Bengals - Panthers Pregame/Game Thread.

[BengalszoneBilly]

Cam Newton looks lost, he is not ready for the NFL.

Yeah, he's so lost that he happened to wander into the endzone for a TD. Gimme a break.

Billy, I know you're a Cam Newton fan... but did you watch the game?

We all know he's a great athlete. No one has ever questioned that. And 3 or 4 times when he decided to tun the ball, he looked like the Auburn Cam Newton. But as a QB, he was awful. Godawful. He did look lost. And terribly inaccurate. 6 completions on 19 attempts flat out sucks.

The game wasn't televised here in Arizona, so I couldn't watch, but I recognize he plays on probably the worst team in the league. Just not a lot to work with for him.

I wouldn't disagree, if the problem was that his receivers were dropping passes. But he was not even close most of the time. Maybe he's just nervous, but that was one of the most inaccurate QBs I've ever seen. Not exaggerating.

Well from viewing the many posts here from people who did see the game, the Bengals were getting substantial pressure in the pocket. (I don't think I've ever typed those words in that order here before. ) I concede that 6 for 19 sucks, but I feel he is still better than that when he's not checking down his receivers due to being hurried. His potential is there. It's up to Carolina to use it properly.

[derekshank]

Here are a few thoughts running around in my head:

1) The one strength the Panthers have is their O-Line and running game. Cincy did a very good job of pushing them around, and the RBs often had nowhere to go.

2) I'm still a bit nervous about the pass coverage. It seemed like there were several times that Cam Newton simply missed a throw to an open receiver. The DBs need to step up their game. On the other hand... there were several times he should have been sacked, but he's Cam Newton. You take the good with the bad I guess. Hopefully the pass rush will be good enough to keep the secondary from being exposed.

3) Andy Dalton and Jay Gruden are exactly what this O-Line needed. Dalton won't take many sacks this season, simply because he makes quick decisions and throws the ball so damn fast. (Have there been any comparison's made between Dalton and Kurt Warner? I do see some similarities there).

4) The running game was really working well... but much of Dalton's success came off of playaction. There will be times when the running game isn't working (like against the Jets last week). Dalton will need to learn to get 1st downs on his own. This preseason he is 8 for 16 on 3rd down, with six conversions. Not terrible for a rookie, but he'll need to improve.

5) One thing I liked this week out of Dalton: A good TE is a young QB's best friend. 4 of Dalton's 11 completions were to Gresham. 3 for 1st downs, 2 of them in 3rd and long situations.

[volcom69]

Here are a few thoughts running around in my head:

1) The one strength the Panthers have is their O-Line and running game. Cincy did a very good job of pushing them around, and the RBs often had nowhere to go.

2) I'm still a bit nervous about the pass coverage. It seemed like there were several times that Cam Newton simply missed a throw to an open receiver. The DBs need to step up their game. On the other hand... there were several times he should have been sacked, but he's Cam Newton. You take the good with the bad I guess. Hopefully the pass rush will be good enough to keep the secondary from being exposed.

3) Andy Dalton and Jay Gruden are exactly what this O-Line needed. Dalton won't take many sacks this season, simply because he makes quick decisions and throws the ball so damn fast. (Have there been any comparison's made between Dalton and Kurt Warner? I do see some similarities there).

4) The running game was really working well... but much of Dalton's success came off of playaction. There will be times when the running game isn't working (like against the Jets last week). Dalton will need to learn to get 1st downs on his own. This preseason he is 8 for 16 on 3rd down, with six conversions. Not terrible for a rookie, but he'll need to improve.

5) One thing I liked this week out of Dalton: A good TE is a young QB's best friend. 4 of Dalton's 11 completions were to Gresham. 3 for 1st downs, 2 of them in 3rd and long situations.

I liked watching Dalton knowing when to move up in the pocket, or when to take off and run, i thought he did pretty good with that. Least we know he dosnt have to be a statue back there.

[jjakq27]

The game wasn't televised here in Arizona, so I couldn't watch, but I recognize he plays on probably the worst team in the league. Just not a lot to work with for him.

Here are some game highlights for ya Bill.

http://www.nfl.com/v..._content_stream

and some Dalton highlights too.

http://www.nfl.com/v...lton-highlights

[HairOnFire]

....Andre Smith has played great out there so far this preseason.

This.

FWIW I just watched and graded every snap Andre Smith took in the Carolina game and I can very happily report the first and only negative grade I gave in the first half came in a goal line situation with 1:28 to play. On that play the Carolina defender, Irwin, manages to flash across Smith's body and hit him on the left shoulder. Smith and Irwin instantly collapse into a pile of churning humanity, thereby plugging the hole Cedric Benson is supposed to run through. But if that play is ignored Smith wins every contested 1st half snap outright.

Let me repeat and reword the above for those who might have missed the significance.

The Bengals dominated from the RT position.

Best of all, I'm finally seeing the movement skills from Smith that I expected when he was drafted. His footwork at the LOS is sharp, his quickness reaching the 2nd level is almost breathtaking, and he was turning and steering blockers at will. Even more important, Smith's mean streak has returned and could be seen very clearly on play after play where Smith could be seen pushing a defender a dozen yards or more.

Yeah, I could get used to this.

[volcom69]

....Andre Smith has played great out there so far this preseason.

This.

FWIW I just watched and graded every snap Andre Smith took in the Carolina game and I can very happily report the first and only negative grade I gave in the first half came in a goal line situation with 1:28 to play. On that play the Carolina defender, Irwin, manages to flash across Smith's body and hit him on the left shoulder. Smith and Irwin instantly collapse into a pile of churning humanity, thereby plugging the hole Cedric Benson is supposed to run through. But if that play is ignored Smith wins every contested 1st half snap outright.

Let me repeat and reword the above for those who might have missed the significance.

The Bengals dominated from the RT position.

Best of all, I'm finally seeing the movement skills from Smith that I expected when he was drafted. His footwork at the LOS is sharp, his quickness reaching the 2nd level is almost breathtaking, and he was turning and steering blockers at will. Even more important, Smith's mean streak has returned and could be seen very clearly on play after play where Smith could be seen pushing a defender a dozen yards or more.

Yeah, I could get used to this.

I have not seen the offense line look that physical coming off the ball for along time. It was great to see, and i hope they continue to build off of that, and stay that physical. I also hope if Livings will continue to start that he continues to grow off that performance, i thought he did a pretty great job out there of staying on his blocks.

Boling i also thought had a good night of blocking, for a rookie he stayed on his guys pushing them around!

WR really impressed me with there blocking that night, it was so awsome to see EVERYONE out there blocking not just a couple guys. I guess thats what happens when you have guys here who want to be the best at what they do, and they put in the work, and work hard to get better. They might not be great this year, but this is why im excited about this team, because everyone wants to work hard, they want to be here, and so far from what i have seen they have heart, something this team lacked last year.