ArmyBengal Posted October 16, 2023 Report Share Posted October 16, 2023 - There seems to be so much confusion from one week to the next with our Bengals. - Early on, I would say Burrow's calf wasn't helping matters much, but not sure we can say that any longer. - One week, they can't throw the ball downfield, the next they light it up, and then back to nothing again. - They obviously continue to ignore the running game, so at least they are consistent there. - I have lost all faith that Pollack can fix this o-line. He's gotten time and money and still don't produce. Next... - Burrow has 7 passing TD's to this point. The only thing worse than that stat is the team has 1 (ONE) rushing TD all season. - I can't say I am thrilled by the play calling and it has been that way for the majority of the first 6 games. - They could put all 4 TE's that have caught passes this year together and they still wouldn't have a viable TE on this team. I'd like to end this positively by saying, at least they are 3-3 headed into the bye and that's really big for them. However, I then look at the schedule after the bye and have plenty of reasons to be skeptical of what to expect. I don't have near the same amount of reasons to think this team will go on a 8-9 game win streak. I will be rooting every week just the same, but expectations at this point are much tempered. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoosierCat Posted October 16, 2023 Report Share Posted October 16, 2023 Some odds & ends: -- In 7 games last year, Drue Chrisman punted 28 times, averaged 42.6 net yards, and dropped 13 punts inside the 20. Through 6 games, Brad Robbins has 32 punts, is netting 39.4 yards a kick and has dropped 6 inside the 20. If Drue Chrisman sucks, Brad Robbins blows. -- First round pick Myles Murphy has 4 tackles and 1 sack though 6 games. I continue to harp on this not because I don't like Murphy. I think he's coming along fairly well given that he's getting like one out of every 9-10 defensive snaps a game. I continue to harp on it precisely because of that snap count. Last April, the Bengals thought they were so stacked that they could spend a first round pick on a guy who would barely play. Just want to keep a pin in that. -- Last season, No. 2 RB Samaje Perine was averaging about 6 carries and 3 targets per game. This season No. 2 RB Trayveon Williams has 5 carries and 6 targets all year (so far). The rushing numbers are bad enough but I don't think enough attention has been paid to the passing numbers. Perine had 38 receptions last year, 11 of which went for first downs and 4 that were TDs. In 6 games Williams has 4 catches, no first downs, no scores. And don't even look at the numbers for Chase Brown and Chris Evans, you will just get depressed. Bottom line, no one has stepped up to replace Samaje and I think this offense really misses him right now — in similar vein, and as Army already noted, Hurst is also sorely missed. All of our TEs combined are on pace to equal about three-quarters of Hayden. And that’s just looking at yards. Hurst had 26 first downs all by himself last year. This year all our TEs have 3 combined so far I think you can make a strong case that the falloff in offensive production that isn‘t attributable to Burrow’s calf can largely be blamed on the failure to replace Hurst and Samaje. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMPHAR Posted October 16, 2023 Report Share Posted October 16, 2023 Seattle was probably a tougher team than I expected. They certainly aren't winning with style points at this moment. So I guess the good news is they are playing well below expectations and still in the thick of things. I think the tackling has been soft and even with a very strong defensive effort yesterday; opposing players seem to get 3/4 yards after first contact. The line's standard seems to be 2/3 sacks a game. Given the amount of effort to revamp the line, I would love for that drop post bye week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
COB Posted October 16, 2023 Report Share Posted October 16, 2023 30, 37, 37, 24. Those are the point totals Seattle put up in their games before us. They averaged 32 points a game and the bengals held them to 13. That’s not just good it’s great. They were giving up like 19 a game, we scored 17 on them. Not really all that good. Hoosier is right, they need some weapons on offense and hopefully TJ’s groin prayer game is on point. We are actually not all that injured yet. I’d like to see them go against type once again and go pick up a RB or TE during this bye. It will be very difficult to beat the 49ers at their place, but hopefully Zac can come up with a game plan to highlight our strengths. If our H crew (yes I listened to Lap yesterday instead of the tv guys) gets ahold of that little QB early in the game and rattles him - we could pull it off. And off topic - I’ve watched the two London games the last two weeks. Rich Eisen and Kurt Warner on the call. Rich Eisen is now far and away my favorite football announcer (pro only, Gus Johnson is untouchable on the college side). Eisen has this sort of laid back style that is so different from anyone else. He also has an understated, wry, sense of humor that really shines. He does the play by play, but he doesn’t really do it like a normal play by play guy. He just says less. Also - the game a week ago in London, the Jags vs Bills game, was incredibly entertaining. Great game. