Week 1: Buccaneers @ Bengals

[HoosierCat]

6 minutes ago, COB said:

I’m laid up so I’m watching the Vikings packers game.  Kyler Murray just slid and got a shot to the head similar to the one Burrow endured today.  Murray did not endure it, clearly concussed.  

Well shit now I’m gonna have to turn that on.

[HoosierCat]

Maybe don’t put a rookie corner on Justin Jefferson?

[TJJackson]

Hey Army

How about those linebackers today?

[COB]

Super encouraging to see the bengals win week 1 against a quality opponent.  Admittedly the offense was not lights out.  But our offense significantly improves over the first few weeks.  Historically.  If that holds true, good things lie ahead.  Loved watching guys like Mafe show they are ready week 1.  The additions,  ie trade acquisitions, free agent signings, and draftees, all made significant contributions.  
 

Rose colored glasses still firmly affixed to face.

 

[COB]

An observation about number 97:

He had a huge impact on the two big turnovers early in the game.

1. On the scoop and score, while the ball was loose, a bucs lineman had a bead on it and was about to fall on it.  Dexter couldn’t beat him to the ball but he sort of slide tackled/hip checked the dude out of the way, and the ball was immediately picked up by Demetrius Knight and run into the endzone.  Without that backyard football play by 97 we probably don’t get that ball or those points.

2. On the Baker fumble into the endzone Dexter bullrushed bucs guard Ben Bredeson right back into Baker’s face, flushed him out of the pocket and Baker fumbled into the endzone.  I would guess that replay will never show up in the Bredeson household, poor dude just got teleported backwards.

We haven’t  seen this kind of d line play since, well, when did we have a guy like this?  I can’t recall.

 

[HoosierCat]

10 hours ago, COB said:

Rose colored glasses still firmly affixed to face.

No need for that. The fact is that the Bengals played well yesterday. Not perfectly for sure, but they certainly left my expectations in the dust. They put up more points than they have in an opener since 2018. The d forced 4 fumbles snd notched 4 sacks. Burrow was only sacked once. Mac was 4/4 including kicks from 55 and 58 yards. O was balanced, 35 passes, 27 runs. And they got the ball with 3:19 left and a six-point lead and ran out the clock.

All of this was stuff they struggled with last year, and yesterday they ticked off the list like clockwork. Work still remains to be done but this sure built up my confidence in this team.

[ArmyBengal]

Wow, loved this game by the Bengals.
Are there things needing to be addressed?  Of course, but let not forget we are talking about a week one win, where historically under Zac things have looked stale and that was not really the case today.  They looked like they actually prepared and were ready to execute.  Tampa Bay is not a bad team and their defensive front is challenging to deal with in my opinion.  It was good to see them punch Mayfield in the mouth for a change.

The stadium was great today.  Beautiful day for football, crowd was crazy loud and we saw good football for the most part.  There was a lot of things I though went really well from my perspective watching this one.

Despite the Bucs "come back" I never felt like the Bengals were going to lose this game.  Not at all.
Even with Burrow's shit pick 6, I felt they had it under control.  They did.
Lawrence's impact was notable all game long despite mostly zeros on the stat sheet.  PRESSURE.
Cook's presence in the secondary was notable as well and even Allen had a sack in this one.
While some didn't have ungodly stats, there were impact plays made.

I could tell you concerns about the defense, but 4 forced turnovers makes up for a lot.
"Wah, they didn't force a punt"  so what 4 forced turnovers.
"Wah, there wasn't enough pressure"  so what 4 forced turnovers.
"Wah, they didn't put up much on the stat sheet" so what 4 forced turnovers.

I could go on an on.  It can be better, but those turnovers also equated to points, so yeah.  WAH !!
We take the W and be happy about it, instead of these people wanting to nitpick.

Side notes: 
The linebackers were good for the most part today and were part of the 4 forced turnovers and points, so I'm happy for them and the impact made.  Still doesn't change my opinion of them in general.  Hoping that comes with continued impact.

Also, we will be in Houston next week and ArmyBengal Jr. will be firmly rooting for the Texans despite the Bengals being his #2.  Just the opposite of me rooting for the Bengals with the Texans firmly as my #2 I would otherwise be rooting for.  Going to go make a lot of noise down in NRG next week.  All my Texans buddies down there are great dudes and it's always fun.  Can't wait.

