Defense suddenly playing GREAT

[HoosierCat]

What does someone rushing for 129 yards mean to you???

It means you get to whine about time of posession and continue to miss the point. But why should I be surprised? The bottom line is that if the offense does not directly hand 9 points to the Steelers (during which time Bettis was not even on the field) Bettis gets his 129 and we still win 14-10. Simple enough for ya?

Probably not

[slf]

I don't want to make any excuses for the defense - the games is certainly an anomaly. But. I have maintained that any time a QB change occurs, the first two games for the new QB are like the opponents defense didn't do their homework - because they can not completely. The opponents have no fresh film to study on his tendencies. May seem small but its the little things that tip balance in the age of parity. How many times do you hear players talk about film study? So the fresh QB has a small advantage on his first game and usually his second.

If you think about it, even with the one big run, they contained Cleveland's running game when they had to. Holcomb was certainly a wild card that made Bengals D look unprepared.

[BengalByTheBay]

Hey, this is excellent -- Bax got his lame take in before the game this week so he gets to see the bust throw for 250 and 4 TD. Nice timing, guy. And yeah, the d really is saving our butts -- to the tune of 48 pts. For the record, since these threads never seem to show up except after losses, don't come back with the 3 pix because the last one was all on Chad. 2 pix and 4 TD's is acceptable to me anytime.

[kevnz]

don't come back with the 3 pix because the last one was all on Chad. 2 pix and 4 TD's is acceptable to me anytime.

Actually, the second one was Rudi's fault cause he didn't go where he was supposed to go. But he ran for 202 yards and 2 TD's, so I'll let it slide.

So that would be only one int that was all Palmer.

[Barbarian]

What does someone rushing for 129 yards mean to you???

It means you get to whine about time of posession and continue to miss the point. But why should I be surprised? The bottom line is that if the offense does not directly hand 9 points to the Steelers (during which time Bettis was not even on the field) Bettis gets his 129 and we still win 14-10. Simple enough for ya?

Probably not

Yep--TOP. Which is one of the most important statistics in the game. Usually, the team that has controlled the clock, wins the game.

So, since Cowher knows that the Bungles' Offense are going to go 3-and-out every other possession, he used the clock to kill the Bungles.

Simply stated, the Squeelers DIDN'T NEED TO SCORE a whole bunch of points--all they needed was for the Puss to reel off 3 to 4 yard gains at a time.

That's called grinding the football--which is a killer for passing attacks. Just ask Mike Martz about that.

[shapu]

The reason the Bengals are 4-6 is because this is not a team with a committment to the running game. Until more than 5 runs are called per half, (see Steelers game), this team will not rise above mediocrity.

[slf]

The reason the Bengals are 4-6 is because this is not a team with a committment to the running game. Until more than 5 runs are called per half, (see Steelers game), this team will not rise above mediocrity.

I am not going to argue much, but five runs doesn't count the gains cancelled by penalties. Penalties are death to the running game.

[shapu]

The reason the Bengals are 4-6 is because this is not a team with a committment to the running game.  Until more than 5 runs are called per half, (see Steelers game), this team will not rise above mediocrity.

I am not going to argue much, but five runs doesn't count the gains cancelled by penalties. Penalties are death to the running game.

True, true. With penalties, the offense attempted 6 runs in the second half. Still not so great.

[HoosierCat]

So, since Cowher knows that the Bungles' Offense are going to go 3-and-out every other possession, he used the clock to kill the Bungles.

Simply stated, the Squeelers DIDN'T NEED TO SCORE a whole bunch of points--all they needed was for the Puss to reel off 3 to 4 yard gains at a time.

No, Cowher didn't need the clock to kill the Bengals. He used two TO's -- an even more important consideration than TOP, IMHO -- to kill the Bengals. No TO's by the Bengals in that game + 129 yards for Bettis = Bengals win.

Defense played great.

[BengalByTheBay]

The reason the Bengals are 4-6 is because this is not a team with a committment to the running game.  Until more than 5 runs are called per half, (see Steelers game), this team will not rise above mediocrity.

I am not going to argue much, but five runs doesn't count the gains cancelled by penalties. Penalties are death to the running game.

True, true. With penalties, the offense attempted 6 runs in the second half. Still not so great.

Actually, I believe it would've been 8. I think there was a false start and 2 holding.