Bye Week Grades

[JaxonFord87]

What would you grade the bengals performances so far?

I would have to grade them a B. While I am happy with their record so far, the offensive performance is lacking this year, and I'm still iffy on the defense so far this year as well.

[CJBestInAFC]

I would say a B-. It would have been an B+ if they didn't lose yesterday. I think the injuries and the suspension have hurt a lot, but the Bengals seem to be able to win, and are still 3-1. Here I will break it down position by position.

QB B: fumbles have hurt

RB B+: Rudi has played decent considering his blocking has been bad the last two games

WR: I will give them an A- even though they didn't have Chris Henry last game which I personally think hurt the offense

Oline: C+: Played decent the first two game but the last two they have looked awful.

TEs: C-: They are bad at catching the football but are good blockers sometimes. Not overly impressed byt the TEs

Dline: C: They looked good against weaker olines, but when they have to play lines like the Steelers and the Pats they look subpar.

Lbs: C+: They looked decent early on, but once the injuries started they looked lost at times.

DBs: B-: Deltha looks good, JJ looks good, M. Williams has been a major upgrade from last season. Not having Dexter in there hurts, but KK has come in and played okay, but his tackling is bad. Tory needs to not start anymore. He is too much of a liability, and the Bengals will be forced to put an extra guy on who ever Tory covers. That leaves the middle of the field open for TEs like Miller, Watson, Heap, and Winslow. I play the same strategy in Madden football. When a team has a weaker cb that is slow and can't cover as well I use the TE on slant over the middle. Works almost everytime. I want Joseph as the starter.

Over all I would say they need to work on blocking and tackling. That would be my two major points of emphasis going into the buy week.

[Sportsdoc]

QB B: fumbles have hurt

RB B: Rudi has played decent considering his blocking has been bad the last two games

WR: I will give them an A- even though they didn't have Chris Henry last game which I personally think hurt the offense

Oline: C+: Played decent the first two game but the last two they have looked awful.

TEs: C-: They are bad at catching the football but are good blockers sometimes. Not overly impressed byt the TEs

Dline: C: They looked good against weaker olines, but when they have to play lines like the Steelers and the Pats they look subpar.

Lbs: C+: They looked decent early on, but once the injuries started they looked lost at times.

DBs: B-: Deltha looks good, JJ looks good, M. Williams has been a major upgrade from last season. Not having Dexter in there hurts, but KK has come in and played okay, but his tackling is bad. Tory needs to not start anymore. He is too much of a liability, and the Bengals will be forced to put an extra guy on who ever Tory covers. That leaves the middle of the field open for TEs like Miller, Watson, Heap, and Winslow. I play the same strategy in Madden football. When a team has a weaker cb that is slow and can't cover as well I use the TE on slant over the middle. Works almost everytime. I want Joseph as the starter.

Over all I would say they need to work on blocking and tackling. That would be my two major points of emphasis going into the buy week.

[Stripes]

I don't care to grade every apsect of the team, but I'll give them a solid B overall.

They haven't played as well as they should play in three of the four games (all except Cleveland, IMO), but still have managed to win three of them. This is a good football team headed for good things.

High marks for everything except the run defense.

[ArmyBengal]

I am not happy with the direction of the team at this point. The offense has issues, the defense has issues, and the coaching doesn't seem to know what the hell is going on... I'll give these guys a "B", but a lackluster appearance against the Bucs, after the bye week, could easily drop that to a "C"...

Am I happy to be 3-1 ?? Sure, but there is more to it than just 3-1. How did we get there and against who ?? It's like saying the Saints are going to the Superbowl because they are 3-1. Look at who they played and how they played against those teams...

WHODEY !!!

[HoosierCat]

QB: B-

Carsons faced more pressure, but that was to be expected, no? With his knee a question mark, you knew teams would test him. For his part, Carson has looked iffy even when he has time. If you look at his numbers through four games, he now projects neatly between his '04 and '05 selves in terms of important stats like completion percentage, TDs and picks.