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArmyBengal Posted October 16, 2023 Author Report Share Posted October 16, 2023 Speaking of expectations being tempered, let me actually give you mine: Week 8- @49er's- LOSS Week 9- Bills- LOSS Week 10- Texans- WIN Week 11- @Ravens- LOSS Week 12- Steelers- WIN Week 13- @Jaguars- WIN Week 14- Colts- WIN Week 15- Vikings- WIN Week 16- @Steelers- LOSS Week 17- @Chiefs- LOSS Week 18- Browns- WIN That's 6-5 the rest of the way and 9-8 for the season. That may or may not get them into the playoffs, but that would be a steep drop off from what I expected. I could also see them just as easily lose to the Texans, Steelers (twice) and Jaguars. Maybe even the Browns for a 2nd time. As I sit here today, I would not be surprised to see them miss the playoffs. That was not my thought entering 2023. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoosierCat Posted October 16, 2023 Report Share Posted October 16, 2023 A finish around .500 wouldn’t surprise me either at this point. And I very much doubt it gets them a playoff berth, especially since they’re playing in the only division without a team under .500 right now. That said, while expect a loss in two weeks in SF, they are 3-0 against the NFC West so who knows. Hell, the Niners just choked one away in Cleveburg. Anything’s possible. The Bills have come down a bit too this season and they are better at home than on the road this year. Probably a loss but not hopeless. Not sure I see them beating either Cleveland or Balti this year. Pitt I agree a split is a safe projection. Chiefs they always play tough. Texans, Jags, Colts, Vikes yeah they should win all those so I’ll say 2-2 because they always seems to drop a winnable one or two. 9-8 and no playoffs? Yeah, sounds about right. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
volcom69 Posted October 17, 2023 Report Share Posted October 17, 2023 Some really good posts in this thread so far. It really does amaze me how really inconsistent this team is. Not really sure how a offense with this much talent can play so bad at times. Besides Chase who else is really playing at there so called Elite talent level, NOBODY! Burrows play is so inconsistent, his accuracy is all over the place we saw that yesterday when most of his throws in the second half were so far off the mark. Besides Chase does anyone else on this team get open, or make the great catches we are used to seeing, not that I have seen yet! This o-line once again is just blah, and yes Pollack needs to go he had gotten guys in the draft and free agency and his line still are so average. So this whole coaching staff bothers me, how one game they move Chase around, throw it deep, run it a bit more, then the next do the complete opposite, sorry but Zac is terrible at this play calling thing. Not sure if the guy who should call plays is on this team, but Zac won’t give it up. I know Zac does not like to run, but damnit I wish he would start, that might just help open things up. I love Burrow, and I’m sure he has not forgotten how to throw the football, but at this point he needs to play better. The first quarter yesterday was the Burrow we knew, then his accuracy just sucked and he went downhill fast. He needs to get out of this funk if this team wants to go anywhere moving forward. The receivers besides Chase needs to start winning there matchups, and start using these running backs. Wish they had a capable TE as well. What a struggle it’s been kind of embarrassing really knowing who is on the team. They fixed it before, but why does it take this coaching staff like 6 games in to figure out what to do, I’m really not sure I like these coaches much anymore 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMPHAR Posted October 17, 2023 Report Share Posted October 17, 2023 Teams are not going to get away from two deep coverage, rush 4. Until they can prove to grind out TD drive after TD drive. Although the Titans certainly brought pressure. The O-line isn't good enough to keep Burrow clean IF a team decides to loop and stunt with 4/5 rushers. Volson is a pass pro nightmare. Don't ever recall Carman being that big a liability. Burrow has not been accurate enough. Then Higgins, Smith, Brown whoever just simply are dropping balls, not making drive extending plays. Defense has been up and down through 6 games. A couple players certainly are having promising possible elite seasons. You have to trust these players/coaches perform up to their standard post bye week. Every AFC team except Patriots and Broncos survived the first 6 weeks. So just about every AFC team can make a case for improvement the remaining 12 weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoosierCat Posted October 17, 2023 Report Share Posted October 17, 2023 Totally different subject: is it just me, or are there way more QB injuries this season? I mean so far this year we have: -- Burrow and his calf -- Aaron Rogers of course -- Watson missing multiple games -- Richardson in Indy likely done for the year (shoulder) -- Fields in Chicago now doubtful (thumb) -- Jones out in NY (neck) -- Trevor Lawrence a ? mark (knee) -- Garappolo left last week's Raiders game late with back issues -- Tannehill out with a high ankle sprain Rough year to be a QB it seems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArmyBengal Posted October 17, 2023 Author Report Share Posted October 17, 2023 Yeah a bunch of QB injuries for sure… On a completely different subject, I’m in Boston for the week. Anyone ever been and have a good restaurant recommendation? Or anything else for that matter? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArmyBengal Posted October 17, 2023 Author Report Share Posted October 17, 2023 Sounds like Callahan is pretty pissed about the offense not performing up to standard. Well good !! I’m glad he’s pissed. So are we dude, so are we !! