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Reluctant Media Finally Starting to Notice Bengals


HoosierCat

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Even o'l skunk-head was forced to write about the Bengals this morning:




Think of the environment the Bengals walked into Sunday: Ravens home opener, Ravens at 0-2 in desperate straits knowing a loss would put them three games out in the division after three games, and then the little thing about the Ravens and Bengals not liking each other. And then think of Dalton getting stripped in the fourth quarter, having it returned for a score, and, after being up 14-0, trailing 17-14 with seven minutes left, crowd going nuts.



“I just knew we needed a play,” Dalton said from Baltimore. “We had to answer. I told A.J. Green what I thought we'd get for coverage, and I though the play to him would be there.”



First down, Bengals’ 20. Dalton drops. Green runs a seam route deep up the left side, bracketed by safeties Kendrick Lewis and Will Hill; the left corner, Jimmy Smith, was singled on the outside receiver. Dalton threw a perfect strike 36 yards in the air, between the two safeties, and Green won the race against them and Smith, who came over to try to help. Too late: 80-yard touchdown. But the Ravens came back to take another lead. And here came Dalton again, taking over at his 20 again. “We’re going to need every one of you here,” he said in the huddle. “I trust every one of you to make plays right now.” Mohamed Sanu and Marvin Jones made big catches, and Dalton had a second-and-goal at the Baltimore seven, with 2:16 to go. Now he knew Smith would take Green, but Green got a step on him, and Dalton lofted the ball toward the left corner of the end zone. Again, a perfect strike. Touchdown. This time, the winning touchdown.



In two drives during the last seven minutes, Dalton drove the Bengals 160 yards for two touchdowns … in a total of one minute and 58 seconds. “I’ve got a lot of confidence in what we’re doing,” Dalton said. “Once you’ve been in a system for a while and you know your receivers, you get a lot more confident, and that’s where I am with these guys right now.”



I’d like to see Dalton’s three October tests, all against pressure defenses (Kansas City at home, Seattle at home, at Buffalo), before saying anything definitive about him. But what I saw Sunday, I liked a lot. Pressure throws, in a cauldron, with the game on the line. And one of them a well-placed long throw made with confidence right on the money. Dalton’s a 66.3% passer this morning, with eight touchdowns and one interception. And lots of confidence. Again: Dalton’s been a good regular-season quarterback (43-23-1, 107 touchdowns, 67 picks), and a maddening postseason one (0-4, one touchdown, six interceptions). Cincinnati won’t love him until that changes. But that can’t change in September, and what Dalton has done in September is all he can do. It’s been plenty good enough.


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Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

Stop! Please, stop!

:frustrated:

I'm with you sky. Last year it started, and we promptly got stomped by the Pats. Then again it's hard to fly under the radar undefeated.

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That the national talking heads are waking up doesn't bug me half as much as blurbs like this from Doc.:



1. The last time the locker room was this raucous post-game was after The Men clubbed poor J.Manziel in his debut last year. Unlike baseball players, who do this 162 times, football guys emote, even when their rooms are silent. Some rooms are very businesslike after Ws. Did what we had to do. This one was loud, a mix of happiness and relief. "Hello world,'' Pacman Jones yelled three times.


So, sounds like they think they're hot stuff now. That never bodes well for this team...


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It went bad last year because pretty much every legit weapon on offense for Dalton was hurt by the end of week 3 - and they had not gone to Hill yet to help.



I don't believe the national narrative changing affected things then, nor do I think it will affect things now - as long as they are healthy on offense - they are going to be a threat to win a lot of games.


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It went bad last year because pretty much every legit weapon on offense for Dalton was hurt by the end of week 3 - and they had not gone to Hill yet to help.

Oh, absolutely. But that said, the team does have a history going back much further than last season of letting good press go to its head. Let them taste a little bit of success and the faceplant has rarely been long in coming. After which they get all "grrrr and shit" and (usually of late) manage to pull it back together.

I will say I'm encouraged that they've maintained a high level of focus and play against a series of increasingly tough opponents. That's a good sign.

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Kiss of death? Prisco buys in.




It's not just Dalton that is playing well for the Bengals. They might have the best combo of lines in the league. Add in Green, one of the best weapons outside, and a bunch of other nice weapons for Dalton, and this offense will be tough to stop. The defense will be good, even if it let down in the fourth quarter Sunday. For much of the Ravens game, it looked really good.



Most of you will sit here and say this is the daytime Bengals, that when prime time comes calling, or it's postseason time, they will go back to being the Bengals. Not this group. It's too talented.



More than that, Dalton is better. He's much more sure of himself. The ball comes out faster and he's more accurate. He isn't afraid to take the shots. Yes, he made a major mistake holding the ball leading to the fumble for the touchdown by the Ravens, but aside from that he was impressive.



Of course, after four consecutive postseason appearances without a playoff victory, nothing these Bengals do during the regular season will matter to many out there. But if they can win a division and get a home playoff game, that will help.



These Bengals have a different feel about them.



Most of you don't believe it, but you should.



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The Cryptkeeper echoes mem:




Dalton will never been confused with the top handful of quarterbacks, but he isstarting to make plays that the best QBs make. Sunday's win over the Ravens marked three straight wins and four of the last five times he's faced Joe Flacco. Last year, he beat Matt Ryan, Flacco twice, Drew Brees and Peyton Manning.



