Bengals-Giants Game Thread.

[HoosierCat]

BTW, schwinie was right, it was JJ who choked on the fumble, not Rudi. I officially apologize to Rudi. He still sux tho.

[Sox]

Gawd I need some serious beer now.

[HoosierCat]

Man does CJ know How to get SEPERATION or What...

He's a playa. Interview post-game he says it was baqsically an improv, Kit had to roll out more than planned, just threw it in there and Chad made a play on the ball. I looked at the replay and it's a miracle he came down with it. The thing is a cold rock and he pulls it in by his fingernails. CJ deserves every damn Pro Bowl minute he gets!

[HoosierCat]

Gawd I need some serious beer now.

Beer, schmeer. I ran out in the 4th qtr., moved on to coffee & Wild Turkey liquer.

I'm gonna be drunk AND up all night!

[Sox]

Gawd I need some serious beer now.

Beer, schmeer. I ran out in the 4th qtr., moved on to coffee & Wild Turkey liquer.

I'm gonna be drunk AND up all night!

After 2 days+ with no electricity,and freezing my ass off in front of the fireplace,would you please slide me a shot?

<<<begging>>>

[vettespd20]

Damn my head hurts. PLEASE GET BETTER SOON PALMER

[HoosierCat]

Gawd I need some serious beer now.

Beer, schmeer. I ran out in the 4th qtr., moved on to coffee & Wild Turkey liquer.

I'm gonna be drunk AND up all night!

After 2 days+ with no electricity,and freezing my ass off in front of the fireplace,would you please slide me a shot?

<<<begging>>>

Dude! I would drive down, pick u up & take u out for a steak & all u could drink! But I'm 800 miles away...and it just started snowing here!

[chrishcovga]

I don't want to hear anyone say how good a Win this was, ... This is a win against our own team demons.

1. NO RUSH DEFENSE what so !#@$&*! ever .

2. Kitna is still an aweful quarterback !!! The Offensive line has to be our priority during the offseason, because I seriously doubt we can win any game next season without Palmer starting !

3. Repeat first and second points till your heads fall off !!

[ckj414]

Well, that turned out to be a heck of a game. Didn't go the way I would have liked, but oh well...One thing is for certain - the Bengals are a much better team with Palmer instead of Kitna, this game wouldn't have been close if Palmer were in there.

Good game guys, here's to a better season next year for both our teams...

[HoosierCat]

I don't want to hear anyone say how good a Win this was, ... This is a win against our own team demons.

1. NO RUSH DEFENSE what so !#@$&*! ever .

2. Kitna is still an aweful quarterback !!! The Offensive line has to be our priority during the offseason, because I seriously doubt we can win any game next season without Palmer starting !

3. Repeat first and second points till your heads fall off !!

I'll add a few more points:

3. Can we give our secondary some passing drills???? Ratliff and K2 both should have had INTs. To their creditsd both knocked down the passes but they were in perfect shape to grab them.

4. IF you are going to insist on doing the obvious on 3rd-and-1 (and 4th and 1), can we maybe run OUTSIDE every so often, just as a goof? The concept of "misdirection" sems to be foreign to Bengals coaches.

5. Kitna sucks (oh, wait, chrish said that already. No matter, it can't be said enough.).

6. Kitna sucks.

7. Resign TJ!

8. Jeezus-Kay-Rist, what do we have to do to get a pass rush around these parts?

9. Get well, Nate. Landon is too tentative at MLB.

10. I love Ratliff's returns more every game. But I hate having such a talented CB as the guy who'ws getting his a$$ kicked every punt.

[schweinhart]

And HOW ABOUT that CATCH on 4 th Down by TJ !!!!

Ultra clutch.

Worth another 250K all by itself come contract time

[bengalboomer7]

Yeah, TJ made the play by seriously bailing out Kitna, I would have been calling for him to sell his soul to satan for some QB skills if that one didn't come down As ugly as it was a win is a win is a win. I would have been mad if we would have had 10 losses :player:

[DontPushMe]

4. IF you are going to insist on doing the obvious on 3rd-and-1 (and 4th and 1), can we maybe run OUTSIDE every so often, just as a goof? The concept of "misdirection" sems to be foreign to Bengals coaches.

We dont have a RB that is good enough to run outside. Remember, Dillon is a patriot now. Rudi is too slow to run outside. All he can do is run it right up the middle. He really showed his true colors today, what a terrible performance by Rudi Johnson.