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoosierCat Posted October 17, 2023 Report Share Posted October 17, 2023 14 hours ago, volcom69 said: Some really good posts in this thread so far. It really does amaze me how really inconsistent this team is. Not really sure how a offense with this much talent can play so bad at times. Besides Chase who else is really playing at there so called Elite talent level, NOBODY! Burrows play is so inconsistent, his accuracy is all over the place we saw that yesterday when most of his throws in the second half were so far off the mark. Besides Chase does anyone else on this team get open, or make the great catches we are used to seeing, not that I have seen yet! This o-line once again is just blah, and yes Pollack needs to go he had gotten guys in the draft and free agency and his line still are so average. So this whole coaching staff bothers me, how one game they move Chase around, throw it deep, run it a bit more, then the next do the complete opposite, sorry but Zac is terrible at this play calling thing. Not sure if the guy who should call plays is on this team, but Zac won’t give it up. I know Zac does not like to run, but damnit I wish he would start, that might just help open things up. I love Burrow, and I’m sure he has not forgotten how to throw the football, but at this point he needs to play better. The first quarter yesterday was the Burrow we knew, then his accuracy just sucked and he went downhill fast. He needs to get out of this funk if this team wants to go anywhere moving forward. The receivers besides Chase needs to start winning there matchups, and start using these running backs. Wish they had a capable TE as well. What a struggle it’s been kind of embarrassing really knowing who is on the team. They fixed it before, but why does it take this coaching staff like 6 games in to figure out what to do, I’m really not sure I like these coaches much anymore I think what we are seeing (and talking about in this thread) can be summed up as a rolling series of issues that have compounded to shirt-circuit the offense so far this season. The starting point of the problems is Burrow's calf. That injury killed his mobility outright and mostly killed his ability to plant and throw deep with any accuracy for the first couple weeks, at least. That in turn means that half your playbook goes straight into the trash can for a while since Joe just can't physically execute those plays. Layer on top of that the usual rust and adjustments involved in starting a new season. The first couple games featured those ugly drops Amphar mentioned. That seems to have largely cleared up now but cost them any chance in the first two games. Since then, Joe's calf has gotten better, opening up more of the playbook. But that's revealed a second challenge, which is that the plan to replace Perine and Hurst with Williams and Smith has been a flop so far. Right now the only players the opposing DC really has to worry about are Mixon and Chase. Chase is accounting for nearly a third of Burrow's targets this year, versus about one in five in 2022, and Mixon accounts for nearly 80% of running plays this year, versus just over half in 2022. So yeah there's just really not a lot to the offense right now. They need some guys to start scaring defenses. Burrow has to play better, Higgins has to show the hell up, injured or not (he wants to get paid, right?), someone in the pileup of RBs and TEs has to step up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoosierCat Posted October 17, 2023 Report Share Posted October 17, 2023 9 minutes ago, ArmyBengal said: Yeah a bunch of QB injuries for sure… On a completely different subject, I’m in Boston for the week. Anyone ever been and have a good restaurant recommendation? Or anything else for that matter? Sorry, only been there twice, both times for business, and one trip I never got out of the airport. Always wanted to tour the USS Constitution... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArmyBengal Posted October 17, 2023 Author Report Share Posted October 17, 2023 33 minutes ago, HoosierCat said: Sorry, only been there twice, both times for business, and one trip I never got out of the airport. Always wanted to tour the USS Constitution... Yeah I’m here for a conference, but am making time for myself to see some of the history that resides here. The USS Constitution is on my list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJJackson Posted October 17, 2023 Report Share Posted October 17, 2023 52 minutes ago, ArmyBengal said: Yeah a bunch of QB injuries for sure… On a completely different subject, I’m in Boston for the week. Anyone ever been and have a good restaurant recommendation? Or anything else for that matter? Rinos for italian Cutty's for sandwiches Modern or Mike's pastries for a pastry item called a lobster tail (lobster shaped, no lobster in it) Galleria Umberto for sicilian style pizza slices and other good stuff cheap Fried Clams with the bellies Clam chowder is a must North Shore roast beef sandwiches (this is a genre of sandwich, not a brand name, only found in that area) https://robertsimonson.substack.com/p/in-search-of-north-shore-beef Indian Pudding Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
volcom69 Posted October 17, 2023 Report Share Posted October 17, 2023 1 hour ago, ArmyBengal said: Sounds like Callahan is pretty pissed about the offense not performing up to standard. Well good !! I’m glad he’s pissed. So are we dude, so are we !! Is he mad at himself as well, the play calling has been less then ideal. The offense is a big mess including the coaching at least in my opinion lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
