Week 1: Bengals @ Browns

[AMPHAR]

Also when Joe scores 40 and loses.  National Media says he should ask for a trade.   Lamar scores 40 in a loss?  Can't wait for all the trade talk this week. 

 

[volcom69]

4 hours ago, ArmyBengal said:

Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy about the outcome regardless of how it looked. I will say this though, if week one is any indicator, both the Bills and Ravens looked really good.

Zac needs to run an undercover guy into those two teams camps to figure out how both of them look so put together week one and we ALWAYS look like unprepared for week one.

Side note, Murphy can no longer blame Cap’n Crunch, Froot Loops, or whatever sugary cereal he was eating prior to this camp. Massive bust that cost this organization dearly. The impact of that miss really is crazy to think about.

Yea Murphy is looking rough, while I thought Stewart played really good. Still would like one more good pass rusher. 

[HoosierCat]

1 hour ago, AMPHAR said:

Joe had another bad opener, period.   Just watching some of the play break downs.   I'm not sure you can put ALL the sacks on the line.     But ball placement or timing was bad (to his standards) on several throws.  The most notable were the back to back completions in which Cleveland defenders knocked them out of bounds.  Ball should could have been better to secure those plays.   He pulled a classic Andy tossing one that hits the white on a deep ball.    Not sure what it is with him but I do think the threat of the Cleveland pass rush messed with his head a little. 

   

Joe had a bad day but I think it's worth noting it was also his best opening day since the Minnesota game in 2021. In the three openers after he posted QB ratings of 61.7, 52.2 and 75.2. Yesterday he hit 87.8. So even if he wasn't Joey Brrrr yesterday, it seems like the effort to bang more of the rust off in preseason paid some dividends.

[volcom69]

Yea good thing is Joe should only go up after this, after a game or two hopefully the offense picks it up like they always do, and I pray the defense stays like this or gets better in the weeks ahead. 

[ArmyBengal]

Seriously NOT dissatisfied yesterday's game.  Happy to be 1-0 and getting out of Cleveland with the W.
Not happy with the general performance of the team, but they will keep working on things.

After the first drive, I thought they were going to set it on fire and then next to nothing the rest of the way.

Loved seeing them lean on Chase Brown running the ball in the first drive and get the TD.
He had 9 carries in that opening drive and then 12 more the rest of the game.  That was the running game.
Something to note, in his 21 carries he only ran to the left 1 time.  Either to the right or up the middle.
Not sure why, but if defenses know you aren't running to one side of the field, that's doesn't sound good.

Something else to note.  Gesicki and Fant had one less combined target than JaMarr and Tee.
I like seeing the TE involvement as well when considering the talent there.
There were 5 RB targets as well, so it's getting spread around.

No turnovers equals good as well and have to give the defense credit for getting two.
Rehkow averaged nearly 53 yards per punt on his 6 for the day.  Nice to see that as well.
McPherson was solid with no misses on 1 FG and 2 extra points.

Bringing on the Jags !!

[ArmyBengal]

6 hours ago, Allentown21 said:

Cincinnati is going to win the division brother. You can never really put too much into week 1.

If buffalo plays Cincy I think buffalo would need a game from Allen like tonight and a couple turnovers 

I get week 1 for sure and am happy we are sitting at 1-0, but I temper my optimism.

If Buffalo plays Cincy, and the two teams played like they did in week 1, the Bills are going to kick the dogshit out of the Bengals.  If both teams play to their capabilities, it will be a fun game to watch come the beginning of December.  I expect it to be one of the best matchups of the season.

[HoosierCat]

Stewart with the second best pass rush win rate among all rookie dl this week.

https://www.cincyjungle.com/cincinnati-bengals-analysis/174246/shemar-stewart-2nd-best-pass-rush-win-rate-rookie-dls

[ArmyBengal]

Let the power of #97 flow through you Shemar !!