Man i cant wait till next year when Perry is in the lineup instead.

[HoosierCat]

4. IF you are going to insist on doing the obvious on 3rd-and-1 (and 4th and 1), can we maybe run OUTSIDE every so often, just as a goof? The concept of "misdirection" sems to be foreign to Bengals coaches.

We dont have a RB that is good enough to run outside. Remember, Dillon is a patriot now. Rudi is too slow to run outside. All he can do is run it right up the middle. He really showed his true colors today, what a terrible performance by Rudi Johnson.

Man i cant wait till next year when Perry is in the lineup instead.

Well, heaven knows I have no particular affection (or particular disaffection) for Rudi, but they do run him, with a decent amount of success, on slants to either side. I'm not asking them to run him outside and turn a corner, but he just isn't cutting it running between the tackles (and yes, you can argue that the o-line's (lack of) blocking doesn't help). There were also any number of plays where they lined up in short yardage formation, handed off to Rudi, and got stuffed...where if Clitna had just FAKED the handoff and run a quick bootleg we would have had a first down plus. But I guess that's too much of a concept for our drunken OC...?

[WhoDey93285]

4. IF you are going to insist on doing the obvious on 3rd-and-1 (and 4th and 1), can we maybe run OUTSIDE every so often, just as a goof? The concept of "misdirection" sems to be foreign to Bengals coaches.

We dont have a RB that is good enough to run outside. Remember, Dillon is a patriot now. Rudi is too slow to run outside. All he can do is run it right up the middle. He really showed his true colors today, what a terrible performance by Rudi Johnson.

Man i cant wait till next year when Perry is in the lineup instead.

Wow, if you seriously think Rudi getting 30-sum yards was all his fault you are in one word-retarded. Yeah sure Rudi made a few mistakes here and there, but you can't run the ball without and offensive line. You could of stuck any back in the backfield for us today and they would of fared no better. So just stop it with stupid comments such as this.

[WhoDey93285]

But I guess that's too much of a concept for our drunken OC...?

Did you see where in the newspaper like a week ago it said

"Is it realistic to think Bratkowski has earned himself a head coaching job. I think so" or something along those lines.

[TubThumper]

4. IF you are going to insist on doing the obvious on 3rd-and-1 (and 4th and 1), can we maybe run OUTSIDE every so often, just as a goof? The concept of "misdirection" sems to be foreign to Bengals coaches.

We dont have a RB that is good enough to run outside. Remember, Dillon is a patriot now. Rudi is too slow to run outside. All he can do is run it right up the middle. He really showed his true colors today, what a terrible performance by Rudi Johnson.

Man i cant wait till next year when Perry is in the lineup instead.

Wow, if you seriously think Rudi getting 30-sum yards was all his fault you are in one word-retarded. Yeah sure Rudi made a few mistakes here and there, but you can't run the ball without and offensive line. You could of stuck any back in the backfield for us today and they would of fared no better. So just stop it with stupid comments such as this.

I agree that it's hard to evaluate Rudi Johnson with the anemic blocking up front, and I have a real problem with play calling in short yardage. Nevertheless, I'm far from convinced that Rudi is worth signing at his apparent asking price.

The Bengals got handled up front a lot on both sides of the ball. Rudi ended up getting touched in the backfield a lot, which is no fault of his own. And, calling traps to the predictable hole in short yardage three times in a row is crazy. The play got stuffed on third and fourth down attempts for first downs, and even when Rudi scored when they did it at the goal line, it was essentially stuffed there. So, some of Rudi's limited production you can blame on weak line play and timid play calling.

But I still don't see much explosiveness from Rudi in changing direction or even blowing up the pile for extra yardage. You're not going to do much running Rudi outside or even hitting him with the pass out of the backfield. He's generally a responsible blocker and makes for good lockerroom chemistry, but I don't see the whole package being worth $4-6 million a year.

As much as even the greatest of backs depends on the line there are things a back can do to assist his linemen. I still seriously doubt that Rudi does enough of those things to warrant tying up that much money on a team that has other concerns. Spend the money on interior linemen instead.

[DontPushMe]

No, you could of expected better performances with other backs. Its called creating on their own. Dillon did it here for years, LT did it for the chargers, it happens with good runningbacks. If you are going to pay a runningback the kind of money Rudi thinks hes worth, he has to be able to make some plays on his own. Any runningback in the NFL can run the ball well if there are big holes on every play, its when plays break down a bit that they earn their money. And what ive noticed with Rudi is, if the o-line isnt playing good, he cant do anything.