O-line: gentleman's C

If this were the same o-line we had in 05 it'd be more like a D or F, but Braham's loss and Levi's nagging injury have had it shuffling around all year. Bluto isn't looking like the answer, but probably gets more time. Certainly Wilk has an opportunity to make a statement at least in practice. Is Steinbach the center of the future? Easier to pay big bucks to a C than a G.

RB: A

Rudi is Rudi. He was even doing well Sunday against the Pats, they just got way behind and abandoned the run. Watson looks good in the change of pace role.

WR: TJ - A+; Chad - B; Henry - A (on field)/F (off field); Kwash - B; Tab, Chatman - Incomplete

Mixed bag here. TJ is the nazz. Chad has been off his game but has made some plays and, importantly, not cried about his lack of action. Henry has dazzled on the field but his off-field stupidities make him completely unreliable. Kwash has made a few grabs. Tab is hurt and Chatman is just coming back from injury.

D-Line: C-

Props to guys like Justin and Geathers for getting to the QB more often...but it appears that in year 4 of the Marvin Era we still don't have a line that can stuff he run without help. In the offeason, the team continues to ignore DT on day 1 of the draft, and then try to fill in with day 2 "diamonds in the rough" and cheap, aging FA DTs. It ain't worked.

LB: another gentleman's C

Injuries and suspensions have beat the corps to shreds. I saw Marvin talking about guys not being in the right place, but that's not a surprise considering we have been starting different guys all over the place. Simmons has been the only LB who has played all four games in the same spot. If we get Jeanty back and can put Landon back over on the weak side we should see a significant improvement vs. Tampa as compared to the Pats game.

Secondary: B

James is clearly runing out of steam. Dexter has been missed more than I would have expected. K2 is still K2, a solid nickle/dime type but overmatched as a starter. Madieu is picking up where he left off, which unfortunately also includes a lack of game experience. Joseph is very promising, Deltha's a stud. Noticed Indiana Jones making some plays on STs vs. the Pats, we may see more of him. By far the strongest part of the D.

STs: A-

Have allowed a couple big returns but also made some big plays (like the muff recovery vs. Pitt). Shayne has only missed once IIRC, and his kickoffs are better. Larson has steadied up and is consistently getting good, long punts. Return game misses Tab.

Coaching: B

Marvin has done a pretty good job cobbling together a squad each week with so many guys getting hurt early (and one or two others getting in trouble off the field). Brat is remembering we have this position called running back this season. Bresh, however, seems to think his line is better than it is, and needs to change his game plan to get more people up front, and let the talent in the secondary shine.

[Tasher]

I think that we have to look at the result overall. We are 3-1 vs a brutal schedule. have we played up to our standards? No. Have we won games? Yes.

So I would have to go with a B for the first quarter mid-term. But I see better than I hear and so what I see on the field is more like C-/C. If we continue to play as we have been playing, then the 3-1 quaters will not hold up. It will start to look like 1-3 or 2-2 which will put us out of the playoffs and quite possibly under .500 at 7-9 overall.

HOWEVER, I fully expect things to get fixed by Marvin and Co. and I think we will finish the year at 12-4 or 13-3!

[ArmyBengal]

Wins over the Chiefs and Browns is not what I would consider brutal. The tough schedule all envisioned (myself included) isn't quite what I was thinking it would be. I loved the win over the Steelers, but am loving nothing I've seen lately from this defense.

My "B" could be greatly overstated...

WHODEY !!!

[HoosierCat]

I think that we have to look at the result overall. We are 3-1 vs a brutal schedule.

Mmmmmm...yes and no. Overall, our strength of schedule right now is 26-20, or .565.

However, the four teams we have played are a collective 6-8. 3-7 if you subtract NE. They only one with a winning record is the Pats, which represents our only loss.

Bengals need to take out a couple quality squads before they will shake off the label of "pretender" in favor of the mantle of "contender."