Bengals @ Redskins Pregame Chatter/Game Thread

[HoosierCat]

It looks like the Bengals catch a break as the Skins have apparently lost their two best pass rushers.

Washington Redskins defensive end Adam Carriker is expected to have surgery on his right knee after seriously injuring it on the second play of Sunday’s 31-28 loss at St. Louis.

Carriker is to have an MRI on Monday to learn the extent of the injury, but Redskins coach Mike Shanahan indicated that the team isn’t optimistic about Carriker’s chances of returning any time soon.

“It doesn’t look good,” Shanahan said.

The defensive end watched the second half of the game on crutches and said he was still in a lot of pain as he hobbled out of the locker room and to the team bus, still on crutches.

Meanwhile, outside linebacker Brian Orakpo could be lost for a significant stretch of time as well after re-injuring the same shoulder/pectoral muscle that required surgery in the offseason.

Orakpo suffered his injury on the 13th play of the game, and tried to return twice,. After two second-half plays, Orakpo left the game for good.

Without pressure up front, Washington's secondary is, well, about as good as Cincy's. Dalton and RGIII might throw for a combined 1,000 yards.

[skyline]

Yes, RGIII against our defense scares me, but at the same time Washington lost to St. Louis which isn't exactly a defensive (or offensive) juggernaut.

The Bengals need to put together some long, steady drives to keep RGIII off the field as much as possible.

[volcom69]

Play action kills the bengals defense, and that's what the Redskins do best. It could be another long day for the defense if they don't play better. They need to stop the run and better pressure, if they can do that it will give them a good chance.

[ArmyBengal]

They need to gameplan for RGIII's running ability.

That being said, everytime the defense "gameplans" to stop a player, that player goes off.

Maybe they should gameplan to stop thier punter and hope RGIII isn't an issue.

If we get no pressure on RGIII, the Bengals lose this game.

[kingwilly]

I think Washington got a little taste of NFL reality. They shocked a wounded Saints team but, as seen in STL, almost any NFL team can beat another. RG3 is a stud but his supporting cast is only average and/or hurt.

Not saying Bengals crush in a blowout but two rookie QB's in two weeks is something to look forward to.

[volcom69]

I think Washington got a little taste of NFL reality. They shocked a wounded Saints team but, as seen in STL, almost any NFL team can beat another. RG3 is a stud but his supporting cast is only average and/or hurt.

Not saying Bengals crush in a blowout but two rookie QB's in two weeks is something to look forward to.

RG3 does not play like a rookie at all. The way the defense leaves the middle of the field wide open is bad for this game. I just hope Zim can fix this defense, it's starting to remind me of a Chuck Bresnahan defense that's plays very soft.

[Stripes]

I'm as concerned as anyone else about Griffin after seeing Weeden tear the defense apart yesterday. However, I don't think it's quite so simple as that, and if Dunlap returns that should be a big boost. The issues with this defense, in my opinion, have been more about a lack of discipline than a lack of ability. That would mean it can be improved, and it likely will (only because it doesn't get much worse).

If the offense continues playing at this level then the season isn't lost. This team can beat the Redskins.

[HoosierCat]

I just hope Zim can fix this defense, it's starting to remind me of a Chuck Bresnahan defense that's plays very soft.

I don't think there's anything Zimmer can really fix. The problem on defense right now is simply that this squad is far less talented than it was a year ago. Since the summer of 2011, the defense has lost JJoe, Rucker and Fanene altogether. It's currently down Pat Sims, Carlos Dunlap and a good 30-40% of Leon Hall. To replace guys lost and shore up positions, the team took its usual approach of counting on rookie and FA castoffs. But the D's trio of highly touted rooks -- Kirkpatrick, Still and Thompson -- have not had much impact so far, and guys like Anderson and Newman have looked mostly like the bargain-bin players they were.

I do think we will see things improve, but it will take time. It sounds like Dunlap will be back for this game (though he might be limited), Pat Sims could be back by midseason and so could Hall, if John Thornton's estimate that it would take half a season for Hall to round back into form was accurate. Hopefully Kirkpatrick will be healthy sometime soon, and Still and Thompson should get better. But for the six or eight weeks, it's going to be up to the offense to carry the team.

[volcom69]

I just hope Zim can fix this defense, it's starting to remind me of a Chuck Bresnahan defense that's plays very soft.

