Houston predictions

[redsfan2]

Per coach Lewis, 2 days after a game its time to move on. We've given Arizona all the attention it had coming ......... ssssssooooooooooo

Houston - Decent team. Banged up qb or a back up. Have shown a decent running game. Offense has given up interceptions, but only a couple of fumbles. Like us, fumbles seem to come at bad times for them.

Defense will be without a couple of key players as well. Except for a couple of games they've kept it close for the offense. Looks like they give up yards, but stiffen in the redzone. Special teams biggest asset seems to be the kicker ..... averaged 45 yds last week.

Matching up, this is a team that the Benglas should beat. Before the Texans fans show and start screaming, here's why I say it. They're banged up in a couple of key areas, they haven't played well on the road ( 1 and 3 ) , and they haven't won 2 in a row so far this season. They way we seem to be playing on the road, this might have beeen the week for it if they were at home.

Us - Bengals seem to come back stronger after a loss. Got a good thing going at home, and will be motivated to keep it going. Houston had trouble with Panthers running game, if O line does its job for whoever, it would allow us to control the clock like Panthers last week. Give Kitna time, and our passing game will give anybody trouble.

Bengals get solid game on offense and defense. final ... Bengals 27 Houston 17.

[The Brew Man]

The Texans have played alot worse on the road this year, with the exception of week 1. And with both Davis and Carr banged up, its hard to say what they will look like. However, I see the Bengals bouncing back but in more of a defensive game.

Bengals 16

Texans 10

[HoosierCat]

The Texans give the Bengals' anemic running attack an opportunity to shine; Houston was 30th against the run coming into the Panthers game and the 150 yards they gave up to Stephen Davis did not help, I'm sure. Still, Houston won that game, proving that yards does not equal points. CD or Rudi, along with the o-line, has to ramp it up (shouldn't be hard) and punch it in (a different story). Houston has to respect Kit, even tho he imploded against AZ, so I expect them to at least start out by dropping 7 into coverage and hoping they can a: duplicate the "yards but no points" performance on the ground they had vs. the Panthers, and; b: pick Kit off a couple times. *If* we can get the ground game going, that will force them to keep some guys in and free up space for Kitna to throw (and make mistakes that fall harmlessly to the ground) in.

On defense, I'd follow the strategy that worked for the Bengals earlier in the year against the Raiders. Drop a crap load of defenders into coverage, clog the lanes, and confuse the hell out of the QB (and Carr's still young). But the flippin' line has *got to stop the run.*

I got a feeling that this one is going to turn into an ugly game, with lots of mistakes and turnovers on both sides, and lots of FGs. Final score something like 19-13. I hop it'll be the bengals with the 19 but I think it could go either way.

[gwallaia]

Greetings from Houston.

Good anaylsis offered so far by the Bengal fans on this thread.

Here are a few more points to consider about the Texans:

1. Carr will play Sunday. His ankle sprain is not to severe and he will start.

2. Domanick Davis had a bruised chest and will play. Finally, the Texans have a legitimate threat at running back. He was well on his way to his thrid straight 100 yd. rushing game when he was sidelined with the injury.

3. Carr's sack total is way down. So far this season, he has been sacked only 11 times compared with 30 something at this time last season.

Reasons for reduced sack total:

a. Improved performance from offensive line.

b. Addition of Andre Johnson has given Carr more options and confidence.

c. Quick 3 step drops and slant patterns

4.Offense greatly improved overall. Last season, the Texans were last in almost every offensive category. This season, they are among the tops in many categories except the most important one. Points scored. The Texans have been fizzling out in the red zone. Exception was last week against Carolina where they went 2 for 2 with 2 touchdowns.

5. Defense has struggled this season with injuries. Gary Walker, our best run stopper may be gone for the season with turf toe, although there are rumblings that he may play this weekend. Aaron Glenn is back and playing with a groin injury but is still one of the best corners in the league.

6. Intangibles: The Texans have yet to win back to back games in their brief 2 year history. They usually follow a good game with a bad game. They have not forgotten being embarassed last season by the Bengals.

7. Final Summary: Stopping Dillion will be a major task for the Texans. Putting pressure on Kitna will also be a big factor.

I see the Texans moving the ball against the Bengal defense however and if they can be effiecient in the red zone and eliminate turnovers I see the Texans winning a close game.

However, until the Texans prove they can put good back to back games together, my score prediction for this game is - Bengals 24 Texans 20.