The other aspect I really haven't seen mentioned and is typically dismissed because the Browns are the Browns is that the Browns don't have a bad team and their defense really is above average.  Sure they had 6 QB's and all the headaches surrounding that group.  They also are crippled by the worst owner in the league (yes I said it). Joe Flacco is 73 years old.

HOWEVER, that defense that just held the Bengals under 150 total yards will probably do the same to a lot of teams this year.  I simply don't think you can dismiss the fact that was not an easy week 1 task to go into Cleveland and face that defense, but no one really talks about it.  Again, they are the Browns.

[AMPHAR]

Good to see and read about Shemar.    

 

[AMPHAR]

Best thing about beating Cleveland week 1 is you don't see them until the end of year.  

Fans see Cleveland and think about the typical dumpster fire that organization has been forever.  Easy blow out win.

First, blow wins on the road are hard.  So far in week 1 any road team winning has been a 1 score or less win.  

Second, Browns defense is good enough and Flacco is competent enough to steal victories.   

Its when the thin playoff hopes fade, insert young ill-prepared QB, then vets start checking out, that's when the dumpster fire happens. 

 

 

 

[HoosierCat]

22 minutes ago, ArmyBengal said:

Let the power of #97 flow through you Shemar !!

The other aspect I really haven't seen mentioned and is typically dismissed because the Browns are the Browns is that the Browns don't have a bad team and their defense really is above average.  Sure they had 6 QB's and all the headaches surrounding that group.  They also are crippled by the worst owner in the league (yes I said it). Joe Flacco is 73 years old.

HOWEVER, that defense that just held the Bengals under 150 total yards will probably do the same to a lot of teams this year.  I simply don't think you can dismiss the fact that was not an easy week 1 task to go into Cleveland and face that defense, but no one really talks about it.  Again, they are the Browns.

If this year goes like past years, then we will see Burrow improve substantially over the next couple of games. The same ought to be true for the offensive line, which had a rookie making his first start and a guy who just signed with the team a few days ago inserted due to injury. Nowhere to go but up with this group.

[AMPHAR]

OL had some bright spots.   The 3 sack series a portion of blame can be shared with Burrow/Play Call.  

 

[TJJackson]

3 hours ago, HoosierCat said:

Stewart with the second best pass rush win rate among all rookie dl this week.

https://www.cincyjungle.com/cincinnati-bengals-analysis/174246/shemar-stewart-2nd-best-pass-rush-win-rate-rookie-dls

hmm

Maybe he isnt a bust after all

but.....he still has no stats recorded.

[Stripes]

Turns out one of his passes defensed was given to Wilson and the other was nullified by a penalty.

There's some decent footage circulating social media of Stewart pinching the pocket on Flacco. He'll need to finish eventually though.

[AMPHAR]

Summarizes struggles from last year and early in the season. 

1st- I think Gesicki should have gotten the flag after what we saw the first Browns drive.

2nd - Clear Joe isn't seeing the field because Chase might have been open for TD?  

All reminds me of last year watching Patriots and Joe is electing for a 5 yard scramble over a dump off for 30+

If you entertain that throwing to Chase eventually results in a TD then the game takes a whole new life with momentum because there's no way the Browns can sit on the ball trailing 21-16.     They talked about that alot during the off season in which they missed plays earlier in the game that resulted in being a too close for comfort ending. 

 

[AMPHAR]

Not saying fans should have faith in the defense at this point.   But when there's a lack of faith in a defensive unit any member not putting up stats will be questioned and the dirty work will be overlooked.

No better example of this than Rey Maualuga.   Basically with Zimmer he operated like an off the ball NT used to disrupt G/Cs blocking to clog lanes not make tackles.

Stewart supposedly had a lot of good dirty work plays.  0 tackles and sacks will still have people doubting.   

That's why I was hoping he and Murphy could get of the snide with sacks.    Hopefully, the defensive unit be better but 1st round DE without sacks will not be looked upon favorably on a bad unit.  See Justin Smith. 