I don't think there's anything Zimmer can really fix. The problem on defense right now is simply that this squad is far less talented than it was a year ago. Since the summer of 2011, the defense has lost JJoe, Rucker and Fanene altogether. It's currently down Pat Sims, Carlos Dunlap and a good 30-40% of Leon Hall. To replace guys lost and shore up positions, the team took its usual approach of counting on rookie and FA castoffs. But the D's trio of highly touted rooks -- Kirkpatrick, Still and Thompson -- have not had much impact so far, and guys like Anderson and Newman have looked mostly like the bargain-bin players they were.

I do think we will see things improve, but it will take time. It sounds like Dunlap will be back for this game (though he might be limited), Pat Sims could be back by midseason and so could Hall, if John Thornton's estimate that it would take half a season for Hall to round back into form was accurate. Hopefully Kirkpatrick will be healthy sometime soon, and Still and Thompson should get better. But for the six or eight weeks, it's going to be up to the offense to carry the team.

The main thing that concerned me has been the D-line getting pushed around. The Browns ran the ball a lot when the bengals were in there Nickle package, and the D-line was getting pushed backwards. I actually thought Newman played a good game, and played very physical at corner. If the D-line can generate pressure I really don't think the secondary would be that bad. I still wouldn't mind seeing Clemants some at safety, when Allen gets back. I just want to see more of a physical play from them, I know there hurt and I hope that Dunlap will be back this week.

[kingwilly]

I think Washington got a little taste of NFL reality. They shocked a wounded Saints team but, as seen in STL, almost any NFL team can beat another. RG3 is a stud but his supporting cast is only average and/or hurt.

Not saying Bengals crush in a blowout but two rookie QB's in two weeks is something to look forward to.

RG3 does not play like a rookie at all. The way the defense leaves the middle of the field wide open is bad for this game. I just hope Zim can fix this defense, it's starting to remind me of a Chuck Bresnahan defense that's plays very soft.

The more tape there is on RG3, the more folks can scheme to stop him. More than playing RG3, they are playing Shanahans scheme.

I agree, RG3 is not your average rookie but he lacks WR's and they have RB by committee.

Something the Bengals always have trouble with is covering good TE's, and Fred Davis is pretty good.

The depleted Redskin defense does give me hope for the running game. I think Dalton will have a solid game, much like Bradford did.

[Earendil]

This secondary couldn't cover my dead grandma.

[volcom69]

I think Washington got a little taste of NFL reality. They shocked a wounded Saints team but, as seen in STL, almost any NFL team can beat another. RG3 is a stud but his supporting cast is only average and/or hurt.

Not saying Bengals crush in a blowout but two rookie QB's in two weeks is something to look forward to.

RG3 does not play like a rookie at all. The way the defense leaves the middle of the field wide open is bad for this game. I just hope Zim can fix this defense, it's starting to remind me of a Chuck Bresnahan defense that's plays very soft.

The more tape there is on RG3, the more folks can scheme to stop him. More than playing RG3, they are playing Shanahans scheme.

I agree, RG3 is not your average rookie but he lacks WR's and they have RB by committee.

Something the Bengals always have trouble with is covering good TE's, and Fred Davis is pretty good.

The depleted Redskin defense does give me hope for the running game. I think Dalton will have a solid game, much like Bradford did.

That's why I thought maybe Clemants playing alittle safety might help with the TE coverage if Allen is healthy.

I really don't think the secondary is horrible, there not great either. With pressure I really think that will help them. The one thing I noticed so far are the bengals are really bad with play action. They are getting sucked in leaving the middle of the field wide open, and RBs to run free in the flat. They just really need to play smarter, faster, physical, and tackle!

[Passepartout]

RG3 is a really great player. As he is going to be a star in the NFL. If not already is!

[wpeldios]

I think this is a very winnable game, it just comes down to staying home and tackling on defense. Do that and Bengals win. However with the way they have played so far this year it is a long shot. Side note, I wouldnt bench Maualuga completely as of now, but I do move him to strong side backer and have him split some snaps with lawson there. Both have struggled, and I would hope that can help some. Go with Burfict in the middle with Muck as back up and Rey(vincent) on the weak side with Skuta as back up.

[Scottishbengal]

I I think the advantage is strongly with the 'Skins, but Any Given Sunday etc.