WHODEY !!!

[ArmyBengal]

Side note, a real contributor to the win yesterday which has yet to be mentioned is the fact I broke out the old Geno Atkins jersey yesterday and bucked the theme of opening in orange and wore black.

The jersey will be worn next week in Houston as well.

You're welcome Bengals.

[HoosierCat]

Yah, 4 turnovers makes up for a lot, but remember those were all fumbles and fumble recoveries are essentially random. Going 4 for 4 on recoveries yesterday was incredibly lucky. Last year they forced 11 fumbles and recovered zero. The real good news is that the knocked the ball out four times in just one game. That suggests they’ll have more opportunities for recoveries this season.

[ArmyBengal]

Good things happen when players go toward the ball and we certainly saw that yesterday, which I think played a part in the recoveries.  Maybe it's all an illusion, but the defense just seemed more aggressive in their play yesterday.  I'm thinking there was something more to it than luck.

[HoosierCat]

Yah, the more opportunities you create the more good things can happen and they were out there creating opportunities at a much higher rate yesterday, at least in terms of fumbles. Getting all 4 recoveries was the lucky part. Creating them in the first place is where skill snd effort show out.

[ArmyBengal]

Sometimes it really is better to be lucky than good huh ??

[Prophecy]

Undefeated 

[gregcook69]

Anybody looking JUST at offensive stats, would never believe the Bengals won the game, and with last year's defense, they would not have won. 

[ArmyBengal]

I agree they probably don't win that game with last years defense, but I'm not about to bash the offense either.  Yeah, there were the 4 FG's from Mac, but the offense got them in position to kick those FG's.  Minus that pick 6 from Burrow, it was at least a solid outing.  The offense had 26 first downs and were split 14 passing and 10 rushing with 2 from penalty.  Nice combination actually.  They also converted 8 of 14 on 3rd down opportunities.  

They need to do more on their red zone opportunities if they want to win the big games.
I'd also like to see them work on those pre-snap penalties as well.

Overall though, not seeing Burrow shrink after his shit pick 6 was a plus.
He has commented previously about how he reacts early in the season to mistakes so that was good.

[HoosierCat]

Yeah, the offense was fine. End of the day, they put up 26 points and walked off in chip shot FG range, so that could easily have been 29 (which would have been the most points scored by the offense on opening day in the Burrow/Taylor era). They had 351 total yards, including 106 on the ground, won TOP and were over 50% (8-14) on 3rd down conversions. 9 receivers had at least one catch. There’s room for improvement. Would be nice to turn some of those 3s into 7s. But this was a great start.

[HoosierCat]

The Houston Texans signed former first-round pick Kenneth Murray to their practice squad Tuesday in the wake of starting linebacker Henry To'oTo'o landing on injured reserve.

Murray, a 2020 first-round pick by the Chargers, started 83 games over six seasons with the Tennessee Titans, Dallas Cowboys and Chargers. He recorded 497 tackles with 33 for loss.

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/49953603/texans-sign-kenneth-murray-practice-squad-henry-tootoo-injured-reserve

[ArmyBengal]

Losing To'oTo'o is a bigger blow to that defense then some might realize.
Sucks for him and the Texans and hope he's better soon, but good for the Bengals Sunday.

I remember liking Murray coming out of Oklahoma. 
Another one you would have thought would have made a bigger impact in the league.

[ArmyBengal]

While talking about the fumble recoveries a little more I came across an article that showed something interesting.  It's the first time since 1993 that a defense has 4 sacks, 4 fumble recoveries and a defensive TD in the same game.

Yes agree with Hoosier that is lucky, but I also think it goes to what the defense is trying to do in being aggressive and knowing that good things happen when you go to the ball.  I'm not about to anoint Golden coach of the year, but will simply take pleasure in seeing the defense come out week one and be aggressive like that.

Hopefully we see that same aggression as the season continues.

[ArmyBengal]

Anyone else see this yet?
If not, enjoy having a real safety in the secondary that is super vocal.

 

[COB]

I didn’t notice on the tube but watching these highlights - Cook has really long arms for an nfl player.