[AGrizzlyBaer]

i really dont know what to expect from the bengals this week, after they laid an egg out in arizona, i hope they can come back strong, and build up some steam for Kansas City coming to cincinnati, Bengals 24 Texans 14

[jbengals1]

BENGALS WIN - texans LOOSE thats all im going 2 say

[KitnasBengals]

Carr is not a good qb (yet) but he is effective and gets better every game I think, and with Andre Johnson and Corey Bradford they have som speed to throw to. But the real threat is Domanick Davis, which would of easily had another 100 yard game if he hadn't of gone out injured. If he stays healthy, the Bengals are going to have a tough time stopping him, like Shipp. But I still think Carr will make a mistake (he has 8 interceptions) which will kill one or more of their scoring drives, negating Davis' running.

Kitna will struggle after Arizona, a lot of negativity after that (same old Bengals etc.)

But I think he will pull it out in the end with the help of Dillion getting going against a weak Houston run defense.

Bengals 23 Texans 17

[Grid]

Greetings from another Houstonian. god forbid we should LOOSE this game.. who knows what kind of havoc it could create if it was out there..free to do whatever it pleased........ yah.. anyway

Just a couple points from the other side of the spectrum.. yall are making your predictions based on the stats..and stats can be misleading.

For example.. our run defense is not bad at all. id say we are probably one of the better run defenses in the league.. not best.. but i bet we would be on the upper end of the top ten. the stats are misleading because we have been up against ALOT of the best running backs in the league. Deuce, Priest, Edge, Davis, Ricky. Unfortunatly we HAVE allowed 3 of these guys to take it to us..

Edge and the colts, we have no excuse for.. our defense didnt come to play. that was probably the worst i have EVER seen my Texan's defense play. so Edge managed to break the 100 yard rushing mark against us. Priest WOULD have broken the 100 yard rushing mark.. but he sat out in the later quarters. and then last week, Davis got 150 against us. The thing is though, Priest and the Chiefs, and Davis and the Panthers.. they are the two best rushing teams in the league right now, so even though they did manage to rush effectively against us, i dont hold it against our defense. neither one of them had an AMAZING game against us..so its not like we made it easy on em. The Colts, well.. like i said.. ive never seen our defense play so badly.. i think it was a fluke.

Anyway, im rambling.. my point is, the rush defense stats are misleading, we have a good rush defense. While Dillon is good.. i dont see yall having an easy time rushing against us. Yall do not run like the chiefs or panthers.. and they are really the only guys that have given us trouble.

If anything i think what worries me the most is your passing game. With Seth Payne and Gary Walker out.. we have no pass rush to speak of.. and a good passing team can definatly move the ball on us.

Unfortunatly for yall though, i think our Davis is going to give yall fits. I dunno if yall have seen him play yet.. but just wait he is something else.

Anyway.. I think its gonna come down to yalls passing attack vs. our rushing attack.

We also want some revenge for that loss last year, and we are looking to put together our first 2 game winning streak.

I think its gonna be an interesting game, its also gonna be on my birthday...so i think my Texans are gonna win hehe.

good luck in the game, lets all pray for no injuries.

[Grid]

oh yah i forgot. about the interceptions.. 3/4 of those came in the final quarters when we were desperate to make things happen and taking alot of chances. If we can get a lead on yall and maintain it.. dont be expecting any interceptions from Carr.. he is VERY accurate when he isnt trying to pull a touchdown out of his ass

[kevnz]

he is VERY accurate when he isnt trying to pull a touchdown out of his ass

Yeah most QBs have that problem

I think this game will bet a lot tighter than I'd like to see. I do expect to see a very fired up Bengals squad, but I also think that a lot of the Texans are gonna be fired up as well remembering what Chad said last year and coming off a big game against the Panthers. But the texans have shown that they can't really follow through the next week after a big win.

my take 20-17, Bengals.

cheers

[Paws]

Texans have a letdown and the Bengals rebound

31-17 Bengals

[redsfan2]

Just a couple points from the other side of the spectrum.. yall are making your predictions based on the stats..and stats can be misleading.

If anything i think what worries me the most is your passing game. With Seth Payne and Gary Walker out.. we have no pass rush to speak of.. and a good passing team can definatly move the ball on us.

Anyway.. I think its gonna come down to yalls passing attack vs. our rushing attack.

good luck in the game, lets all pray for no injuries.

The lack of the pass rush has been a problem for most of the games. It's one of the main reasons I picked us. Cards did everything they could to get in the backfield, and it worked. So far your guys haven't been able to do that consistently.

I think we're all well aware of your running game. It's been impressive. Hopefully we'll get einough pressure in the middle to stop it, and get a few points on you so you can't keep running it.

Got to agree with the last part too. No matter how it turns out, I just hope everybody goes home healthy.

[JBrooks]

Lewis won't let them repeat that performance. I'm worried about Kitna's rebound, but he'll have time in the backfield and the confidence of his teammates.

I see a big game from Dillon. The Bengals rushed 15 times last week between Rudi and CD. Lewis can't like that, and he'll try to hammer it.