We certainly need to see improvement on both sides of the ball, the Browns always play us hard but they're not a footballing force and they (Bengals-Browns) were fairly even overall.

We need to step it up all over to compete in this game ... 2nd WR, slot guy, and TE's could all have hugely positive impacts, O-line and RB's need to go to work. Defensively we need to get in Griffins face quickly and negate his athletic ability to scramble yardage.

Could be a 3 point difference ....could be a blowout .....could be a shootout with a cricket score result. This game is very hard to predict, perhaps as the week rolls on and we get some injury updates the picture will become a little clearer.

[aasimon]

Redskins fan here:

I'm a blogger that covers the Washington Redskins and does in-depth analyses and scouting reports each week leading up to games. I've come to realize that the fans of any given tea

are far more knowledgeable about their team's strengths and weaknesses than the usual national talking heads. Part of what I do is to research info from opposing fans as a part of the scouting report.

Having said that, I'd like to offer a proposal: I'll provide you fans with a detailed scouting report of the Washington Redskins in exchange for an (attempted) unbiased report from Cinci fans. I'll give you everything from coaching personnel, player personnel, scheme, philosophy, tactical alignments, strengths, weaknesses, players to look out for, and other useful info for you guys to get to know the Redskins. I'd hope to receieve the same information in the return about Cinci.

Would anybody be interested in this type of exchange?

[BengalszoneBilly]

Redskins fan here:

I'm a blogger that covers the Washington Redskins and does in-depth analyses and scouting reports each week leading up to games. I've come to realize that the fans of any given tea

are far more knowledgeable about their team's strengths and weaknesses than the usual national talking heads. Part of what I do is to research info from opposing fans as a part of the scouting report.

Having said that, I'd like to offer a proposal: I'll provide you fans with a detailed scouting report of the Washington Redskins in exchange for an (attempted) unbiased report from Cinci fans. I'll give you everything from coaching personnel, player personnel, scheme, philosophy, tactical alignments, strengths, weaknesses, players to look out for, and other useful info for you guys to get to know the Redskins. I'd hope to receieve the same information in the return about Cinci.

Would anybody be interested in this type of exchange?

Welcome to Bengalszone 'mon. Here's a little skinny on the Bengals. They bite hard on play action. Every time. Keep that on the down low would ya?

Seriously I'm sure there are others who will go more in depth on our team, but I'm at work right now and don't have the time.

[Earendil]

Redskins fan here:

I'm a blogger that covers the Washington Redskins and does in-depth analyses and scouting reports each week leading up to games. I've come to realize that the fans of any given tea

are far more knowledgeable about their team's strengths and weaknesses than the usual national talking heads. Part of what I do is to research info from opposing fans as a part of the scouting report.

Having said that, I'd like to offer a proposal: I'll provide you fans with a detailed scouting report of the Washington Redskins in exchange for an (attempted) unbiased report from Cinci fans. I'll give you everything from coaching personnel, player personnel, scheme, philosophy, tactical alignments, strengths, weaknesses, players to look out for, and other useful info for you guys to get to know the Redskins. I'd hope to receieve the same information in the return about Cinci.

Would anybody be interested in this type of exchange?

Here's a scouting report on our secondary:

This secondary couldn't cover my dead grandma.

[skyline]

Redskins fan here:

I'm a blogger that covers the Washington Redskins and does in-depth analyses and scouting reports each week leading up to games. I've come to realize that the fans of any given tea

are far more knowledgeable about their team's strengths and weaknesses than the usual national talking heads. Part of what I do is to research info from opposing fans as a part of the scouting report.

Having said that, I'd like to offer a proposal: I'll provide you fans with a detailed scouting report of the Washington Redskins in exchange for an (attempted) unbiased report from Cinci fans. I'll give you everything from coaching personnel, player personnel, scheme, philosophy, tactical alignments, strengths, weaknesses, players to look out for, and other useful info for you guys to get to know the Redskins. I'd hope to receieve the same information in the return about Cinci.

Would anybody be interested in this type of exchange?

If you have some specific questions, I'm sure you'll get plenty of answers...

[kingwilly]

I think the weakness we've seen with the Bengals D, in covering shifty RB's out of the backfield and with covering TE's on crossing/Seam/underneath routes, has more to do with the linebackers than the secondary.

Seeing Richardson light up Malaluga and torch them on his long plays made my stomach burn.

