our passing attack should have the advantage over an aged, slow secondary, particularly without Ed Reed.

Another concern is our coverage team on kickoffs. Last week against Indy we allowed wide open running lanes and paid for it. Raven return-man Yamon Figurs is too fast to let him build up steam untouched. And the best way to keep a struggling offense in the game is through big special teams play and helpful field position.

I expect Flacco to make the obligatory rookie mistake here and there, and a good defense creates turnovers when that happens. We should blitz him hard early, smack him in his mouth to remind him it’s the NFL, and force him into quick decisions. The wrong thing to do is to drop back into zone and dare him to throw into small holes. Why allow an inexperienced quarterback to feel comfortable dropping back to pass? Get it into his head early that he could get hurt playing this game.

Like the rest of the Bengal world, I’m very anxious to see how Chris Perry can hold up for an entire game. Kenny Watson and DeDe should get a combined 10 to 15 carries to take some of the load off of Perry, but look for the former first-rounder to see close to 20 carries if everything is going as planned. With he and Utecht added to this year’s attack, the intermediate passing plays - especially on third downs - should be less of a concern.

Will Chad be able to take a hit? Will Housh be his normal self after not playing at all in the preseason? Will anyone step up in their places if the star receivers can’t pull it off? Will the Bengals karma worsen with the forceful removal of Willie Anderson? God, I hope not.

We head into ‘08 with more uncertainty than ever under Mean Marv. I don't know if we'll be favored going into Sunday’s game, but I’m still picking us to win.

Bengals 24, Ravens 13

Mojokong - “I only have friends because I’ve killed all my rivals.” - KRS One

Inexplicable

Is there no loyalty left in the NFL? The Bengals should never have cut Willie Anderson. They can’t be that strapped for cash. So why do it?

If this decision is based on financial concern, then it had better translate to resigning Housh. Willie was due for a fairly modest $3 million this season, and was asked to take a pay cut or leave. What a way to treat a guy who has repeatedly supported a franchise whose decisions no one can understand. This man is a hall-of-famer who has played through more pain than is reasonable to ask of a person, he’s been one of very few people to publicly praise Mike Brown, has been a rock in a very turbulent locker room.

Even if the Bengals had concerns about his contract, they could have approached him about it in the off-season or work it out as camp progressed. If you want to save some dough by cutting an expensive, underachieving offensive tackle, look no further than Levi Jones. Willie was still a serviceable tackle who added tremendous depth to a line that underwhelmed the world during the preseason. He deserved to have one more season and go out with dignity.

As for Rudi, hooray! Now there’s a guy not worth his contract. I still have concerns with Chris Perry’s longevity throughout the year and I would like to have a complimentary power back, but Rudi was not the answer. He’ll find a job somewhere.

Deltha O’Neal was a bit of a surprise. We’re not particularly deep at corner and I’ve been less than thrilled with David Jones. The Bengals kept six safeties because of their ability to play special teams. They also kept corner Simeon Castille who was a long shot to make the team. Deltha was also scheduled to make $3 million this year and I think Mike Zimmer wasn’t all that impressed with him.

Ahmad Brooks fell apart fast on this team. Last year going in to Week 2, I had pro-bowl hopes for the guy. He fell to third string by the end of camp, and players like Blackstock, Henderson, and Brandon Johnson has made the freak athlete expendable.

Every year I have less hope in the direction of this team. I've become used to shrugging and hoping for the best, but not even in the backwards, twisted universe that is the Bengals does it make sense to bring back Chris Henry and cut Willie Anderson. Who’s running this team?

Mojokong – The Bengals behave like a moody teenager.

What's Really Going On?

It’s still only preseason. The words repeat themselves in my head like a mantra of rationale. I heard it over and over again Saturday night as I watched Carson getting smacked in the mouth by an aged safety we released two years ago. “We’ll get it together,” I say aloud after witnessing yet another missed tackle. A blocked field goal?...we’ve still got time to fix all of this...right?

I sometimes get the feeling I’m telling everyone to be calm in a plane crash. There’s a lot of doubt floating around right now and we haven’t even started yet.