AGlenn is great, but old and hurting. Chad's going deep.

If all this happens and the Bengals can pressure Carr...Bengals 24, Texans 13

Cincy's got to find a run defense.

[Hookem Horns]

We only have had 1 real bad road game this year and unfortunately I traveled to that one. It was the Toiler game in Nashville. The New Orleans score looks bad but we were leading at halftime and they tacked on some late game points. We played Indy real tough and beat Miami so all in all the road hasn't been that bad. This game should be interesting especially after you guys handed us our worse loss in our history last year.

[HoosierCat]

This game should be interesting especially after you guys handed us our worse loss in our history last year.

Yup, it should be interesting. Like I said before, I expect it to be close. Most of what you and Grid have said could be equally applied to the Bengals. They too have faced top RBs (Lewis and Alexander among them) and, with the exception of the opener against Denver, all their losses have been by a TD or less. Two of those losses were by a FG and another was decided in OT. In short, both teams are pretty evenly matched.

[The Brew Man]

I think the Texans are a good up and coming team, but we have to show some home dominance this week. If we cant win this game in the jungle, we need to go back to the drawing board. Its a shame it probably wont sell out. If we had won the AZ game i think it would have.

[redsfan2]

This game should be interesting especially after you guys handed us our worse loss in our history last year.

Your history isn't that long. Like you said, you've only been around 2 years. We really haven't had our franchise in Cincinnati for that long either, but we've had some shellackings that make yours look like a close game. I remember us as one sportswriter put "losing to Buffalo by 40 points, and making it look easy". Buffalo wasn't real good at the time ............. not that they are now either, but they were worse then.

Not to pump sunshine to you or anything, but I miss the Oilers. I liked that team a lot till they hired Glanville. I remember Dan Pastorini ( the mummy ) coming out and playing tough games when he should have been on IR or even in the ER sometimes. They played good, hit hard, and didn't take cheap shots. That's the way I like to see football played.

You guys are already playing a lot better than you were last year. I still hope you wait a week before you get any better though.

[WHO DEY AGAIN?]

No contest! Bengals34 Wish we were the Titans 10

[halp]

should be a rather POed bengals team. texans can play some D. offense not bad either. would be a close game if we had beaten ariz. so for now they will get our hopes up for next week with a 38 17 pasting, not close at all.

[richmond_mat]

No Dillon equals Bengals win; 31-10.

Dillon plays and we Bungle 12-10.

Rudey! (or any other young hungry back)

Trade CD and Mike Brown. (perhaps keep the one who gave us hope (again) with coach Lewis.)

[Hookem Horns]

Wish we were the Titans

Believe me, we don't wish we were the Titans. I recall you guys beating that franchise 61-7 when you had Wyche.

[The Brew Man]

Wish we were the Titans

Believe me, we don't wish we were the Titans. I recall you guys beating that franchise 61-7 when you had Wyche.

ahh yes, that was a beautiful game, I never liked Warren Moon and Glanville......

[redsfan2]

Never liked Glanville either. Remember how he used to leave tickets at the gate for Elvis ???? What an idiot. Moon had a lucky streak too. Only guy I can think of that got voted NFL Man of the Year and arrested for beating his old lady in the same week.

Worst part about that 61 to 7 , was Wyche calling time out with under a minute left so he could kick a field goal. Ended up getting Glanville fired ............ that and Glanvilles remark about if you ain't sleeping in Atlanta you're camping out. People in Houston were less than amused as I recall. He went to coaching the Falcons soon after. Think Houston blamed him for that whoopin more than they did us.

Between Wyche doing that to the Oilers and his you people don't live in Cleveland remark, it's a wonder Bengals fans didn't have to move in groups of 10 and carry sidearms.

We didn't always win those games, but it was always interesting and entertaining.

[bengalboy]

Kitna's passes last week were off about a foot and a half. During the third quarter, I fell off my bar stool 3 times. This week Kitna is more accurate and the offence rolls. I always had fun cursing at Jerry Glanville. Hey, I still do. Blitz Carr and make him cry just like Jerry. Bengals 21 - Texans 7

[redsfan2]

Kitna's passes last week were off about a foot and a half. During the third quarter, I fell off my bar stool 3 times.

The fact that you could sit on a barstool and watch the game would be very interesting to CincyBob. He's been wanting to know how far he would have to drive to find a bar where he could watch the Bengals this week. Not sure if the BAR is the prime concern or the game, but he hasn't gotten much help either way so far ............... unles you count halp who seconded someones else's opinion that Houston would be his best bet.

Not sure I'd be too quick to sit in a bar in Houston and root for the Bengals. I could see a lot of really bad things coming out of that.