Now, Washington might not have big name RB's but the scheme Shanny has, zone blocking with runs over tackle and alley plays, means RB's can be anybody. RG3 throws the wrench into the mix because he is very mobile and will make long 3rd downs unpredictable.

THe Wash WR crew is only average and if Garcon is hurt, then they've lost their true play reciever.

THe liability is with the Bengals LB corps. Rey in the middle misdiagnoses plays, misses tackles and hurts the team. I'd really like to see Muck and Burfict get more playing time.

One comment about Taylor Mays. That he was essentially given the starting SS spot to start the season, and now has clearly lost it, what do they do with the guy? He is not an NFL SS. Perhaps the time has come to bring him closer to the line and turn him into a LB? He certainly could not be worse than Rey Rey.

[HoosierCat]

Would anybody be interested in this type of exchange?

Sounds like work. But FWIW here's the nickle tour of the Bengals at the moment:

Offense: a work in progress. Injuries blew up the offensive line in preseason, leaving them with three new interior starters versus 2011, C Jeff Faine, LG Clint Boling and rookie RG Kevin Zeitler. They have held up surprisingly well all things considered, but are giving up some pressure. It's a better run blocking than pass blocking line right now IMO. Tackles Whitworth and Smith are solid.

QB Andy Dalton is having accuracy issues with his deep ball. He had the same problem last season but it appears aggravated right now. The CW is that all the work he did in the offseason to strengthen his allegedly weak arm has thrown off his aim. I thought he was closer against Cleveland than in the opener, but the bottom line is he is struggling with the deep ball. Short and medium range is just fine. He has been holding the ball a bit too long so far this year, which has led to some of his sacks.

RB BenJarvus Green-Ellis is an upgrade over Cedric Benson and has been running well, though he isn't much of a threat to break a big one. He has also been a solid receiving option out of the backfield.

TE Jermaine Gresham hasn't made much noise, in part due to injuries to other TEs that have the team relying on him in a blocking/6th offensive lineman role. When he does go out on a route they keep sending him on fairly worthless sideline patterns. And it seems that when bad things happen in the passing game, it involves Andy trying to reach Gresham.

With Andy not having his touch on the deep ball, AJ Green has been without the big highlight reel catches but has still been effective and productive. He's had some uncharacteristic drops this year. Of the other WRs, the two to watch are Armon Binns and Andrew Hawkins. Binns appears to be emerging as the No. 2 WR and Hawkins is crazy quick and electrifying.

Defense: The Bengals are a train wreck, pure and simple. Injuries have played a significant role. The Bengals lost their best DE, Carlos Dunlap, to a knee injury in training camp. He may be back against DC. Arguably their best run-stuffing DT, Pat Sims, is on PUP. Their best LB, Thomas Howard, went down with a season-ending injury in practice last week. The Bengals' top draft pick, CB Dre Kirkpatrick, has been out since before training camp with a knee injury. The timetable for his return is vague. CB Jason Allen, whom the Bengals signed to a $4 million/year deal in the offseason, has yet to play a down due to injury. DE Jamaal Anderson, signed to compensate in part for the losses of DEs Jonathan Fanene and Frostee Rucker in free agency, tore a quad last week and is out for the year. And last but not least, CB Leon Hall, while playing, is clearly still not all the way back from last season's Achilles injury.

Of the guys on the field, the only two worth mentioning are DT Geno Atkins, who is a monster, and S Reggie Nelson, who is average. Rookie LB Vontaze Burfict is a wild card to watch, pressed into service for the injured Howard. MLB Rey Maualuga has been horrible so far and some think he's playing with a bum knee.

Hope that helps.

[HoosierCat]

This is a pretty good thread. The yip-yip alien is priceless.

/>http://www.extremeskins.com/showthread.php?370399-Bengals-Look-a-Like-Thread

[volcom69]

This is a pretty good thread. The yip-yip alien is priceless.

/>http://www.extremeskins.com/showthread.php?370399-Bengals-Look-a-Like-Thread

LOL LOL thats pretty funny. Andy Dalton as that kid from a Christmas Story one of my favortite movies.

[aasimon]

Thanks to those of you who responded (and special thanks to Hoosiercat for really taking the time to write something up). I appreciate it.

As promised, here's my scouting report on the Washington Redskins (from a Redskins fan/blogger himself).