[AMPHAR]

Also wish the D could have not allowed the points before half or the TD after half.  That was probably the most disappointing part of the defensive effort.   Joe throws a TD to go up 14-7.   Next time he touches the ball he's down 16-14.

 

[TJJackson]

finishing.

same reason why his college stats are so poor

[HoosierCat]

35 minutes ago, AMPHAR said:

Summarizes struggles from last year and early in the season. 

1st- I think Gesicki should have gotten the flag after what we saw the first Browns drive.

2nd - Clear Joe isn't seeing the field because Chase might have been open for TD?  

All reminds me of last year watching Patriots and Joe is electing for a 5 yard scramble over a dump off for 30+

If you entertain that throwing to Chase eventually results in a TD then the game takes a whole new life with momentum because there's no way the Browns can sit on the ball trailing 21-16.     They talked about that alot during the off season in which they missed plays earlier in the game that resulted in being a too close for comfort ending. 

 

Yeah you will see the same kind of thing if you look at previous week one games. Week two Joe, week three Joe, he sees and hits Chase there. Week one Joe is just never quite at NFL speed yet.

[ArmyBengal]

I'm curious how much latitude is given to Burrow with play calling?
Meaning, does Burrow have the ability to change things at the line or he running what Zac calls mostly?

Why, because when looking at the second half, they had 6 possessions.
1 produced a field goal and the other 5 were all 3 and out.

1. Pass, run, incompletion punt
2. Run, incompletion, pass, run, incompletion, incompletion, field goal
3. Run, incompletion, incompletion, punt
4. Sack, sack, sack, punt
5. Run, pass, run, penalty, punt
6. Run, penalty, run, run, penalty, punt

The last four 3 and outs all occurred in the 4th quarter.  Who is calling those plays?
Not sure if the blame falls on Joe or Zac, even though they clearly need to execute better.

[HoosierCat]

Taylor says Patrick will be out “a couple weeks.” Risner getting the starting nod for now.

[ArmyBengal]

Risner probably won't be giving up that starting spot if his play continues from Sunday.

[HoosierCat]

2 minutes ago, ArmyBengal said:

I'm curious how much latitude is given to Burrow with play calling?
Meaning, does Burrow have the ability to change things at the line or he running what Zac calls mostly?

Why, because when looking at the second half, they had 6 possessions.
1 produced a field goal and the other 5 were all 3 and out.

1. Pass, run, incompletion punt
2. Run, incompletion, pass, run, incompletion, incompletion, field goal
3. Run, incompletion, incompletion, punt
4. Sack, sack, sack, punt
5. Run, pass, run, penalty, punt
6. Run, penalty, run, run, penalty, punt

The last four 3 and outs all occurred in the 4th quarter.  Who is calling those plays?
Not sure if the blame falls on Joe or Zac, even though they clearly need to execute better.

You could hear Joe changing the play at the line multiple times, I don’t think that’s an issue. I would point to execution because of what did work, the first couple drives. The stuff they had scripted, and had practiced over the week, looked reasonably good. But once they got into improv territory they stalled, and once Cleveland adjusted at the half, they were straight-up shut down. (And at that point yeah I have to look at Zac, too. They had his number over the last 30 minutes and he had no answer.)

[AMPHAR]

Joe runs the game as much if not more than any other franchise QB.   But a lot of stuff is mixed up pre snap and its crazy what can change post snap.   I'd say its rare a singular play is ever called.    Its incredible how fast NFL QBs process information.

From the couch whenever Joe puts his hands up to his helmet he's changing the play for sure.   But any route combination can change just based on pre-snap formation and like wise post snap based on what the coverage does. 

Supposedly what Cleveland does so well vs. Bengals is they know how to make 1 coverage technique look like another and apparently confuses Joe.  

 

 

[ArmyBengal]

So as not to jinx the whole damn season after week one, I am patiently waiting for Hoosier to start the week 2 thread !!  At your convenience sir !!