Earlier in the week, Ravens coach John Harbaugh called the Bengals the most talented team in the league, and while that quote could have been as much about motivating his team as complimenting an opponent, the Bengals are playing like one of the best teams in the league. With the Ravens 0-3 and the Pittsburgh Steelers awaiting news on how long they will be without Roethlisberger, the Bengals can start to take control of the AFC North.



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Everyone's favorite stats site joins the fun:




To start, the Dalton-coaster is only going in one direction, for once. Andy Dalton’s career has been a study in consistent inconsistency. He has always graded out as an average quarterback, but usually with massive highs and lows in a season, netting out to a guy who couldn’t raise his game when it mattered. This season, Dalton has been playing well, with no poor games yet, and is currently the sixth-ranked PFF quarterback through three weeks. His passer rating under pressure is 108.9, and when blitzed, it’s a ludicrous 140.0. He has thrown just one interception so far this season, compared to eight touchdowns, and (adjusting for drops) has been accurate on 70.7 percent of his passes.



Nobody has ever doubted that Andy Dalton has ability, but his ability to sustain his best performances has always been an issue. If he can do that this year, the Bengals are instantly a different animal.



Another plus for Cincinnati is the return of Geno Atkins back to his best self. In 2012, there was no better defensive tackle in the game, but the knee injury he suffered derailed that progression as one of the game’s great interior forces. Though he played last year, the Atkins we saw was a mere shadow of his former self; another season removed from that injury, we are seeing the real player emerge once more. Atkins already has three sacks and 12 total pressures over his 154 snaps. He trails only Aaron Donald in our DT grades.



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A healthy Bengals team, is a scary good Bengals team which is capable of beating anyone out there.




In two drives during the last seven minutes, Dalton drove the Bengals 160 yards for two touchdowns … in a total of one minute and 58 seconds.




Just think how good he's going to be when he's doing more than being just good enough or having his WR's bail him out all the time !!! :frustrated:


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Even o'l skunk-head was forced to write about the Bengals this morning:

I’d like to see Dalton’s three October tests, all against pressure defenses (Kansas City at home, Seattle at home, at Buffalo), before saying anything definitive about him.

I'd like to see Dalton's two prime time games in early November, and the two prime timers in late December before saying anything definitive. We've seen these September heroics before, including at Baltimore. other than getting us into January, they've meant very little

but, yesterday was a lot of fun.

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I'd like to see Dalton's two prime time games in early November, and the two prime timers in late December before saying anything definitive. We've seen these September heroics before, including at Baltimore. other than getting us into January, they've meant very little

but, yesterday was a lot of fun.

Yup, that it was, though my heart could stand a little less "fun" if you know what I mean. :)

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That's just it for me. How many other QB's "September Heroics" actually result in their team getting to the playoffs.


It has happen so much over the past several years here that people don't think about it.


If not for the efforts now, playoffs are a far off thought. How's 0-3 Baltimore feeling right about now ??


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A healthy Bengals team, is a scary good Bengals team which is capable of beating anyone out there.

In two drives during the last seven minutes, Dalton drove the Bengals 160 yards for two touchdowns … in a total of one minute and 58 seconds.

Just think how good he's going to be when he's doing more than being just good enough or having his WR's bail him out all the time !!! :frustrated:

Hey, you guys are taking what I said the wrong way. I'll admit that without Green on the turf that game was probably a loss, but I was not and have never been one to put down Dalton. He isn't elite, but he is a good QB and I'm glad he is here. At least he doesn't throw a pick six on the almost game winning drive like our last QB.

His regular season stats are going to erase all the franchise records if he stays on pace. Well maybe not some of Anderson accuracy numbers, but most of the yardage and scoring numbers.

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I'm more messing with you than anything else RBB. I know what you meant. :lmao:


Others however won't give credit where credit is due from time to time.



I'll bash the hell out of Dalton when he has it coming and if I simply don't like a player (Shawn Williams) I simply say that as well.


He's lucky as hell they didn't complete that last play, because he was beat.


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Well I guess this will tell if things have really changed or not.

This team has done pretty well in September before only to regress backwards to finish pretty strong. I want to see if this is the year guys can stay healthy and they can actually play strong throughout the year.

They will have to play better then they did against the Ravens, it was a great win, but they left points all over the field, and the defense forgot how to tackle and let them back into the game.

This year and the schedule will be a big test, hopefully this year turns out great

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I'll bash the hell out of Dalton when he has it coming and if I simply don't like a player (Shawn Williams) I simply say that as well.

He's lucky as hell they didn't complete that last play, because he was beat.

Any offensive coordinator who watches the Ravens film is going to target Williams as soon as he gets in the game. Hopefully Iloka stays healthy and Williams keeps studying. I just kept seeing him arrive at the end of the play looking a little perplexed.

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I'll bash the hell out of Dalton when he has it coming and if I simply don't like a player (Shawn Williams) I simply say that as well.

He's lucky as hell they didn't complete that last play, because he was beat.

Any offensive coordinator who watches the Ravens film is going to target Williams as soon as he gets in the game. Hopefully Iloka stays healthy and Williams keeps studying. I just kept seeing him arrive at the end of the play looking a little perplexed.

Judging Williams on that last play is unfair. If a QB is given that much time, then people are going to get open.

Fault the d-line for letting that play go on so long.

As for the rest of the game, I really have no read on Williams. Would have to follow it play-by-play, which I don't have the luxury of doing.

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