Offense:

The strength of this offense lies in deception and balance. If the Redskins are able to gain consistent yards on the ground with their RBs, it becomes very difficult to defend them because of the versatility that RGIII has with his legs and through the air. This is the deepest Redskins squad since Joe Gibbs won his last Super Bowl in 1991. I am not just saying this in overreaction to a big week 1 upset; I have been saying this since before training camp started. It was not a surprise to me to see the Redskins drop 40 on the Saints and 28 on the Rams (okay, maybe it was a little surprising to see 40 points, but I was not surprised to see a much improved offense). Shanahan has drafted the most players in the NFL since joining the Redskins in 2010, despite the treasure cove they gave the Rams for RGIII. The Redskins are fully comfortable going 6 deep at WR, 3 deep at TE, and 3 deep at RB - it doesn't really matter who is in the game. We have a plethora of no-name WRs (to the rest of the league) that can equally stretch a defense and/or act as quality possession receivers. Garcon had an 88-yard TD against NOLA, Hankerson had a 65+ yard TD against STL, and Aldrick Robinson dropped what should have been another 65+ yard TD against STL. Eight different Redskins caught passes in both weeks. The team has few stars (RGIII may be the only one), but every skill position player on offense can be trusted to play effectively. That has rarely been the case with this team.

The biggest weakness of this offense, however, is the offensive line. Jammal Brown was supposed to be the starting right tackle, but he re-injured his hip before the season started. Tyler Polumbus, a guy we plucked off free agency in the middle of last season, starts in his stead. Polumbus is very tall (6'8'') and has average athleticism. As a result, he has a tendency to allow DL to gain leverage on him and generate push. Once he starts getting beat physically, he overcompensates and becomes vulnerable to the speed rush. If the Bengals are going to disrupt the Redskins' offense, it will be because they focus on destroying Tyler Polumbus.

The rest of the offensive linemen are average, except for Trent Williams, who is finally living up to his billing as the #4 overall pick in 2010. There is nothing special there in the interior of the line, so great push from there can be equally as damaging as going after Polumbus.

Running Game Overview:

Zone-read option mixed with the stretch zone. The zone-read option is something that the Redskins unveiled in week 1 against New Orleans after hiding it all of preseason. In week 1, we beat this scheme to death, and New Orleans had no answer to it. Due to the stretch zone-blocking scheme that is at the heart of Shanahan's running game, the Redskins employ an offensive line composed of smaller, quicker athletes. As a result, the Redskins struggled to get consistent push with the inside zone against NOLA, but it didn't matter; Alfred Morris (Redskins rookie RB and 6th round draft pick) churned out yards inside in true workhorse fashion, while the Saints' containment failed to respect RGIII on the option keeper. This scheme requires unbelievable discipline to defend properly; a single cheating player will allow RGIII to escape to the outside and use his electric athleticism to gain yards and make defenders miss in space. Against STL, we ran more of the stretch zone that Shanahan was known for, and Alfred Morris dominated on the ground, averaging over 5 YPC on 16 carries (we got away from the run a bit).

Alfred Morris is the starting RB for the foreseeable future, but the Redskins really have three running backs that Shanahan trusts equally; to end the 2011 season, the Redskins had five straight 100 yard rushers by players that were also rookies at the time (three 100 yard games by Roy Helu, two 100 yard games by Evan Royster). All three running backs are fully capable of carrying the load very well, though Shanahan tends to ride one guy in-game (despite the common misconception among fantasy football owners that Shanahan is a RB-by-committee guy...in any given game, he is not).

Alfred Morris: powerful one-cut runner that loves to initiate contact, has great vision, and makes the proper decisions within the zone scheme. He is one of those runners that appears to never go down on initial contact, and always falls forward when he is hit. He also has deceptively quick feet in tight spaces, often surprising even Redksins fans with making players miss at times. He came from out of nowhere this preseason and has earned his way up the depth chart. All Redskins fans are really impressed with him, and he looks (to this point) to be another one of Shanahan's late-round RB steals. Morris isn't a great route-runner and still has questions in pass-protection, though it certainly isn't because he isn't willing to man-up and take a LB head on. He can be a threat on screens, but won't offer much more in the passing game.