[ckj414]

No, you could of expected better performances with other backs. Its called creating on their own. Dillon did it here for years, LT did it for the chargers, it happens with good runningbacks. If you are going to pay a runningback the kind of money Rudi thinks hes worth, he has to be able to make some plays on his own. Any runningback in the NFL can run the ball well if there are big holes on every play, its when plays break down a bit that they earn their money. And what ive noticed with Rudi is, if the o-line isnt playing good, he cant do anything.

I saw something in Rudi yesterday that I hadn't picked up on before - he reminds me very much of the Giants Ron Dayne. When the blocking is good, they're both very good backs, but when the blocking is suspect, neither of them run with agression. That makes for a poor performance in short yardage situations, which judging from the general vibe on this board has been a problem for Rudi this season. Rudi is clearly not worth his asking price....

[HoosierCat]

I saw something in Rudi yesterday that I hadn't picked up on before - he reminds me very much of the Giants Ron Dayne. When the blocking is good, they're both very good backs, but when the blocking is suspect, neither of them run with agression. That makes for a poor performance in short yardage situations, which judging from the general vibe on this board has been a problem for Rudi this season. Rudi is clearly not worth his asking price....

I've actually had my eye on Dayne for a while now. His contract is up this year and he and the Giants can't wait to part ways. IMHO, the Jints never really used him right; he's a downhill between-the-tackles type runner, and you need to feed him the ball 25 times a game so he can wear down the opposing defensive line. Instead they kept splitting him with Barber and it was a rare game where he really got started. But yeah, give him blocking and he'll rumble along just fine.

[Kirkendall]

This game should prove Rudi is just a running back, like all others and can easily be supplanted with someone else with lesser $$ ambitions. Do you really want to spend the $$$ on the performance he had -- when someone with much lesser $$ can do the same thing? You give that kind of money to someone that MAKES things happen -- I'd rather have that then make excuses from his poor performance.

This o-line played horribly, but the money he's asking for better start converting 3rd and 1 on HIS OWN.

[schweinhart]

Ingrates

Sure, Rudi ain't the 3rd down back that Greg Jones would have made if he had been picked instead of Perry, but as far as North-South between the tackles with the ability to break tackles in a crease, Rudi won't be easily replaced.

Chris Perry? Please Not even close to Rudi North-South wise. Better vision with better cutting ability but IMO not quick enough to turn upfield after cut at the NFL level. Granted, a much better receiver than Rudi, whose pass catching skills cost 3 INTs this year IIRC due in a big way to how awkard he is when he has his back to the D.

Ron Dayne? Jeesh....He would solve nothing. If the Bengals go the backup RB route in free agency, they serve the team much better by going after Lamont Jordan than Dayne.

Rudi should still be considered for re-signing...just not at a Top 5 or Top 10 salary. W/ the Edge and Alexander up and a likely better crop of RBs in the draft even if Deangelo Williams don't declare, Rudi might not fetch what a 1,400 yd rusher might be expected to get, especially when his inability to pass catch and difficulties in 3rd and short are factored in.

Rudi's still done what no other Bengals RB has ever done w/ 3 150 yd games in a year, has energized crowds like few players have in Bengals history, probably inspires teammates w/ his knockdown dragout style of play, and will hopefully break the Cancer's single-season rushing record.

Please, a modicum of respect for Rudi as in Rooooodeeee...Roooodeeeeee...Roooodeeeee.

[schweinhart]

Well, that turned out to be a heck of a game. Didn't go the way I would have liked, but oh well...One thing is for certain - the Bengals are a much better team with Palmer instead of Kitna, this game wouldn't have been close if Palmer were in there.

Good game guys, here's to a better season next year for both our teams...

Better luck next year the Giants too.

Hopefully the road up won't take a decade plus like it has for the Bengals

[Kirkendall]

I'm for Rudi, but I'm more for the Bengals and if it makes the team better off w/o him, then I'm for his departure as well. You know the old saying, you're as good as your linemen; against the Giants the evidence of what our potential $5-8 million back can do when things don't go our way -- humm, I just think we can spend our $ a little more wisely; and I think that even if we're in the running for Alexander or James (which we won't be).

[The_Next_Big_Thing]

James is tagged by Indy!