volcom69 Posted October 17, 2023 Report Share Posted October 17, 2023 1 hour ago, HoosierCat said: I think what we are seeing (and talking about in this thread) can be summed up as a rolling series of issues that have compounded to shirt-circuit the offense so far this season. The starting point of the problems is Burrow's calf. That injury killed his mobility outright and mostly killed his ability to plant and throw deep with any accuracy for the first couple weeks, at least. That in turn means that half your playbook goes straight into the trash can for a while since Joe just can't physically execute those plays. Layer on top of that the usual rust and adjustments involved in starting a new season. The first couple games featured those ugly drops Amphar mentioned. That seems to have largely cleared up now but cost them any chance in the first two games. Since then, Joe's calf has gotten better, opening up more of the playbook. But that's revealed a second challenge, which is that the plan to replace Perine and Hurst with Williams and Smith has been a flop so far. Right now the only players the opposing DC really has to worry about are Mixon and Chase. Chase is accounting for nearly a third of Burrow's targets this year, versus about one in five in 2022, and Mixon accounts for nearly 80% of running plays this year, versus just over half in 2022. So yeah there's just really not a lot to the offense right now. They need some guys to start scaring defenses. Burrow has to play better, Higgins has to show the hell up, injured or not (he wants to get paid, right?), someone in the pileup of RBs and TEs has to step up. Saw some film somebody was going over and how the protection problems really fell apart after Brown went out. He showed how Burrow was playing so worried about the rush coming that all his passes were off. So I guess we pray that Brown gets back fast and no other guys get injured. Also seems like Volson might not be the guy, he’s year so far has not been great and it shows on film. Time for a new guard it’s looking like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoosierCat Posted October 17, 2023 Report Share Posted October 17, 2023 10 minutes ago, volcom69 said: Saw some film somebody was going over and how the protection problems really fell apart after Brown went out. He showed how Burrow was playing so worried about the rush coming that all his passes were off. So I guess we pray that Brown gets back fast and no other guys get injured. Also seems like Volson might not be the guy, he’s year so far has not been great and it shows on film. Time for a new guard it’s looking like. I was wondering about the post-Brown protection and if it had an impact on Joe. Can’t catch a break on the o-line can we? And yeah opposing defenses are clearly targeting Volson. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stripes Posted October 17, 2023 Report Share Posted October 17, 2023 I'm not ready to project the season. Everything rests on Burrow. If he finds himself, they're immediately a top team in the league again (I think Higgins would find himself in concert by default). If he continues to sputter through the injury trouble, then it's hard to see a playoff berth. The bye week came at an important moment, and I think they'll need to find a way to take one between SF and BUF. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
COB Posted October 17, 2023 Report Share Posted October 17, 2023 2 hours ago, HoosierCat said: And yeah opposing defenses are clearly targeting Volson. Aren’t they though? It’s a frequent thing with this team and o-linemen. We often seem to have one with a really low floor. Like somewhere in the Marina Trench. Then if we find our guy struggling at some point in the season, teams watch film, they know. I recall watching teams safety blitz our center, not a stunt you see every day. Ghiaciuc and Bodine both got absolutely mistreated in this league. And that’s a short trip to a quarterback, straight up the middle. It wrecked some decent offenses. When it comes to whiffing on O linemen draft picks, no one is giving us the participation trophy, we’re getting the straight up blue ribbon. And I’m not talking about Volson. Dude’s a good depth guy, that’s just reality. I’m talking about all the tackles we miss on, and the ripple effect from that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJJackson Posted October 17, 2023 Report Share Posted October 17, 2023 something I hadnt noticed myself......but...... https://www.cincyjungle.com/2023/10/17/23920167/bengals-news-10-17-cam-sample-rising Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJJackson Posted October 17, 2023 Report Share Posted October 17, 2023 also, there's been a lot of negativity about Volsen he seems to be shaping up nicely Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArmyBengal Posted October 17, 2023 Author Report Share Posted October 17, 2023 Not sure if it just happened to be the one play, but he got absolutely blown up on one play against the Seahawks. If all else is factual, that is interesting. Thanks for the recommendations TJ !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJJackson Posted October 17, 2023 Report Share Posted October 17, 2023 np Army regional foods are kinda a knowlege-hobby for me Lobster tail pastries are my favorite pastries of all time. if you like good pastry, this is imo the supreme ruler of the pasty multiverse If I have time for one meal in Boston, its Galleria Umberto (not fancy at all) first, then Rinos (kinda fancy) as a backup choice and ya gots ta have some chowdah Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJJackson Posted October 17, 2023 Report Share Posted October 17, 2023 I think Volson is gonna be fine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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