Roy Helu: the explosive and athletic RB out of the bunch. Helu is likely the most talented of the Redskins' running backs, getting the Redskins' longest TD run AND TD reception of the season in 2011. He has great hands and is a solid route-runner, offering a threat out of the backfield (caught 49 passes in 2011). Helu will play on 3rd downs and other passing situations, even if Morris carries the bulk of the load. His biggest question marks have been with durability.

Evan Royster: Royster is smart, one-cut runner that isn't especially athletic in any way, but earns his yards with great vision and decision-making. Royster likely won't play much unless Morris is ineffective or injured.

Passing Game Overview:

Pistol formation with spread concepts mixed with playaction and bootlegs are the name of this game. Shanahan is all about deception here. He uses the zone-read and stretch zone game to set up the playaction pass, and loves to get RGIII on the move with bootlegs. This was another aspect that New Orleans had no answer for. RGIII was just as effective rolling out to his left as he was rolling out to his right. He was also able to pull off some "backyard football" by extending the play with his feet, making pass-rushers miss, and allowing his WRs to work their way open after they finished their designed routes. Rookies are always susceptible to attempt to make plays that they shouldn't, but so far (in preseason and in week 1), we haven't really seen that with RGIII. Time will tell whether that occurs as teams get film on him.

The Redskins also love mixing up short with deep passes. RGIII's first six passes of the game against NOLA went behind the line of scrimmage. A majority of the rest of his throws went deep. Despite starting off the game with such short passes, RGIII ended the game averaging over 12 yards per attempt. Shanahan and RGIII are not afraid to go deep, and do it often. On Hankerson's 65+ yard TD catch, the ball traveled 63 yards in the air. Same with Robinson's dropped 60 yard catch. RGIII can drop it on a dime anywhere on the field. However, the moment DBs start playing with off-coverage, they will attack you with screens, quick slants, and quick hitches. The Redskins use spread formations often, adapting their offensive scheme from last year to include a lot of Baylor's concepts in an effort to tailor the scheme to RGIII's strengths.

Defense

3-4 scheme adapted from Jim Haslett's days in Pittsburgh. Very aggressive. The strenght of this scheme lies in the front-7. The Redskins were 2nd in the NFL in 2011 among 3-4 defenses with 18 sacks coming from the defensive line (only Baltimore's 21 sacks were better). That's better than San Francisco, Houston, and Pittsburgh. And that doesn't include sacks from Brian Orakpo and Ryan Kerrigan from the OLB spots, both of whom are the cornerstones of this defense's future. Stephen Bowen is the unheralded star of that DL, but Barry Cofield is also very good. Adam Carriker went down, but he was the weakest of the starters to begin with. His injury will have the greatest impact on stopping the run. All of the coaches are really high on 2011 2nd round draft pick Jarvis Jenkins, who will start in Carriker's place.

London Fletcher continues to be an ageless wonder. The othe ILB is Perry Riley, who is explosive and athletic, playing with an aggressive edge and an instinctive nose for the ball. Orakpo's injury hurts. You can't replace a player like him. Rob Jackson will likely start in his place, and he's a qaulity situational rusher. His weaknesses will be in coverage and in stuffing the run. A lot of fans think he could have been a good player on another team where he isn't forced to back up Kerrigan and Orakpo - we'll see in due time.

The weakness of this defense very clearly lies in this secondary. The only trustworthy player in this group is Josh Wilson, who is as solid as you come in coverage and run-support...however, he suffered a mild concussion against STL and may be out. Deangelo Hall is well known; he's a hit or miss, gambling type of CB who can hurt his defense just as much as he can help them. Hall has been moved into the slot for the first time in his career, which Haslett hopes will alleviate the concerns for his gambles because he won't be on an island as much anymore. Cedric Griffin is the Redskins' nickel CB, and he is slow, losing athleticism by the day, and is a liability in coverage. Griffin can still lay players out, but he was abused in preseason whenever he was left in man-coverage.

At the safety position, the Redskins starters should have been Brandon Meriweather and Tanard Jackson. Jackson was suspended for the season after testing positive for marijuana (for the 3rd time) and Brandon Meriweather is out for 4 weeks with a knee injury. 2011 fifth rounder DeJon Gomes replaced Meriweather at SS. He's aggressive and fearless, but can be prone to finding himself out of position at times. He has promise, but he can be taken advantage of in coverage at this point in his career. Madieu Williams is the FS, and much like Griffin, he's older and not very athletic at this point in his career. Williams has been beaten in coverage consistently in preseaosn and again against NOLA.