There are some legitimate excuses for some problems. Chad’s shoulder tear (as reported first on this blog) has been legitimized by ESPN’s John Clayton and it sounds like it will be 85's choice to play with the injury or not. I predict he gives it a go, gets hit once...maybe twice, and calls it a season. As the great Basilgrey wisely noted, the words Chad and tough are not synonymous. Housh continues to mollycottle his hamstring and the rookies look like babes in the woods out there. Chris “Afrodite” Henry will have to wait four whole games to contribute, and the promising Marcus Maxwell is out for the season as well. Of course the passing game is going to struggle, but I think it will get better as personnel returns..

And then there are some not so legitimate excuses for the Bengals’ struggles. Our offensive line, the so-called Jurrasic line which has applied more to being slow and dumb rather than big and scarey, is the healthiest its been in years, has pro-bowl talent and is apparently blind. It’s just not good business employing blind lineman, I’m tellin’ ya. Bratkowski made mention that some of the blame goes to the backs and tight ends as well. None of that matters. Just keep our franchise off of his back and keep his nose in tact for chrise sake.

The value of a good center is hard to quantify. They’re rarely considered a worthwhile first-round pick yet there never seem to be decent free agent centers to plug into a line. Paul Brown knew the value of a good one. He took a center, Bob Johnson from Tennessee, with the Bengals first pick ever. Rich Braham was great and I miss him. Ghaciuc is still getting pushed around, and I don’t mean to offend him but I think he’s a pansy. It’s too bad though: back up Dan Santucci is out for a while and really isn’t that much better when healthy.

I like what I’ve seen from Leon Hall so far. Even the Garbage man himself, Dexter Jackson, has looked aight. Keith Rivers showed us last week he does indeed have some rookie tendencies that need polishing, but overall this one looks solid. Pass rush has not improved an iota but, in theory, help is on the way with the expected return of Odom for Week 1.

It’s only preseason. It’s only preseason. It’s only preseason. It’s only preseason. It’s only preseason.

Mojokong - You’d better buckle up.

Waiting for the Other Shoe to Drop

Perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised. Bengals’ management rarely makes sense when it comes to player personnel. Resigning Chris Henry is like sticking your finger in the mousetrap for the fifth or sixth time. From a distance, it doesn’t look like either side in this continuing saga has learned anything from their previous mistakes. Some might argue that the Bengals have little to lose in all of this. If, or rather when, Chris Henry takes the law into his own hands again, management can say that nobody can help the talented receiver get his life together and that he’s a lost cause. That would be okay if we didn’t already take that approach earlier in the summer when they cut him. By bringing him back, the Bengals have basically given up on trying to “change the image” of the team and have given the bird to any PR concerns they’ve had to deal with for the past three seasons. Winning is apparently more important the public’s perception of the Bengals.

No one can argue that the guy doesn’t immediately boost our injured and inexperienced receiving corps. On the field, the man can stretch defenses. Off it…well, mistakes are often made. Inside sources report that Chad’s shoulder is badly torn and he very well could miss the entire season. Housh is treating a strained hamstring very cautiously after missing the year in 2003 by trying to return too fast from the same injury. Rookie wide outs Caldwell and Simpson both appear to be projects and the team isn’t counting on them to contribute much in the short term.

I don’t think Marv wanted Henry back, but the decision came from the office of one desperate and confused Mike Brown. Marv was pretty adamant about Henry blowing his opportunity to be an NFL player. He, on the surface looked to have been fed up with unpredictable head cases like Henry and Odell Thurman. But Marv doesn’t write the checks, and every decision made ultimately makes its way to Mike Brown before anything is finalized.

Regardless, Henry won’t be a factor until week 5 thanks to a four game suspension dropped by big boss man Roger Goodell. If Henry can be ready to line up against Pacman Jones and score touchdowns, all will be temporarily forgiven and forgotten. If Henry decides to rob a convenient store with a stolen Gatling gun and go out in a blaze of gunfire with local police, will the Bengals and Mike Brown ever be forgiven or forgotten? The risk runs deeper than winning football games. At some point, team management, coaches, teammates and even fans will have to ask themselves if winning really is all that matters.

Mojokong – This just in: Bengals have hired Kevlar as their new equipment outfitter.

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!!