The Redskins rely on their pass rush to mask the deficiencies in the secondary. Haslett loves to blitz from all angles with all players. He is not afraid to send his slot CBs, safeties, ILBs, or OLBs at any point. Haslett also gambles with zero-blitzes, leaving every man in the secondary on an island; at times it's worked to perfection, at other times it has burned the Redskins and cost them games. With the current status of the secondary, those blitzes are especially worrisome to Redskins fans. Haslett tends to use these tactics, however, when he isn't getting pressure with 4-5 rushers. Getting good protection from the start is important when you try to tease Haslett into doing something risky. Otherwise, Haslett will continue to use zone-blitzes while keeping 6-7 players in coverage. Haslett was not as aggressive against STL, and it backfired; Bradford used 3-step drops and quick releases from the shotgun to pick apart the zone Haslett employed. Brian Schottenheimer exposed our thin secondary by spreading 4 and 5 WRs often, forcing our LBs into coverage against players they really shouldn't be going up against. I'd expect Haslett to adjust from his strategy against STL, given how badly Bradford carved up the defense. Right now, this defense is hit or miss; they played really well against NOLA, but unbearably awful against STL. I can't say which one I expect to show up on Sunday. Probably somewhere in-between.

Take this scouting report for what it's worth, coming from a Redskins fan . I'd be really interested in how the Rams feel about their team, and where you feel your team's strengths and weaknesses are in regards to the overall schemes and philosophies.

[COB]

Would anybody be interested in this type of exchange?

Sounds like work. But FWIW here's the nickle tour of the Bengals at the moment:

Offense: a work in progress. Injuries blew up the offensive line in preseason, leaving them with three new interior starters versus 2011, C Jeff Faine, LG Clint Boling and rookie RG Kevin Zeitler. They have held up surprisingly well all things considered, but are giving up some pressure. It's a better run blocking than pass blocking line right now IMO. Tackles Whitworth and Smith are solid.

QB Andy Dalton is having accuracy issues with his deep ball. He had the same problem last season but it appears aggravated right now. The CW is that all the work he did in the offseason to strengthen his allegedly weak arm has thrown off his aim. I thought he was closer against Cleveland than in the opener, but the bottom line is he is struggling with the deep ball. Short and medium range is just fine. He has been holding the ball a bit too long so far this year, which has led to some of his sacks.

RB BenJarvus Green-Ellis is an upgrade over Cedric Benson and has been running well, though he isn't much of a threat to break a big one. He has also been a solid receiving option out of the backfield.

TE Jermaine Gresham hasn't made much noise, in part due to injuries to other TEs that have the team relying on him in a blocking/6th offensive lineman role. When he does go out on a route they keep sending him on fairly worthless sideline patterns. And it seems that when bad things happen in the passing game, it involves Andy trying to reach Gresham.

With Andy not having his touch on the deep ball, AJ Green has been without the big highlight reel catches but has still been effective and productive. He's had some uncharacteristic drops this year. Of the other WRs, the two to watch are Armon Binns and Andrew Hawkins. Binns appears to be emerging as the No. 2 WR and Hawkins is crazy quick and electrifying.

Defense: The Bengals are a train wreck, pure and simple. Injuries have played a significant role. The Bengals lost their best DE, Carlos Dunlap, to a knee injury in training camp. He may be back against DC. Arguably their best run-stuffing DT, Pat Sims, is on PUP. Their best LB, Thomas Howard, went down with a season-ending injury in practice last week. The Bengals' top draft pick, CB Dre Kirkpatrick, has been out since before training camp with a knee injury. The timetable for his return is vague. CB Jason Allen, whom the Bengals signed to a $4 million/year deal in the offseason, has yet to play a down due to injury. DE Jamaal Anderson, signed to compensate in part for the losses of DEs Jonathan Fanene and Frostee Rucker in free agency, tore a quad last week and is out for the year. And last but not least, CB Leon Hall, while playing, is clearly still not all the way back from last season's Achilles injury.

Of the guys on the field, the only two worth mentioning are DT Geno Atkins, who is a monster, and S Reggie Nelson, who is average. Rookie LB Vontaze Burfict is a wild card to watch, pressed into service for the injured Howard. MLB Rey Maualuga has been horrible so far and some think he's playing with a bum knee.

Hope that helps.

Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?